Franklin County, AL, foster grandparent sentenced to prison for child sex abuse
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ala. (WAFF) - A volunteer for a foster grandparent program in Red Bay is going to prison for child sex crimes.
James Horton, 72, was sentenced to seven years for his plea deal to one count of child sexual abuse.
Prosecutors say Horton sexually abused five kindergarten children. He initially faced multiple charges (7th story on link) but pleaded guilty to one charge instead.
Prosecutors say this is the most egregious case with the longest sentence available.
Man wanted by ICE arrested in Ogden, UT,
on child sex abuse charges
By JACOB SCHOLL Standard-Examiner
OGDEN — U.S. Marshals say they arrested a man in Ogden wanted by immigration officials earlier this week on charges of sexually abusing a child.
Elmer Giovani Castro, 41, was charged on July 25 with two counts of sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, and one count of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
Castro was arrested on Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals' Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, or VFAST, without incident, according to a press release from the agency.
Castro is also reportedly wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he was supposed to be deported in August 2010, according to the release, but "remained in the United States and on the run until his arrest."
Police say Castro sexually abused a child in Ogden starting in 2008 and continuing over a seven-year period until 2015.
Castro was arrested at an address on North Washington Boulevard, according to the release.
Federal officials say ICE will deport Castro once his charges in Ogden's 2nd District Court are resolved. He is reportedly a native of El Salvador and was considered a flight risk by ICE.
Castro is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond at the Weber County Jail. His first court appearance took place Thursday morning, and his next court appearance is slated for Aug. 5 in Ogden.
NewSpring Church child sex abuse suspect
faces 10 new charges in S.C.
by Drew Tripp, ABC4 News
New criminal charges have been filed against the man accused of sexually abusing several young children while he was a volunteer childcare chaperone at the NewSpring Church campus in North Charleston.
Jacop Hazlett was indicted Thursday by a Dorchester County Grand Jury on 10 new charges related to child sex abuse, according to court documents.
According to the court case filings, the new charges include three counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and seven counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Hazlett was previously charged in November and December 2018 with 14 child sex abuse charges related to his time as a children's volunteer at NewSpring in North Charleston.
Hazlett was charged after police discovered he on multiple occasions sexually assaulted and recorded pornographic images of young children under his supervision in the church's 3- and 4-year-old daycare class.
Thursday's indictments do not specify where prosecutors say Hazlett committed the alleged abuses behind these new charges. Hazlett volunteered on Sundays at NewSpring's North Charleston campus from February 2018 until November 25, 2018.
The church doesn't allow children to attend worship services, and instead places them in age-specific childcare. But they shouldn't allow men, or boys to supervise them.
NewSpring Church officials say they were alerted November 26 to Hazlett's possible ongoing abuse of young boys under his supervision. Police were contacted to investigate, and Hazlett was arrested on an initial charge of first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor two days later on November 27.
Eight additional charges followed on Friday, November 30, and five more were filed on Tuesday, December 11 (4th story on link). With Thursday's new indictments, court records show Hazlett now faces 24 criminal charges in Dorchester County, including:
12 counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor;
10 counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor; and
2 counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Hazlett also is named as defendant alongside NewSpring Church in three personal injury lawsuits filed in Charleston County by parents who claim Hazlett abused their children at NewSpring's daycare.
North Charleston Police investigators said at the time of Hazlett's initial charges that he admitted to detectives abusing young boys while volunteering at the church, saying he was sexually attracted to them.
Later, it was revealed Hazlett has a history of child sexual abuse dating back to 2007, when Ohio court records show he was accused of kissing and inappropriately touching a 13-year-old boy. Hazlett was 17 at the time.
An original charge of gross sexual imposition against Hazlett was later lessened to attempted felonious assault as part of a plea deal, per court documents.
Additionally, Hazlett is accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old boy while serving as a youth volunteer at The Cove church in Davidson, North Carolina.
One of the lawsuits families have filed against Hazlett and NewSpring claim he was once reassigned in order for him not to have contact with children while serving at The Cove church.
Later, Hazlett was dismissed from the church over concerns about his interactions with children, the lawsuit claims.
Waco, TX, man sentenced to 30 years for 2nd
child sexual abuse conviction
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON twitherspoon@wacotrib.com
A Waco man with a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a child was sentenced to 30 years in prison without parole Thursday for sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.
Henry Reyna, 32, pleaded guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child and was facing a minimum of 25 years in prison and up to life with no parole before agreeing to a plea bargain with prosecutors.
Now that's a pretty good plea deal! So often the DA gives away the farm, but this was good.
Before accepting the plea deal, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson asked prosecutors Sydney Tuggle and Will Hix if the victim and her family had accepted the terms of the agreement. They said they had and Tuggle later read a victim-impact statement written by the girl's mother.
Reyna's attorney, Stan Schwieger, declined comment on the plea deal.
Reyna confessed to sexually assaulting the girl on multiple occasions from February 2010 to November 2010. Tuggle said she thinks justice was served in the case.
The girl's mother said in her statement to Reyna that her daughter is bright and perceptive. She said she thought she had prepared her for most of what life could throw at her.
"But nothing could have prepared her for a monster disguised as a friend," she said.
She called Reyna a "sexual predator" and said prison is too good for him.
Court records show Reyna was sentenced to six years in prison in 2011 after a conviction in Waco for sexual assault of a child.
Waco, TX, man sentenced to 20 years in
sexual assault of child
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON twitherspoon@wacotrib.com
A man who sexually abused a young girl over a five-year period was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday.
Albert Paul Rios, 33, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 20 years on each count. He will serve the sentences concurrently and must serve at least 10 years in prison before he can seek parole.
Rios was indicted in March 2018 on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and five counts of indecency with a child by contact. The continuous sexual abuse count carries a minimum punishment of 25 years in prison without parole and a maximum term of life without parole.
However, prosecutors waived the continuous count, and Rios pleaded guilty to the aggravated sexual assault of a child charges for 20 years in prison as part of his plea agreement. Court records show Rios abused the young family member from February 2012 to December 2017 beginning when she was 7.
Assistant District Attorney Sydney Tuggle said she is pleased that the plea agreement kept the victim in the case from having to testify at a trial.
Rios’ attorney, Jessi Freud, said the plea deal will help those involved start the healing process.
“Closure is important for my clients, for victims and for the system,” Freud said. “The resolution today was an essential step toward closure for all involved.”
OMG! This is the same DA that I complemented on the story immediately above. Rios must have had a way better lawyer than Heyna. 5 years of sexual abuse starting when the girl was 7 and he could be out on the streets again in less than 10 years. Unbelievable!
Newport News, VA, woman helped boyfriend
sexually abuse child for years
by: Kayla Gaskins
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Newport News woman is facing nearly a dozen charges for the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl, abuse the victim told police went on for years.
36-year-old Sarah Johnson was arrested on Wednesday. The charges against her include abduction, conspiracy, indecent liberties with child, conspiracy, sodomy, produce child porn, conspiracy child abuse/neglect, conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Newport News Police obtained a search warrant for Johnson’s house on Troy Drive. During the search they found a laptop. On it were numerous videos documenting the torment and sexual abuse of the victim.
The 15-year-old girl knew Sarah Johnson and her boyfriend Ronald Morehouse.
When Morehouse was arrested in April for soliciting a minor in another case, the victim told her dad about the sexual abuse she’d received from Morehouse for years. According to court documents, during the interviews with police the victim told them a number of the incidents were recorded on a laptop, the one found in Sarah Johnson’s home.
The court paperwork goes into detail about the abuse documented in the videos. The paperwork says in the videos, Sarah Johnson was sitting on the bed next to the victim, telling her to be quiet. At other times, Johnson’s voice is heard off-screen threatening punishment if the victim didn’t cooperate with Morehouse while he assaulted her.
Carlisle, OH, man sentenced to life in prison for
'horrific' rape, sexual abuse of children
Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati Enquirer
A Warren County man will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of raping and sexually abusing two children.
Ronald Rowland, 69, of Carlisle, abused two female victims between 2009 and 2017. Rowland was convicted Wednesday of seven counts of forcible rape, one count of rape of a child under 13 and two counts of gross sexual imposition, according to prosecutors.
“Rowland preyed on two little girls who trusted him. For years, he used that trust to his advantage to hide his horrific sexual assaults against them. He rightfully deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said.
Prosecutors said the abuse began when the first victim was 9 years old when Rowland took the victim into a shed on his property and asked her to show him her new training bra.
"Rowland reached under her shirt and squeezed her breast and nipple. He told her she was becoming a woman now," prosecutors said.
The second victim was abused from the ages of 12 to 16, prosecutors said.
"Rowland told the girl that he would be her teacher and touched her," prosecutors said. "These incidents occurred in a shed behind Rowland’s house, in his bedroom, in an addition on the back of his house, in his living room, at a rental house in Franklin and at the victim’s home."
Prosecutors said the first victim told her mother and the second victim about the abuse in March 2018. The second victim then disclosed her years of abuse, prosecutors said.
The second victim recorded a telephone call to Rowland. Prosecutors said he denied touching the first victim, but apologized to the second victim and "told her he didn’t know why he had done what he did to her."
No comments:
Post a Comment