CA Sex Offender Gets More Than 80 Years in Prison for Kidnapping, Child Abuse
BY ERIKA MARTIN
A convicted sex offender was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 90 years in state prison after being convicted of abducting his two young children and taking them on a police pursuit through Los Angeles County in a motor home, prosecutors said.
Stephen Merle Houk, 48, was given 88 years and four months in prison after being found guilty last month of kidnapping, child abuse and detention, injuring a spouse, assault with a firearm, criminal threats, being a felon in possession of a firearm and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s vehicle, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The defendant also pleaded no contest to failing to register as a sex offender.
The lengthy police chase broke out on May 1, 2018, after Houk had been fighting with his children’s mother while the family RV was parked in Malibu, officials say.
The children, aged 3 years and 10 months, woke up when Houk pointed a loaded gun at their mother and threatened to kill her, the DA’s office said.
Houk then drove the family to a gas station before forcing the mother to panhandle outside a coffee shop in Santa Clarita, according to prosecutors.
The woman was eventually able to report that she was in distress to authorities, and deputies began pursuing the RV in the Mid-City area. The chase would end up taking authorities up the 101 and 5 Freeways and into the Central Valley, a distance of over 100 miles.
The pursuit ended after about four hours, when Houk got the motor home stuck in an almond orchard about 16 miles northwest of Bakersfield.
The children and their mother were found in the vehicle, but Houk managed to escape on foot.
Officials say he found shelter at a Kern County library and managed to avoid apprehension for two days before being found inside a railcar in Barstow. Investigators said he was trying to make it to Arizona.
Authorities said Houk was on parole at the time and a sex offender in Oregon, but he had failed to check in with his parole officer for two years.
Oregon Judicial Department obtained by the Los Angeles Times state Houk was convicted of sodomy and sex abuse in 2002.
Three Former Employees Of Maryland Special Education School Arrested On Child Sex Abuse Charges
JEFFERSON, Md. (WJZ) — Three former employees of a special education day school and residential treatment center in Frederick County were arrested Wednesday on child abuse and sexual assault charges, the county’s State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Jermaine Thomas, 35, of Frederick, Ariel Eppard, 27, of Hagerstown, and Wesley Dean, 32, of Montgomery Village, are charged with offenses involving two then-students at The Jefferson School, a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman.
The state’s attorney’s office said child protective services reached out to state police on June 5 about allegations of child sexual offenses at The Jefferson School, which serves kids and adults from age 12 to 21 with emotional and behavioral disabilities.
An investigation reportedly found evidence Thomas and Eppard committed sexual assaults on one of the victims both at the school and off-campus, while Dean allegedly committed sexual offenses involving both victims on-campus. The offenses reportedly began in late 2018 and continued into this year, officials said.
All three were school employees involved in supervising students in the residential area.
Thomas turned himself in to law enforcement Wednesday, Eppard was arrested at a second job Wednesday morning and Dean was arrested in Montgomery County Wednesday afternoon.
Thomas is charged with three counts of sex abuse of a minor and seven counts of child pornography/filming a sex act.
Dean is charged with one count of sex abuse of a minor, one count of fourth-degree sex offense by a person in a position of authority and two counts of court-ordered provider engaging in a sex act.
Eppard is charged with two counts of sex abuse of a minor, two counts of fourth-degree sex offense by a person in a position of authority and two counts of court-ordered provider engaging in a sex act.
The case is still under investigation.
The Jefferson School issued a statement Wednesday evening, saying the three employees were immediately placed on leave once the allegations surfaced and were later terminated.
Texas man arrested for alleged continuous
sexual abuse a child since 2015
By Rachelle Morrow
SAN ANTONIO – Police have arrested a man in Live Oak accused of several years of continuous acts of sexual abuse of a child.
According to police, the child told a relative about the abuse, then the relative spoke with another family member who contacted police.
Arrest documents show that police took Joshua Louis Strowger into custody for the alleged sexual abuse over the course of several years.
According to police, when the victim was interviewed, the child stated the abuse had apparently started back in 2015.
Franklin, NJ, man gets 5 years in prison for child porn
Mike Deak, Bridgewater Courier News
TRENTON – A Franklin (Somerset) man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to five years in prison for receiving images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lomere T. Walls, 27, of the Franklin Park section, pleaded on April 3 before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an indictment charging him with one count of receipt of child pornography. Martinotti imposed the sentence.
Court documents say Walls used a peer-to-peer file sharing program, which he installed on his tablet several years ago, to download videos and images of child sexual abuse.
Between July and November of 2016, law enforcement authorities downloaded dozens of videos of child pornography from Walls’ computer.
In a search warrant at Walls’ home in November 2016, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security found 149 videos and 92 images of child sexual abuse on Walls’ computer and phone.
Court records say that some of the images included girls as young as 5 to 7 years old in sexual acts.
Walls admitted that he had been actively searching for videos and images of child pornography, which he had saved on his computer.
In addition to the prison term, Martinotti sentenced Walls to five years of supervised release.
Walls had been free on $100,000 bond and was confined to his home since his arrest in August 2017. He had to wear a monitor and was subject to polygraph tests to determine if he was following the terms of his release.
Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.
The investigation was also assisted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.
Cortland, NY, D.A. Announces Conviction Of Man Found Guilty Of Child Sex Crimes
This is at least the 5th story I have done out of Cortland County which has a population of less than 50,000 people. Must be something in the water.
Cortland County District Attorney Patrick Perfetti yesterday (September 3) announced the conviction of 32-year-old Matthew Price, who was found guilty of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child and several other sexual offense felonies.
Price has been on trial for a June 2017 incident, in which he repeatedly and forcibly raped, sexually assaulted and sexually abused his young victim.
Following his conviction, Price was remanded to the Cortland County Jail without bail and is scheduled for an October 29 sentencing.
He faces a minimum of 10 years to life and will have to register as a sex offender.
Man charged with child sex abuse in Queensbury, NY
QUEENSBURY — A western New York man was jailed Tuesday for allegedly sexually abusing a child in Queensbury late last year, police said.
Ryan M. Tait, 21, of Pittsford, was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, after an investigation by State Police into allegations he had sexual contact with a child he knew last year, officials said. State Police were contacted last December.
Tait was brought to Warren County to be charged Tuesday, arraigned and sent to Warren County Jail for lack of bail.
Man wanted on child sex abuse charges in Texas
arrested in Hampton, Tnn
CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – A man wanted by Texas authorities for child sex abuse charges has been arrested in Carter County.
According to a Carter County Sheriff’s Office report, Norman McKinney, 50, was arrested in Hampton on Tuesday.
The report shows McKinney was wanted on an active warrant in Andrews County, Texas.
He is charged there with First Degree Felony Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child Under 14.
Carter County deputies have also filed Fugitive from Justice charges against McKinney.
Jail records show McKinney is being held without bond in the Carter County Jail.
Group home owned by Greensboro, N.C. deputy police chief faces allegations of child sexual abuse, possible cover-up
By Sayaka Matsuoka
Triad City Beat
Allegations of sexual abuse at a group home co-owned and run by Greensboro police Deputy Chief James Hinson calls into question whether there was a cover-up of the incident at a time when Hinson is potentially in the running for the department’s top position.
A recent report by the state Division of Health Service Regulation uncovered allegations of sexual abuse against at least one minor at Center of Progressive Strides, a group home co-owned and run by Greensboro police Deputy Chief James Hinson.
The report, dated July 31, goes into vivid detail about allegations of sexual abuse by a former staff member at the group home, which serves youth and adolescents under 21 years of age with mental-health issues. The report lists eight counts of deficiencies on the part of the organization, including failure to complete and submit an internal investigation into the alleged acts, failure to have an adequate number of employees during each shift, and failure to report the incidents to law enforcement or the county department of social services as required by law. The report also includes contradictory accounts between the agency and the victim’s mother regarding a signed statement that the victim’s mother said was falsified by agency staff.
Hinson co-founded the group home in 2006 and runs the facility with Vice President Kevin Chandler according to annual business reports filed and signed by Chandler.
Hinson joined the police department in 1991 and commands the investigative bureau, which oversees the criminal investigations division. The branch includes the family victims unit which is in charge of investigating all cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and crimes against juveniles.
The residential building that once housed the group home is currently vacant, according to the property owner. (photo by Sayaka Matsuoka)
The report, which spans 54 pages and can be found in its entirety online, alleges that Hinson and Chandler dismissed the allegations brought forth by a 15-year-old male client who claims that a staff member sexually abused him on two separate occasions. The victim is referred to as “client #2” in the report.
The report does not explicitly list the client or Hinson or Chandler by name. However, the report repeatedly refers to a person listed as “Licensee #1,” who holds the position of co-owner and president of the organization, currently Hinson. “Licensee #2” is listed as the co-owner and vice president, or Chandler.
Both Hinson and Chandler, who were reached by phone on Monday, declined to comment for this story.
Additional persons referenced in the report include a “qualified professional,” or an unidentified former staff member who was hired by the group home in 2017 and as of July 31, no longer works for the company. The alleged abuser is listed as “former paraprofessional staff,” aka “FS #11,” in the report.
There are many more details on the Triad City Beat.
Pennsylvania man sentenced to up to 132 years in prison for sexual abuse, torture, and imprisonment of 4 children
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.– A Lancaster Township man was sentenced to serve up to 132 years in prison for the sexual abuse, torture, and imprisonments of four children.
Donald Moyer, 64, was sentenced to 56-132 years in prison on Monday, two months after he was convicted of 25 charges at trial, including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, and false imprisonment.
In court, Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick told jurors that the victims suffered in a “living hell,” often times being locked in a room for extended periods and then raped by Moyer.
In some incidents, Haverstick said that Moyer sexually abused the children as punishment.
One of the victims reported taking food from a refrigerator because they were hungry, and Moyer responded by beating the child and taking them into a room where they were sexually assaulted.
Moyer called Haverstick a liar and claimed he did not beat or starve the children. “And I didn’t do sex stuff either,” he told the judge.
A school principal testified at trial that the children often attended classes dirty and starving. Witnesses testified that the refrigerator at the home often had a lock on it; there were numerous locks throughout the home.
In a sentencing memo filed with President Judge Dennis Reinaker, ADA Haverstick outlined a number of aggravating factors to include:
– Mental capacity of the victims: They have IQs ranging from 48 to 71.
– Unusual cruelty: The victims were beaten with weapons, locked in rooms and starved.
– Repeated abuse: One victim testified the abuse happened “too often to count.”
– Intimidation: The children were threatened further abuse if they disclosed what happened.
– Lack of remorse: As the jury exited the courtroom after rendering a verdict, Moyer shouted, “It’s not true!”
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