Study Reveals Hundreds of Kids Sexually Abuse at Camps on Today's USA PnP List

Investigation Finds Hundreds Of Sex Abuse Cases Reported At US Children's Camps

And very little in the way of standards or regulations

NEW YORK (WCBS 880/CBS News) — CBS News has found reports of at least 578 children who were sexually abused at children camps over the past 55 years and it's likely many more cases were never reported.

“We’ve spoken to a number of experts who say this is possibly just in the beginning, the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, a lot of times, as you probably know, in sexual assault cases people do not report that this has happened to them also this is an area that we've been looking into,” CBS News reporter Jericka Duncan said.  

Duncan notes that she spoke to a woman whose son was allegedly sexually assaulted by a summer camp counselor in 2009. The person who molested him, according to Duncan, plead guilty to injuring a child but only went to prison when he violated probation.

“The woman that we spoke to didn't want to be identified said you know for her it wasn't about scaring people away from camps,” Duncan said, “it's about having the education, having the conversations, and knowing what to do and really it comes down to research and checking to see some of these places are accredited.”

The investigation found that part of the problem in camps is that there is no national standard for hiring counselors and supervisors.

Duncan explained that their investigation found there's no national regulation for camps to follow.

She notes eight states have no requirements for overnight camps to be licensed, 18 states do not require background checks for employees and more than 20,000 camp counselors came from foreign countries on visas in 2017, which experts say complicates things further when trying to obtain records from foreign countries.

For parents searching for camps for their children, Duncan explained that there are organizations, such as American Camp Association and Praesidium, which monitor camps and issue accreditations based on safety.

“In general, whenever you have sort of the situations where children, in particular, are more vulnerable, the parents aren't there, you have to be aware and also just do your due diligence, I think, as a parent to try and investigate before you say yes,” Duncan said.

She notes that the woman she spoke to thought her son’s camp was accredited but never checked to make sure.

Alabama man accused in sex abuse,

sodomy of young girl

By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com 

A Pelham man is behind bars on accusations that he sexually abused a young girl on at least two occasions.

Wilmer Mancera Ramirez, 38, was arrested by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, according to court records made public Monday. He is charged with two counts of sex abuse of a child under the age of 12 and one count of first-degree sodomy.

According to charging documents, one of the incidents happened in October and at least one more happened in June.

Ramirez is accused of grabbing the girl’s hand and placing it on his genitals. Records state he also went into her bedroom, woke her up and performed oral sex on her.

Ramirez is being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $60,000.

Former Portland pharmacist accused of secretly recording people facing 33 new charges

FOX 12 Staff

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - A former pharmacist accused of secretly recording people in a bathroom at his place of work is now facing more charges.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said they have identified an additional 27 victims who were allegedly recorded without their knowledge or consent at their place of work by Johnny Tuck Chee Chan, 34.

Chan was arrested on Nov. 26 following a year-long investigation. A 71-count indictment was filed (3rd story on link), which alleged that Chan used secret cameras to record 51 people, including a child, at Kaiser Permanente's Airport Way Center pharmacy supply and lab.

Chan pleaded not guilty to those 71 charges last month.

Now, Chan is facing new charges of three counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, three counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, 25 counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy, and two counts of second-degree invasion of personal privacy.

The district attorney's office said when Chan was arrested on Nov. 26 at his new job at the Banana Republic store at Cascade Station, law enforcement found a camera that had been concealed in the employee-only bathroom.

According to the district attorney's office, law enforcement found 173 recorded videos of 27 different victims. All of the victims were Banana Republic employees, and three of the victims were minors at the time of the recordings.

The district attorney's office said no customers or members of the public were recorded.

After the new charges were filed, Chan was arrested on Dec. 7 by U.S. Marshals and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. His bail was set at $2 million.

Chan appeared in court on Monday. His next scheduled court date is for Dec. 18.

So. Carolina church volunteer caught molesting children; previously removed from No. Carolina church daycare

Cudos to Lake Norman's Elevation Church

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, CP Contributor 

A NewSpring Church volunteer who was recently arrested after he was caught on camera sexually assaulting a 3-year-old child was previously removed from working with children at Elevation Church’s Lake Norman location. | (Photo: NewSpring Church)

A NewSpring Church volunteer charged with molesting a three-year-old child was previously removed from working with children at Elevation Church due to an “uneasy feeling” about his interactions with kids, the megachurch has revealed.

Elevation Church, a multi-site congregation led by Steven Furtick, said in a statement shared by Baptist News that Jacop “Jake” Hazlett volunteered to watch children at the church’s Lake Norman location in late 2014.

There were “no incidents” stemming from Hazlett’s interactions with the children, the statement said. However, he was moved to an administrative volunteer role after just a few months because campus leadership began to have an “uneasy feeling” about his interactions with children.

“There were no incidents or events at the campus that led to him being moved in 2015, however, the campus leadership did have an uneasy feeling with how he interacted with supervised kids prompting a discussion with him and we made the decision to move him,” the statement said.

Wow! Could it be a church that actually listens to God? I often complain that church leaders should know when a pedophile is among them, if they are listening to God. Far too often, it seems obvious that some are not. This is the first story in 5.5 years of doing this blog where it seems obvious that a church is indeed open to the Spirit.

Hazlett, 28, remained in that role until he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2018. He’s now facing multiple felony charges after allegedly molesting numerous preschool boys over a period of 90 days inside a bathroom at the Charleston campus of NewSpring Church.

Initially, Hazlett was charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor first degree after he was accused of performing a sex act on a 3-year-old boy while serving NewSpring Church as a volunteer in the 3 to 5-year-old room, called “The Tree House.” Police later added eight counts of child sexual abuse against Hazlett after he reportedly admitted to “inappropriately touching numerous children” while volunteering at the megachurch.

A lawsuit filed last week accuses the NewSpring volunteer of attacking at least 13 other children as well.

The lawsuit alleges a lack of oversight at NewSpring, as the live feed from church security cameras is supposed to be monitored by a volunteer. However, footage wasn't checked until a parent came forward with concerns.

In the footage, Hazlett "can be seen keeping a lookout for approaching adults and looking toward the security camera," the lawsuit explains. "He was aware of the extraordinary risk he was taking had NewSpring Church simply been monitoring the video feed."

"There could be countless victims out there. We only know of 14 from the last 90 days," lawyer Joshua Slavin said, adding that church surveillance footage showed “stomach-turning” and “grotesque” evidence.

Suzanne Swift, NewSpring’s communications director, previously said in a statement that the church has an extensive screening process for all adults before they are allowed to volunteer with children. Hazlett “successfully completed” the volunteer screening process before he was allowed to volunteer, she said.

But was anybody listening to God?

She later told The Christian Post that the church had not yet been served with any “papers regarding a lawsuit” and provided a statement from the church’s leaders that was shared with the congregation.

“We want our NewSpring family to know that as the leaders of this church we are gutted by these events,” she said. “We know this happened on our watch, and though we have taken great measures over the years to protect our children, evil found a way to breach our best efforts. This devastates us to the core. We are heartbroken for the families directly impacted, our volunteers who serve with KidSpring, and for all of the families who trust us each week to care for their children.”

New Mexico man arrested for taking child porn photos in Albuquerque, Phoenix

Joe Enea

PHOENIX - A New Mexico man was arrested last week after taking child porn photos in Phoenix and Albuquerque. 

On December 5, detectives from the Phoenix and Albuquerque police departments arrested 50-year-old Pascal Pierre Nemmar at his home in Albuquerque. 

Phoenix police investigators were alerted by Yahoo that child porn images were uploaded to Nemmar's account.

Embedded data on some of the photos showed that they were taken in August at an address in North Phoenix near 16th Street and Union Hills Drive. 

Police say 18 photos of the child were pornographic in nature. 

Police also reportedly found an open sexual abuse investigation at that address involving a 2-year-old girl. At the time, Nemmar was at the home told police that he was from Albuquerque and was visiting friends. 

When investigators looked further into Nemmar's accounts, they allegedly found more pornographic photos of the child taken with the same phone. Police say Nemmar was babysitting the child at his Albuquerque home at that time. 

Nemmar is being held without bond in a jail in Bernalillo County New Mexico.

2 men arrested in Alabama on Child Sex Abuse
related charges

WENDY SACK

Justin Anthony Jeffries, Jr., left; Jason Lynn Cloud, right (Cullman County Sheriff’s Office)

CULLMAN - Two men were arrested recently by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for sex crimes; the two cases are separate and not related.

Justin Anthony Jeffries Jr., 25, of Arab, has been charged with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12.

A spokesperson for the CCSO said investigators worked the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) during the investigation after a minor child came forward with the allegation.

Due to the victim’s age and graphic nature of the crime, no details will be released.

Jeffries has made bond.

In a separate case, CCSO deputies arrested Jason Lynn Cloud, 40, of Hanceville, charging him with several violations of the SORNA Act (Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act), as well other charges.

Charges include failure to provide registration information SORNA, failure to register/establish termination address SORNA, sexual offender failure to register termination employment SORNA, first-degree theft of property, failure to obtain travel document  SORNA.

“I would like to thank the deputies, investigators and the CAC who all worked to see these suspects were arrested. The sheriff’s office will always stay vigilant keeping track of sex offenders and arresting those who don’t follow the law,” said Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry. “Also, as I have stated many times, I don’t see how anyone can harm a child, and when they do we will also arrest those suspects as well.”

Cloud is a registered sex offender. He is being held in the Cullman County Detention Center on an $80,000 bond.

NY man pleads guilty in rape, sex abuse case

after cellphone video found

Andrew Beam @beam_gazette | 

SCHENECTADY -- A Schenectady man who pleaded guilty Friday to raping a woman and sexually abusing a child while they slept now faces up to 14 years in prison.

timesunion

Clarence Alexander, 37, entered his guilty plea in Schenectady County Court to one count of felony first-degree rape and one count of felony first-degree sexual abuse, according to the district attorney's office. Alexander admitted his guilt before Judge Matthew Sypniewski.

Prosecutor Michael Nobles said the victims did not know each other, but that Alexander knew the both of them before the assaults, which occurred a month apart.

Authorities became aware of Alexander’s crimes in June, after the child, who Nobles said is younger than 13, found video of him abusing her while she was sleeping. Nobles said the girl was using Alexander’s phone as an internet hot-spot because she didn’t have access to WiFi and came across the video.

Nobles said the child woke up when Alexander was abusing her, but she didn’t understand what was happening. He said she realized what occurred only after seeing the video.

The child then showed the video to her mom, who brought the phone to police.

When police arrested Alexander, he at first denied abusing the child. Nobles said police did not question Alexander about the rape at that time, because they were not aware of the second assault. It was not until Schenectady police obtained a warrant to search the phone that they found video of Alexander raping a woman on May 12.

Nobles said the woman was not aware she had been raped until she spoke with police as part of their investigation.

Alexander is expected to receive a 10-year prison sentence for the rape and four years for the sexual abuse charge when he is sentenced on Feb. 1. The terms will run consecutively, giving him a 14-year prison term. He is also expected to be sentenced to 20 years of post-release supervision.

34-year-old Upstate NY man convicted

of sexually assaulting child

A 34-year-old Rochester man has been convicted of several charges involving the sexual assault of a child.

According to the Monroe County District Attorney's office, Ray Jones III was convicted on Monday of seven counts, including Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, Criminal Sex Act in the 3rd Degree, Rape in the 3rd Degree and use of a Child in a Sexual Performance. 

Jones will be sentenced on January 10 and faces a maximum jail sentence between 25 years to life in the New York State Department of Corrections. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. 

Idaho Falls man sentenced for child sex abuse,

child porn

By JOHNATHAN HOGAN jhogan@postregister.com 

An Idaho Falls man who was arrested in March was sentenced Wednesday to up to 15 years in prison for his relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

Jerry Ewell, 37, was charged with sexual abuse of a minor after the abuse was reported to the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office. Ewell admitted to the abuse, saying he and the victim had sex several times at his home and at a storage unit.

Both attorneys said Ewell had tried to withdraw his confession and was considering going to trial to argue the confession was coerced. Ewell sought a plea deal after five additional charges were filed for possession of child pornography based on photos and videos the victim sent to his phone.

Defense attorney Jason Gustaves said Ewell never forced the victim into sex and had no criminal history.

Bonneville County Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Dewey said the abuse lasted for months. He argued Ewell needed a longer indeterminate sentence because of the impact on the victim and his deceptive behavior.

District Judge Bruce Pickett sentenced Ewell to two-and-a-half years in prison as a minimum for both the sexual abuse and child pornography charges, to be served concurrently. Ewell was given a maximum of five years for the child porn charge and up to 15 years for the sexual abuse charge. Four other charges of possession of child sexually exploitative material were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The no-contact order between Ewell and the victim was extended an additional 20 years. Ewell will be required to register as a sex offender when released.

Maine man indicted on 23 counts of

sex crimes against a child

BY DOUG HARLOW

SKOWHEGAN — A Pittsfield man has been indicted by a Somerset County grand jury on a total of 23 counts including sexual assault of a child, sexual abuse of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Kent Lary, 59, of Beans Corner Road, faces six counts of gross sexual assault, or rape, of someone under the age of 16; six separate counts of sexual abuse of a minor; and 11 counts of possession of sexually explicit material depicting sexual conduct of children under 16, according to the indictment.

The sexual assaults are alleged to have taken place in Pittsfield between Dec. 1, 2017, and Sept. 1, 2018. They are classified as class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count. The sexual abuse of a minor charges are class C felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison on each charge and are alleged to have taken place in Pittsfield between the same dates as the assault charges.

The possession of child pornography charges all are dated Oct. 24, 2018, in Pittsfield.

Lary was arrested Oct. 26 after a police investigation revealed that he allegedly had been sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in Pittsfield for nearly a year.

According to a news release from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office in October, “the 15 year old female has allegedly been the victim of an ongoing sexual relationship since the age of 14.” Lary reportedly admitted this to Detective Jeremy Leal.

Lary remains held at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison on $250,000 cash bail.

An indictment by a grand jury is not a finding of guilt, but is an indication that enough evidence is present to proceed with a trial.

PA man charged with child sexual abuse

By:  Myles Snyder 

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) - An Elizabethtown man is headed to court on charges he sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.

Austin D. Keller, 19, waived a preliminary hearing last week. He is charged with felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, corruption of minors, and unlawful contact with a minor.

Keller was arrested in September after Northwest Regional police responded to a report of suspicious

persons in a wooded area of the Shady Oak Drive development in Mount Joy Township and found Keller with the girl.

During the investigation, police said it was discovered Keller had sexual contact with the girl on

several occasions previously during the previous month.

Arkansas man gets life plus 20 years
for child sex abuse

By Field Walsh 

A Miller County jury of six men and six women sentenced a man to life in prison plus 20 years Friday for sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl in 2004 and 2005.

Gerald Herbert Lowery, 58, was sentenced by the jury to life in prison for rape and to 20 years for second-degree sexual assault. Circuit Judge Carlton Jones followed the jury’s recommendation and ordered the terms to run consecutively.

Lowery has an active warrant in Pulaski County, Ark., also for child sexual abuse. The alleged victim in that case, an 11-year-old relative of Lowery’s, testified in the Miller County case Tuesday.

Lowery was sentenced in Miller County for misconduct with the daughter of a former girlfriend’s roommate. In 2004, Lowery and his girlfriend shared an apartment with the victim and her mother at the Links in Texarkana, Ark. The girl never told anyone about the abuse and was living in California when at 19, her mother handed her the phone. Lowery was on the other end of the line and the contact with him after 13 years led her to experience migraines, panic attacks and relive her childhood trauma in nightmares.

The victim disclosed the abuse to her mother late last year and contacted law enforcement. After the victim in Miller County came forward, the girl in Pulaski County made an outcry of sexual abuse.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Connie Mitchell and Kristian Robertson argued that Lowery is a pedophile who manipulates women and children to serve his own perverted desires. There is no parole from a life sentence in the state of Arkansas.

Gamer, Pharmacist, Wrestling Coach, Democrat, Teacher All on Today's USA PnP List

Gamer arrested after alleged rape of teen

overheard on Playstation

The Playstation's microphone picked up the young girl repeatedly reject Fabian's advances.

A video gamer has been arrested after one of his online opponents overheard him allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl while they were playing Grand Theft Auto.

Daniel Enrique Fabian was in the midst of the multiplayer action game when he told another player that he was going to “smash” a girl who was at his house in New Port Richey, Florida.

Fabian left the console’s microphone on and the other gamer then overheard the young victim repeatedly reject his advances, local news outlet WFTS reports.

The girl told the 18-year-old to stop four times but he continued to have sex with her, according to an arrest affidavit. The gamer who overheard the encounter told investigators that after about 15 minutes he and Fabian resumed playing the game.

The 15-year-old victim told detectives she was sitting on Fabian’s bed when he covered her mouth with his hand, pushed her down and raped her. After the incident the girl completed a sexual assault victim examination, which supported her allegation. A DNA swab taken from her thigh reportedly linked Fabian to the attack.

The gamer was arrested for lewd and lascivious battery/sexual activity with a victim between the ages of 12 and 15, according to WFLA.

The news station is reporting that he is also charged with raping another teen on June 4, weeks before the most recent case. “He was arrested in June for another case involving a different 15-year-old girl, where he allegedly raped her in his home as well,” said Kevin Doll, Pasco Sheriff's Office spokesman. He is being held in a detention center in Florida.

Former Georgia Wrestling Coach Pleads Guilty

To Child Sex Abuse

Ron Gorman pled guilty Tuesday afternoon to sexually abusing

a Pennsylvania boy at his Marietta home

By Tim Darnell, Patch Staff

MARIETTA, GA -- A former volunteer wrestling coach has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child in Cobb. On Tuesday, Ronald Gorman, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated child molestation for acts he perpetrated on a 14-year-old boy in July 2010 at Gorman's home in Marietta. Gorman, who moved to Georgia from Pennsylvania, had arranged for the child to visit him in Marietta that summer. The victim disclosed the abuse to Pennsylvania authorities in May 2017.

Gorman was originally charged with more than 260 counts of child sex abuse (7th story on link).

Pennsylvania charged Gorman with molesting two boys, including the one who was also molested in Georgia. As cases proceeded in both states, prosecutors in the Monroe County, Pa., District Attorney's Office requested assistance from Cobb prosecutors in negotiating both cases together, to save the victims from having to testify and relive the abuse.

Deputy Chief ADA Chuck Boring, who heads the special victims unit in the Cobb DA's office, prosecuted this case.

"This is a prime example of how child predators can work their way into positions of trust and authority, and then turn that trust into a weapon against children. While there are no other acts for which he can be prosecuted in Cobb, there is no doubt there are other victims who have dealt quietly with their suffering at the hands of Gorman. In fact, the Pennsylvania investigation discovered a number of victims who had been abused by Gorman years before, and the statute of limitations had run such that their cases could not be prosecuted," Boring said. "Hopefully this conclusion gives his victims some sort of closure and justice, whether they have reported his abuse or not."

Hopefully, the PA state government will abolish statutes of limitation on child sex abuse and start governing for the people not the pedophiles.

After accepting the plea, Cobb Superior Court Judge A. Gregory Poole sentenced Gorman to 25 years, with 20 years to serve in prison without parole. Gorman previously pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania and received a sentence there that will also require him to serve at least 20 years in prison; the sentences will run concurrently. He will be returned to Pennsylvania to serve his time there.

Oregon pharmacist facing 71-count indictment that alleges he secretly recorded people at his work

FOX 12 Staff

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - A Portland-area pharmacist accused of setting up a camera at his place of work to secretly record people has pleaded not guilty to charges of encouraging child sex abuse and invasion of privacy.

Johnny Tuck Chee Chan, 34, was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Jail on Monday following a year-long investigation. He is facing charges of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, six counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, 28 counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy, and 36 counts of second-degree invasion of personal privacy.

FOX 12 learned that Chan was a licensed pharmacist with Kaiser Permanente at their Airport Way Center pharmacy supply and lab.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said the investigation began in Nov. 2017 after an employee discovered a hidden camera inside a bathroom at the facility, which is not open to the public.

In court, prosecutors said Chan used "secret cameras" to record over people, including a child, at his work. Prosecutors consider some of the recordings child pornography.

According to court documents, the recordings took place from Dec. 1, 2016 to Nov. 14, 2017.

Kaiser Permanente sent a statement to FOX 12 following Chan's court appearance, saying:

"We discovered a camera in a unisex bathroom at our Airport Way Center pharmacy supply and lab in November 2017. This is not a patient care facility and the bathroom was used primarily by employees. We notified Portland Police and collaborated with them on an investigation, through which we identified an employee suspect. We terminated the employee immediately."

Chan appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges. His next scheduled court appearance is Jan. 14, 2019.

Former Democrat Party Chairman

‘Streamed Live Videos of Child Sex Abuse’

Bethany Blankley

According to the testimony of a federal agent, Harold “H.L.” Moody, a former Democratic Party chairman, streamed live videos of children being raped, distributed child pornography to other pedophiles, and regularly smoked methamphetamine out of a glass pipe while seated at his desk during work hours.

Jason Bennett, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, said an undercover agent took “screen shots” of Moody sitting at his desk and chatting with pedophiles in a secret chatroom online on “more than one occasion” between Aug. 29 and Oct. 12.

Bennett described Moody as a “high-volume user” who logged in and out of a chat room solely devoted to child pornography several times a day, including 26 times in a two-day span. He was also a host of the private chat room, which Bennett explains indicates that Moody did something to receive such recognition.

Moody, 39, was arrested on Nov. 5 and fired from his job shortly thereafter. Agents searched and seized information from his Little Rock, Arkansas apartment and found two grams of methamphetamine and pornographic images of children and infants being raped. They also found a half-gram of the drug in his office desk drawer.

Moody was a political consultant hired by the county after acting as the communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas for a year and a half. Before that, he was the chairman of the Democratic Party in Pulaski County for two years.

Arkansas Online reports: Bennett’s testimony helped convince a federal judge to order Moody to remain in federal custody until his trial on two counts of receipt of child pornography, three counts of distribution of child pornography and a single count of conspiring to advertise child pornography.

Chris Tarver, Moody’s attorney from the federal public defender’s office, tried to have him released on bail pending trial and possibly be released and committed to an in-patient drug-treatment facility.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe considered it, but rejected the proposal after Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant’s argument that Moody “poses a risk of flight and could be a danger to the community.”

Bryant explained that the agents were only able to find 15 images of child pornography on one of Moody’s devices because his other devices were password-protected. She said, “we don’t know if he’s a producer of child pornography,” and, “I don’t think we know how much of a danger to the community he is.”

Bryant described the type of photographs and videos Moody allegedly distributed—images of infants and young children being raped. She pointed to the agent’s testimony that “Moody was initially observed viewing the images, then distributing them and eventually even hosting sessions in which people in a secure chatroom stream live videos of infants being raped.”

Tarver argues that Moody’s real problem is drug addiction. His partner, Gabriel Womack, said he broke off their engagement when he found methamphetamine in their apartment. Moody admitted to being an addict, has tried to stop, but can’t. Tarver argues that, “This is a drug issue.”

Newsflash to Tarver: there bigger problem than drugs is raping babies and children.

I am not sure that's real English, Bethany, but I know what you are trying to say and agree with it completely. Moody has way more problems than drugs, and it's almost criminal that some would attempt to diminish the child porn problem as being less important than the drug problem.

Teacher in Texas charged after projecting

child porn during class

A high school teacher in Belton, Texas, has been charged with possession of child porn, after apparently accidentally projecting indecent footage in a filled classroom.

An investigation into James Edward Alleman, 45, was launched in September after a student reported that porn was played on a projection screen. He was suspended by the school district that day.

Alleman’s school-owned laptop, iPad, external hard drive and a Micro SD card found in his desk were confiscated by school officials and handed over to police, KWTX reports.

Police discovered that the memory card contained four short videos showing a young naked Asian girl who appeared to be changing clothes in a bathroom, according to an arrest warrant released on Friday.

Investigators showed the footage to Alleman’s wife who identified the child as a 10-year-old girl who appeared to be changing in their home. The woman also told police she was “unaware that such videos were being taken or that there was a camera set up in the bathroom,” the affidavit says.

The girl in the footage was subsequently taken to the Child Advocacy Center of Central Texas, according to the affidavit, and identified herself in the clip, saying she didn’t know she was being filmed and didn’t recognise where the video had been taken.

An investigation into Alleman’s internet history on his laptop reportedly showed searches for “pornography in both Chinese and Japanese, using terms that translated to the English equivalent of ‘teen scandal, ‘webcam underwear teen, ‘teen video chat, ‘school girl masturbation,’ as well as other search terms,“ according to the affidavit.

Alleman has been freed on a $75,000 bond while he awaits trial.

Why would police ever destroy a rape kit belonging to a child or teenager?

By Marci A. Hamilton and Steven Berkowitz

(CNN) Consider this scenario:

A 4-year-old tells her mother that her uncle abused her. She reports this soon after she says it happened. The girl is taken to a hospital and undergoes a forensic exam intended to recover DNA evidence -- her rape kit. But charges are not filed because police struggle with what is admittedly one of the toughest crimes to investigate. The child's untested rape kit is put on a shelf in an evidence room.

Now imagine 20 years have passed and that child is an adult, better equipped to comprehend and confront what happened to her at such a young and vulnerable age. Maybe she also knows another person -- a sibling, a neighbor, a friend from school -- who says the uncle abused them in the same way years ago. The woman, emboldened, wanting justice, feels compelled to face her abuser and try to make sure he never preys on someone again.

And she is fortunate in one small way: The state where her abuse was reported all those years ago has a long statute of limitations on child sex crimes. Her case can still be prosecuted.

Now imagine the victim learning this: Her rape kit is gone. Destroyed by police. And never tested.

Marci Hamilton

We have both spent our careers working in the area of child sex abuse. One of us is a child psychiatrist and expert in child and adolescent trauma; the other a lawyer and professor who founded the nonprofit CHILD USA and has worked to spread the wisdom of extending the lengths of time in which children who are sexually abused can seek justice. The priest sex abuse scandal sadly shows that it can take years, even decades, for young victims to disclose their abuse. And, because of that, the existence of forensic evidence in children's cases is rare.

So imagine our shock and pain at learning that police have destroyed children's and teenagers' rape kits.

As part of its groundbreaking investigation into the destruction of rape kits, published this week, CNN sought our expertise. We examined documents tied to nearly 200 cases in which the rape kits of minors were destroyed. We were appalled to see that in some cases the destruction of this evidence occurred before the statute of limitations expired and that there appeared to be no protocol for preserving the rape kits of victims who were children and teenagers.

Dr. Steven Berkowitz

As DNA technology has advanced, so has the movement to extend and eliminate child sex abuse statutes of limitation. Since 2002, 38 states and the District of Columbia have amended their statutes to make it easier for victims to gain access to justice.

But not New York of Philadelphia.

In some states, lawmakers have added a provision that eliminates the statute of limitations if DNA evidence is discovered.

All the more reason that the mishandling of child rape kits uncovered by CNN is an outrage, and the destruction of rape kits while prosecutions were still possible is an atrocity.

It can take many years for a child to gain the cognitive ability or the emotional stability to put the pieces together of their assault and provide useful information about the crime and the perpetrator.

What happens when they are mature enough and find out that the evidence obtained years earlier is gone and they have no pathway to justice?

Justice denied is literally traumatic. Victims can lose faith in the justice system and are less likely to rely on civil authorities. They may relive the betrayal from the original traumatic experience and become increasingly distrustful of others. They may become less functional or depressive because of post-traumatic stress, or exhibit other psychiatric symptoms.

In the United States, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18. Studies have shown that child victims do not come forward until they are adults -- on average, at the age of 52. And then defendants argue that memories are defective and hope that the passage of time will protect them.

For the child who grows up and seeks justice, a rape kit and DNA report are invaluable.

The first step to better practices is a rigorous study to determine how widely and how often children's rape kits have been destroyed and determine where gaps in knowledge or clear procedures are causing the testing and preservation of kits to go awry.

Based on our review of the documents provided by CNN, it appeared that destruction of this evidence was not the result of malevolence, but systemic issues facing law enforcement and the courts. There is also an apparent lack of awareness that the criminal statutes of limitations for child sex assault have been eliminated in 39 states and in federal statutes. We expect those numbers to rise as the logic of extending statutes of limitations for minors continues to take hold.

If state lawmakers have made the decision that a child sex abuse victim should have all the time the victim needs to pursue criminal charges, it is incumbent on the legal system to preserve what may be the best evidence for that later prosecution.

Otherwise, the movement to lengthen and eliminate the time limits to prosecute may be more of a shallow victory than a meaningful one for the most vulnerable victims.

Marci A. Hamilton is an expert on the statutes of limitations for child sex crimes and the author of "Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children." She is also a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and CEO of the nonprofit think tank CHILD USA. Dr. Steven Berkowitz is a visiting professor in psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was previously on the faculty at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the authors. View more opinion articles on CNN.