Brock Turner loses ‘outercourse’ appeal,
has to register as sex offender for life
has to register as sex offender for life
"Neither the evidence nor common sense supports defendant’s contention."
LINDSAY GIBBS
Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer who was convicted of sexual assault back in 2016 but served only three months in prison, lost his appeal on Wednesday. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Last month, Turner’s lawyer argued that he pursued “outercourse,” not intercourse with his victim. But a three-judge panel at San Jose’s 6th District Court of Appeal upheld the original conviction.
“Neither the evidence nor common sense supports defendant’s contention that ‘dry humping’ ‘is mutually exclusive to actual intercourse,'” the opinion reads.
In 2015, two students came upon Turner sexually assaulting an unconscious woman by a dumpster outside of a fraternity party at Stanford University. The following year, he was convicted of sexual assault with the intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person.
He was sentenced to only six months in jail; he ended up only serving three months of that sentence.
“Defendant contends evidence that he was fully clothed and engaged in forms of sexual conduct other than intercourse — namely, ‘fingering’ and ‘dry humping’ — negate an inference of intent to rape. We are not persuaded,” the California Court of Appeal said. “While it is true that defendant did not expose himself, he was interrupted. Jurors reasonably could have inferred from the evidence described above that, if the graduate students had not stopped defendant, he would have exposed himself and raped [the victim].”
Turner’s case received national attention because of his short sentence, his father’s insistence that his punishment was “a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action,” and the media’s insistence on highlighting his swimming prowess in the opening paragraph of every story about him, not the fact that he was convicted of intending to rape someone.
“At the bottom of the article, after I learned about the graphic details of my own sexual assault, the article listed his swimming times. She was found breathing, unresponsive with her underwear six inches away from her bare stomach curled in fetal position. By the way, he’s really good at swimming,” the survivor said in a victim-impact statement during the 2016 trial.
While Turner will remain a free man, his conviction and sex offender status will now follow him for the rest of his life. Back in 2016, the woman he sexually assaulted said she supported that ruling.
“He is a lifetime sex registrant. That doesn’t expire. Just like what he did to me doesn’t expire, doesn’t just go away after a set number of years,” she said. “It stays with me, it’s part of my identity, it has forever changed the way I carry myself, the way I live the rest of my life.”
Paso Robles, CA man convicted of child sex crimes
KSBY StaffA jury found a Paso Robles man guilty Thursday of felony child sex crimes.
The incident of sexual abuse reportedly occurred in December of 2016.
The jury returned with a verdict after a half-day of deliberations following a two-week trial.
Esquivel is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2 and faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
2 more children accuse Toledo, OH pastor of sex abuse
Allison Dunn
The BladeFederal prosecutors say two more children have come forward with sex abuse allegations against a former pastor recently found guilty of sex-trafficking a teen girl.
Haynes was found to have groomed a teenage girl to have sex with him and Pastors Kenneth Butler and Cordell Jenkins. He was found guilty during a March jury trial in U.S. District Court, Toledo, of conspiracy to engage in sex-trafficking with a minor, sex-trafficking of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and obstructing a sex-trafficking investigation.
Days before a former pastor was scheduled to be sentenced, federal prosecutors say she is not the only one who allegedly faced sexual abuse by Haynes.
“[Haynes] is a predator in every sense of the word. He used his position of trust to prey on victims who had lost their family or home. His actions make him a true threat and danger to society, and thus the public must be protected from him,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman wrote.
Lucas County Children Services received a referral about the children's family, but in lieu of going into foster care, Haynes and his wife, Alisa Haynes, agreed to take the then-7-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl into their home to provide care in July, 2014, according to the sentencing memorandum.
During an April, 2017, interview with a child forensic investigator, the children indicated they were each sexually assaulted by the pastor. At age 13, the girl said Haynes threatened to kill her family if she ever told on him, according to the memorandum.
The boy and girl stayed in the Haynes home until February, 2015, when they were moved to a different foster care placement, according to court records.
The victim in the original case that went to trial, who is now 19, attended Haynes’ church and considered him a father figure when she went to live with him and his family after her mother could no longer care for her and her siblings, she previously testified during Haynes’ trial.
“The defendant’s conduct caused irrevocable harm to a minor and instilled fear in every parent in this community who now question who they can trust. The defendant was a pastor, took on the role of father, and exploited the public’s trust by sexually abusing a child for years, and helped other men do the same,” Mr. Herdman wrote in the filing.
Prior to the pastors’ arrest, Mrs. Haynes sent her husband a series of text messages, stating, you all “have something in common. Sex, lies, and someone young. None yaw can get it right because yaw are pedophiles. You like them young,” she said.
“I understand I can’t even argue at all,” Mr. Haynes replied.
Mike Tobin, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said the incident remains under investigation and the allegations written in the memorandum speak for themselves.
Jeff Lingo, special units chief of the criminal division at the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, said that as of Tuesday his office had not received such a complaint, but such information would be investigated thoroughly should it be turned over.
Haynes was originally scheduled to be sentenced by visiting Judge Bernard Friedman on Monday, but the former pastor filed a motion asking for new counsel. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for June 17.
Federal prosecutors are recommending Haynes be sentenced to life in prison, according to the court filing.
Retired Arlington, TX cop, former sub teacher accused in second indecency with child case
BY DEANNA BOYD
One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
ARLINGTON
A retired Arlington police sergeant arrested last week on accusations he sexually abused a young relative more than a decade ago is back in jail, accused of molesting another child.
William “Bill” Stallsworth had been working as a substitute teacher for the Arlington school district when parents of the second alleged victim, now an adult in her mid-20s, reported the inappropriate contact to the school district in January 2018.
The parents told officials that their daughter had recently confided that Stallsworth, a former neighbor, had repeatedly touched her inappropriately and exposed himself as she swam at his Arlington house with his son.
The victim did not want to re-live what happened or to have to see the suspect again, so the parents honored the victim’s decision of not reporting to the police, Arlington police Detective T. Walker wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit.
“The victim’s mother found out the suspect was teaching at Bailey Junior High School and felt obligated to report what they knew to the school since the suspect was around young children,” Walker wrote.
The school reported the incident to Arlington police that same month and also conducted an investigation in which Stallsworth denied the allegations. Stallsworth then resigned from the school district effective Jan. 24, 2018.
Arlington police began investigating the allegations that same month but the case was suspended in February 2018, after the woman told police she wasn’t emotionally ready to go forward with pursuing criminal charges.
But last week, after learning that Stallsworth, 61, had been arrested on accusations he molested a female relative, the woman reached out to Arlington Detective H. Thetford, the affidavit states, and agreed to meet with investigators to share her story as well.
“The victim stated she was not as scared knowing it was not just her word against a former police officer,” the affidavit states.
Stallsworth, who had been released from Tarrant County Jail on Friday after posting a $5,000 bond, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant accusing him of indecency with a child/sexual contact.
He was being held Tuesday afternoon in the Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $5,000.
On Monday, Stallsworth retained the Varghese Summersett law firm to represent him. Attorney Christy Jack said it would be “premature to speculate about these allegations.”
“However, as a former public servant myself, I certainly appreciate the gravity of the situation,” Jack said. “Bill Stallsworth served this community for almost 35 years and I would ask the public not to rush to judgment.”
The Arlington school district did not immediately respond to a Star-Telegram inquiry Tuesday regarding how long Stallsworth had worked for the district and at which schools.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The second alleged victim told police that she frequently went to Stallsworth’s home to swim with his son as a child.
The woman said Stallsworth would often play games with the children in the pool, using that opportunity to touch her inappropriately over her bathing suit and expose himself to her under the water. She said she was roughly between 8 and 12 when the contact occurred.
The woman told investigators she remembered Stallsworth once holding her and touching her inappropriately as he carried her into the deep end.
“The victim told the suspect she wanted to get out of the pool and he told her, ‘not yet,” the affidavit states. “This was the first time the suspect would not let her get out of the pool and this was the last time the victim remembered swimming at the suspect’s house or hanging out with the suspect’s son.”
Stallsworth’s son told investigators that his mother had recently told him about the sexual abuse allegations made against his father. He said he was “kind of” surprised and felt bad because he believed the sexual acts occurred in his presence, but he was unaware at the time they were happening.
He told detectives his father often acted weird and flirtatious around his female friends and that he was once told that his father exposed himself to two of his high school friends when they were visiting the family’s house, according to the affidavit.
He told investigators his father had called him last week, saying he was “being arrested for things that happened a long time ago,” the affidavit states.
Stallsworth had worked with the city of Arlington from 1980 until retiring in 2014 as a patrol sergeant.
He also co-owns the Arlington Volleyball Academy, which offers group and private volleyball lessons to girls.
Girls only? Why am I surprised?
Federal child pornography charges against Indiana man related to shooting of Anchorage teenager
By Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage
Police say an Indiana man arrested on federal child pornography charges is connected to the shooting death of an Anchorage teenager earlier this month.
Nineteen-year-old Cynthia Hoffman was found bound and shot to death in a river north of Anchorage. According to charging documents filed in the case, 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh pulled the trigger. He is charged with first degree murder, along with 18-year-old Denali Brehmer and 19-year-old Caleb Leyland.
Leyland allegedly provided a car for what the charges describe as a plot to kill Hoffman.
According to the state charges, McIntosh and Brehmer told detectives Hoffman had agreed to be duct taped so they could take pictures, but Hoffman started to panic and threatened to report the other two for kidnapping and sexual assault. According to the charges against Brehmer, she admitted to handing McIntosh a handgun and telling him to shoot Hoffman.
As part of their investigation, detectives seized Brehmer’s cellphone. Now, according to charges unsealed Monday in federal court, investigators say they found graphic images of child pornography.
The charges say Brehmer had been texting a 21-year-old Indiana resident named Darin Schilmiller in the days around Hoffman’s death. The court documents include transcripts of messages between the two in which Schilmiller directed her to take sexually explicit photos of two minor victims, as well as record videos of child sexual abuse to send to him.
In one message included in the charges, Schilmiller seems to threaten Brehmer, writing that he would tell the police he had made Brehmer rape people and kill Hoffman.
Federal authorities in Indiana arrested Schilmiller on Monday. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Schilmiller will be extradited to Alaska to face the charges and that more charges may be forthcoming in the investigation as it continues.
Anchorage police described Schilmiller as a “person of interest” in Hoffman’s homicide in a short written statement Tuesday. The Anchorage Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Caldwell, TX man found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a 7-13 y/o child
By Rusty Surette
BURELSON COUNTY, Tex. (KBTX) - The following is a news release from the Burleson County District Attorney's Office:
Aurelio Hernandez-Cruz, 39, of Caldwell, was convicted late Friday evening by a jury in Burleson County.
Cruz was charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child.
Judge Campbell presided over the trial and will assess punishment after a hearing at a later date. Assistant District Attorneys Lauren Haevischer and John Brennan represented the State, and Trey Dunne and Bruno Shimek represented the Defendant.
Continuous Sexual Assault of a Young Child is a first-degree felony with a special punishment range of 25-99 years, or life, with no eligibility for release on parole.
The victim was 11 at the time the abuse was reported, and described regularly occurring sexual abuse since age 7 at the hands of Aurelio Hernandez-Cruz. The victim, now 13, testified, along with 2 former foster parents, law enforcement, and a forensic nurse.
During closing arguments, Haevischer explained the difficulty in trying these cases, “Perpetrators of child sexual abuse hide the abuse to appear normal to the rest of the world. They do it secretly, they do it quietly.”
“Delays in reporting often mean little to no physical evidence,” Haevischer explained later. “In these case we had consistency in the circumstantial evidence that backed up everything the victim said. The jury could clearly see the toll years of abuse took on her, and the change in her from little girl to troubled teenager.”
Odessa, TX minister arrested for continuous
sexual abuse of child
ODESSA, Texas - An Odessa minister has been arrested a second time as the Ector County Sheriff’s Office continues their investigation into child sex allegations.
Ector County Sheriff's Office (ECSO) officials confirm David Ray King was arrested again Monday and charged with two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
King was originally arrested last week and charged with indecency with a child.
Authorities say King was released from the Ector County Jail Saturday on a $15,000 bond. The investigation has been ongoing since May 10, according to a release.
During the investigation, King was brought in for questioning and admitted to having images and videos that depict child pornography, according to ECSO.
King also admitted to being “engaged in conduct” with children between the ages of 10-16 years old, ECSO officials say.
A search warrant was later issued for King’s home and deputies seized various media storage devices and DVDs. As of Tuesday morning, King was still being held at the Ector County Jail and no bond was listed.
Maryland police arrest 58 during national
child sex predators investigation
Christine Condon
The Baltimore Sun
Authorities have arrested 58 people in Maryland over the past two months as part of a nationwide operation targeting child sexual exploitation.
Officials from the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force focused on individuals who possessed, manufactured or distributed child pornography, or engaged in online enticement of children for sexual purposes, according to a Maryland State Police news release. They also investigated child prostitution and human trafficking, the release stated. Most of the Maryland arrests were made in relation to child pornography, said state police spokesperson Brenda Carl.
The Maryland task force, made up of police agencies across the state, was one of 61 included in “Operation Broken Heart,” a national law enforcement initiative targeting child sex predators.
The Maryland task force opened 320 investigations, the release said, and conducted public outreach sessions that reached more than 1,000 people.
In total, the operation’s task forces conducted 2,150 informational sessions about Internet safety across the country during the two-month operation.
Maryland’s task force, overseen by the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit, was funded by Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention and a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Burley, ID man sentenced in child sex abuse case
JULIE A. FERRARO jferraro@magicvalley.com
BURLEY — A man accused of sexually abusing two girls was sentenced to prison Tuesday.
Eric J. Hamblin, 37, will spend seven to 20 years in prison for his crimes as sentenced by 5th District Judge Michael Tribe. A $5,000 civil penalty was imposed along with 100 hours of community service. Hamblin is also required to register as a sex offender.
Four victim impact statements were entered into evidence before the sentencing. The matter of restitution for the crimes was left open, with a hearing set for Dec. 31.
Hamblin was charged in September with multiple counts of child sexual abuse and lewd conduct with a minor under 16. A second set of charges were added in October 2018, when a second girl told officials he had inappropriately touched her (7th story on link), according to court documents.
Hamblin is accused of sexually touching a girl, who was 9 to 11 years old at the time, on numerous occasions. She is now 16 years old.
The second girl told police Hamblin touched her when she was 11 years old. She is now 13.
Hamblin pleaded guilty in April to one count of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 16 and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor under age 16. In return, the Cassia County Prosecutor’s Office dismissed a total of seven counts of sexual abuse of a minor under 16 and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 16.
A no-contact order was issued preventing Hamblin from having contact with the victims for 20 years as part of the sentencing. He was remanded to the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction.
Shelby Co., AL man arrested on multiple
child sex abuse charges
By Hannah Ward
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - A suspect sits in the Shelby County jail tonight facing multiple sex abuse charges.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office arrested 38-year-old Robert Jay Wilson on four counts of sex abuse of a child less than 12, four counts of sodomy, and one county of rape.
The incidents occurred over a two year period. His bond is set at $195,000.
La Joya, TX man gets 32 years for continuous
sexual abuse of a 10-12 y/o child
A Cuban man living in La Joya was sentenced to 32 years in prison Monday for sexually abusing a child for two years.
Pedro Enrique Barzola Garcia, a 42-year-old legal permanent resident of La Joya, had been accused of sexually abusing the victim from the age of 10 to 12 years old, according to a Hidalgo County news release. He was convicted by a jury Friday.
Judge Letty Lopez of the 389th state district court handed down the sentence earlier this week.
Garcia was convicted of one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, two counts of aggravated assault of a child, one count of indecency with a child that involved sexual contact, and one count of indecency with a child related to exposure.
His sentence comes without the possibility of parole.
“The Special Crimes Division collaborated with a team of law enforcement investigators, forensic nurses, child protective services, and victim advocates to bring justice for the child victim,” Special Crimes Division Chief Hope Palacios, the prosecutor in the case, stated in the release.
Authorities encourage those who suspect child abuse to call (800) 252-5400, which is available 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.
Poplar Grove, Ill man pleads guilty to charges of
sexual assault of 9-11 y/o children
By WIFR Newsroom
BOONE COUNTY, Ill. (WIFR) -- A Poplar Grove man pleads guilty to child sexual assault charges dating back to 2011.
Anthony B. Enos, 40, was involved in multiple sexual acts with children from 2011 to 2013, according to the Boone County State's Attorney's Office. The victims were allegedly between 9 and 11 years old at the time of assault.
Enos had been charged of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
He also pleaded guilty to harassment of a witness for communicating with the victim while the case was pending, and pressuring her to tell authorities that she made up the allegations against him.
Enos faces up to 67 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He will also be required to register a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Enos is scheduled to be sentenced on August 20.
Kewanee, Ill man gets 60 days in jail, probation
for sex abuse, child porn
LISA HAMMER
CAMBRIDGE — A Kewanee man was sentenced to probation and 60 days in jail in Henry County Circuit Court Tuesday for one count Class 2 felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count Class 3 felony child pornography.
Phillip A. Murphy, 36, was charged April 17, 2017, with five counts of criminal sexual abuse and 15 counts of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to one count of each on April 11.
The charges relate to a relationship he had with a 15-year-old girl. A letter from the girl was read in court in which she called him an innocent man and asked that he not be punished. She said the relationship began after she messaged Murphy, and he said that she was too young, but finally with hesitation he agreed to see her.
Fifty people attended Tuesday's sentencing hearing on his behalf. Four people spoke: his mother, two friends and his live-in girlfriend. His mother noted the important role he plays in the family business, Murphy's Container Service, a waste disposal company. His girlfriend said she and her two sons, 13 and 10, had been living with Murphy for almost two years and he treated them like his own.
“I just love him a lot and he would do the same for me if it were the other way around,” she said.
Henry County State's Attorney Matt Schutte noted there were 55 character references for Murphy, who were all people he could have called to say, 'I've got this 15-year-old messaging me' “and he would have had 55 people telling him to stay away.”
Instead, he “threw caution to the wind” and engaged in a sexual relationship five separate times when he was already in a relationship, meeting her in places such as picking her up in a cemetery. Schutte noted an earlier DUI conviction and a conviction for criminal damage to property 19 years ago.
“Now it's on the court from his perspective to keep him out of jail, but it's not incumbent on this court to bail him out now that's he's done what he wanted to do,” said Schutte.
Nevertheless, the prosecutor recommended a 48-month probation term and 180 days in jail.
OMG
Defense attorney Sam Amirante compared his client to Jesus Christ, who he said was once tempted by Mary Magdalene. “Jesus Christ himself felt it because God made him a man. We are humans. No human being is capable of not making a mistake or doing something in their life that they can't forgive themselves for. (Murphy) gave in to his own male frailty and he regrets it even more now.”
Amirante noted Murphy's sexual evaluation indicated he had zero probability of repeating the crime.
One of the good guys!
“He truly and sincerely is sorry and there's a true air of contrition. He's not a danger to Kewanee or to Cambridge or to Henry County or to the U.S. of A. He's Phillip Murphy, one of the good guys.”
In imposing the sentence, Judge Terry Patton explained why he was giving Murphy jail time on top of probation. "There are things people do that are too serious to do to just be sorry about it and there has to be punishment," he said.
Amirante asked the judge if the jail time might be left for the end of the probation to impose only if necessary, but the judge denied the request. "I think this is a very favorable sentence for a guy with multiple sexual encounters with a teenager that takes adequate notice of mitigating factors," he said.
In addition to a 48-month probation term, Murphy will have a fine of $1,500 plus court costs on each count, a $500 sex offender fine, a $200 sexual assault fine and a $500 child pornography fine. His 60-day jail term was stayed to June 17 and he was given credit for 12 days served.
Indianapolis Public Schools pays $600K to settle
counselor sex abuse lawsuits
Shana Taylor
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Public Schools paid almost $600,000 to settle three lawsuits in a case involving a former school counselor who was accused of having sex with students.
The Indianapolis Star obtained the financial details of the settlements through public records requests. The school board approved them nearly two weeks ago without disclosing the amount.
The lawsuits arose from allegations that former counselor Shana Taylor had sex with two teenage students while working for the district in 2015 and 2016. She worked at Arsenal Technical High School.
Taylor was sentenced to six years of home detention in 2017 after pleading guilty to three felony counts of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. Taylor admitted to sending nude photos of herself to two minors.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges against her, which included child seduction and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Taylor wasn’t required to register as a sex offender, but she agreed to relinquish her teaching license.
In one of the cases settled by the district, a male student who said Taylor sexually abused and harassed him sued for negligence and other charges. The district denied the allegations and settled the case for $95,000, according to court records.
Court records show at least 12 district officials knew of the allegations against Taylor nearly a week before they were reported to the Indiana Department of Child Services. Indiana law mandates anyone who learns of suspected abuse or neglect to immediately report it to the child services agency or law enforcement.
Two district officials were fired in the aftermath of case (3rd story on link). They sued the district and school board members, alleging they were wrongfully terminated and denied due process.
The lawsuits were settled together for a total of $500,000.
Ahmed Young, the district’s chief of staff and general counsel, said they’re pleased to resolve the matters.
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