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More than 5,500 alleged sex abuse victims of Los Angeles gynecologist
to share $73 million payout
13 Jul, 2021 14:55
A US court has approved the settlement of a class action suit ordering a multimillion-dollar payment to women allegedly abused by the same gynecologist. The doctor is accused of having taken advantage of more than 5,500 patients.
Dr. James Heaps, 64, worked at several medical centers at the University of California (UCLA) in Los Angeles for decades and, until his retirement in 2018 when management declined to renew his contract, the gynecologist had allegedly sexually abused women during appointments.
Heaps is accused of groping patients, making inappropriate comments during examinations, simulating sexual intercourse during vaginal ultrasound procedures and undressing women without consent. Victims also said he made overly frequent appointments for some of them to create additional opportunities for abuse, CBSN Los Angeles reported.
The abuse dates back to 1983, allegations suggest, and Heaps’ employer UCLA has been accused by women of not taking any action following numerous complaints from patients, failing to protect them and enabling more abuse.
Even after a formal investigation into the doctor’s alleged misconduct was launched at the university, he was reportedly allowed to carry on with appointments.
Following Heaps’ arrest in 2019, more women came forward to report alleged sexual harassment. According to the settlement that was given final approval by a federal judge this week, all potential victims will be paid an automatic compensation from UCLA of $2,500 each. Those who come forward with further specific claims of abuse can seek up to $250,000.
In a separate criminal case, the doctor, who denies any wrongdoing, is facing 21 counts of abuse by seven women. If convicted on all charges, he faces more than 67 years in prison.
“While we can’t comment on the specifics of today’s legal action, we can say unequivocally that sexual misconduct or abuse is inexcusable,” UCLA Health said in a statement on Monday. The university also earlier made changes in gynecologist appointments’ procedures at its clinics, providing supervision of a trained chaperone during intimate physical examinations of patients, unless they opt out.
Idaho man sentenced to years in prison for sexually abusing child
in Canyon County
BY JACOB SCHOLL
JULY 13, 2021 03:28 PM
A Caldwell man will spend more than a decade in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing a minor in Canyon County.
Steven Joseph Bennett, 50, was sentenced Friday to 12 years fixed in prison and 18 years of indeterminate time on one count of lewd conduct with a minor under 16, according to a news release from the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In total, Bennett could spend up to 30 years behind bars, but he’ll be eligible for parole after a dozen.
Bennett was also convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, and his sentence for that charge will run concurrently.
Bennett was charged in January 2020 after an investigation found evidence that he sexually abused a young girl multiple times at his home in Caldwell. In April, a jury found Bennett guilty on both charges.
“This lengthy prison sentence gives the victim the peace of mind that he can never hurt her or anyone again,” said Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor in a Tuesday news release.
Judge Gene Petty, who sentenced Bennett, also ordered that he register as a sex offender, provide a DNA sample to the state, and have no contact with the victim or any other young girls for 60 years. Bennett is ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 and a $5,000 civil penalty to the victim as well.
As of Tuesday, Bennett remained in Canyon County jail custody. He will be transferred to the Idaho Department of Correction to serve his prison sentence.
Former Bethel principal sentenced to 15 years for
trying to sexually entice a child
Author: Tess Williams
Updated: 3 hours ago
A former elementary school principal in the Lower Kuskokwim School District was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison on a federal charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
Christopher Carmichael (Photo via Gladys Jung Elementary School website)
During the hearing, prosecutors and the victim described a pattern of sexual abuse involving children.
Christopher Carmichael, 57, is scheduled to be sentenced next week on a separate state charge for sexual abuse of a minor, but officials said during Tuesday’s hearing that the anticipated 15-year state sentence will be served simultaneously with the federal sentence. Carmichael pleaded guilty to the state charge in April.
The parents of two girls reported to be victims of Carmichael filed a civil lawsuit against the school district in state court in Bethel. The district has denied that sexual abuse occurred. A jury trial is scheduled for November.
Carmichael, the former principal of Gladys Jung Elementary School in Bethel, was arrested in December 2019 after Bethel police partnered with the FBI to conduct an undercover investigation that showed he sent sexually explicit messages to a girl he believed to be 13 years old and that he had an ongoing relationship with a former elementary school student, according to the federal charges filed against him.
Carmichael “admitted to having a sexual attraction to children,” the charges said.
During Tuesday’s hearing, a statement from the victim was read aloud by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Doty. She detailed a pattern of grooming behavior from Carmichael and said that the relationship turned sexual when she was 9.
“He was quick to start talking to me and spending time with me,” she said. “I was only 9 and lonely -- the other girls in my classes, who I had known since first grade, would never invite me to sleepovers, birthday parties or even to sit with them at lunchtime. Principal Carmichael wanted to know my interests, hobbies, and I finally seemed to have a friend.”
Eventually, she said, Carmichael began to grope her, including while they were on the playground with other teachers nearby. She said she believed the behavior was normal because the other teachers witnessed the groping and did nothing.
She said she realized while sitting in a room with federal agents, clutching her stuffed horse while she helped record a call with Carmichael to be used in the case, that all he wanted “was for me to have sex with him as a fourth grader.”
Parents had complained about Carmichael to police at least twice in the four years prior to the FBI investigation. An Alaska State Troopers investigation in 2016 did not result in charges, although Carmichael admitted behavior to his supervisors that could have cost him his teaching certificate.
He was placed on administrative leave after the investigation and after another investigation in 2018 when he was accused of groping a different student.
Carmichael, who was with the school district for nearly 20 years, was fired after the federal charges were filed.
Prosecutor Doty said Carmichael was one in a succession of educators and caregivers who located to rural Alaska communities to gain “unfettered access to children far from the watchful eyes of society.”
“The defendant’s crimes didn’t just devastate (the victim), they didn’t just devastate the 11-year-old girl that formed the basis of the other charges in the state case, they didn’t just devastate the 14-year-old girl that he had been sexually messaging a few years ago -- it devastated the trust of the entire community in the Lower Kuskokwim School District,” he said.
The victim said in her statement that Carmichael’s actions have left her with anxiety, distrust in authority figures and fear.
“I have nightmares now sometimes, but my fear doesn’t come in the nighttime,” Doty read. “I don’t trust the world as much as I used to. I get nervous at school that someone, old or young, man or woman, will hurt me again. If they want to get to know the other students and I, is it because we’re their students? Or we as their students have the body they want?”
The girl said she wanted to see Carmichael imprisoned for life.
Her mother highlighted that Carmichael was entrusted to care for hundreds of children and said her daughter was not his first victim.
“As hard as it is to believe, my daughter is the lucky one,” she told the judge. “Principal Carmichael spoke of another girl that he got close to. Somewhere out there, there is a young woman that grew up thinking that this was normal. Perhaps she will raise her daughter and think that any abuse is normal and the cycle continues.”
Carmichael was well liked, and the mother said some people in the community have a hard time believing he committed the crimes and dismiss the severity of it.
Federal prosecutors asked that Carmichael serve 40 years in prison, and defense attorney Allen Dayan requested that he be sentenced to 15 years.
Dayan called Carmichael’s actions reprehensible but said he does not deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison. Carmichael, he said, is motivated for treatment and has taken responsibility for his actions.
Carmichael directly addressed the courtroom near the end of Tuesday’s virtual hearing. He said he had a rough childhood and had been physically and sexually abused when he was young. He said he spent his life “attempting to lead people into making good decisions for their lives.”
Carmichael said he considered that he needed to seek counseling after the first investigation in 2016, but his religious views had prevented him from doing so.
“I felt really conflicted about my behavior and I knew that there was something really wrong inside of me that I needed to address and I didn’t do it because my spiritual convictions that I allowed to get in my way.”
Carmichael sounded tearful during the hearing as he apologized to the people he’d hurt.
U.S. Chief District Judge Timothy Burgess said Carmichael’s crimes were a serious abuse of trust that affected the entire community.
“The defendant, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say, has stolen the innocence of the victims in this case,” Burgess said. “You robbed them of their childhood.”
Three federal charges, including attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Carmichael will spend the rest of his life on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.
“No child should ever have to go through this. Parents and communities entrusted Carmichael with a great responsibility, but he abused that position of trust in the most disgraceful way imaginable,” Robert Britt, special agent in charge of the FBI Anchorage field office, said in an online statement. “Carmichael will now be held accountable for his horribly disturbing conduct.”
Dozens of child porn arrests made in South Jersey and statewide
Carol Comegno
Cherry Hill Courier-Post
TRENTON — More than two dozen suspects have been arrested in another statewide investigation of child pornography crimes initiated online, the state attorney general announced Wednesday.
Is there really a standard of obscenity anymore?
Of the 31 arrests of men ranging in age from 18 to 65, 16 suspects are from South Jersey with one Gloucester County man charged with one of the most serious child pornography crimes.
All were arrested between April 1 and June 30 in “Operation 24/7,” a collaborative law enforcement effort launched to address the continued spike in reports of potential threats from child predators operating online during the COVID pandemic.
Ryan Olson, 20, of Williamstown, was one of four suspects charged with more serious, first-degree crimes. He is charged with a string of offenses, including sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault children, a crime punishable by 10 to 20 years in state prison and a $200,000 fine if convicted.
Three others are charged with first-degree crimes, such as manufacturing or attempting to manufacture child sexual abuse materials by extorting or soliciting sexually explicit images of children they encountered via gaming or social media apps.
The remaining 27 defendants are charged with possession and/or distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including, in many cases, child rape videos.
Grewal describes Olson as a student who works as an employee of online retailer. He was charged June 29 by the Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey State Police for allegedly soliciting underage girls to send him sexually explicit images of themselves.
"Olson allegedly asked underage victims to play a “game” on social media in which he offered prizes and money in exchange for sexually explicit material, with more explicit photos and videos of the victims earning more points," Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
One 15-year-old victim allegedly sent Olson a sexually explicit video of herself. He allegedly responded by sending her a sexually explicit photo of himself.
That investigation began with a referral related to a victim in the United Kingdom, according to a statement Grewal released.
In another first-degree case, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office arrested Robert Reinhart, 52, of Telford, Pennsylvania, for allegedly offering to pay $300 to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. He was arrested April 1 arrest after he traveled to West Deptford allegedly to meet the teen.
During the investigation, Grewal said Reinhart allegedly communicated via text messages with undercover detectives posing as the adult sister of the girl. The girl did not actually exist.
Olson also is facing charges of manufacturing child sexual abuse material and lesser crimes of sharing obscene material with a minor, impairing or debauching the morals of a child and possession of child sexual abuse material.
The charges against Reinhart and Olson and the other suspects are only allegations. None have been convicted of any crimes related to these cases.
Grewal said last year's spike in reported threats to children online in connection with the COVID pandemic has continued in 2021 and is on pace to exceed the 2020 total figure of 6,130.
"With young people continuing to spend more time on their electronic devices due to the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant. We urge parents and guardians to warn children about the threats that exist on social media and popular gaming sites, and to watch for signs that a child has been subjected to online abuse," Grewal advised.
The number of cyber tips to the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force about potential threats to children online — including tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) — topped 3,300 during the first six months of 2021.
The state Division of Criminal Justice led the probe with New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and seven County Prosecutors’ Offices, including Camden, Burlington and Gloucester.
The following South Jersey suspects also were arrested:
Jonathan Dunston, 53, of Pemberton, truck stop employee
Eugene Kim, 20, of Evesham, student
Joshua Gamboa, 20, of Bellmawr, N.J. Unemployed and U.S. Army Reserve
Matthew Porch, 19, of Cherry Hill, student and heating air conditioning technician
Sean McMichael, 38, of Cherry Hill, employment unknown
Joshua Hunt, 28, of Paulsboro, employment unknown
Brian Lusardi, 48, of Glendora, skating rink employee
Keith Rodenbach, 55, of Mays Landing, unemployed
Phong Nguyen, 44, of Pennsauken, nail technician
Gordon Strater, 55, of Blackwood, U.S. Postal Service carrier
Hau Tran, 47, of Pennsauken, unemployed
James Camille, 65, of Cherry Hill, employment unknown
Eugenio Dalessandro, 52, of Woolwich, unemployed.
Edward Robles, 34, of Sewell, employment unknown
Bakersfield man gets consecutive prison terms of 15 years to life
in child molestation case
by: Jason Kotowski, KGET
Posted: Jul 14, 2021 / 11:34 AM PDT
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — She knows what to expect when she goes to sleep. She’ll once again feel his hands on her. She’ll smell his hot breath in her face.
The sexual abuse she suffered as a child from Jaime Mora continues to haunt her, the woman said Wednesday during Mora’s sentencing hearing in Kern County Superior Court.
“Most nights the nightmares take over, making themselves permanent residents in my mind,” the woman said.
Following her comments, Judge Gregory A. Pulskamp sentenced Mora to consecutive prison terms of 15 years to life on two counts of committing a sex act with a child 10 or younger. He also sentenced Mora to a 12-year term to be served concurrently on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
A jury convicted him on the three charges in June. It could not reach a verdict on a fourth charge filed in connection with an alleged second victim.
Mora defense attorney Kyle J. Humphrey noted his client’s prison term is similar to punishment handed down on a murder conviction. The victim’s life in this case has changed, but it’s not over, he said. Options other than putting someone away for life should be considered for “high-functioning offenders” who can benefit from counseling and aren’t likely to reoffend, Humphrey said.
In response, prosecutor Nick Lackie said in some ways child molestation can be worse than murder. The victim’s suffering never goes away, he said.
The allegations against the 55-year-old Mora surfaced in September 2019 when a woman told police her daughter had come forward after another relative, now in her 30s, alleged Mora molested her when she was a teenager.
The daughter said she was 4 when Mora made her watch pornographic videos and asked her inappropriate questions about her body, according to court documents. She told police he repeatedly sexually abused her during the next few years, and gave her candy to keep her quiet.
Police arrested Mora following a phone call recorded by investigators in which he admitted to the abuse and asked the woman for forgiveness.
Before the woman spoke Tuesday, Pulskamp ordered that she not be identified by media. KGET typically does not identify victims of sexual assault, unless they go public.
The woman said Mora continues to deny responsibility. He has ignored the pain he has caused her and her family, she told the court. And she said that pain isn’t going away.
“I will forever live with the consequences of what he did to me,” she said.
Get some serious counseling. You will never forget what he did to you, but you don't have to live as a victim all your life. May God help you.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced To 64 Years In Federal Prison
For Soliciting The Production And Posting Of Child Sex Abuse Images And Videos On Motherhood Blog Websites
Jacksonville, FL (STL.News) United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Colum Patrick Moran, Jr. (43, Jacksonville) to 64 years in federal prison for attempting to entice minors to produce images and videos depicting child sexual abuse and for possessing materials depicting the sexual exploitation of children on his electronic devices. Moran was also ordered to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, as well as evidence and testimony during the three-day trial, between 2015 and late 2018, Moran, using the name “Emily lover,” posted comments to numerous internet motherhood blog websites. These websites are designed and intended to offer and share helpful information about motherhood, childcare, useful commercial products, and other topics related to family life.
During this period, Moran repeatedly posted sexually explicit comments that targeted mothers and their young children by name on these blogs. Further, Moran intentionally posted graphic comments on these blogs requesting that the mothers produce and post images and videos of their children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
On March 6, 2019, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Moran’s apartment in Jacksonville. During this search, law enforcement seized several smart phones and computers containing more than 1,000 images and videos depicting very young children, including infants and toddlers, being sexually abused.
One of the smart phones had been used by Moran to access numerous motherhood blog websites and contained images of sexually explicit postings made by Moran with the usernames “Emily lover” and “Anonymous.” Agents also seized a plastic storage bin that contained a collection of children’s underwear, as well as several firearms, ammunition, and a bulletproof vest with Velcro law enforcement identification patches.
“This case demonstrates the lengths that predators will go to target innocent children online, and reveals the havoc placed on their families,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “While the FBI, in general, does not comment on specific websites or apps, we want parents to be aware of the risks and vulnerabilities posed by websites and apps that offer interactive communication capabilities to include video live-streaming and image sharing functionalities.
While some predators target children directly for this content, this subject went a step further and also targeted parents, leaving many of them absolutely terrified. The FBI encourages online users to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
This case was the result of a nationwide investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Los Angeles, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Rochester police arrest 76-year-old man wanted
on child sex abuses images, assault charges
Foster's Daily Democrat
ROCHESTER — City police announced Wednesday a 76-year-old man wanted on charges of possession of child sex abuse images and simple assault has been taken into custody.
Police said as they were investigating the child sex abuse images case, Patsalis was seen at the Rochester Common July 12 talking to a 5-year-old girl. Police said it was reported "Patsalis was holding her stuffed animal while what appeared to be touching or rubbing her back." Patsalis was confronted and left the area in a black Volkswagen Passat.
Rochester police ask anyone with information to call the department at 603-330-7128. Tips can be reported anonymously by calling the Rochester Crime Line at 603-335-6500 or Text to: CRIMES (274637) Body of Text: TEXT4CASH + your tip. Cash rewards are offered for information that leads to an arrest.
Virginia Man Sentenced for Production of Child Pornography
Department of Justice
NORFOLK, Va. – A Southampton County man was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for producing and possessing images of child sexual abuse.
James William Thomas, III, 36, was found guilty by a jury on February 13, 2020, of seven counts of production of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography. According to court records, Thomas’s crimes were discovered in 2014 after he was caught burglarizing a coin shop in Franklin. Southampton County investigators obtained a search warrant for Thomas’s residence and seized evidence related to over 25 unsolved burglaries in Virginia and North Carolina. Part of this seizure included computers and other digital storage devices.
The evidence presented at trial showed that a review of these electronic devices revealed the presence of child pornography. Moreover, investigators found detailed folders on the devices with names of child victims and saved chat sessions. Over multiple years, Thomas, then in his late 20s, posed as a 17-year-old teen and befriended female victims on social media who were generally between the ages of 12-16. Thomas then groomed these victims and convinced them to produce naked images of themselves to send to him. In some instances, he convinced them to masturbate over a webcam, which Thomas recorded and saved. Thomas saved these chat sessions and the images in the folders on the electronic devices.
The evidence adduced at trial further demonstrated that Thomas chatted online with dozens of minor victims. To keep track of them, he employed a “cheat sheet” at the top of the saved chat sessions for each victim, which contained information including their name, age, phone number, and other facts, such as how easily they provided him with naked images. In one instance, he convinced a 14-year-old girl to meet him for sex on three separate occasions. Each time, Thomas had the victim pose naked for photographs and then recorded their sexual encounters.
Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Southampton Co., Va
'I ruined a family': Eastburg man arrested on charges of
years-long child sex assault
Hannah Phillips
Pocono Record
Editor's note: The accusers' ages, gender and relation to David Sturniolo have been withheld from this article to protect their identities.
A Middle Smithfield Township man was arrested Thursday following reports that he sexually abused two minors over the course of five years.
David Sturniolo, 56, is accused of performing sex acts on two children during their visits to his home between 2008 and 2013. Both were younger than 10 when the abuse is alleged to have begun.
In interviews with police, the accusers, now approaching young adulthood, said Sturniolo would massage their feet or place them on his lap before progressively becoming more sexual.
The younger of the two told investigators they "knew it was not right but was extremely confused," a detective wrote in a criminal complaint. The older said they would pretend to be asleep during much of the assault because they were too afraid to see what Sturniolo was doing.
The abuse was reported multiple times to Childline, a statewide hotline for suspected abuse — though when those reports were submitted is unclear. According to the criminal complaint, one came from a crisis center where Sturniolo previously sought treatment for sex addiction.
Pennsylvania State Police said they received the reports June 30 and interviewed the alleged victims within a week. Troopers arrived at Sturniolo's home on Thursday and arrested him on eight charges of indecent assault, corruption of minors and sexual offenses.
As he was taken into custody, Sturniolo told troopers: "I have a problem. I ruined a family."
I would venture to say that you ruined more than one family. Your victims will have a difficult time raising a fully functional family now.
He will be represented by criminal defense attorney Michael Ventrella, who has defended clients against accusations of sexual assault in the past — two of whom were acquitted in cases where Ventrella said their accusers either misidentified or lied about the defendant.
Sturniolo's preliminary hearing was set for July 14.
Middle Smithfield Township, Pa
Milton man found guilty of sexually abusing child now faces
up to three life sentences
Colin Warren-Hicks
Pensacola News Journal
A Santa Rosa County jury last week found a Milton man guilty of sexually abusing a young girl over a span of about four months in 2019.
James Johnston Stevens, 36, was convicted July 9 of three counts of sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12, according to a news release from State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden's office.
Stevens faces up to a maximum of three life sentences in state prison at a sentencing hearing Aug. 5 before Circuit Judge Darlene Dickey, according to Assistant State Attorney John Molchan.
Stevens abused the girl between March 1 and July 6, 2019, according to his arrest report. The report also stated that the girl's limited vocabulary hindered her ability to fully articulate and describe Stevens' actions to authorities.
The girl's age and relationship to Stevens were redacted from the report
Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.
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