Utah woman arrested on suspicion of 130 counts involving sex abuse of a child, minor
BY JOHN W. YELLAND 
(KUTV) — A woman was arrested on March 31 on suspicion of 130 counts involving sex abuse and one count of lewdness involving a child.
Police received a tip about the suspect, identified Avalina F. Florreich, and decided to arrest her after an interview.
Florreich was booked into jail on 70 counts of sex abuse of a child, 60 counts of sex abuse of a minor and one count of lewdness involving a child.
Idaho couple indicted for sexual exploitation
of a minor child
RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - A Rigby couple was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for one count of sexual exploitation of a minor child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced Monday.
Joseph Lavern Harris, 30, and Elizabeth Dawn Evans, 27 made their initial appearance on the charge on March 30, 2018, where they entered not guilty pleas.
The indictment alleges that on or between December 2017, and February 25, 2018, Harris and Evans knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced a minor child to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. The two are charged in the alternative with aiding and abetting the crime. The indictment also calls for the forfeiture of real and personal property associated with the offense.
The charge of sexual exploitation of a minor child is punishable by a minimum 15 years in prison, up to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Their trial is set for June 4, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Maryland School employee charged with sex abuse of 7 y/o
A 58-year-old Germantown man has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor and a third-degree sex offense in an incident involving a 7-year-old student, Montgomery County police said.
Hector Hermes Lagos Toro, age 58, of Locustdale Drive was charged stemming from an incident that occurred in the 2010-2011 school year, police said. Then, Toro was a paraeducator at Stedwick Elementary School who allowed the girl to reach into his pants pocket to look for candy, police said.
In March, the victim, who is now 15, came forward to report the abuse, police said. At the time, Toro was monitoring second-grade indoor recess as part of his role as an instructional assistant at Stedwick, police said.
During an interview with detectives, Toro confirmed that children at the school frequently placed their hands in his pockets in search of treats.
Toro was arrested on the strength of a criminal warrant on Friday, and was taken to the Central Processing Unit. He was released on $3,500 bail.
Detectives are requesting that parents to talk to their children and call Special Victims Investigations Division detectives at 240-773-5400 if they believe their child was victimized.
According to a letter the Stedwick community from LaVerne Kimball, associate superintendent of elementary schools, Toro was hired in October 2001 and worked at Stedwick from 2001 to 2012, and at South Lake Elementary School summer school program from 2001–2006. He has not worked for MCPS since 2012, school system spokesman Derek Turner said.
Toro also works for a non-MCPS extracurricular, after-school foreign language program contracted through parent teacher associations. In that role he has worked with children at Wilson Wims Elementary School. The school system is working with the program to determine if Toro served in this role at other schools.
The letter says that police say the charges against Toro only pertain to his time at Stedwick.
“I know that our community finds the allegations as disturbing and upsetting as I do. We expect and require all who work for MCPS to be held to a high standard of character, and these allegations certainly violate that,” Kimball wrote.
NJ brothers charged with sexually assaulting
9-year-old girl
Peggy Wright
DOVER - Two brothers remained in custody Monday on charges they sexually abused a 9-year-old girl since last year, according to court records.
Marlon J. Mena-Salgado, 30, and his brother Miguel Mena-Salgado, 27, were charged Sunday with three counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
The abuse is reported to have started when the girl was 9 years old in May 2017 and continued until Friday, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday in Superior Court, Morristown. The girl is now 10 years old.
Police were alerted after the child's mother took her to St. Clare's Medical Center in Dover. The girl reported "boys" who live at a relative's home in Dover sexually assaulted her when she went to the home for visits.
According to court documents, the victim told police one of the men who assaulted her slept in the basement of the house and the other in the living room. She also told police, Miguel Mena-Salgado touched her when she was naked and Marlon Mena-Salgado while she was clothed.
The abuse occurred on multiple occasions while the relative she was visiting was showering, court records said.
The brothers were being held in the Morris County jail. The Morris County Prosecutor's Office assisted in the investigation. The relationship between the victim and the accused is not known.
A Mormon Church instructor sexually abused children
as young as 2 in Texas
Kristine Phillips The Washington Post
A young man admitted that he sexually assaulted children while he was an instructor at a Mormon Church in Texas, authorities said.
Police said Noel Anderson, 22, abused four children between the ages of 2 and 6 when he was a primary instructor at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, Texas. The crimes happened over seven years, during which Anderson met the children through church meetings and other activities, according to the McKinney Police Department.
Anderson, who is married, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, and indecency with a child, a second-degree felony. He was arrested last month (4th story on link) and is being held on a $200,000 bond, online records show. His attorney did not immediately return a call Monday.
Police suspect that there might have been more victims and are urging parents to speak with their children if they had been in Anderson's care.
The Washington Post was unable to reach the McKinney congregation Monday, but church officials said in a statement to NBC affiliate KXAS-TV that they are cooperating with investigators.
"Children are precious, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We stand ready to offer love, emotional support and professional counseling for them. We are grateful for their courage in reporting this to law enforcement, and we support the efforts of legal authorities to ensure justice is served in these cases. . . . Anyone who engages in such behavior is rightfully subject to criminal prosecution and will also face discipline from the Church, including loss of membership."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, has several congregations around the country and worldwide. The Texas case comes as the church faces other allegations of sexual abuse.
In West Virginia, families sued church officials for failing to act while a once-trusted member of a tight-knit Mormon community preyed on children. Michael Jensen is serving a lengthy prison sentence for sexually abusing two boys while babysitting them. But six families believe the much larger Mormon hierarchy in the state should also be held accountable.
The lengthy legal battle that began in 2013 ended last week, after the parties reached a settlement, the details of which were not disclosed.
In Utah, a former Mormon mission leader was accused of trying to rape a young woman more than 30 years ago. Joseph Bishop admitted that he took the woman to a small room at the Mormon Church-owned Brigham Young University and asked if he could see her breasts, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The woman told police that Bishop kissed her and tore her clothes, but she managed to escape.
The allegations resulted in petitions calling for an end to one-on-one interviews between church officials and young Mormons. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that church leaders have since unveiled new rules allowing a parent or another adult to sit in when church members are interviewing or meeting with women and children.
McKinney, TX
Ex Youth Minister Sentenced For
Child Sexual Abuse in Illinois
By Geoff Dempsey, Patch National Staff
KANE COUNTY, IL — A former Kane County youth minister was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday after admitting to sexually abusing a teen in 2013, according to a press release. Chad Coe, 36, of the 500 block of Dundee Avenue in Elgin, admitted to the abuse and also had a collection of child pornography.
Coe's sentencing was the result of a plea bargain which prosecutors did not expect, according to the Daily Herald. The charges of criminal sexual assault and possession of child pornography he had been facing were dropped and Coe was given the maximum sentence of seven years for aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The Herald reported that Coe was accused of grooming the victim, who was 14 at the time, and then sexually assaulting her in the West Dundee church basement when she was 15.
Initially arrested in July of 2013, Coe was free on bond until prosecutors accepted the guilty plea and he was taken away by deputies, the Herald reported.
Coe will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life after prison and may never have contact with the victim.
The Herald reported that the victim and her family sued not only Coe, but the United Church of Christ, for which he worked, and other related organizations, claiming their negligence allowed this to happen. All defendants were removed by a trial court, but the lawsuit has been sent back to Kane County.
Coe may have his sentence cut in half on good behavior, the Herald reported. He has been credited two days' jail time.
Utah man charged with four counts of child sex abuse
by John W. Yelland
(KUTV) — A 36-year-old Magna man faces 4 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
According to court documents, the suspect, identified as Ricardo M. Gomez, is accused of taking his 11-year-old daughter to a parking lot four times to sexually abuse her.
The abuses took place between Dec. 2017 and March 2018, court documents state.
Authorities have requested that the Court assign a higher bail and issue a warrant of arrest, stating that Gomez is a flight risk, court documents state.
"Gomez was apprehended and arrested at the Salt Lake International airport as he prepared to leave the country after purchasing a one-way ticket to Mexico," court documents state.
According to court documents, authorities want a warrant for Gomez's arrest because they believe it is necessary to ensure the victim's safety, and the safety of other possible victims.
Child rapist's 340 to 680-year prison sentence isn't cruel and unusual, Pa. court says
By Matt Miller mmiller@pennlive.com
A 340- to 680-year prison sentence slapped on an admitted child rapist doesn't constitute cruel and unusual punishment, a state Superior Court panel concluded.
That decision means Eric James Stull, 50, will spend the rest of his life, and then some, behind bars for the 10 years of sexual abuse he inflicted on a little girl.
'And then some'... what? Are they going to keep him there after he is dead?
Investigators said Stull started molesting the child in 2006 when she was a month shy of her second birthday. He filmed the abuse. The crimes were discovered when authorities targeted Stull for downloading child pornography.
According to the state court opinion by Senior Judge Eugene B. Strassburger III, Stull pleaded guilty last year (2nd story on link) in Greene County Court to dozens of counts of child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor.
Stull rejected a plea deal from prosecutors for a 20 to 40-year prison term. Instead, he entered an open plea, leaving his sentencing entirely up to county Judge Lou Dayich.
In hindsight, that was an "unwise" decision on Stull's part, Strassburger agreed, but the record clearly shows Stull "was an active participant in his plea proceeding and that he understood the ramifications of entering an open guilty plea."
Despite Stull's claims to the contrary, Strassburger found nothing illegal or improper about Dayich's sentence "given the criminal conduct at issue in this case."
The county case isn't the only one keeping Stull permanently behind bars. A federal judge also sentenced him to a 338-year jail term for producing child pornography.
NY babysitter makes last-minute, first-degree murder plea in tot torture, sexual abuse case
By Frank Donnelly fdonnelly@siadvance.com
Caution: graphic details below
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With the start of jury selection minutes away, Gloria Fields decided to take her fate into her own hands, pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the death of a 17-month-old boy who prosecutors said she sexually abused and fatally tortured while babysitting him two years ago.
After briefly speaking to her aunt in the courtroom, Fields, 33, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of 23 years to life behind bars.
The Concord resident admitted to the top charge of a 12-count indictment accusing her of causing little Anthony Delgado's death over the course of three days by acting in an "especially cruel and wanton manner ... intended to inflict and inflicting torture" on the child.
Prosecutors said those acts included penetrating the child with a six-inch Crayola pencil.
Fields potentially faced up to life in prison without parole had she been convicted at trial of first-degree murder or aggravated murder.
Garbed in a tan sweatshirt and sweatpants, Fields responded, "Yes, Your Honor" and "No, Your Honor," in a clear voice to Justice Wayne Ozzi's questions during her plea allocution. She made no independent statement.
"The evidence in this case was overwhelming against Ms. Fields," Assistant District Attorney Timothy Richard said.
Fields had previously rejected plea offers, but decided at the last minute against taking her chances at trial. Sentencing is scheduled for April 24 in state Supreme Court, St. George.
"This defendant tortured and killed a 17-month-old boy who was left under her care, showing a cruel and inhuman disregard for life. Her guilty plea to first-degree murder ensures that she stays behind bars for her sickening crimes and is never allowed to do harm to another innocent child," said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon in a statement.
"No family should ever have to experience the loss of a child in this way, and the entire DA's office continues to send our thoughts and prayers to the family of the victim," said McMahon.
Prosecutors said Fields tortured and sexually abused the defenseless tot over the course of three days -- Friday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 - before he died.
According to testimony at a pretrial hearing last year, the defendant voluntarily admitted her guilt, including sexually assaulting the toddler, as detectives confronted her with the results of their ongoing investigation.
Fields, who had been using heroin and smoking marijuana while the child was in her care, also slammed his face onto the floor while he was strapped into his stroller, and struck him on the head numerous times, according to court documents.
The incidents occurred at various times inside the apartment building where the defendant and victim lived, and inside Buffalo Exchange, a used clothing store on East 11th Street in Manhattan, prosecutors said.
Fields told investigators she was angry over the loss of custody of her own child after the victim's grandmother reported her to the city Administration for Children's Services, according to a videotaped recording of her interrogation by police which was played at a pretrial hearing last year.
She said she hurt the boy to get back at his grandmother.
The defense contended any admissions Fields made were done under duress and came after days spent in the presence of police, mainly in a 10-feet-by-10-feet interview room at the 120th Precinct stationhouse.
The defense also maintained police improperly fed Fields "misleading information," particularly that her fingerprints and DNA would be found on the pencil, which, ultimately, they were not. Ozzi ruled that Fields' statements to cops are admissible at trial.
Shortly after Fields' arrest, Gallucci began exploring the possibility of presenting an insanity defense.
In such a defense, defendants must prove they lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate either the nature and consequences of their conduct when they committed the crimes charged or that such conduct was wrong.
But at a pretrial hearing last week, Gallucci said Fields would not pursue that defense if the case was tried.
It's not insanity, it is drugs! Drugs cause insanity, sometimes when you are using them, sometimes it lasts the rest of your life. You use drugs you are playing Russian Roulette with both your sanity and your future, both temporal and eternal.
Alabama man indicted on sodomy, child sexual abuse
FLORENCE — A Lauderdale County man accused of sexually molesting a young girl in 2017 has been indicted on various charges.
Bruce Lee McClain, 32, 120 Belview Drive, Killen, has been indicted on charges of two counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes, four counts of first-degree sodomy, and five counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12.
McClain is accused of sodomizing and enticing an 11-year-old girl. Officials said McClain is a family acquaintance.
He is out of jail on bail of $100,000.
He is scheduled to be arraigned April 28.
Lead attorney for children of YFZ Ranch recalls biggest child custody case in U.S. history
Carmen Symes Dusek, Special to San Angelo Standard-Times
On April 4, 2008, San Angelo found itself at the center of the biggest child custody case in U.S. history.
During the next few days, more than 400 vulnerable children were brought here from the polygamist Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado after the state received a tip claiming sexual abuse within the isolated religious sect led by Warren Jeffs. Over time, Jeffs and others would be tried and imprisoned for sexual assault and related crimes.
Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages."
Daughter of polygamist sect leader accused father of innumerable sexual assaults (7th story on link).
But on that spring day 10 years ago in Judge Barbara Walther’s courtroom, the focus was on the legal steps needed to protect these innocent young people from evil. It would be a massive undertaking.
As a local lawyer with experience representing children in abuse and negligence cases, I was appointed coordinating attorney for the anticipated 400-plus cases. It was possibly the greatest honor and privilege I have ever undertaken as a lawyer.
Randy Stout was appointed co-coordinator with me. Because there weren’t enough lawyers in San Angelo, we put out a call for more attorneys across the state. They came from everywhere — Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Amarillo, Lubbock, Austin, Wichita Falls, Texarkana. I still get chills remembering the packed room at Holy Angels Catholic Church where our initial meeting took place.
On the first day of court hearings for the more than 400 children removed from the polygamist-owned YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, lawyers from across Texas filed their way into the Tom Green
County Court House and overflow area at the City Hall Auditorium in San Angelo on April 17, 2008.
(Photo: San Angelo Standard-Times archives)
San Angelo’s residents stepped up in ways that will always amaze me. With law enforcement, Child Protective Services workers and reporters flooding into town, there were no hotel rooms. Churches passed around notepads seeking housing volunteers. Not many people want to put up a stranger in their home — much less a lawyer — but people opened their doors, with some families housing up to six attorneys.
It was the court’s job to determine whether the children had been abused or if they would be at risk if they were returned to their families. It was the lawyers’ job to make sure the children were protected and well-represented.
Clutching a teddy bear left behind at a shelter used by children of a polygamist sect, Barbara Arendt sorted through donated items April 6, 2008. The items were taken to the First Baptist Church in Eldorado for the more than 400 children removed from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound as part of a state investigation into physical and sexual abuse.
(Photo: San Angelo Standard-Times archives)
We tried to be sensitive to their cultural and religious beliefs. We had unique issues to navigate. Because of the nature of the allegations, we avoided pairing teen girls with male lawyers, relying heavily on female attorneys.
It was often impossible to determine who the biological parents were because of the communal life these children lived, making DNA testing essential. We had a chickenpox outbreak, requiring quarantines because the children were not vaccinated. We had boys as young as 8 with trade jobs who wanted to keep working. They had no concept of play.
As for what we now know about Warren Jeffs and the systematic physical, sexual and emotional abuse he perpetrated on girls and young women, I’m extraordinarily proud to have worked on this case. I also have a fondness for many of the girls I worked with. I repeatedly told them, “Keep my card. If you ever need anything, I’m only a phone call away.”
That promise stands today.
Carmen Symes Dusek is a trial lawyer with Jackson Walker LLP in San Angelo.
BY THE NUMBERS
9 — Days attorneys Carmen Symes Dusek and Randy Stout had to organize files, recruit and have lawyers assigned to child clients
263 — Attorneys representing children
13 — Shelters and group homes where children were placed after leaving San Angelo
46 — Days the kids were in CPS care before appeals’ court ruling
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