13 Stories of Teachers, Police, Soldiers on Today's USA PnP List

13 Fort Hood soldiers arrested in prostitution sting

© U.S. Army / Reuters

Some 13 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas ,ranging in rank from private to major, have been arrested in a prostitution sting, officials said.

The personnel, who were all active duty, agreed to sex before they were detained. In total, 20 people were arrested in the sting, which went on for a number of weeks, KWTX reports.

The police sting used websites known for prostitution to place ads soliciting sex. In less than 20 minutes, the first contact was made, Sheriff Eddy Lange said, the Kileen Daily Herald reports. The suspects agreed to pay for sex acts largely through a series of text messages.

The agreed prices ranged from $60 to $200, depending on the sexual act and time-frame the suspects were looking for. A number of women responded to the ads, but none actually showed up, police said.

All of the men arrested face solicitation of prostitution charges, which are misdemeanors with punishment ranging from a fine to jail time. Two of the men arrested face felony charges.

One asked for sex with a person under 18 years of age, while another requested a “two-fer,” which TJ Cruz of the Bell County Sheriff’s Office explained means sex with both a minor and an older woman. It wasn’t revealed whether these two men were soldiers.

I'm assuming these would be the two charged with felonies.

Cruz also said one man who came to the hotel left both his wife and mother waiting in the car.

An undercover female officer posed as a prostitute and met the suspects at various hotels in Salado and Killeen. They were then arrested.

“The purpose of the operation is to crack down on sex trafficking and to identify and arrest individuals seeking sexual acts in exchange for an agreed-upon fee in Bell County,” Cruz said.

“Our goal is to focus our efforts on sex buyers who are seeking to take advantage of sex trafficking victims. We are putting these predators on notice that our Bell County community will not tolerate their behavior.”

“Allegations such as these are taken seriously as they run counter to Army values,” Tom Rheinlander, director of Fort Hood Public Affairs, said. “As always, we are supportive of local authorities and will cooperate fully. Fort Hood will refrain from commenting further given that this is an ongoing investigation.”

All soldiers have been released on bale while, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, pandering and prostitution carries a maximum punishment of dishonorable discharge, Stars and Stripes reports.  

“We’re putting predators on notice,” Lange said. “We’ll be doing this on a regular basis. We want this area to be known as ‘too hot’.”

Iowa boarding school owner forced student into sex

Lee Rood

The director of a shuttered Iowa boarding school that took thousands of dollars from parents to treat troubled children required a female student to have sex to progress toward being released, felony criminal complaints allege.

Midwest Academy director Ben Trane also required female students he was counseling to undergo “body image therapy,” having them undress in front of a mirror and engage in sexually explicit conversations.

He did so for “sexual arousal, gratification and attempted grooming,” the complaints filed this month by state prosecutors show.

Trane, 39, of Idaho, was being held Friday in the Lee County jail on a $500,000 cash bond after he was arrested Thursday. He could not be reached for comment.

Criminal complaints allege he “implemented and enforced policies and maintained an environment which created a substantial risk to the students’ physical, mental or emotional health and/or safety, including but not limited to solitary confinement for extended periods of time.”

Felony sex abuse, sexual exploitation by a counselor and child-endangerment charges filed this month come 1½ years after raids by state and federal authorities at the private school outside Keokuk.

Midwest Academy was the subject of subsequent Reader's Watchdog probes showing widespread abuse of students at the unregulated school, as well as a profit-sharing scheme with the founder of an international boarding school empire mired in controversy for decades.

Iowa legislators subsequently passed a measure that would require private boarding schools in Iowa to undergo more scrutiny, inspections and registration.

Midwest Academy marketed a “merit model” of behavioral modification that some former students and parents likened to brainwashing, in return for tuition ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 a year.

The one-size-fits-all program had no basis in child psychology, experts told Watchdog.

Boys and girls reported being kidnapped in the middle of the night to be spirited to the school, stripped of possessions and shoes, cut off from communication with family, and prohibited from speaking to peers until they earned privileges through “good behavior, academics and leadership.”

The academy avoided scrutiny by authorities for years even though the Lee County sheriff’s department had been called to the 70-acre campus 80 times leading to the raids in January 2016.

In April 2015, for example, 11 students ran away through the facility’s kitchen, sheriff’s reports showed.

Trane told parents in an email the students’ “emotional terrorism” would not be tolerated anymore. Then he locked students in concrete isolation rooms for weeks at a time, students and parents said.

In May this year, former employee Cheyenne Jarred won a $748,800 civil judgment against Midwest Academy and Trane. A civil lawsuit filed by numerous parents and former students is still pending.

Shortly after the January 2016 raids, Trane distanced his facility from a Utah-based network of boarding schools called the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.

In emails to the Register, he said that Midwest was a standalone company with “no ties” to other schools in the network, also known as WWASPS.

But records showed the school had a revenue-sharing agreement with Midwest Twister, a corporation created by WWASPS founder Robert Lichfield. Lichfield bought the Midwest Academy property in 2003 for $500,000, county records showed. Lichfield also remained a manager of Midwest Twister after the raids, Utah records showed.

His Midwest Twister is based in LaVerkin, Utah, home to other companies that he, his family members and associates created tied to the private boarding school business.

WWASPS developed into a multimillion-dollar industry and referred families to residential facilities owned or run by associates. It also reaped payments for referrals, billing and marketing, according to past court cases and documents.

Trane worked early in his career at one of the WWASPS schools, Watchdog found.

Ex-CBA teacher, deacon jailed in child sex case

Kathleen Hopkins

FREEHOLD - A girl’s first kiss should be a special memory, a young woman told a judge on Friday.

"Mine will not be treasured," she said.

That’s because it came, when she was a minor, from a man who was decades older than she, who was supposed to protect her.

"He invaded my privacy, my bed, my body," the young woman told Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano.

The man "taught me to be silent and tolerate the abuse," she said.

The person the young woman was referring to was Joseph Prioli, someone who not only had a close, personal relationship to her, but who also held positions of trust in the larger community. He was a teacher at Christian Brothers Academy in Middletown for 15 years, until 2015, and a deacon at his church.

Now, Prioli, 49, of Howell will spend the next five years at the state Corrections Department’s Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, and the remainder of his life on parole and the state’s Megan’s Law registry, under a sentence imposed Friday by Falcetano for child endangerment involving sexual conduct.

As a result, Prioli, a father of eight, will be prohibited for the rest of his life from living in a household with minor children, said Thomas Fichter, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor.

The woman he admitted molesting on multiple occasions between 2004 and 2012, from age 10 through 17, was poised as she spoke to the judge in court.

The Asbury Park Press chose not to identify her because she is a victim of sexual abuse. She said she came forward to protect Prioli’s children.

Prioli, a teacher and one-time technology director at Christian Brothers Academy, was arrested in December, about a year after he left the school for other employment, Brother Frank Byrne, president of the academy, told the Asbury Park Press at the time. Byrne said then that there had been no reports of any criminal wrongdoing by Prioli while at the school.

Prioli pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 to two counts of child endangerment involving sexual conduct.

Before he was sentenced, Prioli expressed remorse to the judge. "My regret is deep and true," he said. "I am, in fact, horrified by my own actions."

His defense attorney, Sarah Surgent of the Public Defender’s Office, said she submitted a number of letters to the court about Prioli. Some, including one from Prioli’s wife, were in support of him, while others, including two from his sisters, condemned him.

Surgent asked the judge to follow the plea agreement, which called for five years of imprisonment.

Fichter said Prioli "could have faced many, many more years in prison," but the victim agreed to the deal so that Prioli at some point would be able to get out of prison and provide some financial support for his children.

"The defendant is the beneficiary of a very, very lenient plea bargain," Falcetano said, going along with the deal in which other charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal sexual contact were dismissed.

One of the things that particularly bothered Falcetano about the case, he said, is that Prioli indicated he believes God has forgiven him.

That belief "seems to be a large presumption on your part," Falcetano said to Prioli.

"We’re going to dispose of your earthly sentence today, but you should be sentenced for the rest of your life to having to wonder what your final sentence will be, when that time comes," the judge told him.

Prioli seems to be counting on cheap grace. But grace cost our Lord an extraordinary amount of suffering and should not be taken for granted. Child sex abuse has been rampant in Christian Brothers facilities all over the world for many decades. They are among the worst of Catholic sects.

Wisconsin man charged with child sexual assault, incest

KEVIN DAMASK

A Necedah man was charged with first-degree child sexual assault and incest Aug. 15.

Joshua P. Stainbrook, 35, was charged with sexual contact with a child under age 13, a class B felony. If convicted, Stainbrook could be sentenced to 60 years in prison. The incest charge carries a possible $100,000 fine, or a prison term of no more than 40 years, or both.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Aug. 15, a Juneau County deputy was dispatched to Necedah for an alleged child abuse report.

A relative of the alleged victim had received a text from stating “he just did it to me.” When she spoke to the deputy, the alleged victim said Stainbrook had touched her in a private area and it had happened five times in the past.

According to the alleged victim, the assaults happened at their home in the town of Necedah. She told the deputy the latest incident lasted about five to 10 minutes. She claimed Stainbrook had been assaulting her since she was 11 years old. She said the incidents occurred at their current home and a previous address.

Stainbrook was in court Aug. 29 for a preliminary hearing and it was determined the case would be bound over to circuit court for trial. A $20,000 cash bond was set for Stainbrook. His attorney, Mark Frank, requested the bond be modified but that motion was denied by Judge Paul Curran. Stainbrook remains in the Juneau County Jail.

Already facing prison, Endicott man chooses trial for federal child sex crimes

Anthony Borrelli

Seven months after being handed the maximum penalty for rape, an Endicott man is going to trial on separate federal sexual exploitation and child porn charges that involved two girls. One of those victims is the girl he admitted raping.

A trial for Michael L. Gumaer, 49, is scheduled to begin Sept. 18 at Binghamton's federal courthouse. The U.S. Attorney's Office says he victimized girls who were ages 12 and 4; he has faced state and federal prosecution in connection with the same victims.

A federal indictment charged Gumaer with the following felonies: four counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of possessing child pornography, along with single counts of receipt and transportation and shipment of child pornography. If convicted, Gumaer faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

These crimes were "heinous and despicable acts" and they took place in the defendant's Endicott residence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Miroslav Lovric said in court documents. 

"Prior to the rapes and sexual assaults of both children, Gumaer had been 'grooming' both children so that the children would allow him and keep secret the sexual abuse," Lovric said. 

The criminal investigation began Aug. 28, 2016, after Endicott police responded to a complaint involving several "inappropriate images" and a video file of a 12-year-old girl engaging in sexual intercourse with a male, later identified in court records as Gumaer.

The victim's family recognized Gumaer from the video even though his face was not visible, court papers said.

On Sept. 1, 2016, the 12-year-old girl was interviewed by police about the sexual abuses. Gumaer, upon learning of police being alerted to the allegations, reportedly fled the area and investigators spent several weeks looking for him. 

While Gumaer was "on the run," Lovric said, on Sept. 6, 2016, Gumaer allegedly sent two digital storage devices containing graphic image and video files from New York to Florida. Gumaer played a "cat and mouse" game with law enforcement for two weeks, Lovric said, before Endicott police were able to locate him Sept. 18, 2016. 

Digital storage devices that had been sent to Florida were recovered by police four days after the arrest. There were six images depicting sexual abuses of the 4-year-old girl, court papers said.

By Nov. 3, 2016, the FBI obtained a search warrant for two hard drives owned by Gumaer. He is also accused of downloading from the internet numerous graphic image files depicting minors involved in sexual conduct between January 2011 and July 2016.

A federal prosecution was launched in late December 2016, when a criminal complaint prepared by the FBI was unsealed in Binghamton's federal courthouse.

The U.S. Attorney's Office based federal charges from evidence that the images of illegal sexual acts allegedly committed by Gumaer were found on an iPhone that was assembled outside the United States, specifically China.

Separately, in Broome County Court, Gumaer was sentenced in February after he pleaded guilty to first-degree rape against the 12-year-old girl in exchange for a 25-year state prison term. While the federal case remains pending, Gumaer is being held in the Broome County jail.

Former Md. substitute teacher indicted for possession of child pornography

by ABC7

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A former substitute teacher has been indicted Friday for possession of child pornography, according to Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks.

Christopher Speights was indicted on three counts of possession of child pornography with intent to distribute and six counts of possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors with Prince George's County said during a Friday news conference that they're seeking dozens of victims of child sex abuse of "alleged predator" Speights. 

Speights served as a substitute teacher and basketball coach at Bradbury Heights Elementary and coach of a traveling basketball team, the South County Steelers.

In Dec. 2016, authorities said they received a cyber tip from Dropbox that a user allegedly possessed child pornography. An investigation later revealed that Speights was the owner of the account, according to the P.G. State's Attorney's Office.

Speights was later arrested.

A spokesperson for Prince George's Public Schools previously released a statement on Speights arrest:

Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is aware that substitute teacher Christopher Speights has been arrested. We will cooperate fully with law enforcement in its investigation. Due to the nature of the claims, Christopher Speights will no longer serve the school district.

Any behavior that brings harm to a child will not be tolerated in any way in PGCPS. Over the past year, we have made significant changes to increase student safety and remain committed to ensuring a quality education in a safe environment for all students.

Teen raped at least 250 times by pedophile in Delaware

By Mo Barnes   

Police in New Castle County, Delaware announced the arrest of a man on charges related to the sexual abuse of a child.  Richard “Ricky” White Jr., 41, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this week on 11 counts of second-degree rape, continuous abuse of a child, dangerous crime against a child, sexual solicitation of a child, four counts of sexual exploitation of a child, dealing in child pornography and six counts of possessing child pornography, according to media outlet Delewareonline.com.

White had been having sex with the girl since 2015 when she was only 12 years old.  According to police, it began with the pair texting to one another and soon became physical. White would pick her up from school and take her to his house where they had sex. The pair soon engaged into a regular weekly meeting for sex that lasted over a 5 year period. In addition, White and the girl would video chat and he would watch her shower on a nightly basis. As the girl grew older she attempted to stop the relationship with White but according to the victim, he would threaten her by saying he would release pictures and videos of the pair having sex. Eventually the girl told a friend who contacted police and an investigation was started. Law enforcement found multiple text messages between the pair as well as a number of digital images and video.

Police have stated that White had sex with the young girl at least 250 times over a five-year period. Police were able to retrieve text messages of the victim begging White to leave her alone. He is currently being held at  Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, Delaware.

New Castle Co., Del

‘Serial predator’ gets prison for child porn,

threatening teen girl

Courier-Post 

MOUNT HOLLY - Authorities say a sexual predator from South Jersey who is “every parent’s worst internet nightmare” is headed to prison.

Craig L. Wyatt, 25, of Willingboro was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison on charges that he threatened to abduct a 13-year-old girl unless she continued sending him sexually explicit photos of herself.

It’ll be more than four years before Wyatt is eligible for parole. He’ll also be subject to lifetime parole supervision and be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

“We have put this serial predator behind bars so he can’t continue to stalk, terrorize and sexually exploit other young girls,” Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said in a news release. 

Wyatt pleaded guilty in June to charges of first-degree manufacturing child pornography and third-degree possession of child pornography. The Attorney General’s Office had sought an eight-year prison term as part of the plea agreement, but Superior Court Judge Terrence R. Cook handed down a lesser term.

Authorities said Wyatt met the teen on Facebook in May 2014 and befriended her. She was 13 years old but told him she was 15. Wyatt flattered her and sent affectionate texts, authorities said.

“However, after he obtained one or more nude photos of her, he became increasingly threatening” and successfully demanded more pictures, the attorney general’s office said.

Wyatt threatened to kidnap the girl from her house, impregnate her and post online the photos he already had unless she met his demands, authorities said.

A concerned relative of the teen found out about the threats and contacted the State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, which arrested Wyatt in October 2014.

Detectives said they found 34 sexually explicit images of the victim on Wyatt’s cellphone and two saved in his Facebook account. 

“Wyatt bullied and blackmailed his vulnerable victim over a period of two months, during which he frightened her into sending him increasingly explicit photos of herself,” Porrino said. “He is every parent’s worst internet nightmare.” 

It wasn’t the first time Wyatt used Facebook to intimidate girls. He previously was convicted of five counts of terroristic threats in Burlington and Atlantic counties for using social media to stalk girls and send threatening messages. He served over a year behind bars, and was on probation at the time he threatened the 13-year-old girl, authorities said.

“Police and parents used to worry about predators their children might encounter at the swimming pool, playground or shopping mall, but now that vigilance must extend to the perilous world of the internet and social media,” said Elie Honig, director of the state Division of Criminal Justice.  “We will continue to make child protection a top priority and diligently pursue sexual predators like Wyatt who strike online.”

The state has a dedicated phone number where anyone can report tips about exploitation or sexual abuse of children. To reach the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, call (888) 648-6007.

Jolene's Law Founder Announces Candidacy For Sioux Falls Mayor

PR Newswire

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., With the rallying cry "Let's Go!" local businesswoman and child activist Jolene Loetscher announced her candidacy for Sioux Falls Mayor.

"Sioux Falls provided the opportunity to start my professional career, the opportunity to found two businesses, and the opportunity to raise my daughter. Now it's time to give back," Loetscher said.

Knowing first-hand why Sioux Falls can be called the city of opportunity, Loetscher outlined the tenets of her campaign:

"My belief and experience in doing good is affirmed by our work on Jolene's Law Task Force," Loetscher said.

In 2014, the State of South Dakota established Jolene's Law. That law created a task force to study child sexual abuse. The work of Jolene's Law Task Force led to the creation of a ten year action plan to eradicate child sexual abuse in South Dakota. Now under the guidance of the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment, in just 12 months, it has trained almost 7,000 mandatory reporters in South Dakota, centralized a database of mental health resources and developed a pediatric rape kit for hospitals and health care systems statewide. Loetscher's advocacy and leadership has been integral to the progress made under Jolene's Law.

Following her career as a television reporter, Loetscher -- along with her husband, Nate Burdine -- started several businesses including Mud Mile Communications and DooGooders. With the last $300 in their savings account, a bucket and a willingness to get their hands dirty, they created DooGooders, a cleanup and dog DNA testing company, now part of one of the world's leading pet innovation companies.

Loetscher and Burdine next founded Mud Mile Communications, a Sioux Falls-based marketing, public relations, social media, content strategy, digital media and video production firm.  

Loetscher also organized Selfspiration, a program that hosted day camps for Sioux Falls children who survived child sexual abuse. She additionally assisted with developing the Make Some Happy Toy Drive, serves as the national alumni co-chair for the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation advisory board and volunteered with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Pug Partners, Sioux Empire Red Cross, American Cancer Society's Bark For Life and served as the City of Sioux Falls Municipal Band emcee.

Jolene and Nate welcomed their daughter, Liberty, in April.

N Carolina man accused of repeated child sex assaults

A Lexington man previously charged with sexually assaulting a juvenile now faces two charges of raping a child, 10 charges of sexual offense with a child and 11 charges of felony sexual child abuse.

Daniel Gene Little, 40, was initially charged in February. Sept. 5, the Davidson County Department of social Services reported to the county sheriff’s office that two juvenile females and one juvenile male also alleged they were sexually assaulted by Little.

The three told authorities the sexual assaults occurred repeatedly between the years of 2010 and 2015.

Little lives on the 1500 block of Jerusalem Road in Lexington, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

He was jailed in Davidson County under a $6.5 million secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Lexington District County on Oct. 23.

Ex cop and child porn suspect to remain in jail until he decrypts drives

By Carolina 

Former Cop and Child Porn Suspect Might Remain in Jail Forever for Contempt of Court.

Francis Rawls has remained in prison since 30th September 2015 for refusing to abide by the judicial order of decrypting two hard drives owned by him. These hard drives supposedly contain crucial evidence of child-porn and were confiscated from Rawls’ residence.

Rawls, who served as a cop for Philadelphia police before being sacked and imprisoned, has been jailed for about two years now and will remain behind bars until he appeals to the US Supreme Court. For two years, the former cop tried to convince lower courts that his confinement was a violation of his constitutional rights as observed under the Fifth Amendment.

According to Ars Technica, the investigation against Rawls started in 2015 at a time when the Delaware County’s criminal investigation in child porn case was underway. The investigators got a hint of involvement of Rawls in child sexual abuse case after inspecting his online activities.

The unit acquired a warrant to search the residence. Two iPhones, two external hard drives and an Apple Mac Pro were found at his residence, and a warrant was issued for examination of their content. However, Rawls refused to provide the passwords of his hard drives, which were encrypted with Apple’s FileVault. This didn’t stop digital forensics experts from identifying content that was enough to convict Rawls.

The identified content included images of a teen girl in sexually objectionable poses and data of links used to visit child exploitation websites. Further investigation revealed that Rawls had downloaded thousands of documents bearing Hash Value that was known for being associated with child abuse images.

These documents couldn’t be accessed. Rawls’ sister also informed investigators that she had viewed hundreds of child sexual abuse images on the confiscated hard drives. After credible evidence was acquired, the court issued a decryption order in August 2015 to force Rawls to provide the password of devices, according to The Guardian.

One of the iPhones was unlocked by the suspect, but he refused to provide passwords of the encrypted hard drives claiming that he has forgotten their passcode. The court rejected this assertion (PDF) citing the testimony of Rawls’ sister who admitted that she had seen Rawls entering passwords from memory.

The suspect was held in contempt of court in September 2015. The decision has so far been upheld by US courts of appeals, the latest of such decision being issued on Monday when the third US Circuit Court of Appeals sustained this decision. Rawls remains imprisoned in the federal detention center, Philadelphia and will stay there until he agrees to comply with the court order.

In a brief order issued on Wednesday, US District Judge Cynthia Rufe stated that (PDF) the contempt-of-court offenses often involve indefinite prison terms and thus, Rawls will remain behind bars until he complies with the court or the Supreme Court lifts the order. Rawls’ attorney argued that in a legal nuance case the accused can be imprisoned for no more than 18 months. However, this argument was categorically refused by Justice Rufe, but she noted that the arguments of both the defendant and prosecution were “interesting and complex.”

Prosecutors state that it is absurd that Rawls’ has appealed against his confinement and requesting for bail since it is yet undecided whether forcing an individual to unlock a piece of hardware is a violation of Fifth Amendment or not. Furthermore, Rawls’ refusal to decrypt the drives claiming that he forgot the password isn’t a valid defense in such a sensitive case involving child porn. The accused has not complied with court’s order citing that the Fifth Amendment ensures protection from self-incrimination.

In a federal appeals court, it was concluded that Rawls’ case was a ‘foregone conclusion’ since it was believed that the hard drives contained content related to child porn and a forensic analysis of the computer system where the hard drives were attached revealed that the documents’ Hash values were indeed linked to child porn. However, no criminal charges have been finalized against Rawls about child porn offenses.

According to Keith Donoghue, suspect’s attorney and public defender, the ruling was disappointing, and he was already considering the next course of action. “The fact remains that the government has not brought charges. Our client has now been in custody for 18 months based on his assertion of his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination,” stated Donoghue.

The case has started a nationwide debate over the righteousness of right of a citizen to protect critically important information from a court of law and law enforcement citing the Fifth Amendment’s right to self-incrimination. In Rawls case, the drives are supposed to contain child sexual abuse evidence, so organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) need to think before siding with suspected pedophiles on the grounds of violation of constitutional right.

Smyrna man arrested on more than 10 charges related to child sexual abuse

Mariah Timms, USA Today 

A Smyrna man was arrested Friday morning on several charges related to the sexual abuse of a minor.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested J. C. Meeks, 66, after an investigation that began Aug. 18 on the request of 16th District Attorney General Jennings Jones.

Meeks was indicted Wednesday on 13 counts related to sexual battery and rape, as well as one drug-related charge.

“TBI agents began investigating allegations of sex abuse of a juvenile victim in Rutherford County,” TBI spokesperson Susan Niland said in an emailed statement Friday afternoon. “During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that J. C. Meeks, a friend of the family, was responsible for the sexual assault of the juvenile multiple times between 2012 and 2016.”

He faces two counts of aggravated sexual battery, two counts of rape of a child, five counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, one count of aggravated rape, one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of casual exchange of Schedule II to a minor, the TBI reported.

Meeks was booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center Friday on a $200,000 bond. 

Man sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse, other sex-related crimes

By Wendy Burton, Phoenix 

     

A Muskogee man who was charged with two counts child sexual abuse, soliciting a minor for indecent exposure, and possession of juvenile pornography pleaded guilty to all charges.

Glenn Douglas Smith, 60, received 30 years in prison on three counts and 20 years in prison on the fourth, and a $1,000 fine for each count, according to court records.

All but the first 25 years of the 30-year sentences were suspended, and each sentence is to run concurrently.

Smith, who was sentenced Thursday, will not be eligible for parole for at least 21 years and three months because child sexual abuse is a crime in which 85 percent of the time sentenced must be served before being considered for parole.

In addition, Smith will have to register as a sex offender upon his release, according to the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act.

Smith has a prior conviction of two counts of lewd or indecent proposals/acts to a child, according to Department of Corrections records.

However, because he was convicted in June 1989, and the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registration Act did not go into effect until Nov. 1, 1989, he was not registered as a sex offender.

In the case Smith pleaded guilty to on Thursday, he was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old on New Year’s Eve 2013 by “performing oral sex” on the child, according to court documents.

A woman who allegedly provided the child for Smith to assault in exchange for money is held without bond in the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility awaiting trial.

Heather Barbee, 34, is accused of sending "juveniles ... to perform sexual acts with an adult. The suspect then received payment from the adult in exchange for her not reporting the incident to the police,” the probable cause affidavit in her case says.

Barbee is charged with two counts of enabling child sexual abuse, and returns to court Oct. 12.