FBI Rescued 1,305 Children From Predators in 2018, Youngest 7 Months Old
'Evil monster from child's nightmare'
By Jasper Fakkert
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray speaks to the media during a news conference at FBI Headquarters, on June 14, 2018 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
In this year alone, the FBI has rescued 1,305 children from child predators, FBI Director Christoper Wray said in a June 14 statement.
The youngest children rescued were just 7 months old.
Each year, thousands of children across the United States fall victim to sexual abuse. Worldwide, more than 1 million children are currently being sexually exploited, according to estimates by the International Labor Organization.
Countering the threat of child predators and the freeing of abused children have been key points of focus of the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration.
Last week, the DOJ announced it had arrested more than 2,300 suspects of child sexual abuse and trafficking in a major nationwide operation.
“Any would-be criminal should be warned: This Department will remain relentless in hunting down those who victimize our children,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement following the arrest of the 2,300 suspects.
Child sexual abuse has seen a sharp rise in recent years, in part fueled by the easy access children have to the internet. Predators win children’s trust through the use of personal information the children have posted on social media.
“It’s an unfortunate fact of life that pedophiles are everywhere online,” said special agent Greg Wing, who supervises a cyber squad in the Chicago Field Office, in an earlier statement by the FBI.
“The younger generation wants to express themselves, and they don’t realize how vulnerable it makes them,” Wing said. “For a pedophile, that personal information is like gold and can be used to establish a connection and gain a child’s trust.”
In recent months, the DOJ has also targeted American nationals who travel overseas to sexually abuse children. Among those convicted was Paul Alan Shapiro, 71, a retired auto dealership employee who lives in Los Angeles. Shapiro was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing minor boys in Thailand.
sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of 2 girls
By David Panian Daily Telegram News Editor
ADRIAN — A Riga man described as an “evil monster from a child’s nightmare” will spend at least the next 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two girls.
Danny Franz Nighswander, 50, wept throughout his sentencing Thursday in Lenawee County Circuit Court on single counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person 13-15 and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He pleaded guilty to the charges in April in a plea agreement that dismissed two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, another charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person 13-15, a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13, accosting a child for immoral purposes and aggravated indecent exposure.
Circuit Judge Margaret M.S. Noe exceeded the minimum sentences recommended by the sentencing guidelines as calculated by the probation department. The guidelines recommended a minimum sentence between four years, three months and seven years, one month on the third-degree charge and three years to five years, 11 months on the second-degree charge.
Noe sentenced Nighswander to serve 10 to 15 years in prison on both charges, which each have maximum penalties of 15 years.
Noe said the guidelines did not address the ripple effect Nighswander’s actions had on the parents and guardians of the two girls who let him take them camping or to water parks and hotels with indoor pools. She said his actions showed a pattern of criminal behavior, including choosing places where he could be alone with the girls.
She described him giving the girls toys, cash, electronics, alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana. He gave one girl, who was 13 or 14 at the time, a ring to symbolize a future marriage, Noe said, and wrote love messages in chalk on the sidewalk outside one girl’s school. She said it was “behavior criticized even in countries that permit children to be married.”
“You did that to one of our children,” she said.
When he was charged with the crimes in the spring of 2017, the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office described events that happened in Riga and Cambridge townships between July 2016 and April 2017 with one girl who turned 13 during that time and in April 2016 in Woodstock Township with another girl who was 11. The girls are not related.
His tears were more a reaction to the consequences of his behavior than remorse for having committed the acts, Noe said. “At the rate you were molesting these children, I find the potential for rehabilitation questionable,” she said.
Noe said she received letters on behalf of both Nighswander and the victims. She said the letters vouching for Nighswander described him as an honest, caring man who would give people the shirt off his back. “You were taking the shirt off of children,” Noe said.
“What you took from these children speaks louder, and it begs for detention,” she said.
One of the victims and her mother and grandmother addressed the court. “Loving a child does not mean having sexual relations with him,” the grandmother said. She described going from having conversations with her granddaughter about things children usually are interested in to hearing her describe “dirty sex acts.”
Her granddaughter began cutting herself because of the abuse and “now has to struggle through her days because of a pedophile,” she said.
The girl’s ability to open up about what happened “keeps a rapist off the streets,” she said. “You, Danny Franz Nighswander, are the evil monster of a child’s nightmare,” she said.
She gave words of encouragement to her granddaughter. “You can and will overcome this nightmare,” she said. “This monster can no longer hurt you.”
The girl’s mother said Nighswander came into the family’s lives as a friend. She said he did it to gain access to her daughter. She said she felt powerless to help her child, who she said at times had lost the will to live. She asked for the longest prison term possible. “One hundred years wouldn’t be enough,” she said.
The girl, 14, described having access to horses and smoking and drinking with Nighswander. She said she is having a hard time quitting smoking. “I’ve grown up so much because I was forced to,” she told the court.
She said she hated what he did to her and that she had become attached to him and his money. “You messed with the wrong girl,” she said. She told Noe she is undergoing counseling.
Noe told her that she gets to define her future, not what Nighswander did to her. She also commended her younger brother for going to adults when he suspected something was wrong between his sister and Nighswander.
Nighswander briefly and almost inaudibly apologized twice before being sentenced, once before the victims spoke and once after. “I’m sorry, your honor, for everything,” he said before being sentenced.
He apologized to the judge, not the victim? Sounds like genuine remorse to me!!!!
Assistant Lenawee County Prosecutor Angie Borders explained to the court the reasoning for making the plea agreement and asking for a minimum sentence of 10 years. Nighswander could have been sentenced to up to life in prison if convicted of either of the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.
Borders said the girl who spoke in court had “come incredibly far” and it “took a lot of courage” for her to address the court. She said she has to make decisions on plea offers to protect the case and victims and guarantee a conviction. She said the victims and their families agreed to the plea agreement.
“We all wanted more,” Borders said. She said Nighswander “destroyed these girls’ innocence. He doesn’t deserve this court’s mercy.”
Riga, Michigan
NY sex offender charged with abusing child
Steven Cook
BALLSTON SPA - A Level 1 sex offender sexually abused a 10-year-old girl, Saratoga County Sheriff's officials said Friday.
Karl W. Kimball, 52, of 885 Middleline Road, was charged Tuesday with one count each of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Kimball was arrested after a person reported witnessing Kimball inappropriately touching the girl.
Kimball was previously sentenced in 2014 to a year in jail after pleading guilty then to first-degree sexual abuse related to incidents in 2012 and 2013, newspaper records show.
Kimball was arraigned and ordered held on $40,000 bail.
OK man faces accusation of child sexual abuse
By Tesina Jackson tjackson@tahlequahdailypress.com
A Tahlequah man is being accused of child abuse after allegedly impregnating his girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter.
According to Cherokee County Sheriff's Officer reports, charges were filed in April against David Wayne Nixon, 31, who first denied the allegations in Sept., 2017, claiming the child had intercourse with two juvenile boys. The girl's mother also denied the allegations.
In March, the child gave birth at the age of 15 and DNA of the mother, baby and Nixon were collected by the Department of Human Services and submitted for a paternity test.
On April 4, deputies received the results of the paternity test, which showed that Nixon was the baby's father. An arrest warrant was issued for Nixon's arrest and he was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center.
After being arrested, according to reports, Nixon allegedly told deputies on April 10 that he and the child did have a consensual sexual relationship and that it lasted over the course of one year, and the girl's mother knew about it because she was asleep in the same bed where he had sex with the daughter.
During another interview with the girl's mother on May 1 and May 2, she told deputies she did not know Nixon and her daughter having sex. When she heard the allegations, she said she asked her daughter, who denied anything was happening.
Nixon pleaded not guilty on May 1 and is currently represented by court appointed attorney Rachel Dallis. Assistant District Attorney Kathy Lahmeyer is listed as prosecutor.
The defendant's next court date is at 9 a.m. on June 20 with Cherokee County Associate District Judge Mark Dobbins presiding.
Off-duty Texas deputy arrested on charge of sexual assault of a child under 6 y/o
KENSThe Bexar County Sheriff's Department says an off-duty deputy was arrested on a felony charge involving sexual assault of a child.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said the four-year-old victim made an outcry to her mother Saturday night. He said the mother decided to go to a local fire station to report the abuse. Investigators quickly, stepped in and arrested Nunez around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Salazar said Nunez touched the girl's genitals and caused her pain. Investigators believe the abuse could go back months or possibly years. He said the girl's mother is an undocumented immigrant and the suspect took advantage of the mother's fear of deportation.
"When one person or persons individually demonstrate like they did in this case that they're not worthy to be part of this agency? Then we're going to quite frankly, get them out of here. Cut them out like cancer. And that's what's going to happen in this case," said Salazar.
Nunez has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Internal affairs will also be conducting a separate, but concurrent investigation.
Salazar encourages undocumented immigrants to continue to report crimes. He said there could be more victims in Nunez's case.
"Victim of a crime or a witness to a crime to please come forward and report it. Just like we're doing in this case, we're filling out paperwork with this witness in question to make sure that she's given protected status pending the outcome of this case," said Salazar.
Alleged sex abuse victim's suicide postpones trial
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON twitherspoon@wacotrib.com
One Non-Survivor's Story - Suicide rather than Testify
Clarisa Santos shot herself with the pistol her mother bought to protect them from Jose Manuel Gonzalez.
While Robinson police continue to investigate the 14-year-old Harmony Science Academy student’s death, the teen is believed to have taken her own life May 6, the day after she was subpoenaed to testify against Gonzalez at his upcoming trial on charges he sexually abused Clarisa for five years beginning when she was 7.
Her tragic death has forced the trial to be postponed again and complicated the case against Gonzalez, if not placing it in legal jeopardy. Prosecutor Hilary LaBorde said she is confident the case can proceed, even though Gonzalez has a constitutional right to confront his accuser. Gonzalez’s attorney, Chris Bullajian, declined comment, saying he could not discuss a pending case.
The Tribune-Herald does not routinely identify the victims of sexual abuse without their permission or report on most suicides. However, Santos’ mother and stepfather say they will create a foundation called “One More Day” with the goal of suicide prevention.
“I think it needs to be known,” Clarisa’s stepfather, Gio Michell, said. “That’s why we are starting the foundation. We want to talk to school kids and say, ‘No, don’t do this.’ We want to go to schools and tell students to give it one more day because tomorrow may be the best day of your life. We want to tell them to talk to someone. Kids feel shut out sometimes and don’t feel like they are able to talk to their parents. We had a good relation with Clarisa and could talk to her. But I think she just decided she couldn’t take it.”
After Clarisa reported Gonzalez, her former stepfather, sexually abused her from July 2011 to January 2016, she and her family did all the right things that families affected by such a horrific crime should do.
Her mother, Clara Santos, believed her and supported her. She kicked Gonzalez out of the house and changed the locks the same day. Clarisa had a medical exam and was interviewed by forensic specialists at the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. DNA evidence was recovered.
Regular counseling
She went to counseling and followed up with regular counseling sessions at school. She seemed to be getting better in small increments.
In Clarisa’s case, it took time for DNA evidence to be tested. Gonzalez changed lawyers, causing other delays.
Gonzalez was set to stand trial Tuesday, but 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother postponed the trial last week until July 17. The postponement was out of respect for Clarisa’s family, but also because the 46-year-old Gonzalez spent a week recently at a Dallas hospital getting dialysis treatment for renal disease.
As the trial approached, Clarisa met with members of the DA’s office to prepare her testimony. Then the subpoena arrived, driving home the harsh reality that she would have to recount her allegations in front of a jury of 12 strangers and others in court.
“She said she couldn’t go through with it, she couldn’t relive it all again,” Clarisa’s mother said. “She said she just couldn’t relive it all again. I knew she was really nervous, but we celebrated her brother’s birthday and she seemed fine. Later that night, she wasn’t feeling well and she really couldn’t sleep. She was tossing back and forth, and I lied down with her and told her everything was going to be OK, that maybe she wouldn’t even have to go to court. I slept with her that night.”
Michell agrees that the long wait to go to trial affected Clarisa.
“The system failed our daughter and made her wait three long years,” he said. “Clarisa told me if the whole thing had been put away closer to when it happened, she could have faced it. I believe she could have faced it. But to have all that resurrected when she was trying to take back over her life and the fact that she had to look over her shoulder for the last three years, it was just all too much.”
Her mother said she bought the gun two years ago because Clarisa thought she saw Gonzalez, who is free on bond, lurking near their Robinson home. Her fears were never confirmed, Clara Santos said.
LaBorde, a veteran prosecutor who has lost just two child abuse cases in 16 years, said she had cases in which alleged sexual assault victims have attempted suicide, but not one with a suicide victim. She said she met once with Clarisa, whom she said appeared fine.
“Of all the kids I thought would have done it, I wouldn’t have thought it would have been her,” LaBorde said. “She seemed like an old soul. She seemed like she was obviously sad, but she never talked about it. Mom took her to counseling, got rid of him, and lots of times, moms don’t do that. She was loved and had a lot of support. I thought this girl was in a much better place than some with previous suicide attempts. It just goes to show you that you never know what is going on inside of somebody, but I really thought this was a very good case.”
Waco psychologist Lee Carter, author of the book “It Happened to Me,” a workbook for teenagers and young adults who have been sexually abused, testifies frequently in court as an expert witness in sexual abuse cases. He was scheduled to testify in Clarisa’s trial.
Carter said while some abuse victims find it comforting that 12 jurors heard their stories, believed them and recommended lengthy sentences for the abusers, others find it overwhelming to be in court and having to share embarrassing, intimate details.
“It is not at all uncommon for identified victims to feel overwhelmed,” Carter said. “Once the day comes that she actually has to testify in court before a group of strangers with the accused looking at her, that is an overwhelming experience for most abuse victims. Obviously, a person can appear to be doing well externally as long as the stress is not right there in front of them. But external appearances don’t necessarily mean that they have dealt with it or have come to terms with it.”
A courtroom experience can be “tantamount to reopening old psychological wounds,” Carter said.
“A lot of victims may think, ‘Just when I though I was getting over my experience, I have to go back and revisit it all,’ and it is too overwhelming,” Carter said. “Most victims who have that overwhelming experience can and do push through and go to court and testify. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. This poor girl buckled even more than most of them do.”
There has to be a better way of dealing with the testimony of child victims. Having 12 strangers staring at you and listening to your inner most secrets, fears and shames, and having the perpetrator in the same room staring at you is inhumane for a child and falls a very long ways from justice.
Loss of best friend
Another possible contributor to Clarisa’s death was the suicide death in July 2017 of her best friend, a 13-year-old boy with whom she attended Robinson Junior High.
“I think the suicide death of her good friend influenced her decision to take her own life to a degree,” Michell said. “I think the court case taking so long was the major factor. But I think the death of her close friend, who was the same age, somehow played a role in her decision to bid this world farewell and made her decision easier to make the same choice.”
Clarisa’s mother said her friend’s birthday and the anniversary of his death were coming up and those dates might have triggered a deep sadness in her daughter.
“She was really attached to him,” she said. “After he passed away, she was never quite the same. She remembered him every month and would go to the cemetery with friends. They would get together and be there to support him.”
Researchers who study the phenomenon known as “suicide contagion” say media coverage of suicide deaths, especially celebrities, and exposure to suicides of friends or family can influence those who are vulnerable or at risk and can lead to suicide rate increases.
Carter said it is possible the suicide death of Clarisa’s friend may have influenced her decision, although she and her friend chose different means of death.
“There does seem to be some contagion. It is documented,” Carter said. “Sometimes you have a domino effect when one person acts out in that way and another person follows. I don’t know I would say that it is the reason most people commit suicide or attempt suicide.
“I guess I would say it is a real phenomenon. I would not want to overstate its effect. If you sensationalize anything like that and a disturbed person latches onto it, it might push them to do something. But again, I don’t think that is the reason most people commit suicide.”
After Gonzalez’s trial is over next month, Clara Santos and Michell say they will have wonderful memories of Clarisa to help them carry on.
Clarisa’s father is a mechanic for American Airlines, and Michell is a retired military defense contractor employee. Their careers possibly influenced Clarisa’s aspirations to join the Air Force after college and to possibly become a pilot, her mother said.
“There are so many good memories,” Clara Santos said. “She didn’t know how to be mean. She was not mean at all. Only with her little brother sometimes, but you know how that is. She was very sweet and understanding and caring, especially with old people and animals. She cared so much for the elderly and neighbors and helped them with their horses. She loved animals, especially her dog, Titan. That was her baby.”
Michell said a girl was bullying Clarisa at school. Clarisa told the bully that she refused to hate her.
“She came back later and told Clarisa that no one had ever been so kind to her and they became friends,” Michell said. “Some girl who was going to be a potential bully, Clarisa was able to use kindness to turn them into a friend. That is who she was.”
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