Alabama Evangelist Acton Bowen re child sex charges:
'I have not done what I'm accused of'
By Carol Robinson crobinson@al.com
Evangelist Acton Bowen, arrested on multiple child sex charges, said he is hurt, confused and heartbroken over the allegations against him.
The 37-year-old founder and president of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries was taken into custody midday Tuesday by Hoover police. He is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse. The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.
Bowen is a Gadsden native and still lives in Etowah County with his wife of several years.
"I have not done what I am accused of and have not acted inappropriately in any way,'' Bowen said in a press statement issued Wednesday night. "My family and I trust the legal system and the people who are entrusted with the duty of protection each of our rights. I believe the truth will stand and I will be vindicated of this false accusation. We ask that each of you keep everyone involved in this process in your prayers."
Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said the department's Special Victim's Unit first launched an investigation three weeks ago. The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office issued the warrants on Monday.
"This is certainly one of the more disturbing cases that we've investigated in quite some time,'' Rector said. "Mr. Bowen is in a highly-respected position of influence and he is trusted by many. We believe he betrayed that trust in the worst kind of way."
Bowen was taken into custody in Pelham and transported to the Hoover City Jail. He was moved to the Jefferson County Jail where he was released shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday on $90,300 bond.
Rector said the victim in this case is an underage family acquaintance, "He is currently doing well and has been in a safe environment since police were first notified,'' Rector said.
Paul Edward Acton Bowen, a 37-year-old Gadsden native who now lives in Etowah County's Southside community, was taken into custody by Hoover police about 12:35 p.m.
According to Alabama law, a person commits the crime of second-sodomy if he or she, being 16 years old or older, engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person less than 16 and more than 12 years old.
For enticing a child to enter vehicle, house, etc., for immoral purposes, the law says, "It shall be unlawful for any person with lascivious intent to entice, allure, persuade, or invite any child under 16 years of age to enter any vehicle, room, house, office, or other place for the purpose of proposing to such child the performance of an act of sexual intercourse or an act which constitutes the offense of sodomy."
Second-degree sexual abuse occurs, the law says, when a person who is 19 years or older, subjects another person to sexual contact who is less than 16 years old, but more than 12 years old."
According to Bowen's website, which has since been taken down, he is a speaker, best-selling author and visionary. "Many words are used to describe him, but Acton Bowen's only passion has been to connect people with the one, true God,'' the website states. "Once recognized as one of the nation's leading student pastors, God has clearly blessed Acton with the ability to reach today's high tech, attention-lacking culture."
His bio said he served for 12 years in a local church, led a citywide student Bible study in Gadsden and was also the host of xlroads TV, a worldwide broadcast viewed weekly by millions of teens and adults in every city in America and over 170 countries around the world. The website said Bowen is a cohost of Top3 on the JuceTV Network in New York City.
"Everyone associated with JuceTV was shocked and disheartened to hear of the egregious allegations made against Acton Brown this week. Our prayers go out to those who may have been hurt and victimized," a JuceTV spokesperson said in a Wednesday statement to AL.com. "Mr. Brown made four appearances on JuceTV, an affiliate of TBN, the most recent last summer, but there are no on-going ties."
The outreach website described Bowen as a regular contributor on Fox News as a correspondent on faith and religion. However, network officials say Bowen has never been employed or paid by Fox News.
Bowen served as a chaplain in the Summer Olympic Games in London and is the author of "Escape the Noise," which reached the New York Times Best Sellers List and the Amazon Top 100 list. At one point, he was on staff at CrossPoint Community Church in Gadsden.
In his first public statement, Bowen said he wanted to say "thank you" to the countless number of people who have prayed for his family. "My wife, Ashley, and I along with our incredible family are so grateful for your prayers,'' he said.
"I'm also thankful for the countless calls of support from those who have walked a lot of life with me and know me best,'' he said. "Your steadfast, unshakable support gives me strength. For almost 20 years (since I was 18) my life has been committed to serving Jesus by serving people."
"When this accusation was made known to me I was hurt, confused, and heartbroken,'' he said. "Prior to the arrest only one side of the story was heard."
Evangelist Scott Dawson, a Republican candidate for governor, said that he did not know he was listed on the board of advisers for an Etowah County evangelist who was arrested for child sexual abuse.
Bowen's now-removed website listed evangelist Scott Dawson, a Republican candidate for governor, as being on the board of advisers for Acton Bowen Outreach. Dawson said Wednesday that though he knows Bowen and used him as a speaker in 2014 at one of his evangelistic events, he was not on any board for ABO. "I never noticed anything that caused concern - but I was not on his board," Dawson said in a text message to AL.com.
The state legal documents of incorporation for the ministry were prepared by Gadsden attorney Trenton Garmon, who was listed as a member of the board of directors for Acton Bowen Outreach. Garmon also worked as an attorney for former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore of Etowah County during his failed campaign for U.S. senate last year. Garmon has not commented on any possible affiliation with Bowen or ABO.
Hoover police said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this case or the suspect is encouraged to call Special Victim's unit Detective Brandon Harris at 205-444-7742.
'Pedophile hunter' mom from Colorado travels to Mexico to find fugitive accused of molesting her son
One Survivor's Mom's Story
Jacy Marmaduke, jmarmaduke@coloradoan.com
Crouched on the floorboards of a rental car in a supermarket parking lot, Lydia Lerma spotted her prey and started to cry.
She’d found Andrew Vanderwal in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, Mexico — 451 days after police say he confessed to molesting her 6-year-old son under a Denver Broncos blanket in her ex-husband's Fort Collins home.
From her hiding spot in Mexico, she saw two boys lounging in the open trunk of Vanderwal's Ford Expedition.
Lerma longed to kill him.
“The only way I can explain it is, I hunt,” said the Fort Collins mother of three. “And when you’re hunting and you see an animal, there’s that adrenaline rush — can I take this shot? Can I do this?”
Adrenaline and fury danced in her veins. Fury at Vanderwal — her son called him “Uncle Drew” — the man who authorities say fled the country in early 2017 to escape allegations of child sex assault. Fury at the system that allowed Vanderwal to walk out of jail for $750 of his parents’ money. Fury at the red tape that seemed to bind the hands of the FBI agents and police detectives tasked with catching the man accused of abusing her son.
But she figured she couldn’t do much for her kids from a Mexican jail cell, so she stayed low. Just not for long.
Vanderwal is back in the Larimer County Jail now (5th story on link), held there with 100 times his original bond while he awaits prosecution on five counts of child sex assault. Police say more charges are pending.
By some accounts, Vanderwal wouldn’t be there if not for Lerma — the self-described “pedophile hunter,” data resource manager and Lipan Apache tribal member who moonlights as a Facebook personality and NRA-certified firearms instructor. Lerma’s story reads like a true crime TV script, and at times, she says it’s felt like one.
The FBI declined an interview request for the story and has not yet responded to a Freedom of Information Act request regarding Vanderwal's case file. The Larimer County District Attorney's Office declined to speak with a Coloradoan reporter, citing the ongoing investigation.
In the past year, the Coloradoan has conducted extensive interviews with Lerma and other parents involved in Vanderwal's case, details of which were confirmed through law enforcement records, texts and emails.
Perhaps the best place to start is where Lerma's hunt for Vanderwal began — with the box.
'He was grooming me, too'
She found it on the top shelf of Vanderwal's closet, shortly after his first arrest in November 2016.
A big black boot box, taped shut. “Drew” was scrawled on the top in cursive. Lerma's hands trembled as she ripped off the packing tape.
Inside was a boy’s baseball glove, a Nerf gun, a sneaker. All labeled with the same boy’s name. In plastic storage tubs beside the box, she found more: stacks of kids’ drawings, primary colors and marker stick figures. Sheets of notebook paper coated in the misshapen and misspelled words of children: “Dear Drew, thank you so much for evrything you do for me…” “I am sorry for misbehaiveing.” “Please forgive me.”
Then there were the photos: Boys smiling as then-26-year-old Vanderwal clutched their shoulders. Boys peering from class photos, family photos, team photos. Boys Lerma had never seen before.
She sat there, crying and shaking as she rifled through what she described as Vanderwal’s “trophy chest."
Vanderwal was her ex-husband's roommate, and she said he'd always given her the creeps. "Uncle Drew" was friends with all the neighborhood boys, she said, and lived with her ex-husband mostly rent free. He picked up her 6-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter from school and looked after them while their dad was at work. He bought her son a $250 bike and Nike sneakers. He tickled him on his inner thighs, her son told her.
“I asked (my ex), point blank, ‘When you were his age, what were you doing?’ ” Lerma said. “’You were chasing (women) and trying to get laid. You were not taking kids out and doing sleepovers with them, or taking them to the movies or buying them toys.’ We used to fight about it all the time.”
“I looked at him like a son. Looking back, he was grooming me, too.”
Lydia Lerma's ex-husband, on Vanderwal
Lerma’s ex-husband told the Coloradoan Vanderwal’s behavior seemed “innocent” at first. The Coloradoan is not naming him to protect the identity of their son, who is named as a victim in the case.
“He told me he was a pediatric medic in the Air Force, and he served in Afghanistan, and he saw so many horrible things and so many children he couldn’t save,” Lerma's ex-husband said. “I looked at him like a son. Looking back, he was grooming me, too.”
Soon, Lerma’s once-gentle son started having violent outbursts, flinging the blankets off his bed and tossing free weights and marbles. When the boy told authorities about Vanderwal, he said the abuse had gone on for “as long as I can remember.”
The contents of Vanderwal’s closet convinced Lerma her son wasn’t his first victim.
Over the coming months, she called everyone she could think of — Fort Collins Police Services, the District Attorney’s Office, TV stations and newspapers.
The press mostly ignored her. The DA’s office told her to cool off, she said. Police told her they couldn’t go “fishing for victims,” she recalled.
“I said, ‘OK, you can’t go fishing? I can.”
She tracked down most of the boys in the pictures. She said she talked to some of the boys themselves and their parents, who told her Vanderwal molested at least three other children. One of those boys has come forward to police, the boy’s mother told the Coloradoan.
But by the time law enforcement picked up Vanderwal's box, he'd already posted his $7,500 bond, left his car in El Paso and crossed the border, FBI records show.
Judge agrees to re-instate charges against registered sex offender for being in Illinois park
By KATIE SMITH
A recent Supreme Court opinion led to re-instated felony charges against a registered sex offender accused of breaking the law by being in a public park.
Artaveus Lowe of Elgin was arrested in September after police accused him of being present at Milky Way Park in Harvard, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County court.
He was subsequently charged with being a child sex offender in a public park – a felony offense typically punishable by one to three years in prison. The charge was dismissed, however, based on a February 2017 Illinois Appellate Court opinion in a separate case that found the charge unconstitutional.
According to the appellate court, that portion of the law violated a person's rights because it punished "innocent" behavior and limited the rights of someone who "has paid the penalty for his crime ..."
Lowe has previously served a 10-year prison sentenced for a Kane County conviction of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child from 1994.
McHenry County Judge James Cowlin cited the appellate court decision as his basis for dismissing Lowe's case in January.
The Illinois Supreme Court, however, overruled that decision April 5, and McHenry County Assistant State's Attorney Kyle Bruett filed a motion the next day asking Cowlin to re-instate the charges.
The judge issued a warrant for Lowe's arrest Wednesday morning.
Lowe, who was convicted in Will county for the same charge, was at the park on one of the final days of the Harvard Balloon Fest, charging documents show.
He was not accused of doing anything illegal at the park, aside from simply being there.
The portion of the law Lowe is accused of breaking defines a "public park" as a park, forest preserve, bike-way, trail, or conservation area. In Illinois, a registered sex offender against children can be charged for "standing or sitting idly" in any of those areas.
Relatives testify Texas man made threats to silence them after sexual abuse
By Gabriel Monte / A-J Media
As the second day of testimony began for Douglas Stapp’s child sexual abuse trial, jurors heard from four of the defendant’s family members on Wednesday who said they also suffered sexual abuse at his hands when they were children.
Stapp, 52, is charged with a first-degree felony count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. He faces a punishment of 25 years to life in prison without parole.
He is accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl multiple times in 2014. He has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since August 2014, about a month after the girl, who is now 9, told her mother about the abuse.
The relatives, who are in their 20s now, stepped forward with their own allegations against Stapp, after his arrest.
They described similar instances of abuse as the primary victim in the case when they were around her age. However, they also recalled more severe instances of abuse.
One relative said she came forward after learning that Stapp abused another girl. “I kind of blame myself for that,” she said.
She said she was afraid to come forward because Stapp threatened to harm her mother if she did. Another relative said Stapp threatened to hide her father’s heart medication if she told anyone.
Stapp’s initial charge included the relatives’ outcries.
However, his indictment was amended before trial to only charge him with abusing the latest girl. Judge William Eichman permitted prosecutors to use the testimony of the relatives to show Stapp had an alleged nature of preying on children. Prosecutors cited a 2013 amendment to the code of criminal procedures that allows the testimony.
Both sides rested their case Tuesday afternoon. The trial resumes today with closing arguments.
Montana convicted sex offender pleads not guilty
to child porn charges
By MTN News
BOZEMAN – A Belgrade man accused of sending child porn to his son pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to sexual abuse of children.
Garland Lowman, 39, entered his plea in Gallatin County District Court following his arrest in March for allegedly sending his son sexually explicit Facebook messages that contained child pornography.
Lowman is a registered sexual offender and currently under supervision by the Montana Department of Corrections.
According to charging documents, a deputy from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon called the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Mar. 6, to report that an Oregon man claimed he received Facebook messages from his father that contained child pornography and were sexually explicit.
When contacted by law enforcement and probation officers, Lowman admitted sending photographs to his son but stated they were images he downloaded from the internet, but he didn’t consider them child pornography.
A search of Lowman’s cell phone revealed at least three images of prepubescent females, fully nude.
Judge John Brown continued Lowman’s bail at $500,000; his next court date is an omnibus hearing scheduled for April 26.
Must have been hard for the son to turn in his father, but was the right thing to do.
Fort Dix federal prisoners running child porn ring
with worst kind of abuse
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMDEN, N.J. — Another federal prison inmate serving a sentence for trafficking in child pornography has admitted possessing and distributing child sex abuse videos inside the prison.
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say Jordan Allen pleaded guilty Wednesday. The 31-year-old Plain City, Ohio man faces at least 10 years in prison when he's sentenced July 17.
Prosecutors say Allen was among several Fort Dix inmates who used contraband cellphones and removable storage cards to share child porn. Two other inmates have pleaded guilty to possessing child porn and are awaiting sentencing, while charges are pending against five others.
Allen admitted having a memory card that contained 577 images and 340 videos of children being sexually abused, including sadistic and masochistic sexual conduct involving infants and toddlers.
NY man sentenced to three years in sexual
abuse of girl, 12; deportation likely
By Frank Donnelly fdonnelly@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Mariners Harbor man was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison for sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl last year.
His conviction also means Jose Zuniga-Diaz, who is not a U.S. citizen, likely faces deportation.
Two weeks ago, Zuniga-Diaz pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to first-degree sexual abuse.
Zuniga-Diaz admitted he touched the girl's private area between Jan. 30 and Feb. 7, 2017.
The defendant and victim knew each other, prosecutors said in court.
Zuniga-Diaz, then 35, was arrested on Feb. 8 of last year.
According to an indictment, the defendant subjected the victim to sexual contact, including intercourse, on multiple occasions in his home between Feb. 1, 2016 and Feb. 7, 2017.
He was indicted on charges of rape, course of sexual conduct against a child, sexual abuse and child endangerment.
A first-degree rape charge was levied against Zuniga-Diaz because it is unlawful in New York for a person 18 years of age or older to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 13.
At his plea hearing, Assistant District Attorney Melissa O'Leary told the court the sexual-abuse plea was appropriate for several reasons. She said the victim and her family have since moved south, and the plea spared the girl the ordeal of returning to Staten Island to testify at trial against Zuniga-Diaz.
In addition, there was no medical corroboration of the incidents, and the girl's family did not oppose the plea agreement, said O'Leary.
Besides prison time, Zuniga-Diaz was sentenced to five years' post-release supervision. He must also register with state authorities as a sexual offender.
Missouri man charged with sexually abusing child
By Rachel Sudduth
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV.com) -
The Jefferson County’s Sheriff’s Office has charged a 22-year-old man as a result of a child sexual abuse investigation.
Robert Shipp has been charged with statutory sodomy with a $75,000 cash only bond.
Shipp is currently being held at the Jefferson County jail.
Although no other victims have come forward since, Sheriff Marshak is asking if anyone believes they may have been victimized by Robert Shipp to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.
If you believe a child has been the victim of abuse, contact the Missouri Department of Social Services Hotline at 800-392-3738.
California police arrest man on suspicion of
child sex crimes
By KSBY
A man is behind bars in San Luis Obispo County Jail, facing multiple counts of child sex crimes.
Jail logs show Hermelindo Martinez Sanchez, 41, was arrested by Paso Robles police and booked into jail in the early-morning hours of March 31.
Paso Robles police are tight-lipped about the investigation, only saying that detectives are still working on the case for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
Martinez Sanchez was booked on six charges, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16, rape, and continuous sexual abuse of a child.
According to the DA's Office, Martinez Sanchez has been charged with multiple counts of rape by force, spanning from 2012 to 2018.
He has pleaded not guilty and is due to appear in court again on May 1.
His bail is set at $1 million.
Good. That oughta hold him.
In child sex abuse case, Maryland man gets 10 years
Rose Velazquez, rvelazquez@delmarvanow.com
A Salisbury man convicted of two counts of sexual abuse of a minor will serve 10 years after a sentencing hearing.
The Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office said a circuit court judge sentenced David Claudis El, 39, to 25 years and suspended all but 10 on April 4.
Upon his release, he will also be subject to five years supervised probation and registration as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of his life.
The Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center conducted an investigation into several incidents between 2008 and 2014 involving two minors younger than 13 that led to Claudis El's conviction, according to the state's attorney's office.
After sex abuse conviction, former Maryland
martial arts instructor to serve 18 months
Rose Velazquez, rvelazquez@delmarvanow.com
A Princess Anne woman accused of encouraging a young girl to perform sexual acts on her boyfriend has been convicted and sentenced.
The Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office said 22-year-old Leah Corinne Wright, who was convicted of sex abuse of a minor, third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault in October 2017, was sentenced in late March to 35 years in the local detention center, with all but 18 months suspended.
After her release, Wright will be required to register for life as a Tier III sex offender and will not be allowed teach, coach or volunteer with minors.
During trial testimony, the state's attorney's office said it was revealed that while she was an instructor at Mitchell's Martial Arts, Wright encouraged a child who was 14 or 15 years old at the time to engage in sexual behavior with Zach Bennett, another instructor (3rd story on link).
Both Wright and the minor then performed sexual acts on Bennett, who the state's attorney's office said testified during the trial, corroborating the victim's account.
Bennett previously pleaded guilty to related offenses in Wicomico and Worcester counties and is currently serving 10 years.
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