Aurora, CO, police help arrest 38 men on child luring, abuse charges as part of nationwide sting that netted 1700
Two of the 38 local suspects arrested during a nationwide sting operation.
Clay Co. High School, FL, Teacher Jailed for Distributing Child Sex Abuse Images
By Quincy Snowdon
Sentinel
Pictured: Nearly half of the suspected child predators recently arrested by Aurora Police as part of a nationwide sting operation.
Pictured: Nearly half of the suspected child predators recently arrested by Aurora Police as part of a nationwide sting operation.
AURORA | Investigators with the Aurora Police Department helped identify or arrest more than three dozen suspected child predators from Aurora earlier this spring as part of a nationwide sting led by the U.S. Department of Justice, authorities announced Tuesday.
Throughout April and May, Aurora officials helped investigate and in some cases apprehend 38 men accused of various felony charges, including internet luring of a child, internet sexual exploitation of a child, and attempted sexual assault on a child, among others.
The local suspects were among nearly 1,700 people nationwide who were arrested as part of a Justice Department investigation known as Operation Broken Heart, according to Aurora police. More than 4,500 agencies in every state coordinated to investigate and arrest the suspected predators, according to the Justice Department. The Colorado Springs Police Department worked with more than 90 local law enforcement groups, including Aurora police, to lead Colorado’s internet crimes against children task force.
“The sexual abuse of children is repugnant, and it victimizes the most innocent and vulnerable of all,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a statement issued last month. “ … Over the span of just two months, our ICAC task forces investigated more than 18,000 complaints of internet-related abuse and helped arrest 1,700 alleged abusers.”
The nationwide investigation identified more than 300 people who produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, according to the DOJ. Investigators determined more than 350 children were abused or exploited in the making of child pornography.
One of the suspected predators in Aurora, 34-year-old Christopher Doughty, worked as a bus driver for the Cherry Creek School District for nearly two years. Aurora police arrested Doughty on suspicion of luring a child over the internet in May.
“We strongly urge all parents, and guardians to know who your children are talking to in person and online,” police wrote on Facebook. “Being nosey can protect them from predators and becoming victimized.”
People who believe they or someone they know may have been approached by one of the 38 suspects arrested in Aurora are encouraged to call Aurora Police Sgt. Gregg Galozzi at 303-739-6093. Victims can also call 303-627-3100 for additional local resources.
There are nearly 1,200 sex offenders currently being monitored by Aurora police in the city, according to a database of metro area sex offenders managed by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. However, only 790 of the people on the database are named and pictured due to state privacy laws. Anyone seeking the full list of Aurora’s sexual predators is encouraged to request the complete record from the Aurora Police Department.
Residents wishing to search the list of nearly 800 named sex offenders in the city can do so by visiting sotar.us. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation also maintains a searchable database of the state’s sex offenders.
Clay Co. High School, FL, Teacher Jailed for Distributing Child Sex Abuse Images
By: Action News Jax Local | WJAX
CLAY COUNTY, Fla. - United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Jacksonville resident Christopher Shawn Potter, 50, to 11 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography.
Potter was also ordered to serve a 20-year term of supervised release, and must pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim of his offense. Potter had pleaded guilty on April 8.
Potter worked as a teacher at Clay High School in Green Cove Springs from 2016 to 2017, and was a teacher at Orange Park High School from 1997 to 2004.
According to court documents, in February 2018, using the screen name “Mr. Fireball,” Potter engaged in online conversations with an undercover officer who was posing as a 14-year-old child. During these conversations, Potter discussed meeting the “child” for sex.
Potter also sent the “child” a video depicting a young child being sexually abused, and also sent a video of Potter performing a sexual act.
On September 20, 2018, HSI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Potter’s residence and seized several electronic devices. During an interview, Potter admitted sending child pornography and stated that he fantasizes about sexual acts with young girls.
Potter’s smart phone contained 15 videos and 6 images depicting child pornography, as well as logs of online conversations on social media in which Potter discussed his sexual fantasies involving children.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Orange Park Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Palatka Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
Clay Co., FL
Olpe, KS, man faces sentencing in child sex abuse case
By Chuck Samples
An Olpe man who pleaded no contest to child sex abuse two months ago will be sentenced Tuesday.
Garry Dale Wilson, 64, pleaded no contest to one count of indecent liberties during a hearing in May. Wilson was originally charged in February with single counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties and aggravated indecent solicitation against one child who was reportedly 6 years old when abuse allegedly started in 2016.
Prosecutors later replaced a solicitation count with an indecent liberties count against the 6-year-old and added indecent liberties charges against Wilson when a second alleged victim, aged 5, was added to the case.
Those other charges were all dropped as part of the plea.
Wow! It's like the 5 y/o was a freebie!
Wilson faces a minimum 25 years in prison. He could also have lifetime postrelease supervision and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Sentencing is at 9:30 am.
N.J. senators file complaint against judge for comments in child sexual assault case
by Anna Orso
The Philadelphia Inquirer
A handful of New Jersey Democrats have filed a formal complaint with a state board, requesting that it investigate a Middlesex County family court judge who has come under fire for comments she made in a child sexual assault case.
Four state senators on Friday submitted the complaint to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, stating that Superior Court Judge Marcia Silva “undeniably weakened the integrity of the New Jersey court system” last year when she ruled against prosecutors who had requested to charge as an adult a 16-year-old boy accused of raping a 12-year-old girl.
In making her decision, Silva said that “the victim did not suffer any physical or emotional injuries as a result, other than the ramifications of losing her virginity, which the court does not find to be especially serious harm in this case.” Prosecutors said the girl told police the accused “removed her clothing, grabbed her hands, and while wearing a condom, penetrated her with force.”
Silva’s comments, which made national headlines, were revealed in an opinion last month by a state appellate court, which reversed her decision, finding she overstepped in weighing the merits of the case rather than judging the validity of the prosecutors’ request to move the case to adult court.
Silva could not be reached for comment. The Middlesex County Democratic senators who filed the complaint — Bob Smith, Joseph Vitale, Linda Greenstein, and Patrick Diegnan — wrote in the complaint they believe an investigation may result in Silva’s removal from the bench.
The defendant, who hasn’t been publicly identified, is detained in the Juvenile Detention Center pending a detention hearing in adult court.
Last week, state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen) called for the removal of both Silva and Judge James G. Troiano, a Monmouth County judge whose ruling in a similar case was also overturned by the appeals court last month.
Troiano last year ruled to keep a teenager — accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a pajama party and filming it — in the juvenile system, at one point citing the boy’s “good family,” high test scores, and status as an Eagle Scout.
Weinberg called the comments “appalling" and said that “having two cases like this is cause for grave concern in the state of New Jersey.” She also urged “additional corrective measures,” and floated requiring training for judges who manage cases of sexual assault.
Pastor Guilty of Sex Trafficking Children Asks Judge to “Have Mercy” on Him
BY HEMANT MEHTA
Patheos
Last May, an Ohio pastor pleaded guilty to multiple counts of child sex trafficking. Kenneth Butler was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison for his role in sexually assaulting underage girls (plural), including one who was a foster child and a previous victim of sexual abuse.
The details were even more disturbing than the charges themselves. The three men basically passed the girls between each other like playing cards, raping them, then discussing how much fun they had.
The two other pastors involved in the trafficking ring didn’t plead guilty. They wanted a jury trial, which offered a possible “not guilty” verdict as well as the risk of a lengthier sentence. It didn’t work. Both of the other men were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Anthony Haynes (3rd story on link), the former leader of Greater Life Christian Center, was one of those pastors. And during his recent sentencing hearing, he urged the judge to have mercy on him because he’s really a decent guy. And isn’t the two years he spent away from his family, including his five kids, punishment enough?! (Answer: No.)
The judge thankfully didn’t fall for Haynes’ emotional argument.
“I don’t deserve life. I don’t deserve life,” Haynes said during a sermon-like speech. “Like I said, I’ve been doing life for 27 months while I’ve been away from my children and this hurts … my need today is for you to have mercy on Anthony Haynes.”
While [U.S. District Court Judge Bernard] Friedman said he felt sympathy for Haynes’ five children, they were not the ones who committed the crimes. The judge said he didn’t even think such a case would exist because of the “disgusting, horrible” things that occurred. Additionally, Haynes displayed a lack of remorse, Judge Friedman said.
He deserves at least a few months for referring to himself in the third person…
Don’t feel bad for him, though. One of the girls he abused was someone who moved in with his family as a foster child. Haynes later offered her body up to his pastor buddies. (The girl, who was 14 at the time, is 19 now and she testified at his trial.)
Don’t feel bad for his family, either. They helped cover up his crimes.
Pending in relation to this case is that of Haynes’ wife and stepdaughter. Alisa Haynes and Alexis Fortune are accused of kidnapping and threatening the girl to not testify in the trial against Haynes.
PSU professor who posted child pornography on his blog gets 2.5 years in prison in Oregon
By Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Portland State University chemistry professor who had been named Oregon’s “Scientist of the Year” was sentenced Monday to 2 ½ years in prison for possessing child pornography.
Niles Edward Lehman, 57, uploaded videos and photos of child pornography to his blog -- which was available for public viewing -- on the social networking website Tumblr, investigators said. Tumblr tipped off the FBI to the posted images and that led to Lehman’s arrest, said Deputy District Attorney Bumjoon Park.
Wow! How stupid is he?
Lehman was charged with viewing and sharing 35 illicit images of children from fall 2017 to fall 2018, although authorities said he had hundreds on his iPhone and other electronic devices of children ages 3 to 12.
During that same period, Lehman was named Oregon’s “Scientist of the Year” by the Oregon Academy of Science for his research into the possible origins of life, according to a January 2018 tweet by PSU. He had been a 17-year employee of the university at the time of his arrest in February and was placed on paid administrative leave.
A spokesperson on Monday couldn’t immediately confirm Lehman’s employment status.
He pleaded no contest Monday to two counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, and Multnomah County Circuit Judge Karin Immergut convicted him of those crimes. She dismissed the remaining counts.
Lehman declined to make any statements during the hearing. His lawyer, Michael Romano, said that unlike with some other defendants caught with child pornography, there was no evidence that Lehman molested children.
But there is evidence that children were molested on his behalf.
According to a staff profile at PSU, Lehman received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1990. He had no prior criminal history.
In addition to prison time, the judge sentenced him to five years of probation and sex offender treatment. He also must register as a sex offender.
Employee of multiple learning centers arrested
for child sexual abuse
By: Sam Benson Smith PALM DESERT, Calif.- - A local learning center that once employed a man recently arrested for child sexual abuse has issued a statement in response to the incident.
Bermuda Dunes Learning Center (BDLC) accepted the resignation 28-year-old Devin Lujan on June 29, the day after his arrest. According to BDLC, the resignation came via email and without explanation.
Lujan and fellow Palm Desert resident James Anderson, 31, were both arrested (4th story on link) on suspicion of child sexual abuse crimes on the 74000 block of Scholar Lane at 10:08 a.m. on June 28.
Anderson - Lujan
"The safety of the children entrusted to its care has always been BDLC's absolute priority and BDLC implements the most rigorous security screening measures available. All BDLC staff undergo a thorough background check, including fingerprinting, and must be cleared through both the Department of Justice and the FBI before hiring," a portion of BDLC's release on the incident read. "At the time of his hiring, Mr. Lujan was highly recommended by his prior educational employer and fully cleared through all regulated and required child abuse and criminal background checks."
BDLC is cooperating with law enforcement's investigation, and included in the release that the incident which led to his arrest did not involve any learning center student, and did not occur on any of the learning center campuses.
Lujan was was arrested for oral copulation of a minor under the age of 10, according to a Riverside County Sheriff's Department news release. Anderson arrested on suspicion of distribution of child pornography and indecent exposure. Lujan and Anderson are free on $55,000 and $35,000 bail, respectively.
According to Desert Sands Unified School District Spokesperson, Mary Perry, Lujan was also a parent-volunteer at George Washington Charter School in Palm Desert. Perry added that all parent volunteers and teachers go through a full screening process. The district is fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.
News Channel 3 learned that Lujan was also formerly a part-time employee at College of the Desert. COD spokesperson, Marion Champion, confirmed that Lujan worked at the school from January 2015 through June 2017.
"Prior to employment he (Lujan) passed a full screening and background check, as is standard protocol for all district employees. The health and welfare of children in our care is our greatest responsibility and we will be cooperating fully with local law enforcement as they investigate this case," read a statement by Champion to News Channel 3.
Public records show Lujan worked at the school's child development center in 2015 and 2016.
During BDLC's Monday forum, the center also brought into two speakers, versed in criminal prosecution and social work aspects of sexual abuse cases, to speak with parents. The center is also partnering with the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center to provide resources and training for staff, parents, and children in the coming weeks.
Kentucky teacher facing sex abuse indictment resigns
By WSAZ News Staff
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. -- A former teacher is accused of sexually abusing a student from a different school district. He resigned from his position the same day the grand jury indicted him.
Tony Clarke, 50, was a teacher at Paul G. Blazer High School, according to Ashland Independent School District Superintendent Sean Howard.Howard confirms Clarke taught carpentry construction.
The grand jury indictment was filed in Boyd Circuit District Court July 3. Clarke resigned that same day prior to his arrest, Howard said.
According to the indictment, the alleged abuse happened between April 4 and May 20, 2019.
Boyd County Commonwealth Attorney Rhonda Copley tells WSAZ the alleged victim is a student from a different school district.
The indictment alleges Clarke bought the minor alcohol then had sexual contact with the child.
Clarke is currently out of jail on a $50,000 bond.
Belton, TX man charged with child sexual assault
BY DEBORAH MCKEON | FME News Service
A 26-year-old Belton man was arrested on a warrant for aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony.
Bond for Roder was set at $200,000.
Roder allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl, who reported to a friend and then a Belton school counselor that she might be pregnant by someone she knew well, an arrest affidavit said.
The victim was interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center, and she described the alleged May sexual assaults.
In a written statement, Roder confessed to the sexual assault of the 13-year-old girl, the affidavit said. The affidavit didn’t say whether or not the alleged victim was pregnant.
Bell County Justice of the Peace David Barfield issued the warrant for Roder’s arrest.
Horse trainer's suicide has equestrian community questioning sexual abuse investigations
Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY Speaking at a big industry meeting this year in Southern California, longtime equestrian trainer Scott Matton gripped the microphone and ripped into possibly the most hated organization in his professional community.
His target was the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which opened in 2017 and is tasked with investigating and judging claims of sexual abuse in Olympic sports. Matton and many others in his line of work view this organization with intense suspicion, worried it could be used to devastate them with false sex-abuse claims – however unlikely that may be.
Of course, it could really devastate them with true sex abuse claims.
“I kind of look at this as we’re being bullied a little bit here,” Matton said, drawing applause from the ballroom crowd of fellow professional horsemen.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has made use of SafeSport mandatory for all national governing bodies in the wake of sex abuse scandals in gymnastics, taekwondo, swimming and other sports. (Photo: tomazl, Getty Images)
“I need to go out to unrated shows for the safety and welfare of myself,” he said.
Other public forums for equestrian trainers and coaches reveal similar opposition to SafeSport, an independent agency that has issued 18 lifetime bans in equestrian since March 2017, out of 285 lifetime bans overall across 50 sports. This rebellion is a big reason many trainers and some affiliated organizations are discussing a divorce from the U.S Equestrian Federation, which binds them to SafeSport rules as the national governing body recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
But others see something else that also might be at play in this talk of secession – fear and resistance to changes that are making Olympic sports safer than ever, even if they're not perfect.
“If you’re breaking away from the Olympic Movement because it is now holding participants accountable for sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and/or because you consider it burdensome to spend a couple of hours a year training on ways to identify grooming and prevent abuse, that’s rather unfortunate,” SafeSport spokesman Josh Wenderoff told USA TODAY Sports. “Of course, as we said, we listen to concerns and we’re always working to improve.”
The USOPC has made use of SafeSport mandatory for all national governing bodies in the wake of sex abuse scandals in gymnastics, taekwondo, swimming and other sports.
By comparison, the equestrian community largely has avoided such widespread disgrace except for the unmasking of legendary horse trainer Jimmy Williams, who died in 1993 and recently was accused by multiple pupils of molestation.
Unfortunately, there is no mention of the suicide alluded to in the title of this article. It does not appear to be Jimmy Williams.
Migrant kids in overcrowded Arizona border station allege sex assault, retaliation from U.S. agents
A group departs U.S. Border Patrol vans in Yuma, Arizona, on June 3, 2019.Randy Hoeft / Yuma Sun via AP
By Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, NBC
WASHINGTON — The poor treatment of migrant children at the hands of U.S. border agents in recent months extends beyond Texas to include allegations of sexual assault and retaliation for protests, according to dozens of accounts by children held in Arizona collected by government case managers and obtained by NBC News.
A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy held in Yuma, Arizona, said he and others in his cell complained about the taste of the water and food they were given. The Customs and Border Protection agents took the mats out of their cell in retaliation, forcing them to sleep on hard concrete.
A 15-year-old girl from Honduras described a large, bearded officer putting his hands inside her bra, pulling down her underwear and groping her as part of what was meant to be a routine pat down in front of other immigrants and officers.
The girl said "she felt embarrassed as the officer was speaking in English to other officers and laughing" during the entire process, according to a report of her account.
A 17-year-old boy from Honduras said officers would scold detained children when they would get close to a window, and would sometimes call them "puto," an offensive term in Spanish, while they were giving orders.
Earlier reports from investigators for the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General from the El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas detailed horrific conditions for children and other migrants held in overcrowded border stations where they were not given showers, a clean change of clothes or space to sleep. The reports from the Yuma CBP sector describe similar unsanitary and crowded conditions but go further by alleging abuse and other misconduct by CBP officers.
President Trump has pushed back against reports of poor conditions for children, and Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of DHS, which oversees CBP, has said the reports are "unsubstantiated."
In a statement about the Yuma allegations, a CBP spokesperson said, "U.S. Customs and Border Protection treats those in our custody with dignity and respect and provides multiple avenues to report any allegations of misconduct. ... The allegations do not align with common practice at our facilities and will be fully investigated. It’s important to note that the allegation of sexual assault is already under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General."
DHS had been sounding the alarm on overcrowding in border facilities for months, resulting in a $4.5 billion emergency funding bill recently passed by Congress. In Yuma, a soft-sided tent facility was opened at the end of June to accommodate overcrowding at the border station.
But in nearly 30 accounts obtained from "significant incident reports" prepared between April 10 and June 12 by case managers for the Department of Health and Human Services, the department responsible for migrant children after they leave CBP custody, kids who spent time in the Yuma border station repeatedly described poor conditions that are not pure byproducts of overcrowding. They reported being denied a phone call, not being offered a shower, sleeping on concrete or outside with only a Mylar blanket, and feeling hungry before their 9 p.m. dinnertime.
One child reported "sometimes going to bed hungry because dinner was usually served sometime after 9 p.m. and by that time she was already asleep," according to the documents.
All children who gave accounts to case managers had been held at the border station longer than the 72 hours permitted by law.
Image; The U.S. border station in Yuma, ArizonaThe U.S. border station in Yuma, Arizona.NBC News
"The children that we represent have reported being held in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions for days," said Belous.
"Our clients tell us that they have seen CBP agents kick other children awake, that children do not know whether it’s day or night because lights are left on all the time, and that they have had food thrown at them like they were wild animals.
"Our clients and all migrants deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."
Nearly every child interviewed by the HHS case workers after leaving the Yuma border station reported poor sleeping conditions. A 17-year-old boy from Guatemala reported having to sleep outside even though his clothes were wet from having recently crossed a river, likely the Colorado River.
Once he was transferred inside, the conditions were not much better. "He shared that there was not always space on the floor as there were too many people in the room. He further shared that there would be room available when someone would stand up," his report stated.
Many migrant children said they were either not given a mattress, pillow or blanket to sleep with, or were just given a Mylar blanket instead.
Image: A temporary holding facility for migrant children in Yuma, Arizona. NBC News
Other children described being scared of the officers and said the officers would get angry if they asked for anything. One child wore soiled underwear for the 10 days he was in the border station because he was afraid to ask the officers for a clean pair, according to one of the reports. Another, a 15-year-old girl from Guatemala, described the food as "gross and cold most of the time."
HHS referred NBC News to DHS for comment.
In a statement to NBC News, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said, "These allegations are very concerning and need to be fully investigated. The president has denied any problems with these detention centers — despite multiple confirmed reports to the contrary — but it is the Trump administration’s own policies that have contributed to this humanitarian crisis and this lack of accountability."
Cummings has called on McAleenan to testify about the poor conditions for immigrants at the border.
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