Pine Ridge Res. pediatrician faces two more charges for sexually abusing minors
Arielle Zionts Journal
A former pediatrician with Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was indicted Oct. 23 in federal court on two additional counts related to the sexual abuse of minors.
Stanley Patrick Weber, a 69-year-old from Spearfish, now faces a total of 12 charges for allegedly sexually assaulting Native American children under 16 years old in Pine Ridge for more than 15 years between July 1995 and August 2011, court records show.
One of the new counts is for aggravated sexual assault against someone under 12 years old between 1995 and 1998. The other is for sexually abusing a minor between 12 and 16 years old between 1998 and 2001.
He was initially charged in February 2017 with 10 counts: five counts of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of sexual abuse and four counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The new charges say the abuse began in 1995, three years earlier than what was alleged in the original indictment.
Aggravated sexual abuse carries a prison sentence of between 30 years to life, sexual abuse carries penalties up to life imprisonment, and sexual abuse of a minor can lead to a term of up to 15 years.
Weber's two new charges in South Dakota come after a federal jury in Montana ruled in September 2018 that he was guilty of sexually abusing two Native American boys between July 1993 and June 1995 on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
The jury found him guilty of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, abusive sexual contact of a minor and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child against two boys. Jurors found him not guilty of attempted sexual abuse of a minor.
The Montana judge ordered Weber to be jailed until his sentencing on Dec. 13, according to a Sept. 6 article from the Great Falls Tribune.
The original deadline for Weber and his attorneys to reach a plea deal with the prosecution in the South Dakota case was today. If no deal had been reached, his trial was scheduled to begin on Nov. 13, court records show.
However Judge Jeffrey Viken agreed Thursday with the request of Weber's lawyer to delay all court deadlines until he is sentenced in Montana. The plea deal in the South Dakota case is now due Dec. 21, and if none is reached, Weber will go to trial on Jan. 8, 2019.
Weber's lawyers are "intending to seek to negotiate a possible resolution of this case," they wrote in their motion to extend the deadlines.
Child sex abuse investigation leads to charges
in 15-year-old Montana case
A Great Falls man was arrested on a warrant Thursday after a report of sexual abuse of a child also led to charges for events that allegedly occurred more than 15 years ago.
Seth Marlo Phelps, 31, faces three felony charges, two of which are alleged to have occurred when he was 14 or 15 years old and the victim was 7 or 8.
According to charging documents, in December 2017 the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office attended forensic interviews with a child after a referral was made by a child protection specialist in Great Falls. No age is listed for the child, but the affidavit refers to her as being in 4th grade.
The child described a history of sexual abuse involving Phelps, who threatened her with violence if she told anyone what happened.
She also reported that she did tell three people, including her mother, after which the first report of child sexual abuse was called in and investigated by the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office.
During the course of the investigation, the child revealed that a family member of hers may also have been abused by Phelps.
In an interview with that woman, who is now in her 20s, she told officers that Phelps had sexually abused her when she was 7 or 8 years old, but she didn’t tell anyone because she thought the time period to report it had passed.
According to Montana law, prosecution in this situation may be commenced within 20 years after the victim turns 18 if the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time that the offense occurred.
The woman claims Phelps forced her to watch pornography and would often choke her while abusing her sexually. He also allegedly threatened to hurt her if she didn’t cooperate and hurt her family members if she told anyone.
Sexual abuse is horrible enough on it's own, but combined with life-threatening physical and emotional abuse, it is exponentially worse.
Poor response from Mother and counselor
At one point, charging documents state the woman told her mother and after that, she was no longer left alone with Phelps. She also claims to have told a counselor, but the counselor could not recall having the woman as a client and said any records from that time would be destroyed by now.
In addition, the woman alleged that Phelps sexually abused a boy in 1998 or 1999 when he was 12 or 13 years old.
Phelps is being held at the Cascade County Detention Center on $75,000 bond.
Sex offender from NY State gets 32 years in prison for enticing teenage girl
Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
In court documents, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia Cohen called Ohnmacht "a dangerous serial child predator" who was likely to re-offend.
A registered sex offender from Katonah who used Instagram to get naked photos of a teenage girl after his ban from using the internet ended was sentenced Thursday to 32 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
David Ohnmacht, 37, had previously served nine years in state prison for sexually molesting five girls in northern Westchester. When he was released in 2011, he was on post-release supervision that barred him from using the internet.
But in November 2016, once off parole, Ohnmacht set up Instagram accounts, including one posing as a 19-year-old man who worked on cars. He enticed a North Carolina 14-year-old to send him naked pictures, including a video of her using a sex toy he sent her.
When the girl resisted sending more videos, Ohnmacht threatened to share the earlier images with her friends on Instagram.
Ohnmacht was caught after a detective with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office posed online as the 14-year-old girl. He was arrested in March 2017. A search warrant executed on his Instagram accounts revealed sexually explicit communication between Ohnmacht and other children, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
And Instagram couldn't care less!
Convicted Oregon sex offender get 56 years
SAPHARA HARRELL The News-Review
The Roseburg man convicted of sexually abusing three different children in the last decade was sentenced to 56 years in prison Thursday.
Leo Keith Barton, 78, was convicted of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, first-degree sodomy and five counts of first-degree sex abuse on Oct. 5.
During sentencing, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge William Marshall chose to give Barton consecutive sentences for each victim.
Barton and his attorney Charles Lee maintained his innocence in court Thursday. Barton stood in front of the judge and said: “I would like you to know I’m not guilty of anything.”
He began to cry, looked at the victim’s family and said that the children he helped babysit loved him a lot.
Then, he said one of the victims — one he was charged with touching an intimate part of between 2000 and 2008 — was actually the one who touched him and that’s why they stopped babysitting him.
Barton said the jury didn’t hear his side of the story, because he and his wife weren’t called as witnesses. He said that if he was on the jury, he would’ve come to the same guilty verdict had he not heard from the defendant.
Barton’s crimes fall under Jessica’s Law, the informal name given to mandatory sentencing for sex crimes in which the victim is under 12. Those offenders are given the same 300-month mandatory prison sentence that is handed down to defendants convicted of murder.
Lee said sentencing Barton under Jessica’s Law was inappropriate, because Barton had no prior convictions and there was no physical injury alleged.
The defense attorney said Barton was fervent in his denial. “Our position is that this didn’t happen,” Lee said.
Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Terry Smith-Norton said a different victim came forward in 2010, prompting the Department of Human Services to ask the Barton’s to stop running a daycare in their home. Smith-Norton said the Bartons waited approximately three years before starting the daycare back up.
Barton was charged with engaging in sexual intercourse with one child under 12 years old and engaging in sexual contact with another child under 12 from September 2014 to May 2015.
Marshall asked Smith-Norton if there were additional victims that chose not to come forward. She said there were.
In a written statement to the court, one of the victims wrote that Barton “should be locked away for life.” Upon hearing that, Barton (swore) while putting his head in his hand.
A family member of one of the victims described their child’s fear upon seeing Barton, or the “bad man,” while walking around town.
Barton had been granted conditional release and remained out of custody until he was convicted earlier this month.
Another family member asked that Barton be sentenced for a minimum of 15 years— Barton got more than three times that.
He is also required to register as a sex offender.
NY State Man Arrested for Appalling Sexual
Abuse of Child Over Several Years
By Spectrum News Staff
In Albany County, a Rensselaerville man has been arrested for alleged sexual abuse and strangulation.
Justin Parker, 43, is accused of sexually abusing a child over several years at a home in Westerlo.
The Sheriff's Office first learned of the allegations late last year, when Child Protective Service in North Carolina called about the victim.
During one instance, Parker is accused of strangling the victim and abusing her while she unconscious.
He was arraigned and sent to Albany county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Iowa man charged with child sexual abuse
dating back to 2008
Luke Nozicka, Des Moines Register
An Urbandale man was arrested this week on charges he sexually abused an 11-year-old girl a decade earlier.
Christopher Martin Austin Pauli, 30, was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse on accusations he abused the girl in 2008 when he was 19.
Pauli admitted to the sexual acts, and to knowing the girl's age and using force in some instances, authorities said in charging documents.
The abuse reportedly occurred between March and October 2008 at a home in the 9600 block of Dennis Drive in Urbandale, where police said Pauli lives. Authorities said he also abused the girl in areas near 73rd Street and Hickman Road in Windsor Heights.
When the girl tried to escape, the criminal complaint states that Pauli used force to restrain her.
Pauli was booked Tuesday afternoon at Polk County Jail, where jail records show he remained Thursday on a $50,000 bond.
In court documents, Pauli said he planned to hire his own attorney. He did not have representation listed in records who could be reached for comment.
Pauli was ordered to stay away from all juveniles and areas where they could presumably be found, such as schools, libraries and playgrounds. His preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment