tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43131937471388038842024-03-12T20:32:12.390-07:00Crimes Against Our ChildrenMsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.comBlogger803125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-74726588491698018832009-11-08T17:32:00.000-08:002009-11-08T23:42:36.845-08:00Stay Safe<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Thanks to all who have visited this site, but I will no longer be posting any new information for a undetermined amount of time. I will however leave all information that is currently posted. </span></strong></div>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-30832758449684252772009-10-31T21:28:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:29:39.905-07:00Sgt. Chad Lakey Arrested for Sexual Battery on Child<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/Su0Oqb_O9GI/AAAAAAAACS8/bHo6UmQyEBI/s1600-h/Lakey.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 161px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398987650517365858" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/Su0Oqb_O9GI/AAAAAAAACS8/bHo6UmQyEBI/s200/Lakey.jpg" /></a><br />An Osceola sheriff's sergeant arrested Friday on a domestic child-sex charge was moved Saturday to the Orange County Jail for his protection.<br /><br />Chad Lakey, 33, who comes from a family of law officers, was arrested after a South Carolina woman told police he molested her daughter. The incident is said to have happened at Lakey's St. Cloud home in summer 2008. It was reported three weeks ago, St. Cloud Capt. Bret Dunn said.<br /><br />Bail on the charge of domestic sexual battery of a child older than 12 is $2,500. Lakey, a former St. Cloud police detective, was placed on administrative leave while the Sheriff's Office conducts an internal investigation, department spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said Saturday.<br /><br />Lakey is married to St. Cloud police Sgt. Dhalyn Lakey, and his father, Jim Lakey, is a retired Kissimmee police sergeant who lost in the Republican primary for Osceola sheriff in 2004.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-54493484770468154832009-10-31T21:16:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:17:19.177-07:00Miriam Gallegos & Angel Montoya Charged with Death of 3-year-oldA woman and her boyfriend pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of the woman's 3-year-old daughter, who was found in a trash bag.<br /><br />Miriam Gallegos and Angel Ray Montoya entered their pleas Friday.<br /><br />Prosecutors say Montoya killed the child while Gallegos was at work then the couple conspired to cover the crime by disposing of the body in a ravine in September 2007.<br /><br />The couple told authorities the girl was missing.<br /><br />Authorities say the child died of asphyxiation.<br /><br />Montoya faces charges of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death, while Gallegos faces charges of accessory to a crime and child abuse resulting in death.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-53183720728883030612009-10-31T21:13:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:15:45.150-07:00Marcus Cobbs Charged with Starving Toddler to DeathA former member of a religious cult backed out of a plea deal Friday and will face trial on charges that he and others starved a toddler to death because the boy refused to say "Amen" after meals.<br /><br />Marcus A. Cobbs, 22, had agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of accessory after the fact. But his attorney abruptly withdrew the plea after a dispute with prosecutors over the conditions of his release.<br /><br />Cobbs will now face trial in January along with three other members of the now-defunct cult known as 1 Mind Ministries. All four face charges of murder and child abuse in the January 2007 death of 1-year-old Javon Thompson and could face life in prison if convicted.<br /><br />Had Cobbs pleaded guilty, he would not have admitted any role in starving the child. But he did help the cult members cover up Javon's death, according to a statement of facts read in court to support his guilty plea.<br /><br />He burned a mattress where the boy's body had lain for several days while the cult members prayed for his resurrection, according to the statement. He also measured Javon's body, washed it, wrapped it in a blanket and placed it inside a suitcase that he bought, the statement said.<br /><br />The cult members drove to Philadelphia with the suitcase containing Javon's body, where they hid it in a shed behind a home, according to the statement and other court documents. The suitcase remained there for more than a year before police found it.<br /><br />Javon's mother, Ria Ramkissoon, was part of the cult and pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death. She is expected to testify against the other members and remains jailed. At the time of her plea in March, she held out hope that Javon would be resurrected, and in an extraordinary arrangement, prosecutors agreed to withdraw her plea if that occurs.<br /><br />Maureen Rowland, Cobbs' public defender, told the Associated Press she thought her client would receive a five-year suspended sentence and be released from jail immediately after pleading guilty.<br /><br />"He was only taking it because he wanted to get out of jail," Rowland said. "If he was sitting in jail, it wouldn't be a good deal."<br /><br />But prosecutors said they never agreed to his immediate release. Their tentative plan was for Cobbs to live with a relative out of state until after the trial of the other three cult members, said Joseph Sviatko, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office.<br /><br />Attorneys did not bring up their disagreement about the conditions of Cobbs' release until after Baltimore Circuit Judge John Philip Miller accepted the guilty plea.<br /><br />Clearly exasperated, Miller called the attorneys to the bench for a heated conference, after which Rowland announced that she was withdrawing the plea. Miller agreed to throw it out.<br /><br />"You didn't have an agreement, it appears," the judge said.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-86149017697323337272009-10-31T19:18:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:21:43.563-07:00Leon Surgeon Charged with Child AbuseAlong Clover Meadows Drive you find many families, many children. Babies (with supervision) to teenagers make the rounds Friday night, a number of them passing a home where a three-year-old was Wednesday when police say something happened to her, something criminal.<br /><br />“It gave me a gut feeling, like I was sick to my stomach,” says Trudy Murray in front of her townhome. She was one of the people who saw police and paramedics pile on to her street then into a house across the street from hers.<br /><br />“After awhile, they brought this, this body out,” Murray recalls, “She was kind of limpy-looking, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’”<br /><br />“She had a face mask on, like she was trying to be resuscitated from whatever, you know, the situation was,” adds another neighbor.<br /><br />The situation, as Chesapeake officers tell it, is this: Leon Surgeon was taking care of the three-year-old while her mom was at work. Paramedics wound up taking her to the hospital for what looked like severe head trauma. The extent of her injuries was so bad, she was transferred from Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters where she was in critical condition late Friday.<br /><br />Surgeon, who has a (different) child with the three-year-old’s mother, now faces two charges, including felony child abuse.<br /><br />“It does happen. I see it. I read it,” Murray notes. “It’s just sad, sad what happens to all these children. They’re being abused, and nobody cares.”<br /><br />“I don’t know what a three-year-old child could do so bad to make someone actually try to hurt them like that,” a neighbor says. “Evidently, this gentleman has a problem with children or with hisself, or life in general.”<br /><br />13News went to the home out of which neighbors watched emergency workers bring the three-year-old. Someone who answered the door said she knows Surgeon, but wouldn’t say what her connection to him is, and she denied knowing his relationship to the mother of the three-year-old. She went on to say she believed Surgeon was “somewhere else” when the girl was in trouble Wednesday. Pressed for more information, she closed the door and said, “I’m not talking to you.”<br /><br />“Go after him. Get him,” Murray says. “If anybody does that to a small child, they belong not even on the street, not even any place near children.”<br />----------------------------<br /><a href="http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/chesapeake-police-charge-man-felony-child-abuse">http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/chesapeake-police-charge-man-felony-child-abuse</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-59961411204434519582009-10-31T18:32:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:37:03.329-07:00Edward Kestler Arrested for Trying to Meet MinorA 29-year-old Bluffton man was arrested earlier this week after driving about three hours in the hope of having sex with an underage girl he met on the Internet, according to investigators.<br /><br />Edward Joseph Kestler of Baywood Drive was arrested Monday by the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and charged with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor.<br /><br />Investigators say Kestler solicited sex from an undercover Lexington County Sheriff's deputy who posed an as underage girl on the Internet. The deputy was undergoing Internet predator training from S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster's office, according to a news release Friday from the office.<br /><br />The Lexington County Sheriff's department is part of McMaster's 50-agency Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.<br /><br />Kestler arranged to meet the girl at a predetermined location in Lexington County and was arrested by Lexington County Sheriff's deputies and officers from the Town of Chapin Police Department. Police searched Kestler's vehicle and recovered a laptop computer and a removable drive as evidence, according to authorities.<br /><br />The age of the girl Kestler believed he was meeting was redacted by police from arrest warrants. He was charged with second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, which the state defines as sexual battery against someone between 11 and 14 years old.<br /><br />Kestler was released Wednesday from the Lexington County Detention Center on $50,000 bond, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.<br /><br />He faces 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted. The attorney general's office will prosecute Kestler's case.<br /><br />An April 2007 arrest for assault and battery is Kestler's only prior arrest in Beaufort County, according to the county's online jail log.<br /><br />Kestler's arrest was the 178th for the task force, which was created in April 2004 to develop a network of state and local agencies to investigate and prosecute Internet child sexual exploitation.<br /><br />"We know that we have put a dent in this problem just by the sheer number of arrests we've made," said Mark Plowden, spokesman for the attorney general's office. "But we know that for every one that we catch, there are hundreds out there. There is never any loss of perverts on the Internet looking for children. It's a tremendous problem."<br />------------------------------<br /><br />More Information:<br /><a href="http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1019485.html">http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1019485.html</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-42217695784934715932009-10-31T17:22:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:24:07.124-07:00Samantha Abernathy Pleads Guilty to Child AbuseA 21-year-old woman who was wanted for missing her sentencing hearing on a felony child abuse charge is back behind bars.<br /><br />Officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety arrested Abernathy in Mesa about 10:40 a.m. Thursday, and she was being held Friday in the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue Jail, according to jail records.<br /><br />Samantha Abernathy, who left her two sons, ages 1 and 3, home alone about 2 a.m. June 14, pleaded guilty to one count of felony child abuse on Sept. 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court.<br /><br />Abernathy was free on bail, and when she did not show up for her sentencing on Oct. 23, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Abernathy had not been checking in with the court and was not cooperating with Pre-Trial Services, the agency that keeps tabs on people who are free on bail, according to court records.<br /><br />Abernathy was being held on $5,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear for a hearing on Nov. 5, according to jail records.<br /><br />Under terms of the plea deal, Abernathy will be on probation for 16 years and spend up to a year in a county jail if the court chooses probation. The court also could send her to state prison for up to 18 months, according to state sentencing laws.<br /><br />Neighbors called police about 7 a.m. to report that the children were wandering around the apartment complex at University Drive and Gilbert Road in Mesa.<br /><br />When police arrived at the apartment, they discovered it in filthy conditions and the boys hungry. One of the children reached for dog food as police were investigating, according to police.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-59463811853759087152009-10-30T21:55:00.000-07:002009-10-31T21:57:33.793-07:00Robert Edmunds Jr Arrested for Sexual Conduct with MinorWarren County Sheriffs arrested a Thurman man early Thursday morning after conducting an investigation into his alleged sexual relationship with a child that occurred for several years. <br /><br />Robert B. Edmunds, Jr., 37, was arrested when sheriffs pulled his car off exit 15 of the Northway at 4:20 Thursday morning, according to a statement released by sheriffs on Thursday evening.<br /><br />It was reported that Edmunds was in possession of a rifle and suicidal after he found out about the investigation into his conduct that began on Wednesday.<br /><br />Police say Edmunds was charged with first degree sexual conduct against a child, arraigned in Glens Falls City Court and remanded to Warren County Jail on $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.<br /><br />Edmunds will return to court on November 17.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-41553984479029453492009-10-30T00:05:00.000-07:002009-10-30T00:07:48.806-07:00Gang Rape Suspects in CourtSecurity was unusually tight Thursday as four young men made their first court appearance in last weekend's gang rape at Richmond High School, a crime that brought anguish to students and leaders in the city and sent shock waves throughout the nation.<br /><br />Later Thursday, police arrested a sixth suspect in the case. A fifth suspect was arrested earlier but has not been charged.<br /><br />Three defendants, all of them juveniles charged as adults, were wearing bulletproof vests when they were led into Superior Court by a corps of Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. The three - one of whom had a black eye - looked morose and said nothing as relatives wept in the gallery.<br /><br />Only one, 15-year-old Cody Ray Smith of San Pablo, entered a plea - not guilty - during the brief arraignment in Richmond.<br /><br />All four were ordered by Judge Peter Berger to come back to court Thursday for more proceedings in the rape of a 15-year-old Richmond High girl, who was attacked after she left the school's homecoming dance Saturday night.<br /><br />Authorities say the defendants are among as many as 10 young men who raped the girl over two hours in a courtyard on the campus, while others watched and took photos with cell phones.<br /><br />Richmond police arrested a sixth suspect, Jose Carlos Montano, 18, Thursday afternoon near his San Pablo home. Montano was booked on felony charges of rape, rape in concert with force, and penetration with a foreign object. His bail was set at $1.3 million.<br /><br /><strong>Litany of charges</strong><br />Smith and two other defendants, Marcelles James Peter, 17, of Pinole and Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, of San Pablo, are juveniles being charged as adults. They all face felony counts of rape in concert, otherwise known as gang rape, and penetration with a foreign object. Morales also is charged with felony robbery for allegedly stealing the girl's jewelry. <br /><br />The boys are being held at juvenile hall in Martinez on no bail.<br /><br />The fourth suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega of Richmond, is charged with rape in concert, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. He is being held on $1.2 million bail.<br /><br />All four face potential sentences of life in prison if convicted.<br /><br />The hearings began at 9:50 a.m., when the three boys were walked into court by an uncharacteristically large contingent of five deputies. The defendants' hands were shackled to their waists, and their chests bulged from the bulletproof vests.<br /><br />Court officials said the vests were needed because of the potential for vigilante violence.<br /><br />"This crime was extremely callous and brutal," said Deputy District Attorney Dara Cashman. "We've been getting expressions of outrage from all over the country."<br /><br />Morales' left eye was blackened, as if he had recently been hit. <br /><br /><strong>Relatives tearful</strong><br />Peter's cousin Monquasha Peter of Richmond burst into tears upon seeing him, and her mother, Monica Peter, dabbed her eyes.<br /><br />Peter's family accused prosecutors of having racial motives. Peter is the only black suspect named in the case. Smith is white, and the other suspects are Latino.<br /><br />Peter "didn't have anything to do with this," his aunt said. "He said everyone was just walking past, and he just kept moving when he saw something was going on.<br /><br />"He's a good kid with no criminal record who likes to play soccer," she said. "I am going to prove his innocence.<br /><br />"My nephew is scared," she added. "He is the one they've arrested who is black, and if they give my nephew a life sentence, I will sue Richmond. There is no way in hell I will see my nephew blamed in this because he is black."<br /><br />Ortega's hearing immediately followed the boys'. His hands were cuffed behind his back, but he wore no bulletproof vest and had just one deputy minding him.<br /><br />Two female relatives of Ortega began to cry as he walked in. They declined to comment afterward, other than to say they didn't think he was guilty. <br /><br />Court records show that in July, Ortega was arrested in San Pablo on misdemeanor charges of possessing a deadly weapon - a dagger - and spraying graffiti on a house and breaking its windows. The case is pending.<br /><br />A fifth suspect, 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez of Richmond, has been arrested but has not been charged.<br /><br /><strong>School troubled</strong><br />Counseling and discussion sessions were held Thursday at Richmond High to let students vent their despair over the crime and the damage they feel it has done to their community's reputation. They and city leaders plan more gatherings in the coming days.<br /><br />Authorities say the attack on the girl began when a boy who knew her, possibly Smith, called her over to a group in the courtyard as she was walking by to meet her father after leaving the dance. <br /><br />Smith is a student at Richmond High, and Ortega dropped out in 2007 after his junior year. Around the same time, Morales transferred from Richmond High to a continuation school, authorities say.<br /><br />The girl joined the young men in drinking hard liquor but refused to have sex with them, authorities say, and then the group attacked her.<br /><br />Morales' attorney, Ernie Castillo of Oakland, said his client has no convictions on his record. <br /><br />"This is a horrible tragedy," Castillo said of the gang rape. "It's hard to understand how something like this could happen at an American high school." <br /><br /><strong>Helping rape victim </strong><br />Richmond High School is accepting cards and donations for the victim and her family. They can be mailed to the school at 1250 23rd St., Richmond, CA 94804-1011. Make checks out to the Richmond High Student Fund, with "For sex assault victim" written in the memo line.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-61716643286685281962009-10-30T00:01:00.000-07:002009-10-30T00:04:20.219-07:00Brian & Hollie Beston Arrested for Raping 4-Year-OldA Kent man and his estranged wife filmed themselves raping a 4-year-old girl and traded Web images of the abuse with a man facing child-molestation charges in Southern California, King County prosecutors allege.<br /><br />Brian Beston, 36, and Hollie Beston, 31, of Burien, were arrested by Seattle police last week after the FBI learned of the couple from the child-molestation suspect in San Diego, according to the charges filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court.<br /><br />The Bestons have each been charged with first-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation, sexual exploitation of a minor and depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. They are being held at the King County Jail on $500,000 each.<br /><br />King County prosecutors say the unlikely tipster is a 38-year-old man, who San Diego authorities say is facing 42 years in prison for years of abusing a boy he was mentoring. The man, Richard Hockaday, reported the Bestons' alleged abuse "as part of his therapy," according to King County charging papers.<br /><br />The San Diego man told federal investigators that he met the Bestons on Craigslist. Hockaday advertised himself as a single mother looking for parents in Seattle and San Diego with whom to carry out some sort of "fantasy," charging papers said.<br /><br />Eventually Hockaday started talking to the couple about traveling to Seattle to have sex with the girl, charging papers said. Hockaday said that he watched Beston, who police say is 6 feet tall and 360 pounds, have sex with the small girl over a Webcam, according to court documents.<br /><br />Hockaday said he received 40 to 50 pornographic images from the Bestons during the three months they were in contact, charging papers said.<br /><br />After communicating with the Bestons for several weeks, Hockaday was arrested by San Diego police for investigation of sex crimes there. He's accused of sexually abusing a boy he was mentoring between 2003 and 2007, and the victim contacted police earlier this year to report the abuse, said George Modlin, a deputy district attorney in San Diego. <br /><br />Hockaday is charged with nine felony counts.<br /><br />Seattle police searched the Bestons' homes in Kent and Burien last Friday and confiscated computers, cameras, flash drives, cellphones and other electronics, court papers said.<br /><br />Police believe the Bestons abused the girl for several months, charging papers said. Investigators spoke with Brian Beston and believe that he had sexual contact with the girl once or twice each week between June and late September or early October, charging papers said.<br /><br />Hollie Beston is also accused of operating the camera and sending the images via a cellphone and the Internet. On her MySpace page, the woman describes herself as "a mommy" and a "proud parent."<br /> <br />Neither Brian nor Hollie Beston has a felony record, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Zachary Wagnild said. The Bestons will appear in court for arraignment on Nov. 10.<br /><br />The child was taken into custody by state Child Protective Services. Investigators do not believe any other children were abused, said Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-81424582632892464492009-10-29T19:21:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:22:17.863-07:00Former Teacher John Hoffman Convicted of Sexually Assaulting StudentA former northeast Nebraska teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a student has been sentenced to 18 to 25 years in prison.<br /><br />John Hoffman was sentenced Tuesday in Knox County District Court. He had earlier pleaded no contest to a charge of sexual assault of a child.<br /><br />Authorities say the 30-year-old Hoffman had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student. Hoffman was a teacher for the Bloomfield Community Schools at the time.<br /><br />Hoffman was arrested in April after authorities searched his home and found evidence supporting the teenager's accusations.<br /><br /><br />Information from: KNEN-FM, <a href="http://www.knenfm.com/">http://www.knenfm.com</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-47572959345648114552009-10-29T19:19:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:20:22.171-07:00Bobby Holloway Arrested for Sexually Abusing ChildAuthorities arrested an Albertville man for allegedly sexually abusing a child. <br /><br />Albertville police arrested Bobby Lee Holloway, 55, Lazy Creek Circle, at 11:47 a.m. Monday and charged him with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, said APD spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith. <br /><br />Holloway was transferred to the Marshall County Jail under a $20,000 bond, Smith said. <br /><br />“Holloway was taken into custody on the charge after a lengthy investigation by Chief Detective J.T. Cartee,” Smith said, citing the police report. “The investigation has also uncovered more past incidents, which are also under investigation at this time.” <br /><br />Smith said the charge is for one victim. <br /><br />“However, we are still investigating some other possibilities with other victims,” he said.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-31878951185699186992009-10-29T19:12:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:14:58.843-07:00William Hooker Sentenced to 20 Years for Possessing Child PornA Salt Lake City man was ordered to spend almost 20 years in prison for possessing child pornography. <br /><br />U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sentenced William Seth Hooker on Tuesday to 235 months behind bars. Hooker had admitted he possessed depictions of children engaged in sexual activity. <br /><br />Hooker, 47, has prior convictions for child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and rape of a child for crimes that occurred in 1997. He currently is serving a 150-month federal sentence for a 2007 armed bank robbery. <br /><br />Kimball ordered that 120 months of the pornography term run concurrently with the bank robbery sentence and 115 months run consecutively to it. In addition, he placed Hooker on 10 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-20320406539449861672009-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:12:23.642-07:00Bradley Preston Found Guilty of Sexual Abuse on 8-Month-OldA Hancock County jury found a Storm Lake man guilty of second-degree sexual abuse and incest last week in Hancock County District Court.<br /><br />Bradley Gene Preston, 27, formerly of Britt, was charged in July 2007 with the sexual assault of his eight month-old child. His trial, which took five days, concluded on Oct. 20.<br /><br />According to a criminal complaint filed in the office of Hancock County Attorney Karen Salic, police were called on June 12 to 114 1st Ave. SW in Britt. Preston told police he was carrying his daughter down the stairs when he slipped on a camera on the steps. He said he thought he might have squeezed her hard enough that it caused her to have a hard bowel movement.<br /><br />The child was taken to Hancock County Memorial Hospital, but was later moved to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines for two days of evaluation.<br /><br />Doctors found perianal bruising on the child and noted blood in her stool. They determined the child's injuries were not consistent with Preston's story. <br /> <br />Preston was the only adult present at the time of the injury, the complaint said.<br /><br />Preston was free on bond until his court date. He is now being held in the Hancock County Jail pending sentencing, according to Salic.<br /><br />Judge Stephen Carroll has ordered a pre-sentence investigation. A sentencing date has not been set.<br /><br />Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Incest is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-18481084355974318212009-10-29T19:07:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:08:53.178-07:00Polygamist Raymond Jessop Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Teen<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/SupKrdkKGeI/AAAAAAAACS0/cSTQOzeO_Eo/s1600-h/Jessop.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 165px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398209213888076258" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/SupKrdkKGeI/AAAAAAAACS0/cSTQOzeO_Eo/s200/Jessop.jpg" /></a><br />A 38-year-old man from a polygamist sect sexually assaulted a teenager less than half his age at the Yearning For Zion Ranch, a prosecutor charged Wednesday to open the first criminal trial since the ranch was raided.<br /><br />An attorney for defendant Raymond Jessop disputed the allegation, telling jurors there is no evidence Jessop sexually assaulted the girl in Schleicher County. The location is critical, since prosecutors must prove they have the jurisdiction to prosecute the alleged crimes.<br /><br />Jessop was one of 12 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints charged after authorities raided the ranch last year and swept 439 children into foster care. The children were later returned to their parents after an appellate court intervened, but documents and DNA seized during the raid resulted in criminal indictments on charges ranging from failure to report child abuse to sexual assault and bigamy.<br /><br />All the men will be tried separately.<br /><br />Both sides presented opening statements Wednesday evening in Jessop's case after 12 jurors — seven men and five women — were culled from a pool of 300, the largest ever called in this tiny county 200 miles northwest of San Antonio.<br /><br />Assistant Attorney General Eric Nichols said Jessop was 33 when he had sex a 16-year-old girl, who later gave birth to a daughter. Under Texas law, generally, no one under 17 can consent to sex with adult. Nichols did not discuss the relationship between the two in his opening statement, but prosecutors have said in court documents the teen is one of Jessop's nine wives. Jessop has also been indicted on a bigamy charge that will be tried later.<br /><br />"You will see evidence that establishes that this offense — the offense of sexual assault of (the teen) — occurred just down the road from this courthouse at the YFZ Ranch," Nichols told jurors.<br /><br />Defense attorney Mark Stevens said prosecutors would not be able to show evidence of a crime occurring in Texas, and he urged jurors not to be distracted by the alleged polygamy or the religious beliefs Jessop and the church. Broadcast images of women from the church wearing prairie dresses and distinctive braids were impossible to ignore during the weeklong raid in April 2008.<br /><br />"We don't try people because of their hairstyles or their clothes. We don't try people because of their religious practices," Stevens said. "We try people based on evidence, facts and proof."<br /><br />Testimony in the case is scheduled to begin Thursday. Nichols had previously said the trial would take about two weeks. Prosecutors have prepared to call dozens of witnesses, including law enforcement officials, child welfare workers and church members.<br /><br />The FLDS is a breakaway sect that is not recognized by the Mormon church. It has historically been based along the Arizona-Utah border, but church members bought a 1,700-acre ranch outside Eldorado about six years ago and began building log cabin-style homes and a four-story limestone temple that is visible from the highway that run's through the town of about 2,000 people.<br /><br />Sect Leader Warren Jeffs was arrested in 2006 and convicted as an accomplice to rape in Utah for arranging an underage marriage there. He awaits trial on similar charges in Arizona before he can be tried for sexual assault of a child and bigamy in Texas.<br /><br />Fearing possible prosecution for underage marriages, Jeffs allegedly advised Jessop not to take the 16 year old to the hospital even though she was struggling for days in child labor. One of Jeffs' daughters allegedly married Jessop at age 15 and is the focus of the separate bigamy indictment.<br /><br />The Mormon church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, renounced polygamy more than a century ago.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-19406335647778449852009-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:002009-10-25T19:38:15.382-07:00Piano Teacher Donald Palmer Convicted of Molesting StudentA 60-year-old Allouez piano teacher was convicted Friday of molesting a student during a piano lesson in May.<br /><br />Donald Palmer offered a special plea to second-degree sexual assault of a child that allows him to maintain his innocence, but concede there in enough evidence for a judge or a jury to find guilt.<br /><br />Palmer was arrested May 2 after a 14-year-old boy told authorities that Palmer had sexual contact with him during a lesson at Palmer’s Allouez home. Palmer posted bail but was arrested two days later and charged with bail jumping for calling the boy’s mother to apologize despite a condition of bail that forbid him from having contact with the boy or his family.<br /><br />Palmer posted bail again and was arrested May 19 for allegedly pushing his 84-year-old mother down during an argument. He was charged with bail jumping and disorderly conduct for that incident.<br /><br />Palmer posted bail but was arrested a fourth time on Aug. 27 after he was involved in a car accident and allegedly drank a large amount of vodka. His bail included a condition of absolute sobriety.<br /><br />Palmer, on Friday, pleaded no contest to the felony bail jumping charge stemming from his call to the victim’s mother. The two other bail jumping charges and the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge were dismissed as part of Palmer’s plea deal.<br /><br />All three dismissed charges can be considered at his Dec. 18 sentencing hearing.<br /><br />Palmer faces up to 46 years in prison.<br /><br />After entering his pleas, Palmer asked to have his bail reduced citing a need to “re-establish his credibility” and deal with some health issues. Brown County Circuit Court Judge William Atkinson denied the request.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-28565744937317498732009-10-25T19:07:00.000-07:002009-10-25T19:09:02.776-07:00Kenji Haley Arrested for Sexually Abusing ChildrenA 31-year-old man accused of sexually abusing children for years under the guise of dating single mothers has been arrested, Cook County sheriff's police said Saturday.<br /><br />Kenji Haley had eluded authorities since 2007 when he was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child younger than 10.<br /><br />The sheriff's department said it recently learned Haley was seeing as many as 10 women with young children in Cook County. <br /><br />Police arrested Haley Thursday at a home in the 8700 block of South Kingston Avenue.<br /><br />The department has opened an investigation into Haley regarding possible Chicago-area victims.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-20038776104367939472009-10-24T19:30:00.000-07:002009-10-25T19:33:03.571-07:00Michael Davis Arrested for Raping Girls Age 10 & 11A Mooringsport man has been arrested by Caddo deputies after charges that he raped two girls, aged 10 and 11 at the time of the attacks, Sheriff Steve Prator says.<br /><br />Michael Jerry Davis, 32, of the 400 block of Weston Street, was arrested at his residence late Thursday by Detectives Jackie Winston and Dorothy Brooks.<br /><br />The alleged abuse by Davis has been ongoing for several years, the detectives said. Davis is accused of raping a girl numerous times over a two-year period beginning in 2004. The victim was 10 years old when the sexual abuse began.<br /><br />An 11-year-old girl also reported she was raped several times by Davis between June and November 2008, detectives said.<br /><br />Davis was booked into Caddo Correctional Center on two counts of aggravated rape.<br /><br />His bond has been set at $500,000.<br />--------------------------------<br /><a href="http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11372567">http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11372567</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-54693980621884493552009-10-22T11:44:00.000-07:002009-10-22T11:49:32.978-07:00Sick Couple Charged with Having Sex with 18-Month-old Daughter<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/SuCoylUt9ZI/AAAAAAAACSA/ufdnJkGXoYs/s1600-h/Nelson.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395497940555789714" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/SuCoylUt9ZI/AAAAAAAACSA/ufdnJkGXoYs/s200/Nelson.jpg" /></a><br />A Punta Gorda man has been charged with having sex with the 18-month-old daughter of his girlfriend, who detectives say was also involved in the acts.<br /><br />Glenn M. Nelson, 59, of the 28000 block of Bermont Road, was arrested Tuesday and charged with capital sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12, the Charlotte Sheriff's Office said.<br /><br />He is being held without bond at Charlotte County Jail.<br /><br />The Sheriff's Office has not released details about the victim's mother, who lives in Port Charlotte. The investigation continues and more charges are expected, sheriff's spokesman Bob Carpenter said.<br /><br />Detectives searched the mother's home and found child pornography on her computer. Chat sessions between the couple discussing having sex with the baby on webcam were also found, officials said.<br /><br />Detectives then searched Nelson's apartment and offices at the Villa Del Sol apartments in Punta Gorda, where he is the property manager. They said the couple engaged in sexual acts with the girl since she was born. Photos were taken and sent to Nelson's home computer and his workplace, the Sheriff's Office reported.<br /><br />Detectives filed additional charges against Nelson after an investigator located photos in his computer.<br /><br />The baby was initially turned over to the Department of Children and Families, and is now with a relative.<br />--------------------------<br /><a href="http://www.news-press.com/article/20091022/NEWS01/910220365/1002">http://www.news-press.com/article/20091022/NEWS01/910220365/1002</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-29977393166295475662009-10-18T23:22:00.000-07:002009-10-18T23:24:56.480-07:00Antonio Moreno Arrested for Sexual Battery on Child<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/StwGE32VQGI/AAAAAAAACRg/XQ6IZQi7i0U/s1600-h/antoniomoreno.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 160px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394193134464090210" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/StwGE32VQGI/AAAAAAAACRg/XQ6IZQi7i0U/s200/antoniomoreno.jpg" /></a><br />43-year-old Antonio Arementero Moreno of Tampa, Florida was arrested Wednesday and charged with Sexual Battery on a Child Older Than 12 and Lewd and Lascivious Molestation on a Child Older Than 12. He had a bond hearing earlier today and has been ordered held without bail. Moreno is currently lodged in the Hillsborough County Jail.<br /><br />Moreno has apparently been sharing a bedroom with the boy at Moreno's home although their relationship has not been made public by the Hillsborough County Sheriff.<br /><br />The sexual battery took place around midnight and the boy told his father about the incident, who called police as soon as it became known to him.<br /><br />Moreno, who is unemployed, was also arrested back in January by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on a Domestic Battery charge. He was released on his own recognizance the next day. I don't know if it's been to court or not but will try and update this post later in the week when I have time.MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-5609410509425144182009-10-15T22:17:00.001-07:002009-10-15T22:20:04.562-07:00Former Officer Travis Ezell Arrested for Child Porn<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/StgCAtVxCQI/AAAAAAAACRQ/4j10dcVZZ8A/s1600-h/Ezell.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393062764970313986" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/StgCAtVxCQI/AAAAAAAACRQ/4j10dcVZZ8A/s200/Ezell.jpg" /></a><br />A former University of Oklahoma police officer was arrested and booked into the Cleveland County Jail on a complaint of possession of child pornography.<br /><br />Travis Lee Ezell, 41, allegedly downloaded the pornography from his home computer.<br /><br />OU Police Lt. Bruce Chen said Ezell is recently no longer with the OU Police Department.<br />-------------------------------<br /><a href="http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_287011551">http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_287011551</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-68301591860786659772009-10-15T21:55:00.000-07:002009-10-15T22:00:21.630-07:00Teacher Deanna Higgins Charged with Sexual AssaultA Spring High School teacher has been accused of having an improper relationship with a student, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.<br /><br />Science teacher Deanna Higgins has been charged with having an improper relationship between an educator and a student and sexual assault of a child. Both charges are second-degree felonies.<br /><br />Higgins has been a science teacher at the school since January 2008. She is on administrative leave from the school.<br /><br />Principal Donna Ullrich sent a letter home to parents to alert them to the situation.<br /><br />"I want to assure you that the safety of our students is of the highest importance," she said. "Inappropriate behavior with our students will never be tolerated or overlooked."<br /><br />Ullrich said a second teacher is also on administrative leave in a separate issue. She said she could not release details about that case until the investigation is complete.<br /><br />Spring ISD released the following statement.<br /><br />"Incidents involving improper relationships between teachers and students are not tolerated in Spring ISD. We have made it our practice to take allegations of this nature seriously. We will investigate thoroughly any report we receive and pursue criminal charges when appropriate."<br />-----------------------------------<br /><a href="http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/091013_spring_teacher_charged">http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/091013_spring_teacher_charged</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-12475146480948353782009-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:002009-10-15T21:39:11.079-07:00Fannie Schwartz Charged with Endangering Welfare of child<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/Stf46J_5fsI/AAAAAAAACQ4/h4tO_bGvIP8/s1600-h/Schwartz.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 141px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393052756799487682" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_evt9nG3StJM/Stf46J_5fsI/AAAAAAAACQ4/h4tO_bGvIP8/s200/Schwartz.jpg" /></a><br /><div>The wife of a man charged with sexually abusing two young girls, is now also charged in the case.<br /><br />Prosecutors today charged Fannie J. Schwartz, 47, of Seymour, with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.<br /><br />Late last week, Johnny Schwartz (right) was charged with statutory sodomy and first degree child molestation, for incidents that allegedly happened over an eight year period ending in June 2008.<br /><br />Now prosecutors accused Fannie Schwartz of allowing her husband to have sexual contact with the girls.<br /><br />Court documents say the girls were 6 and 14 when the abuse began.</div><br /><div>______________________</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.kspr.com/news/local/64466317.html">http://www.kspr.com/news/local/64466317.html</a></div>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-8090256742730878742009-10-15T21:34:00.000-07:002009-10-15T21:35:14.168-07:00Terry Lane Lee Arrested for Sexual AssaultIn Midland, police have arrested and charged a man with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.<br /><br />A warrant for 46-year-old Terry Lane Lee of Midland was issued Tuesday, and he was arrested yesterday, after two female victims reported the abuse to authorities in Fort Worth.<br /><br />Fort Worth Police and CPS then contacted the Midland Police Department about the case.<br /><br />Police say the assaults occurred at west Midland apartment complexes over a period of ten years and that the victims and lee know each other.<br />_____________________<br /><br /><a href="http://www.oaoa.com/news/midland-38062-jauz-children.html">http://www.oaoa.com/news/midland-38062-jauz-children.html</a>MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313193747138803884.post-46744470852541341752009-10-15T21:31:00.000-07:002009-10-15T21:33:23.365-07:00Signs Of Sexual AbuseAccording to the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault, more than 65% of all sexual assault victims are under the age of 18. Of every 10 people, nine have identified the assailant as someone they know. We talked to two doctors Thursday about the problems related to sexual abuse.<br /><br />"A lot of times in working with children or even adolescents or adults who have been victims of any type of abuse, there can be a series of several different types of emotions," said Dr. Bill Smith, Clinical Manager at St. Bernard's Behavioral Health.<br /><br />"If left untreated, sometimes this can result in major episodes of depression," said Smith.<br /><br />Smith said sexual abuse can trigger anxiety, depression and nightmares later in life.<br /><br />"A lot of emotions come to play and sometimes these emotions for some individuals can develop into some type of behavioral or mental illness," said Smith.<br /><br />Smith said the best course of action for anyone suffering from sexual abuse symptoms need to seek the help of a medical professional.<br /><br />According to Dr. Elmo Diaz, a psychiatrist with Families Inc, the major problem with sexual assault in victims of any age is that it often goes unreported.<br /><br />"If we're able to raise awareness in the public, that number will shrink," said Diaz. "Obviously people don't recognize signs. People who are in touch with students, with the kids like the teachers or the parent itself."<br /><br />"They're having emotions or feelings that kind of take them back to that abusive time. That can be very difficult the older you are. It's harder to do that sometimes," said Smith. "I think the more people are aware of this type of help in therapy and counseling can be very beneficial to children adolescents and adults."<br /><br />"The first thing that we need to do is to listen to the children. Sometimes we brush off things that are not supposed to come out of a 3, 4 year old's mouth," said Diaz. "Sometimes they're telling you it's going on. What's going on?"<br /><br />"If it's ongoing at the time, I would think the child is scared. The fear that they may have been threatened by the person who is abusing them or persons that are abusing them," said Smith. "They may have a fear that they're going to get hurt or that whoever the person is that's abusing them may hurt someone that they love in their family."<br /><br />Diaz said one sign is that children become more isolated in society.<br /><br />"Sudden avoidance of people and places, no I don't want to go, I don't want to go, that kind of thing. Pay attention to that," said Diaz.<br /><br />"Fear would be probably the initial reason why the child or adolescent doesn't report that to a caregiver or a parent," said Smith.<br /><br />Diaz said children tell one parent that the other is abusing them, but the report isn't recognized as believable because of denial.<br /><br />"They have been sexually abused by one parent. They tell the other parent and they don't believe them. That kind of thing goes on a lot too," said Diaz. "No one sign alone will give us the clue of sexual abuse, but it's a group of things. If there is a sexual abuse, there will be a group of things."MsPsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117421246377012616noreply@blogger.com0