Undercover operation leads to arrest of 25 men
in Arizona, on suspicion of child sex crimes
Aubrey Carpenter, Arizona Republic
An undercover operation by joint Arizona departments revealed 25 suspects who were involved in child sex crimes and human trafficking, according to the Tempe Police Department.
The Tempe Police Department partnered with the Mesa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Attorney General's Office for what they called 'Operation Summer Shield' that targeted the demand of child sex crimes, Tempe Police spokesman Greg Bacon said.
Throughout the operation, police and undercover detectives placed ads on websites and apps that are commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts with children.
It uncovered 25 suspects who solicited and/or brokered deals for these various sex acts which led to their arrest, Bacon said.
"Each year, these agencies come together to conduct operations of this type in a continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels child and human sex trafficking from our communities," Bacon added.
The suspects ranged in age from 19 to 63-years-old and ranged in charges from luring of a minor, child sex trafficking, attempted sex conduct with a minor, sexual abuse, unlawful age misrepresentation, and furnishing harmful materials to a minor, according to the arrest records.
The suspects arrested are:
Kristofer Hass, 36 Scott Jackson, 33 David Chickering, 55 Vincent Connor, 27
Seam Grimes, 54 Alex Waldron, 31 Devon Large, 19 Lee A. Guzman, 27
Isaiah Smith, 30 Daniel Marquez, 30 Shy Ewing, 25 Ryan Kille, 32
Moroni A. Ayala, 43 Luke Ottman, 51 Shane S. Crowell, 41 Stanford Spring, 55
Jose Vazquez Jr., 22 Bryan Jackson, 37 Kevin Tom, 27 Jose Antonio Rojas Minjarez, 30
Micha Veazey, 35 John A. Reed, 33 Andrew C. Herrington, 63 Travis J. Salmon, 23
Robert MacAdam, 50
If you have information about someone being trafficked, contact your local police department or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or humantraffickinghotline.org
30-y/o Oregon man indicted on 21 counts of
child sex abuse
FOX 12 Staff
(KPTV) - A 30-year-old man is facing numerous child sex abuse charges following an investigation, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
Ryan Riewer was arraigned Monday on five counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, four counts of attempting to use a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, seven counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, and five counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.
Court documents show the investigation began in March 2018 when law enforcement received a cyber tip from Google that reported a user, later identified as Riewer, was uploading child pornography.
According to court documents, Riewer's Google account showed he was communicating online in August 2017 with a then 12-year-old girl who lived in Jackson, Tennessee.
Riewer sent the 12-year-old girl sexually explicit photos of himself, and then "compelled and induced" the girl to send him naked and sexual pictures of herself, according to court documents.
Court documents also state that Riewer sent sexually explicit images of children to other people online. He also duplicated several thousands of child pornography pictures and videos.
The investigation also revealed that Riewer was communicating online with a 16-year-old girl from Washington and "compelled and induced" her into sending him a sexually suggestive photo, according to court documents.
Court documents state that evidence showed that on at least four occasions Riewer had attempted to obtain sexually explicit photos of children from children themselves by offering money or gift cards.
Riewer was arrested on July 11 by the Gresham Police Department in the 8600 block of Southeast Causey Avenue in Clackamas.
Police executed a search warrant at Riewer's home and seized numerous electronic devices.
Riewer is due back in court on August 3.
Powder Springs, GA man indicted on
child pornography charges
Rosie Manins rmanins@mdjonline.com
A Powder Springs man has been indicted by a grand jury on federal charges of producing, distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.
Thomas Joseph Cwik, 31, is in the Cobb County jail without bond.
He was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Walker and indicted by a federal grand jury on July 9, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia states.
“Cwik allegedly produced, distributed and collected images portraying the sexual exploitation and abuse of young children,” U.S. Attorney Byung Pak said Monday. “It is imperative that we continue to target and prosecute sexual predators who victimize children.”
Homeland Security investigator Nick Annan says Cwik allegedly victimized numerous children in the context of filming child rape.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of these cases as one of the agency’s highest priorities,” Annan said.
Cobb jail records show Cwik was arrested by Cobb sheriff’s officers in Paulding County on May 28, on two felony charges of child molestation and one count of aggravated child molestation.
A May 28 arrest warrant for Cwik shows those three charges relate to activity at two Powder Springs addresses spanning just over a year, between the start of May 2016 and the end of May 2017.
Police say Cwik engaged in sex acts with a nine-year-old boy during that time.
Annan said Cwik was arrested thanks to a “quick” multi-agency effort which included the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.
Cwik allegedly traded child pornography online with another individual in January 2019, according to information presented in court, the U.S. Attorney's Office reports.
“Agents executed a search warrant at Cwik’s home in April 2019 and found multiple digital devices containing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography,” the July 22 release states. “They also discovered that Cwik allegedly engaged in sex acts with a minor child in Cobb County, Georgia and captured his sexual abuse of that child on two videos taken on each instance of abuse.”
Anyone with information about this case, including victims, is asked to contact the Paulding Sheriff’s juvenile investigations division on 770-445-6105 or Homeland Security Investigations on 404-346-2831.
The case, being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg, is part of a nationwide initiative called Project Safe Childhood which was set up in 2006 to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.
Shelby, AL man arrested for child abuse of
15-month-old boy
By J.R. Tidwell
The Jemison Police Department arrested a 33-year-old Shelby man July 18 on alleged child abuse charges.
Shawn Wesley Averett has been charged with aggravated child abuse and sexual abuse using an inanimate object.
According to a social media post by JPD, the child in the case is 15 months old.
“Investigators were notified by Shelby Hospital that the child was in their facility with head injuries,” said the post. “The alleged incident occurred in the Jemison Police jurisdiction. Investigators immediately started the investigation and were able to obtain enough evidence to charge Averett. The investigation is ongoing and will continue for quite some time. At last update, the 15 month old was still in critical condition.”
While online records list the official charge as sexual abuse using an inanimate object, the JPD post described the alleged crime as “sexual torture.”
Averett was booked into the Chilton County Jail at 2:44 p.m. on July 18. He was released the next day on bonds totaling $90,000.
Shelby is an unincorporated community in Shelby County south of Columbiana.
Texas child sexual assault case dismissed
for a second time
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON twitherspoon@wacotrib.com
A former McLennan County prosecutor now working in the Texas Attorney General's Office dismissed a child sexual assault case for the second time because of credibility issues with an important witness.
Assistant Attorney General Gabrielle Massey, who handled the case in Waco before she took the job in Austin, cited in her dismissal Monday that a "material witness" has not been truthful with her and she was forced to dismiss the case.
"State cannot proceed to trial without this material witness and state cannot ethically proceed to trial with this witness," Massey wrote in dismissing the case against Andrew Smith, 51.
Smith was set for trial Monday in Waco's 19th State District Court on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by contact. Smith had been charged with sexually abusing a 4-year-old boy in July and August 2007. The alleged victim, a former family member of Smith's, is now 16.
Because the jury was sworn in last week, jeopardy attached in the case and Smith cannot be tried on the charges again.
Smith's case has had at least seven priority trial settings since 2014. Massey dismissed the case in December after Associate Judge David Hodges rejected her motion for continuance and ordered the trial to proceed. However, she re-indicted Smith and scheduled the case for another priority trial setting.
Massey declined comment on the dismissal Monday. Smith's attorneys, Stephen Reed and Jessi Freud, also declined comment.
McLennan County First Assistant District Attorney Nelson Barnes said Massey, who was appointed as a special McLennan County prosecutor to handle the case, consulted with his office Monday before dismissing it. Massey asked to remain on the case after she changed jobs because she had developed a long-term relationship with the alleged victim in the case and District Attorney Barry Johnson agreed, Barnes said.
"Trial counsel found out over the weekend a material witness in the case was not being completely truthful with them, and we are ethically bound to do the right thing," Barnes said. "It was a witness that we could not proceed to trial without, and after learning that they had not been candid, we were duty bound to dismiss it. We are ethically bound not to put a witness on the stand we could not believe."
Massey, another assistant attorney general, a legal assistant and two interns from the AG's office in Austin came to Waco for jury selection last Thursday.
At least 44 people, most of whom were subpoenaed, were on the state's witness list, according to court records.
Smith rejected a plea offer from the state for deferred adjudication probation on a lesser injury to a child charge that would not have required him to register as a sex offender, court officials said.
Former Elgin man gets 13½ years for
sexually assaulting child in Illinois
By CLIFFORD WARD
| CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
A former Elgin man with a history of arrests for crimes involving children has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for a McHenry County conviction, prosecutors said.
William J. Dugar, 29, was sentenced Friday to a 13½-year term for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said in a news release.
Prosecutors said the sentence was handed down by Judge Robert Wilbrandt, who found Dugar guilty in June after a bench trial. He was charged in 2017 on allegations he assaulted a child in the Crystal Lake area in 2010.
The victim testified at his trial, as did a previous victim in a Kane County case, prosecutors said. According to Kane records, Dugar was charged in 2010 with sexually assaulting a minor, and he pleaded guilty in 2012 to a reduced count of aggravated battery to a child.
Colorado State U faculty member accused of sexual assault, headed to jury trial
Kelly Ragan, Fort Collins Coloradoan
A Colorado State University faculty member accused of sexually assaulting a teenager pleaded not guilty Monday.
Authorities say Pamela Coke, 50, sexually assaulted a teenager in her Loveland home last fall. Coke was arrested by Loveland police in April on one count of sexual assault on a child between the ages of 15 and 18 by one in a position of trust, a Class 4 felony.
She was released from the Larimer County Jail on a personal recognizance bond April 24 and was placed on administrative leave from her position as an associate professor of English education at CSU.
In May, Coke's defense was working to hash out a potential plea deal with the district attorney's office, though they said Coke denied the accusation. Monday, they asked for the case to go to trial.
Coke's five-day trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 19.
CSU spokesperson Dell Rae Ciaravola confirmed on Monday that Coke is still on administrative leave.
Coke has been a CSU faculty member since 2002, according to her curriculum vitae. She has taught courses in adolescents' literature, intermediate composition, teaching composition, teaching reading, teaching language and teaching methods, according to CSU's website.
Apparently, she didn't teach self-control.
Idaho woman sentenced to prison for possessing
sexually explicit images of minors
EastIdahoNews.com
The following is a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
RIGBY — Elizabeth Dawn Evans, 28, of Rigby, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison for possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered that Evans be placed on supervised release for ten years following her prison sentence. Evans pleaded guilty on March 6.
According to court records, on February 26, 2018, state investigators responded to allegations of child abuse at a residence in Jefferson County where Evans resided. A subsequent investigation discovered that Evans’ boyfriend had produced child pornography using a minor child. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Evans’ electronic devices and discovered images of the sexual abuse taken on her phone. In court, Evans admitted that she took and possessed the images.
At sentencing, Judge Winmill also ordered Evans to forfeit the cell phone used in the commission of the offense. As a result of her conviction, Evans will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Decatur man, 70, sentenced to 20 years in child rape case: 'vile, heinous, disgusting behavior'
TONY REID
Herald & Review
DECATUR — A judge told a convicted 70-year-old Decatur child sex predator that he was guilty of “vile, heinous, disgusting behavior” before sentencing him to a total of 20 years in prison Monday afternoon.
John T. McKown had been convicted of repeatedly raping and assaulting a boy under the age of 15 at a Macon County Circuit Court bench trial before Judge Thomas Griffith that concluded May 7.
Monday’s sentencing hearing saw Griffith sentence McKown to 15 years on a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault, to be served at 85 percent. He was also sentenced to five years on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, the sentence to run consecutively to the 15 year sentence.
McKown had also been convicted on a charge of possession of child pornography, and he was given a three year sentence on that count. It will run concurrently with the five years imposed for the aggravated criminal sexual abuse, effectively adding up to a total sentence of 20 years.
McKown had pleaded his innocence throughout and had been found not guilty of two further counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
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