3 Texas men indicted on separate sexual abuse cases involving girls 7 and younger
A Lubbock County Grand jury indicted three men this week after they were accused in separate cases of sexual abuse involving children.
Brandon Barrientez, 19, and Joshua Robledo, 20, are each charged with separate counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault of a child, which carries a punishment of five years to life in prison.
Chad Moore, 29, is charged with a second-degree felony count of indecency with a child by sexual contact, which carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
Barrientez
Lubbock police responded to a call reporting a sexual assault Nov. 17, 2016, at a home in the 3400 block of East Cornell.
A family member there told police a 5-year-old girl made an outcry to her four days before about being sexually abused by Barrientez while she slept that summer, according to an arrest warrant issued Dec. 18.
Garcia said she confronted Barrientez, who denied the outcry, the warrant states.
The girl told a forensic interviewer Barrientez sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping on a couch and told her not to tell anyone, the warrant states. She said Barrientez also molested her at the women’s restroom at a Wal-Mart.
Barrientez was arrested Jan. 5 and was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center where he remains. His bond is set at $75,000.
Moore
On March 24 of 2017, police responded to a sexual assault call at a home in the 1900 block of 24th Street.
A relative of a 7-year-old girl told police the girl made an outcry accusing Moore of inappropriately touching her, according to an arrest warrant issued on Dec. 18.
The girl told a forensic interviewer Moore groped her chest while they were alone. Later, she said he exposed himself to her, the warrant states.
The warrant states Moore responded to the girl’s outcry by telling police the family member threatened to “make his life hell” after he ended their relationship.
Moore was booked Jan. 6 into the Lubbock County jail, where he remains. His bond is set at $20,000.
Robledo
Police responded July 30 to the Covenant Medical Center emergency room for a sexual assault report.
A family member told police a 5-year-old girl made an outcry accusing Robledo and two other people of sexually assaulting her, according to an arrest warrant issued Dec. 21.
The girl told a forensic interviewer the abuse happened multiple times.
A sexual assault nurse examiner found injuries on the girl’s genitals that may have resulted from an assault or may have been self-inflicted, the warrant states.
Robledo was being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center on an unrelated case when a detective spoke to him.
During the interview, Robledo reportedly admitted to the detective he abused the girl, the warrant states. He also reportedly admitted to abusing other children. However, he told the detective the girl initiated the sexual contact and he let her.
A warrant for his arrest was prepared on Dec. 21. However, Robledo was booked again into the Lubbock County jail on Dec. 8 for violating a promise to appear in court on an unrelated case. Court records show he was served the warrant for the sexual assault case on Dec. 22.
Illinois man arrested in second
child sex abuse case
Hours after a Rolling Meadows man charged with sexually abusing a girl was released from Cook County jail on home monitoring Friday, he was arrested on similar charges in a separate case.
Bradley Pletz, 56, was ordered held without bail on charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Gates said the new charges stem from an incident more than a year ago when the girl was ages 7 to 9.
According to prosecutors and court records, Pletz was arrested in November 2017 on charges he sexually assaulted a different girl who was about the same age. That case is pending in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.
If convicted in both cases of predatory criminal sexual assault, Pletz faces up to natural life in prison, Gates said.
Defense attorney James Busch asked Cook County Judge Steven J. Goebel to set an "umbrella bond" that would apply to both cases, saying prosecutors knew about the allegations from the second accuser during his client's initial bond hearing on Nov. 22.
Goebel denied his request, saying the court was aware of only one accuser at that time.
In denying bail, Goebel said, "the court finds this defendant to be a danger."
A California man has pleaded guilty to
production of child pornography
Posted By: Debbie Cobb
According to court documents, Nathan Alexander Drury, 39, filmed a 47-second video of a nude child who was under the age of 12.
The video that Drury produced shows the child being sexually abused, according to U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott. Scott says the video was filmed between January 1, 2012, and December 1, 2014.
This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Chico Police Department. The arrest was part of a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Drury has been in custody since he was arrested on March 23, 2015. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on April 6, 2018. He faces a maximum 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
NY state man faces new child sex charges
By Chris Libonati clibonati@syracuse.com,
OSWEGO COUNTY, N.Y. -- An Oswego County man faces new child sex charges, according to the Oswego County Sheriff's Office.
Richard L. Calkins Sr., 30, of 615 66 Road in the town of Hannibal, was charged with engaging in a criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child on Jan. 10. The charges stem from an investigation into an incident on Dec. 27, 2017, police said.
He engaged in oral sexual contact with a child younger than 11 years old, police said the investigation found. Calkins was initially arrested and charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child on Jan. 1. The new charges have been added to the prior charges.
Calkins was arraigned in Town of Hannibal Cout and remanded back to the Oswego County Jail. He is being held with bail from the previous charges.
Three School Leaders Charged for Failing to Report Suspected Sexual Abuse of Child by Teacher
By Jane Gray, Epoch TimesA 14-year-old Colorado student who told school leaders she had been sexually assaulted by a teacher was suspended, and forced to apologize to the accused teacher and hug him, according to a Wednesday, Jan. 10 indictment.
The school leaders, named as Principal David Gonzales, Vice Principal Adrienne “AJ” MacIntosh, and counselor Cheryl Somers-Wegienka, are facing a misdemeanor charge of failure to report child abuse or neglect.
When the teenage student at Prairie Middle School told school officials in 2013 that a social studies teacher, Brian Vasquez, had sexually abused her that year, the staff decided to launch their own investigation into the accusations instead of telling local police, the Aurora Sentinel reported.
The school-led investigation included questioning the girl while Vasquez was in the room.
The trio of school officials allegedly told the unnamed girl that her claims could damage Vasquez’s family and career, and that he was a “valued teacher.” After that, she retracted the accusations and was eventually suspended for lying.
Vice Principal MacIntosh claims she has no recollection of the student (referred to as “CV” or “child victim” in the indictment) reporting the alleged assault.
“MacIntosh further claimed that she could not remember her involvement in any aspect of the disciplinary process resulting in CV’s suspension from school, even when presented with official documentation from the school district bearing her signature, and confirming her presence the meeting with CV,” states the indictment, obtained by the Aurora Sentinel.
Sounds far too mentally incompetent to be holding a Vice-Principal position.
At the time, Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz said at a news conference, “We believe there may be additional victims either at the current school where this teacher is employed or past schools where he was previously employed,” Fox 31 reported.
The 34-year-old has a history of molesting his students and faces 37 counts relating to sexual contact and sexual communication with teenage girls, including raping a 15-year-old student in 2016 and 2017 and exchanging graphic images with a 15-year-old in 2015.
If true, the recent indictment could explain why he had not been caught earlier—it appears that school leaders were helping him conceal his actions.
Cherry Creek Schools Communications Director Abbe Smith sent a statement to KMGH-TV about the indictments that read: “We are aware of the indictments. The two individuals who are employed with Cherry Creek Schools, Prairie Middle School Principal David Gonzales and Assistant Principal A.J. MacIntosh, have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the court proceedings. We will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office.”
Somers, who is named in the legal proceedings, no longer works for the district.
But does she work for another district?
Mistrial means in no-justice for brutalized little Missouri girl
A failure of the state judicial system?
Child sexual abuse case dismissed
Jeff Lehr The Jasper County prosecutor's office recently dismissed child sexual abuse charges that a Webb City man has been facing since 2015.
Prosecutor Theresa Kenney said the charges against Charles B. Tyler, 40, were dismissed because the alleged victim, who is an adult now, did not wish to have to testify at trial a second time about incidents that took place when she was a child.
Tyler was tried a year ago in Jasper County Circuit Court on two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and a single count of first-degree statutory rape. One of the sodomy counts was dismissed by the prosecutor's officer after the presentation of evidence because of some confusion surrounding the alleged victim's testimony regarding an incident when she was 4 or 5 years old.
The other two counts pertained to alleged incidents when the girl was 6 or 7 years old and 10 years old. The jury deadlocked on those counts, and Circuit Judge David Mouton declared a mistrial. The prosecutor's office went ahead with the case, intending to try Tyler a second time until the victim indicated that she no longer wished to pursue prosecution.
There is little doubt that an inadequate system of deposing child victims contributed to this case falling apart. Missouri needs to get with the 21st century and find ways to make testifying less terrifying for children. They also need to make sure this child gets the psychological help she really needs.
Texas school board member indicted on
child sex abuse charges
Daniel Bennett, vice president of the Paint Rock school board, was indicted Jan. 10 on three charges regarding crimes against a child, according to KIDY Fox San Angelo.
School administrators were informed by law enforcement officials of Bennett's indictment and arrest stemming from a 2016 accusation, according to a news release from Paint Rock school district.
The school district's release stated the "alleged local female victim was 19 and had already graduated high school" when the accusations came to light.
Bennett is a contractor and has employed a number of local people, the school district's release stated, including members of the alleged victim's family before their employment was terminated.
The allegations — investigated in 2016 by the Concho County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Child Protective Services and the Texas Rangers — did not involve any events that took place on school grounds or at school events, according to the release. The accusations also were not connected to any actions related to Bennett's role as a school board trustee.
Bennett has served on the board since 2006 and has served on the Concho County Appraisal District's Board of Trustees for several years, the release stated. Bennett was last re-elected to his position in May 2017 and serves as the vice president.
According to the release, Bennet said he will voluntarily not be attending school board meetings until his name is cleared, and he will not be on campus until the matter is resolved.
The release concludes: "Paint Rock ISD looks forward to the resolution of this matter and will be glad to assist the legal authorities any way we can. As always, the safety of our students remains our greatest concern and our greatest commitment."
Nebraska man sentenced for possessing child pornography
By Press ReleaseLINCOLN, Neb. – Acting United States Attorney Robert C. Stuart announced that Bobby Joe Ansley, 38, of Mullen, Nebraska, was sentenced Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 120 months in prison by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard, for possession of child pornography. After his release from prison, Ansley will also serve 12 years of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.
Based on the Cyber Tips and information provided by the third-party, the State Patrol obtained a Search warrant for Ansley’s residence in Mullen, Nebraska. Officers found the external hard drive and paperwork containing the password for the device. NSP found 1,950 identified images of sexually explicit conduct involving minors, as defined by federal law, on Ansley’s hard drive. These included images of child pornography involving prepubescent minors who had not attained 12 years of age. Further investigation revealed that the minors in the images were identified as living outside the state of Nebraska and that the images were produced outside the state of Nebraska and shipped or transported to Nebraska.
Ansley was previously convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in the Southern District of California on October 2, 2003.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
'You show no remorse'; judge sentences 'despicable' defendant to 8 years for child sex attack
By Frank Donnelly fdonnelly@siadvance.comSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In a pre-sentencing interview with the city Probation Department, Howard Bannister said he wasn't sad about sexually attacking a 12-year-old girl on New Year's Eve 2016 in Stapleton.
In fact, Bannister told Justice Mario F. Mattei on Friday he didn't feel guilty about the incident and complained about losing his apartment and job over his arrest and conviction by plea of attempted rape.
Incensed, Mattei lit into the Brooklyn resident and ex-convict before sentencing him to eight years in prison under a plea agreement.
"It's one of the most despicable things I've ever seen, and your attitude is even worse," Mattei said. "You show no remorse for what you've done. In your statement to the Probation Department you admit your guilt, and you fluff it off as though it was consensual between you and a child. You have no idea of the harm you caused (the victim)."
According to a criminal complaint, the incident occurred inside a Chestnut Street home at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2016.
Bannister, then 57, touched the girl's genital area, said authorities. The defendant abused the victim on other occasions, according to statements made in court.
Bannister was subsequently busted on June 15 of last year after an investigation.
Eliza Dushku Accuses ‘True Lies’ Stunt Man Of Sexual Assault When She was 12
The Stars are Falling
by David RobbActress Eliza Dushku has accused famed stunt coordinator Joel Kramer of sexually molesting her when she was 12 years old during filming of True Lies. Dushku, the former Buffy The Vampire and Dollhouse actress, starred as the daughter of the characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kramer, who has long been Schwarzenegger personal stunt double, was the film’s stunt coordinator.
“These are outlandish, manipulated lies,” Kramer told Deadline. “I never sexually molested her. I’m sick to my stomach. It’s not true. I think she’s making this up in her imagination. This is all lies. Lies, lies, lies. This is just crazy. I treated her like a daughter. We all looked out for her. How does a guy like me fight against something like this? I don’t know what to do. I guess I’ll have to get a lawyer and file a lawsuit against her for defamation and slander.”
Dushku’s accusation: “When I was 12 years old, while filming True Lies, I was sexually molested by Joel Kramer, one of Hollywood’s leading stunt coordinators,” she wrote. “Ever since, I have struggled with how and when to disclose this, if ever. At the time, I shared what happened to me with my parents, two adult friends and one of my older brothers. No one seemed ready to confront this taboo subject then, nor was I.”
“I remember how afterwards, the taxi driver stared at me in the rear view mirror when Joel Kramer put me on his lap in the backseat and clutched me and grew aroused again; and how my eyes never left the driver’s eyes during that long ride over a Miami bridge, back to my hotel and parent. I remember how Joel Kramer grew cold with me in the ensuing weeks, how everything felt different on the set.
And I remember how soon-after, when my tough adult female friend (in whom I had confided my terrible secret on the condition of a trade that she let me drive her car around the Hollywood Hills) came out to the set to visit and face him, later that very same day, by no small coincidence, I was injured from a stunt-gone-wrong on the Harrier jet. With broken ribs, I spent the evening in the hospital. To be clear, over the course of those months rehearsing and filming True Lies, it was Joel Kramer who was responsible for my safety on a film that at the time broke new ground for action films. On a daily basis he rigged wires and harnesses on my 12 year old body. My life was literally in his hands: he hung me in the open air, from a tower crane, atop an office tower, 25+ stories high.”
Kramer also insisted that he never intentionally hurt her on the film. “I remember she might have gotten a little bruised” – from hanging by a harness and wires during the Harrier Jet scene – “but I don’t think she broke any ribs.”
“Why speak out now?” she asked on Facebook. “I was 12, he was 36. It is incomprehensible. Why didn’t an adult on the set find his predatory advances strange — that over-the-top special attention he gave me. Fairly early on he nicknamed me ‘Jailbait’ and brazenly called me by this name in a sick flirty way in front of others (at the time, I remember asking one of my older brothers what it meant). Sure, I’ve come to understand the terrible power dynamics that play into whistle-blowing by ‘subordinates’ against persons in power, how difficult it can be for someone to speak up. But I was a child. Over the years I’ve really struggled as I’ve wondered how my life might have been different if someone, any one grown-up who witnessed his sick ways, had spoken up before he lured me to that hotel room.
Kramer, however, says that her claim that he was “found out” about other alleged assaults on young actors and was “forced to leave the business” years ago is another lie. “Look at my IMDb page,” he said. “There are no missing years. That’s another lie.” And says he believes that the photo of him hugging a little girl she refers to is from his own Facebook page from the film The Conjuring 2.
“Hollywood has been very good to me in many ways,” Dushka wrote. “Nevertheless, Hollywood also failed to protect me, a child actress. I like to think of myself as a tough Boston chick, in many ways I suppose not unlike Faith, Missy, or Echo. Through the years, brave fans have regularly shared with me how some of my characters have given them the conviction to stand up to their abusers. Now it is you who give me strength and conviction. I hope that speaking out will help other victims and protect against future abuse.
“With every person that speaks out, every banner that drops down onto my iphone screen disclosing similar stories/truths, my resolve strengthens. Sharing these words, finally calling my abuser out publicly by name, brings the start of a new calm.”
She added that she is “grateful to the women and men who have gone before me in recent months. The ever-growing list of sexual abuse and harassment victims who have spoken out with their truths have finally given me the ability to speak out. It has been indescribably exhausting, bottling this up inside me for all of these years.”
Someone accessed Kramer’s IMDb page today and posted that “Joel Kramer is a known child molester. He repeatedly abused children off set of numerous movies and then left their life in his hands on-set during stunts.” It’s since been taken down. “Somebody is hacking my IMDb page,” he said, “and now I’m getting all kinds of hate emails saying that I should kill myself.”
Dushku’s mother, Judith, confirmed her daughter’s account of the alleged assault. In a comment on Eliza’s Facebook page, she answered a commenter’s assertion that “Your parents have some answering to do. Big blockbuster or not, my child comes to me and others saying they have been abused like this? No chance in hell that child would be going back, I don’t care how much money or fame is at stake. Hollywood is vile and your parents made some poor decisions. I’m sorry.”
“I accept your condemnation as Eliza’s mother,” Judith wrote. “No, it was not her career that I feared for, as that meant nothing to me. I was afraid of Joel Kramer, too. And it was years later that I finally understood fully what really happened. At the time, Eliza was too scared to tell the whole story and in a way I think she protected me from knowing because she knew how frightened I was of the powerful men on the set. Her lose was the worst, but abuse can throw a wide net. I only began to understand this many years later. Thank you to your mother for what she did for you. I wish I had been that brave.”
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