OKC Man Facing Four Counts Of Child Sex Abuse
of Two <7 y/o Kids
BY MATTHEW NUTTLE, NEWS9
OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma City man is facing multiple child sex crimes charges for alleged attacks on two young children.
Four charges of lewd acts with a child were filed against 31-year-old Ben Ruquet on Wednesday.
Ruquet was arrested back in July, accused of sexually molesting a young boy and girl at an apartment complex in northeast OKC. Both victims were under seven years of age at the time of the alleged abuse.
Ruquet remains behind bars at the Oklahoma County Jail. His bond was set at $60,000.
Montana man charged with child porn possession
about a year after acquittal of sexual assault charges
Seaborn Larson, great falls tribune
Montana: About a year after he was acquitted at trial of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, a 43-year-old man has been charged with possession of more than 800 images of child pornography.
Prosecutors filed 832 felony counts of sexual abuse of children against Brandon Cordell Bennett, 43, including one for each of the child pornography images allegedly found downloaded on his cell phone. He was arrested Thursday morning by Great Falls police and is being held in custody with bail set at $250,000.
Investigators refocused on Bennett about two weeks after he was acquitted in 2016 of sex crimes against an 8-year-old child. The mother of that child brought Bennett's phone to law enforcement almost exactly one year ago, Aug. 23, alleging she had discovered child pornography imagines saved to the device.
Detectives were unable to unlock the phone's passcode, but they held on to the phone while they sought the hardware and software needed to unlock the device.
During the detectives' interview with the victim's mother, she said Bennett had used the phone for a year prior to his arrest in October 2015 for allegedly molesting the girl in the first case. In that case, the girl hesitantly reported the abuse to her family, who brought the matter to police. In court documents, Bennett first accused the girl of lying, although he reportedly switched, saying maybe she wasn't lying but any contact had not been intentional.
At trial in August 2016, prosecutors said Bennett's DNA had been found on the girl's genital area. Bennett's defense attorney said the girl was coached through her police interview, and that she was an impressionable young girl influenced by others. He added only a trace amount of Bennett's DNA was found on the girl and didn't prove sexual contact.
After a three-day trial, which included testimony from the girl, jurors took about 45 minutes to find Bennett not guilty on Aug. 10, 2016. About two weeks later, detectives discovered the phone allegedly containing child porn.
After detectives had Bennett's phone in August 2016, they reportedly found several images of child pornography, although only a small portion of the whole batch, according to court documents. They found most of the images were encrypted on the device and held the phone while waiting for software and hardware from the Department of Homeland Security to read encrypted files. County Attorney Josh Racki said this process took months to acquire search warrants, software and technical savvy.
A detective eventually opened 832 encrypted images identified as child pornography from Bennett's cell phone that had been downloaded from the internet, according to court documents. The images contain known victims of child pornography from previous cases uncovered from online file-sharing services.
99-year sentence for Louisiana man who videotaped
sex abuse of toddler
By Michelle Hunter NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Calling the case the "most disturbing thing" he's ever seen, a Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday sentenced a Gretna man to a total of 99 years in prison for sexually abusing a 1-year-old girl and video recording some of the acts with his cellphone.
Roy Dixon, 26, was found guilty in May of two counts of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and one count of production of pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13.
Suspect allegedly masturbated on baby, confessed to sending videos to love interest, authorities said.
Judge Stephen Enright Jr. of the 24th Judicial District Court ordered Dixon to serve 20 years for the child pornography count. But he sentenced Dixon to 99 years for the two counts of sexual battery of a child under the age of 13.
During the trial, the jury and court viewed sexually explicit photographs and videos Dixon was accused of recording while he violated the girl, mimicking sex acts and inserting objects, an arrest report said.
"I was a prosecutor in my previous life. I've been on the bench for four years. This is pretty much the most disturbing thing that I've ever seen," Enright said.
Gretna police arrested Dixon on Jan. 26, 2013, after an acquaintance found a video of the abuse on Dixon's cellphone and contacted authorities.
Dixon eventually admitted recording the videos and taking the photos in July and August of 2012. Investigators recovered a total of 14 sexually explicit photos and three videos of the girl on Dixon's cellphone and laptop, the district attorney's office said.
Dixon told detectives he made and shared the videos at the request of a man named Brad. During the trial, Brad was identified as Brad J. Case, a Baton Rouge man sentenced to 96 months in prison in 2013 after pleading guilty to a federal charge of distribution of child pornography in an unrelated case, according to the Jefferson Parish district attorney's office.
Dixon denied raping or harming the toddler. His defense attorney, Graham Bosworth, argued during a motion for a new trial Thursday that prosecutors never proved that it was Dixon in the videos or that he possessed the cellphone when the acts were recorded.
But prosecutor Blair Constant pointed to Dixon's videotaped confession and told the court the state had indeed proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Enright denied the motion for a new trial.
Enright imposed the maximum sentence on Dixon for the sexual battery charges, ordering him to serve his time on all three charges without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
"Any lesser sentence would denigrate the seriousness of this offense," Enright said.
The judge noted that Dixon continued to take no responsibility for his actions and had shown no remorse. "This court has great fear that Mr. Dixon, if he ever is released from jail will, offend again," Enright said.
Texas Couple Awarded $3.4M After Wrongful Convictions for Abusing Kids in Satanic Rituals: Reports
BY ALEXIA FERNANDEZ•@ALEXIAFEDZ
A Texas couple was awarded approximately $3.4 million on Tuesday, decades after they were accused of sexually abusing children during alleged satanic rituals outside of their Austin child care care facility, according to multiple news reports
Dan and Fran Keller spent more than 21 years in prison after they were found guilty in 1992, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The money they are set to receive is from a state fund to compensate wrongfully convicted people.
The Kellers were accused of sexually abusing a 3-year-old girl after children at the day care they operated out of their home told investigators of “satanic rituals, drinking blood laced cool aide, taking children to Mexico by plane to be raped-dismemberment of bodies, there were even stories of putting children in a pool with sharks,” according to local TV station KTBC.
They were each sentenced to 48 years in prison but were freed in 2013 and a Texas appeals court overturned their convictions in 2015, the Statesman reports, writing on Tuesday night:
“The Keller case made national news after three children accused them in 1991 of leading ghastly satanic rituals. … No evidence of such activities was discovered at their in-home day care facility, and the case against them collapsed about two decades later when the only physical evidence of abuse was acknowledged as a mistake by the examining physician.”
In June, the Travis County, Texas, district attorney, Margaret Moore, dismissed the cases against the Kellers and declared them “actually innocent,” citing “no credible evidence” that they committed the crimes of which they were accused, according to station KXAN.
The wrongful convictions have been cited as examples of a widespread “satanic panic” of the ’80s and ’90s.
“They are now compensated and no longer must fear homelessness or lack of health insurance,” the Kellers’ attorney wrote in an email, KXAN reports. “They are buying a home and can live out their lives in peace and quiet. I am very happy for them.”
The Kellers’ wish list includes buying a house, a car, health insurance and better hearing aids for Dan, 75, according to the Statesman.
Fran, 67, told the paper that she and her husband were ecstatic with the news.
“This means we don’t have to worry about pinching pennies on Social Security, and late bills,” she said. “It means we will actually be free. We can start living — and no more nightmares.”
Iowa man sentenced to prison for
molesting young boy
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - A Dubuque man convicted of molesting a young boy has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a child.
The Telegraph Herald reports that 39-year-old Sean Hilliard was sentenced Monday in Dubuque County. He had been convicted in May by a jury of second-degree sexual abuse.
Court documents say the boy told his mother last year that Hilliard sexually abused him at Hilliard's house. The boy told police that Hilliard was a coach at the youth community center, but the center denied he was a coach there.
4 more religious sect members arrested for
child sex abuse in N.M.
RUSSELL CONTRERAS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this undated photo, James Green, co-leader of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, waits in the parking lot of the Cibola County Magistrate Court in Grants, N.M. Four members of the New Mexico paramilitary religious sect rocked by child sexual abuse allegations were arrested while trying to flee the state in two vans full of children, authorities said Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. (Adron Gardner/Gallup Independent via AP)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Four members of a New Mexico paramilitary religious sect rocked by child sexual abuse allegations were arrested while trying to flee the state in two vans full of children, authorities said Thursday.
Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace confirmed to The Associated Press that the four members of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps were arrested late Wednesday as deputies tried to execute a court order to pick up the children for interviews from the group’s isolated compound in western New Mexico.
Arrest warrants had been issued for the four taken into custody. They were arrested late Wednesday on felony warrants for failure to register the births of their 11 children.
Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound, according to the Gallup Independent (https://goo.gl/enw239), which first reported the arrest.
Sect leaders had previously told authorities they didn’t have transportation to take the children to meet with an FBI forensic interviewer.
Inside the vans were seven children, around $1,000 in cash, luggage and road maps, Mace said. “Basically, you could tell they were getting ready to bug out and leave the area,” Mace said. “I believe that’s in an effort to try to conceal the kids from us.”
Mace said the children, believed to be ages 4-17, were turned over to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. Investigators believe the vans may have been headed to a location in Colorado.
The group’s attorney, Robert Lohbeck, said the sheriff’s claim the group was trying to flee was “absolutely false” and deputies knew the group was coming to meet with him.
“My clients all along have been trying to co-operate,” said Lohbeck, who represents the four adults arrested Wednesday. “They are not trying to run. They are not trying to hide.”
Sect member Joshua Green told the Gallup Independent that the adults took a change of clothes with them because they were going to stay the night in a motel and meet with Lohbeck on Thursday morning.
The arrests came four days after authorities raided the group’s Fence Lake compound and arrested sect co-leader Deborah Green and two other group members in connection with a child abuse investigation. Another person was arrested in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
This week, a judge ordered Deborah Green held on a $500,000 secured bond on charges that included failure to report the birth, child abuse and sexual penetration of a minor.
Sect member Peter Green, also known as Mike Brandon, also was being held on a $5 million secured bond and faces 100 counts of sexual penetration of a child after being accused of raping a girl at least four times a week from the time she was 7, according to court documents.
In a prepared statement, the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps called the criminal allegations from Sunday’s arrest “totally false.”
The more recent arrest followed failed negotiations between the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office and James Green, co-leader of the sect.
The two sides previously had reached an agreement to let the children be transported in a borrowed school bus to be interviewed Wednesday afternoon by an FBI forensic expert.
But James Green told the Gallup Independent that the agreement fell apart when their attorney told them to cancel.
“When the sheriffs went out to our compound to pick up 11 children and four parents to bring in to CYFD for an interview, our lawyer told us not to let the kids’ parents go until he had a chance to interview them first, because that is our right,” James Green said.
Lohbeck confirmed that he advised the parents to hold off on allowing the children to be interviewed until he had a chance to review the case since he had only been hired on Wednesday.
The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, founded in Sacramento, California, describes itself as a group that is “revolutionary for Jesus” and provides a free spiritual “ammo pack” to anyone who submits a written request. Photos of members show them in military-style clothing and on missions in Africa.
Its website is laced with anti-Semitic language and anti-gay tirades about same-sex marriage.
Indiana man charged with child sex abuse after
'crowdfunding to raise money to be with
14-year-old "fiancée"'
A man has been charged with child sex abuse after he allegedly started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to travel 1,300 miles to be with his 14-year-old “fiancée”.
William Eugene White Jr, from Montezuma, Indiana, was arrested in Missoula, Montana, on Monday.
The 29-year-old reportedly spent the night with the underage girl at a homeless shelter in the city. He is believed to have arrived in the state on August 7, court records show.
White appeared in Missoula County Justice Court on Tuesday charged with felony sexual abuse of children.
He did not enter a plea and his bail was set at $25,000.
Justice Mike Frellick ordered White not to have contact with the 14-year-old girl or anyone else under the age of 18.
White’s GoFundMe campaign was immediately removed and did not receive any donations, a spokesman for the fundraising website told KGVO-AM.
N.Y. sex offender gave cigarettes, pot to child
By Ed Damon,
HOOSICK, N.Y. — A local man who allegedly gave cigarettes and marijuana to a child was also charged for failing registry requirements for his sex offender status, according to New York State Police.
Michael D. Briggs, 41, was arrested Wednesday after authorities learned he provided cigarettes and marijuana to a 12-year-old girl, according to a news release from state police. During their investigation, troopers found that Briggs, a level 2 sex offender, failed registry requirements for his offender status.
Briggs was charged with two felony counts for failing offender registration requirements, as well as misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful dealing with a child and criminal sale of marijuana.
Briggs is classified as a level 2 sex offender, according to the New York state registry website, meaning a "medium risk of re-offense exists." New York state law requires level 2 offenders to report to a local police agency to have a current picture taken every three years.
Brigg's offender status stems from a 2004 conviction in Rensselaer County of sexual abuse of a person incapable of consent, in that case and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to the Department of Corrections website. He's designated as a "sexually violent and predicate sex offender."
Briggs was arraigned this week in Hoosick town court and remanded to the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail. Briggs was listed as "out of custody" on Wednesday evening.
2 Men sentenced in child sex abuse cases in N.M.
Joshua Kellogg
AZTEC — Two men in separate cases were sentenced this week to lengthy terms in state prison on convictions for child sex abuse.
Frank Little was sentenced to 36 years in prison Wednesday afternoon in Aztec district court, according to San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien.
Little was convicted of six child sex assault charges during a two-day jury trial that ended on Aug. 9. He was charged on June 23, 2010, and was accused of sexually assaulting two female relatives.
The convictions include one count of criminal sexual penetration in the first degree, two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second degree and three counts of criminal sexual penetration in the second degree.
Little was held at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., for approximately four years because he had been ruled incompetent to stand trial in 2012 by Judge John Dean Jr. He was ordered to be transferred back to the San Juan County Adult Detention Center on July 21, 2016, after the DA's Office learned Little had been ruled competent to stand trial.
Bradford Parker, 38, was sentenced to 12 years in prison this morning in Aztec district court on a conviction for one count of criminal sexual penetration in the first degree.
He was convicted following a two-day trial that ended on Feb. 28, according to court records. Parker was accused of sexually assaulting a young female relative, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Parker was initially charged on July 30, 2015, with six child sex abuse charges, but five of them were later dismissed by the DA's Office, according to court records.
Members of Parker's family spoke up during today's sentencing hearing, describing him as a hard-working man who loved his family and volunteered to help neighbors in need.
Parker briefly spoke during the hearing, stating he wanted to apologize to his children and thanking his family for their support.
During a March 15 hearing, the victim told the court how Parker's actions impacted her, according to a transcript of the hearing. She said she felt depressed and isolated, and had suicidal thoughts following the incidents, according to court documents.
"We hope it sends a message to the individuals that do this type of thing to children," O'Brien said in response to the sentences handed down to the two men. "It deters them from this kind of predatory behavior in the future."
Man arrested in Brown County for child sex crimes
Joshua Peguero
BROWNWOOD, Texas - A 51-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, according to Brown County Jail records.
Samuel Aguirre De La Paz of Mabank is in jail on a $175,000 bond.
KTXS learned the Brownwood Police Department is the agency behind this arrest, but the department declined to provide any details on its investigation.
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