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.
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Stacy Wright-Farmer Charged with Sexual Abuse of Child
An investigation into the discovery of sexually explicit photographs of a juvenile found at a residence in Alaska has resulted in the arrest of a McDowell County woman on multiple charges, police said Monday.
Stacy Wright-Farmer, 31, of Cucumber, is charged with sexual assault first-degree, sexual abuse first degree, sexual abuse by a custodian, incest, distribution of child pornography and child endangerment, according to Senior Trooper B.J. Garrettson of the West Virginia State Police Welch Detachment.
Garrettson said officials in McDowell County were contacted Sunday by a federal agent in Alaska representing the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency. Garrettson said the call was in reference to a search warrant that was executed at a residence in Alaska.
Garrettson said the search warrant in Alaska uncovered several photographs of Wright-Farmer and a female juvenile that were “sexually explicit” and “pornographic in nature.”
“After looking at the photos, we served the search warrant on the residence of Mrs. Farmer who was staying out over in the Cucumber area in McDowell County in which several computers, digital cameras, and digital recorders were seized during the execution of our search warrant,” Garretson said. “Mrs. Farmer was arrested last night and taken to the Welch holding facility. There are several different charges stemming from sexual assault first-degree, sexual abuse first-degree, sexual abuse by a parent or custodian, incest, distribution of child pornography and child endangerment. There were a total of 75 counts.”
Garrettson was assisted in the investigation by Cpl. D.C. Eldridge, Cpl. C.K. Moton, Senior Trooper K.L. Pack, Senior Trooper J.W. Keffer, and Trooper B.A. Woods with assistance from agents with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs service.
“This is still an ongoing investigation,” Garrettson said.
Stacy Wright-Farmer, 31, of Cucumber, is charged with sexual assault first-degree, sexual abuse first degree, sexual abuse by a custodian, incest, distribution of child pornography and child endangerment, according to Senior Trooper B.J. Garrettson of the West Virginia State Police Welch Detachment.
Garrettson said officials in McDowell County were contacted Sunday by a federal agent in Alaska representing the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency. Garrettson said the call was in reference to a search warrant that was executed at a residence in Alaska.
Garrettson said the search warrant in Alaska uncovered several photographs of Wright-Farmer and a female juvenile that were “sexually explicit” and “pornographic in nature.”
“After looking at the photos, we served the search warrant on the residence of Mrs. Farmer who was staying out over in the Cucumber area in McDowell County in which several computers, digital cameras, and digital recorders were seized during the execution of our search warrant,” Garretson said. “Mrs. Farmer was arrested last night and taken to the Welch holding facility. There are several different charges stemming from sexual assault first-degree, sexual abuse first-degree, sexual abuse by a parent or custodian, incest, distribution of child pornography and child endangerment. There were a total of 75 counts.”
Garrettson was assisted in the investigation by Cpl. D.C. Eldridge, Cpl. C.K. Moton, Senior Trooper K.L. Pack, Senior Trooper J.W. Keffer, and Trooper B.A. Woods with assistance from agents with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs service.
“This is still an ongoing investigation,” Garrettson said.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Michael Kolkman Charged with Attempted Sexual Abuse
A young boy who may have thought he was going to the circus, was instead enticed by a sex offender.
Reno police officers arrested a convicted child predator Sunday night, after he approached the boy at the Circus Circus casino. Investigators say 43-year-old Michael Kolkman is also wanted by law enforcement in Alaska on charges of attempted sexual abuse.
Statistically, it's not all that out of the ordinary to find a sex offender living downtown. Currently, hundreds of registered sex offenders have addresses within just blocks of downtown, plus more than 1,700 sex offenders in our area are un-registered and out-of-compliance, meaning, no one is really sure what they're up to.
Danny and Kathy Kennedy manage the Shamrock Inn across the street from Circus Circus, which is where police arrested Kolkman on felony warrant charges. The Kennedy's say when Kolkman came in to get a room, they had no idea he was dangerous.
"He was a nice fellow, nothing out of the ordinary," said Kathy.
Detectives say Kolkman bought the young boy a soda, made a few inappropriate comments to him, and then followed him through the casino. Luckily, the boy told his parents, and police were soon on Kolkman's trail.
Kathy says frankly, she's surprised this case is getting so much attention since this isn't the first time a sex offender has checked into her hotel. In fact, she says it's the fifth time in just five years.
"Sex offenders do come in. Unfortunately, they don't come in with tattoos or neon signs on their faces, so you don't know. They look like you or I. They just look like average people," she said.
Kathy's husband says if people are now worried about bringing their young children downtown, he thinks sex offenders should be the least of their concerns. Danny says he sleeps with one eye open, listening for trouble in the neighborhood, including, drunks, drug dealers and hookers.
Over the years, he says his life has been threatened more times than he can count. Most recently, a man pulled a knife on him after he told him to leave the property. He says the man was in the act of urinating on the hotel's wall.
"I've had a baseball bat pulled on me., a crowbar that someone got out of their trunk, a beer bottle, you name it," said Danny.
The Kennedy's say Circus Circus is not to blame, but that dangerous people and situations lurk in nearly every corner of the downtown area near Center Street. And they say no amount of redevelopment money, street lights, or fancy signs will change that.
"Downtown is not safe. That's what I got to say about it. It's not safe," said Danny.
As far as the young boy at Circus Circus goes, he wasn't harmed. The casino managers say he did everything right, as did their security guards. As a rule, minors are never allowed on the casino floor, and when they are spending time on the midway or elsewhere in the casino, their security staff is always watching for strange behavior--or in this case, suspicious people.
Kolkman is being held on more than $50,000 bail for annoying and molesting a minor and for failing to register as a sex offender. He'll also be forced to face the sexual abuse charges out of Alaska. Police believe he'd been staying in our area since June 4th.
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Information: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/47241037.html
Reno police officers arrested a convicted child predator Sunday night, after he approached the boy at the Circus Circus casino. Investigators say 43-year-old Michael Kolkman is also wanted by law enforcement in Alaska on charges of attempted sexual abuse.
Statistically, it's not all that out of the ordinary to find a sex offender living downtown. Currently, hundreds of registered sex offenders have addresses within just blocks of downtown, plus more than 1,700 sex offenders in our area are un-registered and out-of-compliance, meaning, no one is really sure what they're up to.
Danny and Kathy Kennedy manage the Shamrock Inn across the street from Circus Circus, which is where police arrested Kolkman on felony warrant charges. The Kennedy's say when Kolkman came in to get a room, they had no idea he was dangerous.
"He was a nice fellow, nothing out of the ordinary," said Kathy.
Detectives say Kolkman bought the young boy a soda, made a few inappropriate comments to him, and then followed him through the casino. Luckily, the boy told his parents, and police were soon on Kolkman's trail.
Kathy says frankly, she's surprised this case is getting so much attention since this isn't the first time a sex offender has checked into her hotel. In fact, she says it's the fifth time in just five years.
"Sex offenders do come in. Unfortunately, they don't come in with tattoos or neon signs on their faces, so you don't know. They look like you or I. They just look like average people," she said.
Kathy's husband says if people are now worried about bringing their young children downtown, he thinks sex offenders should be the least of their concerns. Danny says he sleeps with one eye open, listening for trouble in the neighborhood, including, drunks, drug dealers and hookers.
Over the years, he says his life has been threatened more times than he can count. Most recently, a man pulled a knife on him after he told him to leave the property. He says the man was in the act of urinating on the hotel's wall.
"I've had a baseball bat pulled on me., a crowbar that someone got out of their trunk, a beer bottle, you name it," said Danny.
The Kennedy's say Circus Circus is not to blame, but that dangerous people and situations lurk in nearly every corner of the downtown area near Center Street. And they say no amount of redevelopment money, street lights, or fancy signs will change that.
"Downtown is not safe. That's what I got to say about it. It's not safe," said Danny.
As far as the young boy at Circus Circus goes, he wasn't harmed. The casino managers say he did everything right, as did their security guards. As a rule, minors are never allowed on the casino floor, and when they are spending time on the midway or elsewhere in the casino, their security staff is always watching for strange behavior--or in this case, suspicious people.
Kolkman is being held on more than $50,000 bail for annoying and molesting a minor and for failing to register as a sex offender. He'll also be forced to face the sexual abuse charges out of Alaska. Police believe he'd been staying in our area since June 4th.
________________
Information: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/47241037.html
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