Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Kristen Blanco Arrested for Having Sex with 15-year-old

Connecticut police say they caught a 26-year-old Stratford woman in bed with a 15-year-old boy at her home, and she admitted having sex with him.

Town police say they went to Kristen Blanco's home Tuesday after receiving a complaint that she had been having sexual relations with the boy. They say a relative let officers inside the home and they found Blanco and the boy naked together in bed.

Police say Blanco, a mother of two, told them she loves the boy and began having sexual relations with him several weeks ago.

She is charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. She posted $2,500 bond.

Robert Zicari & Janet Romano Sentenced for Distributing Child Porn

A husband and wife from California were sentenced to a year and a day in prison for conspiring to distribute pornographic videos depicting simulated rape and murder.

Robert Zicari and Janet Romano also received two years of supervised release at sentencing Wednesday. They pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to distribute obscene material.

Zicari and Romano owned Extreme Associates Inc., of Northridge, Calif. An undercover U.S. postal inspector in Pittsburgh purchased DVDs from them and a grand jury found the images met the Supreme Court's test for obscenity.

Defense attorneys contested the government's claim that the material is "sadistic or masochistic" for sentencing purposes, but that argument was denied.
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Probation Officer Joseph Gama Accused of Molesting 3 Children

That's what Shasta County Superior Court Judge Bradley Boeckman told jurors Tuesday before attorneys launched into their opening statements in the trial of a federal probation officer accused of molesting three children.

Joseph Nicholas Gama, 46, of Redding is charged with five counts of felony child molestation and three enhancements.

Deputy District Attorney Ben Hanna said that Gama is accused of molesting three young girls in two separate instances in the late 1990s or early 2000s and a third in the mid-2000s.

But, Hanna told jurors, they were not Gama's only victims. A fourth alleged victim was identified, but charges were not filed in that late 1980s case because the statute of limitations had expired. Hanna said that girl was about 13 when Gama befriended her, only to betray that trust.

"His crimes happened in secret, but now they are in the open," Hanna said after he described the alleged molestations in detail.

But Gama's defense attorney, Eric Berg of Redding, said his client is being unfairly railroaded, pure and simple.

One of the girls, he told jurors, said that she does not remember having been molested by Gama. The claims of a second girl were investigated in 2006 and dropped because of insufficient evidence, and the third girl suffers from a mental health condition that prevents her from giving or receiving affection, Berg said.

The fourth girl's story also is highly questionable because she has a history of making sexual molestation accusations, Berg said.

Berg said his client is above reproach, has long been a respected community member and was president of a youth soccer league. Gama is free in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Romualdo Paz Sentenced for Sexual Assault on 13-year-old

A 31-year-old former San Antonio resident pleaded guilty in mid-trial to the sexual assault of a 13-year-old Marion girl Tuesday — and today faces the possibility of going to prison for the rest of his life.

Romualdo Paz stood indicted on two charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child in connection with incidents in late 2000 and early 2001 and one count of aggravated kidnapping for taking her to Mexico for three months in early 2001.

If proved in the trial being conducted before 274th Judicial District Judge Gary Steel, all three allegations were first-degree felonies punishable by five to 99 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Tuesday afternoon, 25th Judicial District Attorney Heather Hollub said Paz pleaded guilty in the middle of the prosecution being waged by Assistant District Attorney Tom Mitchell.

This morning, jurors will hear evidence in the punishment phase of the trial before deciding Paz’s fate.

He faces between five and 99 years in state prison on a single sexual assault charge. The second count and the kiddnapping allegations were dismissed.

Mitchell, who was seconded by Assistant District Attorney Carrie Moy, opened the trial with his statement telling jurors what the prosecution would prove.

“The facts are going to show this case is about a predator; this case is about innocence; this case is about a naive girl,” Mitchell said.

Paz worked for a San Antonio cleaning company with the victim’s mother, Mitchell told jurors. When she wasn’t in school, the victim frequently went to work with her mother, Mitchell said.

She met Paz, and their relationship developed over the fall of 2000 — largely behind the backs of the parents, Mitchell said. The suspect won the confidence of the victim’s mother, and even was invited to the family home in Marion to help string up Christmas lights that year.

What the parents did not know, Mitchell said, was Paz, then about 22 years old, was visiting their daughter at night when they were not aware.

In December, they had sex in the victim’s mother’s car, and the relationship continued through that month and into January, when Mitchell said the girl would skip school to have sex with Paz.

“The parents didn’t know about the relationship because it was hidden from them,” Mitchell told the jurors.

The girl believed she was in love with Paz, and in late January of 2001, they left for his family home in Mexico — in the car that belonged to her mom, Mitchell said.

“He’s a predator who took her away from her parents at age 13,” Mitchell said.

The victim’s father, who worked for the Boeing Corp. in San Antonio, regularly worked overtime and often didn’t get home until late at night, he testified Tuesday. When he got home at 11:30 p.m., he found his daughter not at home — and had no idea where she was.

Sheriff’s investigator Gary Wallace and the sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Division launched an effort in conjunction with the Marion Police Department in an attempt to locate the girl, Mitchell said.

In late April — she had been gone nearly three months — the father got a tip that his daughter might be with Paz in his mother’s home in Tampico, Mexico.

The father found her there and forced her to return to the United States against her will, Mitchell said.

“She wasn’t happy to see him,” Mitchell said. “She was in love, and they’d talked about getting married. She didn’t want to come home.”

After her arrival back in Texas, the girl’s parents had her examined, Mitchell said. She had lice, a foot fungus and was pregnant.

Paz was arrested in August, 2008, and was indicted in October.

Austin defense attorney Robert Caine reserved his opening statement, which he could have delivered at the beginning of the defense portion of the trial.

Terrell Scott Charged with Terrorizing Children

A Bethlehem man has been charged with physically terrorizing the children of his girlfriend over a one-year period.

Terrell A. Scott, 23, of the 1100 block of Merriman Court, allegedly beat the girls, ages 8, 10 and 13, with a broomstick and cable wire.

The abuse began in September 2007 and ended in October 2008, court records say. It occurred at homes in Easton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Records say Scott cut the 10-year-old's fingernails down the center with a knife, choked her and chipped her teeth with a claw hammer.

He sexually assaulted the 8-year-old, pulled her belly button with nail clippers and burned her with cigarettes, records say.

Scott was arraigned before District Judge Michael Koury Jr. and is charged with attempted rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault, indecent exposure and 11 counts each of endangering the welfare of children and simple assault.

He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Dennis Holt Sentenced for Child Abuse

A former Westford resident and Chelmsford High School basketball coach was sentenced Tuesday after being found guilty of a child abuse charge.

Dennis Holt, 62, who now resides in Florida, was sentenced after being found guilty on May 18 of assault with intent to rape a child. Middlesex Superior Court Judge Sandra Hamlin sentenced Holt to five to seven years in state prison.

"The defendant used his position as a mentor and coach to gain this vulnerable victim’s trust," District Attorney Gerry Leone said. "The defendant then violated that trust by committing a series of assaults against the young boy. We thank the victim for coming forward and disclosing what had happened to him so that the defendant could be prosecuted for these disturbing crimes."

Police said Holt met the then 12-year-old victim in the 1990s while the victim was a student at a basketball camp where the defendant was a coach. After the camp ended, Holt invited the victim to his home in Westford multiple times to water-ski.

As time went on, he encouraged the victim to sleep over at his house and committed a series of sexual assaults against the victim over a period of years.

Scott Beck Arrested for Sexual Abuse

A Bonneville County man is arrested after a teenage girl comes forward saying she was sexually abused by this family friend for the past two years.

According to law enforcement, 46 year old Scott Beck of Ammon was arrested June 26th on two felony counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16.

According to statements the victim made to investigators, Beck started inappropriately touching her in the summer of 2007. Over time, the abuse progressed from touching and kissing to more serious acts, says the report. Violation dates are from June 2007 to June 2009, according to Prosecutor Dane Watkins Junior.

Beck is currently out on $25,000 bond. He will be back in court next week for his preliminary hearing.

He faces up to 25 years in prison on each count if convicted.

Rocco Irish Arrested for Sexually Molesting 13-year-old


A 68-year-old Pattersonville man was arrested and charged over the weekend with sexually molesting a 13-year-old girl, according to state police.

Rocco Irish faces sexual abuse and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

Authorities were tipped off to the alleged abuse by the county Child Protective Services prompting a six-week joint investigation by state police and the Schenectady County District Attorney's Office. Irish was arraigned in Princetown Town Court and released on $1,500 bail pending a future court appearance. The judge ordered him to stay away from the teen.

The probe is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call the Princetown barracks at 630-1700.