Taking the stand for the first time since she was snatched from her girlhood bedroom seven years ago, Elizabeth Smart testified Thursday that her captor raped her three or four times a day, kept her tied up with a cable around her leg, and threatened to kill her if she tried to escape.
Asked by a prosecutor to describe Brian David Mitchell, the self-described prophet accused of holding her captive for nine months, Smart replied: "Evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, greedy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God."
Smart, now a 21-year-old college student, gave her horrifying account in federal court as part of a proceeding over whether Mitchell is mentally competent to stand trial.
The 55-year-old one-time street preacher has been behind bars since 2003 — mostly in a state mental hospital — but has yet to stand trial. Twice he has been ruled mentally incompetent in state court, and he has often demonstrated bizarre behavior, including incessantly singing hymns in the courtroom and once yelling at a judge to repent.
Smart testified that within hours of her 2002 kidnapping at knifepoint, she was led away to a secluded mountain campsite and in a quickie ceremony became the polygamous "wife" of the older man.
"After that he proceeded to rape me," Smart said, sharing for the first time publicly her account of the ordeal.
She said Mitchell showed her pornography and plied her with alcohol and drugs to lower her resistance to his sexual advances. Once, Smart said, she tried to fight Mitchell off by biting him.
On the stand for nearly two hours, Smart was poised, her voice never wavering. She did not come face-to-face with her alleged tormenter. Mitchell was removed from the courtroom for disruptive behavior — singing hymns — before Smart arrived, and watched the proceedings from a holding cell.
A federal judge ruled earlier this week that Smart's testimony is relevant to the question of Mitchell's competency. Mitchell's competency hearing is not set to begin until Nov. 30, but Smart testified early because she is going on a religious mission for the Mormon church in Paris.
Smart was 14 when she was abducted from her bedroom in the middle of the night. In a surprising turn that transfixed the country, she was rescued in March 2003 after a motorist spotted her walking the streets of a Salt Lake City suburb with Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee.
Smart testified that in the days immediately following the kidnapping, Mitchell held her captive with the help of a 10-foot cable bolted to her leg and tethered to a line stretched between two trees. She said Mitchell threatened to kill her if she yelled or tried to get away.
Smart said Mitchell would rape her three to four times a day. There was some respite — usually when Barzee became upset over Mitchell's relationship with Smart — but it never lasted, Smart said.
Mitchell is charged in state court with kidnapping and sexual assault. Last year, he was indicted on federal charges of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines. In both the state and federal cases, experts have split over Mitchell's competency.
Mitchell's lawyers maintain he is incompetent and suggested that evidence of his delusions can be found in his religious rambling and writings, including a 27-page manifesto he called "The Book of Emmanuel David Isaiah."
Smart said he read from the book repeatedly during her captivity, often sang hymns and laced his conversations with religious language. Throughout her captivity, Smart was forced to wear a white, ankle-length robe, a head scarf and two veils across her face.
"He told me he was a prophet," Smart said under cross-examination by Mitchell's lawyer. "He said he was the voice of God on Earth and that he would reign over God's children until Jesus came."
But she also said his religious revelations seemed to come only when he wanted something, or when he was trying to calm Barzee. Smart said she believed Mitchell always knew that he could be punished for her kidnapping and understood how the court system worked.
She said he gave her an alias — Augustine Marshall — and told her what to say to police if they were ever questioned. He also bragged about skirting previous accusations of sexual abuse and fooling others, Smart said.
Never in nine months did Mitchell appear confused or out of control, Smart testified: "He was a very capable, intelligent human being."
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Julie Corey Arrested for Cutting Baby from Mother's Womb
WORCESTER, Mass. — A woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her mother's womb has been ordered held on $500,000 cash bail.
Julie Corey was arraigned on a kidnapping charge Wednesday in Worcester after being extradited to Massachusetts from New Hampshire.
Authorities arrested Corey on July 29 after finding her with the baby at a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H.
DNA tests confirmed that the baby was cut from the womb of Darlene Haynes, who was found dead in her Worcester home two days earlier.
Prosecutors have declined to say whether they expect to charge Corey in Haynes' killing.
Corey's attorney said she had "something of a tortured childhood" and is the mother of five children.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WORCESTER, Mass.
A woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her mother's womb has agreed to return to Massachusetts from New Hampshire to face charges.
Julie Corey had the baby girl with her when she was arrested at a New Hampshire homeless shelter on July 29. DNA tests have confirmed that the baby was cut from the womb of Darlene Haynes, who was found dead in her Worcester home two days earlier.
Tim Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr., said arrangements are being made to bring Corey back within a few days. She will then be arraigned on the kidnapping charge.
Connolly declined to say whether prosecutors expect to charge Corey in Haynes' killing.
Julie Corey was arraigned on a kidnapping charge Wednesday in Worcester after being extradited to Massachusetts from New Hampshire.
Authorities arrested Corey on July 29 after finding her with the baby at a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H.
DNA tests confirmed that the baby was cut from the womb of Darlene Haynes, who was found dead in her Worcester home two days earlier.
Prosecutors have declined to say whether they expect to charge Corey in Haynes' killing.
Corey's attorney said she had "something of a tortured childhood" and is the mother of five children.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WORCESTER, Mass.
A woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her mother's womb has agreed to return to Massachusetts from New Hampshire to face charges.
Julie Corey had the baby girl with her when she was arrested at a New Hampshire homeless shelter on July 29. DNA tests have confirmed that the baby was cut from the womb of Darlene Haynes, who was found dead in her Worcester home two days earlier.
Tim Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr., said arrangements are being made to bring Corey back within a few days. She will then be arraigned on the kidnapping charge.
Connolly declined to say whether prosecutors expect to charge Corey in Haynes' killing.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Melissa Huckaby Indicted for Kidnapping, Raping & Killing 8-year-old
A grand jury has indicted a Sunday school teacher on charges she kidnapped, raped and killed an 8-year-old girl and drugged two other people.
Melissa Huckaby broke down in tears Monday as Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus read the indictment against her. The reading came after prosecutors convened a grand jury last month to determine whether Huckaby would stand trial.
Lofthus said the grand jury transcript would remain sealed. No trial date has been set.
Huckaby, 28, is accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, a playmate of Huckaby's young daughter. Sandra went missing in March in Tracy, her hometown in Northern California. A massive search for her ended 10 days later when her body was found stuffed in a black suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond near the mobile home park where she lived.
Defense attorney Sam Behar asked Lofthus to delay setting a trial date, saying he has not read the indictment or lengthy transcript because he's in the middle of another trial.
But Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa said he delivered a copy of the indictment to Behar's office earlier this month. "He's had a lot of time to read this indictment," Testa told Lofthus.
The judge then proceeded to read the indictment charges to a weeping Huckaby, who appeared in court with two fresh scratches above her right eyebrow. Neither Behar nor Testa would comment on the nature of Huckaby's injuries after Monday's hearing. A gag order barring attorneys, investigators and potential witnesses from commenting on the case remains in effect.
Huckaby in June pleaded not guilty to killing Sandra as well as to charges that she previously had drugged a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man, whom police believe she had been dating. The girl and Huckaby lived in the same mobile park.
Huckaby is charged with two counts of furnishing someone a harmful substance and one count of child endangerment in the drugging cases.
In the case involving Sandra Cantu, Huckaby is charged with murder with the special circumstances of rape, kidnapping and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14, which could make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Sandra was last seen on a surveillance camera skipping near her home just five doors down from the defendant.
On Monday, Huckaby entered the courtroom smiling, but her demeanor became tearful and somber as the indictment was read and debate on her next court appearance ensued.
Testa said the district attorney's office is treating the case as if it will be a death penalty case, but no decision is expected for at least two months.
Prosecutors convened a grand jury instead of holding a preliminary hearing in the case to ensure a speedy trial and avoid a possible change of venue. Testa also told Lofthus he wants a speedy trial because the case involves minors and should be made a priority.
Lofthus countered that it would be premature to set a trial within 30 days because Behar had not seen the indictment or the voluminous grand jury testimony.
"We need to do the case one time, and we need to have the case done right," the judge said. "The defense needs time to prepare."
Lofthus then scheduled a Sept. 10 hearing to discuss possible trial dates. Huckaby remains in the San Joaquin County Jail without bail.
Jeffery Dickson Convicted of Raping & Sodomizing 7-year-old
Greene County jurors have convicted a Springfield man accused of kidnapping, raping and sodomizing a 7-year-old-girl in April 2008.
The eight-man, four-woman jury found Jeffery A. Dickson, 39, guilty of child kidnapping, forcible rape and two counts of forcible sodomy. A sentencing hearing on Oct. 23 will determine whether he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Dickson — who’d been relatively sanguine over four days of testimony — stood, stoic, as Greene County Circuit Judge Michael Cordonnier read off the convictions to a packed courtroom.
Dickson will appeal, his public defender said.
Earlier today, attorneys presented their closing arguments to the jury, which deliberated for just over two hours before announcing the verdict.
In his argument, Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Russ Dempsey methodically laid out the evidence against Dickson.
How several witnesses described Dickson being present at the North Kansas Expressway home where an all-night card game was taking place on April 5, 2008. How the girl, now 8, also was there, having been brought by her grandmother.
Dickson allegedly brought the girl Kool-Aid and helped her with the computer at various points. He also allegedly brought a cousin to the West Nichols Street home where the attack later occurred, selling him a TV.
Dempsey recounted the testimony of the alleged victim, who took the stand and described how “Jeff” came to the window of a bedroom she was playing in. He promised her a Barbie doll if she’d come with him, she said.
Dickson then allegedly took the girl to the home at 1024 W. Nichols St. — the owner wasn’t there — raped and sodomized her. He then allegedly choked her to unconsciousness and set the house on fire, an allegation for which he is not charged due to a lack on concrete physical evidence.
“Quite honestly, I don’t care if an accelerant was used,” Dempsey said, referring to fuel investigators believe was used to start the blaze. “I don’t care if he used a blow torch. I don’t care if he started it with a single match. I don’t care if a bolt of lightning struck the house.
“The fact of the matter is that (the girl) was raped and sodomized, then left inside the house when it caught fire.”
Testimony indicated the girl picked Dickson out of a photo lineup after the attack.
Lastly, Dempsey discussed a partial DNA profile found on the girl’s thigh after the attack. Because the sample was scant, analysts were not able to build a full DNA profile.
However, they performed a Y-chromosome test on the swab, and found it matched DNA on Dickson’s Y-chromosome.
That same profile would be found on any male relatives in Dickson’s paternal lineage, the analyst said. Additionally, it might be found in 1-in-3,636 individuals.
Prosecutors argue the coincidence is too great for it to have come from anyone but Dickson.
Public defender Rod Hackathorn, meanwhile, argued the girl had been swayed into believing Dickson was her attacker.
“What this case has been about from the defense standpoint from day one has been whether or not Jeff Dickson committed this crime,” Hackathorn said. “What this case has not been about is whether or not something happened to (the girl).”
He noted the child was the sole eyewitness who could say what happened to her in the early morning hours of April 6, 2008, and pointed out changes in her story from the attack until Dickson’s trial.
Prominent in this argument was the girl’s interview at Springfield’s Child Advocacy Center. Asked if she’d ever seen the man who attacked her in that interview, the girl said she hadn’t seen him until he came to her window.
In testimony, she referred to Dickson by name.
But prosecutors noted the girl described Dickson to her mother as she lay in a hospital bed shortly after the attack. That description allegedly involved a man who’d given her Kool-Aid, and was wearing a “do-rag,” as Dickson was that night.
Hackathorn suggested the girl was swayed by her grandmother, who allegedly had begun to suspect Dickson before she met the girl at the hospital.
“Don’t you think that grandma wanted to give a name?” he said. “Well, Jeff is the easy target. They convicted Jeff as soon as grandma got to the hospital.”
Prior to attorney’s arguments, Greene County Circuit Judge Michael Cordonnier ruled Hackathorn would not be allowed to suggest Dickson’s brother might have carried out the attack.
Hackathorn had planned to argue the brother occasionally hung out at the house from which the girl was abducted, was familiar with the West Nichols Street home where the assault occurred, and lived near the girl’s grandmother.
But Cordonnier ruled “there has been no proof that anyone other than the defendant committed any act connected with this crime.”
“The court is not going to permit that argument,” he said. “To do otherwise would invite the jury to enter into conjecture.”
Hackathorn instead referred to foreign DNA found under the victim’s fingernails after the assault. Analysis of the material found it wasn’t Dickson’s.
Hackathorn suggested that the girl grabbed her attacker’s hands when he choked her, and that the DNA under her fingernails belongs to the perpetrator.
“I know your heart aches for what the little girl went through,” he told jurors. “I know you want to do something for that family. That family wants more than anything for Jeff Dickson to go to prison.
“That’s the easy thing to do: to come back with a guilty verdict. But sometimes the hard thing to do is also the right thing to do.”
In a rebuttal argument, Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Jill Patterson once again summarized the state’s evidence, then posed a question.
“How does a 7-year-old wearing jeans end up with DNA matching a person who did all those suspicious things you heard about that night? she asked. “The person who took an interest in that little girl. The person who was in the same home with her and had been to 1024 West Nichols that evening.
“How does she end up with DNA on her skin matching that person? I submit to you that you know how that DNA got on (the girl).”
The eight-man, four-woman jury found Jeffery A. Dickson, 39, guilty of child kidnapping, forcible rape and two counts of forcible sodomy. A sentencing hearing on Oct. 23 will determine whether he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Dickson — who’d been relatively sanguine over four days of testimony — stood, stoic, as Greene County Circuit Judge Michael Cordonnier read off the convictions to a packed courtroom.
Dickson will appeal, his public defender said.
Earlier today, attorneys presented their closing arguments to the jury, which deliberated for just over two hours before announcing the verdict.
In his argument, Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Russ Dempsey methodically laid out the evidence against Dickson.
How several witnesses described Dickson being present at the North Kansas Expressway home where an all-night card game was taking place on April 5, 2008. How the girl, now 8, also was there, having been brought by her grandmother.
Dickson allegedly brought the girl Kool-Aid and helped her with the computer at various points. He also allegedly brought a cousin to the West Nichols Street home where the attack later occurred, selling him a TV.
Dempsey recounted the testimony of the alleged victim, who took the stand and described how “Jeff” came to the window of a bedroom she was playing in. He promised her a Barbie doll if she’d come with him, she said.
Dickson then allegedly took the girl to the home at 1024 W. Nichols St. — the owner wasn’t there — raped and sodomized her. He then allegedly choked her to unconsciousness and set the house on fire, an allegation for which he is not charged due to a lack on concrete physical evidence.
“Quite honestly, I don’t care if an accelerant was used,” Dempsey said, referring to fuel investigators believe was used to start the blaze. “I don’t care if he used a blow torch. I don’t care if he started it with a single match. I don’t care if a bolt of lightning struck the house.
“The fact of the matter is that (the girl) was raped and sodomized, then left inside the house when it caught fire.”
Testimony indicated the girl picked Dickson out of a photo lineup after the attack.
Lastly, Dempsey discussed a partial DNA profile found on the girl’s thigh after the attack. Because the sample was scant, analysts were not able to build a full DNA profile.
However, they performed a Y-chromosome test on the swab, and found it matched DNA on Dickson’s Y-chromosome.
That same profile would be found on any male relatives in Dickson’s paternal lineage, the analyst said. Additionally, it might be found in 1-in-3,636 individuals.
Prosecutors argue the coincidence is too great for it to have come from anyone but Dickson.
Public defender Rod Hackathorn, meanwhile, argued the girl had been swayed into believing Dickson was her attacker.
“What this case has been about from the defense standpoint from day one has been whether or not Jeff Dickson committed this crime,” Hackathorn said. “What this case has not been about is whether or not something happened to (the girl).”
He noted the child was the sole eyewitness who could say what happened to her in the early morning hours of April 6, 2008, and pointed out changes in her story from the attack until Dickson’s trial.
Prominent in this argument was the girl’s interview at Springfield’s Child Advocacy Center. Asked if she’d ever seen the man who attacked her in that interview, the girl said she hadn’t seen him until he came to her window.
In testimony, she referred to Dickson by name.
But prosecutors noted the girl described Dickson to her mother as she lay in a hospital bed shortly after the attack. That description allegedly involved a man who’d given her Kool-Aid, and was wearing a “do-rag,” as Dickson was that night.
Hackathorn suggested the girl was swayed by her grandmother, who allegedly had begun to suspect Dickson before she met the girl at the hospital.
“Don’t you think that grandma wanted to give a name?” he said. “Well, Jeff is the easy target. They convicted Jeff as soon as grandma got to the hospital.”
Prior to attorney’s arguments, Greene County Circuit Judge Michael Cordonnier ruled Hackathorn would not be allowed to suggest Dickson’s brother might have carried out the attack.
Hackathorn had planned to argue the brother occasionally hung out at the house from which the girl was abducted, was familiar with the West Nichols Street home where the assault occurred, and lived near the girl’s grandmother.
But Cordonnier ruled “there has been no proof that anyone other than the defendant committed any act connected with this crime.”
“The court is not going to permit that argument,” he said. “To do otherwise would invite the jury to enter into conjecture.”
Hackathorn instead referred to foreign DNA found under the victim’s fingernails after the assault. Analysis of the material found it wasn’t Dickson’s.
Hackathorn suggested that the girl grabbed her attacker’s hands when he choked her, and that the DNA under her fingernails belongs to the perpetrator.
“I know your heart aches for what the little girl went through,” he told jurors. “I know you want to do something for that family. That family wants more than anything for Jeff Dickson to go to prison.
“That’s the easy thing to do: to come back with a guilty verdict. But sometimes the hard thing to do is also the right thing to do.”
In a rebuttal argument, Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Jill Patterson once again summarized the state’s evidence, then posed a question.
“How does a 7-year-old wearing jeans end up with DNA matching a person who did all those suspicious things you heard about that night? she asked. “The person who took an interest in that little girl. The person who was in the same home with her and had been to 1024 West Nichols that evening.
“How does she end up with DNA on her skin matching that person? I submit to you that you know how that DNA got on (the girl).”
Michael Crites Arrested for Forcible Sodomy on 10-year-old
A 26-year-old Springfield man accused of sexually assaulting a boy near a Jordan Creek swimming spot appeared in court today, waiving his right to a probable cause hearing.
Michael W. Crites is charged with kidnapping, two counts of forcible sodomy and two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy.
Prosecutors say he snatched a 10-year-old boy from a swimming hole near the intersection of Meadowmere and Hillcrest streets on July 15, then took him into the woods and sodomized him.
Crites allegedly told the boy not to scream or it would “be worse,” according to a probable cause statement filed with the charges.
The boy ran home and told his mother of the assault.
In an interview with police, Crites allegedly said he’d been walking in the woods with the boy,
“Crites was unsure how (the boy) ended up on the ground, but stated he sat next to (the child) and touched (the boy’s) anus with his hand,” the probable cause statement said. “Crites realized what he was doing, got up, and ran away.”
Crites is scheduled to be arraigned in Greene County Circuit Court on Aug. 28. He’s being held in the Greene County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
Michael W. Crites is charged with kidnapping, two counts of forcible sodomy and two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy.
Prosecutors say he snatched a 10-year-old boy from a swimming hole near the intersection of Meadowmere and Hillcrest streets on July 15, then took him into the woods and sodomized him.
Crites allegedly told the boy not to scream or it would “be worse,” according to a probable cause statement filed with the charges.
The boy ran home and told his mother of the assault.
In an interview with police, Crites allegedly said he’d been walking in the woods with the boy,
“Crites was unsure how (the boy) ended up on the ground, but stated he sat next to (the child) and touched (the boy’s) anus with his hand,” the probable cause statement said. “Crites realized what he was doing, got up, and ran away.”
Crites is scheduled to be arraigned in Greene County Circuit Court on Aug. 28. He’s being held in the Greene County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
Kenneth Delaine Stewart Sentenced to 45 Years for Sexual Assaut of 7-year-old
A Dayton man pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to 45 years in prison in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 7-year-old northeast Harris County girl abducted from a bus stop in April 2008.
Kenneth Delaine Stewart, 27, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in state District Judge Marc Carter's court to super aggravated sexual assault. The enhanced charge mandates that he serve the entire prison sentence, prosecutors said.
Assistant District Attorney Wendy Baker said the girl's father gave a victim's impact statement, in which he thanked Stewart for letting the girl live.
Stewart's defense attorney, Alvin Nunnery, could not be reached for comment.
Investigators and members of Stewart's family said he confessed to tricking the Summerwood Elementary student into getting into his car in the Fall Creek subdivision on April 7, 2008, from a bus stop in the 14500 block of Logan Falls, police said.
More than an hour later, he dropped the girl off in Baytown, 20 miles from her home.
Clothing missing
According to court documents, some of the girl's clothing was missing when she was released and her hair had been cut. A subsequent medical examination determined the child had been assaulted.
Stewart spent a year in jail in Liberty County for assault. He also had served time in jail for burglary, theft, child endangerment and drunken driving,
His mother Theresa Jackson has said her son told his grandmother “everything happened fast” and that the child reminded him of his own 3-year-old daughter.
Before the 7-year-old was abducted, Stewart had offered a 9-year-old girl $100 to touch her genitals, police said. While she ran to alert her parents, Stewart kidnapped the 7-year-old, police said, telling her that her mother had a flat tire and sent him to pick her up.
Kenneth Delaine Stewart, 27, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in state District Judge Marc Carter's court to super aggravated sexual assault. The enhanced charge mandates that he serve the entire prison sentence, prosecutors said.
Assistant District Attorney Wendy Baker said the girl's father gave a victim's impact statement, in which he thanked Stewart for letting the girl live.
Stewart's defense attorney, Alvin Nunnery, could not be reached for comment.
Investigators and members of Stewart's family said he confessed to tricking the Summerwood Elementary student into getting into his car in the Fall Creek subdivision on April 7, 2008, from a bus stop in the 14500 block of Logan Falls, police said.
More than an hour later, he dropped the girl off in Baytown, 20 miles from her home.
Clothing missing
According to court documents, some of the girl's clothing was missing when she was released and her hair had been cut. A subsequent medical examination determined the child had been assaulted.
Stewart spent a year in jail in Liberty County for assault. He also had served time in jail for burglary, theft, child endangerment and drunken driving,
His mother Theresa Jackson has said her son told his grandmother “everything happened fast” and that the child reminded him of his own 3-year-old daughter.
Before the 7-year-old was abducted, Stewart had offered a 9-year-old girl $100 to touch her genitals, police said. While she ran to alert her parents, Stewart kidnapped the 7-year-old, police said, telling her that her mother had a flat tire and sent him to pick her up.
Sex Offender William Davis Sentenced to 120 More Years
A convicted sex offender already serving 40 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl at an Ardsley motel has been sentenced to another 120 years in prison for crimes that came to light as a result of that case.
A federal judge in Manhattan today sentenced William Davis, 48, of Manhattan, for his conviction at trial on charges of producing child pornography, possession of child pornography, and being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.
The production of child porn charge refers to explicit photos of Davis' 4-year-old step-daughter that Ardsley and Westchester County police found after they arrested Davis for the Dec. 28, 2006, kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl off a Brooklyn street.
Davis took the girl to the Ardsley Acres Motel where he raped her.
Ardsley detectives later found additional child pornography on computer disks and five bullets in a safe that Davis had left at his ex-wife's apartment in Manhattan.
He was convicted in August 2007 in state Supreme Court in Westchester County for the Ardsley rape and sentenced to 40 years.
The 120-year federal sentence imposed today will run consecutive to the state sentence.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Convicted Sex Offender Questioned After Kidnapping Girl
Tulsa Police took a convicted sex offender into custody for questioning after the kidnapping and possible assault of a young girl.
Police were investigating a report of a missing girl, 18 months to 24 months old, when they came upon the man matching the suspect's description.
Officers say they found him in his vehicle with his pants down. The little girl wasn't wearing any clothes.
She was taken to a Tulsa hospital for an examination.
Police were investigating a report of a missing girl, 18 months to 24 months old, when they came upon the man matching the suspect's description.
Officers say they found him in his vehicle with his pants down. The little girl wasn't wearing any clothes.
She was taken to a Tulsa hospital for an examination.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Rone Nunez Charged with Murder
A Cedar Park man has been indicted by a Williamson County grand jury in connection with the April death of a 9-year-old who was initially believed to have been accidentally electrocuted.
Family members and police told KVUE News the child touched a power line that stands about four feet above the fence around her house on April 25.
But Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said Tuesday that the investigation was expanded after a forensic examination found that Cecilia Izquierdo had been killed. During an autopsy, the medical examiner noticed the girl's throat had been cut. Forensic testing revealed she had also been raped. The Texas Rangers assisted with the investigation, and Rone Nunez, 24, was arrested in May on an unrelated charge and later named a suspect in the case.
"She was not electrocuted. There was not an electrocution," Bradley said. "The information that we received early in the investigation caused us to take another look."
The grand jury indicted Nunez on six counts: capital murder, super aggravated sexual assault of a child, murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, aggravated kidnapping and injury to a child.
Prosecutors said they would not discuss details of the investigation until a trial happens.
Nunez, a Honduran national, was apparently living with the little girl's family when she was killed.
When the 9-year-old's body was found in April, Cedar Park investigators said the little girl had been electrocuted after touching a low hanging power line. Bradley couldn't say why Cedar Park police didn't let others know an alleged killer was still living in their neighborhood.
"The danger of early statements and jumping to conclusions and press releases in these kinds of cases you run the danger of saying something that's not accurate and misleading the public," he said.
Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck says this was an ongoing investigation -- but was not clear on why the public continued to get the wrong information about Izquierdo's death.
"The initial theory by investigators did not pan out, we will certainly admit to that," Fluck said. "We're very pleased that the efforts made in this investigation resulted in an indictment. And we feel it was a very solid case against the suspect and i think that's what matters in the long run."
Super aggravated sexual assault was created through Jessica's Law in 2007 and carries a sentence of 25-99 years or life in prison. Capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison. Neither offense allows for parole.
Family members and police told KVUE News the child touched a power line that stands about four feet above the fence around her house on April 25.
But Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said Tuesday that the investigation was expanded after a forensic examination found that Cecilia Izquierdo had been killed. During an autopsy, the medical examiner noticed the girl's throat had been cut. Forensic testing revealed she had also been raped. The Texas Rangers assisted with the investigation, and Rone Nunez, 24, was arrested in May on an unrelated charge and later named a suspect in the case.
"She was not electrocuted. There was not an electrocution," Bradley said. "The information that we received early in the investigation caused us to take another look."
The grand jury indicted Nunez on six counts: capital murder, super aggravated sexual assault of a child, murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, aggravated kidnapping and injury to a child.
Prosecutors said they would not discuss details of the investigation until a trial happens.
Nunez, a Honduran national, was apparently living with the little girl's family when she was killed.
When the 9-year-old's body was found in April, Cedar Park investigators said the little girl had been electrocuted after touching a low hanging power line. Bradley couldn't say why Cedar Park police didn't let others know an alleged killer was still living in their neighborhood.
"The danger of early statements and jumping to conclusions and press releases in these kinds of cases you run the danger of saying something that's not accurate and misleading the public," he said.
Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck says this was an ongoing investigation -- but was not clear on why the public continued to get the wrong information about Izquierdo's death.
"The initial theory by investigators did not pan out, we will certainly admit to that," Fluck said. "We're very pleased that the efforts made in this investigation resulted in an indictment. And we feel it was a very solid case against the suspect and i think that's what matters in the long run."
Super aggravated sexual assault was created through Jessica's Law in 2007 and carries a sentence of 25-99 years or life in prison. Capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison. Neither offense allows for parole.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Eddie Lucero Accused of Luring Two Children
A man staying at an Albuquerque Motel 6 is accused of luring two young children into his room and molesting a young girl.
Eddie Lucero, 36, is at the Albuquerque Metropolitan Detention Center on a $1 million cash or surety bond.
He is charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual contact of a minor, attempted criminal sexual penetration of a minor and attempt to commit a felony.
Lucero was staying at the Motel 6 on the Pan American Freeway in Northeast Albuquerque when he spotted a 6-year old girl and her 4-year old brother walking the hallway to get ice on Sunday, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators said Lucero approached the kids, told them to be quiet, and took them to his room.
The children’s mother was worried when the kids didn’t come back, so she asked the motel employees if they had seen them.
One employee saw the kids going into the man’s room.
The mother pounded on the door until her little girl answered, she then took her kids out of the room.
The 6-year old girl told police Lucero made her brother wait in the bathroom, while he touched her.
She told investigators she was scared the whole time.
Albuquerque Police said that reporting crimes against children is crucial.
“The primary thing is to get professional help from your police department, I cannot say that enough,” APD spokesperson John Walsh said. “We have professionals on the department that will deal with it. If it is happening to one child, in almost all cases, it'll be happening to many other children by the same person.”
The manager of the Motel 6 had no comment.
Lucero has a prior criminal record that includes aggravated battery, several DWIs and assault.
If you know a child who’s been a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit with APD at (505) 924-6000.
Eddie Lucero, 36, is at the Albuquerque Metropolitan Detention Center on a $1 million cash or surety bond.
He is charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual contact of a minor, attempted criminal sexual penetration of a minor and attempt to commit a felony.
Lucero was staying at the Motel 6 on the Pan American Freeway in Northeast Albuquerque when he spotted a 6-year old girl and her 4-year old brother walking the hallway to get ice on Sunday, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators said Lucero approached the kids, told them to be quiet, and took them to his room.
The children’s mother was worried when the kids didn’t come back, so she asked the motel employees if they had seen them.
One employee saw the kids going into the man’s room.
The mother pounded on the door until her little girl answered, she then took her kids out of the room.
The 6-year old girl told police Lucero made her brother wait in the bathroom, while he touched her.
She told investigators she was scared the whole time.
Albuquerque Police said that reporting crimes against children is crucial.
“The primary thing is to get professional help from your police department, I cannot say that enough,” APD spokesperson John Walsh said. “We have professionals on the department that will deal with it. If it is happening to one child, in almost all cases, it'll be happening to many other children by the same person.”
The manager of the Motel 6 had no comment.
Lucero has a prior criminal record that includes aggravated battery, several DWIs and assault.
If you know a child who’s been a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit with APD at (505) 924-6000.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Dana Stevenson Tries to Stab Young Boy in Grocery Store
A young boy received minor injuries from a woman who allegedly held a knife to his throat in the middle of a crowded grocery store in Vallejo, according to authorities.
The Vallejo Police Department says they received reports just after noon Saturday that a woman was trying to stab people inside a Grocery Outlet at 66 Admiral Callaghan Lane. When officers arrived, they say they found store employees and shoppers holding down 47-year-old Dana Stevenson.
Stevenson allegedly walked into the produce section of the story and put a seven-year-old boy in a chokehold and placed a steak knife against his neck.
Witnesses say she began "rambling" about Chinese organized crime and Michael Jackson while dragging the boy from one side of the produce section to the other.
The boy's stunned parents began grappling with the woman. The boy's mother grabbed the suspect's knife hand, sustaining a small laceration in her palm, and the father wrestled the suspect's arms away from the boy.
Other bystanders jumped in to restrain her until police officers arrived.
The child sustained minor scrapes and abrasions on his neck and was shaken up, but otherwise unharmed, according to police. The family says they didn't know the suspect.
Stevenson was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon
The Vallejo Police Department says they received reports just after noon Saturday that a woman was trying to stab people inside a Grocery Outlet at 66 Admiral Callaghan Lane. When officers arrived, they say they found store employees and shoppers holding down 47-year-old Dana Stevenson.
Stevenson allegedly walked into the produce section of the story and put a seven-year-old boy in a chokehold and placed a steak knife against his neck.
Witnesses say she began "rambling" about Chinese organized crime and Michael Jackson while dragging the boy from one side of the produce section to the other.
The boy's stunned parents began grappling with the woman. The boy's mother grabbed the suspect's knife hand, sustaining a small laceration in her palm, and the father wrestled the suspect's arms away from the boy.
Other bystanders jumped in to restrain her until police officers arrived.
The child sustained minor scrapes and abrasions on his neck and was shaken up, but otherwise unharmed, according to police. The family says they didn't know the suspect.
Stevenson was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon
Friday, July 24, 2009
Four Boys Charged with Sexual Assault on 8-year-old
With four Phoenix, Arizona, boys ages 9 to 14 charged with sexual assault on an 8-year-old girl, a prosecutor vowed Thursday his office will "seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation."
Police say a girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex where she was sexually assaulted.
"This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community," said Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas.
According to Phoenix police, the girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex on July 16. The four boys, who had offered the girl chewing gum, allegedly restrained and sexually assaulted her. At a news conference about the case Wednesday, police did not release any information on the girl's condition, but officers called the case one of the worst they have investigated in many years.
The 14-year-old was charged as an adult and will face two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping, Thomas said Thursday. The other three boys were charged in juvenile court with sexual assault, and two of them also were charged with kidnapping, Thomas said.
All the suspects except for the 14-year-old live in the same apartment complex, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
The victim and the boys charged are all from refugee families that have come to the United States from the war-torn West African nation of Liberia, police said.
Detectives said the girl was placed in the custody of Phoenix child protective services after the attack because of her parents' attitude toward her.
"The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said.
The Phoenix Police Department has a community response unit that assists with such sensitive cases. "They made some initial contacts with the refugee community. They acted as liaison and were present when the child protective services agency took the victim," Hill said.
Protective services officers "will determine what's going to happen in the days ahead and they'll look at the past history with that family, if there is one," he said.
CNN affiliate KTVK said it interviewed the girl's 23-year-old sister, who said she was baby-sitting the girl at the time of the alleged attack.
The sister, who was not identified by name by the station, expressed mixed feelings about her sister's attack. "I came to her and said it's not good for you to be following guys because you are still little," the sister told KTVK. She also said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because "we are the same people."
"When she comes back I'm going to tell her don't ever do that again because all of us, we are the same family, we are from the same place. Now she is just bringing confusion among us. Now the other people, they don't want to see her," the sister told KTVK.
Tony Weedor, a Liberian who fled civil war with his family and now lives in the Denver, Colorado, area, told CNN that cultural aspects are deep in the case. In Liberia rape was not against the law until 2006, he said.
"The family [believes they] have been shamed by her, not a crime, but the name of the family has been degraded and news will get back to Liberia. And they're more concerned about that than the crime," said Weedor, who is co-founder of the CenterPoint International Foundation, which aids Liberian refugees in the United States and provides aid for those still in Liberia.
Edwin Sele, the deputy ambassador of Liberia to the United States, also responded to the incident.
"Having heard the story myself, I'm outraged," he said. "In Liberia, the family and law enforcement officers would be embracing the victim. To hear that the family is not doing that, that should be an isolated case."
Resettlement groups around the country help refugees settle into life in the United States. Among them is the Refugee and Immigrants Relief Center in Phoenix, where Omar Dolleh, a refugee from Sierra Leone in West Africa, is the program director.
As a part of the refugee orientation program, he said, his group touches upon the laws in the United States, but the most immediate goal for refugees and organizations that help them is finding employment and places to live.
Police say a girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex where she was sexually assaulted.
"This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community," said Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas.
According to Phoenix police, the girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex on July 16. The four boys, who had offered the girl chewing gum, allegedly restrained and sexually assaulted her. At a news conference about the case Wednesday, police did not release any information on the girl's condition, but officers called the case one of the worst they have investigated in many years.
The 14-year-old was charged as an adult and will face two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping, Thomas said Thursday. The other three boys were charged in juvenile court with sexual assault, and two of them also were charged with kidnapping, Thomas said.
All the suspects except for the 14-year-old live in the same apartment complex, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
The victim and the boys charged are all from refugee families that have come to the United States from the war-torn West African nation of Liberia, police said.
Detectives said the girl was placed in the custody of Phoenix child protective services after the attack because of her parents' attitude toward her.
"The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said.
The Phoenix Police Department has a community response unit that assists with such sensitive cases. "They made some initial contacts with the refugee community. They acted as liaison and were present when the child protective services agency took the victim," Hill said.
Protective services officers "will determine what's going to happen in the days ahead and they'll look at the past history with that family, if there is one," he said.
CNN affiliate KTVK said it interviewed the girl's 23-year-old sister, who said she was baby-sitting the girl at the time of the alleged attack.
The sister, who was not identified by name by the station, expressed mixed feelings about her sister's attack. "I came to her and said it's not good for you to be following guys because you are still little," the sister told KTVK. She also said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because "we are the same people."
"When she comes back I'm going to tell her don't ever do that again because all of us, we are the same family, we are from the same place. Now she is just bringing confusion among us. Now the other people, they don't want to see her," the sister told KTVK.
Tony Weedor, a Liberian who fled civil war with his family and now lives in the Denver, Colorado, area, told CNN that cultural aspects are deep in the case. In Liberia rape was not against the law until 2006, he said.
"The family [believes they] have been shamed by her, not a crime, but the name of the family has been degraded and news will get back to Liberia. And they're more concerned about that than the crime," said Weedor, who is co-founder of the CenterPoint International Foundation, which aids Liberian refugees in the United States and provides aid for those still in Liberia.
Edwin Sele, the deputy ambassador of Liberia to the United States, also responded to the incident.
"Having heard the story myself, I'm outraged," he said. "In Liberia, the family and law enforcement officers would be embracing the victim. To hear that the family is not doing that, that should be an isolated case."
Resettlement groups around the country help refugees settle into life in the United States. Among them is the Refugee and Immigrants Relief Center in Phoenix, where Omar Dolleh, a refugee from Sierra Leone in West Africa, is the program director.
As a part of the refugee orientation program, he said, his group touches upon the laws in the United States, but the most immediate goal for refugees and organizations that help them is finding employment and places to live.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Jared Yaffe Accused of Paying Baby Sitters to Bring Him Children to Molest
A San Diego man accused of paying baby sitters to bring him children to molest has pleaded not guilty to 20 criminal counts.
Jared Yaffe (YA'-fee), 30, entered pleas Tuesday to child molestation, kidnapping for sexual acts and production of child pornography. He faces up to 129 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors contend Yaffe ran a child-porn ring last year and his five victims included a 3-year-old.
He fled the country but was arrested in Brazil in May. He's jailed on $5 million bail.
Attorney Knut Johnson said outside court it was unclear whether he would continue to represent Yaffe.
Another man, Aaron Zendejas (zehn-DAY'-hahs), 24, is accused of providing Yaffe with a victim and has pleaded not guilty to several charges.
———
Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com
Jared Yaffe (YA'-fee), 30, entered pleas Tuesday to child molestation, kidnapping for sexual acts and production of child pornography. He faces up to 129 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors contend Yaffe ran a child-porn ring last year and his five victims included a 3-year-old.
He fled the country but was arrested in Brazil in May. He's jailed on $5 million bail.
Attorney Knut Johnson said outside court it was unclear whether he would continue to represent Yaffe.
Another man, Aaron Zendejas (zehn-DAY'-hahs), 24, is accused of providing Yaffe with a victim and has pleaded not guilty to several charges.
———
Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Alandus Weaver Charged with Murder of His 9-month-old Daughter
The father of 9-month-old girl who’s been missing for about a month has been charged with capital murder in her disappearance.
Dallas police Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther said Thursday that Denton County prosecutors filed the charge against 20-year-old Alandus Weaver.
Daisja Weaver has been missing since early last month after her 19-year-old mother, Tamaira Creagh, said a man broke into her apartment and kidnapped the baby.
Police eventually arrested Creagh on an evidence tampering charge, and she told police they dumped the child’s body into Lake Lewisville with a sandbag tied to it after she died while in her father’s care.
The father, 20-year-old Alandus Weaver, was arrested on suspicion of tampering or fabricating evidence to hinder an investigation.
The search of the lake for the child’s body has been abandoned.
Dallas police Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther said Thursday that Denton County prosecutors filed the charge against 20-year-old Alandus Weaver.
Daisja Weaver has been missing since early last month after her 19-year-old mother, Tamaira Creagh, said a man broke into her apartment and kidnapped the baby.
Police eventually arrested Creagh on an evidence tampering charge, and she told police they dumped the child’s body into Lake Lewisville with a sandbag tied to it after she died while in her father’s care.
The father, 20-year-old Alandus Weaver, was arrested on suspicion of tampering or fabricating evidence to hinder an investigation.
The search of the lake for the child’s body has been abandoned.
Ricky Blackwell Arrested for Killing 8-year-old
A man put an 8-year-old girl in a headlock Wednesday and shot her to death, then shot himself in the stomach, authorities said.
The girl’s father is dating Ricky Lee Blackwell’s estranged wife. Spartanburg County deputies said Blackwell shot the girl twice in the driveway of a home where he had taken her and his estranged wife to swim and play. The home is in Chesnee, about 60 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C.
Several adults and children saw the shooting and pointed officers toward Blackwell, investigators said.
Blackwell shot himself as police closed in. He was taken to a hospital but his condition wasn’t released.
The coroner’s office identified the girl as Heather Brooke Center of Woodruff.
Investigators said they weren’t sure of Blackwell’s motive.
“I don’t know where you can go in the mind to justify shooting a child,” said Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright. “I don’t understand how you can get so angry.”
The sheriff said Blackwell, 50, has a long criminal record. He was charged with murder and kidnapping. No one answered his phone Wednesday night.
“As soon as they called his name, I knew him,” Wright said. “I’d heard that boy’s name before.”
The girl’s father is dating Ricky Lee Blackwell’s estranged wife. Spartanburg County deputies said Blackwell shot the girl twice in the driveway of a home where he had taken her and his estranged wife to swim and play. The home is in Chesnee, about 60 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C.
Several adults and children saw the shooting and pointed officers toward Blackwell, investigators said.
Blackwell shot himself as police closed in. He was taken to a hospital but his condition wasn’t released.
The coroner’s office identified the girl as Heather Brooke Center of Woodruff.
Investigators said they weren’t sure of Blackwell’s motive.
“I don’t know where you can go in the mind to justify shooting a child,” said Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright. “I don’t understand how you can get so angry.”
The sheriff said Blackwell, 50, has a long criminal record. He was charged with murder and kidnapping. No one answered his phone Wednesday night.
“As soon as they called his name, I knew him,” Wright said. “I’d heard that boy’s name before.”
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Deputies Arrested 33 Convicted Sex Offenders
HAMMOND, La.
Over the past few weeks Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s deputies have been working with other law enforcement agencies to arrest 33 convicted sex offenders that have not fulfilled their responsibilities.
“Convicted sex offenders have certain obligations that they must perform which are imposed on them by the courts,” said Sheriff Daniel Edwards. “For example, they must keep the sheriff’s office informed as to their current residence, employment, and other information.”
Edwards said the convicted sex offenders they have recently targeted have in some way not met their obligations, resulting in criminal violation.
One of the recently arrested convicted sex offenders was David L. Beauchamp. In 1998, Beauchamp was convicted for carnal knowledge of a juvenile and was registered as a sex offender.
According to Dawn Panepinto, a spokeswoman for the TPSO, Beauchamp failed to comply with his obligations as a sex offender and was arrested on June 9. After his June 9 arrest, Beauchamp made bond, completed his sex offender registration responsibilities and was released, Panepinto said.
On June 26, Beauchamp was arrested and charged with kidnapping, after he removed a small child from the custody of an ex-wife and refused to return the child to its mother, Panepinto said. Since Beauchamp is only a step father to the child, he has no legal custody rights to the child.
Sheriff Edwards said this case demonstrates how dangerous sex offenders can be and how “we must not let our guard down with regard to convicted sex offenders.”
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Justin Shine Charged with Kidnapping and Attempted Rape of 6-year-old
A man lured his son's 6-year-old friend to an apartment with a promise to show her some pet gerbils, then bound her with tape and leg shackles, injected her with an unknown substance and tried to rape her, but she fled while still chained, authorities said Monday.
Justin Shine, 26, was charged with kidnapping, attempted rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — a hypodermic needle — and resisting arrest.
At his arraignment Monday in Hingham District Court, a prosecutor described in chilling detail what happened after the girl went out Saturday to ride her bike in front of her apartment in Hanover, a middle-class suburb just south of Boston.
Shine was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Wednesday. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.
Assistant District Attorney Sharon Donatelle said the girl told police that Shine, who lived in the same apartment building, saw her outside and yelled out his window, inviting her to see some gerbils. The girl knew Shine as the father of a little boy she often played with in the apartment complex.
Once inside, Shine showed the girl the family's gerbils but then bound her hands with tape, put tape over her mouth, wrapped her arms with a "fishnet-type material" and shackled her ankles with a chain, Donatelle said.
The girl told police that Shine injected her in the hip using a syringe and that she felt "somewhat sleepy" afterward. Donatelle said the syringe is being tested to find out what was in it.
The girl said that after she heard knocking on doors, Shine got a knife and cut the tape off her hands. She said she was crying and Shine told her to "shut up."
"He also told her that she was not going to die today — that he was," Donatelle said. He later let the girl leave, she said.
The girl fled the apartment as police were going door to door looking for her. A man at the complex found her and carried her to police. Her feet were still shackled together, and her arms and legs had blood on them. Police later determined that the blood on the girl was Shine's blood.
"She was very upset and crying," Officer David Zemotel wrote in a police report. "I asked her what had happened and she stated, 'The man took me.'"
The girl then showed police Shine's apartment, Donatelle said.
Police said they arrested Shine after finding him in a bedroom, covered with blood. He had an open wound on his left wrist.
Zemotel said he hit Shine on the head with his gun after Shine ignored police commands and lunged toward officers. Shine had a black eye when he appeared in court Monday.
Police said they found the girl's pink bicycle and Barbie bike helmet in his apartment.
Donatelle said that while Shine was being treated at a hospital, he told a state trooper that he had lured the girl into his apartment and bound her and admitted "he had plans to engage in some sexual activity" but had "second thoughts."
He said he had injected himself with cocaine but didn't admit injecting the girl with anything. He told the trooper it may have been by accident, Donatelle said.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said the girl was taken to a hospital but had been released.
"She escaped, and we hope she's going to be OK, but I'm sure it's going to be a long road for her," Cruz said.
The girl's mother told police she let her daughter ride her bike outside while she put her son down for a nap. When she didn't hear her outside about 20 minutes later, she went outside to look for her, then called police.
Shine looked down and did not speak during his arraignment, except to accept the judge's offer for a court-appointed attorney, William Leonard, who declined to comment to reporters.
Justin Shine, 26, was charged with kidnapping, attempted rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — a hypodermic needle — and resisting arrest.
At his arraignment Monday in Hingham District Court, a prosecutor described in chilling detail what happened after the girl went out Saturday to ride her bike in front of her apartment in Hanover, a middle-class suburb just south of Boston.
Shine was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Wednesday. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.
Assistant District Attorney Sharon Donatelle said the girl told police that Shine, who lived in the same apartment building, saw her outside and yelled out his window, inviting her to see some gerbils. The girl knew Shine as the father of a little boy she often played with in the apartment complex.
Once inside, Shine showed the girl the family's gerbils but then bound her hands with tape, put tape over her mouth, wrapped her arms with a "fishnet-type material" and shackled her ankles with a chain, Donatelle said.
The girl told police that Shine injected her in the hip using a syringe and that she felt "somewhat sleepy" afterward. Donatelle said the syringe is being tested to find out what was in it.
The girl said that after she heard knocking on doors, Shine got a knife and cut the tape off her hands. She said she was crying and Shine told her to "shut up."
"He also told her that she was not going to die today — that he was," Donatelle said. He later let the girl leave, she said.
The girl fled the apartment as police were going door to door looking for her. A man at the complex found her and carried her to police. Her feet were still shackled together, and her arms and legs had blood on them. Police later determined that the blood on the girl was Shine's blood.
"She was very upset and crying," Officer David Zemotel wrote in a police report. "I asked her what had happened and she stated, 'The man took me.'"
The girl then showed police Shine's apartment, Donatelle said.
Police said they arrested Shine after finding him in a bedroom, covered with blood. He had an open wound on his left wrist.
Zemotel said he hit Shine on the head with his gun after Shine ignored police commands and lunged toward officers. Shine had a black eye when he appeared in court Monday.
Police said they found the girl's pink bicycle and Barbie bike helmet in his apartment.
Donatelle said that while Shine was being treated at a hospital, he told a state trooper that he had lured the girl into his apartment and bound her and admitted "he had plans to engage in some sexual activity" but had "second thoughts."
He said he had injected himself with cocaine but didn't admit injecting the girl with anything. He told the trooper it may have been by accident, Donatelle said.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said the girl was taken to a hospital but had been released.
"She escaped, and we hope she's going to be OK, but I'm sure it's going to be a long road for her," Cruz said.
The girl's mother told police she let her daughter ride her bike outside while she put her son down for a nap. When she didn't hear her outside about 20 minutes later, she went outside to look for her, then called police.
Shine looked down and did not speak during his arraignment, except to accept the judge's offer for a court-appointed attorney, William Leonard, who declined to comment to reporters.
______________________
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Kenny D King Arrested for Child Sexual Assault
On Saturday at 12:25 p.m. Madison police arrested Kenny D. King in connection with a child prostitution case, according to an incident report.
Police had been looking for information regarding King and his whereabouts and had released a sketch of him on Friday. King was known to have frequented Madison Metro bus transfer points as well as the cities of Waunakee and Sun Prairie.
King, 30, who uses the alias "Country Cane" or "Cane" is being held at the Dane County Jail on the following tentative charges: trafficking of a child, 2nd degree sexual assault of a child, physical abuse of a child, and kidnapping.
________________________
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10607811
Police had been looking for information regarding King and his whereabouts and had released a sketch of him on Friday. King was known to have frequented Madison Metro bus transfer points as well as the cities of Waunakee and Sun Prairie.
King, 30, who uses the alias "Country Cane" or "Cane" is being held at the Dane County Jail on the following tentative charges: trafficking of a child, 2nd degree sexual assault of a child, physical abuse of a child, and kidnapping.
________________________
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10607811
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Mario Ramon Chavez-Tavena Arrested for Sexual Abuse
A 23-year-old man has been arrested in the molestation of a young girl, after a weeks-long investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
Mario Ramon Chavez-Tavena was arrested Tuesday night in Guadalupe and booked into the 4th Ave Jail. He's facing four counts of sexual assault, four counts molestation of a child, one count sexual conduct with a minor, and one count kidnap-death/injury/sex.
The investigation into Chavez-Tavena began May 10 after a young girl reported being victimized multiple times.
Officers think the crime was an isolated incident and there are no other victims.
Mario Ramon Chavez-Tavena was arrested Tuesday night in Guadalupe and booked into the 4th Ave Jail. He's facing four counts of sexual assault, four counts molestation of a child, one count sexual conduct with a minor, and one count kidnap-death/injury/sex.
The investigation into Chavez-Tavena began May 10 after a young girl reported being victimized multiple times.
Officers think the crime was an isolated incident and there are no other victims.
_____________________
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)