Ex-Disneyland employee sentenced to 125 years
for child sex crimes
By ABC7.com staff
SAN BERNARDINO, California -- A former Disneyland employee who had a manual on "How to Practice Child Love" has been sentenced to more than 125 years in state prison for multiple counts of child sexual assault, authorities said.
David Goodman, 25, of Banning, was convicted in February of multiple counts of lewd acts on a child, possession of child pornography and related charges.
Prosecutors say Goodman, who also volunteered at a children's theater group, intentionally befriended single mothers, calling them "easy targets" in his efforts to gain access to children.
They say when he was 21 he befriended two women in their early 30s who both have children. His victims ranged in age from 5 to 11.
"In a detailed confession letter, the defendant mentioned the best way to gain access to kids was by befriending single mothers who he described as 'easy targets,'" said deputy district attorney Melinda Spencer.
The prosecutor also said investigators found a manual called "How to Practice Child Love" on Goodman's computer.
At the time of his arrest in December 2014, authorities said Goodman had worked at Disneyland since August of that year.
The case first came to investigators' attention with a report of a then-21-year-old man masturbating in front of two children, ages 6 and 9, at a Yucaipa residence. Further investigation uncovered previous sexual abuse of victims described as boys ages 6 and 9 and a girl, age 5.
Fresno sex offender who recorded abuse could face longest punishment in California history
A jury in a Fresno County child sex case returned
guilty verdicts on all 36 charges
By Corin Hoggard
FRESNO, Calif. -- Cornelio Jimenez lied to police about where he lived for more than a year. The registered sex offender only showed up on their radar when they traced child porn to the home where he lived. During that time, prosecutors say he discussed molesting kids in emails.
"There's this very cute little 4-year-old girl that I babysit about once a week," prosecutors Deborah Miller said, quoting one of Jimenez's emails. "I have hella pictures of her. I have to molest her every chance I get."
Investigators found videos showing Jimenez engaging in sexual activity with two girls -- ages four and seven -- who lived in the home he wouldn't tell police about. Prosecutors showed jurors pieces of the videos as evidence of 36 counts of sex crimes and child porn.
"And how do we know?" Miller asked the jury about Jimenez's guilt. "Because on 30 of them we saw pictures and video of it."
At least one couple people related to the victims walked out of court as still photos from the videos came up again in closing arguments Tuesday. After his arrest, police say Jimenez admitted to the crimes, but his public defender argued two of the 36 counts really involve the same criminal act.
"The easy thing to do in this case is to clump all the counts together," said Angelica Rivera. "That's the easy thing to do. The right thing is to take them separately."
Jimenez turned down an offer of 75 years to life before trial. Jimenez is to be sentenced on May 8, 2018 and is in Fresno County Jail with no bail.
He faces more than 1,882 years to life in prison. He was convicted on all the charges.
We've asked several court experts and none of them can find a longer sentence in California court history.
It appears, however, even with an 1882 year sentence he can be eligible for parole once he turns 60 and has served 25 years or more. Makes you wonder - what's the point?
Twin brothers arrested for child porn a week apart
in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- In a strange twist, the twin brother of a child pornography suspect in San Jose has also been arrested for similar offenses.
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| Clifford (L) & Clinton Papadakis |
Detectives have arrested Oak Grove High School track coach, Clinton Pappadakis. Suspicious activity involving the coach was reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Police served a search warrant at his home and investigators say they found child pornography on multiple devices belonging to the suspect.
Just last week, police arrested his twin brother -- Clifford.
Clifford Pappadakis worked as a PE teacher and track and field coach at Willow Glen Middle School.
He appeared in court last week and is on supervised release.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to call them immediately.
Mountain View tutor arrested for engaging in lewd acts with children
By Vic Lee
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- A Chinese language tutor in Mountain View has been arrested for engaging in lewd acts with children, authorities say. And now police are looking for more possible victims.
Yizhuang John Liu worked at the San Yu Learning Center in Mountain View as a volunteer tutor for some two years and was a member of the school's board of directors.
The Learning Center rents classroom space from the Central 7th Day Adventist Church. Mountain View police said whatever happened between Liu and some of the children here occurred under the radar of parents and teachers of this after-school Chinese language program.
Last Friday, police received a call from a parent who said his child had been molested by Liu. Their investigation turned up another victim.
"It appeared, based on our investigation, it began at the beginning of the school year, in August or September of 2017, and ended approximately at the end of December," said Detective Marco Garcia of the Mountain View Police Department.
The two students are 10 and 11 years old. Garcia said there could be more victims.
"He's been involved with the school for couple of years now, so any child he's been in contact is a potential victim," Garcia said.
Police found that Liu has also volunteered at another church and other organizations. Investigators are still trying to figure out all the names of the programs he participated in.
They say Liu also contacted children through a gaming chat app called "Discord."
The school declined a request for an interview on the advice of an attorney, a top administrator said.
Minnesota couple pleads guilty to solicitation
of a child for sexual acts
A couple Friday pleaded guilty to propositioning a child to engage in sexual conduct, according to court documents.
Shawn Merle Mechtel, 51, and Misty Dawn Mechtel, 36, admitted to one felony count each of solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct.
On June 9, Stearns County Human Services, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, began investigating allegations of potential sexual abuse involving a then-15-year-old female child, according to the criminal complaints.
The child had disclosed to a witness she had been solicited to engage in sexual conduct with the Mechtels on multiple occasions. The witness informed Stearns County Human Services.
In an interview with Human Services, the child disclosed Shawn Mechtel had created "checklists," which included comments about sexual conduct and whether it would be OK for him to engage in certain forms of sexual contact or intercourse with the child.
The child indicated this had occurred multiple times at multiple locations, including a location in Stearns County, according to the complaints. Investigators determined the solicitation occurred during the first half of 2017 and would have begun while the Mechtels were living in Stearns County.
Law enforcement spoke to Misty Mechtel, who acknowledged having a discussion with Shawn Mechtel about a sexual fantasy involving the teen.
Shawn Mechtel admitted to law enforcement he did create "checklists" and he did proposition the child for sexual conduct.
According to Stearns County Jail records, both Shawn and Misty Mechtel were arrested and booked June 14 on a possible felony charges of solicitation of a minor.
Shawn and Misty Mechtel are expected to appear in court for sentencing May 21.
Stearns Co., Minn
Alabama pastor faces sex abuse charges
By Ken Curtis
HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WTVY) — A former children’s pastor at Mount Gilead Baptist Church faces three charges of sexually abusing children under the age of 12.
Houston County deputies arrested William “Wes” Williamson, on Thursday.
Mount Gilead Senior Pastor Bradley Rushing said he was made aware of allegations involving Williamson several weeks ago. “He had zero contact with children from that point forward,” Rushing said
He terminated Williamson following his arrest Thursday.
Rushing added the accusations did not involve sexual relations though he can’t speak to the investigation and what it revealed.
Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza declined comment saying the investigation is not complete.
As of Friday afternoon, court documents that would reveal additional information had not been filed.
Rushing said while the allegations are disturbing they won’t deter from Easter. “This will not be a distraction---that’s what the Devil wants. God is sovereign and will seek his Glory.”
Williamson posted bond totaling $90,000 and is out of the Houston jail.
South Dakota Man Receives 30-Year Sentence
For Child Sex Offenses on 4 & 5 y/os
KDLT Newsroom
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A Sioux Falls man is sentenced to decades in prison for his repeated abuse of two children.
39-year-old Mark Diede was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with 20 suspended. After pleading guilty in December to having sexual contact with a child under 16, as a habitual offender.
Diede will receive credit for the year he’s already spent behind bars. Diede was arrested last April on child rape charges, after the two children, ages four and five, talked with an adult about being inappropriately touched by Diede.
Police say interviews with the girls indicate the abuse had been going on for the past year. Diede is already a registered sex offender.
He was convicted in 2005 for attempted sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl.
Convicted Virginia child rapist sentenced to life in prison
Carol Vaughn, cvvaughn@delmarvanow.com
Convicted child rapist Khalil Muslimani was sentenced to life in prison, plus five years, in a Virginia Beach courtroom on Friday.
The prison sentence followed the jury's recommendation, made at Muslimani's December trial, but the judge did not impose a $100,000 fine the jury had also recommended.
Muslimani, 70, of Accomack County, was convicted after a two-day jury trial of raping his young stepdaughter in the 1980s in Accomack County, and of taking indecent liberties with her as well.
The trial was moved from Accomack County after a judge granted a defense motion for a change of venue.
"There are really no adequate words" to describe the crimes for which Muslimani was convicted, Judge Frederick Lowe said before imposing the maximum sentence allowed — life in prison on a charge of rape and five years on a charge of taking indecent liberties with a child.
The charges relate to incidents dating back to the 1980s, involving sexual crimes against Muslimani's stepdaughter, who now goes by the name Stacey Ann Spione. The Daily Times and Delmarva Now do not typically identify victims of sexual crimes, but Spione wanted her name used.
"I am very pleased with the judge's decision," said Spencer Morgan, Accomack County Commonwealth's Attorney. "I will be forever impressed by Stacey's bravery," Morgan said.
Morgan entered as evidence a victim impact statement written by Spione, dated March 28.
"No one can ever begin to understand what I have lived through and what I continue to live with. My stepfather killed so much of me, stole my life with no remorse or regret," she wrote, adding, "It is a daily struggle trying not to let 13 years of sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, and mental abuse consume me. Images haunt me both when I sleep and when I am awake."
Spione, who is now in her 40s, testified at the trial that Muslimani sexually abused her from the time she was 4, and that she was impregnated by him multiple times.
Her first child, fathered by Muslimani, was born when she was 12, after she had miscarried previously. She ultimately had four children fathered by Muslimani, Spione said in the victim impact statement.
She testified at the trial that she first met Muslimani at age 3, when her mother, now known as Ruth Ann Carpenter, her sister and she were staying at a hotel he owned in Maryland. After Carpenter married Muslimani, they lived in Princess Anne in Somerset County, Maryland, and then moved to a house near Onancock, in Accomack County, Virginia, in 1986.
Spione said Muslimani's sexual abuse continued even after it was discovered she was pregnant.
Spione said at the December trial she decided in August 2014 to take action to bring Muslimani to justice. "For four days, I had been feeling as though I was being guided to take action. I was strong enough to do it," she said.
Morgan, the commonwealth's attorney, in his closing statement at the trial, argued DNA evidence pointed to that child's biological parents being Muslimani and Spione.
Muslimani before he was sentenced read a lengthy, rambling statement — which he said was six pages long — from yellow legal pad pages — in which he referred to multiple dates and incidents in the 1980s and 1990s and to his characterization of his relationship with Spione.
Muslimani was previously sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years for sexual crimes against another family member.
Defense attorney Trevor Robinson said Muslimani's appeal in that case was denied; it is now being appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Accused child rapist faces new charges in New York
DON LEHMAN dlehman@poststar.com
FORT EDWARD — A Fort Edward man who was arrested in January for allegedly raping a teenage girl faces a host of new charges for allegedly raping and sexually abusing another child, police said.
Richard M. Alger, 53, of Mechanic Street, was charged with the state's weightiest sex count, predatory sexual assault against a child, as well as lesser counts of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, course of sexual conduct against a child and sexual abuse, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Fort Edward Police.
In all, he faces eight additional felony charges. The predatory sexual assault charge is punishable by up to life in state prison, while the rape and criminal sexual act counts could each bring up to 25 years.
The new charges stem from allegations he repeatedly had sexual contact with a girl under the age of 13 in the town of Fort Edward and village of Fort Edward last year. He also was charged with third-degree rape in January for allegedly having sex with a girl under the age of 17.
He was acquainted with both children.
Alger had been free on bail on the charges filed earlier this year and turned himself in to police on Thursday as police sought him in connection with the new accusations.
Washington County sheriff's Investigator Michael McWhorter said the investigation was ongoing, but police as of Friday had no indications of any additional victims.
"This all stems from a time period before his initial arrest in January," McWhorter said. Fort Edward Police Chief Justin Derway said the alleged sexual assault in the village of Fort Edward occurred last November.
Alger was arraigned in Fort Edward Town Court on Thursday and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail. Anyone with information in the case was asked to call McWhorter at 518-746-2496.
New York man charged with child sex abuse
Jeff Murray, jmurray@stargazette.com
A Steuben County man is behind bars after he allegedly had sexual contact with a teenage boy.
Scott A. Vanhoven, 41, of Shamrock Road in the Town of West Union, subjected a 14-year-old male to sexual contact by forcible compulsion, according to the Steuben County Sheriff's Office.
Vanhoven is also a registered Level 2 sex offender.
He was charged in 2000 with having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl. He was convicted in August of that year in Steuben County and served six months in the county jail and five years probation.
Well, obviously that did him a lot of good!
During the recent investigation, it was also discovered that Vanhoven allegedly created a Facebook account, which he did not report to the state sex offender registry, according to the sheriff's office.
Vanhoven was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, failure to register or verify, and failure to notify the state Division of Criminal Justice Services of change of internet access or internet identifiers, all felonies.
Vanhoven was arraigned and committed to the Steuben County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 property bond on the sexual abuse charge, and $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 property bond on the correction law charges.
Vanhoven will appear in Town of West Union Court and Town of Bath Court on April 4 to answer the charges. The Livingston County Sheriff's Office and the Steuben County District Attorney's Office assisted in the investigation.
Washington State man sentenced for child molestation
By Rob Ollikainen
PORT ANGELES — Convicted child molester Donald William Kingsley was sentenced Thursday to nearly six years in prison for a crime a bench trial found he committed against an 8-year-old girl.
Kingsley, 30, of Port Angeles, was sentenced to 70 months confinement, a two-month deviation from the 51- to 68-month standard range.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour based the exceptional sentence on the aggravating factor that Kingsley violated his position of trust as a babysitter and family friend to commit first-degree child molestation last August.
“You had a special relationship with the family, and you clearly had a position of trust,” Coughenour told Kingsley.
And you gave him an extra 2 months for that. Good grief! What a joke! 2 years is not enough!
Kingsley was convicted of first-degree child molestation after a two-day bench trial in January. He was acquitted of first-degree child rape, the primary charge stemming from the same incident at the girl’s home last Aug. 24.
At trial, Kingsley testified that he was given free room and board at the victim’s Port Angeles home in exchange for babysitting the girl and her siblings. He repeatedly denied that he touched the girl inappropriately.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sarah Woolman requested an 84-month sentence for Kingsley based on the position of trust aggravator. Defense attorney John Hayden of Clallam Public Defender said a standard-range sentence was appropriate.
“This is different than a typical abuse of trust situation,” Hayden said. “This is not someone who has ingratiated himself in a particular place for a particular purpose. “This is much more akin to simply a family member going off the rails and doing something bad.”
After prison, Kingsley will be in community custody subject to Indeterminate Sentence Review Board review. “You will be exposed on sex offender registration for basically your lifetime as well,” Coughenour told Kingsley.
Kingsley will be required to undergo sex offender treatment as part of his community custody. Coughenour signed a lifetime sexual assault protection order prohibiting Kingsley from having any contact with the victim.
Kingsley offered no apology to the victim or her family.
In a brief statement to the court, Kingsley took issue with a transcript of a statement that the victim’s father made after his arrest and with a new video conferencing system used in Superior Court.
Port Angeles police arrested Kingsley after the girl’s father confronted him about the allegations while wearing a police wire. In his testimony, Kingsley said he felt threatened and intimidated by the father and made up a story about touching the girl inappropriately.
“It sounded like the father was putting words in my mouth, or it was transcribed that way,” Kingsley said at Thursday’s sentencing hearing. “There was a gun safe in the room where the children had slept. …. and at no time was I able to actually leave the facility.”
Kingsley said the video conferencing system allows inmates to hear about each other’s cases. “I believe that the video court could lead to injury and/or serious harm,” Kingsley said.
Woolman read a victim impact statement provided by the girl’s father. “What Donnie did was not a one-time thing that only affected one person at one point in time,” the father said. “What he did has affected our family, especially our daughter, and will continue to affect us even after Donny has finished his prison sentence.”
Sex abuse arrest: Girl, 10, was forced to wear
dog collar, Florida
WPLG - Miami, FL
A South Florida man is accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl he met online and taking her to a motel in Central Florida where he sexually abused her and made her wear a dog collar.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says 23-year-old Jonathan Diaz-Fundora took three days off from the Miami fast-food restaurant where he works and met the girl near her Lakeland home Tuesday.
According to Judd, Diaz-Fundora had been grooming the girl online “directing her to perform sex acts and send him photos and videos.”
When the girl left home to meet Diaz-Fundora, she left a note saying she was staying with a friend who needed her help, investigators said. The girl’s parents called police who were able to find Diaz-Fundora at a motel within 35 minutes.
“We found this child hiding in the bathroom wearing this dog collar,” Judd told reporters. He said she was also found wearing a lanyard and a pacifier around her neck. “This is one of the most sick things you can ever imagine,” Judd said.
Diaz-Fundora faces multiple charges including kidnapping, sexual battery and possession of child porn.
Judd said investigators were stunned by the reaction of Diaz-Fundora when they told him about the charges he was facing.
“He says ‘yea, after we get this cleared up at the jail can you give me a ride back to my car?’”
If convicted of the charges he’s facing, Diaz-Fundora could be sentenced to life in prison.
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