Some Good Sentences and Some Real Creeps Lead Today's USA PnP List

Randolph, Neb. mayor plea deals to avoid jail
for child sex abuse charges

by Siouxland News

RANDOLPH, Neb. — The former mayor of Randolph, Nebraska has reached a plea deal with prosecutors in a child sex abuse case.

63-year-old Dwayne Schutt has pleaded "no contest" to a single count of intentional child abuse.

A judge in Cedar County sentenced him to a single year of probation.

As part of the deal, four counts of child sex assault (7th story on link) were dropped. Court documents say the victim supports the agreement.

Schutt lost a bid for re-election last November while fighting the charges.

Ormond Beach, Fla, man convicted of 2016
child sex abuse granted bail

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood is asking people to email the chief judge and state attorney to overturn the bail decision.

by: Jarleene Almenas News Editor

Ormond Beach Observer

Just a month after he was convicted (and sentenced) to 15 years in prison for a 2016 child sex abuse case, a 61-year-old Ormond Beach man is now out on bail. 

Mark Fugler, a former professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was released from jail on Tuesday, Sept. 17, on a $200,000 bond as he awaits the completion of his appeals. 

Fugler was arrested by Ormond Beach Police on Nov. 4, 2016, after a 7-year-old girl's mother reported to police that Fugler had made her daughter watch pornographic films with him, and that Fugler had exposed his penis to her daughter. The victim's mother discovered this after finding entries in her daughter's diary.

On Aug. 15, Fugler was convicted of three counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, three counts of displaying obscene material to a minor and three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor for events that happened over a two-year period between Aug. 19, 2014 to June 20, 2016. He has no other criminal records.

“He stole a child’s innocence," said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. "He groomed our victim to do this, and yet the judicial system gives him every break.”

Chitwood is asking for residents to respectfully reach out to Chief Judge Raul Zambrano and State Attorney R.J. Larizza and implore they overturn the bail decision granted by Senior Judge R. Michael Hutcheson. 

It's not the first time this judge has granted bail to a sex offender, Chitwood said. In 2009, he granted bail to a man involved in a case with six young victims. 

“Where does it say one person is bigger than the criminal justice system?" Chitwood said. "Where does it say that he gets all the breaks and the victim gets nothing. It’s not fair. It’s not right.”

Will Raulerson, the foreman on the jury who convicted Fugler, said it's upsetting to have done his job and then have a judge "annihilate" the jury's verdict. As a father, Raulerson said it was heartbreaking to see the young victim testify and face her perpetrator years after the initial trauma. 

“As a jury, as a citizen of the county of Volusia, all my life born and raised here, it’s hard to sit back and watch stuff like this take place," Fugler said. (I'm sure she meant Raulerson here, not Fugler).

Chitwood said Fugler's defense team will likely drag out a long appeals process over years to come. Then, they'll argue Fugler is too old to go to jail. The judge doesn't have to explain his decision, he added. 

“You just make the ruling, you bring your gavel down, you get in your car, drive home to your gated community, and the rest of the people are left with that decision," Chitwood said.

I hope everyone in Ormond Beach gets behind Sheriff Chitwood and lets this judge who has compassion for criminals and, apparently, none for his victims, know how callous and arrogant he is being.

Bullard, Tx, man sentenced to life without parole

for continuous sexual abuse of a child

by: Sue Necessary

So, between the reporter's name and the perpetrator's name, I had to go directly to the KETK website to source this story. It is real, but very curious names.

SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – A Bullard man has been sentenced to life without parole for continuous sexual abuse of a young child.

William Glasscock, 74, of Bullard was convicted Wednesday in the 241st District Court.

He faced a sentence of from 25 years to life without parole.

Glasscock was arrested in January of 2018 after the child reported the abuse to her mother.

He bonded out of jail and fled to Louisiana, where he was later caught by the U.S. Marshals.

I'm hoping he's feeling utterly shattered by this sentence.

Tyler, Tx, police officer, wife arrested for child abuse
after kids confide to school official

by: Patrick Cunningham

WHITEHOUSE, Texas (KETK) – A Tyler police officer and his wife are in custody on charges of child abuse after the children reported it to a Whitehouse ISD school official.

According to Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, the children confided to the School Resource Officer that they were being abused on Friday, September 13. The children were interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center later that night.

A search warrant was done at the house that evening and signed by Judge Christi Kennedy. The home is located on County Road 2192 in Whitehouse.

During the search, visible injuries were observed on the children. CPS has taken custody of the children.

Mark and Cheryl Layne were taken into custody on Tuesday and each was charged with Injury to a Child, a third-degree felony in Texas. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

Each was being held in the Smith County Jail on $75,000 bond, but have posted and been released.

Bowie County, Tx, man's sexual abuse of a 2 or 3 y/o conviction, life sentence upheld by appellate court

by Lynn LaRowe 
Texarkana Gazette

TEXARKANA, Texas  —  The conviction and life sentence a 56-year-old man received last year at the end of a trial in Bowie County was affirmed by an appellate court Thursday.

Rickey Wayne Willis was convicted of the continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 involving a girl who testified she was 2 or 3 when the abuse began.

Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 is punishable by 25 to 99 years or life in prison and there is no parole from any sentence imposed.

Because Willis has a 1991 conviction for sexually abusing a toddler in Miller County, Ark., his punishment range was enhanced to an automatic life sentence. On appeal, Willis argued that the crime in Arkansas shouldn't have been used to enhance his punishment range in Texas.

The Sixth District Court of Appeals in Texarkana disagreed and affirmed Willis' conviction and sentence in an opinion released Thursday. The higher court agreed with the ruling by the trial judge that the prior offense in Arkansas is similar to a felony sex crime on the books in Texas.

At Willis' trial in October 2018, the jury heard not only from the victim named in Willis' indictment in Bowie County but from the victim in the Miller County case and from a cousin of Willis' who testified he sexually abused her when she was a child.

Willis is currently serving his sentence of life without parole at the Ellis Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville, Texas.

Valley, Ala, man charged with sexual abuse

of a child less than 12

by: Samuel Sachs

VALLEY, Ala. (WRBL) – A Valley, Ala. man has been arrested for sexually abusing a female victim under 12 years old. Valley Police booked Mykel Everett Kelley, 28, and took him to Chambers County Detention Facility.

Valley Police say that a report was filed with their department on Sept. 17, alleging the victim was being sexually abused while in the care of family members. Then, Valley Police Dept. detectives and agents with the Children’s Advocacy Center investigated the claim.

Police say that Kelley is awaiting a bond hearing, and that due to the victim’s age and her relationship to Kelley, no further information will be released at this time.

Jury trials set for Westminster man, Taneytown woman indicted on charges related to child sex abuse

By MARY GRACE KELLER
CARROLL COUNTY TIMES |

Jury trial dates have been set for a Westminster man and a Taneytown woman who were each indicted on charges related to child sex abuse (6th story on link).

Jeremy Blizzard, 21, was charged June 13 with alleged sexual abuse of a minor while being a household or family member to the victim, third-degree sex offense, second-degree child abuse while being a household or family member, and second-degree assault between Nov. 1, 2018, and Jan. 30, 2019, in Taneytown, according to the indictment.

Blizzard's trial dates are scheduled for Feb. 3, 4, and 5 in Carroll County Circuit Court, according to online court records.

April L. White, 39, was charged June 13 with conspiring with Blizzard to cause sexual abuse to a minor, with Blizzard being a household or family member to the victim, according to the indictment. Additionally, White was charged with conspiring with Blizzard to commit a third-degree sex offense upon the victim and contributing to, encouraging, causing, or tending to cause an act that rendered a minor in need of supervision, the indictment read.

White’s trial dates are scheduled for Nov. 14 and 15 in Circuit Court, online court records show.

Blizzard is being held without bond, while White was released on her own recognizance June 27, according to online court records.

If convicted, Blizzard could face up to 25 years incarceration for sexual abuse of a minor, up to 10 years for third-degree sex offense, up to 15 years for second-degree child abuse, and up to 10 years and/or fines up to $2,500 for second-degree assault, the indictment read. The first three charges are classified as felonies, while the fourth is a misdemeanor.

And if White is convicted, she could face up to 25 years incarceration for conspiring to cause sexual abuse to a minor, up to 10 years for conspiring to commit a third-degree sexual offense, and up to three years and/or fines up to $2,500 for contributing to the condition of a child, according to the indictment. The charges are classified as misdemeanors.

According to online court records, Blizzard is being represented by a public attorney, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. White is being represented by Finksburg-based attorney W. Bradley Bauhof, who could not be reached Thursday.

32-y/o McKeesport, PA, Sex Offender Pretended To Be Teenage Girl While Chatting Online With Teenage Boys

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A McKeesport sex offender admitted to pretending to be a teenage girl, engaging in conversation online with a 12-year-old boy and coercing him to engage in illegal sexual activity.

The Department of Justice announced Thursday Scott Joseph Payne, 32, pleaded guilty to charges of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and possession of child pornography.

He also accepted responsibility for two additional counts of coercion and enticement of a minor in illegal sexual activity and three counts of production of images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

The release said while Payne was pretending to be a teenage girl on a chat app in 2017, he persuaded the victim to produce and share still images and videos of the minor engaging in sex acts.

The release also said Payne engaged in similar communications with a 15-year-old boy in New Jersey and a 16-year-old boy in Louisiana.

Payne had sexually explicit photos and videos of the three minors when law enforcement executed a search warrant on his residence in 2017.

The 32-year-old was on probation for a 2012 conviction involving sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography. He was required to register as a Megan’s Law sex offender.

Payne will be sentenced Feb. 20, 2020.

Accused of sexually abusing ‘several’ juveniles,

Kentucky man reportedly arrested in Belize

In an apartment owned by a Belize Senator

BY MIKE STUNSON
Lexington Herald-Leader

A Kentucky man released on bail in a child sexual abuse case was apprehended in Central America Thursday, according to a Belize TV station.

Lad Duane Ottofy, 60, of Owensboro, was detained in Belize after a special branch of the Belize Police Department searched an apartment, News 5 Live reported. The apartment in which he was found belongs to Belize senator Juliet Thimbriel, Breaking Belize News reported.

NBZ Live, another Belize TV outlet, reported Ottofy will be held in the country for 48 hours before being handed over to U.S. authorities.

Ottofy was charged in Daviess County last December on four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of rape, one count of sodomy and one count of sexual abuse of a victim under 12 years old, according to court records. He was indicted by a grand jury three months later, court records show.

Ottofy allegedly abused a 12-year-old between November 2017 and December 2018, a citation says. He also had sexual contact with “several” juveniles, according to the Owensboro Police Department.

Lad posted a $25,000 bond in March, court records show.

The suspect’s brother borrowed from his own 401(k) to post the bail for Lad, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reported in July. Lad did not appear for his March 22 arraignment, the Owensboro newspaper reported.

An assistant commonwealth’s attorney told the Messenger-Inquirer in July that Ottofy was believed to have fled the country after he was released from jail.

Grant Twp., MI, man charged following

MSP computer sting

Laura Fitzgerald, Port Huron Times Herald

A 54-year-old Grant Township man is facing several felonies in St. Clair County and more in Grand Traverse County following an investigation by the Michigan State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. 

Louis Woodard was arraigned in St. Clair County on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, felony firearms, three counts of possession of child sexually abusive material and using computers to commit a crime, according to St. Clair County court records.

Port Huron Major Crimes Unit Officer James Disser said the charges stemmed from a search of Woodard's home and a forensic search of his cell phone.

Brett Nichols, detective trooper with the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit in Traverse City, said Woodard is facing charges in Grand Traverse County but has not yet been arraigned.

The arrest was made in St. Clair County on Sept. 5 by troopers from the MSP Computer Crimes Unit Traverse City Office, with assistance from the Port Huron Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, according to a news release.

Woodard was arrested following an undercover investigation in which he allegedly  engaged in online chats with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old Traverse City girl, according to the release.

Woodard allegedly sent several explicit videos and photos of himself and asked her to send photos and videos of herself. He also allegedly initiated graphic sexual conversations and made plans to attempt to meet up with the victim in person. 

The MSP investigation is ongoing, Nichols said.

Woodard is being held at the St. Clair County jail with a bond set at $5,000. He is scheduled for a preliminary examination at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in front of Judge John Monaghan.

There are many resources available to assist in keeping people safe online. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a comprehensive list of resources on their website at http://www.missingkids.org. The MSP ICAC Task Force also provides resources at http://www.michiganicac.com.

If you have information regarding possible child exploitation, report it to the CyberTipline at missingkids.org/cybertipline. 

Grant Twp, MI

Grand Forks, N.D. Man Given 40 Years

for Child Sex Abuse of 6-y/o

KVRR Staff

GRAND FORKS, N.D.–A Grand Forks man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl.

Judge John Thelen went along with the state’s sentencing recommendation for Jeffrey Krogstad, citing concerns that the 53-year-old sex offender would reoffend if given the opportunity.

Jurors found Krogstad guilty of gross sexual imposition after a three-day trial in April during which the girl testified while clutching a teddy bear.  The abuse took place from February until July 2018.


Krogstad refused to cooperate with a mandated presentence investigation, which is routinely used to determine the level of risk a sex offender poses for reoffending.

After second child sex abuse conviction,

Wicomico, MD, man gets 40-yr sentence

Rose Velazquez, Salisbury Daily Times

A 75-year-old Eden man who pleaded guilty in his second child sex abuse case will spend decades behind bars after his Wednesday court appearance.

The Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office said a judge sentenced Clarence Powell to 40 years after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree sexual offense. 

That sentence will run consecutive to the 10 years Powell is already serving after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in November 2014, which means he has been given a total of 50 years.

Prosecutors say his Wednesday plea is connected to his repeated abuse of a child younger than 10 years old over a two-year period, offenses that occurred prior to his 2014 conviction. In that case, he was accused of sexually abusing a different child who was younger than 13.


"Wicomico County is a safer place with this child predator off the streets," State's Attorney Jamie Dykes said in a Thursday morning news release.

Wicocomo Co., MD

Ninth athlete sues USA Water Polo, OC club

in Hojreh sex abuse case

Former player is latest to allege USA Water Polo

ignored 2017 complaint against coach

By SCOTT M. REID | Orange County Register

Barham Hojreh wanted the teenage female water polo players he coached to view him as a larger than life figure.

“Call me God,” a player recalled Hojreh telling her and other young players.

“Embrace this opportunity that you have with me, don’t just tolerate it … embrace me in a different way than you do with others … go deeper …. you know that I embrace you all the time and even when we are not communicating, that’s special,” Hojreh wrote players according to a court filing.

Hojreh’s embrace included sexual abuse, according to a new lawsuit filed against Hojreh, USA Water Polo, the sport’s national governing body, and International Water Polo, a local club, in Orange County Superior Court.

In filing the suit, the former player, now 21, becomes the ninth alleged victim of Hojreh, to sue the coach, USA Water Polo, and International Water Polo.

The suit is the seventh to allege that USA Water Polo failed act upon July 2017 Safe Sport report alleging that International Water Polo players had sexually abused opposing players during a Junior Olympic qualifying tournament in the Inland Empire. By failing to act, the suit alleges, USA Water Polo enabled to Hojreh to continue sexually abusing underage athletes until his arrest in April 2018. The method opposing players allege International athletes used to sexually assault them is the similar to the act that Hojreh used to sexually abuse his own players in training under the guise of coaching, the suit alleges.

“This is a textbook example of one of our Olympic governing bodies failing to conduct adequate hiring, supervision and training of those entrusted to coach youth sports,” said Morgan Stewart, an attorney for the alleged victim. “Our client was physically, emotionally and sexually abused as a direct result of their negligence. International Water Polo Club and USA Water Polo had reason to know that coach Hojreh engaged in unlawful sexually-related conduct in the past, and/or was continuing to engage in such conduct. Yet  they gave this predator access to our client and did nothing to prevent her abuse.”

Hojreh, an Irvine resident, has been charged with two-dozen felony and misdemeanor charges, including lewd acts upon a child, sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object, child annoyance and sexual battery. He has denied any wrongdoing.

“We are unaware of any new lawsuit and have no comment at this time,” said USA Water Polo in a statement. Attorneys for Hojreh and International Water Polo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the most recent filing, attorneys for the former player allege that Hojreh also rubbed his “erect penis against the victim’s body beginning when she was 14 years old.”

Hojreh also coached at University High School in Irvine and Kennedy High in the Anaheim Union High School District. Hojreh told the Register in January 2017 that he resigned at University. He was hired as the varsity girls water polo coach at Kennedy in La Palma in August 2017.

Hojreh, the suit alleges, also engaged in “abusive behavior” toward underage female athletes at University “including, but not limited to, touching female children inappropriately, engaging in verbally and physically abusive behavior towards the female minors who were players on Hojreh’s water polo team, resulting in hundreds of complaints by students and their families against Hojreh.”

Why would they tolerate hundreds of complaints. How stupid and callous is that?