Thursday, June 11, 2009

Former Principal Joseph Wayne Jennings Arrested for Child Porn

A former elementary school principal with the Claiborne County School District was arrested Wednesday in Morristown on federal child porn charges when he met officers instead of the child he allegedly planned to have sexual contact with.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court ahead of the arrest, Joseph Wayne Jennings, 53, of Russell Road South in New Tazewell, is charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor, Attempted Production of Child Pornography, Distribution of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography.

The former Clairfield Elementary School principal retired in 2007.

According to the criminal complaint, Jennings made contact with an adult over the Internet on the online site Adult Friend Finder. During an online conversation, the individual and Jennings discussed "sexual role-playing/daddy-daughter scenarios". The individual, identified in the complaint as "a citizen-witness whose initials are J.L.," wrote a message to an online tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, saying" I got the instinctive feeling that he was into it in more than a fantasy way. I should have just stopped talking right then, but I kept trying to get information from him to see if my gut was right."

In the tip message published in the complaint, J.L. says after earning his trust, Jennings ended up sending her child porn images and telling her stories about sexual relations he had allegedly had with children, and of children with whom he was communicating and exchanging sexual images with online.

The complaint says a detective with the Knoxville Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, posing as a single mother, Gina, with an 8-year-old child, was introduced to Jennings online through J.L.

Via email, officers were able to set up a meeting with Jennings, whose email screen name is Pervey53daddyjoe, according to the complaint. Officers convinced Jennings that he was going to meet up with Gina and her daughter for a sexual encounter with both of them, the complaint says.

Investigators arranged to meet Jennings at a motel in Morristown where he was taken into custody.

Gregg Baird Arrested for Possession of Child Porn

The local financial executive charged with possession of child pornography has been arrested again on nearly 100 additional charges.

Gregg Baird was taken into custody last month on seven counts of possession. A warrant was issued in Brazos County, but he was arrested near the West Texas town of Alpine days later.

College Station police arrested Baird Thursday in the 5300 block of Ballybunion on 93 more counts of child porn of a direct indictment by a grand jury. He had been out of jail on $70,000 bond.

According to the District Attorney's office, it is about a 50-50 split of videos and images that were reportedly found. An image or a video equals a count.

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More of the story & photo: http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/47841437.html

AOL Tip Leads to the Arrest of John Matthew Casey for Child Porn


A Maryville man was arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the Blount County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities received a tip from America Online that John Matthew Casey, 57, of Peppermint Hills Drive may have child pornography. Investigators with the HEAT (Hi-Tech Evidence and Technology) Unit searched Casey's home Monday and seized two computers. Several images of child porn were found on the computers.

Investigators took Casey into custody Wednesday at the Blount County Justice Center. He was released from the adult detention center the same day on a $25,000 bond. A hearing is scheduled in Blount County General Sessions Court for June 19.
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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/12/state-briefs-june-12/

School Librarian Richard Condon Charged with Inappropriately Touching 4 Male Students

A Stuyvesant High School librarian has been arrested and charged with harassment and sexual abuse, after he was accused of inappropriately touching four male students, city investigators said on Thursday.

A report by the special commissioner of investigation, Richard J. Condon, said that the librarian, R. Christopher Asch, 56, who was also an adviser to the school’s quiz bowl team, gave massages to several boys while on duty in the school’s library.

The boys objected to Mr. Asch’s advances, but he continued to touch them, the report said. At one point, he grabbed a student’s leg and massaged it, and in another case, he ran his fingers through one boy’s hair while the student was studying, the report said.

Mr. Asch was expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of second-degree harassment.

Mr. Asch’s lawyer, Donald Vogelman, said Mr. Asch intended to plead not guilty. “Mr. Asch denies any improper behavior involving students,” Mr. Vogelman said.

Mr. Asch was reassigned to a teacher detention center after investigators issued the report substantiating the charges in May 2008. The Department of Education is moving to fire him.

Investigators have also substantiated a separate complaint that Mr. Asch took seven students on an unauthorized trip to Harvard to participate in a quiz bowl competition, according to Mr. Condon’s report. Stuyvesant officials did not approve the trip, and the parents of one student objected to sending their child, the report said.

The students said in the report that the inappropriate contact occurred from September 2004 through February 2008, when Mr. Asch grabbed the leg of a boy, the report said. The four boys decided to report Mr. Asch to school officials after that episode.

Mr. Asch was also the faculty adviser to the Republican club and several other student groups, and the coach of the cricket team, according to the student newspaper, The Spectator.

Mr. Asch started working in city schools in 1989 and spent most of his career as a high school librarian. He came to Stuyvesant in 2002, according to the Department of Education, and his annual salary is $86,590.
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Information: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com

Principal Daniel Brock Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Child


The principal of Morrison’s Silver State Christian School, Daniel Brock, was arrested on April 10 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child. Brock was placed on leave with pay as the charges were investigated. The investigation began in February when a staff member alerted police to a possible improper relationship between Brock and a student. On Tuesday, Brock was formally charged with sexual assault on one child and attempted sexual assault on another child.

This week, the Jefferson County District court unsealed the arrest-warrant affidavit, revealing particulars about Brock’s conduct with the students.

According to several students, Brock often spoke graphically and inappropriately with students, asking his male students about sexual positions and how often they had sex. Brock would talk to his students about pornography and he would describe in detail his own sex life with his wife.

The affidavit included a student’s statement that on an out-of-state school trip Brock made the student sleep in his bed while the principal rubbed the student’s back. One student claimed that Brock would fondle his genitals; another student stated he had been fondled for years by Brock.

The Baptist school’s website displays a quote from 5th grade student Ashley: “I think the teachers are good Christian men and women helping us learn more and more as we grow older.”

Kendrick Johnson Charged with Sexual Assault

A 34-year-old Gainesville man was charged Wednesday with sexual assault, accused of forcing himself on a female victim at a home on Northwest 10th Street.

Kendrick Rischard Johnson of 212 N.W. Fourth Place in Gainesville has been charged with sexual assault on a victim over 12 years old and aggravated battery using a deadly weapon.

Police believe the attack occurred at about 5 a.m. Wednesday, after which Officer Charles Dorminey was dispatched to the home. When Dorminey arrived, he said Alachua County sheriff's deputies were already at the home to serve a warrant on Johnson.

It was at this point that the assault victim told officers that Kendrick had persuaded her into a bedroom, then punched her several times in the head and face and told her to remove her clothing. After that, Kendrick sexually assaulted her, the victim said.

Kendrick was being held Wednesday at the Alachua County jail on $100,000 bond.

Russell Bauer IV Kills Himself After Arrest for Child Molestation

Authorities say an inmate in the Okaloosa County Jail has apparently killed himself.

Corrections director Larry Caskey says 30-year-old Russell Bauer IV was found dead Tuesday afternoon with a piece of bedsheet tied around his neck. Officers tried to revive the man but were unsuccessful. Bauer had been booked into the jail Friday on child molestation charges.

Bauer and his wife had operated a daycare from their Crestview home in 2008 when authorities say Bauer sexually assaulted two girls, ages 5 and 6.

Officials say Bauer had not been under suicide watch at the time of his death.
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http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090611/ARTICLES/906111042/1002?Title=Around-the-region

Ronaldo & Catalina Gonzalez Charged with Endangering Welfare of Child


Thirty-five-year-old Ronaldo Gonzalez has been charged with raping a 13-year-old girl last year.

Georgetown police have charged him second-degree rape and felony endangering the welfare of a child.

Police were notified when the girl told a social worker that she had been sexually assaulted by Ronaaldo Gonzalez in October 2008.

When questioned by the police, Gonzalez acknowledged his involvement.

Police are now saying that Gonzalez's wife Catalina was aware of the sexual assault but failed to report the problem. She is now charged with endangereing the welfare of a child. She is currently free on bond.
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Information: http://www.wgmd.com/2009061124170/police-charge-second-person-in-georgetown-sexual-assault.html

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090611/NEWS01/90611023/Georgetown+man+charged+in+rape+of+girl++13

Victor Aragon Accused of Molesting 6-year-old

Victor Aragon is accused of molesting his girlfriend's 6-year-old daughter.

According to a criminal complaint, police said 30-year-old Victor Aragon was baby-sitting the child while her mother was gone to work.

He is accused of pulling off the girl's pants and then touching her private parts.

He has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.
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Information: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/19729021/detail.html

Rodney Bramlett Convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault

A 34-year-old man faces life in prison after he was convicted today on sex charges stemming from incidents involving two boys younger than 13.

Rodney Bramlett was convicted after a jury trial and in front of Judge Joseph G. McGraw on charges of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, said Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato.

Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child is a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison for each count. Truth in sentencing applies.

However, mandatory natural life shall be imposed when the defendant commits predatory criminal sexual assault of more than one child.

Bramlett is scheduled to be sentenced by McGraw at 9 a.m. July 21.

Timothy David Webb Arrested for Possession of Child Porn


A little-known Homeland Security policy that allows agents to search any electronic device carried by international travelers recently snagged a cruise ship passenger here.

The policy has come under fire by civil libertarians and members of Congress. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids unlawful searches and seizures by the government.

Searches of electronic devices, without a warrant or probable cause that a crime has been committed, has been official DHS policy for less than a year. The policy is backed up by decades-old federal law that gives the government broad discretion to search anyone - U.S. citizen or not - entering the country.

Timothy David Webb, a 32-year-old convicted sex offender from Woodbridge, debarked Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas at the Norfolk cruise ship terminal next to Nauticus on May 21. The ship had just returned from a Caribbean cruise.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents pulled Webb from the passenger re-entry line and led him to an area for a follow-up inspection, according to court records filed later in his criminal case. The criminal affidavit does not provide an explanation why Webb was singled out, but according to the law, no reason is needed.

During an inspection of Webb's laptop, agents discovered child pornography photos and videos. A more extensive search revealed graphic pornography, some involving 8-year-old boys, according to court records.

Federal agents arrested Webb on June 8, charging him with possessing and transporting child pornography.

Webb appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday but waived his right to a preliminary hearing and a bond hearing. A federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed pending grand jury action.

His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Arenda Allen, declined to comment. Federal agents declined to say whether Webb's inspection at the cruise terminal was random or whether he was specifically targeted because of his prior sex offense. Any challenge to the search would come at a later court hearing.

Just this week, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it might challenge the policy. Unrelated to the Webb case, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking a wide range of documents pertaining to the policy, including statistics on how often it is used.

"These highly intrusive government searches into a traveler's most private information, without any reasonable suspicion, are a threat to the most basic privacy rights guaranteed in the Constitution," Catherine Crump, an ACLU attorney, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Congress has been holding hearings on the issue. A group of Democratic senators introduced the Travelers Privacy Protection Act, a bill that seeks to require Customs agents to "have reasonable suspicion of illegal activity before searching the contents of laptops or other electronic devices carried by U.S. citizens and legal residents."

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a bill sponsor, said in a statement:

"Most Americans would be shocked to learn that upon their return to the U.S. from traveling abroad, the government could demand the password to their laptop, hold it for as long as it wants, pore over their documents, e-mails, and photographs, and examine which Web sites they visited - all without any suggestion of wrong-doing."

Business travelers have been particularly outraged by the policy because it allows the federal government to seize proprietary and secret corporate information.

At a hearing last month on the issue before the Senate Judiciary Committee, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said her agency, which oversees Customs, would be revising its policy to address the privacy concerns. However, she told the committee that the relatively low number of laptop searches has uncovered significant criminal activity and that the practice would continue.

Araceli Velasquez-Espain Arrested for Disposing of Newborn in Portable Toilet

Morrow County's district attorney has filed murder charges against a 21-year-old migrant worker accused of disposing the body of her newborn in the waste tank of a portable toilet.

It remained unclear today whether the baby boy died before or after it landed in a mixture of water, blue deodorizer and human waste.

The child was discovered Sunday morning by Dave Marshall, who went to clean the toilet for C.B.'s Portable Restrooms, near Hermiston. Marshall pushed a black plastic wand into the hole beneath the toilet seat to vacuum waste and felt something odd, said C.B. Kreutz, the company's 62-year-old owner.

"He looked a little bit closer and he saw what he thought was like a doll," Kreutz said. "And of course, it felt kinda heavy. ... He looked closer and saw that it had an umbilical cord."

Marshall and a co-worker summoned police.

Araceli Velasquez-Espain was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated murder, which potentially carries the death penalty; murder; first-degree manslaughter; second-degree corpse abuse; and criminal mistreatment. She is being held in the Umatilla County Jail on a federal immigration hold.

"She's been a seasonal employee for us for some time," said Nina Pyle, the human resources director for Atkinson Staffing Inc., which provides farm labor in Oregon and Washington. In recent weeks, Velasquez-Espain had weeded peas or carrots at a farm near Boardman, she said.

No one at Atkinson was aware Velasquez-Espain was pregnant, and the company would have required a doctor's note saying she was capable of working in that condition, Pyle said.

Government records show no legal resident of the United States with Velasquez-Espain's name and date of birth. But she presented a Social Security card when applying for work at Atkinson three years ago, Pyle said.

"We're very disappointed and saddened by the events," she said. Pyle said the company was cooperating with detectives, who were interviewing workers.

The portable toilet in which the newborn was found sat for a couple of weeks on a farm near Boardman, a Columbia River town about 20 miles west of Hermiston. The toilet, affixed to a trailer with wheels, was brought to C.B.'s for servicing last weekend.

Anderson Price Wanted for Sexual Assault of Child


A Providence man accused of sexual assault on a child is wanted after skipping a hearing Monday at Washington County Superior Court.

The Rhode Island’s Most Wanted web site reports 44-year-old Anderson Price was last known to live on Lancaster Street in Providence. He was due in a courtroom Monday for a suppression hearing but never showed up. There’s now a warrant out in Rhode Island for his arrest.

Price is accused of second degree sexual assault and enticement of a child. He was arrested by North Kingstown Police back on September 3, 2008, and got out on bail. Now, he’s also charged with violating the terms of his bail.

The suspect is also wanted on charges of Strongarm Rape in Louisiana. He has also previously lived in College Park, GA.

Price is a black male, 6′ 4″ tall, 255 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of a tribal dragon on his left shoulder, and a scar on his right leg.

If you see him or know where he is, you should call Det. Jeff St. Onge right away at North Kingstown Police, at (401) 294-3316.

Jose Carrasquillo DNA Tested After Rape of 11-year-old

Philadelphia police plan to announce the results of DNA tests done on a man questioned in the rape of an 11-year-old girl.

Lt. Frank Vanore says police will hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Vanore says the news conference is about DNA test results done on 26-year-old Jose Carrasquillo. He wouldn't say what the results were.

Carrasquillo was beaten last week by angry residents after police identified him as a "person of interest" in the case.

That was a day after the girl was brutally raped on her way to school in the city's Kensington section.

Carrasquillo is being held on an unrelated warrant. He has not been charged in the rape; but police have said they expect to file charges.

Eduardo Serrano Charged with Sexually Assaulting 14-year-old

A convicted sex offender recently paroled from state prison has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in northern New Jersey.

Union County prosecutors say 41-year-old Eduardo Serrano lured the girl into his Elizabeth apartment last month, promising her a tattoo. But once inside, she was sexually assaulted.

The girl reported the incident to her mother, who notified police, and Serrano was arrested Tuesday. He was charged with sexual assault and was being held Wednesday at the county jail on $250,000 bail. Authorities did not know if he had retained a lawyer.

Serrano served nearly six years in prison on child sexual assault charges before being paroled in January.

Smedley Butler Charged with Possession of Child Porn

38-year-old Maribel man is charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography after investigators found images of 10 different children engaged in sexual acts, according to a criminal complaint filed June 4.

Smedley D. Butler told investigators May 21 he purchased a membership to a child pornography Web site, according to the complaint.

Butler was released from the Manitowoc County Jail on May 22 on a signature bond and was ordered to have no contact with anyone under age 18. He also is to not use the Internet or possess a computer.

Butler is scheduled for his initial appearance at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Law enforcement officers from the Division of Criminal Investigation, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security–Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked together on the case, according to a news release from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

James Scheinoha Charged with Sexual Assault of 6-year-old

A 28-year-old Manitowoc man is charged with sexual assault of a child after a 6-year-old girl on Tuesday told Manitowoc Police detective Erik Kowalski the man molested her while he was baby-sitting her, according to a Manitowoc police report.

James E. Scheinoha was jailed on the charge. Scheinoha told Kowalski several versions of the story until it matched the young girl’s story. Still, he denied sexually assaulting the girl, according to the report.

Scheinoha told Kowalski someone else the girl calls “Jim” assaulted the girl. He admitted to being an alcoholic and when sober he would never intend to sexually assault a child. His blood alcohol concentration was .32 percent during his interview with Kowalski, according to the report.

The girl told Kowalski the assault happened about one week ago. She told her father about the contact after she was “acting out,” according to the report.

Martin Vandenburgh Charged with Sexual Abuse of Minor

A Nikiski man was arraigned in Kenai Superior Court on Tuesday on nine counts of sexual abuse of a minor and six counts of possessing child pornography.

Martin Vandenburgh, 53, was formally charged with six counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and the child pornography counts.

After questioning the defendant and his wife, Judge Anna Moran determined Vandenburgh qualified for a public defender to be assigned and said a bail review hearing could be arranged through the attorney. She said bail set at the initial arraignment is $75,000 cash performance and a court appointed third-party custodian would be required.

Moran explained to Vandenburgh that first-degree sexual abuse of a minor is an unclassified felony and he could be sentenced to between five and 99 years in prison if convicted with a mandatory minimum of 20 years.

Sitting in court in a yellow jail uniform, Vandenburgh acknowledged that he understood and said, "I know; I'm 53."

Moran continued, saying the second-degree sexual abuse of a minor offense carries a maximum 10-year sentence if convicted and the class C felony -- possession of child pornography -- carries a maximum of five years if convicted.

Charging documents allege Vandenburgh sexually abused a victim identified as "S.V." between February 2005 and February 2008, while the victim was between nine and 12 years old. The offenses reportedly occurred in Anchorage until 2007, and then between Feb. 14, 2007 and Feb. 13, 2008 in Nikiski.

The alleged offender is described as the victim's natural parent.

When Moran asked Vandenburgh's wife if there are any children living in the family's Nikiski home, she said, "They were removed when all this started."

A jury trial was scheduled to begin during the week of Aug. 24 in Kenai.

Vandenburgh was escorted back to the Wildwood Pretrial Facility pending the trial.

TABC Agent Joe Chavez Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teen


An agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is in jail in Bastrop County, accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old volunteer for the agency.

Investigators in Bastrop County said it happened two weeks ago.

The teen was involved in a underage sting operation, where she worked as a decoy attempting to buy alcohol from stores in Bastrop, Fayette and Lee counties.

She said TABC Agent Joe Chavez, Jr., 40, sexually assaulted her on the way home.

According to court documents, Chavez drove the teen down old Highway 20 near Paige, Texas. The teen says Chavez pulled his unmarked state issued vehicle over and sexually assaulted her. She reported the incident last Saturday. Investigators say Chavez admitted to everything. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of official oppression.

"Obviously, it's difficult anytime you have a situation like this with someone involved in your own agency or works very closely with your agency, just the law enforcement realm in general. Anytime something like this happens it has an effect on all of us," said Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering.

Sheriff Pickering said the investigation now turns to other teens that may have assisted Chavez. He has worked for TABC for five years.

TABC Administrator Alan Steen says he is fully cooperating with investigators and released this statement: "I want to ensure that TABC has the proper controls in place to protect the safety of the participants, the retailers and the general public."

TABC has suspended all underage sting operations statewide pending a review of agency policies and procedures.

Chavez is a five year veteran of TABC. He's worked in Bastrop County since 2006. He's been placed on leave without pay.
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YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqnmYLIZ-3k