Utah teen arrested on suspicion of
child sex abuse, bestiality
By Paighten Harkins
A 19-year-old Cache County man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing at least five children, as well as a dog, the Cache County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Christopher VanDam, of Lewiston, was arrested Thursday on multiple counts of sodomy on a child, sex abuse of a child, sexual battery and bestiality, the sheriff’s office said.
“At this time, we know of at least five victims ranging in age from 4-13 years old, and the abuse has been ongoing for several years. Investigators are still actively working this cases,” according to a news release.
Sheriff Chad Jensen said Thursday evening that the case was only a few hours old. Online records show VanDam was booked into Cache County jail about 12:45 p.m.
The case began when one of the alleged victims contacted the sheriff’s office, Jensen said, adding the report “just led to a lot more.” Jensen declined to say how the victims and the suspect were connected.
“I think as things come out, my guess would be there would be more victims brought into the case,” he said.
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with additional information about the case to contact them through their tip line at 435-755-1100.
Alabama man charged with rape, sex abuse of child
By Carol Robinson crobinson@al.com
A Pelham man is charged with two felony crimes involving the sex abuse of a child.
Brandon Scott Alexander, 38, was arrested Tuesday, according to court records made public Thursday. He is charged with first-degree rape and sex abuse of a child under the age of 12, and was booked into the Shelby County Jail with bonds totaling $90,000.
The arrest warrants state that the alleged incidents happened between October 2015 and August 2016. The child was between the ages of 9 and 10 at the time. Alexander, records state, did engage in sexual intercourse with the child. No other details were made available.
Pelham police investigated the case. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 28.
Virginia man gets 8 years for receiving images
of child sex abuse
WRIC Newsroom
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Henrico County man was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for receiving images of child sexual abuse.
According to court records, 37-year-old Charles Tiffit Ellis, Jr. responded to an ad placed on Craigslist by an undercover officer, which read in part, “Looking to meet other taboo Dads/moms to chat n more….”
Ellis communicated with the undercover via ‘Kik’ messenger app and, after confirming that they were on the same page regarding the term “taboo,” Ellis sent the undercover officer links to his Dropbox account for several child pornography videos involving prepubescent children. Ellis also sent the undercover a video of someone Ellis claimed was a 14-year-old girl he met online and filmed performing oral sex on him. A search warrant on Ellis’ home yielded corroborating evidence on his phone.
CBS6 say Ellis is a comedian.
High School band coach arrested on child sex
allegations in Colorado
Robert Garrison
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A band coach at Eaglecrest High School in Centennial was arrested following allegations he had sex with a student.
Geoffrey Banninger, 23, was arrested Wednesday evening on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and pattern of sexual abuse.
The former part-time band instructor for the Cherry Creek school allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old female student on more than one occasion at his home near Golden in unincorporated Jefferson County, according to a sheriff's office news release.
Jefferson County investigators said they were informed of the claims against the 23-year-old man by Arapahoe County authorities just hours before his arrest.
Eaglecrest HS
Banninger, who had also been a volunteer coach with the Arvada High School Band, has been terminated by the Cherry Creek School District and prohibited from accessing the school or students.
The suspect is currently being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Parents and students told Denver7 that Benninger was a percussionist instructor and was known to text students, especially female students.
His arrest comes amid a series of troubling allegations and charges against teachers and faculty members at other schools within the Cherry Creek School District.
In January, three leaders at Prairie Middle School in Aurora (10th story on link) were indicted on charges they failed to properly report claims of sexual assault by social studies teacher Brian Vasquez on a 14-year-old student in August 2017.
Earlier in the same month, Broderick Lundie, 30, a former Cherry Creek Schools security guard, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a Grandview High School student.
Eaglecrest High School officials said they will have counselors and mental health workers available for any students who have questions or need support.
Tulsa woman gets 25 years for video-recording
herself sexually abusing child for her boyfriend
By Curtis Killman Tulsa World
A Tulsa woman who admitted to recording herself sexually abusing (4th story on link) a 16-month-old female relative was sentenced Thursday to serve a 25-year federal prison term.
Jerrica Ann Renee Teehee Lackey, 30, was also ordered to serve 120 months of post-custody supervision.
Lackey will serve the sentence concurrently with any time she receives in a related criminal case filed in state court.
A Tulsa federal grand jury named Lackey in a three-count indictment July 11 after she told 911 dispatchers earlier that she had sexually abused the child.
A criminal complaint indicates that Lackey called 911 dispatchers May 16 after the child’s father confronted her after finding nude pictures of his daughter and sexually explicit videos of Lackey and the child on Lackey's smartphone.
Lackey reportedly told investigators that she used her smartphone to produce video recordings or live feeds of her molesting the child. She said the videos were sent to her boyfriend, whom she met two months prior online and lived in Florida.
One of the videos Lackey sent depicts her penetrating the child with her finger, according to an affidavit prepared by investigators.
Lackey told investigators that her boyfriend would become upset and “punish” her when she would forget to record or send videos.
Under the terms of an agreement with prosecutors, Lackey pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child under the age of 12. Prosecutors, in turn, dismissed one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child porn.
Lackey also faces six related counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 in Tulsa County District Court.
Lackey has been jailed since her arrest in May.
CCPD: More victims come forward in
Texas child sexual assault case
Monica Lopez, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi police say 12 girls ages 12 to 16 have reported they were assaulted by 30-year-old Matthew Lucio, who was arrested in December on suspicion of drugging and sexually assaulting a minor.
A news release from the department states that more victims and witnesses may come forward in the ongoing investigation, based on digital evidence and statements from the victims.
Lucio, who is also known as Kane Luciano, was arrested Dec. 27 on suspicion of possession or distribution of child pornography, online solicitation of a minor and aggravated sexual assault.
According to an affidavit, that case came to light when the mother of a 12-year-old girl made a report on behalf of her daughter of sexual assault on Dec. 22. The victim told police she was sexually assaulted on Dec. 16, the document reads.
The Corpus Christi Police Department's unit for internet crimes against children, along with the family violence unit, obtained a warrant and arrested Lucio, according to a news release from the police department. He was booked into the Nueces County Jail with bail set at $500,000.
Because of the new allegations that have come to light, several additional charges of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault have been added. Lucio remains in jail, with an increased bail of $1.9 million dollars.
The sexual assaults reported in the new allegations are reported to have occurred between 2007 and 2017.
Police encourage anyone with information to call Senior Officer Alicia Escobar, the lead investigator of the case, at 361-826-2996.
7 years later: Ohio man indicted
on charges of sex abuse of child
Sarah Brookbank, sbrookbank@enquirer.com
A Warren County man, now 22, was indicted this month after prosecutors said he had sexual contact with a child under the age of 8 at his home where a family member ran an in-home day care seven years ago.
Michael Abner, 22, of Franklin, was indicted this month on three counts of gross sexual imposition, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Thursday.
Abner was 15 at the time of the sexual contact, Fornshell said. Foenshell said the incidents took place at a home on Clearbrook Drive in Franklin.
"Although Abner knew the child-victim separate and apart from the daycare, Abner has had access to other children during this time," Fornshell said in a statement. "At this time, law enforcement has no information to suggest there are other victims."
Fornshell said he wanted to alert parents who may have sent their children to the day care. The victim was not enrolled in the day care, he said.
Fornshell said parents with suspicions or concerns should contact Detective Jeff Stewart at the Franklin Police Department at 937-746-2882 or jstewart@franklinohio.org.
Michigan man twice convicted of sex abuse of children
accused of doing it again
By Lynn Moore lmoore8@mlive.com
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Already twice convicted of sexually abusing children, a 45-year-old man is accused of doing it again - over a two-year period.
David Keith Wolters of White Cloud has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Muskegon County District Court.
He's accused of sexually penetrating a child under age 13 more than once between 2010 and 2012, said Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat.
Wolters has prior convictions for second-degree CSC involving minor victims in 1992 and 1994, Maat said. He has a lifetime order to comply with requirements of the Michigan Sex Offender Registry Act.
The 2010-12 assaults are alleged to have occurred in a Muskegon home,
Wolters also has a 2017 conviction for felony attempted larceny between $1,000 and $20,000.
Because of his prior convictions, Wolters is being charged as a four-time habitual offender. That would increase his sentencing guidelines if he's convicted.
First-degree CSC is punishable by up to life in prison. Actual sentences are determined by judges based on the state guidelines.
Two former child actors accuse Happy Days
star Scott Baio of sexual abuse
Baio, right, with his Joannie Loves Chachi co-star Erin Moran, who is not involved in the scandal CREDIT: REX FEATURES
Scott Baio, who played Chachi in Happy Days, has been accused of abusing two of his Charles In Charge co-stars while they were minors.
Baio came to fame as Bugsy Malone at the age of 16 before joining Happy Days. His character Chachi had his own spin-off, Joannie Loves Chachi, and Baoi then starred in Charles In Charge, where he played a college student who lived with a family and babysat their children.
The children were played by Nicole Eggert, who joined the show when she was 14, and Alexander Polinsky, who was 11. Both have come forward to accuse Baoi of sexual and violent abuse.
It was public knowledge that Baio had dated Eggert, who was 11 years his junior, during the 1980s, but their relationship has been cast in a darker light after she filed a police report against him alleging that he sexually abused her from the age of 14, and had sex with her when she was too young to consent.
Polinsky was with her when she spoke to officers on Tuesday, confirming her story and adding that he had been bullied by Baio, who was in his late 20s during Charles In Charge.
Eggert's attorney gave a statement to The Hollywood Reporter yesterday explaining:"Nicole answered all of their questions for over an hour and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor. A witness, Alexander Polinsky, appeared as well and told the detectives about inappropriate touching he witnessed, as well as his own allegations of bullying by Scott Baio."
Eggert has also made allegations against Baio on social media and several talk shows. She recently tweeted "Ask @scottbaio what happened in his garage at his house when I was a minor. Creep."
On an episode of Megyn Kelly Today, Eggert said that he sexually abused her "probably once a week" between the ages of 14 and 16, and that she lost her virginity to him at 17. The age of consent in California is 18. In an interview for The Talk, she said the abuse began when she was “14 years old, 1986".
"And before I was 15 years old," she continued, "he had me at his home, in his car, in his garage and he penetrated my vagina with his finger. This is where it began and this continued almost on a weekly basis for years. Of course, the abuse progressed from there quite a bit although I remained a virgin until I was 17."
Polinsky also gave a statement to The Talk which claimed that "working on the set of Charles in Charge from age 11 to 15 was no picnic". He described it as "a toxic environment" and said "I witnessed Scott Baio acting inappropriately towards Nicole Eggert during my first year of working on the show. I walked in on them together behind the set. Nicole was on Scott’s lap and he did not appreciate my intrusion. He yelled at me and called me various homophobic slurs."
Polinsky continued: "Growing up on the show I received regular verbal attacks, mental abuse and I also suffered a physical assault at the hands of Scott Baio. There is no excuse for his behavior. It is abhorrent."
Baio has repeatedly denied Eggert's claims both on Facebook and in television interviews. An interview that Eggert gave to American television personality Dr Oz, in which she detailed the alleged abuse, was shelved after Baio's representative told the show: "Nicole Eggert was well past the age of 18 when she came to Scott Baio looking for a sexual experience. Given this, her other vague claims, which Scott has consistently denied, cannot have any merit."
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