NY man who pleaded guilty to raping
14-y/o girl gets no jail time
Shane Piche will spend the next 10 years on probation.
By Jordan Smith
WATERTOWN, NY (Gray News) - Shane Piche will spend the next 10 years on probation.
Back in February, the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl he met while driving her school bus.
Piche will also have to register as a Level 1 sex offender, meaning he’s considered to be at minimal risk of committing the crime again.
He will not, however, spend any time in prison. And his status as a Level 1 offender means he will not be included in online sex offender databases, the Watertown Daily Times reported.
Prosecutors had hoped Piche would receive a Level 2 designation, but Judge James P. McClusky said the lesser level was more appropriate since there was only one victim and Piche had no prior arrests.
“He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life. He’s on the sex offender registry for a long time, maybe not the rest of his life because of the level. But this isn’t something that didn’t cause him pain and this isn’t something that didn’t have consequences,” Piche’s defense attorney Eric Swartz told WWNY-TV.
Not as much pain and not as severe consequences as for the girl, I suspect.
Piche is no longer allowed to be alone with anyone younger than 17. Three orders of protection were issued at Thursday’s sentencing.
In a statement to WWNY-TV, the victim’s mother said, “I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child. He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety.”
Arkansas child rape suspect facing >1700 felony charges,
wants evidence suppressed
Josh Dooley, Baxter Bulletin
A St. Joe man already convicted of child pornography in a previous case wants Circuit Court Judge John Putman to suppress evidence in his latest case where he faces dozens of charges related to sexual abuse of children.
In the motion to suppress filed by Frank Nance's public defender, the attorney notes a relative on Nance's delivered electronic items found in a home where Nance once lived. Nance, 66, now resides in an Arkansas prison.
During a hearing on Wednesday, the man who now owns the St. Joe home Nance previously resided in, told the court he accessed a storage device he found in the home and discovered images of Nance having sex with children.
He called a woman and had her come view the material. The woman also testified Wednesday she had seen images of Nance having sex with children.
The state also called two of Nance's alleged victims to testify during the hearing on the motion to suppress. Both alleged victims testified Nance owned several types of electronic storage devices, such as CDs, DVDs and an external hard drive.
At issue is whether authorities had the right to search the electronic storage devices turned over to them by the man. The man said he owns the home the devices were found in after inheriting the property from a relative.
However, Nance used to live at the residence. The prosecution is arguing Nance "abandoned" any property he left at the residence when he left. The defense is arguing the items clearly belonged to Nance and authorities erred when they did not seek a warrant to search the electronic items.
Judge Putman asked Nance's attorney James Wallace what the defense was seeking as a result of the motion to suppress. Wallace told the judge the defense wants all the items brought to the sheriff's office ruled as inadmissible for trial purposes.
Putman ordered the attorneys to submit written briefs to include case law relevant to the issue at hand. Putman left in place Nance's trial date, set for the week of May 13.
In the current case, the affidavit has been sealed. That means Nance could face additional charges not outlined in available electronic court records but are listed in the affidavit.
Available online court records indicate Nance faces
848 counts of possessing matter depicting child sex,
824 counts of computer exploitation of a child,
four counts of sexually grooming a child,
four counts of employing or authorizing a child sex performance,
four counts of producing or directing a child sex performance,
14 counts of rape and
18 counts of second-degree sexual assault.
In child sexual abuse cases where authorities must rely on victim testimony alone, such a staggering number of charges is unheard of. In all, Nance faces 1,717 separate felony charges in the case, according to online court records.
It is unlikely local authorities would have filed 14 rape charges and 18 second-degree sexual assault charges against Nance unless they had additional evidence that backed up the stories given by alleged victims.
Such evidence could be in the form of pictures and videos. During the suppression hearing, two adult witnesses testified to having seen Nance photographed while engaged in sex with children.
Two young witnesses testified Nance photographed them while they were naked.
Should pictures and videos exist of Nance's alleged crimes and authorities recovered them from electronic devices brought to them by the adult male who testified in Wednesday's hearing, they could be critical to the state's case against Nance.
The ability of victims to recall such a large number of sexual assaults that occurred years ago is not likely.
More often in cases where multiple allegations of abuse exist and there's no video or photographic evidence, prosecutors generally only charge suspects with crimes the victims can remember in detail. Such cases usually see victims testify to less than five specific assaults, often just one or two.
Judge finds no probable cause for some charges in Louisiana child sex case
Melissa Gregory, Alexandria Town Talk
A Rapides Parish judge ruled Monday that evidence was lacking for some charges against a Pineville man accused in the rape and sexual abuse of a toddler (11th story on link).
Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Mary Lauve Doggett set bond for Landon Heath Anders at $40,000 after a hearing in which his mother testified that was the amount the family could afford with a property bond.
Anders, 27, was arrested by the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office on July 31, 2018, after a sexual abuse complaint. The victim, then 3, had been taken to Christus St. Francis Cabrini Hospital after telling a relative about the alleged abuse, it was revealed during Monday's hearing.
Anders was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on charges of first-degree rape, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated crimes against nature.
He was arrested again days later, while still in jail, on two counts of aggravated crimes against nature, two counts of second-degree cruelty to juveniles and three counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.
The Rapides Parish District Attorney's Office filed a lesser charge of second-degree rape against Anders when formal charges were filed against him on Dec. 5, 2018.
He's been in jail since on a bond of $750,000.
The case took several twists when four people, including mother Lisa Dauzat, were arrested over the next week after they allegedly tried to interfere in the investigation. Dauzat was arrested twice, the second time for allegedly trying to contact a witness.
Formal charges have been brought against two people involved in those incidents, Edward Cody Cheatham and Amanda Nicole Mullens. Both face Oct. 21 trials on two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of criminal conspiracy, according to the Rapides Parish Clerk of Court website.
A hearing was held April 17 on motions to reduce bond and for preliminary examination filed by Anders' defense attorney Chad Guillot. A preliminary exam seeks to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with charges against a defendant.
Rapides Parish Sheriff's Detective Jason Brumfield was the only person to testify under questioning from Guillot and Rapides Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Carter. Doggett also questioned Brumfield "for clarification," according to the clerk's website.
The judge had the case under advisement since that hearing.
Before she ruled, Carter told Doggett the state opposed any bond reduction because of the seriousness of the alleged crimes. While she agreed that Anders had no prior criminal history, she also said the victim drew pictures of things that no child should know about.
Guillot agreed that the charges were serious, but pointed to his client's past clean record and former job as a federal correctional officer. He also said the victim had a prior kidney condition that could account for some of the pain she related to adults.
In addition, he claimed the video interview from the Children Advocacy Network showed the victim being asked "leading questions."
As she began sharing her decisions, Doggett noted that she couldn't find a record of a bond hearing for Anders on the charges from his second arrest in August 2018. Such a time lapse would release him of his bond obligations on those charges, she said.
She said the case file and testimony showed a sexual abuse nurse examiner (SANE) at Cabrini did find redness and swelling on the victim, but an internal exam was not performed. Doggett said she heard no testimony regarding penetration of the victim, so there could be no probable cause for the second-degree rape charge.
In all, Doggett said she only found probable cause to charge Anders with sexual battery, aggravated crime against nature, cruelty to a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile.
"Obviously, these are very serious charges," she said.
Anders' bond would have to be set on that information and not on the charges he was arrested on, she said. She set bond at $10,000 per charge, which is what Guillot had asked for based on what the family could afford.
Doggett reiterated the seriousness of the case for Anders. The victim has a protective order against Anders that prohibits direct or indirect contact from him or anyone on his behalf. "If you do bond out, I cannot tell you how important that protective order is," she said.
Anders also cannot have any unsupervised contact with children younger than 17.
Pennsylvania man charged with child rape set for court
Morgan Myers Snook
The Sullivan County, PA, man charged with dozens of felonies related to child sexual abuse is out on $100,000 bail, court record stated.
John Francis Irwin, 69, of 88 Benders Road, Muncy Valley, PA, is set for court on May 15, 2019, before Muncy Magisterial District Judge Jon E. Kemp.
Irwin is accused of molesting two victims under the age of 13 from January 2014 to November 2017, state police reported.
The alleged abuse took place in multiple locations in Lycoming and Sullivan Counties, according to the affidavit by Pennsylvania State Police Montoursville Trooper Daniel Switzer. One of the reported incidents took place in public, Switzer alleged.
Irwin also reportedly showed both victims pornographic material and took an explicit photograph of one victim, Switzer wrote.
The case was investigated with assistance from the Sunbury Child Advocacy Center, according to court documents.
Irwin is charged with 20 counts each of rape of a child and statutory sexual assault;
21 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child;
two counts of disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor;
32 counts of indecent assault person less than 13 years of age;
four counts of corruption of minors; and
one count each of criminal attempt - rape of a child,
aggravated indecent assault of a child,
aggravated indecent assault - less than 13 years of age, and
photograph/depict a sex act - permitting child.
Fire Captain Claims He Confused 8-Year-Old Sexual Abuse Victim For An Adult
A fire captain from Arizona has been accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl while “extremely intoxicated.” He claims that he thought the girl was an adult.
According to the Arizona Republic, court documents show that Michael William Palmatier, 48, confided in his work friend at the Gilbert Fire Department about an incident that occurred at a friends birthday party.
The phone call was recorded and he admitted that he went into a bedroom and began kissing someone while intoxicated. He said he did not realize it was the child’s genitals.
“Michael admitted the entire thing was wrong but he would never knowingly do anything sexually to a juvenile,” the records state.
“He also commented, ‘Yeah I have a sick side to me, like a sexually sick side to me, but not in that way.’”
Sin is progressive, Mike!
The fire captain of 20 years was arrested on Wednesday for charges of suspicion of sexual contact with a minor, kidnapping and indecent exposure,
The girls relative revealed that she said a “man had removed his pants and underwear and licked her.”
Witnesses from the event said Palmatier was very drunk and inebriated.
He is currently out and being monitored by an ankle monitor and has resigned from the department.
Former Penn State President Spanier’s Conviction Overturned
SCRANTON, Pa. — A federal judge from Scranton has thrown out the child endangerment conviction of former Penn State President Graham Spanier.
Spanier was tried and convicted of child endangerment in 2017.
On Tuesday, a judge determined Spanier was improperly charged under a 2007 law for allegedly failing to report child sex abuse by former football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Spanier was to report to the Centre County jail Wednesday morning to begin serving his sentence.
Prosecutors now have 90 days to retry Spanier.
Trial begins for Oregon man in sex abuse case of 4 y/o
BENNETT HALL Corvallis Gazette-Times 
Benton County Courthouse
Trial began Monday in Benton County Circuit Court for a Philomath man accused of sexually abusing a young girl.
Raymond Merl Turner, 58, is charged with three counts apiece of first-degree sodomy, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and first-degree sexual abuse, all felonies.
According to charging documents in the case, the alleged abuse occurred between Feb. 10, 2005, and June 30, 2007, when the child in question was between 4 and 5 years old.
All of the charges are Measure 11 offenses, with the sodomy and sexual penetration counts carrying mandatory minimum sentences of eight years and four months. A conviction on the sexual abuse charges would carry a mandatory minimum of six years and three months in prison.
Turner, dressed in khaki slacks and a plaid sport shirt, sat quietly at the defense table while his attorney, Mike Flinn, and prosecutor Amie Matusko questioned prospective jurors about their ability to impartially weigh evidence and testimony in the case.
The selection process was not yet complete when the court recessed for lunch.
The trial is scheduled to last five days.
Turner is already serving a 50-year sentence in another child sex abuse case involving a different victim. He was convicted in October 2017 of 38 criminal offenses, including 12 counts of first-degree rape.
Turner’s conviction in that case is under appeal.
Former Atlantic City police officer who alleges abuse by former Boy Scout leader wants ‘perversion’ files released
by Melanie Burney,
HARAZ N. GHANBARI / AP
A South Jersey man who alleges that he was molested by a former Boy Scout leader has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the organization to release its “perversion file” of volunteers banned because of suspected sexual abuse of young boys.
During an emotional news conference Tuesday at a law office in Newark, N.J., with a team of lawyers, Richard Halvorson, 47, a former Atlantic City police officer, said he was 11 when he was sexually abused in 1982 by his troop leader, Angelo Dellomo. Halvorson said he was forced to perform sexually explicit acts to earn a physical fitness badge.
Halvorson said he never talked about the abuse until 2013, when he told his mother. Halvorson said he consulted a lawyer and authorities the following year but was told charges could not be filed because the statute of limitations had expired.
“I stayed silent about it for a long time,” Halvorson said. “No more, no more. Everybody is going to hear it.”
The Inquirer is releasing Dellomo’s name because he was named in the lawsuit and Boy Scout records confirm the allegations. Paul Ernst, director of registration services for the Scouts, said in papers included Dellomo was confronted about the allegations in the late ‘80s and “never challenged our suspicion.”
A lawsuit filed Monday in Superior Court in Atlantic County seeks to force the Boy Scouts of America to release every name on its “perversion files,” said lawyer Jeff Anderson. It accuses the organization and the local scout chapter of conspiracy and nuisance.
“Nuisance sounds like it is minor,” Anderson said. “But it really is a major cover-up of the perversion files, the Ineligible Volunteer files that the Boy Scouts of America have kept and a concealment of the practices that they have employed in the past.”
The 22-page lawsuit doesn’t seek any damages, but rather a court order to require the Boy Scouts “to come clean about that past and release all the perversion files and the identities of the offenders in New Jersey and across the country,” Anderson said.
While Richard Halvorson, right, listens, attorney Jeff Anderson speaks during a news conference in Newark on Tuesday. Halvorson is alleging sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed against the Boy Scouts of America. SETH WENIG / AP
In a statement Tuesday, the Boy Scouts of America apologized to Halvorson and said it was notified about an abuse allegation against Dellomo in late 1986 and suspended him indefinitely. The allegation was reported to authorities and Dellomo was never reinstated in scouting, the organization said.
“We care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting, and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children,” the statement said.
Anderson also disclosed Tuesday that Dellomo may have worked for another youth group, the Boy Pioneers of America in Atlantic City. Dellomo also was a teacher in Egg Harbor Township and retired in 2009 with a pension of $76,880, records show. There was no response to a message left at the district office.
Dellomo could not be reached for comment. According to Boy Scout records released by Anderson, Dellomo is 58 and lived in Mays Landing when he was a troop leader.
Dellomo was among 52 former New Jersey scout leaders who allegedly sexually abused young boys and were included in the organization’s nationwide list of thousands of those identified in the “Ineligible Volunteer Files,” Anderson said. The files include the names of 7,819 people who the Boy Scouts believe “were involved in sexually abusing a child,” he said.
Anderson last week disclosed the names of the former New Jersey leaders and 130 from New York. Because of the lack of details surrounding the cases, The Inquirer is not disclosing the other names. It was unclear whether authorities had investigated or prosecuted any or all of those identified.
The Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts has acknowledged keeping a list of thousands of leaders who were suspected of preying on young boys and were kicked out of scouting for nearly a century, but has said it would not release their names.
Scout officials say they have developed a safety and protection system that includes the “Ineligible Volunteers Files” list, which has kept leaders removed because of suspected child abuse from returning to scouting.
Anderson contends that the scouts have not disclosed the scope of the allegations beyond those on the list and that there are more cases than have been made public. His law firm used publicly available documents, such as lawsuits and legal settlements, to compile the list he released.
According to Anderson, scout officials placed Dellomo in the file in 1987 but failed to report to authorities similar allegations by two other parents who said their sons were sexually abused. There was also a reference to a third incident in the files, he said. Dellomo was a leader in Troop 6 in Atlantic City.
“How many Richards are there out there? If there are 52 credibly accused individuals throughout the state who have abused within the Boy Scouts, then there are hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys who were sexually abused within this great state,” said Greg Gianforcaro, another lawyer involved in the case.
Halvorson read the file Tuesday on his former scout leader, whom he called “Mr. D.” According to a 1987 Boy Scouts record released by Anderson, Dellomo was suspended or denied registration as a scout leader for “scouts performing unusual (nude) physical fitness exercises for skill award."
“It got me mad,” he said.
In a 1986 letter in Dellomo’s file, several parents expressed concern that he required boys completing the Tenderfoot rank to go into a mirrored bathroom one at a time, undress, put on blindfolds, spread their legs and twist from side to side. Later, once clothed, two of the boys held down a third child while Dellomo gave a “beard rub” on the stomach and feet, the letter said.
Halvorson could have filed his lawsuit as a John Doe, often used in sexual abuse cases, but he said he wanted to encourage other victims and anyone who has information about other incidents to come forward. He said he also came forward because he is expecting a son in six weeks and wants to make sure nothing similar happens to him when he gets older.
“The secret’s out. Everybody needs to know,” Halvorson said. “This is going to help past victims to come forward. You can do it. You’re strong enough.”
Halvorson, a former police sergeant who joined the force in 1994, is the stepson of former Atlantic City Mayor and State Sen. James Whelan, who died in 2017.
Anderson also identified more than a dozen former South Jersey troop leaders from Atlantic City, Berlin, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Egg Harbor, Hammonton, McGuire Air Force Base, Mount Holly, Mount Laurel, Rancocas Woods, Runnemede, West Berlin, and Woodlynne who were named on the perversion list.
It was unclear whether authorities in those areas had investigated any of the alleged perpetrators.
Detectives charge 62-y/o So. Carolina man
with sexual abuse of underage girl
An affidavit states the child told her mother she had been abused and was “traumatized.” Investigators spoke to the child, who lives out of state, who said the man entered into her sleeping area three to four nights and touched her inappropriately while she tried to sleep.
When questioned, Lanier allegedly referred to the incidents as “playing a tickling game,” affidavits state.
Lanier was being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center.
Texas woman arrested for child sex crime
By: Erica Garner ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - An Abilene woman has been arrested for a child sex crime.
Grubbs' arrest report states she corroborated a child victim's allegations of sexual abuse during an interview with police.
The child was under the age of 17 when the alleged assault occurred, according to the report.
No further details were disclosed.
NH man accused of possessing child sexual abuse images
NORTH HAVERHILL, N.H. (WHDH) — A 32-year-old New Hampshire man is facing criminal charges after police say he was caught with child sexual abuse images.
Thomas Ballou was arrested Tuesday after members of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at 283 Lisbon Rd. in Bath, according to the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department.Ballou was taken into custody and charged with possession of child sexual abuse images.
He was ordered held at the Grafton County House of Corrections pending an arraignment Wednesday in Grafton County Superior Court.
An investigation is ongoing and police say additional charges could be filed.
Kentucky Man, Arrested in Philippines,
Charged with Child Sex Abuse
Rita Dukes Smith, SurfKY News Director
TRIGG COUNTY, Ky. — A former Trigg County man is behind bars after an investigation that began into alleged sex abuse of a child under age 12 culminated with his extradition from the Philippines to Kentucky a few days ago.
Kentucky State Police began an investigation in March 2017 into allegations 39-year-old Richard Baker of Marikina Manila, Philippines had sexually abused a young child while he lived in Trigg County. Although Baker was working out of the country and the victims had moved from Kentucky, KSP stayed with the investigation that resulted in an indictment warrant for his arrest issued in May 2018.KSP Master Trooper Jay Thomas said with the help of the U.S. Marshal Service and Interpol, Baker was located and detained in the Philippines in February. He was released to the Marshals April 18, flown to the U.S., delivered to the Georgia Department of Corrections and was extradited to Kentucky April 30.
KSP charged Baker with first-degree sodomy – victim under 12 years (Class A Felony) and promoting a minor (under age 16) in a sexual performance (Class B Felony). He is being held in the Christian County Jail.
KSP Detective Michael Robichaud is continuing the investigation.
Upstate So. Carolina man arrested for sex crimes on 4 y/o
after prison release
GREER, S.C. (WSPA) -- An Upstate man is accused of sexually abusing a child over a three-year period.
Greer Police Department charged Johnathan Jared Sarratt, 29, of Taylors with two counts each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Sarratt is also charged with two counts of child neglect. Arrest warrants say the victim was younger than 5 when Sarratt abused him from 2014 to 2017. Sarratt reportedly dated the child's mother. Undoubtedly , he dated the child's mother to get at the child. That's what predators do.
Greer Police Lt. Patrick Fortenberry said the warrants were served on Sarratt while he was incarcerated by the S.C. Department of Corrections. Following his prison release, Sarratt was arrested on the child sex abuse and neglect charges.
Jail records show Sarratt was booked Tuesday into the Spartanburg County Detention Center.
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