Fortnite used to lure minor into sex, child pornography
Settlement Reached Between Perry, OK Public Schools, Families Affected By Sexual Abuse Case
© Reuters/Benoit Tessier
A Florida man has been arrested and charged with sex with a minor and possession of child pornography, after making contact with a teen through the popular online game Fortnite. Investigators saying there may be more victims.
Anthony Gene Thomas, 41, of Broward County was introduced to a 17 year-old by a female co-conspirator through Fortnite. They communicated via voice chat available to players. The teen talked about hardships at home, and Thomas started manipulating her by giving her gifts including credit cards and a cellphone, according to the Florida attorney general's office.
On August 25, Thomas and his accomplice picked up the victim and brought her to Thomas' apartment, where he allegedly assaulted her. When the teenager's parents found out she was missing, they called the police who were able to bring their daughter home the following day.
In October, police secured a search warrant for Thomas's apartment and seized his phone, where they found pornographic images and videos of the victim that led to his arrest.
Authorities now believe there might be as many as 20 victims in total, although additional details haven't been released.
"This case is disturbing not only because it involves child pornography, but also because a popular online game was used to communicate with the victim," Florida AG Ashley Moody said, asking others with information about the crime or others like it to contact police immediately.
Sextortion scheme targets minors through popular online game Fortnite in Quebec (3rd story on link)
Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, with a player base of 200 million. Last May, the UK-based National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) issued a warning that child sexual predators were using the game – among other apps and websites – to target their victims. Parents have the option to turn off the in-game voice-chat, but there is currently no way to avoid seeing text by other users, which the group says leaves all underage players at risk of being contacted by strangers.
Child predators are almost always the first to become proficient at a new game of social media platform. They are there just waiting for you unsuspecting children.
Settlement Reached Between Perry, OK Public Schools, Families Affected By Sexual Abuse Case
Teacher and Principal fired for not reporting abuse
By News9.com
Perry Public Schools has reached a settlement with families affected by the child sexual abuse scandal that rocked the district.
A lawyer for the families said the district agreed to pay a $3.5 million settlement.
The families of 14 victims will receive $250,000 each which will be placed in annuities for the children, the families' attorney Cameron Spradling said.
The money is to be used to provide the children with lifetime counseling, care and the opportunities for them to go to college and graduate school.
At least 16 children reported (2nd story on link) to authorities they had been molested by a teacher's aide. The teacher's aide was identified as Arnold Cowen.
Cowen pleaded guilty to several charges, including 19 counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The teacher in charge of Cowen and the principal of Perry Elementary were charged and fired from the district after they were accused of not reporting the abuse.
Man arrested in Florida for felony sexual abuse of a child
By: WFTS Digital Staff
POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A man in Polk County was arrested Tuesday and charged with eight felonies related to sexual abuse of a child, deputies say.
Carlos Calderon, 41, is facing charges for sexual battery, lewd molestation of a child under the age of 12, use of a child in a sexual performance, sexual performance by a child and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Deputies say when asked how many times he committed a specific type of sexual battery, Calderon said "hell I don't know."
Detectives say during an interview Calderon admitted to sexually battering the child and taking sexually explicit photos. The photos were located on Calderon's phone by detectives.
They also say they found a sex toy in the suspect's dresser that the child had described.
The child told an adult of the photo's on Calderon's phone, the sheriff's office says. Deputies say the child said that Calderon had repeatedly sexually battered her starting when she was 7 years old.
"Calderon's continued molestation and sexual battery against this child is unconscionable," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "He preyed upon her and groomed her to commit these horrific acts. We are going to make sure he is held accountable for his actions."
And that he can never have opportunity to abuse another child... right?
Calderon is being held in the Polk County Jail on $400,000 bond and two counts of no bond.
Calderon is originally from Mexico, the sheriff's office say. When his fingerprints were taken they were alerted to a warrant for his arrest from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The warrant states Calderon either lacks immigration status or is removable from the country regardless of his status, the sheriff's office says. ICE is aware of his arrest, according to the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Judd said Calderon was in the country on an expired work visa.
"We have an ICE warrant that said he is removable from the country," Judd said in a press conference Wednesday. "However, other data we've gathered says, well, he's here on a valid work permit and he was in the process of applying for permanent residency."
He's been arrested eight previous times, six of which were for driving with a non-valid, suspended or revoked drivers license. His other arrests are for probation violation, possession of K-2 and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Polk Co., FL
Montana man arraigned on sex abuse of children charge
MADDIE VINCENT maddie.vincent@mtstandard.com
Cody Allen Eaton, the 30-year-old Butte man arrested Tuesday for allegedly sending sexually explicit photos of himself to a girl under the age of 16, was arraigned by Butte-Silver Bow Justice of the Peace Ben Pezdark on Wednesday afternoon in the county jail.
After a detention center officer escorted Eaton into the jail courtroom, Pezdark handed Eaton a copy of the State's complaint against him, read him his rights and asked if he would prefer a defense attorney or a public defender.
Eaton softly asked if the public defender is the the kind you don't have to pay for. Pezdark confirmed this and gave Eaton the appropriate paperwork. Eaton's first appearance in District Court is set for Feb. 14.
Meagan Thompson, The Montana Standard
While Eaton currently faces only one charge, Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich said earlier Wednesday that law enforcement's investigation of Eaton is "huge" and "ongoing" and more charges may soon be filed.
Eaton was arrested at the Uptown Butte police station Tuesday around 2 p.m. after detectives brought him in for questioning, Skuletich said Wednesday.
Police had received a complaint from a family friend of the victim on Jan. 12, alleging there was sexual misconduct between Eaton and the young teen. Skuletich said Butte law enforcement’s International Crimes Against Children Officer and other personnel have been investigating the complaint ever since. After questioning Eaton Tuesday afternoon, detectives “determined charges were warranted,” Skuletich said.
Skuletich could not provide much information on how the man knew the young girl, as police want to protect the victim’s identity, but he did say Eaton was a family acquaintance.
Eaton’s charging documents state he knowingly “persuaded, enticed, counseled, coerced, encouraged, directed or procured” the young teen to engage in sexual conduct, actual or simulated, or to view sexually explicit material to induce or persuade a child to participate in sexual activity. Documents said Eaton did this “by any means of communication, including electronic or in person” between Jan 9 and Jan. 15.
Eaton is booked for sexual abuse of children, a felony, and his bond is set at $250,000. If he is convicted, he could receive life imprisonment, or a term between four and 100 years, and may be fined up to $10,000.
Arkansas man serving 20-year sentence in
child's sexual assault, gets additional 8 years
by Steven Mross / Hot Springs Sentinel-Record
A Royal man serving 20 years in prison after his 2017 conviction for first-degree sexual assault involving a 7-year-old girl was sentenced to an additional eight years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree sexual assault involving a young boy.
Roy Neil Perry, 54, had pleaded no contest in Garland County Circuit Court on April 24, 2017, to the charge of first-degree sexual assault, which was reduced from an original charge of rape, involving a girl he had reportedly molested repeatedly over a two-year period.
Former Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham said at the time it was a case where the child claimed it happened and Perry denied it and refused to plead guilty, but agreed to plead no contest because he didn't want to risk going to trial and admitted the state had sufficient evidence to prove the charge.
Appearing in circuit court Monday with Garland County Public Defender Tim Beckham, Perry pleaded guilty to the additional charge of second-degree sexual assault, which was filed June 22, 2018, and was sentenced to eight years with the sentence to run consecutively to the original sentence of 20 years for a total of 28 years.
Perry has remained in custody since his original arrest Dec. 22, 2015, so court costs were expunged for time served.
Deputy Prosecutor Shana Alexander said the two victims were molested around the same time, but it was not immediately discovered that the male victim was also abused by Perry.
"The boy didn't feel comfortable coming forward until he was sure (Perry) was being sent to prison," she said, noting they felt it was important to run the second sentence consecutive "to make sure (the second victim) got justice also."
Excellent!
Beckham said Tuesday Perry was "very cooperative" with the plea process and "wanted to take responsibility for his conduct and get this behind him and let the victim have some closure."
According to the probable cause affidavit for the 2018 charge, on July 20, 2017, the Garland County sheriff's office received a report of allegations of sexual abuse involving a 10-year-old boy who said the incidents occurred when he was 8 or 9 and involved a known suspect, identified as Perry.
The victim had been interviewed May 8, 2017, at the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center in Hot Springs and stated two or three years earlier he had been in Perry's room when Perry molested him. The victim said it only happened once and "Roy is in jail now."
On June 16, 2017, Perry was interviewed by Arkansas State Police and denied the allegation. Sheriff's Investigator Jennifer Tonseth reviewed the reports and noted the male victim was related to the female victim from the earlier case.
According to the affidavit from the original charge, on June 11, 2015, a report was received by the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline that alleged a 9-year-old girl had been sexually abused by a known suspect.
The victim was subsequently interviewed at Cooper-Anthony and disclosed she had been repeatedly molested by Perry since she was 7 years old. The incidents all reportedly occurred while she was at Perry's former residence in Pearcy.
On June 19, 2015, Perry was questioned by sheriff's investigators and admitted to being alone with the victim from time to time, but denied the allegations of rape or sexual contact.
A warrant was later issued for Perry's arrest and he was taken into custody.
Former Idaho city councilman sentenced
for child sex abuse
By EMILY LOWE elowe@idahopress.com
NAMPA — Through tears, a former Parma city councilman shared at his sentencing Tuesday how remorseful he was for sexually abusing a girl in his family.
Myron Jenkins, 36, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with three of those years fixed. However, he was ordered to a yearlong rider treatment program. If he completes the treatment program with no hiccups, he can request to be put on probation instead of serving prison time.
Jenkins was arrested July 17 following accusations reported to the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office that he was having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl. He resigned as councilman July 20 and pleaded guilty Oct. 29 to felony sexual abuse of a minor.
“I’ve asked forgiveness from my family and wife, and I’ll beg forgiveness from my children as soon as I can talk to them,” he said.
Jenkins had been intoxicated the night he assaulted his relative, his defense attorney Michael Shawn Jacques said. Though it wasn’t an excuse for his behavior, it was a factor in the abuse, Jacques said.
Jenkins had struggled with alcohol abuse in the past, but had taken part in treatment. Now, he’s six months sober.
Jenkins’ wife of 15 years vouched for her husband during court Tuesday, saying she had seen him change and that he was eager to continue classes for treatment.
“I still believe Myron Jenkins is a great person, and I hope all the good things will outweigh the one bad thing,” Jacques read aloud from an earlier letter Jenkins’ wife had written.
Jacques requested probation for Jenkins, who he said had shown initiative by already participating in treatment, being six months sober, and showing remorse for his actions.
Jacques recognized the crime was egregious and stated that normally retained jurisdiction, a rider treatment program, would be a wonderful sentence for the charge, but there are always exceptions to the rule. “I believe Jenkins is it,” he said.
VanderVelde didn’t agree. He handed Jenkins the sentence the state had suggested of a rider with 10 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after three years.
“I know it will cause significant hardships, but it was through your actions I’m doing this,” VanderVelde said.
He believed there were many good aspects about Jenkins’ personality and that he has a supportive family, but the judge said he could not avoid that Jenkins ultimately sexually abused a girl in a “horrific way.”
Jenkins will have a no-contact order against minor females for the remainder of his sentence. However, VanderVelde approved the removal for a no-contact order of his adolescent son.
Owner of Wisconsin dance company
accused of child sexual assault
By Brooke Schwieters EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- The owner of a dance studio in Eau Claire is accused of sexually assaulting a child.
Paulus is the owner of T4 Dance Company located on Clairemont Avenue where he teaches dance lessons.
According to the criminal complaint, a 13-year-old girl told investigators that on December 28th Paulus brought her to his home and touched her sexually.
The victim says Paulus told her she couldn't tell anyone and that it was "their own little world.”
Paulus is out on a $10,000 signature bond.
A post on T4 Dance Company’s Facebook page says “All private lessons and groups will be cancelled with me until further notice. So sorry everyone”
He is due back in court at the end of February.
Alabama man charged with child sex abuse
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WALA) -An Orange Beach man is accused of sexually abusing a child under the age of 12.
Police said Robert McClellan, 66, is also charged with enticing a child and possession of obscene matter of a person under the age of 17.
McClellan was arrested Thursday night and released Friday morning after posting a $7,500 bond.
Minnesota Police Officer admits to
child sex abuse charges
A statement issued Friday afternoon by Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem indicates 52-year-old Julio Baez admitted to two counts of first-degree and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct during a hearing in Olmsted County Court. He had been facing 21 charges in Rice County and 3 charges in both Olmsted and Dodge Counties involving the same victims over the course of over 20 years.
Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem commented after the hearing, “Critical to reaching resolution was the involvement and understanding of the victims. It is unfathomable to appreciate the impact of Baez’s horrific conduct on each of their lives and we needed to ensure each victim’s voice was heard.”
The charges against Baez were filed last June shortly after he was hospitalized with self-inflicted gunshot wounds from an apparent suicide attempt near his home in Kasson. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April and faces a recommended sentence of 18-years in prison.
Slain Virginia 2y/o Suffered ‘Horrific’ Sex Abuse
— Pregnant Mom and Boyfriend Are Charged
GREG HANLON , People
A Virginia 2-year-old boy died Sunday, two days after his mother’s boyfriend called 911 claiming he was unresponsive after falling.
But a preliminary forensic examination showed Stephen Meek II died from extreme blunt force trauma to the head, and investigators determined his injuries were didn’t come from a fall. Now, Christiansburg police allege the boyfriend murdered him and that he’d been sexually abused by both the boyfriend and his mother in what Police Chief Mark Sisson described as a “horrific” case at a Friday press conference.
McKenzie Kyle Hellman, 25, is charged with murder and other counts including aggravated sexual battery, inanimate sexual penetration and possession of child pornography, according to police.
The child’s mother, Kayla Nicole Thomas, 25, is charged with multiple crimes including forcible sodomy and production of child pornography involving a child younger than 15.
“Children in this community are cherished,” Sisson said at the press conference. “They are individuals without voices. … It is our job to be their voice.”
I wonder... did someone know about, or even suspect the abuse and not say anything?
According to Sisson, the sex crimes charges against the couple came after police seized numerous electronic devices.
Sissons said Thomas shared custody of Stephen with the boy’s father — and that police have heard she is pregnant.
The Roanoke Times reports both suspects were being (held) without bond Friday in the Western Virginia Regional Jail. They are scheduled for Feb. 28 preliminary hearings in the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
It was not immediately clear if either suspect has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
South Carolina school sex abuse case:
A supervisor’s loan, incomplete paper trail emerge
An incomplete paper trail and a supervisor’s previously undisclosed loan to a now-deceased Charleston County School District employee accused of viewing child pornography and molesting students have added new details to a story that has drawn the outrage of parents and community leaders.
District officials contacted police and put Gethers on paid administrative leave. Shortly after, he was allowed to return to work while a criminal investigation into the child pornography dragged on for nearly two years.
Meanwhile, Gethers allegedly sexually abused at least three boys at the school, according to subsequent police reports and lawsuits.
The district at the time didn’t have a policy specifically addressing an employee viewing inappropriate content on a district-issued laptop. It’s now the district’s policy to immediately terminate anyone who accesses any pornography on a district device.
Did they not have a policy to protect the children in their care?
The district fired Gethers in January 2016 after North Charleston police arrested him on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor related to the child porn. Police later filed additional charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Gethers died in July 2017 before the case went to trial.
The newly disclosed report by Johnson, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request after two months of stalling by the school district, sheds light on the case and raises new questions about who knew what and when.
James Winbush addresses students at Baptist Hill High School in 2010. Winbush, a former associate superintendent, sued the Charleston County School District in 2016 alleging that he had been defamed. File/Staff
Winbush, who is no longer employed by the district, was the person who initially placed Gethers on leave, according to the report. Not long after, with the North Charleston police investigation still pending, Winbush also decided to not fire Gethers, the report suggested. Johnson could not determine the exact date of Gethers’ return to Dunston Primary.
Winbush had the authority to make disciplinary actions without involving the superintendent, the report said. Johnson found no indication that the superintendent or school board at the time knew of Gethers’ actions prior to his arrest in 2016.
Winbush testified in a deposition that he told Wilbert Suggs, then an assistant director of the employee relations office, that then-Principal Janice Malone wanted to keep Gethers at the school because she thought Gethers had done a “fantastic” job. Malone has denied making that statement or having any role in that decision, the report said.
Winbush testified he told Suggs he was going to give Gethers a letter of reprimand and then “turn him back over to the principal.”
But Johnson’s investigation found no documentation of disciplinary action against Gethers. His probe also didn’t turn up a paper trail of the decision to allow Gethers to return to work.
That spring, Suggs emailed Winbush and said that police, while investigating an unrelated matter, had noticed that Gethers was back on the job. Suggs asked Winbush whether Malone had authorized Gethers’ return.
In May 2014, about a week after receiving Suggs’ email, Winbush emailed Gethers and said the district’s employee relations office and general counsel had inquired about Gethers’ status. Winbush said he knew that Malone valued Gethers and that he was “good” with his decision not to fire him.
Around the same time, the two exchanged several emails about an apparent loan Winbush had given Gethers.
Winbush’s attorney, Nancy Bloodgood, said Friday that it appears the district is looking for a scapegoat. She said neither Winbush nor Malone were informed that Gethers had viewed child pornography.
In this June 3, 2015, photo, then-Dunston Primary Principal Janice Malone, holding a photo of student Tyreik Gadsden, prays with Parent Advocate Marvin Gethers before a march in North Charleston to speak out against the violence that left Gadsden paralyzed. File/Grace Beahm Alford/Staff
“If it was serious enough to send to the police, you would think they would inform the supervisors,” Bloodgood said.
One of the alleged victims’ lawsuits alleges otherwise.
The lawsuit against the district and police officials, filed earlier this month by attorney Mark Peper, stated that Gethers in January 2014 admitted to viewing pornography, but he said it was only adult content and that he never viewed the material at the school. Winbush met with Suggs and legal counsel, and he told Gethers that the computer contained child porn, according to the suit.
Winbush declined to be interviewed for Johnson’s investigation, and Bloodgood said her client would not be taking questions from the press.
Winbush left after suing the district, alleging defamation. The district had investigated the legality of an activity fund that he used to put on events within Innovation Zone Learning Community schools. Winbush filed his lawsuit against the district on Jan. 20, 2016, the same day that police arrested Gethers.
In a 2017 deposition transcript related to lawsuit, Winbush explained a loan he made to Gethers but did not disclose the dollar amount. Bloodgood said Winbush made multiple interest-free loans over the years to people who needed them.
“Mr. Gethers, at this point, was one of those cases where he came to my office in destitute, crying, and he need help and didn’t have anywhere to turn, and I lent him money,” Winbush said in the deposition.
Gethers paid the loan back to Winbush, according to Bloodgood.
The district settled the defamation lawsuit for $100,000 and provided Winbush with a letter of recommendation in May 2017.
Texas Man Charged With Continuous
Sexual Abuse of a Child
By Matt Tramell 
Brandon Wimberly, 19, was arrested by San Angelo Police officers after the victim reported to them that she had been sexually abused the night before.
The victim told the officers about the incident, and due to the investigation Wimberly was linked to two or more cases of indecency with a child.
Wimberly was arrested and taken to the Tom Green County Jail. His bond was set at $150,000.
Illinois Man Charged With Sexual Abuse Of Child
By Jim Hagerty, Rock River Times
ROCKFORD — A Roscoe man has been charged with sexually assaulting a child.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross announced Friday that Sean L. Whippler, 25, faces three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, charges that stem from a complaint received by the Loves Park Police Department last October.
Whippler is currently being held in the Winnebago County Jail on a $100,000 bond. He is scheduled for arraignment at 9 a.m., Jan. 22. in front of Judge Joseph McGraw in Courtroom A of the Winnebago County Justice Center.
Predatory criminal sexual assault is a Class X felony, punishable by a sentence of six to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory supervised release. If convicted, Whippler would also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Democratic Oregon fundraiser, Terry Bean,
charged with sex abuse of minor
charged with sex abuse of minor
Bean’s former boyfriend Kiah Lawson also was charged
for 2013 encounter at Eugene motel
Nearly four years ago, prominent Democratic fundraiser and Portland real estate developer Terry Bean seemingly walked away from a Lane County sex abuse case, along with his former boyfriend Kiah Lawson of Junction City.
But the case has now been reopened. A secret indictment was filed Jan. 4 in Lane County Circuit Court, and both men face a new indictment.
The charges include two counts of felony sodomy and one count of misdemeanor sex abuse for having sex with a child younger than 16.
Bean was arraigned Thursday and booked in and out of the Lane County Jail the same day. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. His next court date is unknown.
Lawson was arraigned and booked into the Lane County Jail on Friday afternoon. His plea was not immediately available. He’s expected to return to court Feb. 21.
 |
| Kiah Lawson |
Bean — who founded the Human Rights Campaign, a leading national gay rights organization — was first recognized for his activism in the 1970s when he helped persuade the Eugene City Council to pass an ordinance barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Bean later moved to Portland and became a known figure in national Democratic Party politics. The Willamette Week newspaper reported in 2014 that Bean had raised more money to support President Obama than any other Oregonian.
In 2015, when the case was dropped, Prosecutor Scott Healy wrote in his objection that he had “never seen a civil compromise agreement offered in a case this serious.”
“It was somewhat of a surprise to find out such a remedy was even available in a child sex abuse case,” Healy wrote. “Normally, such a remedy is suggested in low-level property crime cases where the facts are not too aggravated and the defendant has no prior criminal record or history of similar conduct. This is not the case here.”
Healy characterized Bean as a predator with a “history of targeting, grooming and victimizing young teenage boys for his own sexual exploitation.” In his objection, Healy wrote that Bean, who works as a real estate investor and broker, was offering an undisclosed “sum of money” to the victim in the pending criminal case.
Since the time of the case’s dismissal, Lawson has had a number of run-ins with the law, including convictions for burglary, identity theft, theft, interfering with police, and unauthorized use of a vehicle in a number of separate cases.
A message to Lawson’s lawyer was not immediately returned.
North Dakota man faces multiple
child sex abuse charges on Reservation
BLAIR EMERSON Bismarck Tribune A Bismarck man has been charged with multiple child sexual abuse charges involving children on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
Owen Cordell Smith, 28, was charged by an indictment returned on Dec. 5 with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child younger than 12, one count of abusive sexual contact of a child younger than 12, and two counts of abusive sexual contact of a children from 12 to 16 years of age.
Between May 2011 and May 2015, Smith, who is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation at Window Rock, Ariz., engaged in sexual acts with three minor girls on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, according to the indictment.
Smith had an initial appearance and arraignment in Bismarck's federal court on Thursday.
Doctor sentenced for child sexual abuse in
1st of 2 more Reservations
Arielle Zionts Journal A former doctor facing charges for sexually abusing Native American minors in Pine Ridge was sentenced Thursday in Montana to 18 years in prison for similar crimes against two boys on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
He was sentenced after a jury found him guilty in September 2018 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 under his care while he was working for IHS in Browning between 1992-1995, records show. Jurors found him not guilty of attempted sexual abuse of a minor.
Weber's defense lawyer had asked for a 10-year sentence but the prosecutor said a harsher punishment is needed since Weber is a "serial predator," the Great Falls Tribune reported.
Now that his Montana trial has wrapped up, Weber faces 12 charges in the Rapid City federal courthouse, court records show. He's been accused of sexually abusing Pine Ridge children under 16 years old between July 1995 and August 2011.
His deadline to reach a plea agreement in the South Dakota case is Feb. 1. If no deal is reached, Weber is set to go to trial on Feb. 19.
Boy Scout leader facing additional
child sexual abuse charges in Missouri
Stephanie Baumer, Digital Content Producer
ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV.com) – A former Boy Scout leader in St. Charles County is facing additional child sexual abuse charges.
The newest charges were announced on Jan. 18 by Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar’s office. The attorney’s office stated that on Jan. 11, a St. Charles County grand jury indicted Baker with an additional seven counts of child sexual abuse.
St. Charles County officials said the most recent charges stem from additional victims coming forward following initial media reports in October. According to Lohmar, three more victims under the age of 12 have been identified.
In total, Baker is currently charged with four counts of statutory sodomy and deviate sexual intercourse with a victim under the age of 12, four counts of child molestation with a victim under the age of 12 and one count of sexual misconduct with a victim under the age of 15.
Baker has since reportedly been terminated from the Boy Scouts of America.
Baker is currently in custody. His bond was set at $500,000.
‘Highly credible’ reports of child sex abuse by
former MD prestigious school teacher
By Neal Augenstein WTOPWASHINGTON — A year after The Landon School — a prestigious all-boys private school in Bethesda, Maryland — announced it was looking into reports of sexual abuse of two students that occurred more than 50 years ago, a third-party investigation reveals the problem was much worse than originally reported.
In a letter Thursday to parents, the school said T&M Protection Resources — a company that researches sexual abuse allegations — said a total of seven alumni came forward to report they were inappropriately touched by the same teacher.
“The reports were highly credible and similar in many disturbing respects,” said the letter from Scott Harris, chair of Landon’s board of trustees, and headmaster Jim Neill.
T&M received 30 calls and emails during the course of the investigation, and communicated directly with 26 people, either in person or by phone.
For the first time, the school identified the teacher as Ward Bates, who taught at the school from 1946 to 1962. He died in 2011.
“According to these alumni, Mr. Bates engaged in repeated direct sexual touching of students and/or leading students to do the same to him. Much of this conduct is reported to have taken place in the classroom, but T&M also received reports of Bates engaging in sexual misconduct outside of school, including sexual advances toward and sexual contact with a student,” according to Harris and Neill.
The school investigators remain open to receiving additional reports from former students who now believe they were abused by Bates.
“Words do not suffice to describe the great sorrow and anger we feel in learning of this abuse,” wrote the Landon leaders. “Parents place their faith in educators to keep their children safe, but these boys — now men in their 60s and 70s — have lived with these memories for decades.”
The school said it has not received any evidence Landon’s administration was aware of the abuse at the time it occurred. However, investigators said one of the men abused by Bates shared his story with a school official in or around 2007.
“It does appear that the school was made aware of Mr. Bates’ conduct at that time, and it appears that no concrete action was taken as a result,” said the officials. “Despite the lack of clarity around this 2007 report, we can say that steps should have been taken by the school to investigate and report on the issue at that time, and we apologize that they were not.”
Landon said it has taken steps “to ensure Landon remains a safe and healthy place not only for the 670 boys who are entrusted to our care, but also for the hundreds of adults who work, teach and serve on our campus.”
The school said it is providing age-appropriate information to students related to “appropriate boundaries and behaviors by adults and how to avoid and/or respond to any questionable behaviors with or by adults.”
Bates also worked as a counselor at Camp Wachusett in New Hampshire during the summer while a teacher at Landon, and after leaving the Bethesda school in 1962, taught at the Blake School in Minnesota until 1976.
“We have shared T&M’s findings about his conduct with the leadership of both institutions,” wrote Landon officials.
Life Sentence in Texas child sex abuse case
By Field Walsh, TXK TodayNEW BOSTON, Texas: A Hooks, Texas, man who sexually abused a young female relative over and over again for more than a year was sentenced Thursday to life without parole by a jury at the Bowie County courthouse.
Turney sexually abused the girl in a Hooks, Texas, residence from 2015 to May 2017, according to testimony at trial. The girl, now 12 and born in 2006, testified that she received pieces of candy in exchange for playing “special kid” with Turney in the bathroom of a house in Hooks where Turney lived with the girl, her mother and siblings.
The girl’s older sister, now 14 and born in 2004, testified that Turney gave her Pokemon cards for playing “special kid.” Charges concerning Turney’s alleged sexual abuse of the older girl are currently pending before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
The mother of the girls testified that she developed an uneasy, suspicious feeling after finding a sex toy on a high shelf in a bathroom. The mother said that after asking her daughters about the device she left home with her children and later contacted police.
The offense Turney has now been convicted of, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, is punishable by 25 to 99 years or life and there is no parole from any prison term assessed for the offense. Turney is now in Bowie County custody and will be held in jail locally until he is transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter described Turney as a predator whose presence in the community is a threat to all young girls. Carter thanked the jury for their service.
OK Man charged with sexual abuse after
child porn investigation
By Charlene Belew The Duncan Banner
A Marlow man sits on a $1 million bond in the Stephens County Jail after an investigation regarding a previous child pornography case uncovered alleged sexual abuse of a child in his home.
The Banner previously reported during spring 2017, a county law informant was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an ongoing investigation involving the possession and distribution of child pornography through the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) internet-based file sharing, such as BitTorrent.
The FBI learned that some time between March 29 and 30 of 2017, an IP address located in Marlow had sponsored nine files that were made available to BitTorrent for download, according to the report.
“These nine files are identified as having pre-teen and/or underage titles to them,” the affidavit read. “… Additional videos were captured, based upon this investigation involving the FBI, but these videos were not captured in their entirety ...”
The report stated some of the videos captured from BitTorrent associated with the Marlow IP address included a solo video of a 5- to 6-year-old female with an adult male and another of a minor female with an adult male.
According to documents filed by the Sixth District Attorney’s Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, investigators with the task force, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and Marlow Police executed a search warrant on the 500 block of N. Ash St. in Marlow on May 15, 2017.
Reports indicate when police arrived at the home, they knocked several times before a female answered the door. The female who answered the door advised she and Hale were asleep, but they were asked by investigators to exit the residence as the search warrant was conducted.
At that time, law enforcement was advised the female, Hale and two minors stayed in the home. Those conducting the search warrant seized electronic devices including one computer hard drive CPU unit that was located in the lower living room of the residence. The computer was sent to OSBI for forensic examination, reports state.
A digital evidence report from OSBI from the examination of the computer drive revealed 36 pictures identified as potential child pornography, two video files identified as potential child pornography, four carved photographs saved for review of potential child pornography that had been deleted on the computer but were recovered by OSBI, along with 15 files recovered that are generated as a shortcut link when a user of the computer interacts with a file of application. The names of the files discovered were commonly associated with child pornography terms, affidavits state.
Hale was bailed out for $50,000 in December 2017 and instructed to stay off the internet and phone and remain under supervision on an ankle monitor.
Hale is ordered to appear for felony docket call at 9 a.m. March 27 for the possession of child pornography crimes.
Reports from the investigators further state on Jan. 11, 2019, while preparing for an upcoming jury trial involving Hale, one of the 36 images forensically extracted was a still image depicting “a minor child engaged in oral sex with an adult male that did not depict a facial identification.”
At that time, investigators observed Facebook social media photographs of Hale, including tattoos on Hale’s left arm.
“These tattoos include a distinct ‘eye’ on the forearm as well as additional tattoos on the hand and arm area,” reports state. “After observing the graphic image of the minor child … your affiant was able to observe the same tattoos on the adult made that is the same as Matthew Hale including the distinct eye tattoo. Your affiant was also able to observe that the location of where this photographic image was taken was known by your affiant to be in the living room … and recognize the background as being consistent with what the residence looked like during the execution of the search warrant May 15, 2017.”
Investigators were able to identify the child based on highlights in her hair, reports state.
Affidavits state investigators returned to the house in Marlow last week with Duncan Police detectives and a Department of Human Services welfare worker.
The welfare worker, at that time, presented a sanitized and cropped copy of the minor child depicted in the explicit photograph to the female of the home, who identified the child.
The female, according to reports, became visibly upset after identifying her daughter, looked shocked and yelled, “what the (expletive), what the (expletive) did you do?”
When Hale asked the female what she was talking about, the female told Hale she could guess the other half of the photo was him.
On the way to the patrol vehicle, Hale asked police what was going on, reports state. Once at the patrol vehicle, investigators pulled out five photographs, three of which were social media pages obtained in the investigation depicting Hale’s tattoos, the other two photos showing the minor. Hale was able to identify the minor, reports state.
Hale was shown two unaltered photos of the graphic image obtained by OSBI. Reports state Hale identified his arm and the minor, telling police he did not know when it occurred and that he “blacks out a lot when he drinks.”
And yet he managed to take a picture?
The female at the home later identified the hair of the child, stating the minor’s hair looked as it did in the illicit photograph about two years before. The victim would have been 9 years old at the time of the crime.
Hale’s bond for the child sexual abuse charge is set at $1 million. He is set for a preliminary hearing conference at 9 a.m. Feb. 27.
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