Startup founder charged with vicious child sex abuse
SAN MATEO, CA- The British founder of a Northern California startup tech company was arrested and charged with assaulting and sexually abusing a toddler.
Zain Jaffer, the founder of mobile advertising company Vungle, was also charged with battery of a police officer and emergency personnel.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Jaffer, possibly of South Asian origin, was charged with two counts of child abuse, against his son and daughter, as well as oral copulation of a person under 14, lewd act upon a child and assault likely to produce great bodily injury.
An initial charge of attempted murder was dropped after the district attorney determined there was not enough evidence to support it.
The 29-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges on October 17 in San Mateo County. Jaffer remained in San Mateo County Jail on October 20 on $300,000 bail.
San Francisco-based Vungle removed Jaffer as its chief executive on October 19 and placed him on indefinite leave. Rick Tallman, who replaced him as CEO, said Vungle “removed him as rapidly as possible,”media reports said.
"The actions of one individual are in no way reflective of the almost 200 dedicated and hard-working people who work for Vungle," Tallman said. "Everyone at the company is appalled and deeply saddened by these events."
Jaffer, who has degrees from King’s College London, London Business School and University College London, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2012, founded Vungle in London in 2011 and moved its operations to San Francisco shortly thereafter.
Jaffer’s next appearance in court is scheduled for November 1.
Victim of sexual abuse by felon refiles civil case
By Samantha Weigel Daily Journal
A victim of a former social worker convicted of sexually abusing three underage girls who were under his care in is suing San Mateo County for employing him.
It’s the third lawsuit the county is facing following revelations that Manuel Sedillo-Messer, a Child Protective Services employee, had inappropriate relations with at-risk teens under his care.
The suit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court Thursday was filed by Jane Doe No. 1, who accounted for nine of the 11 felony charges that put Sedillo-Messer behind bars, according to the lawsuit.
Doe, was 16 years old during the summer 2014 abuse while Sedillo-Messer was 37 years old. The victim also named Sedillo-Messer and Corbett Group Homes as defendants in her suit. Along with other county-operated residential facilities, Doe said she was placed at Corbett where staff had a duty to protect her and did not report abuse they should have reasonably suspected, according to the lawsuit. A representative of Corbett Group Homes declined to comment on the case Friday. County officials contend its officials unaware of the abuse while Sedillo-Messer was employed and have admonished him as a convicted felon who preyed on vulnerable minors.
Doe, now 20 years old, initially sued the county in 2015 with the second victim later joining the suit. However, she apparently dropped the case and the matter was dismissed without prejudice in 2016. It was not immediately clear why. The third victim filed a similar lawsuit in June of this year. The cases relating to the second and third victims are still pending, according to court records. Sedillo-Messer was employed as a social worker assigned to East Palo Alto families from 2006 until he resigned in late 2014. All three victims were 16 or 17 years old during the alleged abuse that occurred around the same time before his arrest.
The resubmitted civil lawsuit alleges Sedillo-Messer took advantage of Doe, who was a virgin before the man who acted like a father figure coerced her into having a sexual relationship with him. It began after the county assigned him as her family’s social worker in 2011. About three years later, he began to visit her daily to “groom her for a sexual relationship,” according to the lawsuit.
He would also relay intimate details of other sexual encounters and extramarital affairs before he began having sexual relations with her a few months later, according to the lawsuit. He also sent inappropriate text messages and photographs, including messages recounting their contacts, according to the lawsuit.
His behavior “was so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and should be regarded as despicable, atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society,” the lawsuit alleges before further describing Sedillo-Messer’s actions as “willful, wanton, malicious, oppressive and outrageous and warrants the award of exemplary and punitive damages.”
Prosecutors originally charged Sedillo-Messer with nearly 30 counts before he pleaded no contest to 11 charges and received a nine-year prison sentence.
The civil lawsuit includes complaints for sexual assault and battery, unlawful sexual intercourse, intentional infliction of emotional distress, gender violence, negligence and breach of mandatory duty. It also claims Sedillo-Messer was not adhering to regulations he report contacts with clients and his improper conduct should have served as a “red-flag” to the county, according to the lawsuit.
The county has stressed it was not aware of Sedillo-Messer’s criminal conduct while he was employed by it and that he was immediately placed on leave after accusations came to light. The social worker eventually resigned.
“We should all be grateful that Mr. Sedillo-Messer is now a convicted felon,” County Counsel John Beiers wrote in an email. “He deserves to serve every day of his long prison sentence for preying on the county’s most vulnerable minors.”
Los Lonely Boys drummer accused of
possession of child pornography
Senora Scott, KENS
SAN ANGELO, TX - It started with an outcry made by a 13-year-old girl. The allegations turned into an investigation by San Angelo police. The offense, possession of child pornography. The alleged offender, Ringo Garza, better known as the drummer for Los Lonely Boys.
According to police reports, on July 21, a 13-year-old female, referenced as “A.G.” in the report, told Garza’s wife that Garza, who is 35, had taken screenshots of her nude breasts. The victim told her that she and Garza were Facetiming on July 20 when he asked her to expose her breasts. When she did, she heard the screenshot sound.
On July 22, Garza’s wife called police.
Police learned that often, when A.G. would try to get off of the phone when talking to Garza, he would become angry. He told her the only way he would no longer be mad at her is if she showed him her nude breasts. The report calls this behavior “grooming,” a term referring to when a sexual predator conditions a victim to comply with their requests.
Police reports also say that about three months before the outcry, Garza Facetimed A.G. while she was in the shower. He repeatedly asked her to move the phone so he could see her nude body.
A.G. also told police she had showered with both Garza and his wife about a month before the outcry. The police report calls this behavior “highly inappropriate” and “suggestive of sexual abuse.”
After the outcry was made, police got a search warrant for Garza’s home. On July 24, law enforcement executed the search warrant and seized at least 24 electronic items capable of storing images.
Those items were all sent off to be analyzed. If any pornographic images are found, Garza will be charged with possession of child pornography.
Abilene mother wants trial soon for alleged
child sex predator
Natalie Martinez
ABILENE, Texas - An Abilene mother is hoping the man accused of sexually assaulting her children will face trial in December.
Marshall Keith Carter, former Big Country Jailer at the Wallace Unit in Colorado City, was arrested and released on bond in August 2016.
According to court documents, he confessed to sexually assaulting a boy who was 11 years old at the time. The sexual abuse began in September 2013 and lasted until October 2014, document states. Carter allegedly "committed two or more sexual acts against the child."
However, Carter’s sexual abuse may not have ended there. Recently the victim’s sister came forward after his arrest, stating she was also assaulted by Carter.
"How could he do this to my kids? I guess it was more of a how could he be so selfish to take their innocence," the victim’s mother said. "I want him behind bars, the sooner the better, because the longer he's out there, the more chance there is that another kid's going to go through the same thing."
Waiting on the judicial process has taken a toll on the victim’s family. The mother said she couldn’t believe Carter was arrested five months after his confession, and since her daughter came forward the Taylor County District Court re-indicted Carter. The entire process has delayed Carter's case.
"Why has it taken so long to get a child molester who's admitted to what he's done off the streets?" the victim’s mother said.
Carter’s trial has been scheduled for December 11 but the victim’s mother fears it may be set back to a later date. The Taylor County District Attorney’s Office said the docket always changes and there is a chance the trial could be rescheduled.
Abilene man arrested for 4 years of
sexual abuse of child
Brooke Crum, Abilene Reporter-News
Abilene police arrested a 38-year-old man Thursday on suspicion he sexually abused a girl under age 14 for a period of at least four years, according to an arrest report.
Timothy Michael Unzueta was arrested in connection with an investigation into continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and possession of child pornography, the arrest report states.
A 14-year-old girl made an outcry that Unzueta had been sexually abusing her since she was 10, according to the arrest report. Investigators then interviewed Unzueta and he allegedly corroborated a "large portion" of the girl's allegations.
Unzueta remains in the Taylor County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $50,000, according to jail records.
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