Man admits to committing a sex crime against a 12-y/o girl - gets 16 months
By HANNAH FRYLA Times
An Orange County man who admitted committing a sex crime against a 12-year-old girl he met on the Tinder dating app will spend more than a year behind bars, court records show.
Sean Rickard, 22, of Anaheim pleaded guilty Wednesday to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and was immediately sentenced to 16 months in county jail.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed three counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and one count each of distributing pornography to a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct and luring a child with the intent to commit a crime, according to Orange County Superior Court records.
The girl told police she had posed as a 19-year-old woman on the app when she began talking to Rickard roughly a year ago. A few weeks before Rickard’s arrest, the girl told police she admitted to him that she was only 12. Santa Ana police say that didn’t dissuade Rickard from meeting her, though.
Rickard picked up the girl and took her to a parking lot in Santa Ana, where the sexual activity occurred. The preteen reported the incident two days later to police.
After learning that Rickard had used Snapchat to communicate with the girl, detectives posed as her and began chatting through the app. Authorities said Rickard thought he was communicating with the girl and unknowingly sent a video to detectives of himself masturbating.
He also made plans to meet the girl later that night “for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity,” authorities wrote in a news release at the time. Detectives set up a sting operation at a clothing store in Anaheim in February and arrested Rickard after he pulled into the parking lot.
And none of that counted for anything in yet another sweetheart plea deal. I hate plea deals. It seems the defense lawyers almost always win.
NY man sexually abused 2 children
over 4 day span this summer
By Catie O'Toole | cotoole@syracuse.com
NEW HAVEN, N.Y. -- Oswego County sheriff’s investigators say a 56-year-old man sexually abused two children over the course of four days this summer.
Paul R. Allen, of 1099 county Route 35 in the town of New Haven, was charged Thursday afternoon following an investigation into the sex abuse allegations, according to a sheriff’s report.
Allen was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sexual abuse; four counts of endangering the welfare of a child; and three counts of forcible touching.
The alleged sex offenses occurred between June 30 and July 3, and involved two minors, the sheriff’s report said.
Allen was arraigned in Mexico Town Court and sent to the Oswego County jail on $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond. Jail records show Allen has since been released from jail. He is scheduled to answer to the charges this Thursday in New Haven Town Court.
Seems like an awfully low bail for sexually abusing 2 children so recently.
Suspended New Jersey Deputy Facing
Federal Charges in Teen Sex Case
NJ.com reports that 33-year-old Joshua Padilla of Eatontown was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania on charges of producing, distributing and possession child pornography in relation to the video.
The Middlesex County officer, who was suspended without pay, was charged in eastern Pennsylvania's Northampton County in February with unlawful contact with a minor, obscene materials and child sex abuse.
State police say after a tip about the alleged 2018 sexual contact, Padilla was arrested in a sting in which an agent posed as a 14-year-old girl.
North Carolina man faces six-figure bond in
Myrtle Beach child sexual assault case
BY ALEX LANGA 49-year-old man sexually abused a child for years, according to Myrtle Beach police.
Officers arrested Billy Ray Smith, of Concord, North Carolina, and charged him with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $400,000 bond, jail records show.
Police say the abuse occurred between 2007 and 2013 at a mobile home, according to arrest warrants. The victim was between 6 and 11 years old.
Officers said Smith assaulted the girl multiple times, including instances where he bathed her.
First-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Third-degree can be punished by up to 15 years incarceration.
Colorado Springs, CO – VillaSport Employee Accused of Abusing 2 Children
The Legal Herald
VillaSport Athletic Club & Spa
Callins’ arrest affidvait alleges that he asked the two girls to touch his “ticklish spot” – a term he used to refer to his crotch. According to the affidavit, the two girls did so because they did not understand the sexual nature of what he had asked.
The alleged incident occurred in 2018, according to the documents. However, it wasn’t reported to the police until February 2019. The court documents say that Colorado Springs police contacted the gym in March and that the general manager declined to provide employment records without a warrant.
Obviously very concerned about the welfare of children on his premises.
The police returned with a warrant 15 days later and, according to the court documents, employment records confirmed that the alleged victims were at VillaSport several times while Callins was on the clock.
The affidvait says that Callins was fired from VillaSport on November 13, 2018.
That's 8 months after the police contacted VillaSport. 8 months in which this guy could possibly abuse many more children. Good grief! I see some pretty good potential lawsuits here.
Don’t Cut Deal With Teacher Accused of Molesting Student
Chicago Parents Urge Prosecutors
Alex V. HernandezBlock Club, Chicago
LINCOLN SQUARE — Parents at Waters Elementary in Lincoln Square are worried a former teacher accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl he once taught could get a light punishment if convicted — and they’re urging Cook County’s top prosecutors not to cut a deal.
Jason Gil, of the 3000 block of North Kostner Avenue, was a bilingual math teacher at Waters until his arrest earlier this year. He’s accused of molesting a Skokie girl he once taught and had continued to tutor outside of school.
Since his arrest, Gil has been held at Cook County Jail (13th, 2nd last story on link) after being denied bond by Judge Anjana Hansen.
Ahead of Gil’s next hearing, over 150 parents, teachers and neighbors signed a petition asking Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to not offer him a plea deal for a reduced punishment.
“Some parents had attended the last hearing on June 27 for Mr. Gil and while we were in the hallway at the courthouse we heard the defense attorney and prosecutor talking about a possible plea deal,” said Eileen Favorite, a parent at Waters with children entering fourth and seventh grades. “That’s very disappointing and disturbing to the community.”
To me too, I hate plea deals. Unless the victim(s) are very fragile, they should never favor the perpetrator the way that most of them do. It's not fair to the victim.
Parents at the school got together and decided to write a letter to Foxx and other city and county officials. The letter was sent out Thursday, and their petition is now online.
“CPS hasn’t really followed through letting the community know what is going on. So we as parents started following the case and going to hearings,” said Sol Hinami, a Waters parent with children going into second and fourth grades. “And while we were going to these hearings we saw that it looked like [Gil] may get a very light sentence.”
Hinami says Gil’s defense attorney has been arguing in court that the former teacher is a “well loved member of the community.”
“But the community doesn’t like pedophiles. We don’t want to be used as part of his defense so he can get a lenient sentence,” Hinami said.
Pedophiles are frequently well-loved. They tend to be gregarious and very popular. It's part of their grooming of everyone so they are not suspected of being the evil person they really are.
The elementary school at 4540 N. Campbell Ave. serves 569 students and is known for its fine and performing arts, technology and ecology programs.
Gil was removed from his teaching position with CPS after he was taken into custody by Skokie Police on Feb. 10 on felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault, solicitation to meet a child, solicitation of child pornography, possession of child pornography, distribution of harmful materials and grooming, according to the Sun-Times.
The 42-year-old is accused of starting to sexually abuse a 13-year-old student since at least 2017 and continuing to do so though 2019. Gil reportedly kissed the student in a classroom, asked her to send naked pictures of herself to him, and was engaged in “sexual activity” with the girl in his car and at her home when parents weren’t home over that two-year period, prosecutors say.
Emily Bolton, a CPS spokesperson, said its investigation is still ongoing and to the best of the district’s knowledge, the allegations do not involve a student currently enrolled at a CPS school. “If we become aware of an allegation involving a student currently enrolled at CPS, the district will ensure it is fully investigated,” she said.
Representatives from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said they understood the school community’s concern about the resolution of the case. “The matter is pending litigation and we have not engaged in plea negotiations,” the statement said.
Barry Sheppard, Gil’s attorney, worries the letter parents are circulating will prejudice the public against his client in the early stages of trial proceedings. “We haven’t even completed all of the discovery yet,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard said he is still trying to get Gil out on bond, and said he’s presented the court many letters of recommendation for him. “He is a University of Chicago graduate and quite an accomplished person,” Sheppard said. “He’s been sitting in Cook County Jail and it’s been a very difficult time for him and his family.”
And who's fault is that? I pity his family, but their suffering must be part of the reason for men to refrain from pedophilia.
But parents at the school fear the outcome of Gil’s trial could set precedent for future instances of people charged with sexually abusing a child. And that’s why parents from the Waters community will continue to attend every hearing of Gil’s trial.
“We just want the prosecutor to take this seriously, even if it is just a first offense, and prosecute him to the fullest extent,” Waters parent Angie Schlater said.
Schlater has one child going into eighth grade and another in high school who had Gil as a teacher for three years at Waters.
“To Kim Foxx, we are paying attention and we want all kids at CPS to be protected and feel safe. We’ll be holding the state’s attorney accountable in this case,” she said.
Gil is expected to appear at the Skokie courthouse again on July 26.
I can't help but wonder if Jeffrey Epstein's epic sweetheart deal may cost many pedophiles the opportunity to get light sentences for horrific crimes? We can always hope.
Enon, OH, man indicted in child sex abuse case
By Riley Newton, Staff Writer
Springfield News-Sun
An Enon man has been indicted in connection to a child sex abuse accusation.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office began their investigation on June 15 when a report of sexual contact and conduct with a minor was filed with their office, according to an affidavit filed with Wiggin’s indictment. A forensic interview was conducted with the child at the Clark County Child Advocacy Center on June 24, the affidavit said.
“Victim disclosed at the age of 9, (Wiggins) began performing (a sex act) on her and making her (perform a sex act on him)..” the affidavit said. “The child disclosed these acts occurred more than 10 times, stopping when she was approximately age 12.” The victim was known to him and the assaults stopped about four years ago, the affidavit said.
Pedophiles often stop abusing their victims when puberty sets in. Their perversion requires a higher degree of perceived innocence in their victims.
Alabama child sex predator sentenced to
615 years behind bars: Reports
by Chris AgeeCrime Online
A judge in Alabama handed down a centuries-long prison term following the conviction of 35-year-old Raven Smith on multiple child sex counts.
According to Breaking 911, Houston County Circuit Judge Todd Derrick decided 615 years would be an appropriate sentence for the sexual abuse of multiple young children.
Furthermore, the judge coordinated the sentences such that Smith will likely never be eligible for parole.
In light of the staggering penalty, the mother of one victim said she was grateful that Derrick took her testimony into account.
Emotions ran high throughout the trial, including the final sentencing phase. In addition to relatives of the victims, Assistant Houston County District Attorney J.T. Jones was obviously fighting back tears as he detailed the horrific details of the crimes, as reported by WTVY.
“When you deal with cases that involve children, particularly young children, it’s going to hit your heart strings every time,” he said. “You get to know them and you feel the pain they go through.”
Little information is available on this creeps atrocities, but one source claims rape and sodomy were involved over a period of years. I like that this sentence ensures the children can grow up without fear of ever meeting him again.
Houston Co., AL
Deerfield, NY, man sentenced to prison for
child sex abuse
By Greg Mason / gmason@uticaod.comUTICA — Deerfield man Rodney Westbrook, who admitted to sexually abusing a child, will spend the next three years of his life in prison.
As part of the sentencing, Judge Robert Bauer issued orders of protection to five different individuals. In addition, Westbrook will be registered as a sex offender.
“I’m going along with this sentence in no small part because it will spare the child victims from having to relive what you put them through,” Bauer said to Westbrook during Monday’s proceeding. “I’m also cognizant of the fact that at 78 years old, you may not survive prison. That’s entirely a situation of your making.”
We really need a good study to determine whether children are harmed worse by testifying against their abuser, or by not having the opportunity to do so. Did I mention, I hate plea deals? This is often the excuse for a plea deal and there are certainly times when it may be a valid reason. But to assume that it is always better is just plain wrong. The strength and courage that it takes for some kids to testify serves them well the rest of their lives as they recover their damaged souls.
A mother of one of the victims and three other victim impact statements were read in court before the judge delivered his sentence. Standing beside his attorney before the judge, Westbrook mostly stared straight ahead as the statements were read. He said he has accepted responsibility.
The woman — who said she was speaking not only for her 8-year-old daughter, but for other families, as well — spoke to the impact Westbrook had on her daughter.
“Innocent children have been hurt and abused and will never be the same,” she said. “They are forever damaged by this man’s behavior.”
Deerfield, NY
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