Sex offender who made lewd remarks to
Illinois cheerleaders sentenced to 3½ years
TONY REID tony.reid@lee.net
DECATUR — Terry L. Rufty, a convicted child sex offender who admitted making obscene suggestions and lewd comments to a group of Decatur cheerleaders on their school grounds, was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison Monday.
Rufty, 46, pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 3 felony; several other sex offense charges were dismissed in a plea deal negotiated by Rufty’s defense attorney, Timothy Tighe. The possible sentence range was 2 to 10 years.
A sworn police affidavit about the case said the offense happened the afternoon of June 16 as Rufty was walking by St. Teresa High School. Decatur police Officer Robert Murray said Rufty had seen a group of cheerleaders and their parents cleaning up from a car wash fundraiser and called out to them multiple times.
When one 49-year-old woman present told Rufty to leave, Murray said he replied: “‘Go to hell,' and then dared her to call the police.” Rufty was arrested within 25 minutes.
Assistant Macon County State’s Attorney Kate Kurtz said Rufty is already a registered predatory sex offender, having been sentenced to prison previously for the criminal sexual assault of a child. He also has a previous conviction for failure to register as a sex offender.
Rufty took the stand to tell Griffith he apologized for what he had done and “took full responsibility for it.” Tighe then argued for a two-year sentence, citing Rufty’s willingness to admit his guilt and the fact that he has a history of mental illness.
Griffith told Rufty he had committed a “troubling offense” and a prison term beyond two years minimum was appropriate. “A sentence of probation would deprecate the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct and a sentence to the department of corrections is necessary to protect the public,” Griffith added.
Rufty also was ordered to pay a $500 fine and must continue registering as a sex offender.
Arizona man sentenced to prison in
child sexual abuse plea deal
By Tucson News Now |TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - A Pima County man who pleaded guilty in September (3rd story on link) to second-degree sexual conduct with a minor and sexual abuse of a child was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Lennox will also have to register as a sex offender.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office said Lennox, 43, raped a very young child at least three times from 2007-11.
Raping a very young child ought to be worth 15 years for each rape.
Pima Co., AZ
Former Oklahoma detective pleads guilty
to sexual abuse of a child
by Austin PrickettWOODWARD, Okla. (KOKH) — A former Woodward Police Department detective has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a child.
Gandara was serving as a detective when he was accused of the crimes. He was arrested in August 2017.
North Carolina man charged with
child sex with family member
By Shawn Taylor staylor@statesville.com Police last week charged a Mooresville man with performing oral sex on an 11-year-old family member, according to reports.
The Mooresville Police Department took out a warrant Thursday to charge Pollack with felony child abuse by committing a sexual act on a juvenile. He was arrested Friday by an Iredell County deputy.
Court records show Pollack posted a $31,000 secured bond the same day and was released. He waived a court-appointed attorney at his first appearance in Iredell County District Court Monday.
Pollack lives on Waterlynn Road in Mooresville and works for Lowe’s Home Improvement, according to an arrest report.
Plea change in North Dakota child sexual abuse case
MINOT, N.D. - A Kenmare man has pleaded guilty to a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
The judge sealed the affidavit in the case, which was filed last October, and has now ordered a pre-sentence risk assessment.
Enck remains in custody and will appear for his sentencing in April.
He faces the chance of life in prison on the AA-felony charge.
City Employee Charged With Child Sexual Abuse in California
By Donald SANTA MONICA—The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Eric Wess Uller, 50, has been charged with sexually abusing four boys while volunteering at the Santa Monica Police Activities League.
The defendant is alleged to have abused the victims between the ages of 12 and 16 years old from 1986 to 1995, the prosecutor indicated.
Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer issued the following statement on October 30:
“The recent arrest of a City employee has raised legitimate concern in our community, from this Council and from our City staff, so I want to provide a brief announcement on what we know and are able to share. Our hearts go out to anyone impacted by these deeply disturbing circumstances. And I want to acknowledge the bravery of any and all victims that come forward to report sexual misconduct.”
Uller was placed on administrative leave immediately upon his arrest noted Mayor Winterer in his statement.
“Over the last several days, there have been allegations that the City may have been aware of criminal conduct by Mr. Uller and failed in the past to address it. We take this concern seriously. We are committed to transparency and accountability. The City Attorney’s Office has retained outside counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation of these allegations. The City is also conducting a comprehensive review of the procedures in place to protect youth participants of the PAL program,” said Mayor Winterer.
Bail was set at $750,000. If convicted as charged, Uller faces a possible maximum sentence of more than 23 years in state prison. The case is still under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Death sentence for Texas sex offender
who killed prison guard lover
ANSON, Texas (AP) — A convicted sex offender found guilty of killing a female corrections officer in Texas has been sentenced to death.A Jones County jury on Tuesday ordered the death penalty for 24-year-old Dillion Compton.
Compton was convicted of capital murder Oct. 15 in the July 2016 slaying of guard Mari Johnson, whose beaten body was found in a storage unit at the Robertson prison in Abilene.
Prosecutors say Johnson suffered blunt force trauma and a crushed throat. Compton was found with scratches on his face and his skin underneath Johnson's fingernails.
Compton's defense attorney said Compton and Johnson had a sexual relationship.
Three Texans indicted for child sex offenses
By Steve NashThe October session of the Brown County Grand Jury returned indictments alleging sex offenses against a Brownwood pastor, a May teen and a Bangs man in unrelated cases.
Those indicted, according to documents in Brown County District Clerk Cheryl Jones’ office, were:
‒ Fernando Hernandez, 50, continuous sexual abuse of young child or children.
‒ Austin McAbee, 17, possession or promotion of child pornography (five counts), sexual performance by a child, unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material (two counts) and sexual assault (two counts).
‒ Austin McGee, 20, possession or promotion of child pornography.
Fernando Hernandez
Hernandez, the pastor of It’s a Challenge Church in Brownwood, was arrested in July (2nd story on link) on warrants charging him with continuous sexual abuse of a child and indecency with a child, authorities said earlier.
Hernandez told Texas Ranger Jason Shea he did not sexually assault anyone, a complaint filed by Shea in the Brown County Courthouse stated.According to the complaint:
Shea was contacted in June by District Attorney Micheal Murray’s office regarding allegations of offenses committed against two child victims.
Hernandez was arrested a short time later on another indecency with a child case that was first reported to authorities in 2010.
Hernandez was living in Plainview in 2010 when a young teenage girl made an outcry of sexual assault, Shea’s complaint states. The alleged assault happened in Brownwood and the girl identified Hernandez as the suspect.
The girl was interviewed by a forensic interviewer at the CPS office in Plainview — the last event documented in the Plainview and Brownwood police reports, Shea’s complaint states.
Shea contacted the alleged victim — who is now a young adult — and the young woman said she would assist in the investigation. The woman said “nothing has changed and she is still very upset about the incident,” Shea’s complaint states.
Hernandez is free on bonds totaling $200,000.
Austin McAbee
McAbee was arrested in September, initially on charges of possession of child pornograpahy.
Wyatt was assigned a case in September involving threats to share nude photographs of a juvenile female to the public, including the girl’s family. Deputies obtained a search warrant and seized a cell phone.
Wyatt saw text messages in which the phone’s owner said he would send out photos of the girl if she did not continue sexual activity with him, and if she did not provide him with nude photos of other juvenile females in the locker room at her school, Wyatt’s complaint states.
The phone also contained six additional photos depicting two juvenile females, Wyatt’s complaint states.
The grand jury returned a total of four indictments alleging that:
‒ McAbee possessed five photos on his phone that depicted a child under 18 engaging in sexual conduct.
‒ McAbee induced a child under 18 to engage in sexual performance, namely, a video of the child engaging in sexual conduct or sexual performance.
‒ McAbee threatened to disclose photos or videos, and made the threat to obtain sexual conduct from the child as well as photos of other girls, in exchange for not making the disclosure.
‒ McAbee committed two offenses of sexual assault against the child.
McAbee remains jailed in lieu of bonds totaling $210,000.
Austin McGee
An investigation into a runaway female juvenile led to the discovery of child pornography images phone, leading to McGee’s arrest, sheriff’s officials said earlier.
According to a complaint filed by sheriff’s investigator Leighton Wyatt:Wyatt responded in May to a report of a runaway juvenile in the Lake Brownwood area. Abilene police located the girl in Abilene.
Wyatt interviewed the girl when she returned to Brown County, and the girl said she ran away because of her shame of being sexually active with a male. The girl said she sent nude photos of herself to the male, identified as McGee, via text message and social media at the male’s request.
The girl gave the names of other juveniles who sent nude photos to the male, the complaint states.
McGee surrendered his cell phone, which investigators searched after obtaining a search warrant. A forensic download revealed multiple photos of nude females, and two victims were able to be identified.
McGee is free on bonds totaling $20,000.
Brown Co., TX
California residents convicted of sexual assault
on young relative face life in prison
BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH mmcgough@sacbee.com
Two Orangevale residents face a maximum of life in prison after being convicted by a jury this week of child sexual assault charges involving a young family member.
Chantell Jeannette Gosztyla and Richard Gosztyla were found guilty Monday of multiple counts of lewd and lascivious conduct against a young relative, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The Gosztylas sexually assaulted the victim over a span of more than a year, the release said.
Sacramento Superior Court records online show Chantell Gosztyla faced 12 charges of lewd and lascivious acts in a trial that began Oct. 2.
The two were apprehended in Napa County, found with cash and their passports in possession; authorities suspect they planned to flee the country, according to the release.
Internet records from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing show that Chantell J. Gosztyla was once a teacher. Her credentials were automatically suspended in April due to the court indictment.
Chantell and Richard Gosztyla are set for sentencing Dec. 14.
Georgia Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of Child
Cherokee NewsA Gaylesville man has been sentenced to prison on charges of Attempted Sexual Abuse of a Child less than 12 years older. Johnny Ray Slayton plead guilty to those charges as a lesser included offense to Sexual Abuse of a Child less than 12 years old.
WEIS Radio News spoke to the mother of the victim in the case and she told us that her daughter, who is now 11 years old was in the court room and watched as Slayton plead guilty and was escorted to jail.
Slayton was charged with four counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child under the Age of 12 back in April of 2017. Those charges were the result of an investigation conducted by Chief Investigator Josh Summerford and Investigator Tony Monroy.
The on-going investigation by Sheriff’s Office investigators and the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) led to a grand jury indicting Slayton on the additional charges of first degree sodomy, first degree rape, and three counts of attempted sodomy.
And for that he got 10 years? Why the concurrent sentences?
West Virginia man sentenced to 2 to 10 years
for child sexual abuse
By GREG JORDAN Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — After hearing emotional pleas for probation and equally emotional pleas for a maximum sentence, a circuit court judge sentenced a Princeton man Monday to a term of two to 10 years in prison.
After listening to witnesses including Cutlip’s mother and members of the child’s family, Wills sentenced him to terms of one to five years apiece on the two third-degree sexual intrusion charges. The sentences will run consecutively. Wills also sentenced Cutlip Sr. to a term of 10 to 20 years for sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust. That sentence was suspended as part of the plea agreement (6th story on link), but he could serve that time if he violates probation, according to Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Malorie Morgan.
He will also have five years probation after leaving prison, and be under supervision for 10 years. These requirements include registering as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Cutlip was indicted by a Mercer County grand jury on 16 counts including charges of sexual assault first degree; sexual abuse first degree; sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust to a child; and incest.
The investigation started on Jan. 11, 2016, when the child’s parents brought her to the Princeton detachment of the West Virginia State Police after the alleged victim disclosed details of the abuse. The victim told investigators that he had touched her “front butt” while they were in a hot tub together.
Cutlip’s attorney, Tim DiPiero of Charleston, called witnesses who testified about his client’s past and character. One, Frank Thomas of Mercer County, was a former West Virginia State Police trooper who later ran the Mercer County Jail and served as a court bailiff. He testified that he had know Cutlip since doing business with him in 1983.
“I got to know him through business dealings. We never socialized,” Thomas recalled. “He was always honest and straightforward with me...if he told me something, you could count of it.
Thomas said that he never, officially or unofficially, heard anything derogatory about Cutlip and, in his “unofficial opinion,” he would not be a threat to the community.
Cutlip’s mother also testified on her son’s behalf, speaking about how he reacted when he first heard the accusation. She said that he was called to the West Virginia State Police. When he was told that he had been accused of molesting the juvenile, he abruptly got out of his chair and said, “For what?” This moment was not recorded on video, she added.
“If the camera was on, actions speak louder than words,” Cutlip’s mother stated. She also said that the juvenile “loved him to death” and “if she’s been doing that (speaking about him) she’s been coached to do it.”
When DiPiero asked Cutlip’s mother about her son’s impending sentence, she said it was wrong and that he was innocent. He had volunteered for the 4-H for 25 years, teaching gun safety to children, and never had a complaint against him.
A second witness, psychologist Dr. David Clayman, PHD, testified by video from Charleston that Cutlip had a low risk of recidivism, or committing new offenses. Given the fact he has been free for two years since his arrest and had not done anything wrong during that time, he did not appear to be a risk to the community. In that situation, home confinement with a condition of no contact with the juvenile or other children, he did not see any risk of more offenses.
Clayman said Cutlip had no long-term relationship with the juvenile and had no signs of predatory behavior. He also stated that he thought Cutlip’s health would make him a “medical management problem with the division of corrections.
Another person who testified on Cutlip’s behalf, Ben Faulkner of Mercer County, said he worked with him for years in 4-H and never heard any complaints, official or unofficial, about inappropriate behavior during all the years he interacted with children. Faulkner also said that Cutlip had been attending his church’s fellowship for men.
“I don’t see Rick (Cutlip Sr.) as a danger to the community,” he said.
The juvenile’s parents took turns on the stand, and both asked Judge Wills to impose the maximum sentence. She is still having problems, and cries at such thing like seeing herds of deer because she saw deer near Cutlip’s home, they both said. She sleeps in their bedroom, at some points screaming and crying to where she cannot breath until they bring her into their room. Even seeing particular food can cause her to cry if she associates it with Cutlip.
“I’ve had a lot of depression problems and I’m constantly worried about her. I’m scared for her,” the father said.
They said he should not receive any leniency due to age or sickness when one considers what their child has had to endure.
The former wife of Cutlip also told the court that he should be sentenced “to the fullest extent of the law.” On the issue about the lack of previous incidents involving children, she said that he had never had such an opportunity to be alone with one. He even said that he “did not wear swim trunks or underwear in the hot tub with her...I was astonished.” He would complain that the child kept outgrowing her bathing suits.
“Please give him the maximum time this plea deal offers,” she asked Judge Wills. “I beg you do this for her.”
Cutlip said in a brief statement that he never intended to harm the juvenile, and how the case has been “a nightmare for me and everybody involved.”
Before passing sentence, Wills said the murder cases and child abuse cases were the most troublesome ones that the court had to deal with. Wills said he reviewed all the case reports and watched videos made of police interviews, and in them he found “troublesome” information. One video shot in early March 2016 recorded a statement made to the West Virginia State Police. In one instance, he admitted to investigators that he had showered naked with the child on more than one occasion.
“You indicated in your statement, and this is from you, that you bathed and showered with (the child) for four years naked...she called your privates your pee pee, and you said she said it was ugly,” Wills stated. In other interviews, he had denied being naked in the child’s presence.
“I just don’t think you’re a candidate for probation,” Wills said.
DiPiero asked Wills to allow his client to keep a Tuesday doctor’s appointment with the Veterans Administration. Wills granted this request, but told him to report to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday morning.
Illinois man convicted of child sexual assault
‘Father figure’ already was serving sentence for similar case
By BRENDA SCHORYST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A Sugar Grove man was found guilty on nine counts of sexual assault of a child on the second day of a bench trial Nov. 6.
Tegeler set Jan. 25 for motions on a new trial and possible sentencing.
The victim, identified in court papers as J.H., testified Nov. 5 that Buhay had been a father figure to him, and that not long after he began staying overnight at the man’s house, Buhay molested him, performing oral sex on him from the time he was 6 or 7 years old until he was 10.
Buhay was charged in 2013 on multiple counts of felony predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.
This is the second trial for Buhay, who was convicted last year on three counts of felony predatory criminal sexual assault of another boy. Tegeler sentenced him to 45 years in prison.
The court treated them as companion cases, going to trial on the 2014 case involving the first victim, identified as R.P. in court records. A jury convicted Buhay in that first case, but he opted for a bench trial before Tegeler for the second, which began Nov. 5 .
Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Lori Schmidt said that Buhay gained access to J.H. by offering child care while the boy’s mother worked and went to school.
“He was grooming him,” Schmidt said. “The defendant had all kinds of toys and rooms set up for children. He made [J.H.] feel special.”
“I loved him,” J.H. testified. “He was a father figure.”
J.H. became emotional during his testimony, sometimes needing a tissue, often holding a hand over his face and speaking so softly that Tegeler asked him to speak up.
Buhay fathered a child with J.H.’s mother and when J.H. was about 10, they had a custody dispute and J.H. could not go to his house any more.
The abuse came to light when Buhay befriended J.H.’s biological father. J.H.’s father testified that Buhay “came on” to him during a computer chat. “I was shocked,” J.H.’s father said, adding he then ended the conversation.
A month later, he talked to J.H.’s mother on the phone and asked if she thought Buhay might be gay and asked her to speak to J.H. “I wanted to know if he had come on to my son,” J.H.’s father testified.
She called him back in a half hour, “hysterical,” he testified.
J.H., then 14, told his mother about the sexual abuse and they went to the Sugar Grove police to file a report, then to the Kane County Child Advocacy Center, resulting in the charges against Buhay on Jan. 31, 2013.
Buhay’s attorney, David Imielski, pointed out that J.H.’s testimony was different that what he told investigators.
J.H. said he was embarrassed and did not say everything that happened to him because it was “gross.”
After prosecutors rested their case, Imielski sought a directed verdict, stating there was no evidence that any abuse took place, no other witnesses and that J.H. was not credible.
Imielski said J.H.’s testimony in court was different than what he told investigators and police – getting specific details wrong, not remembering other details and admitting he did not tell investigators everything that he was now said had happened to him.
“To say his testimony was sketchy is generous,” Imielski said.
Schmidt said it was unreasonable to expect a child to be specific about what dates he had been molested. “He had no motive to make this up,” Schmidt said.
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