South Carolina sports reporter arrested after police
find child sex abuse material on laptop: state AG
A local South Carolina sports reporter was arrested last week after authorities discovered child sexual abuse material involving an underage girl on his laptop, according to prosecutors.
Matt Vereen, 28, was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor on Wednesday and subsequently suspended from his on-air job at WACH Fox 57.
The journalist, of Columbia, allegedly had a disturbing image of an underage girl between the ages of 11 and 13 on his Apple computer, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WIS.
He also allegedly solicited the purchase of a pair of roughly 90-second sexually explicit clips of naked girls around the age of 13 years old on July 11, 2023, according to two other arrest warrants.
“WACH FOX News understands the severity of these allegations and Vereen has been placed on suspension pending an investigation,” Vereen’s employer said in a statement. “As this is a personnel matter, the station will not be commenting further at this time.”
He was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, all felonies, the South Carolina State Attorney General’s Office said.
He could face up to three decades in prison if convicted.
Vereen was apparently on the job the day before his arrest covering the start of the University of South Carolina’s football season.
The alleged pervert graduated from the University of Missouri and is a Carolina native, according to his Facebook page.
He put up a $40,000 surety bond and was released from jail the day after his arrest, the Post and Courier reported.
Trial begins for former N.H. state employee
accused of child sex abuse at state-run
youth detention facility
Victor Malavet of Gilford, N.H., faces 12 charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault in the first criminal trial stemming from abuse allegations at the former Youth Development Center
CONCORD, N.H. – As the first criminal trial related to allegations of abuse at a state-run youth detention center began on Monday, state prosecutors said a former state employee “took exactly what he wanted, where he wanted it, and when he wanted it” when he repeatedly raped a 15-year-old girl under his authority in 2001.
Victor Malavet of Gilford, N.H., 62, faces 12 charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault. His defense attorneys said he’s innocent and his accuser was motivated by money, given a possible payout in a related civil case.
Malavet is one of 11 former state workers who were arrested after a five-year state investigation into alleged abuse of children at the state-run Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, N.H., although he worked at a separate detention facility in Concord called the Youth Detention Services Unit. One defendant has died, and another has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Good grief! Did it have to take 5 years? How many kids were abused in that time?
Audriana Mekula, assistant attorney general, said Malavet befriended the broken young girl, asking her to join a Bible study group with him, and calling her his sister in Christ. He singled her out to do chores with him and gave her special privileges, like getting candy for other kids, and then used the time the two of them were alone together to rape her, Mekula said.
“If she did not give him what he wanted, he had the power to control her life,” she said.
Nearly 1,500 former residents have come forward with allegations about the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse they endured while detained in the state-run system, according to Rus Rilee, an attorney representing many of the former residents. The state has established a settlement fund to resolve some of these cases outside of the court system.
On Monday, defense attorneys representing Malavet previewed their defense strategy, seeking to undermine his accuser’s credibility and that of key witnesses in the case.
“Money changes everything,” said Maya Dominguez, a public defender representing Malavet. “It can change someone’s memories, it can change their motives, it can even change someone’s morality.”
Malavet’s accuser was transferred to the Concord unit after she assaulted a staffer in Manchester with a metal pipe and escaped, according to court documents. She was tried as an adult, and spent 10 years in prison for the assault.
That sounds like the actions of an abused child.
Former Meramec school district employee charged with sex crimes
- Updated
A Union man who was formerly employed by the Meramec Valley R-III School District has been indicted on multiple child sex crime charges.
A Franklin County grand jury indictment handed up Aug. 15 charges Dustin J. Cowsert with second-degree statutory rape, two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, felony enticement or attempted enticement of a child, sexual contact with a student, and sexual misconduct involving a child under 15 years old.
The crimes allegedly took place between Nov. 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023. Two of the charges involve a victim who was younger than 15 at the time and three charges state that the victim was under 17.
Although the indictment states that Cowsert “was a teacher for the Meramec Valley R-III School District,” Cowsert was in fact “not a teacher,” according to district Superintendent Dr. Carrie Schwierjohn. Schwierjohn could not be immediately reached for clarification on Cowsert’s former position with the district.
“The District was recently notified of allegations of misconduct by a former district employee and is cooperating fully with law enforcement to address the situation. The former employee was placed on leave prior to the start of school and has since been terminated,” Schwierjohn said in a statement.
“Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. We condemn this alleged conduct and want to reassure the community that such behavior is completely contrary to the values of our school community. We have policies in place to prevent and address this type of misconduct, and we are following these policies in investigating and addressing this situation. We remain dedicated to providing safe environments for learning and student success.”
A warrant for Cowsert’s arrest was issued Aug. 16, with his bond set at $250,000. He is being held at the Franklin County Adult Detention Center.
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