Alabama man indicted on 60 counts of child sex abuse
Posted By: Erica Thomason:
From The Tribune
MONTGOMERY — A Dale County man was indicted for 60 counts of child sex crimes, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Jason Park, 40, of Newton, was arrested on Feb. 25, 2020, and placed in the Dale County Jail on 10 counts of possession of obscene matter.
On June 17, a Dale County grand jury indicted Park on 43 counts of possession of child pornography, 13 counts of production of child pornography and four counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old.
“Since last November, Park has been arrested five times on a total of 40 charges,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a press release. “His bond was revoked on February 28 and he has been held in the Dale County Jail since that date.”
The indictment includes 40 charges for which he was previously arrested as well as 20 additional charges.
If convicted, Park faces the following penalties:
Possession of child pornography is a class C felony punishable by one year and one day to 10 years imprisonment for each of the 43 counts;
Production of child pornography is a class A felony, and because the three victims were less than 12 years old, it is punishable by 20 to 99 years or life imprisonment for each of the 13 counts; and
Sexual abuse of a child is a class B felony, and because the two victims were less than 12 years old, it is punishable by 10 to 20 years for each of the four counts.
Port Orford, Ore, man arrested for
Child Sexual Abuse charges
The Pilot
A 48-year-old Port Orford man has been arrested and charged with multiple child sexual abuse charges, according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office.
In a release on Friday afternoon, Detective Jaried Freeman said Christopher Alan Sypher's arrest on Thursday followed a lengthy investigation by the Sheriff's Office, aided by the Oregon Dept. of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce and the FBI. The arrest followed execution of a search warrant at Sypher's home, Freeman said.
Sypher was transported to and lodged in the Curry County Jail and is currently charged with 15 counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the 1st Degree and 5 counts of encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the 2nd degree.
All information was provided to the Curry County District Attorney and more charges are expected as additional evidence is analyzed, Freeman said.
Child sex crime charges dismissed against
Geneva Co., Ala, woman
BY MICHELE W. FOREHAND mwatson@dothaneagle.com
GENEVA - Charges against a woman arrested and charged with making a video of a 19-year-old man performing sexual acts on an infant child have been dismissed.
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation arrested Lisa Williamson, 41, and Steven Anthony Jackson, 19, both of Hartford last month.
Grandmother ‘filmed teenage son-in-law sexually abusing her baby granddaughter’ (11th story on link).
The above link IDs the woman as the child's grandmother, and Jackson as being her ex-son-in-law.
Authorities previously told the Dothan Eagle Williamson filmed Jackson performing sex acts on the child, and may have been using a subscription service online for distribution.
Williamson was originally charged with permitting a child to engage in production of obscene material, sex abuse of a child, production of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, Geneva County Assistant Attorney Amanda Smith filed a motion requesting the charges be dismissed. Smith listed in her motion that Jackson admitted he perpetrated an elaborate scheme using Williamson’s identification and fraudulent social media accounts to make it appear she was involved in the alleged crimes.
Smith said in her motion, although the matter remains under investigation, the state believes that at this time justice requires the charges pending Williamson be dismissed.
Geneva County District Judge Stephen Smith issued an order dismissing the charges against Williamson; and releasing her from the Geneva County Jail.
Jackson is charged with production of child pornography and first degree sodomy.
According to law enforcement, a tip was received regarding the pornography operation, and the couple was arrested.
Hartford, Ala
Retrial starts Monday for Great Falls, Mt, woman
accused of selling child for sex
Traci Rosenbaum, Great Falls Tribune
A Great Falls woman accused of selling a kindergarten-age child to a man for the purpose of sex faces her second trial today after the first one ended in a hung jury.
Corena Marie Mountain Chief, 43, was first accused in late 2018 of felony trafficking of persons and sexual abuse of children. The trafficking charge was later dismissed.
According to court documents, the alleged victim told police that when she was about 4 or 5 years old, Mountain Chief sold her to Eugene Edwin Sherbondy, who then raped her.
Sherbondy faces charges in this and another case involving drugs, child trafficking and witness tampering. His trials are still pending.
Mountain Chief was tried in October before Missoula County District Judge John W. Larson, but a mistrial was declared after jurors deliberated more than three hours and were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Larson is presiding over the current trial, as well.
Witnesses who testified for the prosecution in Mountain Chief's previous trial included the alleged victim, a forensic interviewer, a physician and the investigating detective.
Prosecutors claimed it was not the first time Mountain Chief tried to give a young girl to Sherbondy for her own gain, but defense attorney Larry LaFountain argued that the prosecution's version wasn't the whole story.
LaFountain referenced a 2013 forensic interview with the alleged victim in which she made no mention of abuse by Mountain Chief or Sherbondy, as well as several adult witnesses who could refute the girl's story.
Neither the adult witnesses nor the 2013 interview was heard in court.
LaFountain at one point asked for a mistrial because he said he'd based his entire defense on evidence that was ruled outside the scope of the trial the 2013 interview and a Facebook post he believed influenced the girl’s memory.
Judge Larson denied the motion.
In his closing argument, LaFountain made claims that officers ignored potential evidence and said police interviewing suspects accuse them of things until they say what law enforcement wants to hear.
Mountain Chief’s previous trial took two days, so a verdict for Monday’s trial may be available as early as Tuesday.
3 Forsyth Co., Ga, men plead guilty to
sex crimes against children
By Asia Simone Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three Forsyth County men will spend time in prison after they were convicted of various child sexual exploitation charges, officials said.
Steven Vinnenberg, 66, Robert Harley Martin, 38, and John O’Dell, 40, all of Cumming, each pleaded guilty to charges involving sex crimes against children, according to Forsyth sheriff’s office spokeswoman Stacie Miller.
The men were among 24 people who were arrested last September in connection with a child sex sting, Miller said. The four-day undercover operation, called “Operation Just Cause,” was a cooperative effort between fourteen law enforcement agencies north of Atlanta, Miller said. Those taken into custody faced charges including aggravated child molestation, child sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography.
Vinnenberg was charged with obscene internet contact with a child, and Martin was charged with criminal attempt to commit child molestation. They will serve four and eight years in prison, respectively. Vinnenberg will also serve 26 years on probation, while Martin will serve seven years. O’Dell, whose charges are not clear, will serve one year in custody and 19 years on probation.
Roger Nicholson, 44, of Gainesville, was also arrested during the operation on charges that did not involve child sex abuse, Miller said. Officials said Nicholson was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over during the sting. Investigators found meth in the vehicle, Miller said. Nicholson was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act and possession of methamphetamine.
Court overturns sexual assault conviction of
ex-Berthoud, Col, cop, grants new trial
Jennifer Hefty, Fort Collins Coloradoan
A Colorado appeals court last week overturned the 2016 sexual assault conviction of Jeremy Yachik and granted the former Berthoud police officer a new trial in the case.
In its decision published June 25, the appeals court ruled that the trial court "abused its discretion" and "erroneously admitted evidence" related to Yachik's prior child abuse conviction involving the same victim. That evidence, the court said, was "irrelevant, prejudicial and encouraged the jury to convict (the) defendant based upon ... that he had a bad character" instead of convicting Yachik based on the evidence of the accused sexual assault.
Astonishing - he has a history of abusing the same child and the appeals court says that is irrelevant! OMG! Another court where the perpetrator has all the rights and the victim's suffering is completely 'irrelevant'!
In December 2016, a jury found Yachik guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust, a Class 3 felony. Yachik was sentenced in January 2017 to 32 years in prison — 16 years for each count.
The charges stemmed from a report made by Yachik's daughter as her 18th birthday neared. Prosecutors said Yachik touched his daughter inappropriately in two separate incidents between 2010 and 2012, and threatened retaliation if she told anyone what happened, according to the appellate court's ruling.
Yachik's daughter said she reported the incidents to Yachik's ex-girlfriend in 2014.
"I was too afraid to say anything," the woman, who was then 20 years old, said while on the witness stand during the initial trial. "... I thought it was completely normal."
The charges and trial followed another child abuse case in which Yachik was accused of force-feeding his then-15-year-old daughter hot sauce, binding her hands with zip ties and hitting, spraying her with police department-grade pepper spray and kicking her for taking carrots from the refrigerator without permission. Yachik pleaded guilty in 2014 to child abuse, a Class 2 misdemeanor, and was sentenced to probation.
Yachik did not admit to the sex assault accusations but said at sentencing in the case that he recognized that things had gotten "out of hand" with his daughter.
In his appeal, Yachik argued that during his sexual assault trial — overseen by Judge Gregory Lammons — the court admitted evidence that he repeatedly subjected his daughter to "horrific acts of child abuse" as context for the sexual assault charges. He argued that the evidence was "not only irrelevant and highly prejudicial, but it encouraged the jury to convict him of the charged sexual assault crimes based on prior misconduct and 'perceived bad character.' "
Prosecutors argued that the evidence was essential because it helped the jury understand the control Yachik exercised over his daughter, why she lied to protect him and why she delayed reporting the incidents.
Before deliberations, the court instructed the jury that Yachik was not charged with child abuse in the case at hand and the evidence was admitted merely for context surrounding the incidents of sexual assault. But the court did not tell the jury that Yachik could not be convicted because he was physically abusive.
However, in closing arguments — which the district attorney's office confirmed were delivered by deputy district attorney Mitch Murray — prosecutors implored the jury to watch a video of the abuse Yachik's daughter endured and "think about what this girl went through ... and find the defendant guilty," according to the ruling.
Oops!
Deputy District Attorney Cara Boxberger concluded closing arguments for the prosecution, according to previous media reports.
Both Boxberger and Murray qualified those statements by instructing the jury to not convict Yachik simply because he was guilty of separate acts of child abuse. That evidence was presented to provide context, according to reporting by the Loveland Reporter-Herald.
The appellate court said that the physical abuse evidence "was not critical to the jury's understanding of the charged crimes because nothing in the record linked those incidents in time or circumstance." There was no evidence that she was physically abused in connection with the sexual assaults, the court continued, and she denied fearing physical abuse if she told anyone about the sexual assaults. Rather, the court wrote, the prior abuse was related to punishment for "alleged lying, poor communication and not doing her chores."
"There exists a very real probability that the physical abuse evidence 'substantially influenced the verdict' and 'impaired the fairness of the trial,'" the appeals court wrote, ruling that the evidence of physical abuse must be excluded from a new trial. "Reading through the trial transcript, one might easily forget that the defendant was on trial for sexual assault and believe he was also on trial for charges of child abuse. The prosecutor used this evidence to paint the defendant in a bad light and appeal to the jury's emotions."
Yachik's appeal went on to question the validity of one of the prosecution's "blind" expert witnesses and argue that there was prosecutorial misconduct in closing arguments.
A blind expert is one who knows little or nothing about the facts of the case and often has never met the victim. The expert, who said she has counseled convicted sex offenders and adults who have been victims of child sex assault, testified about the behaviors of perpetrators of sexual abuse, "including grooming and the use of intimidation and isolation."
"Even after they're convicted, they try to groom probation and treatment providers," she testified. "It's just their way of life for them."
Throughout closing arguments, Murray continued the theme of "grooming," referencing the expert's testimony. He then argued that the "defendant, his counsel, and the entire defense that the jury had witnessed throughout the trial was merely an attempt to groom the jury," according to the appellate court's ruling.
At this point in closing arguments, Yachik's attorneys objected. The court forbade prosecutors from arguing that defense counsel had groomed the jury but allowed them to continue arguing that Yachik himself had groomed the jury.
In its ruling, the appeals court cited prior case law that said "a prosecutor, while free to strike hard blows, is not at liberty to strike foul ones.'"
"By taking the expert's grooming testimony and arguing that it applied directly to the jury, the prosecutor crossed the line from permissible commentary on the evidence to impermissible commentary," the court wrote. "... In a sense it is a type of 'golden rule' argument that put the jury on similar footing with (Yachik's daughter): both victims of the defendant's control and grooming."
The court ruled that the grooming comments in closing arguments were "frequent and improper" because Murray was encouraging the jury to render a verdict based on their personal emotions rather than on an impartial assessment of the evidence. The comments should not be permitted at a new trial, the court ruled.
"Essentially, the prosecutor argued that, if the jury believed the defendant, it was only because he had succeeded in grooming them," the court wrote. "Who among us, after all, wants to be accused of being controlled and groomed by a criminal defendant on trial?"
"With the ruling from the Court of Appeals, our office is treating this as a pending investigation," district attorney's office spokesperson Raymond Daniel wrote in an email. "Our office has no further comment at this time."
A new trial date has not yet been set.
Berthoud Police disbanded
Yachik's initial arrest eventually lead to the resignation of Berthoud police chief Glenn Johnson amid allegations that he knew about the accusations against Yachik but did nothing. Yachik was later fired, and the case and subsequent investigations eventually led to the disbanding of the police department.
After a review of the department by his top aides in 2014, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith offered a scathing critique of the department, saying at the time it was rife with mismanagement. He cited the department buying fully automatic military-grade machine guns, hiring officers who showed “glaring” signs of illegal and inappropriate behavior, and then giving them “woefully inadequate” training.
The review also concluded that the eight-officer force and support staff struggled with "back stabbing" and fear.
“The application and hiring process for town officers allowed unqualified individuals to be hired and to maintain employment, despite glaring warning signs of inappropriate and sometimes illegal behavior,” Smith wrote to the town in 2014.
The sheriff's office took over policing of Berthoud in 2014 and maintains a contract with the town to provide police services today. The Berthoud Squad of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office includes one sergeant, one corporal and four deputies to provide patrol services in Berthoud, with two additional deputies assigned as school resource officers at the town's high school and middle school.
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