North Carolina couple arrested in connection with
sexual abuse of three minors
Adam Gaub
ONSLOW COUNTY - A husband and wife in the Jacksonville area are under arrest, charged in connection with the sexual molestation of multiple children.
OCSO's Special Victims Unit got a report on May 26 that a child was being sexually molested. During the investigation, it was discovered two other children were also victims, which lead to the arrest of Corey Greenfield, of Maplehurst Drive.
Greenfield was arrested Friday and charged with five counts of statutory sexual offense, two counts 1st degree statutory sexual offense, six counts indecent liberties with a child and statutory sexual offense by an adult. Greenfield was booked into the Onslow County Detention Center on a $775,000 secured bond.
Greenfield's wife, Bambi Townsend, was aware of the molestation but failed to report it to authorities, according to OCSO. She was also arrested on Friday and charged with three counts of failing to report child abuse or sexual abuse and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Townsend was booked into the OCDC under a $6,000 secured bond.
Anyone with information on this incident may contact Onslow County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 455-3113, email Det. Charles Parrish at Charles_parrish@onslowcountync.gov, or call Crime Stoppers at (910) 938-3273. Please refer to case 2017-009241 when calling.
Judge gives NY state man 17 years for
child pornography possession
By SUZANNE MOORE News Editor
PLATTSBURGH — A Witherbee man who admitted having hundreds of videos and photos of child pornography has been sentenced to 212 months in prison.
Kirkland Smith, 55, is also a convicted sex offender who sexually abused two children younger than age 12, said a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
5 HARD DRIVES
The case dates back to Oct. 30, 2014, when a state trooper found Smith passed out at the wheel of his car on Route 73 in Keene.
His blood alcohol content was 4.5 times the legal limit, police said then. And with him in the car was a memory card for an electronic tablet that held child pornography.
"A court-authorized search warrant of the defendant’s residence resulted in the seizure of additional media containing child pornography," the release said.
Smith had five hard drives there that held pornography involving children as well.
He admitted that it involved prepubescent minors and minors under the age of 12, the release said.
The State Police Troop B Computer Crimes Unit found the images on the seized hard drives, police said earlier.
CHARGES
Smith, who was previously convicted of second-degree child molestation in Rhode Island, was charged with driving while intoxicated after the 2014 wreck.
Then, in January 2015, he was charged with promoting an obscene performance by a child younger than 17 and possession of an obscene sexual performance by a child, both felonies.
And in April 2015, two more counts of each of those sex charges were added.
In the past, Smith had been arrested and charged with child-pornography possession in Vermont, Rhode Island and Louisiana, police said earlier.
'OUTSTANDING WORK'
At sentencing in Plattsburgh, Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue determined that Smith's past, including the sexual abuse of two children, indicated a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors.
The judge also imposed a lifetime term of supervised release and ordered the defendant to pay $4,000 in restitution.
“Thanks to the vigilance of a New York State trooper, Kirkland Smith will spend the next 17 years in prison," Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith said in the release.
"I want to commend the outstanding work of our State Police members and our federal partners in bringing this case to a successful conclusion," noted said State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II in a statement. "Thanks to this collaboration, we have taken a dangerous individual off the streets."
Witherbee, NY
Maryland school parents were uninformed for months about sex-abuse probe
By T. Rees Shapiro
Administrators at a Southern Maryland school district waited six months to inform parents at a middle school that one of its employees had been placed on administrative leave as police investigated a lewd text message he allegedly sent to a member of a high school track team.
The investigation in Charles County, begun in December, led to the arrest of Carlos Deangelo Bell in June on accusations that he sexually molested several students. The former instructional aide at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School and former track coach at La Plata High School now faces 119 counts, including child sexual abuse, production of child pornography and possible transmission of HIV. Police say they believe there are at least 24 victims.
In late December, the La Plata High principal told 47 parents of members of the track team in an email that the coach was on leave while police investigated an allegation against him. But Charles school officials said other parents at La Plata High and Stoddert Middle were not informed about Bell’s leave or the investigation until after his arrest.
“During the time of the police investigation, we were not aware police were investigating more than an alleged inappropriate text message to a La Plata track team member, until criminal charges were filed in June,” said county schools spokeswoman Katie O’Malley-Simpson.
School and law enforcement officials said Bell appeared to be a predator so deft that he hid the alleged crimes for nearly two years.
The case has stunned two school communities. La Plata High has about 1,000 students and Stoddert Middle nearly 700.
On July 31, Charles County Schools Superintendent Kimberly A. Hill said she had replaced the principal of Stoddert Middle. Kenneth Schroeck, who has worked in the school system for 25 years and who had led the middle school in Waldorf since 2014, was reassigned to the school system’s office of support, Hill said. The superintendent said she took the action after meeting with the Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington and Sheriff Troy Berry.
Schroeck has not been accused of wrongdoing. He did not respond to telephone messages seeking comment. Marvin Jones, who had been executive director of schools, has replaced Schroeck at Stoddert.
Bell, 30, is being held without bond at the Charles County detention center, said one of his attorneys, Jeffrey Griffith. Bell has not entered a plea. Griffith said that Bell is awaiting his day in court to fight the allegations.
The investigation began in December after a La Plata High parent noticed her son had been texting with Bell. O’Malley-Simpson said he was put on leave on Dec. 22.
Bell was told that he was not allowed on any school grounds except for the administrative office where he was reassigned. In January, Bell was terminated after he failed to report to that new assignment. In May, Bell was seen at a track meet. Afterward, Hill issued a no-trespassing order against him.
O’Malley-Simpson said administrators learned only on June 30 about the sealed indictment that detailed the scope of Bell’s alleged abuse.
On July 3, when the case was made public, the school system told Stoddert parents for the first time about Bell’s departure.
The investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed, school officials said.
“These charges are horrific and I share in the disgust and outrage that our community is feeling,” Hill wrote to Stoddert parents on July 31.
In an interview last week, Hill said Bell had passed two criminal background investigations before he was hired. In checks against state and national sex-offender databases, Bell came up clean, she said.
“This is obviously a tragedy and it happened in our school, and my job is making sure we are protecting our children and that we have procedures in place to stop this from happening again,” Hill said.
Bell had worked in county schools since 2014, starting as a temporary instructional assistant at J.P. Ryon Elementary. He also worked in before- and after-school programs at two elementary schools. He started at Stoddert in March 2015. In addition, he coached track at McDonough and La Plata high schools. At Stoddert, Bell became known as a thoughtful, trusted and caring tutor in mathematics.
Deron Tross, whose son attended Stoddert two years ago, said that the charges have shocked families and that questions remain about how the police and school administrators handled the allegations against Bell as he “ruined kids.”
“I don’t call him Mr. Bell,” Tross said. “I call him Monster Bell.”
Hill said all 3,500 Charles school employees — from principals to janitors — will take required training by Sept. 30 in how to help identify signs of sexual abuse. Hill said the program is needed because it can be difficult to spot possible predators, who studies show can be adept at camouflaging their intentions.
“They do a lot of work in grooming adults as well as children,” Hill said. The superintendent said Stoddert staffers have described Bell as “someone they trusted, that everyone loved at the school.”
“That part is very disconcerting — that so many people could be fooled for so long,” Hill said. “But according to the experts, that’s the [modus operandi] of someone who is really good at this.”
Utah OB/GYN back in jail after additional
child abuse charges
By Gephardt Daily Staff
BOUNTIFUL, Utah, — A Bountiful OB/GYN — out on bail after his arrest for allegedly sending graphic images of children in adult situations — has been rearrested on additional charges.
Nathan Clark Ward, 55, was rebooked into the Davis County Jail on Friday, and has now been charged in 2nd District Court with:
One count of sodomy upon a child, a first-degree felony
One count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony
One count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and
Two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Those charges are in addition to the charges filed in his July 19 arrest: Six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
Ward, who was out on a $10,000 bond, is now being held without bail.
His July arrest came after a tip from Yahoo, which notified authorities about about child pornography being uploaded on the web. Utah’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force then conducted its own eight-month investigation before Ward’s arrest.
The uploaded pictures reportedly show children and adults in sexually suggestive poses and/or engaging in sexual activities.
Investigators believe the photos were uploaded to a Yahoo messenger account Ward initially denied was his, but which Utah authorities later learned contained his name, his birthday, his former address in Idaho, photos of family members, and a “selfie.”
The account also had instant messages of a sexually explicit nature, and connections to a Craigslist ad seeking sexual encounters. One message contained a phone number connected to Bountiful’s Lakeview Clinic, where Ward worked on contract as an OB-GYN.
Additional emails alluded to Ward having had sex with a 15-year-old girl he allegedly got drunk on vodka, and with a 13-year-old girl, the first probable cause statement says.
After his arrest, the Lakeview Clinic removed its biography of Ward, which said he was a staff physician in the Air Force for 13 years, and called him a specialist in women’s healthcare, adding, “Dr. Ward is able to treat high risk pregnancies, infertility and all types of gynecological problems.”
Texas man sentenced to life behind bars for
continuous sexual abuse of a child
By Ronnie Marley, Digital Content Manager
ODESSA, TX (KWES) -
One man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a young child.
Jose Sanchez was tried on Monday for the 2016 continuous sexual abuse of a child after waiving a jury and going to the court for a trial.
We're told Judge Stacy Trotter found Sanchez guilty and sentenced him to life behind bars.
District Attorney Bobby Bland said in a statement, “This maximum sentence handed down by Judge Trotter will assure that this defendant stays where he belongs and will no long victimize the children of our community.”
Oregon man arrested after investigators find
60 photos of child porn
by KATU News
POLK COUNTY, Ore. – A Dallas Ore., man was arrested Thursday for possession of child pornography, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators located more than 60 photos of child pornography involving children ranging in age from one to 14 years old.
Investigators found the images on electronic devices owned by Dale Lynn Sherman, 48.
He was lodged in the Polk County Jail on 30 counts of second degree encouraging child sex abuse.
Wyoming man charged with 7 counts of
child porn production
Tom Morton
A Gillette, WY, man faces automatic life imprisonment if found guilty of just one of seven counts of producing child pornography with a 7- and a 9-year-old girl, according to an indictment.
Charles Mathisen heard those seven counts plus two counts of possessing child pornography during his initial appearance in before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Shickich in U.S. District Court on Friday.
Mathisen, 63, was previously charged with one count of possession of child pornography in a criminal complaint filed in June, and he made his initial appearance on that charge on July 10.
But on July 20, the federal grand jury handed up the indictment with the two counts of possession and seven counts of production of child pornography. The indictment says the alleged crimes happened from January 2013 to June 2016.
Besides his initial appearance on Friday, prosecutors amended the penalties for production of child pornography from a minimum of 35 years of imprisonment to automatic life imprisonment.
If convicted, Mathisen also must pay $5,000 to the Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2015.
He remains in custody. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 10 before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal in Cheyenne.
The case began in May 2016 when the Gillette Police Department began the investigation of a sexual assault of a prepubescent girl, according to the criminal complaint filed by a Gillette police officer.
Police executed an arrest warrant for Mathisen on a charge of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Police also executed a search warrant on his residence. Police seized a computer, digital camera and other electronic devices.
The officer analyzed images and found Mathisen had photographed and made video files of the girl while he was assaulting her, according to the affidavit.
Mathisen also admitted to detectives he used a camera to photograph and video the girl.
On Jan. 27, a doctor examined the victim and positively identified her as the girl in the images.
The indictment did not discuss what happened with the second alleged victim.
The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves sometimes brutal assaults on children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.
Trial for Kentucky Man Accused of Child Sexual Abuse Continued Until November
Rita Dukes Smith, SurfKY News Director
GREENVILLE, Ky. — The trial of a Muhlenberg County man charged with several counts of sodomy and sexual abuse/victim under age 12 has been continued.
The trial of Jesse L. Graham, who was 48 at the time of his arrest in October, was continued from the first week of August to the first week of November.
Graham was charged with eight counts of first-degree sodomy/victim under age 12 and four counts of first-degree sexual abuse/victim under age 12.
Graham remains lodged in the Muhlenberg County Detention Center.
Muhlenberg Co., KY
Upstate NY man charged with child sexual abuse
GLENS FALLS — A Glens Falls man was jailed Friday for allegedly sexually abusing a child younger than 11, police said.
Kevin R. Sterling, 31, of Sherman Avenue, was arrested after police received a complaint that he had sexual contact with a child he knew earlier this year, according to Glens Falls Police.
Sterling made admissions when he was questioned, and was also charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, police records show.
He was arraigned and sent to Warren County Jail for lack of bail.
Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Kyle Diamond investigated the case, assisted by State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation from the Queensbury station.
Texas man sentenced to 25 years in
child sex abuse case
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON
A 68-year-old McGregor man pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of sexually assaulting a young family member and will be sentenced later this week to 25 years in prison.
Danny Ray Elliott pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and three counts of sexual assault of a child in exchange for recommendations from prosecutors that he be sentenced to 25 years in prison on the first count and 20 years on the remaining three counts.
Judge Matt Johnson of Waco's 54th State District Court delayed sentencing Elliott until Wednesday so the girl, who is now, 20, could deliver a victim-impact statement in court.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors reduced the first count from continuous sexual abuse of a child, which carried a maximum sentence of life in prison with no hope for parole.
The plea bargain calls for the sentences to be served concurrently, which means Elliott will be at least 80 before he can be considered for parole.
That's only 12 years!!!! Good grief!
According to records filed in the case, the girl was 17 when she reported the abuse after she had a miscarriage in 2014 and Elliott expressed concern that the baby could have been his.
The girl told McGregor police investigators that Elliott began touching her inappropriately when she was 14 or 15 in 2011. She said the sexual abuse escalated when she would accompany Elliott on out-of-town trips to sell bird houses he made and they would stay together in motels.
The girl also reported that Elliott would wait until family members were asleep and he would wake the girl up, bring her to the living room and have sex with her two or three nights a week.
12 years!!! Arrrrrgh!
Math teacher sentenced to 20 years for felony sexual battery of Virginia middle school girls
By Gregg MacDonald/Fairfax County Times
On August 4, Jose Daniel Estrada, 36 of Clifton, was sentenced to 20 years for two counts of felony sexual battery, with 12 years suspended -- two sentences to run concurrently. Upon release, he will have 12 years of supervised probation and be required to register as a sex offender. Probation restrictions include being banned from teaching children or having contact with the victims or their families; no unsupervised contact with minors without approval; sex offender evaluation and treatment; no unapproved use of computers or the Internet; and more.
The charges were a result of separate incidents with two female students at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School when he was a math teacher. Estrada entered a guilty plea at a hearing in May. He was arrested in February by the City of Falls Church Police. The first victim reported an incident to the Falls Church City Public Schools in January, and Estrada was immediately removed from his assignment. A second victim came forward during the investigation. Police detectives, Child Protective Services, and school administration collaborated throughout the process.
“Our community will feel the effects of this case for a long time,” said Police Chief Mary Gavin. “The Darkness to Light organization recently held training for the community. It was really effective in teaching adults how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. I can’t say enough about the value of educating yourself on how to deal with these situations, even if you think it’ll never happen to a child you care for. It’s our obligation as community members to stand up for children. We stand with these victims who spoke out, and the adults who encouraged them to report the incidents.”
"We are grateful for the sentence handed down by Judge Newman," said Theo Stamos, Commonwealth Attorney. "It is my hope that the sentence will bring peace to the victims, their families, and the entire community."
St. Louis woman sexually abused child relative with sex toys, scissors, charges say
By Joel Currier, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis woman has been charged with sexually abusing an underage cousin over six years using sex toys and scissors.
Jasmine Johnson, 23, of the 1100 block of South 13th Street, is facing seven counts of sodomy, three counts of statuory sodomy and one count of child molestation.
Charges filed July 26 in St. Louis Circuit Court say Johnson sexually abused a girl multiple times between 2011 and May of this year. The girl reported being abused between the ages of 12 and 14 and later between the ages of 15 and 17.
Court documents say the alleged abuse caused bleeding and left scarring.
Bail for Johnson was set at $200,000 cash. Johnson was not in custody Monday. No booking photo was available Monday.
Former North Myrtle Beach official indicted
for sexual abuse of a minor
BY AUDREY HUDSON
A former North Myrtle Beach official and son of a county councilman has been indicted by a grand jury on four criminal counts involving sexual abuse of a minor.
Harold Gene Worley, Jr., was indicted July 19 on one count each of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 years old; criminal solicitation of a minor; unlawful neglect of a child; and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Worley is a former member of the North Myrtle Beach planning commission, his father is Horry County Councilman Harold Worley.
The younger Worley was originally arrested in September and charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to court records. He was released on $15,000 bond.
Councilman Worley says the accusation arose as part of a messy divorce.
“It’s just an ugly, hatred-filled divorce,” Worley said. “It’s tough on everybody. But I think a jury will see right through the lies.”
Police reports say that a woman said she witnessed Worley Jr. involved in incidents with children, and that an unnamed victim claimed to have been sexually abused by him.
The victims, whose ages were not listed, were taken to a counselor, where they allegedly mentioned other incidents involving Worley Jr., the report says.
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