Woman sues Texas church for alleged role in
child sexual exploitation
Yet another Texas church in trouble for child sex abuse. Baptists will be happy it's the Pentecostals for a change. I very much dislike pastor fathers hiring their children for responsible positions within the church. Objectivity often suffers.
Patrick Johnston, Times Record News
An Olney church and its regional non-profit corporation are being sued for over $1 million by the mother of an alleged sexual abuse victim.
The civil suit seeks recovery of damages based on sexual assault and sexual exploitation allegations against the First Assembly of God Church of Olney and the North Texas District Council Assemblies of God West Region.
Despite the church and victim being in Young County, the case was filed on April 12 in the 89th District Court since the district council, which controls or supervises the Olney church, maintains its headquarters in Wichita County.
The allegations of xxx stem from the church's "Royal Rangers" youth program, which was "jointly supervised, controlled and locally operated" by the church and district council, the lawsuit states.
The victim participated in the Royal Rangers program when he was about 6 to 8 years old "at the behest of First AOG of Olney and its agent/youth minister, Ryan Anthony Winner," the suit states.
In a federal criminal case, Winner was sentenced in January 2016 to serve 60 years in federal prison for the production of child pornography.
The Olney church and district council "authorized and empowered Winner to perform all the duties of Royal Ranger leaders... (and) a youth minister," the suit claims.
In his roles, Winner was placed in a position of power and trust over the boys by his father, who was the lead minister at the Olney church.
The suit alleges the father named his son as youth minister "even though he knew or should have known that he was unfit psychologically for such a position because of his propensity to sexually abuse minors."
"Winner's authorized duties and activities as Ranger leader and youth minister led to and resulted in his sexually abusing and sexually exploiting (the victim) between approximately 2014 and 2015," the suit states.
After gaining the family's trust, Winner reportedly invited the victim over to "hang out" with him at his residence and his father's residence.
"During these times, Winner variously photographed and/or videotaped the naked boy" and "forced him to participate in sexual contact with an unidentified adult male," including on church premises, the suit claims.
The suit states the sexual exploitation was discovered by Operation Predator, a Department of Homeland Securities investigation. Winner pleaded guilty to the allegations.
The civil suit seeks to hold the Olney church and district council liable for Winner's actions due to gross negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and misrepresentation.
The family alleges that the defendants "failed to perform adequate background checks on persons hired or in position of authority over youth" and didn't implement "reasonable" policies and procedures to detect or prevent sexual abuse of children.
The suit claims the church and council failed to investigate reports of sexual misconduct made against Winner and instead "promoted him as a qualified, trained and supervised" youth leader.
Winner was also represented by the church as someone to be trusted by both parents and children because he was a "man of good moral character," the suit states.
"These representations ... were false and misleading and were known to be false and misleading at the time they were made, or were made with a reckless disregard as to whether they were true or false or of potential consequence," the suit alleges.
The suit claims that, according to the Texas Penal Code, the Olney church and district council are criminally responsible for the conduct of its agents and employees "if it was authorized, performed or recklessly tolerated by a high managerial agent, such as Winner's father."
The mother of the victim alleges the defendants "not only tolerated it, they aided and abetted Winner in possibly acquiring more victims."
The suit requests that the Olney church and district produce within 50 days of the suit the personnel and employment files for Winner, any reports or allegations of sexual misconduct against minors by Winner; and statements made by the mother or Winner family about the alleged incidents.
It also asked for any reports by the defendants to or received from any law enforcement agency or Child Protective Services concerning complaints of sexual misconduct by Winner.
In the civil suit, the mother is seeking monetary relief for medical expenses, including counseling services for the victim; physical pain and suffering; mental anguish; physical impairment; loss of earning capacity for the victim; punitive damages; and any other damages to which the family is entitled.
She is also asking for the costs of the suit and pre- and post-judgment interest be granted, as allowable by law.
Texas man convicted of child sex abuse
ANDREW COATS
A Slaton man has been found guilty of Aggravated Assault of a Child and two counts of Indecency With a Child.
KAMC News reports 52-year-old Doug Stapp, Jr. was arrested in 2014 after multiple accusations of sexual abuse of children. The indictment originally listed four children as victims, but was later changed to just one.
Court records say the abuse occurred from January 1995 through October 2014.
Stapp faces up to life in prison.
Texas man gets life without parole for child sex assault
Eagle Staff ReportA Bedias man was sentenced Friday to life without parole after he was found guilty Thursday of continuous sexual assault of a young child.
During the punishment phase of the trial, the 2003 victim and her mother testified that Singleton and the crime continued to haunt them, and how 15 years later the victim still looks over her shoulder.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you hold the power to decide how long this defendant is locked away ... how long these victims don't have to look over their shoulders in fear," Assistant District Attorney Jo Ann Linzer told the jury.
A charge of continuous sexual assault of a young child carries a range of punishment of not less than 25 years and not more than 99 years or life in prison. Singleton is not eligible for parole.
"I applaud the bravery and courage of the two victims," said Grimes County District Attorney Andria Bender. "I also commend the efforts of the Grimes County Sheriff's Office and of my staff for bringing justice to these young ladies."
Texas murderer gets life sentence for
continuous child sex abuse
An inexplicable decision by a parole board
By Vanesa Brashier
After murdering two women and molesting his granddaughter, William Thad Greenwood, 60, will soon be making his final trip to prison. He was sentenced Wednesday in Liberty County to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
What idiots were on the parole board that allowed that to happen? 12 years for abduction, rape and murder of 2 women. Are women that cheap in Texas?
Liberty County Assistant District Attorney Tami Pierce, who prosecuted Greenwood for the child sex abuse case in the 75th State District Court before the Honorable Judge Mark Morefield, believes Greenwood may have other victims. According to Pierce, two other women also have made outcries of sexual abuse against Greenwood.
Police charge Texas man on suspicion of continuous
child sexual abuse
SAN ANGELO — The San Angelo Police Department has issued the following news release:
Pursuant to the investigation, Detective J. Cannady developed probable cause to obtain an Arrest Warrant for Alexander Leon Boisse, 32, for the offense of Sex Abuse of Child Continuous: Victim Under 14. Boisse was subsequently arrested on April 12, 2018 and he remains jailed in lieu of $125,000 Bond.
This is an ongoing investigation and no further information is available for release."
Alabama child sex abuse suspect enters
not guilty plea re: 4y/o victim
By Amalia KortrightALABASTER – An Alabaster man recently pleaded not guilty to a sexual abuse charge involving a 4-year-old victim.
According to court documents, Bryson allegedly subjected the victim to sexual contact on April 17, 2016. Bryson’s arrest warrant stated that the victim was 4 years old at the time of the incident.
Sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 is a Class B felony, which can result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years upon conviction.
Bryson was taken into custody by the Alabaster Police Department on May 16, 2016. He was released from the Shelby County Jail on a $15,000 bond on the day of his arrest.
Bryson is scheduled to appear in court before Shelby County Circuit Court Judge William H. Bostick III for a status call at 8:30 a.m. on June 5.
Couple Charged With Witness Tampering in
Child Sex Abuse Case
Panama City, Fla. - Two Panama City residents are charged with witness tampering charges tonight for allegedly coaching two children to lie during a sex abuse investigation.
Bay County Sheriff's deputies charged Darrell Cornelius with lewd and lascivious battery for allegedly groping and abusing a child.
An arrest report also states that Cornelius and Holly Cornelius told the victim and another child to lie to Department of Children and Family investigators during an interview.
The report adds that Darrell Cornelius told the children he would go to jail or commit suicide if they told the investigators the truth about what happened. He also allegedly told her he didn't want to go to jail and he regretted what he had done.
Holly Cornelius told one of the children she was mad about a disclosure the child made to investigators and also warned both children that investigators would ask them "tricky questions," during the interview.
64-year-old Virginia man sentenced for
child pornography
BY NICK BOYKIN,
CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Charles McClung will spend eight years in prison and 20 years on probation, after being sentenced on Friday for possessing hundreds of thousands of images of child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, the 64-year-old was a part of an online bulletin board that traded child porn, which was hosted on the dark net, and had over 1,500 members associated with it.
After agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) started looking into the board in September 2015, McClung was identified as being a person who downloaded content from the board in December 2015.
Law enforcement agents would later execute a federal search warrant of McClung’s residence, finding the images that he would later be sentenced on.
Launched in 2006, this case is part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative started by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
For more information click on Project Safe Childhood.
Atlantic City man indicted again on charges
of child sex abuse
JOHN DEROSIERAn Atlantic City man has been indicted on several charges after sexually assaulting a child, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.
This is not the first time Blanco has been indicted for alleged child sexual abuse.
In December, he was indicted on four counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of third-degree endangering for alleged misconduct with another child, according to previous reports.
Blanco has been in the Atlantic County jail since September, when he was originally charged with allegedly abusing the first victim. Judge Patricia Wild declined his motion to be released until trial.
The charges and indictments against Blanco come after a joint investigation among the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and detectives from the Pleasantville and Atlantic City police departments.
Mother acquitted of sex abuse after admitting
'oral sex' on her baby
'oral sex' on her baby
By Lynn Moore lmoore8@mlive.com
Caution: disturbing descriptions below
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - A woman who admitted video recording herself sexually assaulting her infant has been found not guilty of criminal sexual conduct.
A Muskegon County Circuit Court jury on Thursday found Jazmine Pacyga, 20, not guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a potential life felony, following a two-day trial.
However, Pacyga was found guilty of producing child sexually abusive material. That charge normally has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but Pacyga's habitual offender status bumps that up to 30 years.
Pacyga took the witness stand and admitted that she performed "oral sex" on her baby, with the failed intention of giving him an erection. She said she also fondled the 5-month-old child.
But she said her actions did not involve penetration, which is required to be first-degree CSC.
She said she live-streamed a video of herself doing these things to her baby to Nathan Osborne, 32, who is serving a 37-year federal sentence for coercing Pacyga to sexually assault her baby and distributing the images she sent him as well as those of another woman sexually assaulting her child.
Pacyga testified she didn't know that Osborne would take still pictures - or "screen shots" -- from the live-streaming video. The screen shots, which do not show penetration, were admitted into evidence, but the video no longer exists.
Pacyga was 19 at the time of the incident that occurred on Feb. 5, 2017. The investigation into Pacyga began after Osborne sent the screen shots to a friend of Pacyga's who contacted police, that friend testified.
The police went to Pacyga's home in the Arbor Crossings apartment complex and brought her to the police department for questioning, according to testimony from former Muskegon Township Police Officer Mikki Narowitz.
Narowitz testified that Pacyga admitted to the assault on her son and that it included penetration. Her testimony was the prosecution's only evidence supporting a first-degree charge.
The video lasted five minutes, Narowitz said Pacyga told her. Narowitz currently is an officer with the Ludington Police Department.
Pacyga signed a written statement that Narowitz read in court. The statement said that Osborne "told me I had to do things with my son" and that Pacyga performed oral sex on her son. Pacyga testified that in her mind, oral sex does not necessarily involve penetration.
Pacyga also wrote in her statement that Osborne sent her a video of another woman fondling her son, and that Osborne told her he had sexually assaulted children.
Kailee Perez, the woman in the video Osborne sent Pacyga, pleaded guilty in September 2017 in U.S. District Court to creating the video and sending it over the Internet to Osborne, who a social worker wrote was Perez's drug dealer. Perez is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
Pacyga's child was removed from her home the day after the video was made and child protection officials are moving toward possible adoption of the boy.
Several of Pacyga's claims were never presented to the jury. Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks granted a prosecution motion to deny testimony that Osborne had raped Pacyga and had threatened harm to her and her family if she didn't send him the video of the sexual assault.
Pacyga took the stand during a hearing on the motion and told the judge that she had earlier sent Osborne nude photos of herself and a video of her having sex with a boyfriend.
"I sent him a video of me having sex with somebody else because I needed money," she said.
When Osborne came to her home to pay her for those images, they went into some nearby woods to use marijuana - she was feeling ill because she was a heroin user at the time -- and he pulled out a knife and raped her, Pacyga testified. He told her not to tell anyone, threatening her and her family if she did, she testified during the hearing.
A few hours later, she said Osborne contacted her via Facebook saying "he wanted a video of me sexually assaulting my son," Pacyga said. She said he again threatened her and her family if she didn't, and a few hours after that, she streamed the video.
Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney James Corbett protested that the rape claim didn't surface until more than a year after the video was made, and a few weeks before trial. He argued that the alleged rape was not related to the assault on the child.
Defense attorney Thomas Oatmen argued that because of the rape, Pacyga was afraid of Osborne and produced the video of her assaulting her son because she was under "duress."
Hicks disallowed the rape testimony as well as the "duress" argument. He said he was not convinced that Pacyga was under "imminent" threat that is required for duress.
Sentencing for the child sexually abusive material conviction is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 23 in Hicks' court.
Pacyga still faces an assault charge stemming from an incident that occurred Feb. 25, 2018, while she was in jail awaiting trial. It's alleged that Pacyga punched another inmate at the Muskegon County Jail as the result of a dispute over commissary items, said Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat.
The assault and battery charge, a misdemeanor, is set for trial before Muskegon County District Judge Geoffrey Nolan on July 3.
Pacyga has a prior felony conviction for second-degree home invasion.
Man guilty in Maryland child sex abuse case
By: Tahja Cropper
DELMAR. Md. - A Wicomico County man awaits sentencing after he was convicted for his role in the sexual abuse of a child under the age of 10.
The Office of the State's Attorney for Wicomico County says on April 4, 62-year-old John Edward Shipley, of Delmar, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor. The charge stems from multiple incidents that happened in Delmar.
In 2010 and 2011, Shipley was involved in the sex abuse of a child, who was under the age of 10 at the time of the abuse. The victim was apparently in the temporary care of the Delmar man.
A pre-sentence investigation was ordered prior to sentencing. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Oregon teen enters pleas in sexual abuse case
LILLIAN SCHROCK Corvallis Gazette-Times
A Corvallis 18-year-old pleaded guilty Friday in Benton County Circuit Court to sex crimes involving a minor, court records show.
Braden Michael Kingsley-Current entered guilty pleas to encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree and attempted sodomy in the first degree. A sentencing hearing in the case has been set for July 3. Kingsley-Current’s defense attorney, Jennifer Nash, said a plea agreement with state prosecutors calls for her client to be sentenced to supervised probation.
Kingsley-Current was 15 years old when prosecutors charged him as an adult in July 2015. Kingsley-Current was arrested and booked into the Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, where he remained for eight days before being granted release on house arrest. Nash said Kingsley-Current has been under 24-hour supervision since his release from the correctional facility.
An indictment filed in the case asserts the crimes occurred in 2015 and involved an 11-year-old victim.
Nash said Kingsley-Current last year was found to be unable to aid and assist in his defense following a psychological evaluation, which put the case on hold. After a period of treatment, Kingsley-Current was found able to assist in his defense and the case proceeded.
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