Ex-U.S. Marine gets life in prison for rape,
murder of woman in Japan
By Sara Shayanian
UPI -- A former U.S. military contractor was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a Japanese woman in Okinawa.
A Japanese panel of judges and jurors sentenced Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, 33, a former U.S. Marine, for raping and killing Rina Shimabukuro, 20, and abandoning her body in a forest.
According to the indictment, Shinzato attacked Shimabukuro on a road in Uruma at around 10 p.m. on April 28, 2016. Her body was found three weeks later.
Shinzato pleaded guilty to rape resulting in death and abandoning the body but did not plead guilty to murder. He was later convicted of all three crimes.
A panel in Naha District Court handed down the sentence to Shinzato, with Judge Toshihiro Shibata saying there was no room for leniency.
"The life of the victim -- who had just celebrated her adulthood -- was suddenly taken and her body was abandoned in the bushes," Shibata said. "There is no reason to find a lighter sentence than life imprisonment."
Although Shinzato said he "did not intend to cause such a result," prosecutors said the victim was stabbed in the neck with a knife three or four times and was later struck her a bar on the back of her head between five and 10 times.
Pretty hard to plead 'accidental'!
"Had the defendant had the respect and caring thoughts for another person's life, he could have stopped assaulting her ... the defendant attempted to rape a total stranger and then murdered her," Shibata said.
Shinzato was a civilian working for an Internet company at the Kadena Air Base at the time of the attack after serving as a Marine from 2007 to 2014.
Okinawa is the island home to nearly half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan.
Okinawa, Japan
Iowa registered sex offender charged
with child sexual abuse
Times staff newsroom@qctimes.com
A Davenport registered sex offender was arrested Thursday after police say he had sexually abused a child multiple times since 2001.
Searcy Lavern Wyatt Jr., 45, was booked into the Scott County Jail at 11:15 a.m. on one count of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, and one count of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Online jail records show that he was released less than an hour later after posting $35,000 through a bail bond company.
Arrest affidavits released by Davenport police Thursday say that the abuse began in 2001 when the child was younger than 12 and continued until 2014.
Wyatt had previously been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on three counts of lascivious acts with a child, a Class D felony, according to court records.
Former upstate NY man sentenced for
molesting child
A former North Tonawanda man who sexually abused an 8-year-old girl for over six months in 2011 and 2012 was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison.
Jay H. Myers, 56, formerly of Payne Avenue, committed multiple acts of sexual abuse, including one act of oral sexual contact, against the victim in a North Tonawanda residence from September 2011 to March 2012.
In 2016, the victim went to police, who called Myers in for questioning July 25, 2016. Myers was then arrested at North Tonawanda Police headquarters and charged with first-degree sexual criminal act and first-degree sexual abuse, and later with first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a class-D felony.
Myers, who had since relocated to Syracuse, pleaded guilty May 30 to first-degree sexual abuse.
In a statement to the court, the victim said Myers' abuse caused lasting emotional damage, including trust issues, a sense of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide.
"I have closure now and I'm going to get better for the people who care about me," the victim said. "I'm not weak and I'll never let anyone control me like you did."
Myers told Niagara County Supreme Court Judge Richard Kloch he'd been seeking treatment and planned to use his time in prison to better himself.
"I stand before you with a truly heavy and remorseful heart," Myers said. "My behavior was hurtful, my actions reckless."
Kloch told Myers his actions were "so harsh, so devoid of humanity," that he deserved no less than the longest sentence permissible by law.
Kloch also sentenced Myers to 15 years of post-release supervision, and barred Myers from having any contact with the victim for the next 15 years.
PA State College man denies most allegations
in child sex abuse trial
BY JEREMY HARTLEY
BELLEFONTE, PA
A State College man denied a majority of the allegations against him as a sexual assault trial began Thursday at the Centre County Courthouse.
Joseph J. Neff, 36, was charged by State College police in May with more than 700 counts ranging from rape of a child and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child to corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. According to police, the conduct had occurred from 2009 through 2013-14 and started when the child was 8 years old.
The female reported the incidents had mainly occurred at residences in Boalsburg and State College, the affidavit said, and involved one occasion of sexual intercourse.
During opening arguments, Neff’s attorney, Deb Lux, told the jury her client was not without fault and had admitted to touching the female twice. The incidents, however, had not happened hundreds of times over a course of years and actual intercourse had also never occurred, she said.
The female told the jury — which was made up 13 women and one man — that she had known Neff all her life and described him as an extension of her family. She testified that the incidents began as inappropriate comments and looks, which eventually progressed to touching her at night almost weekly.
During the time of the alleged abuse, she also said Neff had told her he was in love with her and had admitted to being “sexually frustrated.” A significant period of abuse had reportedly occurred while her father was ill and her mother was not around to keep an eye on the family.
She told the prosecution that she had not told anyone about his reported actions because, at the time, the family was going through a lot and she wanted to do “what was best for her family.”
State College police Detective Chris Weaver testified, saying police got involved after they had been alerted of an investigation by the Children’s Advocacy Center. He went on to say that Neff had been brought to the police station to speak with himself and a fellow officer in May.
During the interview, Weaver said Neff had waived his Miranda rights and initially denied any inappropriate contact with the female. After learning of the CAC investigation, however, he reportedly became emotional and admitted to the contact, allegedly saying the female had not been lying.
Weaver’s testimony was accompanied by a recorded statement played for the court in which Neff admitted to contact on several occasions. The contact had continued for several years, he said, but stopped when she told him to stop.
Neff took the stand later in the day and, while admitting to two occasions of inappropriate contact when the female was 10 or 11 years old, denied every other instance. Neff claimed to care for her as a child and would do “anything a parent or brother would do.”
He testified that he was “blindsided” by the accusations when he was brought in by police, saying that Weaver had threatened to never let him see his son again if he didn’t tell police what they wanted to hear.
“He was too busy screaming at me, calling me a liar,” Neff said, “so I started lying,” adding that he only confessed to as many allegations as he did because of the threats.
Neff went on to say he was “guilty in a sense, but not completely guilty” of the inappropriate touching, saying at the time of the first contact, he had been on medication and was drinking.
“I couldn’t discern if what I was doing was right or wrong,” he said.
Charges against Neff relating to allegations of exposure to a second minor were withdrawn by the prosecution. The trial is scheduled for two days and will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.
Dec 01, 2017
Bellefonte, Pa. - On day two of Joseph Neff’s trial, he was found guilty of 730 counts of sexually abusing a minor in his own family.
A jury of 11 women and one man found Neff guilty of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 13, within his own family, from 2009 to 2016.
During this time, the victim’s family was dealing with a death and health problems.
Family members testified that Neff betrayed a sacred trust in their home and they were left distraught and confused about how someone so close to them could do something so disturbing.
Friday's closing arguments were extremely emotional as the assistant district attorney held up a picture of the victim to the jury — and explained that she never spoke up about the abuse because she said, “I didn't want to destroy my family.”
Prosecutors argued that Neff admitted several times to the abuse that spanned more than five years, and any tears he shed in court were not a sign of remorse but guilt.
Neff’s attorney told the jury to not be swayed by pure emotion or sympathy. The attorney agreed Neff is at fault but for only two instances of sexual assault that did not include rape.
Prosecutors said the victim had no reason to lie about years of abuse and put herself through any more pain.
Ultimately, the jury decided that he was guilty on all counts.
Neff's sentencing has been scheduled for February.
Centre County man found guilty on 730 counts of child sex abuse
By: Hannah SmithDec 01, 2017
Bellefonte, Pa. - On day two of Joseph Neff’s trial, he was found guilty of 730 counts of sexually abusing a minor in his own family.
A jury of 11 women and one man found Neff guilty of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 13, within his own family, from 2009 to 2016.
During this time, the victim’s family was dealing with a death and health problems.
Family members testified that Neff betrayed a sacred trust in their home and they were left distraught and confused about how someone so close to them could do something so disturbing.
Friday's closing arguments were extremely emotional as the assistant district attorney held up a picture of the victim to the jury — and explained that she never spoke up about the abuse because she said, “I didn't want to destroy my family.”
Prosecutors argued that Neff admitted several times to the abuse that spanned more than five years, and any tears he shed in court were not a sign of remorse but guilt.
Neff’s attorney told the jury to not be swayed by pure emotion or sympathy. The attorney agreed Neff is at fault but for only two instances of sexual assault that did not include rape.
Prosecutors said the victim had no reason to lie about years of abuse and put herself through any more pain.
Ultimately, the jury decided that he was guilty on all counts.
Neff's sentencing has been scheduled for February.
Bellefonte, PA
Halstead stops child sex trial, pleads guilty
by David Singer
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — A man convicted of sex crimes against children was in court Thursday to face another victim.
Kevin Halstead appeared in Hancock County Circuit Court and was prepared to go to a non-jury trial. But he changed his mind after only one witness took the stand -- the 12-year-old victim in the case.
The case involves an incident in the summer of 2014. The victim was 8 years old at the time. The victim took the stand and kept composed, explaining, Halstead's incident of abuse.
Halstead is already serving a prison sentence of 4-to-20 years. He was brought back before Judge Jason Cuomo to face a new charge of felonious sexual abuse and a new victim. This victim was a prior witness in the nine-count indictment in which Halstead was found guilty.
"It was obviously the state's intention to seek prosecution of this matter,” Hancock County Assistant Prosecutor Allison Cowden said. “It just sometimes take a little bit of time to get the kids comfortable to testify."
The victim recounted how Halstead paid the child to move tires and do other busy work around his home. Halstead took the child inside one day, tried to take the victim's pants off. Unsuccessful, Halstead took off his own pants and then, according to the victim, tried to rub his genitals on the victim.
The victim ran out of the house and returned weeks later, refusing Halstead's invitation inside his home for popsicles. But the victim's group of friends went inside.
"I thought he was trying to do to them what he did to me," the victim said.
Asked by the prosecution why the crime wasn’t reported sooner, the victim said that it was fear that a brother would beat up Halstead and that the sibling would get in trouble.
"Victims often don't disclose until they feel safe," Cowden said.
The victim was about to face cross examination when the defense stopped the non-jury trial. The defense said after hearing the victim's testimony, Halstead remembered the incident and admitted his actions. He changed his plea to guilty.
The next step in the case will be for the probation officer to do a pre-sentence investigation. The court will take that into consideration, and it'll be set for a sentencing hearing, Cowden said.
The pre-sentence investigation is related to Halstead's reported inability to recall certain events. Halstead said he never completed school beyond the 8th grade because he was forced out at age 18.
Man accused of sexual abuse of a 3 y/o child pleads
By Tom Smith Senior Staff WriterRUSSELLVILLE — A Franklin County man authorities said forced a 3-year-old girl to find and retrieve refrigerator magnets from inside his pants has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of the child.
Rushing said as a part of the agreement, Burcham was sentenced to 15 years, split with three years to serve in prison.
Authorities said Burcham is accused of touching the child inappropriately and having the child, who is now five, touch him.
Burcham begins his sentence Jan. 5.
Russellville, AL
Little kids sex abuse hell for two years:
Suspect, 71, worked with children
BY CHRISTINA KELLEYA 71-year-old Riverside, California man accused of molesting two children was charged Friday with lewd acts on a minor under 14 years old.
Along with three counts of lewd acts on a child, Pust is charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of targeting multiple victims in a sex crime.
He’s being held in lieu of $250,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and is slated to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to Officer Ryan Railsback, detectives were informed in early November that two children under 10 years old — neither of whom were publicly identified — allegedly had been sexually abused by the defendant.
Railsback alleged the molestations occurred over a two-year span.
“The suspect has worked with young children in the past, and it is believed there may be other victims who have not yet come forward,” he said, without disclosing how and under what circumstances Pust had contact with the victims, or other youngsters.
Anyone with information was asked to contact SACA detectives at (951) 252-7121.
Pust has no prior documented felony convictions.
1 arrested, continuous sexual abuse of a child
Gabriela Garcia, KYTX RUSK COUNTY - Dwayne Steel, a 49-year-old man living in Cushing, was arrested for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child on Friday morning in Rusk County.
Detectives found that enough probable cause existed go obtain a warrant and they found that Steel continuously assaulted the victim for over a month at a half.
Police obtained a warrant for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child on Friday morning and notified the Rusk County Sheriff's about it. Rusk County deputies picked Steel up from his job in their area and arrested him at around 11:30 a.m. Friday.
According to Police, Steel was recently paroled when he was arrested and he will be taken to Nacogdoches County Jail within the coming days.
Oregon fire dept sued for sexual abuse of young girl in junior firefighter program
by KATU StaffBENTON COUNTY, Ore. — A lawsuit filed today in Benton County Circuit Court alleges that a teen girl was the victim of repeated child sex abuse while participating in a Junior Firefighter program.
The lawsuit alleges that a Monroe Rural Fire Protection District firefighter, who was also a coach at the local public high school at the time, abused the victim when she was 14 and 15 years old.
The abuse is said to have occurred at the fire station while the victim was participating in the Junior Firefighter program, where he was acting as the girl's supervisor.
The lawsuit also alleges that leadership within the Monroe Rural Fire Protection District knew about child sex abuse in the program, but failed to investigate the allegations, violating mandatory reporting laws by failing to report the suspected abuse to authorities.
The suit alleges claims of negligence and infliction of emotional distress against the Monroe Rural Fire Protection District. The lawsuit also alleges that the victim has “suffered and will continue to suffer severe and debilitating physical, mental, and emotional injury.”
The suit seeks $3.5 million in damages.
D.C. Lawyer Sentenced For Distributing
Videos Of Child Sexual Abuse
A Washington, DC lawyer was sentenced today to five years in prison for distributing videos of child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Jason Mark Sims, 36, replied to an advertisement placed by an undercover FBI agent. Sims and the undercover agent discussed meeting so that Sims could sexually abuse the undercover agent’s purported 10-year-old daughter. Although Sims ultimately declined to meet the undercover in person, he did provide the undercover with links to videos depicting the sexual abuse of girls as young as 4 years-old.
In addition to his prison sentence, the Court imposed the special condition that Sims write an article for publication about his crime in an effort to achieve general deterrence. The Court also ordered Sims to register as a sex offender, serve 10 years of supervised release, and be subject to computer monitoring.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Fong and Kellen S. Dwyer prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please click here and select the tab “resources” for more information about Internet safety education.
Texas brothers accused of sexual abuse of child
KTBS Staff TEXARKANA, TEXAS – The Texarkana Texas Police Department recently arrested brothers Ricky Beckom, 40, and Greggory Beckom, 37, on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 14, according to a news release.
Officers were notified of the abuse after the now 14-year-old victim confided information about the sexual abuse to her mother. The victim said that when she was between the ages of 4 and 8 years old, Ricky Beckom and Greggory Beckom individually forced her to perform sexual acts on them on numerous occasions.
The alleged assaults occurred at the Beckom home while the suspects’ mother babysat the child. Both Beckom men were living with their mother at the time.
After conducting a criminal investigation, Det. Tabitha Smith arrested both men.
The investigation revealed that Beckom’s mother provided childcare to a number of children during this same general time frame. There is reason to believe that some of those children may have also been sexually abused by one or both of these men so investigators ask anyone who believes that their child may have been a victim to contact the Texarkana Texas Police Department at (903) 798-3116.
Ricky Beckom and Greggory Beckom are still in custody at the Bi-State Jail. Bond for both men is set at $150,000 each.
Man charged in Upstate NY child abuse case
accused of sexually abusing child in 2012
By Sarah Moses smoses@syracuse.com,
ALBION, N.Y. -- Gary A. Bubis Jr., one of the adults linked to a serious child abuse case in Oswego County, has been accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old in 2012 in the town of Albion, according to Oswego County District Attorney Greg Oakes.
Bubis, 37, of 393 Albion Cross Road, Albion, was charged by the Oswego County Sheriff's Office with first-degree sexual abuse. He was arraigned today, Oakes said.
Bubis was also indicted this morning on charges from a 2014 rape. The rape happened in the fall of 2014 in an Albion home. The victim was 19 at the time, according to court documents.Bubis was indicted on the following charges:
First-degree rape, a felony
Third-degree rape, a felony
First-degree sexual abuse, a felony
Second-degree unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor
Bubis is accused of raping and unlawfully restraining the 19-year-old woman on or about Nov. 21, 2014. Bubis was charged Oct. 24.
Bubis is among five Oswego County adults who are facing charges in what Oswego County Undersheriff Eugene Sullivan described as "one of the most severe cases of child abuse" he has seen in his 28-year career in law enforcement.
The abuse cases involve a 3-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.
On Aug. 30, Bubis, Shawn Whaley, 24, and Brandy Shaver, 18, were charged in the abuse case. A fourth adult, Leslieann Raeder, 34, was also charged.
Maryland man charged with child sex abuse
Police said the investigation began in October this year, when Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division investigators assigned to the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip over the internet about Morris' alleged involvement in the production of child pornography and the sexual abuse of multiple children.
Early Thursday, ICAC investigators from the Maryland State Police, Talbot County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigation served a search warrant at Morris' residence, and recovered computers and related electronic equipment belonging to him, according to police.
Police said that during the investigation, investigators learned of multiple people who allegedly were sexually abused by Morris in the past and developed evidence indicating he may be currently abusing young teenagers. Based on this information and evidence, Morris was arrested immediately, police said.
Morris is charged with sodomy, second-degree sex offense, third-degree sex offense, child abuse and perverted practice. Those charges are related to the alleged abuse of a child who was 5 to 8 years old between 1990 and 1993, when the abuse is reported to have occurred.
The investigation continues. Investigators are asking any others who may have been assaulted by Morris or anyone with further information to call Tfc. Andrew Franzen at the MSP Easton Barracks at 410-819-4747. The identity of callers may remain anonymous.
Former Maine priest pleads not guilty to
child sex assault charges
BY ERIC RUSSELL STAFF WRITERA former Jesuit priest and longtime Cheverus High School teacher pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he sexually abused a 9-year-old boy at a Freeport church nearly 20 years ago.
Bail was set at $50,000 cash. It was unclear where he would go if he were released since he hasn’t lived in Maine for many years, but his attorney, Walt McKee, called his client “penniless,” suggesting that bail was a long shot. Talbot, dressed in a light brown prison uniform, did not speak.
He has been charged with one count of gross sexual assault, a Class A felony, and one count of unlawful sexual contact, a Class C crime. Both involve a victim whose family were members of St. Jude Church in the late 1990s when Talbot was a substitute priest and religious instructor. If convicted, the Class A charge carries a penalty of as many as 25 years in prison.
Although details about the abuse have not made public in criminal case filings, two people involved in the case have confirmed to the Portland Press Herald that Talbot settled a civil case with the same victim this summer.
In that case, the victim said in an affidavit that Talbot befriended his family and offered religious instruction to him when he was a boy. “Not only did I see (Father) Talbot as an adult, but he was a priest in complete control of me and whether I could proceed with my first communion and confirmation. I believed at the time I had to do whatever he ask (sic) me to do,” the affidavit read.
During religious instruction, the alleged victim said, “(Father) Talbot would come down and remove me from the class of other children and take me upstairs to a room where he sexually abused me. He told me not to tell anyone what had happened and that it was okay.”
The Portland Press Herald does not name victims of sexual assault without their consent. The man, now 29, did not attend Friday’s court hearing.
Talbot is one of two former priests facing criminal charges in Maine for past sexual assault or abuse involving children. The other is Ronald Paquin (3rd story on link), who faces 31 counts of sexual abuse in York County for crimes allegedly committed when he brought boys from Massachusetts to Maine in the late 1980s.
Since the Boston Globe uncovered the Catholic Church abuse scandal, several Maine priests have been accused and many have been disciplined, removed from the priesthood and have settled civil suits with victims. However, criminal cases against former priests in Maine are rare, if not unprecedented, because victims typically have not come forward until more than a decade after the abuse and too late for criminal charges.
The statute of limitations for such crimes against children younger than 16 was eliminated in 1999 – as long as the statute of limitations had not already expired. The Maine Attorney General at the time said sex crimes committed against children after 1987 could be prosecuted at any time in the future. That opened the door to the charges against Talbot and Paquin.
Talbot has a lengthy history of alleged child sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s when he was a teacher at Boston College High School, and continuing while at Cheverus from 1980 to 1998. The new criminal charges stem from his service as a visiting priest in Freeport while he worked at Cheverus.
He has settled civil lawsuits with at least 15 victims, including three from Maine. One of the victims, Michael Doherty, came forward in 1998 with allegations that Talbot abused him back in the mid-1980s when he was a student at Cheverus. The abuse happened both at the school and at the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Yarmouth. Talbot was fired from Cheverus about two months after the allegations were brought to the bishop.
Doherty settled his lawsuit in 2001. Criminal charges were never brought because the statute of limitations at the time has lapsed, but his case encouraged others to come forward and led to future claims and charges against Talbot.
Doherty, along with several members of his family, were in the courtroom Friday during Talbot’s brief appearance. He said it was important for the unnamed victim in the criminal case to know he’s not alone.
Paul Kendrick, a longtime victim advocate from Freeport, also attended and had a brief altercation with Talbot’s attorney after the hearing. In the hallway outside the courtroom, Kendrick asked Walter McKee how he could represent the former priest when he represents victims of sexual abuse in other cases.
McKee said Kendrick then grabbed his arm, and that he warned Kendrick that he would have him arrested if he did it again. Kendrick denied grabbing McKee’s arm and said he only questioned the attorney’s “moral code.”
Talbot already has criminal convictions in Massachusetts because that state’s statute of limitations clock stopped ticking when he moved out of the state in 1980. He was convicted of rape and assault with intent to rape in 2005 for abuse dating back to the 1970s and spent six years in prison. Upon his release, he was sent to the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri, which provides housing and counseling to priests and former priests, including many who have been suspected or convicted of sexual abuse.
Responding to the latest allegations involving Talbot, the Portland diocese renewed its call for anyone to come forward with suspicion of abuse if they have it.
“(Bishop Robert Deeley) hopes any victim/survivor will feel free to come forward and speak about their painful experiences, particularly if they have not already done so,” diocese spokesman Dave Guthro said. “The diocese will diligently work to receive them in a manner that protects their dignity. We want, if at all possible, to assist anyone who has been harmed to be in a healing process.”
In court Friday, as Talbot was being led away by a bailiff, Kendrick shouted, “He was just a little boy Jim.” Talbot did not respond.
After he left, Kendrick addressed the judge, Paul Eggert. “He’s going to run judge,” he said.
“Not from jail,” Eggert replied.
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