Monster says woman 'manipulated' him into raping and murdering her adoptive daughter
Jacob Sullivan pleaded guilty Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, to first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Grace Packer. Grace's adoptive mother, Sara Packer, is expected to testify against Sullivan during the penalty phase of his trial. She has agreed to plead guilty. (Bucks County District Attorney)
Laurie Mason Schroeder
Of The Morning Call
With the death penalty looming for Jacob Sullivan in the rape and murder of 14-year-old Grace Packer, his lawyers intend to show that he was dominated by Grace’s adoptive mother, Sara Packer, whom they contend had a history of sexually abusing children.
In a Bucks County courtroom on Friday, Sullivan’s lawyers said they will present evidence at his upcoming sentencing hearing that Packer “groomed” Sullivan to sexually assault Grace, and that she had abused other children, including having three-way sex with her then-husband and an underage foster child in Allentown at least twice.
They also plan to call a man who claims that during a Facebook chat, Sara Packer offered to find him a virgin to have sex with. Prosecutors say the defense misconstrued the conversation.
Prosecutors tried to keep the defense from presenting evidence against Packer, who also is charged with the murder. What she did before meeting Sullivan isn’t relevant now that he has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, rape and other charges, they said.
But Judge Diane E. Gibbons sided with the defense, agreeing that they can use the information to make their case that Sullivan should be spared the death penalty because he was under the “substantial domination” of Packer when he committed the crime.
“He met a person who was already engaged in the sexual abuse of children. I don’t see how that’s not relevant,” the judge said.
Had the case gone to trial, Sullivan’s lawyers would not have been permitted to bring up Packer’s past. But, the judge noted, when the question of life or death is on the table, the law is more lenient about what can be presented.
Sullivan, 46, admitted last month that he and Packer brought Grace to a Richland Township home they were renting in July 2016 and attacked her. Prosecutors said the couple was carrying out a shared rape-and-murder fantasy .
Sullivan raped Grace while Packer watched, he admitted, then the pair drugged Grace and left her to die in a hot attic. Finding Grace still alive the next day, Sullivan strangled her, he admitted.
They later dismembered Grace’s body and tossed the pieces along a country road in Luzerne County, where they were found by hunters in October 2016.
Packer, 44, has struck a deal to plead guilty to first-degree murder and serve life in prison with no chance of parole.
Sullivan’s lawyers argue that he should get the same sentence, saying Packer was the “brains” and “mastermind” of the crime.
“She had a dominant personality and he’s an individual who can be easily manipulated,” said Jack Fagan, Sullivan’s attorney. “He’s a follower.”
Sullivan met Sara Packer in 2013, while her husband was in jail.
Sara and David Packer had no children of their own but adopted Grace and her younger brother in 2007, when Sara was working as an adoption supervisor with Northampton County’s Children, Youth and Families Division. Over the years, the couple fostered at least 30 children in Allentown. That ended in 2010, when David Packer was charged with sexually abusing Grace when she was about 5 years old, and an older foster daughter. A day after the allegations surfaced, Sara Packer was suspended and then terminated from her job for “misconduct,” though the county declined to provide details. In 2011, David Packer was convicted in the cases.
Sara Packer was not charged then but her name was placed on Childline, a clearinghouse of people involved in abuse cases. She maintained custody of her two adopted children.
Fagan, Sullivan’s attorney, did not say that Sara Packer knew her husband had sexually assaulted Grace. But he said he will call witnesses, including the foster daughter David Packer abused and a Lehigh County detective, to show that Sara Packer knew children were being sexually abused in the home.
Fagan said the testimony will show that Sara Packer “groomed David Packer and advised him how to make [a foster child] want to have sex with him,” then participated in sex with her husband and a foster daughter at least twice. Fagan did not say how old the child was.
David Packer was paroled in 2015. He filed for divorce a month before Grace was murdered.
Sullivan’s lawyers say they will show that Sara Packer emotionally abused Grace for years, and remarked to an inmate “ding dong the witch is dead,” when Grace’s dismembered body was found.
Both Sullivan and Packer remain behind bars without bail. Sullivan’s sentencing hearing will begin next Friday. Packer is expected to plead guilty after that proceeding, said her attorney, Keith Williams.
OZARKS PASTOR CHARGED WITH
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Posted By: Jason Rima
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Mo. (AP) — A southwestern Missouri pastor is facing criminal charges after being accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that 45-year-old Gregory Reese was charged Sunday with child molestation and three counts of statutory sodomy.
Reese was pastor at an Assemblies of God church in Mountain View.
An official with the denomination’s Southern Missouri District Council says Reese was fired after criminal charges were filed.
A probable cause statement says the girl came forward in February to report that Reese inappropriately touched her and tried to have oral sex with her.
Authorities say the alleged incident happened at Reese’s home.
Reese is free on bond.
His attorney, Daniel Moore, says he doesn’t have much information yet and declined comment.
South Carolina man sentenced to 30 years for
child sexual assault
By WIS News 10
LEXINGTON, SC (WIS) - A Lexington County man has been convicted of Child Sexual Assault and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Kevan D. Parker, of Lexington, pled guilty on Friday to sexually assaulting two minor children on multiple occasions. Parker, 39, pled guilty to 1st degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor and 2nd degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor.
“This sentence is only possible because of the strength and bravery of the two young survivors in this case," Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard said. "This sex offender is now behind bars and out of our community. We are grateful to see justice served today.”
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation on May 20, 2017 after receiving a report of sexual assaults committed against the young victims.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Parker’s home and recovered evidence described by one of the victims. On June 9, 2017, during an interview with investigators, Parker waived his rights and provided a written statement in his own handwriting. In the statement, Parker admitted to committing a series of sexual assaults against both children.
Parker’s trial was scheduled to begin next week on March 11th. In a turn of events, Parker opted to plead guilty to sexually assaulting both children instead of proceeding with a jury trial.
He has being transferred to the S.C. Department of Corrections to begin immediate service of his prison sentence.
Utah man facing felony sexual abuse,
rape of a 9 y/o girl charges
By: Natasha Haraki
ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 News) -- A Southern Utah man is being held in the Washington County Jail after police say a 9-year-old girl reported she had been sexually assaulted by a family friend.
The girl said the sexual assault happened last year while she was at Alexander Valderrama's house in St. George. Valderrama, also known as Felix Martin-Fabian, according to arrest records, admitted to the sexual assault. Police say his confession confirmed the girl's report.
Valderrama is currently being held on an Immigration hold. He faces first-degree felony charges for rape and sexual abuse of a child.
ALABAMA MAN ARRESTED ON MULTIPLE
CHILD SEX ABUSE CHARGES
The suspect is being held in the Lawrence County Jail on an $870,000 bond.
Posted By: Ashley Thusius WAAY
According to the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, on March 6, 42-year-old Kenneth McDonald of Town Creek was arrested for three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree rape of a child younger than 12 years old, ten counts of first-degree sodomy, incest and willful abuse and torture of a child younger than 18 years old.
The sheriff's office says an investigation began after officials received allegations that McDonald was committing the crimes. Officials say warrants were obtained for his arrest, and he was apprehended before he could flee the state.
McDonald is being held in the Lawrence County Jail on an $870,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing.
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