Delta Pilot and Ex-Girlfriend Appear in Court on Child Sex Abuse Charges, Both Could Face Life in Prison
Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Powell are accused of sexually abusing a child
Bhagwagar was arrested moments after a Delta plane landed in San Francisco
The pair are accused of sexually abusing a young child over the span of five years
A Delta co-pilot and his ex-girlfriend, who are accused of sexually abusing a child, appeared in court in California.
The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office charged Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Powell each with more than a dozen felonies, including counts of engaging in a sexual act with a child 10 years old or younger, oral copulation with a child, forcible lewd acts upon a child, and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Bhagwagar, 34, was arrested by Contra Costa and federal authorities in a plane cockpit shortly after his flight, which had come from Minnesota, landed in San Francisco on July 26.
Both Powell and Bhagwagar could face from 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
KTVU obtained a probable cause statement alleging that Bhagwagar and Powell, who is the guardian of the alleged victim, were previously in a relationship.
Citing the probable cause statement, KTVU reported that Powell is accused of having known about and occasionally having participated in the alleged abuse of the child, which authorities said started when the alleged victim was 6 and ended when she was 11.
The alleged abuses ranged from 2018 to 2023, according to court records.
KTVU reported that both Bhagwagar and Powell appeared in court but did not enter pleas. A judge set their bail at $15 million each.
"Our office stands firmly committed to protecting children and holding those who cause harm accountable," District Attorney Diana Becton previously said in a statement. "Every child deserves to feel safe, protected, and heard when an injustice like this occurs. By pursuing these cases vigorously, we not only seek justice for victims but also work to safeguard our entire community from those who would prey on children."
St. Louis whistleblower advocates for '
' abuse survivors
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. — A former employee and sexual assault survivor comes forward after a nonprofit dissolves in the wake of a bombshell report.
A GRACE report claimed children at Niños de México suffered years of abuse. Since the release of the report, the organization has shut down.
One St. Louis woman is advocating for all the survivors in this case.
The GRACE report
Niños de México had been operating for almost 60 years until this month.
The founders are from Franklin County and created the Christian-based group in 1967 with an office in Union, Missouri. The organization would accept donations from churches in the United States.
Niños de México eventually grew to operate nine children's homes in Mexico City.
The mission for Niños de México was, "Niños exists to share the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by raising at-risk children in Mexico to love God and grow to be mature, educated Spirit-filled Christians with the ability and passion to evangelize their culture."
Within the last week, GRACE released a 256-page report detailing decades of physical and sexual abuse from 20 abusers, from the founders to leadership roles. One part of the report also outlined the death of a little boy in 1998.
GRACE, which stands for Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, is a non-profit organization helping Christian groups confront sexual abuse. GRACE conducted 27 investigations in 2024.
GRACE's investigation team is made up of former abuse prosecutors, attorneys, law enforcement investigators, forensic interviewers, and even trauma therapists.
An organization contracts the group to conduct these investigations.
Robert Peters with GRACE explained that it has conducted several investigations involving residential facilities.
"Cases where residential facilities are involved are more complicated because we know even with the best of intentions, there are significant risk factors," said Peters.
Part of the report said the leadership, including multiple executive directors, consistently failed to protect children, actively concealed abuse, retaliated against whistleblowers, and, in some cases, were accused of personally abusing children.
The website for the organization is now scrubbed, but the Board of Directors released a statement saying in part, after reviewing the findings of the GRACE report, "It is with heavy hearts that the board of Niños de México has decided to end our ongoing ministry effective immediately."
This past summer, 37 children were removed from five facilities after a multi-agency operation raided the properties.
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Winter Park man sentenced to 170 years for child sexual abuse material
A federal judge has sentenced a Winter Park park man to 17-0 years in prison for sex crimes against children.
David Andrew Ogden,39, pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Ogden entered an apartment without permission where three minor children were sleeping in September 2024. Prosecutors say he touched two of the children and used his cellphone to make the child pornography.
Prosecutors say his phone later revealed more child images involving two other children. The phone also had more than 1,000 artificial intelligence-generated images and 10 AI-generated videos, some of which portrayed the abuse of children between the ages of 2 and 6.
Ogden is the son of Windermere Police Chief David Ogden.
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