Teacher, Band Leader and a Priest on Today's P&P List

Special-ed teacher charged with CSA of 2 teen girls - Utah
Man sentenced to 25 years but only has to spend 10 in jail - Maryland
Man facing possible 150-330 year sentence for multiple CSAs - Wyoming
Brooklyn man flees to Israel to avoid CSA arrest - New York
Middle school band teacher arrested for 2nd time in 3 weeks - Oregon
L.A. Police looking for victims in 19 year old cold case - California
75 y/o Catholic School priest facing CSA charges - Wisconsin

Ogden special ed teacher out on bail in

child sexual abuse case

MARK SHENEFELT, Standard-Examiner Staff
     

OGDEN, Utah — A former Ogden special education teacher charged with sexually abusing two teenage girls is out on bail pending his next court appearance.

Second District Court records show Drew Daniel Tutt, 28, posted $22,000 bail and was released from Weber County Jail on Feb. 9, three days after his arrest by Weber County sheriff’s deputies. Tutt’s next court appearance is March 8 before Judge Brent West.

The Weber County Attorney’s Office has filed four felony charges against Tutt: two counts of sexual abuse of a minor student and two counts of enticing a minor by the internet or text message. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of unlawful detention of a minor.

The investigation began after a sheriff’s deputy found Tutt and a girl in a car at Rohmer Park in Washington Terrace after hours on Oct. 11, 2016, court records show.

A probable cause statement said the two alleged victims, both younger than 16, attended Mound Fort Middle School in Ogden, where Tutt taught special education math in 2014 and 2015. Tutt also taught special education part time at Lincoln Elementary School and Bonneville Elementary School in 2016, the state Office of Education said.

Tutt told police he sent both girls a picture of himself with his shirt off and asked them to send him similar photos, the probable cause statement said. They both sent nude pictures to him, the document said.

He said he kissed one girl in the pubic area and the other below the belt line and rubbed his pelvis against one girl’s pelvis, the probable cause statement said.

The Ogden School District put Tutt on administrative leave in October and he resigned later that day, the school district said.

Tutt’s state teaching license has been flagged, meaning any potential educational employers would be told he is under investigation, state Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson said Thursday.

He said state licensing officials do not generally begin an investigation that could lead to suspension or revocation of a teaching license until a case has finished in criminal court.

Eldersburg man sentenced to 25 years but all but 10 suspended - sexual abuse of child

Heather Mongilio Contact Reporter
Carroll County Times

An Eldersburg man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday after being convicted of sexual abuse of a minor.

Kyle A. Sessomes, 36, formerly of the 2300 block of Erin Road, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor: household or family member on Nov. 29, according to electronic court records.

On Tuesday, Judge Thomas Stansfield sentenced Sessomes to 25 years with all but 10 years suspended, according to a news release from the Carroll County State's Attorney's Office.

Once he completes his sentence, Sessomes will be put on five years of probation, during which time he cannot have any contact with the victim or other minors without adult supervision. Sessomes will also have to register as a Tier III sex offender, which means he will be on the registry for the remainder of his life, according to the release.

The state, represented by Senior Assistant State's Attorney Stephen Roscher, asked for 20 years.

Maryland State Police opened an investigation into Sessomes after a 7-year-old child told his mother that Sessomes inappropriately touched him. During an interview, Sessomes admitting to engaging in sexual activity with the child, according to the release.

"Sexual abuse robs any child of their innocence and destroys their sense of security, often for a lifetime," State's Attorney Brian DeLeonardo said in the release.

Eldersburg, MD

Natrona County Man facing Possible 330 Years
for Child Sexual Abuse

By Tom Morton 

A Natrona County man has been charged with multiple child sex-related crimes, according to court documents.

Aaron Rushing appeared in Natrona County Circuit Court for his preliminary hearing on Thursday, but the hearing was reset to next week because he does not have a public defender yet.

Rushing is charged with six counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and one count of possession of child pornography.

If convicted on all counts, he faces between 150 and 330 years of imprisonment.

The case started on Feb. 14 when a school counselor told a Natrona County Sheriff’s Deputy about the discovery of a USB storage device that had images of child pornography.

Authorities determined Rushing was the adult portrayed in the images with children.

Natrona Co., WY

Brooklyn man charged with sexually assaulting child relative fled to Israel to dodge prosecution

BY CHRISTINA CARREGA

REUVEN BLAU, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A Brooklyn man charged with repeatedly having sex with a child relative fled to Israel after plea talks fell apart following more than two years of negotiations, authorities said in court.

Avrohom Margolis was initially arrested and charged on Oct. 14, 2014, with a felony offense of having sex at least two times with a child, court records show.

He was released on $5,000 bail and ordered to hand over his passport, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office.

The truck driver then spent more than two years desperately trying to convince the district attorney to reduce the felony charge, sources said. But those talks fell apart, sources said, and the case was dismissed due to an apparent technicality.

Margolis, an Israeli citizen who has been living in New York for years with a green card, got his passport back. But the DA’s office brought the same case before a grand jury, which indicted him earlier this month, records show.

Before that process was complete, Margolis flew to Israel on Dec. 11 for a family celebration. During that trip, his wife filed for divorce, according to his lawyer, Stacey Richman.

As a result, the Jewish religious court has ordered him to remain in the country while that process plays out, Richman says.

“He wants to come back,” she said. “His family lives here. He had a return ticket.” 

That’s not what the DA’s office believes.

“This defendant fled the country to avoid prosecution,” Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Robitaille said in a Feb. 2 court hearing. “The defendant was present and remained in the country up until the point that the plea negotiations broke off.”

It is unclear why the case was briefly dropped.

At the court hearing earlier this month, Justice Elizabeth Foley issued a bench warrant for Margolis’ arrest.

As a result, Gonzalez’s office has begun the process of moving to extradite him, said spokesman Oren Yaniv.

Israel in recent years has amended its extradition law to allow people such as Margolis to be shipped back to America, according to legal experts in the field.

Previously, people who were charged with sexually assaulting children would not be extradited.

Brooklyn, NY

Oregon band teacher arrested again in

child sex abuse case

by Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A middle school band teacher in western Oregon has been arrested for the second time this month on child sexual abuse charges.

The Register-Guard reports that 34-year-old Matthew McKinley Woodford of Springfield was jailed Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on 15 charges. The charges allege he engaged in inappropriate communication and sexual contact with a student younger than 15.

Woodford has pleaded not guilty.

The new indictment follows Woodford's Feb. 3 arrest on similar charges but includes details alleging he sexually abused the victim on numerous occasions.

Woodford has been placed on leave from his job as Thurston Middle School's music director.

School district spokeswoman Jen McCulley says the district has started the termination process for his employment.

L.A. police, investigating child sexual abuse case going back to 1998, ask victims to step forward

Sonali Kohli Contact Reporter

LA Times

Los Angeles Police investigators are looking for more people who say they were sexually abused by Amador Valencia Santos, who was arrested this month on suspicion  of sexual abuse.

Police allege in a news release that Santos, also known as “Omar,” has been victimizing children since 1998.

Santos, 57, met children through mutual friends and invited them to spend the night in his home, police say. 

“Santos groomed the [victims’] trust by taking them to the movies, amusement parks, playing video games and basketball games with them,” the LAPD statement alleges. “Santos showed adult pornography and sexually abused the victims while they were inside his residence.”

He was arrested on Feb. 9 and is being held on $2.8 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate records. A preliminary hearing for Santos is scheduled Wednesday in downtown.

Police are asking anyone with information about additional victims to call the Southwest area sex crimes division at at (323) 290-2975.

Former Catholic school priest charged with
child sex abuse

MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU)  A 75-year-old man is facing three charges of first-degree child sexual assault for incidents involving a girl under the age of 13. Prosecutors accuse Robert Marsicek of assaulting a now-15-year-old girl when he was a priest at St. Pius X Grade School in Wauwatosa.

The victim reported the incidents to police in December, saying it started when she was in first grade and continued through fourth grade. The accusations date back to 2007.

The Society of the Divine Savior Salvatorians issued a statement after the charges were filed, noting Marsicek was "fully restricted from public ministry" in 2013 after previous allegations were made against him, but no charges were filed at that time. The statement goes on to say, “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our children and families. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse or abuse of any kind.”

He is now free on $50,000 bond, and has been ordered not to have any contact with children while his case is pending. He could face up to 60-years in prison if convicted.

Wauwatosa, WI