Verdict expected Tuesday in Illinois
child sexual assault case
Jim Newton Contact Reporter, News-Sun
After a one-day trial Monday, a judge is expected to announce his verdict Tuesday in the case of a man charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in Waukegan.
Edwin Matute, 27, is charged with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor under the age of 13 and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Prosecutors said he faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted.
The charges against Matute relate to incidents that allegedly occurred between April 1 and July 20 of 2014, involving a victim known to him, according to authorities.
He waived his right to a jury trial, and instead a bench trial was held Monday before Lake County Circuit Judge James Booras, who said after closing arguments late Monday afternoon that he would announce his verdict Tuesday morning.
Testifying to begin the trial Monday was the alleged victim, who was 11 at the time of the alleged assaults and 14 now, and the victim's mother. The defendant, who was known to both the victim and her mother, had stayed briefly at their Waukegan residence after arriving in the U.S from Honduras.
After identifying Matute in court, the girl testified Monday that Matute had sex with her "four or five" times in 2014 at her residence when her mother was not home. Authorities said the assaults occurred after Matute no longer lived at the residence.
An investigation began when the mother contacted police after she said she found physical evidence of sexual activity when she came home the evening of July 20, 2014.
The mother testified she had already begun to suspect something inappropriate had been going on between Matute and her daughter, and she had been keeping a close eye on her daughter, even when she went outside to play.
"I had it in my mind to spy," she said through a Spanish language translator in court Monday. "I caught him staring and I suspected a lot."
She said when she found Matute leaving the apartment on July 20, 2014, she asked him what he was doing there and said he responded that the mother's boyfriend had called him and asked him to give the mother a ride.
The mother testified that she told Matute she knew that wasn't true because she was driving her boyfriend's car. After continuing to confront Matute, the mother went to the Waukegan Police Department to file a statement the next morning.
Matute was arrested and admitted to having sex with the girl in a videotaped statement that was played in court during a pretrial hearing to suppress the confession. Booras denied that motion.
In the videotaped interview with police, Matute admitted to investigators that he had sex with a girl he cared about who he believed was 11 or 12.
"You're having relations with her right," a detective asked.
"Yes," Matute responded.
The detective then asked how many times that had happened.
"I think three," Matute said.
"Was it voluntary? You didn't force her or anything," the detective questioned.
"No, Never," Matute responded.
Matute has been in custody of Lake County Jail in lieu of $250,000 since his arrest.
Tuesday afternoon, several DNA experts from the Northeastern Illinois crime lab said that evidence from a sexual assault evidence collection kit was analyzed at the lab and at least one item was found to have DNA consistent with both the girl and Matute.
In closing arguments, defense attorney Gabriel Conroe noted that the victim had been inconsistent in reporting the number of times sexual activity allegedly occurred, at first denying it, then claiming two and eventually stating four or five times in an interview with counselors and again in court Monday.
Assistant State's Attorney Jason Grindel argued that the defendant himself told police he had sex with the girl three times, and that it would not be unusual for a defendant to minimize the number of times he had sex with an 11-year-old girl.
Grindel also noted that the victim has testified that initially she didn't "want to let her mom down" by telling her that the incidents occurred, and also had motivation to minimize the number of events at first.
Ex-Maryland School Aid Charged With Child Sex Abuse, Attempting To Spread HIV Virus
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — More information has been released in the case of a former Charles County instructional assistant and track coach who is HIV+ and accused of child sexual abuse.
Charles County State’s Attorney Anthony B. Covington announced Monday that 30-year-old Carlos Deangelo Bell, who worked at several schools in Maryland, allegedly assaulted 24 students between May 2015 and June 2017.
That more than doubles the number of children that investigators initially believed Bell had victimized. Bell was arrested in late June, and some information about his case was released at that time.
A newly unsealed 119-count indictment charges Bell with 12 counts of child sexual abuse, 48 second-degree sex offense charges, 44 accounts of filming child pornography, six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, five counts of displaying obscene matter to a minor, three counts of transmitting or attempting to transmit HIV, two counts of third degree sex offense, two counts of second degree assault, two counts of solicitation of a minor and distribution of marijuana.
According to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Bell has worked at several Maryland schools.
In the fall of 2008 he worked as a facility attendant with the Charles County Department of Community Services. In the fall of 2015, he orked for AlphaBest, a Charles County government contractor, which provided before and after school care at J.P. Ryon Elementary School and William B. Wade Elementary School. In the spring of 2016, he volunteered as an assistant coach for a track club, Comets, located in Waldorf.
A special telephone number has been established for anyone with concerns about their children relating to this case. That phone number is 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Minnesota man gets 22 years for producing,
receiving child pornography
Doug Hanneman
A Hutchinson man was sentenced Thursday to nearly 22 years in federal prison for producing and receiving child pornography.
Jeremy David Mount, 41, pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to one count of receiving and one count of producing child pornography. He was sentenced to 262 months in prison on July 27 before U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson in St. Paul. He was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.
The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Brooker, District of Minnesota. The case resulted from an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Hutchinson Police Department, McLeod County Attorney’s Office, and the Kent Police Department in the United Kingdom.
“This case exemplifies what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies — nationally and internationally — work together to stop a predator,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Buzicky, who prosecuted the case. “These are some of the most difficult types of cases to work, but seeing defendants, like Jeremy Mount, receive just sentences and knowing that one more child is safe from harm makes it all worthwhile.”
Alex Khu, special agent in charge of HSI St. Paul said Homeland Security Investigations is committed to bringing to justice those who sexually exploit children.
“Jeremy Mount will be incarcerated for nearly 22 years for his heinous acts," Khu said. "This case exemplifies the long reach of HSI, and its ability to coordinate and pursue investigative efforts with our international law enforcement partners.”
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, in February 2016, HSI special agents received a lead from an undercover officer with the Kent Police Department in the United Kingdom regarding an individual who was sharing child pornography images online. HSI identified the individual as Mount. After obtaining a search warrant, they executed a search warrant at his apartment in Hutchinson.
Law enforcement agents identified dozens of child pornography images Mount traded and possessed using a computer and email account, as well as a cellphone containing several dozen images of a preschool-age child to whom he had access.
The investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 16,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.
During 2016, more than 2,600 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 800 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
Alabama man pleads guilty in
child sexual abuse case from 2006
By Stephen McLamb, ReporterMARSHALL COUNTY, AL (WAFF) -
A Marshall County man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl more than 10 years ago. For his crime, he must spend at least three years behind bars.
Pace faced sodomy and sexual abuse of a child charges. Instead, prosecutors agreed to let Pace plead guilty to felony child abuse charges.
When asked what he did, Pace told the judge he mistreated her.
Prosecutors say Pace sexually abused a girl under the age of 12 at an Albertville home for nearly three years back in 2006. Four years after the abuse, the child told a friend whose mother reported the abuse to police.
On Monday, a judge sentenced Pace to 10 years but suspended that sentence provided he serve three years.
Prosecutors say he pleaded guilty in Etowah County in June to a similar instance involving a second victim.
Pace's sentence will run concurrent with his Etowah County plea.
Good grief. If I ever have to go to court for something evil, I want that judge!
Marshall Co., AL
Indiana Christian school delayed informing police about alleged sexual misconduct with a minor
ANDERSON, Ind.– A former teacher at Indiana Christian Academy is facing a charge of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Investigators say Stephen Lingle, 28, acted inappropriately with a girl half his age.
“There were unwanted advances, letters talking about how attractive and beautiful she was. There is an allegation that she was touched inappropriately,” said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings.
According to court documents, he admitted to writing those letters. Even told police, his wife was not paying attention to him at home and just wanted a close friend.
Lingle isn’t the only one charged in the case. According to court documents, the student told a teacher about the alleged touching and letters on May 17. Police say school administrator Kevin Plew waited four days to report it.
“A young girl makes a report, that I’m sure is traumatizing to her and in four days no one does anything. I cannot imagine how that made her feel,” said Cummings. “She was back in the classroom and the teacher was still there. No one had done anything.”
Prosecutor Cummings says Plew broke the law. He faces one count of failure to report child abuse.
New Law
“There is a new law that teachers cannot just report it to their supervisor, they have to make the call to the police themselves. The staff member has to do it immediately. Immediately would be by the end of the class period,” said Cummings.
Indiana Christian Academy released a statement about the case:
“ICA has fully cooperated with authorities in the investigation of this matter, and will remain committed to doing so. At this time, our focus is on attending to the needs of the student and family involved.”
We reached out to the administrator and have not yet heard back.
If Lingle is convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor charge, he could face up to six years behind bars. If Plew is convicted, he could face up to 180 days.
Brother of man acquitted in Corrine Erstad disappearance sentenced for sex abuse in Minnesota
By MAUREEN MCMULLEN | Forum News Service
Guevara Jr., 53, is the older brother of Robert Joseph Guevara, 49. Robert Guevara was tried and acquitted in the 1992 abduction and murder of Erstad.
The little girl’s body was never found, and police are still investigating what happened to her.
Despite the acquittal, investigators still believe Robert Guevara was involved in her disappearance, the Inver Grove Heights police department has said. They were hopeful that Jerry Guevara’s arrest on unrelated charges would lead to new insight into the cold case.
A criminal complaint filed in Washington County in February 2017 said Woodbury police began investigating Jerry Guevara in 2015.
In 1992, police found the girl’s dress, stained with blood and semen, in Robert Guevara’s storage locker shortly after her disappearance. An apparent mixture of his and her bodily fluids were found on a shower curtain.
In Jerry Guevara’s case, officers found him with a 32-year-old woman and six children ranging in ages from 1 to 12 years old, all “in various stages of undress” in February. Police later determined that the woman was not Erstad.
Nevertheless, it is interesting that there would be a resemblance.
According to the complaint, the house smelled of mold, urine and feces, and contained little clothing, shoes or food for the children. Child Protective Services removed the children from the home.
Police searching the house found documents indicating that Guevara and the woman have nine children together, and that their first child was conceived when the woman was 16 years old and Guevara was 37.
Paternity tests conducted in 2002 confirmed that Guevara fathered the woman’s second child, who was conceived when she was 17 years old while the two lived together in Woodbury.
Another Mayor charged with child sex abuse
- This one in Nebraska
As calls for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray to resign increase,
a lesser known mayor has been accused of child sex abuse
Channel 8 Eyewitness News
RANDOLPH, Neb. (AP) _ The mayor of a northeast Nebraska city has been charged with intentional child abuse and four counts of child sexual abuse.
A court appearance for Schutt is scheduled Wednesday in Hartington.
Schutt has been mayor of Randolph since 2011. The Cedar County city has about 940 residents.
Former youth pastor in Minnesota sentenced
on child pornography charges
By SARAH HORNER | Pioneer PressA former youth pastor in Cottage Grove is heading to prison for sending sexually explicit images of children to others on social media sites, authorities say.
Not that I'm going soft, but in the UK this would not have garnered any prison time. Also, when compared to the story from Marshall County, above, it seems the penalty is excessive. The pervert above had sex with a girl under 12 for 3 years and got only 3 years in prison to run concurrent with another sentence for sexually abusing another girl. That means he probably won't spend a single day in prison for abusing that girl for years. There's something wrong somewhere.
Investigators were tipped off to Helker’s behavior this past fall when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent a tip to federal authorities about a Minnesota man who had reportedly sent pornographic images of children to someone in Finland.
Authorities later learned that the man in question was Helker, who was working at the time as an associate pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove.
Helker later admitted in court to sending the images to people on social media and also to engaging in a sexually explicit conversation with someone who told him she was 14, authorities report. He also took snapshot images of real minors and superimposed the pictures into pornographic images, court documents say.
Helker will serve 15 years on probation upon his release from prison.
He is no longer listed as a staff member on All Saints Lutheran Church’s website.
Plea Deal for Iowa Man in
Child Sex Abuse Case
MARION COUNTY, Iowa – A Van Meter man has admitted to sexually abusing a child in Pella in 2016.
When investigators contacted Nolan he claimed he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and did not remember the incident.
Online court records show Nolan is now pleading guilty to two counts of lascivious acts with a child. His sentencing has been scheduled for August 31st.
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