Caution: Disturbing and disgusting stories follow
Maryland man pleads guilty to photographing
sexual assault on child
Maryland man pleads guilty to photographing
sexual assault on child
By Don Aines daines@herald-mail.com
A Hagerstown man who pleaded guilty Wednesday to photographing a child as he sexually assaulted her will be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Maurice Lamar Smith, 35, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree rape, manufacturing child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mark K. Boyer agreed to a binding plea in which Smith will be sentenced later to 60 years in prison, with half of the sentence suspended.
Now that's a good plea deal!
In May 2018, the mother of the victim contacted the county Department of Social Services, telling them about sexually explicit images she discovered on a computer tablet, according to the charging document. The department reported it to Hagerstown police.
A forensic examination of the tablet showed that the photos were taken on a cellphone over a period of 31 minutes in 2017, Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer told Boyer.
Sixty-one other charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Some statutory requirements must be met before Smith can be sentenced, Mollett-Gaumer said. Those include a presentence investigation with psychological and psychosexual evaluations.
Because the sexual abuse of a minor and rape charges are considered crimes of violence, Smith will have to serve half of the 30-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Wait a minute! What? He's only serving half the sentence to begin with?
The sentence will include lifetime registration and supervision as a sexual offender. After his release, Smith will be on probation for five years under the Collaborative Offender Management Enforcement Treatment program for sexual offenders.
Smith has been held without bond since his May 2018 arrest (7th story on link).
Monster father in Idaho sex abuse case
sentenced to up to life in prison
sentenced to up to life in prison
by EMILY LOWE elowe@idahopress.com
CALDWELL — Lester Kester Jr., a Caldwell father convicted of sexually abusing his daughters and another female relative, will be in prison at least until he’s 80 years old.
Kester, two weeks shy of turning 49, was sentenced to up to life in prison Wednesday on five lewd conduct charges. Thirty-one of those years will be served before he’s eligible for parole.
“I think that reflects the sentence you’ve imposed on your own children,” said 3rd District Court Judge Bradly Ford during the sentencing.
Kester took a plea deal in November to all five lewd conduct charges in agreement that prosecutors would not pursue other charges, including possession of sexually exploitative material of a child, according to a previous Idaho Press report.
Kester cried, and his hands trembled as victims read their statements about the man, each one classifying him as a “monster."
Four victims, Kester's daughters, read victim impact statements in court of the sexual and mental abuse they endured for years. There was a fifth victim, another family relative, who did not testify in court.
“I’ve never used the word monster when I’ve sentenced anyone, but I certainly couldn’t disagree,” Ford said, calling this one of the worst cases of its kind he had presided over.
Kester stood before the court to give a statement.
"I do apologize to my children and (my relative). I hope they find in their hearts to forgive me," Kester said. "I know I failed them. I hope and pray I can show them what a father really should be and is."
I think it's a bit late for that!
In July, Kester was charged with four counts (10th story on link) of lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16 on accusations he had been molesting his four daughters for years. In October, Kester received a fifth charge of felony lewd conduct with a minor against another female relative.
His wife, Sarah Kester, was sentenced in February (6th story on link) for failing to report the abuse.
A pre-sentence investigation and psychosexual evaluation found that Lester Kester was at a high likelihood to re-offend and would not be amenable to treatment.
With protecting not only his relatives but all of society in mind, Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Erica Kallin asked for a fixed sentence of life in prison.
“There are few people more terrifying than Lester Kester,” she said. “He is a pedophile. He cannot be cured. For over 20 years he’s been sexually abusing children. Instead of being a father, he was their monster.”
But Kester’s attorney Kenneth Stringfield said children in general are not in danger of Kester.
“There’s no evidence he abused anyone outside of his family,” he said.
He thought 12 years fixed with indeterminate life in prison would be a just sentence.
Ultimately, Ford handed down the 31-year fixed sentence with life indeterminate. Kester is banned from contacting the victims or minor children. He will owe $25,000 to the victims, though it’s unlikely the victims will ever get that, Ford said, because he'll be in prison for so long.
“It’s dark and sad when I see cases like this,” Ford said to Kester. “Sometimes it’s difficult for me to fathom how somebody like you could do this to anyone, let alone your own children. You’ll be in custody a long time, so it will give you a long time to reflect on this. No children in our society should have to have this happen to them, never.”
The case
The couple is affiliated with the Followers of Christ Church. The church, which has a prominent following in Canyon County and in Oregon, faces criticism for refusing medical care for children and adults in favor of faith healing.
Instead of contacting law enforcement, Sarah Kester told deputies she tried to protect her children by praying for “the demon” to leave Lester and keeping her husband busy with other tasks, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Sarah Kester took an Alford plea in October. In an Alford plea, the defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence a jury would likely find them guilty of the charge.
Sarah Kester was ordered by Judge Christopher Nye to first serve a rider program. She could serve a decade in prison, with four of those years fixed if she fails the rider program, he said. An inmate is incarcerated for up to one year during a rider treatment program, where they undergo treatment related to their crimes.
Alabama man charged with rape,
sodomy of two girls
Kirsten Fiscus, Montgomery Advertiser
A Montgomery man has been jailed on charges of child sexual abuse, rape and sodomy, according to court records.
Demond Lamar Soles, 33, was arrested Tuesday on grand jury warrants in the case.
Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said Soles allegedly abused two girls younger than 12 last year at his home on Daman Drive.
Bailey said Soles had regular contact with the victims before the alleged abuses began.
A grand jury returned the indictments on one count of first-degree rape, two counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12 and two counts of first-degree sodomy in February.
According to jail records, the U.S. Marshals arrested Soles. He remained Wednesday afternoon in the Montgomery County Jail with a $45,000 bond.
Two Upstate New York residents charged
in child sex abuse investigation
BY SARAH BULLOCK, The Cortland Voice
A Cortland couple were arrested Thursday for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl over the course of 18 months and photographing the assaults to create child pornography, according to city police.
Christopher M. Perry, 35, of 89 Bartlett Ave., and Sarah R. Gates, 38, of 3 Kingsley Ave., were each charged with predatory sexual assault against a child, first-degree criminal sex act, first-degree incest and first-degree sexual abuse, along with other felonies. Both Perry and Gates could face up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted, according to state law.
City and state police officers searched Perry and a Hyatt Street residence as part of an investigation regarding the dissemination of child pornography by a city resident, said Lt. Michael Strangeway.
“They (state police) came to us and they had a search warrant for a residence on Hyatt Street and for the person of Christopher Perry,” Strangeway said. During the search, officers discovered child pornography Perry and Gates created, as well as other child pornography. “He (Perry) had a couple of different cell phones and at least one phone contained graphic images and videos of he and Sarah Gates engaged in various sex acts with a child less than 11 years old.”
The four-year-old girl was subjected to rape and oral sex in the photographs and videos, Strangeway said. Police determined the abuse began between one-and-a-half to two years ago and all the attacks occurred at a Hyatt Street residence, he said.
Perry also had other child pornography, Strangeway said. It is unknown who the other children in that pornography are or who created the other images, he said.
There is no indication Perry and Gates were selling the child pornography, he said.
Police were alerted to Perry after he shared at least one photo of child pornography depicting one of the unknown children with another person online, Strangeway said.
“Internet sites -- Google, social media sites -- are required to monitor their sites for incidents of child pornigraphy,” Strangeway said. “When they discover something they report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”
The center - a private, non-profit organization founded by John and Reve Walsh after the kidnapping and murder of their son, Adam Walsh, in 1984 in South Florida - then pass the information on to the national Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. State police are members of the ICAC and act on reports and tips with local law enforcement.
Perry and Gates are both facing six felonies: predatory sexual assault against a child, first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree incest, first-degree sexual abuse, use of a child in a sexual performance and promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child. Perry is also facing four additional felony charges: first-degree rape, possessing a sexual performance by a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child. Both were also charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and Perry faces the additional violation of unlawful possession of marijuana.
Perry and Gates were both remanded to jail without bail Friday in an arraignment in City Court.
Incidents of child pornography, child sex trafficking and online enticement of child, as well as other child sex crimes, can be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s at report.cybertip.org.
The tip line received more than 42.9 million reports as of November 2018, according to the center. The Child Victim Identification Program, a branch of the center, has reviewed more than 267 million images in an effort to rescue and aid the children depicted. Less than 16,000 children have been identified, according to the center.
Former Montana deputy's child sexual abuse
case moved to federal court
Traci Rosenbaum, Great Falls Tribune
The case of Virgil Allen Wolfe, a former Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy accused of sexual abuse of children, has been moved to federal court and will be tried in Helena.
Wolfe was first charged in February with more than 80 counts of sexual abuse of children (9th story on link) after a disclosure by a 17-year-old who claimed that Wolfe had been molesting her since she was 6 years old.
During a Tuesday arraignment in Helena, Wolfe pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a mandatory minimum of 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and not less than five years to life of supervised release.
The indictment also carried a forfeiture allegation for Wolfe’s computer, hard drive, digital camera and one memory card.
In the original charging documents from Cascade County District Court, the alleged victim claimed that Wolfe took nude photos of her, using his hobby of pastel painting as justification and uploading the photos to his personal computer.
That affidavit also stated that two other girls were questioned and denied any abuse by Wolfe, although images of them in a state of undress were found by police.
Wolfe was arrested again just last week while out on bail in this case for violating the bail condition that he not have any contact with any alleged victim or potential prosecution witness in the case.
According to Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki, it’s not uncommon for the United States District Court to ask to take over in cases where the alleged offense is both a state and federal crime.
Because of the state’s high volume of cases and the federal court’s ability to prosecute on the pornographic evidence alone without involving the victim, “We almost always say yes,” Racki said. “They can get a better sentence, too, which is nice.”
There is no possibility of parole with a federal court sentence.
Wolfe’s trial is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 28, at the United States Courthouse on Front Street in Helena.
He dialed 911 to report his girlfriend died, and cops found child porn. Now he faces up to 20 years in a PA prison.
By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com
A 36-year-old man caught with child porn while living in Pohatcong Township was convicted of two child porn charges, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced Wednesday.
Derrick Baer had dialed 911 on May 31, 2010, to report his girlfriend was unresponsive. Emergency personnel responded, performed CPR and later pronounced the girlfriend dead.
Investigators deemed the death suspicious and obtained Baer's consent to seize computer equipment, according to a news release from the federal prosecutor, citing documents filed in the case and evidence presented at trial.
That equipment contained at least 348 images and 33 video files of child sexual abuse, the release says. Investigators found some of the material in a folder labeled "Derrick's bad pictures," court records show.
Baer was convicted Tuesday of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography following a six-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court.
The receipt of child pornography count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, with a minimum penalty of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. The possession count is punishable by a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 23. Baer was living in Bath at the time of his arrest in the case in February 2015. His address is now listed in court records as the Essex County prison in Newark.
Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the Pohatcong Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Robb; the N.J. Regional Computer Forensics Lab; and the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Richard Burke, with the investigation leading to the conviction.
Baer was not charged in the death of his girlfriend, who was not identified in Wednesday's release. Nor do court records reveal the name of the woman, who lived with Baer in the Pohatcong Township home.
Eastern Shore - Alabama softball coach charged
with rape, child sex abuse
Mike Brantley FOX10
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) -- A softball coach from Daphne is accused of child sex abuse and rape.
Eric Thomas Sweeting, 47, turned himself in Tuesday on charges of sexual abuse of a child under 12 and first-degree rape. He's being held in the Baldwin County jail on a bond of $130,000. If he makes bond, a judge ruled that Sweeting will be on GPS house arrest, can have no contact with the victim, and have no contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Sweeting's attorney, Brian Dasinger, said he believes the victim was coerced into falsely accusing Sweeting. Dasinger said he has seen no physical evidence, nor does he expect there to be any physical evidence linking Sweeting to a crime.
Dasinger said Sweeting is a family man, has lived in Baldwin County for eight years, has coached softball in Spanish Fort and Fairhope for the last 4 years, and served 2 years in the Army and 14 years in the Coast Guard.
If convicted on the rape charge, Sweeting could be sentenced to a maximum penalty of life in prison.
PA sex offender guilty of viewing child porn
hours after his prison release
hours after his prison release
Liz Evans Scolforo, York Dispatch
A registered sex offender who celebrated his first night of freedom (6th story on link) from York County Prison last year by downloading child pornography is expected to spend at least a decade in state prison for it.
Keith Lenier Biegger, 25, pleaded guilty in York County Court on Tuesday, April 9, to two counts of child pornography, both felonies, according to court records.
As part of a negotiated plea agreement, he is expected to be sentenced to a total of 10 to 20 years in state prison, his defense attorney, Joshua Neiderhiser, confirmed.
Sentencing has been set for July 29 before presiding Common Pleas Judge Gregory M. Snyder, court records state.
Biegger must undergo a state sexual-offender evaluation to determine whether he should be deemed a sexually violent predator, which is why he won't be sentenced until late July, according to Neiderhiser.
The background: According to court documents filed by Northern York County Regional Police Detective Mark Baker, Biegger was released from York County Prison on March 26, 2018.
He had been locked up on a sentence of 11½ to 23 months after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, indecent assault, invasion of privacy and possessing child porn, court records state. The conviction makes him a registered sex offender under the state's Megan's Law.
It's like these people go to jail for perversion and they can hardly wait to get out so they can go right back to their perversion. The stupidity is astounding! The pointlessness of throwing someone in jail without requiring some change in their behaviour is disparaging. The guy needed help, and it shouldn't have been an option.
Biegger had nowhere to go, so the brother of one of his friends agreed to put him up for the night at his Dover borough home, documents state.
In addition to letting Biegger stay with him and his family for the night, the man also allowed Biegger to use an old computer so he had a way to contact friends, according to police.
The next day, the man drove Biegger to an area homeless shelter and dropped him off, police said, adding the man said it was the last time he spoke with Biegger.
Two months later, on May 28, 2018, West York Police alerted Northern Regional Police to child pornography that had been shared on the eMule peer-to-peer file-sharing network, police said.
Images, videos found: Baker investigated and determined that nine images and six videos of child pornography were downloaded onto the Dover man's computer overnight March 26, 2018 — the night Biegger was given access to it, police said.
Baker was also able to use the laptop's user history to determine that Biegger accessed the computer that night, police said.
Biegger was staying at Julia's Motel on Locust Point Road in Conewago Township when he was arrested June 27, 2018, and arraigned by District Judge David Eshbach, according to court documents.
He has been locked up since that day, according to prison records.
In 2014, after his first set of child-porn charges were filed in York County, members of the U.S. Marshals Service's fugitive task force captured Biegger in San Diego. He was later extradited back to York County.
Louisiana police officer arrested for animal sex abuse
now in custody for child porn
By Danielle Scruggs WEBSTER PARISH, LA (KSLA) - A former Bossier City police officer, who was arrested for animal sex abuse, is now in custody for multiple counts of child pornography.
Back in December, Yetman turned himself in at the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office. He was subsequently booked at the Bossier Max Correctional Center and charged with 20 counts of sexual abuse of animals by performing sexual acts with an animal and 20 counts of sexual abuse of animals by filming sexual acts with an animal.
His bond was set at $350,000.
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