U.S. Marshals recover 8 missing, endangered children in Indianapolis
Several agencies, including IMPD and the Indiana Department of Child Services, joined the U.S. Marshals Service in "Operation Homecoming," from Aug. 31-Sept. 4.
Author: WTHR.com staff
INDIANAPOLIS — Police recovered eight endangered children after an operation with U.S. Marshals last week.
Several agencies, including IMPD and the Indiana Department of Child Services, joined the U.S. Marshals Service in "Operation Homecoming," from Aug. 31-Sept. 4. The children, who between the ages of 6-17, were determined to be among the "most at-risk and challenging recovery cases in the area," the U.S. Marshals said. The children were at high-risk due to being victims of child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sex abuse, physical abuse and medical or mental health conditions, the agency said.
Federal investigators also arrested one adult in the operation, which was carried out throughout the Indianapolis metro area. That person was arrested on allegations of parental kidnapping, intimidation, weapons possession and custodial interference.
The eight children were turned over to DCS to provide assistance for the victims and place them in homes. They had all been reported missing by local police and were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which also assisted with the operation.
Agents used information including last-known addresses for the children, addresses of their friends' homes and their schools to begin the investigation.
It was the first operation of its kind conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southern District of Indiana. Several similar operations have recently recovered dozens of missing children nationwide, including in Georgia and Ohio.
Great work, this needs to be happening in every county in America, at least monthly.
“The Marshals are committed to assisting state and local agencies with locating and recovering endangered missing children to help prevent their falling victim to crimes of violence and exploitation,” said Dan McClain, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Indiana. “The message that we wish to convey to the missing children and their families is that we will use every resource at our disposal to find you.”
The U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit and Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with the Indiana Fusion Center also assisted in the operation.
Idaho man indicted on 9 felony child sex abuse charges;
held in 2C jail on $500K bond
By OLIVIA HEERSINK oheersink@idahopress
CALDWELL — A Nampa man is being held in the Canyon County Jail on a $500,000 bond following his indictment last week on nine felony child sex abuse charges.
Court records show the charges were alleged to have occurred in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2018. It is unclear if the same victim or multiple were involved. A no-contact order has been filed, barring him from contacting any victim(s) or anyone under 18.
Mcdonough's arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16 before 3rd District Judge Christopher S. Nye. Mcdonough is represented by Nampa defense attorney Chad William Gulstrom.
If convicted, child sexual abuse of a minor under 16 carries a penalty of up to 25 years in prison; lewd conduct with a child under 16 carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
Attorney General announced Greenville Co., S.C. man arrested
for sexual abuse of a minor
Anisa Snipes
COLUMBIA, SC (FOX Carolina) - On Tuesday, SC Attorney General Alan Wilson said a man from Greenville County was arrested after he was accused of distributing files of child sexual abuse material.
Attorney General Wilson said 26-year-old Trent Cornell Bewley was arrested on Sept. 3 after investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to him.
Wilson said Bewley was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
Youngest of three Berrys pleads guilty to child sex abuse in Cortland, NY
2 and 4 y/os involved
BY SARAH BULLOCK
Cortland Voice
A city man pled guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting a young boy under the age of 11 in exchange for a prison sentence of 12 years with 20 years of post-release supervision.
Jonathan S. L. Berry, 26, formerly of Pendleton Street, admitted to performing oral sex on the boy last fall. Berry was charged in November (12th story on link, I think) with performing sexual acts on three young children: a 2-year-old boy, a four-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.
Berry pled guilty Thursday to one count of felony, first-degree criminal sexual act as part of the plea bargain; the charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years and 20 years of post-release supervision. Berry’s brother and sister-in-law are also facing unrelated child sex abuse charges, but are being prosecuted in federal court.
Campbell warned Berry he could face civil confinement, such as forced residence in a state psychiatric facility or especially strict parole supervision in the community, after he completes his prison sentence. Civil confinement would continue indefinitely until the state Mental Health Office or the court determines Berry is no longer a threat to others, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. To qualify for civil confinement, Berry would have to be diagnosed with a “mental abnormality” that predisposes them to sex crimes and urges that are especially difficult to control, according to the division.
While civil confinement is a possibility, less than 3 percent of sex offenders are forwarded to civil management proceedings, the division notes.
Campbell noted she cannot know if Berry will qualify. “I do not have a crystal ball,” she told Berry. “I cannot predict what will happen in the future.”
Jonathon Berry appears to have some delayed development issues. See the comments on the link above for more information. I hope they do a thorough pre-sentence investigation into his mental capacity.
City police arrested Berry in November after an investigation sparked by a disturbance at a Pendleton home, according to The Cortland Voice archives.
Police responding to the home determined Berry had pushed a 32-year-old woman down a flight of stairs, punched her television and threw it out a window, according to the Cortland Police Department. The woman told responding officers that she suspected Berry of abusing three children they were acquainted with, said Lt. Michael Strangeway in December.
Berry was originally charged with eight felonies: three counts of first-degree sexual abuse for engaging in sexual contact with a person under the age of 11, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse for engaging in sexual contact with a person under the age of 13 when the actor is over the age of 21, one count of first-degree criminal sex act against a person younger than 11 and one count of first-degree criminal sex act against a person younger than 13 when the actor is over the age of 18. Berry was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Berry’s brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence Berry and Brittany Berry, are also facing child sex abuse charges in federal court for creating pornography using a three-year-old in August and September 2018, according to the Department of Justice. Brittany Berry sent a video and a picture to Lawrence Berry of the abuse over the internet, the DOJ stated in a press release.
Brittany Berry pled guilty in October in federal court to one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the DOJ. Berry faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison on each of the six counts of conviction.
Lawrence Berry was also federally charged with conspiring to create child pornography, the DOJ stated. Both federal cases are still pending.
Oakwood, Ga. man sent video of child sexual abuse
via social media, authorities say
Nick Watson
The Times
An Oakwood man is behind bars after authorities say he transmitted a video of child sexual abuse via social media.
Hall County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a tip Aug. 12 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children while working with the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children task force, authorities said.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Aguilar-Ramirez's residence Wednesday, Sept. 2. Authorities said Aguilar-Ramirez had the video on his cell phone and sent it through social media in May, though Booth did not say who the intended recipients were.
“At this time, there is no evidence indicating the video was produced locally or involved a local victim,” Booth said.
Aguilar-Ramirez was charged with two counts of electronic exploitation of a minor, and investigators are still looking through Aguilar-Ramirez's phone, Booth said.
He was booked Wednesday into the Hall County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
Pittsburgh man gets lengthy term for child sex abuse
at mom's daycare
by Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who sexually abused children at a daycare center his mother ran at her Pittsburgh home has been sentenced to several decades in prison.
David Tyus received a term of 44 to 88 years on Wednesday.
He was convicted in March on numerous child rape and other sex assault charges.
Authorities said Tyus assaulted children attending the Friendships Play House daycare, as well as a 17-year-old girl who was in the house when no small children were present.
His mother pleaded guilty in July 2019 to child endangerment for leaving children alone with her son when he didn't have required clearances.
She was sentenced to probation.
So, as I have warned so many times, never leave your children in a daycare where men, or teen boys, are present. Nor allow boys to babysit your children. There may be some perfectly fine people out there, but there are dozens and dozens of stories like this on this blog.
Boulder, Colo, man, a R/W extremist, sentenced for thousands
of child sex abuse and torture images
by: KDVR Web Staff
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — A Boulder man arrested last summer has been sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison for possessing thousands of images and videos of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn announced Friday.
Authorities said they found more than 12,000 images and 200 videos depicting child pornography on his primary phone. They found tens of thousands of similar images on other devices inside his home, including a thumb drive.
“The child pornography on the thumb drive and both of the defendant’s phones included images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and torture of toddlers and infants,” Dunn’s office said in a statement issued Friday.
Additionally, during the sentencing hearing, evidence was presented that Gilreath had posted “hunting guides” online targeting Jews, Muslims and other groups.
Moreover, during a search of Gilreath’s home, agents found a full-size Nazi flag, materials about the Oklahoma City bombing and a T-shirt with Timothy McVeigh’s face on it.
“Agents also found hand-written notes bearing the names and addresses of 15 Mosques, Synagogues, religious centers and other locations, all less than 35 miles from the defendant’s apartment,” Dunn’s office said.
In May 2019, Gilreath tried to buy a gun, but was unable to following a query into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
The purchase was denied because he was previously adjudicated as a “mental defective or committed to a mental institution” on March 21, 2016, according to an affidavit.
Background checks may have saved many lives right there!
Gilreath was apprehended in July 2019 after he left his unlocked iPhone on an RTD bus, leading authorities to arrest him, court records show.
“While one image of child pornography is horrific, tens of thousands of images and videos in the possession of one person is almost incomprehensible in its depravity and wickedness. While we can never return the lost innocence that this defendant has stolen, this sentence ensures that he can no longer contribute to the market for these images,” Dunn said on Friday. “Mr. Gilreath was also a credible threat to various religious communities in Colorado. They can now rest assured that that threat has been stopped for at least a very long time.”
According to a search warrant, Gilreath told federal authorities he did not “label himself a white supremacist,” but wanted the “white race to win at life,” by having money and property while preventing others from obtaining those things.
The case was investigated by the Denver FBI office with support from the Boulder Police Department, RTD and the Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensic Lab.
In addition to the prison term, Gilreath was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.
15 years is not long enough. The judge should have cancelled the plea deal and sentenced him to twice what he got.
Astoria, Ore. man sentenced to prison for encouraging child sex abuse
By Nicole Bales, The Astorian
An Astoria man was sentenced Wednesday to 2 1/2 years in prison for charges related to encouraging child sex abuse.
He was arrested in February 2019 after the sheriff’s office said he showed up at a local park for what he believed was going to be a sexual rendezvous with an 11-year-old boy.
Deputies had been posing as the boy and the boy’s 40-year-old babysitter online after a local resident reported a person was using the dating application Grindr to solicit sex with children in exchange for child sex abuse imagery.
Zamora-Rodriguez was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in July 2019 at the Clatsop County Courthouse in Astoria after a hearing related to the charges.
Federal agents used what appeared to be pepper spray on people who were trying to escort him away. He was taken to a federal detention center in Tacoma, Washington.
Zamora-Rodriguez’s detention was cited by civil liberties advocates at a rally in August 2019 in Washington County. Advocates called on Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters to issue an emergency rule prohibiting ICE arrests at or near county courthouses. There were also concerns raised about ICE using administrative warrants to detain people in courthouses.
Walters enacted the rule in November prohibiting ICE from detaining people at state courthouses without a judicial arrest warrant.
She said in a statement that “arrests in courthouses have interfered with judicial proceedings and removed criminal defendants before they have been sentenced or completed their sentences.”
Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas ordered ICE in December to release Zamora-Rodriguez to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office for his scheduled court appearance and any other court appearances for the duration of the case.
Zamora-Rodriguez has been lodged in the Clatsop County Jail since December.
No comments:
Post a Comment