LAPD probing new sex assault accusation against Roman Polanski, though the case can’t be prosecuted
by Richard Winton Hamilton Spectator
In this Oct. 30, 2017 file photo director Roman Polanski poses during a photo call prior to the screening of "Based on a true story" in Paris, France. The LAPD is probing new sex assault allegations against Polanski. - Francois Mori,The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department said it is investigating allegations that director Roman Polanski in 1975 molested a child when she was 10, even though the case cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired.
Josh Rubenstein, the LAPD communications director, said the department is committed to investigating such claims because even if charges cannot be brought, the evidence could aid in the prosecution of other cases.
Over the years, at least six women have accused Polanski of sexually abusing them, with most of them saying the abuse happened when they were minors. Despite the Paris-based director's status as a fugitive and repeated efforts to get him back by prosecutors, he remains active in the film industry and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The latest LAPD report involves Marianne Barnard, an artist who has accused the director of molesting her during a 1975 photo shot at Will Rogers State Beach after he had her pose naked with a fur coat. Barnard reported the allegation to police in October.
She has also started an online petition to kick Polanski out of the film academy. She said she was emboldened to go public following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein and by the dozens of women who came forward with tales of abuse at the hands of the movie mogul.
Polanski, 84, has denied Bernard's accusations and through his representative said he has no knowledge of her.
Because of the statute of limitations in California, child sexual assault cases cannot be prosecuted on incidents that occurred before 1992.
Polanski, who won a directing Oscar in 2003 for "The Pianist," remains a fugitive from justice after fleeing the U.S. in 1977 before sentencing in Los Angeles County Superior Court for having anal sex with a 13-year-old girl.
In the transcripts of grand jury testimony in that case, Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, said the director had given her some Champagne and a Quaalude and told her to take off her blouse. The 13-year-old said she was afraid of Polanski and repeatedly informed him she had to go home. She testified that he kissed her and that she told him to stop and to keep away. He pulled off her panties, started to have intercourse with her, then switched to anal sex when she told him she was not on the pill, according to the testimony transcripts.
Polanski was indicted on charges of rape, sodomy and furnishing drugs to a minor. But the victim's family asked the district attorney's office to spare her the trauma of testifying at trial. Polanski was offered a deal and pleaded guilty only to unlawful intercourse. He served 42 days in prison, where he underwent diagnostic testing. When he was released before formal sentencing, he fled.
His lawyers and supporters, who include Harvey Weinstein, have said he served his time and shouldn't be the subject of a fugitive warrant. Geimer has publicly supported Polanski's view that he has served his time. He paid her a civil settlement of $500,000 plus interest.
Polanski has managed to avoid U.S. extradition efforts from Switzerland and Poland in recent years.
But he has faced other allegations of sexual abuse. In 2010, Charlotte Lewis accused Polanski of forcing himself on her when she was 16 and auditioning for a role in his movie in 1983. Then in August, a woman identified only as Robin by attorney Gloria Allred told reporters that Polanski sexually victimized her in 1973 when she was 16. She said she was speaking out after so many years of silence because Geimer's remarks "infuriated" her.
In October, Renate Langer, 61, a former German actress, told Swiss police that the "Chinatown" filmmaker raped her at his mountain chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, when she was 15. The model said she travelled there because the director indicated he was interested in casting her in a movie. Langer brought forth the allegation after Switzerland eliminated its statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases. She said she waited to report the February 1972 incident largely out of concern for her parents, who died recently.
Another actress last month alleged to a British newspaper that Polanski attempted to rape her in a New York hotel in 1970.
Polanski told the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year from a Zurich, Switzerland, film festival: "I went to jail. I came back to the United States to do it, people forget about that, or don't even know. I then was locked up here after this festival 1/8in 20093/8. So in the sum, I did about four or five times more than what was promised to me."
Child sex abuser Dennis Hastert not to be left alone with children, Chicago judge rules
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday ordered that Dennis Hastert never be left alone with anyone under 18 unless another adult is present who is aware of the former U.S. House speaker's conviction in a hush-money case that revealed he had sexually abused several high school students.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin didn't explain in his brief order why that and other new restrictions on the 75-year-old were called for now, three months into his two-year period of supervised release from prison.
Others included barring Hastert from possessing pornography and using "any sex-related telephone numbers." He also must allow — and pay for — the installation of software that records all his computer activity, from browser history to email correspondence and internet chats.
In handing the Illinois Republican a 15-month prison term in April of last year, Judge Durkin branded Hastert "a serial child molester," citing at least four students abused by him when he coached at Yorkville High School in suburban Chicago from 1965 to 1981.
Hastert, the nation's longest-serving GOP House speaker from 1999 to 2007, pleaded guilty in 2015 to violating banking rules as he sought to pay $3.5 million to a victim referred to only as Individual A to keep him quiet about the sex abuse. Hastert couldn't be charged with sexual abuse because statutes of limitation had long since expired.
Among the conditions Durkin set during sentencing in 2016 was that Hastert undergo intensive sex-offender treatment, which is designed to gauge the risk molesters still pose to children. One common treatment for sex-offenders involves a penile plethysmograph, which gauges a known molester's physical reaction to specific images.
The requests to tighten the restrictions came in a report filed under seal by a probation officer Monday in Chicago federal court. The filing likely provided other details, including why officials believed they were necessary.
Any adult who Hastert might ask to be present when minors are around must first be approved by a probation officer and the person providing treatment to Hastert, the judge's order says.
Florida man charged with child sex abuse
Julie Gorham
Authorities arrested a Palm Coast man Saturday after two children under the age of 12 told their mom about multiple alleged occasions of sexual abuse.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Belton Cooper, 52, allegedly performed several sex acts from July to October with a girl and boy, who live in Dunnellon.
The children’s mother found about the alleged abuse when she overheard her children talking about sex while traveling in a vehicle on Oct. 22.
The report states the mother pulled the car over and asked where they heard about sex. Her daughter then said she saw Cooper performing a sex act on himself.
Cooper, a family acquaintance, allegedly committed the sex acts while sleeping over to watch the children, the report states.
Cooper is being charged with four counts of sexual battery on a victim under 12 years old and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim less than 16 years old.
No bond was allowed.
Idaho man charged for sex abuse of a 9 y/o girl
By JOHNATHAN HOGAN, jhogan@postregister.com
An Idaho Falls man was arraigned Monday after his text messages with a 9-year-old girl raised concerns he was attempting to groom the victim for sex.
Mario Cervantes Hernandez, 45, would often invite the victim to his home to play with his children with the approval of her parents.
The victim’s mother discovered messages on her daughter’s phone in September from Hernandez in which he referred to her as “girlfriend,” “babe,” and other names while also asking the victim to take a shower and send him a picture of her afterward, according to court records.
The mother contacted the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators expressed concern about Hernandez asking the victim to shower and contacting her after midnight. During a forensic interview, the victim told investigators Hernandez had kissed her and hugged her from behind, according to court records. She said Hernandez would buy her gifts and new clothing. Hernandez had also sent the victim texts asking if anyone had told her not to speak to him.
Hernandez admitted he had kissed and hugged the victim, but said his motives were innocent and they were actions he would take with his own children. He said the victim had not been to his home recently because his wife had left with the children after she discovered the texts.
Hernandez was charged with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16 years, punishable with up to 25 years in prison. Bond was set at $15,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22.
Illinois man pleads not guilty to sexual assault of child
By CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN
SYCAMORE – Moments after he was denied a reduction in bail, a 46-year-old Kingston man facing 18 charges of sexual abuse of a child pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning in DeKalb County court.
Bruce R. Best, of the 8600 block of Wolf Road, has been charged with seven counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, punishable by six to 30 years in prison, after police said in court records he had inappropriate contact with a girl younger than 13. The records show he had sex with her six times after she’d turned 13, and he’s also been charged with 11 counts of criminal sexual abuse, punishable by three to seven years in prison.
Chief Judge Robbin Stuckert explained to Best that if he’s convicted on multiple counts, his sentences would be served consecutively. The aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges could result in probation, and a conviction on any of the charges would require Best to register as a sex offender for life.
Best’s Rockford-based lawyer, David Hugdahl, filed a motion Dec. 1 to reduce Best’s $75,000 bond, saying his client considered the amount “oppressive,” and that he “has strong ties to the community and is not a flight risk.”
Best told the court he’d worked at Chicago Suburban Express for four years and was supporting his wife, four kids and his father-in-law.
Stuckert denied the motion to reduce bond. If Best posts $7,500 to be released, he’ll be placed on electronic home monitoring and be ordered to have no contact with children.
The victim was 15 at the time of Best’s Nov. 14 bond hearing, according to court records. Family members declined to comment after Tuesday morning’s hearing.
Best is due back in court Dec. 28.
Another Illinois man pleads not guilty to
child sexual assault charges
child sexual assault charges
By THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF
QUINCY -- A Quincy man could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.
Johnathan E. Rajner, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday in Adams County Circuit Court. His case was placed on the February jury trial docket.
Charging documents claim that Rajner had sexual contact with two children under age 13 between April 9, 2015, and July 9, 2016. He was arrested Nov. 14 by the Quincy Police Department at his apartment at 529 N. Fifth.
If convicted of only one charge, Rajner would face between six and 60 years in the prison.
Court records show he was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 2003 and was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison after having his probation in the case revoked.
Rajner is being held in the Adams County Jail on $200,000 bond.
Texas father on trial for continuous sexual
abuse of daughters
By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
The trial of a 31-year-old Keene man accused of three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child began Tuesday in the 413th District Court. The Times-Review is withholding the man’s name to protect the victim.
Keene police officers arrested the man on Jan. 10, 2016. He stands accused of multiple sexual assaults against two of his biological daughters and one of his stepdaughters.
The victims were 13, 9 and 8 at the time of the man’s arrest.
According to a petition for termination of parental rights, one of the daughters made an outcry of sexual abuse about three years before the man’s arrest but, after that case was investigated, was deemed not to have been telling the truth.
Another daughter in 2016 made a similar outcry to her mother, also the man’s wife, according to the same report. That girl told her mother that, “Daddy is raping me” and the mother noted that her daughter’s private areas were red and sore.
All three of the girls, when interviewed, described multiple incidents of the man forcing them to engage in oral sex with him and engaging in intercourse with them. The girls told investigators that they also saw their father engaging in sexual activity with one of their sisters on several occasions.
An affidavit in support of removal of the children lists multiple Child Protective Services investigations against the man and the girls’ mother in both Texas and New York for allegations ranging from endangering the welfare of a child to, in the man’s case, alleged sexual assault.
And were these not available 3 years earlier when the girl first reported it? What kind of pathetic investigation occurred that allowed those girls to remain in that horrible situation. This needs to be investigated!
Investigators also listed the condition of the family’s home as deplorable and noted that it does not appear to have been cleaned in “months, if not years or ever.”
The man has made multiple confessions of guilt to police since his arrest, according to the affidavit.
Jurors on Tuesday watched two videos of the man being interviewed by police. The man said he spent much of his childhood in the foster care system being bounced from home to home and that CPS “screwed him over” and he just wanted to have a family of his own once he got out of the system.
The man several times said his life is over because of what he did to his daughter.
“It’s like I was watching myself, like it wasn’t me,” the man said of the alleged incidents of sexual abuse. “It’s like I became this other person that I hate the most.”
The man detailed marital troubles and other problems but said he did not know why he did what he did. “It was like me and alcohol,” the man said at one point. “I’d go long stretches in between. It wasn’t an everyday thing, not every other day, not once a week.”
At another point the man seemed to lay partial blame on the oldest of the victims.
“She was acting like she was 20, looked like she was 20, was hitting on me like she was 20 the first time,” the man said. “Still, it made me sick when all was said and done.”
At another point in the video the man says he has no attraction “like that” to his children. “I look at them and they’re my little girls,” he said.
Court records show that the man sexually assaulted another person when he was 14. The man on the interview video tells a police officer that he, too, was sexually abused once when he was a child.
“I’ve been trying to fix the problem and it’s not working,” the man says on the video. “I can’t figure it out on my own and you can’t fix a problem unless you know what the problem is.”
The man said he was afraid to ask for help. “My life is over,” he said. “If anybody finds out or I try to go to someone my life is over.”
Your life is over now because you didn't get help. But he raises a good point, where do you go for help? Germany has a help-line for pedophiles, why doesn't the USA?
Bountiful, UT man charged with child kidnapping
and sex abuse
BOUNTIFUL, Utah – A Bountiful man was charged with felony child kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse of a child on Monday.
According to an indictment filed in Davis County District Court, Kyle Curtis Jones allegedly took the girl -whose age Fox 13 is omitting to avoid identifying her- into his home where he sexually abused her.
On Nov. 12, the Bountiful Police Department received a call of a missing child. Before the police arrived at the child’s home, her parents found her walking toward their house with Jones.
The child’s mother took her into the home and asked her what happened, a probable cause statement said. The child allegedly told her mother that Jones took her into his basement to “show her his trains.” The child stated that Jones then took her to a bed, where he assaulted her, and said, “sorry.”
In an police interview, Jones allegedly told police that he found the child in his backyard, jumping on his trampoline. Police asked Jones if he had taken the child into his apartment, and he admitted she had been inside, looking at his model trains.
According to the probable cause statement, when Jones was asked what happened after the child looked at his trains, he said that he, “did not want to answer any more questions.”
Jones’ parents released information to police, stating that he had been diagnosed with developmental delays, and autism.
Wisconsin man charged with first-degree
sexual assault of a 7 y/o child
sexual assault of a 7 y/o child
Jillian Ellison, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
FOND DU LAC - A 41-year old man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl.
Anthony Wienke was charged Monday with first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 12 and first degree child sexual assault – having sexual contact with a child under the age of 13, according to court records.
According to the probable cause affidavit, detectives conducted a forensic interview with the victim and she did not disclose any sex abuse. When a social worker drove the girl back to school, however, she disclosed she had sexual contact with Wienke.
After denying the allegations, Wienke admitted to officers there were two occasions when the victim may have accidentally rubbed or bumped into his penis, the affidavit stated.
The charges carry a maximum of 85 years in prison A preliminary hearing for Wienke will be held Dec. 21.
Oregon man sentenced to 17 years for child
sexual abuse, child porn
sexual abuse, child porn
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard
A Springfield man will serve a lengthy prison term for molesting a child and duplicating child pornography.
Andre Stephen Chaikhane, 33, was sentenced to 17 years after pleading guilty on Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and eight counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.
Springfield police began an investigation in August after the family of a child who is younger than 10 reported suspicions that Chaikhane had sexually abused the youngster.
Authorities learned while speaking with the family that the FBI separately had been investigating Chaikhane in a child pornography case, Springfield police Detective Dave Grice said.
Springfield police then coordinated with the FBI to take the lead on the case, and Chaikhane was arrested.
Grice said Chaikhane admitted during an initial interview that he had molested the child and duplicated photographs and videos that depicted child pornography. Chaikhane was not accused of creating child porn.
Chaikhane had been held in the Lane County Jail since his arrest. He has no prior felony convictions in Oregon, according to state court records.
Out on bail for 23 child molestation counts,
California minister flees during trial
By NATE GARTRELL | Bay Area News Group
MARTINEZ — An East Bay minister who was out of jail on $1.3 million bail is a wanted man for failing to show up in court after a girl testified he sexually abused her for years.
Fernando Maldonado, 37, was on trial facing 23 counts of child molestation when he apparently fled the area, possibly to Mexico. His alleged victim, a girl who was less than 16 years old when the alleged sexual abuse occurred, testified Thursday and Friday that he sexually abused her numerous times over a three-year period, while he was a minister at two local churches.
Then, on Monday, Maldonado failed to show up to court. Judge Clare Maier issued a bench warrant for his arrest the same day, listing him as “voluntarily absent.” That means the trial will proceed without him. Closing arguments are expected to take place Wednesday.
If convicted, Maldonado could be sentenced to more than 30 years in prison, according to court records. Prosecutors on Tuesday argued that they should be able to refer to the defendant’s absence during closing arguments, and Maier seemed open to it, but has not yet issued a ruling.
The abuse began when Maldonado, a Concord resident, was a minister at Morello Avenue Baptist Church in Martinez and the victim was a parishioner there, police said.
The church has since closed. Maldonado left that church to become a minister at Grace Bible Church in Pleasant Hill in 2014, where the victim began attending the church and the abuse continued, police said. The victim came forward last year, leading authorities to file 23 felony counts against Maldonado.
One month after his April 2016 arrest, Maldonado was released on bail, after someone posted a $106,000 premium for his $1.295 million bail. It is unclear from court records who supplied the cash.
A youth leader at one of the churches who knew Maldonado was also charged with sex crimes against a teen girl at the church. Eduardo DeJesus Trujillo, 31, was charged with rape, child molestation, and similar sex crimes against a teen girl at the church. Police said Trujillo and Maldonado knew one another and communicated during the abuse.
Last year, Trujillo pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and was sentenced to prison for seven years.
Maldonado’s current whereabouts are unknown. Anyone who sees him is encouraged to call Martinez police at 925-372-3440 or dial 911.
Suspect in sexual abuse of Hoover child returned to Alabama
Posted by: Tribune StaffHOOVER — A man who has been indicted on multiple alleged charges of child sex abuse of a family member residing in Hoover has been extradited from Connecticut to Alabama this past weekend, according to Carol Robinson.
He is now being held in the Jefferson County Jail with bonds totaling $135,000.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by Hoover police in August after the girl’s parents found evidence of the abuse.
Douglas’s first court hearing will be in February.
Utah ‘bounce house’ operator sentenced to prison
for sexually abusing children
HEBER CITY, Utah - A man who operated a "bounce house" in Heber City was sentenced to prison Wednesday for sexually abusing children.
It was a very emotional day in Fourth District Court. 33-year-old Bryce Johnson and his attorney pleaded with the judge for jail time and rehabilitation while prosecutors wanted prison for Johnson.
Judge Jennifer Brown said that for years, Johnson set himself up to have easy and ready access to young boys and that he groomed several of them to gain their trust and then sexually abused them.
Johnson owned local businesses like the Bouncy House and a waterslide in Heber. He was also a youth sports coach and a foster parent.
The judge went on to say that if not for the bravery of one of the young men who came forward earlier this year, Johnson might still be sexually abusing children.
Then, barely able to hold back tears because she said no one wins in this case, the judge sentenced Johnson to three terms of three-years-to-life at the Utah State Prison.
The judge ordered the three terms to run consecutively, meaning Johnson will spend a minimum of nine years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.
"I understand what the concerns were for the state, we tried to address those, the judge had her own concerns, but I can just tell you that he did take responsibility and no one had to testify and now everyone can move on from today," Johnson's attorney Tara Isaacson said.
The parents and relatives of a couple of the victims declined to comment on camera but said they want Bryce Johnson to spend even more time behind bars, hopefully the rest of his life. That's because they say their children's lives have been changed forever.
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