Doctor facing first female genital mutilation case in US
has major sex charge dropped
A federal judge has dismissed the most serious charge of ‘criminal sexual activity’ against a Michigan doctor charged in the first female genital mutilation (FGM) case in the US.
US District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman dropped the count – the most severe charge Dr Jumana Nagarwala was facing as it carried a sentence of up to life in prison – reducing the counts from seven to six.
The prosecution alleges that Nagarwala performed FGM on two 7-year-old girls from Minnesota last February 2017 in Livonia, Michigan. Eight people have been charged in relation to the case, one of which is Dr Fakhruddin Attar, who allegedly allowed Nagarwala to perform the procedure in his clinic.
Nagarwala’s defense attorneys argued the government was using the definition of ‘criminal sexual conduct’ under state law and ‘sexual act’ from another federal statute to characterize FGM as a ‘criminal sexual activity.’
That's how I have been characterizing it for years. It is criminal, it's sexual in that it is surgery on the genitals in order to prevent or discourage sexual activity, and it's certainly activity. It disturbingly affects a girl's sexual life, often in painful, unhealthy and unnatural ways.
Judge Friedman agreed with the defense that the alleged conduct does not qualify as sexual activity because the doctors did not touch the girls’ genitalia for sexual gratification or to abuse, humiliate or degrade the victims.
And yet, abuse, humiliate and degrade is exactly what it does! Perverting God's design of a woman is certainly abuse. The need for FGM is humiliating and degrading in that it tells the girl she is not capable of keeping herself pure - she must be fixed!
“We’re thrilled for our clients that the law was followed,” Attar’s lawyer Mary Chartier told Detroit News on Sunday. “This is going to be a long fight, but we’re confident they’ll be vindicated.”
The other defendants include four mothers accused of subjecting their daughters to the procedure, and Dr Attar’s wife, who is accused of holding the girls’ hands during the procedures and lying to investigators.
The group is accused of conspiracy to carry out FGM on the girls as part of a religious procedure practiced by an Indian Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra. Prosecutors in the case say the girls were cut, while the defense argues the procedure performed on them was benign and not FGM.
Then what was the point of it?
One girl told the FBI that Nagarwala “pinched the place [where] she goes pee,” according to a court filing. Medical examinations meanwhile found the girls’ genitals did appear to have been altered, with some scar tissue and healing lacerations.
Nagarwala is suspected of using Attar’s clinic to carry out the procedure for more than a decade. The government estimates the doctor performed as many as 100 FGM procedures throughout her career and allege that she tried to cover up her crimes by telling her religious community to “deny everything.”
Both Nagarwala and Attar face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the other remaining charges.
Maryland's 'bikini man' sentenced to 25 years
on sex abuse charges
Delmarva Now Staff
A Crisfield, MD man was convicted Tuesday of two counts of sex abuse of a minor, resulting in 25 years of active incarceration in prison, according to a release from the Office of the State's Attorney for Somerset County.
Marco Garcia, 40, committed one crime in May 2010, while the other crime occurred from May 2006 to May 2010, the release said.
Police revealed in August 2016 allegations dating back to 2005 that Garcia sexually abused two children between the ages of 6 and 9.
In July 2016, Garcia was questioned by police after a Crisfield resident reported that he looked like the man caught in a surveillance photo wearing a women’s bikini or lingerie with two-tone hiking boots, according to court records.
The homeowner set up motion-activated cameras, normally used for tracking deer, after swimsuits and beach towels disappeared from an outdoor clothes line in the yard over a two-year period, according to charging documents.
Word of the "bikini man" spread after a surveillance photo was posted on social media.
The suspect first identified himself to police as Paco Garcia, then Marco Garcia and finally Marco Garcia Hernandez. He told police he had been in the country illegally for the past 10 years, according to court records.
Garcia told police he sleep walks, but had never sought medical attention for the problem. He gave police permission to search his Crisfield home, where officers found women’s underwear, bikinis and pornographic movies, but also a lot of young girls’ clothing and underwear.
At the time of Garcia's arrest, police say they found a picture of an infant being sexually abused on his cellphone, as well as a picture of a clothed child in a sexually provocative position. It was later discovered that Garcia's relative worked as a babysitter for the children, according to charging papers.
While police were unable to identify the infant, district court filings state the provocatively posed child had been watched over by Garcia's relative.
During a forensic interview — a special interview used by police for children to prevent false reports of abuse, sexual or otherwise — the victim confirmed Garcia had sexually abused her years before, lower court filings show.
The young victim told state police that Garcia had forced her to watch pornography in his bedroom, filings show. On one occasion, Garcia sexually assaulted her, according to state police.
After placing a notice for additional information in the local media, state police say the now-teenage victim came forward. She didn't realize what Garcia had done was wrong until she learned about sex in fifth grade, district court filings show.
Aston man gets 90 years for ‘unspeakable’
sexual abuse of girl, 7
By the Times Staff
PHILADELPHIA >> An Aston man was sentenced Tuesday to serve 90 years in federal prison for his manufacture of sexually explicit images of a 7-year-old girl and the transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography.
Matthew Maffei, also known as “Uncle Matt,” of the first block of Dogwood Lane, was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg to lifetime supervised released, a $20,000 assessment pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, $5,000 restitution and a $400 special assessment.
Maffei, a first-time offender, previously pleaded guilty to all charges in the federal indictment.
The government sought the statutory maximum sentence of 90 years based on the horrific details of the case.
“Maffei sexually abused the 7-year-old child in the victim’s own home. He also forced the victim’s 5-year-old brother to witness his abuse of the 7-year-old on one occasion, and threatened to kill both children if they told their parents what Maffei had done,” according to a release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “As part of the sexual assaults on this child, the defendant defecated on her face.”
Calling the sexual assaults, “unspeakable,” the judge imposed the 90-year prison sentence, asking the parents to assure the victim and her brother that “this defendant will never in his lifetime be released from custody,” according to the release.
The case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, as well as the Middletown Township Police Department in Delaware, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.
Trial for former LaMoure police chief accused of sexual abuse of a child set to begin on Jan. 31
By Sydney Mook To
The pretrial conference for the former LaMoure police chief accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child in multiple southwest North Dakota counties was waived Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Stark County Courthouse in Dickinson.
James G. Watson, 52 of LaMoure, faces the following charges:
• Stark County: One count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class AA felony.
• Golden Valley County: One count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class AA felony.
• Hettinger County: One count of gross sexual imposition, a Class AA felony.
Watson originally faced an additional two counts of gross sexual imposition, one Class A felony and one Class AA felony, in Hettinger County, as well as two counts of gross sexual imposition-sexual act by force, both Class AA felonies, and one count of Class A felony gross sexual imposition in Billings County. Those charges were dismissed.
Watson's felony jury trial is set to begin on Jan. 31. He is represented by Dickinson-based attorney Kevin McCabe.
Florida man pleads guilty in federal court to receiving
child sexual abuse videos
A 31-year-old Satsuma man pleaded guilty Tuesday to receiving child sexual abuse videos over the internet after hundreds of videos depicting underage sex were found on his home computer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Putnam County resident Ryan Elton Devore faces five to 20 years in federal prison when his sentencing hearing is held, a date not set for that yet, prosecutors said.
Federal agents and local law enforcement officers descended on Devore’s home on July 18, 2017, when a search warrant was executed in connection with an online child exploitation investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. When the agents asked Devore if he had come across pornography involving children under 12, he said “I was gonna say, I know, I, I probably have before, yeah,” according to court documents.
Forensic examination of Devore’s custom-built computer and a cellphone revealed numerous files containing depictions of child pornography, including at least 400 videos of children being sexually abused, court documents said.
Homeland Security investigated the case with the Gainesville Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Miracle Village, FLA where 100 child sex offenders live in isolation cut off from normal society
At first glance Miracle Village looks like a rural holiday camp far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. But inside each of these homes surrounding by plush green fields each resident is forced to live away from normal society.
The community outside of Pahokee, Florida, serves as a home for 100 registered sex offenders.
Most have been convicted of sexual offences against children. And in Florida they are punished for their offences forever.
The village for sex offenders is cut off from the outside world (Image: BBC)
It is home to 100 sex offenders who are not allowed to live near children (Image: BBC)
After offenders have served their time in prison they face restrictions for life. This includes police chiefs having the power to notify the public about where they live.
Sheriff Gordon Smith explains one example: "You can't live within 2,500ft of any children congregate, churches, bus stops and those sorts of thing".
In Bradford County where he works another extreme measure to alert people includes 5ft red painted signs warning of "convicted Sexual Predator" outside criminals homes featuring the names of the perpetrators.
The laws result in many sex offenders living in entire communities.
The issues has been highlighted in a new BBC documentary presented by Stacey Dooley which looks at the approach of the people of Florida to sex offenders.
One resident of Miracle Village is Chris Dawson, who has lived for four years in the community, after being convicted of sex with a child - his 14 year old girlfriend - when he was 18.
They had been together for three months.
He said: "She lied to me about her age and had fake ID. "I had no idea.
"All her friends believed her so I believed she was 18 too. "I used to play drums in a band and go on tour and have great friends."
He now has a girlfriend who he met at church but who already knew he was a sex offender.
His girlfriend Lexi, 25, said: "At first it made me think twice, but the more I got to know him the more I saw his character and past the label.
"Things like marriage, living and kids are affected by the label of sex offender. I won't be able to host sleep overs or birthday parties or how am I going to tell my kids your dad is a sex offender."
The community is so popular with sex offenders there is not enough room for them all so they have settled in a nearby town Pahokee with the help of a religious ministry.
One of those is Lewis who is 33 years old was convicted age 18 of attempting to have sex with a nine year old. He said: "I deserve a second chance."
No you don't. Chris does, but not you.
Pat Powers founded Miracle Village after serving 12 years in prison as sex offender after getting involved with students he was giving sports coaching to.
He said: "You can look at my past and say was he one of the top racquet ball coaches in the world or a sex offender. I know what I did."
Senator Book was abused as a child
(Image: BBC)
Unsurprisingly he believes unlike most of his countrymen that sex attackers deserve a second chance.
On the other side is Florida senator Lauren Book who runs a charity to prevent sexual abuse with her father Ron, a lawyer.
In America dozens of laws have been created and names following high profile sexual crime and the Books alone have campaigned for 20 pieces of sex offender legislation.
Lauren was abused between ages of 10 and 16 every single day by her live-in nanny. She said: "There wasn't a day which went by which I did not suffer, sexual, physical or emotional assault.
"I was urinated and defecated on and I thought that person loved me. At 32 it's difficult to understand but I was 10 years old. I still suffer night terrors and wake up beating my husband.
"I have to be sedated to go to the dentist because I can't handle laying down with people putting things in my mouth. I get angry when I hear 'we have served our time'.
Ron and Lauren don't believe in second chances (Image: BBC)
"We take away their civil liberties and that is not something which should be taken lightly but if you commit a crime against a child because it is something that turns you on then you should not get a second chance."
"Because I Lauren Book am not willing you to allow a second chance because if you have a backslide who are you hurting, not yourself."
Her father Ron said: "I do not believe these people can be rehabilitated. I don't lie awake at night thinking how can I stick it to these bastards and dirt bags, these scum buckets, but when we think about we are going after them.
"If you commit crime against a kid we will treat you differently. You stole my daughter's childhood, go to hell you son of a bitch, and that is why we require you to be registered."
One effect of the legislation means that people have to declare their crimes to potential employers making it hard to get jobs.
Brandon, who was abused himself as a child, was jailed for downloading and viewing child pornography. He has had hundreds of job applications refused and because of the law he is banned from spending time with his two year old niece who was born while he was in prison.
He said: "When I was younger, when I was a teenager, I physically molested a child."
Stacey Dooley is a star documentary presenter
"I touched that child with my hands, there was no penetration but in essence I taught that child to masturbate. The child was three or four years old.
"There wasn't luring or predatory intent, it was opportunity. I have got to a point where I am not a danger to people."
"There are decent people who do horrible things all the time but in those moments they are not decent but there is a the power of redemption, God can redeem the worse."
Sheriff Smith sums up the popular revulsion to sex offenders who have committed crimes against children. "If you don't do something about it you are telling the world that you don't love your kids."
With a strong southern states accent he also has a view on the chances of rehabilitating them. Adding: "If chocolate ice cream is your favourite I can feed you strawberry for the next ten years but you know what you are still going to crave, that chocolate ice cream."
In neighbouring Miami the laws have forced sex offenders to live in tents in a homeless camp.
One man Brett was jailed after trying to meet a 15 year old boy for sex but the boy turned out to be a undercover police officer, he has been homeless for three years since leaving jail.
Some people do have homes in the city but because of the law cannot stay there between 10pm and 6am. But then bizarrely they can then return home to their families and kids.
Another man in the camp is on lifetime probation meaning he does not get off probation until 24 hours after he dies. He was caught with child pornography and sending it across the state border.
He said: "I did it but I don't deserve this."
The assumption is once a sex offender always a offender and they are put on a register for life with restrictions forever.
As horrible as it seems, and some of these cases seem to border on an abuse of power, the laws probably do save some kids from being sexually abused. I'm willing to see a pedophiles 'rights' be trampled upon to save kids.
Although it might be a little more humane to make a difference between pedophiles and teens who are just a few years older than their girlfriend.
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