North Carolina man charged with sex offenses
Hayley Benton,
John Marshall Hooper, 48, was arrested on Wednesday in Henderson County on sexual offense charges.
According to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, detectives from its Violent Crimes Unit had been investigating Hooper, of Cedar Point Way in Horseshoe, following complaints of child sexual abuse.
Hooper was charged with one felony count of sexual offense with a child and one felony count of a crime against nature, which is a charge often used to criminalize sexual conduct involving minors.
The alleged incidents occurred between January 2010 and January 2012 with a minor child under the age of 13.
Hooper was arrested July 19 and is incarcerated under a $550,000 bond in the Henderson County Jail.
Horseshoe, NC
Ex-GOP Speaker of the House Released from Prison - Illinois
Former House Speaker released from Minnesota prison Dennis Hastert was released from federal prison in Minnesota and transferred to Chicago where he would undergo sexual offender treatment.
by Jessica Jennings
Dennis Hastert, the former U.S. House Speaker, was released from a federal prison in Minnesota on Tuesday, July 18, after serving 13 months in prison in relation to a banking conviction. However, during the investigation into his banking charges, it had also come to light that Hastert had secretly sexually abused children while he taught wrestling at a Yorkville high school. The disgraced politician will now have to face court-ordered sex-offender treatment to ensure that he no longer pose a risk to children.
Release from federal prison
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Hastert had been released from the Minnesota prison and was transferred to Chicago, where the former politician is awaiting entry into the court-ordered sex offender program.
It was not revealed whether currently Hastert was placed on home confinement or in a halfway house. However, it was stated that he is now under the jurisdiction of the Chicago re-entry management office.
Hastert is known as one of the highest ranking United States politician to have been sent to prison. He served as the second in line for the presidency of the country from 1999 to 2007 under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He admitted in 2015 to have violated the banking law by funneling $3.5 million, which he used to keep the #Child Sexual Abuse incidents a secret.
Even though, the child sexual abuse incidents formed a background for the banking violation, the courts could not try Hastert for his sexual assault crimes. This was due to the statutes of limitation which ran out long ago on all of those child sexual abuse cases.
However, the court ordered Hastert to seek the sex offender treatment once he was released from prison. He would not need to register as a sex offender since he could not be charged with those offenses, Hastert would still be supervised by a court appointed official.
What does the sex offender treatment include
Hastert will be put through a lie detector test to check how many times the 75-year old sexually abused the teens in his wrestling class. Penile plethysmograph is another form of treatment where the therapists would gauge Hastert’s physical reactions to specific images which are shown to him. Hastert could go back to prison if he refuses to take any of the tests and treatments. However, if in the course of treatment he admits to other cases of such sexual abuse, new investigations may start from it. Treatment can also include looking back into the offender’s childhood for similar sexual abuse history or other mental ailments which may be causing a person to act out in this manner.
Former Alabama educator sentenced to
30 years in child sex case
By Stephanie Taylor Staff Writer
A former Jefferson County school system administrator accused of engaging in sex with a student and encouraging another teen to film sexual abuse of young children will spend 30 years in federal prison.
Brett Kirkham, 41, was sentenced in federal court Thursday morning.
A multi-agency investigative team raided his home on Arlington Drive in June 2016, where they found child pornography and evidence of a sexual relationship with a student who attended Hueytown Middle School when Kirkham was the principal.
U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler sentenced Kirkham to 30 years in prison, ignoring the defendant’s request for just 17.
“This case calls out for a life sentence,” Coogler said, describing Kirkham as a predator seeking prey in an environment where he was trusted. “We depend on our school teachers, our principals and our folks in the education system to provide service in educating and caring for the most precious commodities that we have, our children. To think we could put a predator with our children is hard to take.”
The judge imposed the maximum sentence requested by prosecutors, and ordered Kirkham to remain on supervised release for the rest of his life.
“It’s tragic, it’s stealing the childhood of children,” he said, referring to the many child pornography cases he’s presided over. “It’s not child pornography, it’s child abuse. It’s horrid images of children being subjected to things that they should not ever know are in the world at that particular time in their lives. It destroys their lives.”
Kirkham pleaded guilty in March to one count of enticing a minor child to engage in prostitution and one count of possession of child pornography.
He first contacted a minor victim in 2011 via social media and exchanged explicit photographs. He contacted the minor again two years later, and proceeded to pay the teen hundreds of dollars to engage in sexual activity for the next three years.
Authorities who searched Kirkham’s computers found more than 700 images of child pornography and nearly 200 videos. The photos included images of the first victim and another victim who was a former middle school student. A third teenage victim from Mississippi had created and sent videos that Kirkham encouraged him to produce, which included acts of sexual abuse against an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old.
“The crimes described above are heinous,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Robert Posey wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “They involve not merely pictures, but hands-on sexual acts. They reflect not a momentary or infrequent lapse in judgment, but criminal sexual activity of a repeated and pervasive kind.”
Kirkham was the human resources director for Jefferson County Schools. He taught at Hueytown High School from 2000-2004, before moving to Pittman Junior High in Hueytown. He then became principal of the school before being named as an administrator for the school system. Kirkham has been in custody since his arrest.
“That the defendant was an educator and administrator only heightens the severity of these crimes,” Posey wrote. “Educators and school administrators hold a position of trust; they have special access to children and a responsibility to use that access with the utmost care. The defendant violated that trust.”
A government prosecutor read a statement written by the victim who Kirkham paid for sexual acts. He said that he now has trouble trusting people, and is worried that the community will find out that he is the victim in this highly-publicized case.
“He acted as if he was a friend, when in all actuality he was abusing the power he had just to get what he wanted,“the victim wrote. “He was not my friend, I see that now.”
He said that he was reluctant to come forward and cause his family grief and call attention to himself, but decided that enough was enough, the prosecutor read.
“It hurts not being able to talk to my friends about what is wrong,” he said. “I now live in constant fear that someone is out to get me, or will find out it was me and make my life a living hell, as if it hasn’t been for the last couple of years.”
Kirkham has been jailed in Jefferson County since June 1, 2016.
North Carolina woman charged for not reporting
Child Sex Abuse
By: WWAY News
SOUTHPORT, NC — A Southport woman is out of jail after posting a $50,000 bond for a felony child abuse-sexual act charge.
Jennifer Ann Moyer, 43, was arrested Tuesday night.
Southport Police say Moyer is charged because she knew about the alleged assault of a child and did nothing about it.
Police are currently looking for David Carriker, Jr, of Maryland.
There are several warrants for his arrest. Some of the charges he faces include 1st degree statutory sex offense and felony indecent liberties with a child.
The victim in this case is 10 years old.
If you know where Carriker is, call Southport Police.
LaPorte pleads guilty to child rape,
faces 50 years - New York
By W.T. ECKERT
CANTON, NY — The Massena man indicted on 53 counts connected to years of child rape and sexual abuse pleaded guilty Thursday in St. Lawrence County Court.
Stacey J. LaPorte Jr., 26, of 52 Maple St., Apt. 5, Massena, currently an inmate at Oneida County Jail, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual abuse in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.
On or about May 2009 and May 2014, in St. Lawrence County, LaPorte forcibly raped a 9-year-old girl. In the winter of 2015 or 2016, he forcibly raped a 16-year-old girl. Also, on or about June or July 2013, he engaged in sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl by forcible compulsion.
As part of the plea deal, County Court Judge Derek P. Champagne committed to sentencing LaPorte to 50 years in prison with 15 years of post-release supervision. The remaining charges and several ongoing investigations being conducted by several other agencies into similar crimes by LaPorte will be satisfied as part of deal, DA Mary E. Rain said.
LaPorte was originally indicted on three counts of predatory sexual assault against a child and one count of predatory sexual assault, both A-II felonies, 10 counts of first-degree rape, one count of second-degree rape, six counts of third-degree rape, seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, seven counts of third-degree criminal sexual act, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of attempted first-degree criminal sexual act and five counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
On June 20, LaPorte was found guilty, following a federal trial, of five counts of sexually exploiting four different children and one count of receiving child pornography.
LaPorte was convicted of conspiring with Mackenzie Bailey, 21, Massena, to sexually exploit a child from infancy to age 2 and with using that child to produce sexually explicit images on two specific occasions. He was also convicted of conspiring with Hillary Trimm, 26, also of Massena, to sexually exploit another child, who was less than 1 year old. Both Bailey and Trimm pled guilty to the crimes they committed with LaPorte and testified at trial.
LaPorte was also convicted of exploiting a 12-year-old boy and his 16-year-old sister by coercing them to have sexual contact with one another in order to provide explicit images of the conduct. He was further convicted of receiving child pornography from another user over the messaging program Kik Messenger.
Federal sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19 and his state sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
LaPorte is facing a minimum of 90 years and a maximum of 180 years on his federal charges, his state attorney, Conflict Defender Amy L. Dona, said.
He will also have to serve a minimum of five years and a maximum of life of post-release supervision and will have to register as a sex offender.
OK, he's 26 and facing a minimum of 90 years - do you really think post-release supervision is going to be necessary?
His state and federal charges will be served concurrently and he was released into federal custody.
On March 16, Bailey pleaded guilty to each charge in a federal indictment charging her with conspiracy to sexually exploit a minor child from infancy to age 2 and two counts of sexually exploiting that child on two specific dates in 2016.
She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on each count. If sentenced consecutively, she faces up to 90 years in prison. She also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life, as well as registration as a sex offender.
On July 7, Bailey pleaded guilty in St. Lawrence County Court to felony first-degree criminal sexual act in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.
As part of that deal, Bailey will be sentenced to 14 years in prison with 10 years of post-release supervision and will satisfy the indictment charging her with three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of third-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual abuse.
Bailey’s federal and state sentences will be served concurrent to each other.
Bailey’s sentencing date on the state charges is scheduled for Oct. 10, or any time following her federal sentencing date, which has not yet been scheduled. She was remanded without bail.
Texas man sentenced to life in prison for
sexual abuse of a child
ODESSA -- A man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a young child.
On Thursday Pete Perez Jr. was found guilty by an Ector County Jury of sexually abusing a young child, and was sentenced to life in prison by Judge John W. Smith.
Perez, who pled guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for each of those two charges.
"This maximum sentence handed down by Judge Smith will assure that this defendant will never harm another child and he will die in prison where he belongs," said District Attorney Bobby Bland.
Montana man gets 100 years in prison for
child sex abuse
Seaborn Larson
A 45-year-old man on Wednesday was sentenced to 100 years in Montana State Prison for molesting a 4-year-old girl two years ago.
In the conclusion of a three-day trial in January, Shayne Bertelsen was convicted of felony sexual abuse of a child and tampering with a witness. On Wednesday he appeared at his sentencing in Cascade County District Court in handcuffs, while District Judge Katherine Bidegaray appeared through a television screen from her chambers in Sidney.
For the sexual abuse charge, Bidegaray sentenced Bertelsen to 100 years with 50 suspended in Montana State Prison, as well as 10 years for the tampering with a witness charge, which will run concurrent with the 100-year sentence.
Bertelsen's charges stem from a December 2015 arrest after the victim's mother called police to their home. The woman told police Bertelsen had been sober for some time, but had recently started drinking again and had digitally penetrated the woman's 4-year-old daughter on several occasions when the mother wasn't home.
Before his sentencing, a psychosexual therapist evaluated Bertelsen and wrote he would be "extremely difficult to manage" and recommended he "begin treatment in an incarcerated setting."
He didn't testify on his own behalf at his sentencing, but Bertelsen has maintained his innocence throughout the entirety of the case, according to court documents. Prosecutors wrote in the state's sentencing memo that Bertelsen claimed fake tapes of the victim's interviews had been made to secure a conviction.
After Bertelsen was charged and released on bail in late 2015 he began badgering the victim's family at work, local stores and their home, prompting the victim's mother to take the family to Spokane. Court documents state Bertelsen told the victim's mother that prosecutors were dropping his charges, and she would be charged with perjury if she appeared at his court hearings. In August 2016, prosecutors filed the additional charge of tampering with a witness.
Prosecutors also mentioned in court documents that Bertelsen had 13 previous felony convictions before he was convicted on these charges in January.
Bertelsen is now designated a Tier II sex offender, which is considered to be mid-level in likeliness to re-offend.
Jury finds Montana man guilty of decades
old child rape
By MTN News
BILLINGS -
A man accused of raping a girl for several years in the 1990s was found guilty Wednesday of all three charges.
The jury ruled after three hours of deliberations that Robert Calvin, 39, sexually abused the victim when she was under the age of 16 and could not consent.
Calvin, who had been out on bond, was remanded and taken to jail.
A sentencing date has yet to be set.
Before releasing the jury to deliberate on Wednesday, Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Mary Barry and Defense Attorney Lisa Bazant squared off over rape myths and victim credibility.
Testimony from the victim about being abused by Robert Calvin, 39, when she was a child was called into question by the defense.
“I don’t know motivations, I don’t know why people would make up these horrible things about this man,” said Bazant. “A lot of people want to say ‘that was very brave of her to get up there and testify, she wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t happen.’ No.”
Bazant told jurors that certain details of the victim’s testimony, such as the times, dates and locations of the sexual abuse, were inconsistent and cause for acquittal.
“It’s like squishing water,” said Bazant. “You can’t get a hold of the facts because the facts keep changing.”
But Barry defended the victim’s testimony, saying the sexual abuse was so traumatic that the victim tried to forget the details.
"Sexual abuse is not what we want it to be,” said Barry. “It's not 'we know it when it happens, we know it when our daughter walks in the room, we know, we can tell by looking at him, that guy did that.’ That's not the way sexual abuse works."
Barry referenced the earlier testimony of Wendy Dutton, a forensic child interview, who testified that young victims of sexual abuse often fail to remember details of the abuse because they could not emotionally process it.
The now 29-year-old victim took the stand on Tuesday to testify about the dozens of times Calvin molested her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
The victim said she was sexually abused by Calvin from the age of 4 until she was 13.
The abuse happened in cars, bedrooms and trailers in multiple counties across south central Montana, she testified.
The victim testified that she disclosed the abuse to a local pastor’s wife and that the woman confronted Calvin’s mother.
Defense attorneys called on the pastor’s wife to testify about the victim’s disclosure, though the woman was unable to fully recall the exchange.
“The pastor’s wife had no idea what she was talking about,” said Bazant. “That’s something a woman would’ve remembered and she didn’t.
The victim testified about one instance of abuse that occurred in a trailer after the funeral ceremony for Calvin’s brother.
“Who would do that?” asked Bazant. “You saw him on the stand, he still gets emotional about his brother’s death.”
Calvin testified in his own defense on Wednesday to dispute the allegations.
He’s charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of sexual assault.
Calvin’s older brother, William, pleaded guilty last year to similar charges against the same victim. He was sentenced to a community-based treatment program.
Wow! That should really teach him!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment