Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Former Firefighter Micah Dwight Weaver Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Porn

Former Edmond Firefighter Micah Dwight Weaver, 40, of Chandler, Oklahoma, pled guilty to possession of child pornography, announced John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. During the plea hearing, Weaver admitted to being in possession of images of child pornography involving children under the age of eight on his computer.

Weaver faces up to 10 years in federal prison plus a $250,000 fine at sentencing, which will be set by the Court in approximately 90 days.

This case is a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=10510986

James C Peterson Sentenced to 9 Years for Trading Child Porn


A 36-year-old Wilmington man was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison for trading child pornography online.

James C. Peterson pleaded guilty in January to transportation of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

According to court records, Peterson came to the attention of the state police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year.

When police searched his home on June 4, 2008, they seized three computers and digital media containing more that 16,000 still images and 140 videos of child pornography.

A search of Peterson’s AOL accounts revealed that he had traded child pornography through e-mail with about 40 other people, said Acting U.S. Attorney David Weiss.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement independently identified Peterson as a child pornography trader after finding e-mails containing child pornography on the computer of an individual in Indiana.

Weiss said that two years before he was arrested, Peterson had been engaging in online conversation with a 14-year-old New York boy who was in reality a police detective from Nassau County, N.Y.

During his conversations with the alleged teen, Peterson sent several computer files containing child pornography to the undercover detective.

He also talked about meeting the alleged teen in New York and Wilmington for sex.

Peterson told law enforcement officers following his arrest that he downloaded the pornographic images to a folder marked “VYB” for “very young boys.”

The youngest child depicted was about 2 years old, he said.

Peterson, who claimed he had been abused as a child, was told by Federal Judge Sue L. Robinson at sentencing that “you became your childhood’s nightmare.”

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Four Men Arrested on Child Porn Charges

Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies have arrested four men after an investigation into child pornography.

Detectives and members of the state attorney's Cyber Task Force arrested the four this week. Three of the four are accused of having videos that show children between the ages of 1-12 being sexually exploited by adults, the sheriff's office said.

The four were arrested at their homes and their computers were seized. Detectives say there may be additional charges.

Arrested were:

Gregory C. Brown, 60, of 711 Valley Hill Drive, Brandon, charged with 1,500 counts of possession of child pornography; Kevin Meere, 24, of 4012 Eastridge Drive, Valrico, charged with 14 counts of possession of child pornography, and Patrick Melton, 16, of 12004 Riverhills Drive, Tampa, charged with 14 counts of child pornography.

Also arrested was Michael Head, 28, of 8504 Symmes Road No. 2, Gibsonton, charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and lewd and lascivious molestation.

Head's lewd and lascivious charge stems from a case in December which was filed directly to State Attorney's Office. Prosecutors say Head touched an 8-year-old boy in a lewd manner.

Firefighter Brian Wilkerson Arrested on Child Porn Charges

Springfield firefighter Brian C. Wilkerson was arrested at around 8:25 Wednesday morning at the Headquarters Fire Station at 605 Worthington St., on child pornography charges.

Federal authorities had contacted the department recently to inform them that Wilkerson was the subject of an investigation.

The department was not aware of the specific charges against Wilkerson at the time of his arrest but as a result of his arrest, he had been suspended without pay, according to Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger.

In conjunction with the City Law Department and Civil Service Law, the Springfield Fire Department will be contemplating further disciplinary action as this case moves forward, according to Leger.
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http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/47654212.html

Chauncey Taylor Arrested for Torturing 5-Month-old Son

A Hesperia father is in jail for allegedly torturing his 5-month-old son, who is hospitalized with a broken leg and slashed scrotum.

San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators arrested 27-year-old Chauncey Taylor and booked him for investigation of torture and child abuse. Bail is set at $500,000.

The injured boy was brought to Loma Linda University Medical Center on Friday with a lacerated scrotum. During surgery, they noticed that the cut was smooth and had clean edges.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire says the infant also had a broken leg, multiple bruises and possible head trauma, indicating "this has been going on for a few months."

Deputy Scott Benton Arrested for Indecent Behavior with 13-year-old


The St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office arrested one of their own last week on a charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile, Sheriff Jack Strain said in a statement released Tuesday.

According to the release, Scott Benton, 42, 231 Forest Loop, Mandeville, was arrested last Thursday, after a three day investigation of a complaint from the mother of a 13-year-old girl who is from the Mandeville area. The complaint was received June 1. Strain said investigators discovered that Benton allegedly had an inappropriate conversation with the girl and there was one alleged incidence of kissing involved. Strain said that no other incidents between the two are believed to have occurred.

Strain said Benton was fired from the Sheriff’s Office on June 4, the same day he was arrested.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputy Scott Benton, 42, was arrested last Thursday and charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile.

Capt. George Bonnett, Sheriff’s Office spokesman said that Benton has worked as a deputy for the past three years, and was on court security during that time, where he worked at the front door of the Justice Center in Covington.

Bonnett said Benton was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail June 4, and was released on a $25,000 bond later that evening. Bonnett said Benton has not made any statements on the incident.

Roberto May Arrested for Sexually Assaulting 5-year-old Boy

Bail has been set at $10,000 for a Fort Collins man accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy.

Police arrested 43-year-old Roberto May at his home at about 6 p.m. Monday, three days after the alleged assault.

May faces a charge of sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.

Fort Collins police spokeswoman Rita Davis says little information about the case is available because of the age of the boy's age. Davis says the May and the boy are acquaintances.

May appeared in court Tuesday via video link from the Larimer County jail. He communicated through a Spanish-speaking translator.

May is due back in court June 16.

Vanessa George Arrested for Taking Indecent Photos of Young Children

A female nursery employee has been arrested for allegedly taking indecent images of young children in her care.

Vanessa George, 39, is married with two teenage daughters. She worked at the Little Ted’s nursery in Plymouth, Devon.

George has been charged with seven offences, including sexual assault and for the making and distribution of indecent images of children. A small number of images where found on a mobile phone, and are believed to have been taken at the nursery. She will appear in court on Thursday.

The nursery looks after around 60 children between the ages of two and five, and has children up to the ages of 11 attending out of school clubs. It is currently closed and it is not known when they will reopen for business.

Parents at the nursery have asked police to identify the children in the images.

Assistant Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Middleton, head of Devon and Cornwall CID, said: “Our priority is to maintain and build upon our relationship with the families of any potential victims. We are also focusing on our attempts to identify the children contained within the images. This is a very difficult task due to the nature of those images.

“At this time we have been unable to identify any individual children. And it’s right to say that some images may never be identified. We’ve got specially trained officers looking at the images. We’ve a large number of images, and the potential is there for many more to be identified.”

“We also have computers, laptops and documentary evidence to look at. At the moment there’s a small number on a camera phone, but as you can imagine we could be talking about hundreds or thousands of images with the other media we are yet to detail.”
In all the images found, the children were all under four years old.

The arrest came after father of one, Colin Blanchard, 38, was charged for possessing and distributing indecent images of children earlier this week.
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Information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/8094405.stm

Dale Gilbert Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of Child

Dale Gilbert, 60, could spend the next decade on probation and have to register as a sex offender for life for two counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Police say Gilbert was caught in October when a fellow guest at a Vista Avenue hotel noticed what he was doing on a shared computer folder viewed over the hotel's wireless network. Gilbert was originally charged with nine counts, but seven were dropped Tuesday as part of a plea agreement with Ada County prosecutors, who are recommending a suspended 10-year prison sentence, sex offender treatment and perhaps up to 180 days in jail. He will be sentenced Aug. 4.
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Information: http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/796945.html

A Judge Refused to Jail Former School Bus Driver Mario Meschino for Possession of Child Porn

A judge on Wednesday refused to jail a former school bus driver facing child pornography charges despite pleas from his suburban Chicago neighbors who want him kept far away from their children.

About two dozen residents of Plainfield attended a Chicago court hearing in the case against Mario Meschino, 41. U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Ashman ordered Meschino to turn over his camera and close his window blinds but said the case doesn't merit he be jailed before trial.

Meschino was arrested May 27 and released on bond after Ashman agreed that he be held in home confinement with electronic monitoring. Neighbors want that reversed.

Meschino is accused of photographing neighborhood children, and parents said some kids are so scared they wake up in the middle of the night. One girl went to the family swimming pool with a towel over her head, afraid she would be photographed.

"We put this pool in our back yard because we wanted to keep a close eye on our children -- we made this investment," Naidi Mack, a mother who lives behind Meschino, said after the hearing.

Ashman ordered Meschino to draw the shades on his windows that face the pool, but ruled that Meschino shouldn't be held in jail. Defendants are often released on bond pending trial if they're not considered dangerous or a flight risk.

"It is somewhat creepy," Ashman said. "On the other hand, we don't revoke a bond because of creepiness."

Meschino is charged in a criminal complaint with sending child porn over the Internet. A trial date hasn't been scheduled but will likely be set after Meschino is indicted.

Meschino's attorney, J. Clifford Greene Jr., said after the hearing that Meschino has been in full compliance with the court's order, hasn't been convicted and has never been accused of harming anyone. Greene also said the blinds ordered shut by the judge were already closed.

"It is paranoia, I believe," Greene said of neighbors' request that Meschino be jailed.

Greene said Meschino was testing a new camera before he went on vacation, and there was nothing sexual about the photographs later confiscated by investigators.

But during a search of his home, investigators found numerous computer discs containing suspected images of children engaged in sexual activity, the FBI said. Authorities said Meschino's e-mail accounts were used to transmit child pornography.

Residents of the Will County community said the government told them last Friday that photos of neighborhood children had been found on Meschino's computer.

"We know he's not convicted but he's sitting in his home taking pictures of little kids and that's very disturbing," Sarah Ridenour, who lives with her children near Meschino, said after leaving court.

Federal prosecutors asked Ashman to allow Plainfield residents to speak during the hearing. But he denied the request, saying they were neither witnesses nor victims in the case. He said lawyers could address the court and witnesses could only testify to facts, not their opinions.

The Plainfield residents said they were disappointed but understood.

"I respect the judge's decision," Mack said. "We understand that he has to do his job and he has to obey the law."
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http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1615881,w-man-children-home-shades-061009.article