Teenager in LAPD cadet scandal files claim
over alleged sex abuse
Cadets file past Police Chief Charlie Beck for inspection before their graduation ceremony at USC's Galen Center in June. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
A 15-year-old girl who investigators say was sexually abused by a former Los Angeles police officer while she was part of the department’s cadet program filed a claim against the city Thursday, alleging the officer spent months gaining her trust before luring her into a sexual encounter, according to a court filing.
Robert Cain, 31, used his influence as a police officer and mentor to draw his teenage victim into a series of sexual encounters earlier this year, said attorney Luis Carrillo, who is representing the girl.
"He was manipulating her for his use," he said. "She needs a lot of therapy."
Cain was arrested and charged with multiple sex offenses involving an underage member of the cadet program earlier this year. The alleged sexual acts occurred June 14, according to the court filing, which does not name the girl. Cain, a 10-year veteran of the LAPD, resigned last month.
Details of the alleged abuse first surfaced in June, as the LAPD was investigating the theft of department cruisers, bulletproof vests and other equipment from the 77th Street Division. Three cadets led police on a wild chase while allegedly driving the stolen cruisers in South L.A., police have said.
The victim was among seven cadets arrested in connection with the thefts. A review of text messages between the victim and Cain, who was assigned to 77th Street Division’s equipment room, revealed evidence of unlawful sexual contact, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
Beck personally arrested Cain, and he was charged with committing lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation with a minor and unlawful sexual intercourse in July. Cain has yet to enter a plea on those charges, as he awaits trial on felony weapons charges in San Bernardino County.
Carrillo said the teen was so traumatized by her interactions with Cain that she did not inform police about them when she was arrested. The attorney also alleged that supervisors at 77th Street Division allowed Cain “unfettered access” to the victim, though he did not claim they knew of the sexual relationship. At the time the alleged incidents took place, LAPD policy did not forbid one-on-one interactions between officers and members of department youth programs.
Carrillo alleged that other officers at 77th Street Division knew about the improper use of LAPD vehicles by cadets, and failed to intervene. The LAPD has repeatedly said no other officers have been accused of wrongdoing in the cadet scandal.
Cain’s attorney, Bill Seki, declined to comment on the claim. Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office, said the office had not viewed the filing as of Thursday morning and could not comment further. Calls and emails to the LAPD seeking comment were not returned.
Beginning in January 2017, the officer “groomed, seduced, coerced and tricked” the victim before performing lewd acts upon her, according to the claim, which seeks monetary damages. The officer “pretended” to be the girl’s friend and took her to Six Flags Magic Mountain, “told her that he was in love with her” and sent the victim inappropriate text messages, according to the claim.
Robert Cain, 31, is charged with four sex crimes in Los Angeles
Former LAPD Officer at center of cadet scandal is charged with multiple sex crimes in Los Angeles (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Law enforcement sources previously told The Times that Cain took the victim to Six Flags Magic Mountain on the day of the sexual assaults. Beck has said Cain sexually assaulted the victim during three separate incidents that day, none of which took place on LAPD property.
After the sexual contact, the officer feared the victim might become pregnant, and suggested she take an emergency contraceptive pill, according to the claim.
The LAPD, the claim contends, knew the officer was a “problem” and had been subject to a personnel complaint while working in the Van Nuys division in 2015, before he was transferred to 77th Street Division. Beck had said Cain did not have a significant disciplinary history.
Cain’s mother, Maria, also previously told The Times that her son had expressed worry about a situation involving a young girl shortly before he was arrested. “Oh Mom, there is a problem with a girl,” Cain said, according to his mother. “I have a bad feeling about it.”
The cadet scandal led the department to change some policies governing the program, and sparked calls for an audit of all LAPD youth initiatives. The cadet program was suspended at 77th Street and Pacific Divisions after news of the thefts and the allegations against Cain became public.
The LAPD has yet to present cases for prosecution against the seven cadets accused of stealing property or leading officers on car chases, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. An LAPD spokesman said the investigation into the cadets’ activities remains ongoing.
Escambia County Sheriff, Department Sued By
Child Sex Ring Victims
By Brad Gunther
PENSACOLA, Florida (WKRG) – Two children victimized sexually at the hands of their mother and step-father, who were both Escambia County Sheriffs employees at the time, have filed a federal lawsuit against Sheriff David Morgan, The Escambia County Sheriffs office and Mark Smith.
Smith is an Escambia County Deputy who was acquitted at trial of similar charges and is currently on administrative leave with the department. Walter “Mike” Thomas, another Deputy not involved in this lawsuit, was previously convicted of three counts of sexual battery and sentenced to 30 years in prison on two counts and 15 years probation on the third count.
Leah Manning, the twin girls’ mother was an ECSO Nurse at the time, and their step-father, Doug Manning who was an ECSO Deputy, have both been convicted in state court on charges of Lewd and Lascivious behavior. The twin girls say the couple invited their friends, including Thomas and Smith, to have sex with themselves and the girls beginning in the summer of 2014. At times, the suit contends, the Deputies were on duty and in their uniforms.
The suit claims that Sheriff David Morgan was “deliberately indifferent” to the health and safety of the sisters by “deliberately failing to investigate the reports of widespread sexual promiscuity of his servants, agents, officers and/or other employees while they were on duty and actively engaged in performing law enforcement duties.” The suit also claims that, once the sexual abuse claims were known or should have been known to Morgan,, the Sheriff failed to report the possible abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline as required by law.
The suit also alleges that the Escambia County Sheriffs Office “engaged in a pattern and practice of allowing its servants, agents, officers, and/or other employees, including Defendant Smith and officer Thomas, to engage in sexual conduct while on duty…”
Although found not guilty in a jury trial in 2016, the suit reasserts the allegation that Mark Smith engaged in sexual activity with the girls.
Doug and Leah Manning were apprehended at a Florence, Colorado campground after two weeks on the run in March of 2015.
Escambia County, FLA
Moabite sentenced to state prison in
child sex abuse case
by Greg Knight
The Times-Independent
A Moab, Utah man will spend up to 35 years in state prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a child in Seventh District Court on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
Johnathon Miller, 29, was ordered by Seventh District Court Judge Lyle Anderson to serve two consecutive terms of between one and 15 years each after accepting a plea bargain in the case. He was also sentenced consecutively to zero to five years on a probation violation stemming from a previous felony case involving the discharge of a firearm. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will ultimately determine the amount of time Miller spends in prison.
Miller pleaded guilty to the two second-degree felony charges just 30 minutes prior to the start of his trial. In making the deal, Grand County Attorney Andrew Fitzgerald dropped six other charges against Miller, including rape and sodomy of a child. According to Fitzgerald, a jury was summoned and he was prepared to begin trial when the agreement was struck with Miller’s public defender, Don Torgerson.
The deal Fitzgerald and the defense agreed to would have run Miller’s sentences concurrently. Judge Anderson declined to accept that agreement, however, and in issuing his sentence handed down consecutive terms.
Way to go judge!
Under Utah law, judges are not obligated to follow a plea agreement and may sentence a defendant as they see fit under state guidelines, which is what Judge Anderson did in Miller’s case.
“Normally, 14 days before trial, the judge cuts us off from making any plea bargains,” Fitzgerald said. “The rationale in that is that once you have brought in a lot of people to seat a prospective jury, you’ve wasted a lot of peoples’ time and … the courts pay about $18 a day, per person, so it can add up. At the last minute, the defendant decided to accept our offer, which was one we had extended during virtually the entire case … the judge didn’t go with our recommendation because he decided the facts of the case and the seriousness of the charges warranted consecutive sentences.”
Fitzgerald added that, out of deep concern for the victim in the case, he asked Judge Anderson to allow the plea bargain to go forward.
“We left that door open for [Miller] to plead to this because we had a child witness,” Fitzgerald said. “The judge allowed his rules to be relaxed because the therapist in the case came back to us saying that having her testify would be difficult for her and likely set her back in the therapy [the child] is receiving … it’s one of those situations where it made sense not to put the child witness on the stand.”
Fitzgerald said the case, which was first brought to the attention of authorities in March by staff at the Grand County School District, was delayed in its reporting and no forensic evidence of a rape or abuse was revealed. That, he said, also made an impact on his decision to seek acceptance of a late plea agreement from Judge Anderson.
“There was no physical evidence, so in this case it came down to a 9-year-old child versus the defendant,” Fitzgerald said. “A lot can happen in court when it comes to a child victim and there is a lot of risk when it’s a ‘he said, she said’ type of situation. With all of that considered, and no forensic evidence, we were fortunate to get the change of plea from the judge rather than put this child through all of that.”
While the specific details of the allegations against Miller have not been made public, Fitzgerald said the abuse occurred over of period of time when the victim was five to six years old.
Grand County teacher, counselor broke the case
It was the diligent work of a teacher and counselor from Grand County School District that broke the criminal case against Johnathon Miller, according to Grand County Attorney Andrew Fitzgerald. That teacher, Fitzgerald said, used the “Good Touch and Bad Touch” program training in her classroom at Helen M. Knight Elementary School when the child, who was an 8-year-old at the time, reported the crimes.
“The testimony we would have heard, had this case gone to trial, was that the school district used the Good Touch and Bad Touch training when this child spoke up,” Fitzgerald said. “The reason we have a program like this is because of the actions of the Grand County Children’s Justice Center. It’s a program they started here that goes into the schools and tells about what are ‘good’ touches and ‘bad’ touches. Kids are told that it’s important to tell your teachers about these things.”
According to Fitzgerald, the victim reported the “bad” touch just one day after hearing about the program in the classroom. At that point a counselor was brought in and it was reported to law enforcement.
Having the Good Touch and Bad Touch program in Grand County schools is an important factor, Fitzgerald added, in helping to identify predators and keep children safe in the community. “I think it’s great that we have this,” Fitzgerald said. “This shows that the program is effective and empowers them to go to people they can trust and say something bad happened to them.”
Fitzgerald added that in this case Miller, who was dating the young victim’s mother, had allegedly asked the child to “keep it a secret” and that he “would go to jail” if anyone found out.
If you know of a victim of child sexual abuse, contact the Moab Police Department at 435-259-8938, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office at 435-259-8115, or call the Division of Child and Family Services at 800-678-9399.
Iowa sex offender indicted for child porn
JEFF REINITZ jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com
GREENE – A federal grand jury has returned a child pornography indictment against a Floyd County sex offender.
On Oct. 18, a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids handed up the indictment charging 54-year-old David Paul Myers (no relation, I hope) of Greene with one count of receipt of child porn and two counts each of possession of child porn and accessing child porn. The case was unsealed on Wednesday.
Myers has prior convictions for third-degree sexual abuse involving boys in Butler and Floyd counties from 1998.
In the new charge, court records allege Myers had visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity between March 2005 and January 2015, which were stored on a Toshiba laptop computer and a CD labeled “Hot Young Lads Vol. 2,” and attempted to access child porn on a Samsung cell phone and an RCA tablet.
Court records show that his home was searched by authorities in January 2015.
Oklahoma man found guilty on two counts of
child sexual abuse
Jessica Lane
Robert Smith, of Amber, was found guilty on two counts of child sexual abuse, according to Grady County District Attorney, Jason Hicks.
It has been recommended that Smith serve a life sentence for each count in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Smith will be formally sentenced by the Grady County District Court at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2018, Hicks said.
Smith's charges are the result of his actions towards two children, ages 7 and 8, Hicks said. The children's mother reported the alleged abuse to the Amber Police Department in December 2016. A request for assistance was made to Investigator Michael Francis and upon completion of his investigation, charges were filed against Smith for his actions, Hicks said.
The Honorable Kory Kirkland presided over the trial on Oct. 26. The State of Oklahoma appeared by Kara Bacon, First Assistant District Attorney, and Missy Benedict, Assistant District Attorney. District Attorney Investigator Francis was the lead investigator and sat as the State’s case agent.
Man accused of sex assault claims alleged
victim may be a 'sociopath'
An Escambia County man who said he took a child to the doctor because he suspected she had been sexually abused has himself been arrested for allegedly abusing that child.
Timothy Lee Cook, 27, faces one count of sexual assault of a victim under 12 for the alleged abuse, which police say happened between November 2016 and September 2017.
Cook's Escambia County Sheriff's Office arrest report doesn't mention the child's age. It states the woman who reported the alleged abuse did so after the child mentioned she had seen and touched Cook's genitals.
The woman told authorities she hadn't seen any odd behavior between the victim and Cook, but reported comments the child had made to investigators. The child told investigators during an interview that she played a sexual game with Cook and he would reward her with ice cream after.
When Cook was interviewed, he said the girl was very smart but he doesn't know why she would say she had touched his genitals. He told investigators maybe she had dreamed it, or she had walked in on him watching pornography and had been confused.
The report states Cook said there was a high possibility the victim was molested, but it wasn't by him.
Cook also told police he thought the victim was a sociopath, and said he and the woman who reported the alleged abuse took the child to a doctor because they suspected sexual abuse.
He said doctors at that time were unable to determine if the child had been sexually abused.
The report also states Cook offered to take polygraph test, which he reportedly failed.
Cook allegedly said the test showed deception because his house had been broken into and he was stressed. He said he doesn't think the child was making up the abuse, but he thought she was mistaken about the suspect.
Cook was booked into the Escambia County Jail on Wednesday and is being held without bond. Court records do not show an attorney for Cook.
Escambia Co., FLA
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