Former North Carolina teacher of the year pleads guilty to 59 sex crime charges
By Alex Guarino
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A former New Hanover County teacher accused of dozens of sex crimes against his students pleaded guilty Tuesday morning.
***Warning: This story contains explicit sexual content.***
Michael Earl Kelly, 50, entered guilty pleas to 59 charges, including sexual exploitation of minor, indecent liberties with a student and indecent liberties with a child on Tuesday. Kelly was sentenced to 17.6 - 31.25 years in prison for the crimes.
Kelly, who was a science teacher at Isaac Bear Early College High School, has been behind bars since his initial arrest in February 2018. The investigation into Kelly began after a suspicious parent alerted authorities about inappropriate text messages they found between their child and Kelly.
As investigators started looking into the case, they found close to 20 victims, some as young as 14 years old. Some of Kelly’s charges date back to 2003 when he was a teacher at Laney High School.
The court’s findings
New Hanover County Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan explained to the court what a jury would have found if the case had gone to trial.
“He pled guilty straight up. He pled guilty to everything that he’s charged with. Sentencing was obviously up to the judge and the judge sentenced him to a little over 17 and a half to 31 and a half years in prison,” Jordan said.
Jordan revealed Kelly had a private Snapchat group with some of his students. In that group, students exchanged pictures of their private parts. Kelly would also send snapchat pictures.
Search warrants revealed Kelly had exchanged over 250 explicit text messages with one victim, and at least 1,000 text messages with students at Isaac Bear Early College High School.
It is against school policy to communicate with students via text message or social media. Kelly admitted he knew about the policy when questioned by investigators.
One victim said Kelly gradually normalized sexual talk in his class. Kelly sent that victim a pornographic video of another student. Kelly also exposed his penis to this victim.
Jordan spoke in detail about Kelly’s inappropriate communication with his students. In addition to the Snapchat group and text messages, Kelly tried to set up meetings with students outside of school.
Kelly also invented games with students, one called “the waiting game,” where students would receive points for exposing their private parts to one another. They would receive one, two, or three points based on “creativity.” Jordan noted that by the end of a fall semester, Kelly had received 70 points.
Kelly’s most serious charge
Jordan also talked at length about what she called Kelly’s most serious crime. He was charged with a felony for engaging in a sexual act with a child under the age of 16.
The charge stems from when Kelly arranged sexual acts with a student in the Watson College of Education on the UNCW Campus. Kelly had a student record him performing oral sex on the minor in a bathroom. Kelly was careful to conceal his identity with a hat and ensure the minor was not in the video.
Kelly posted the video to an explicit website. Both Kelly and the victim received $50 for the video.
WECT has reached out to UNCW about this incident. A spokesperson for the university said they had no comment.
Kelly told another victim about a website where he would post videos of himself masturbating with a mask on in exchange for $50. He even told one victim how to post videos online and make money.
Much more on this horrible story can be found at WECT6.
Supreme Court reinstates convictions of
Albuquerque man for child sexual abuse
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Supreme Court today reinstated convictions of an Albuquerque man for molesting his stepdaughter over several years beginning when the girl was in grade school. Here is a statement from the Administrative Office of the Courts:
In a unanimous opinion, the Court reversed a Bernalillo County judge’s decision to vacate most of Jesse Lawrence Lente’s convictions because they violated constitutional protections against punishing someone multiple times for the same crime. Lente was convicted in 2002 of 26 counts of sexual crimes against a child. Five of those convictions were left in place by the district court judge’s ruling in 2017. Several convictions for non-sex crimes, including bribery of a witness, also remained.
The Supreme Court concluded there was no double jeopardy violation because the vacated convictions represented separate criminal acts and the stepdaughter’s testimony at trial provided enough specificity to support Lente’s convictions of multiple sex crimes.
In an opinion written by Chief Justice Judith K. Nakamura, the Court said the case against Lente “does not include ‘carbon copy’ counts, i.e., identically worded charges that are in no way differentiated from one another.”
Lente was sentenced to 236 years in prison. After exhausting his state court appeals, he filed a post-conviction habeas corpus petition that led to the district court’s decision vacating most of his convictions. Prosecutors appealed that decision.
The case raised legal issues about evidence in “resident child molester” cases. Lente began abusing his stepdaughter when she was seven or eight years old and continued until she was 11 or 12 years old. She testified that the abuse occurred two to three times a week.
“These cases generally involve defendants who have regular access to and control over children whom they sexually abuse in secrecy over long periods of time,” the Supreme Court said. “The child victims in these cases are usually the sole witnesses of the crimes perpetrated and, because of their age and the frequency of the sexual abuse to which they are subjected, cannot provide detailed accounts of the abuse but only generalized accounts of frequent sexual contact with the defendant.”
The district court determined that the stepdaughter’s testimony “was too generic and insufficient to support Lente’s multiple convictions,” the Supreme Court said. “Her testimony, the district court concluded, could support only one conviction for each type of sex-abuse crime Lente perpetrated, and therefore, Lente’s multiple convictions violated double jeopardy.”
The Supreme Court disagreed, and in its written opinion clarified “the principles courts must utilize when evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence presented in resident child molester cases.”
In Lente’s case, the Court concluded that the stepdaughter’s testimony described the criminal acts with “sufficient specificity” for the jury to differentiate between the various sex offenses and to support each of the convictions.
Tigard, Ore., man arrested on child sex abuse charges
KOIN-TV reports Louis Howard Johnson was arrested this week at the Greenburg Oaks Apartments where he works, according to Tigard police.
Investigators say Johnson sexually abused multiple victims who were all minors at the time. Police say the abuse happened about 15 years ago and that there he may be more victims since he worked at various rental properties that gave him access to residents and children.
Johnson was indicted and booked into the Washington County Jail on six counts of unlawful sexual penetration and seven counts of sexual abuse.
Elgin, Ill., man charged with sharing videos
of 2 y/o child's sexual abuse, torture
Sun-Times Media WireELGIN, Ill. -- An Elgin man is accused of distributing multiple videos of children being sexually abused and tortured.
On June 13, a detective allegedly discovered five videos being downloaded from Vogt's computer, prosecutors said. Each video allegedly depicts an adult sexually abusing a child, possibly as young as 2 years old, and subjecting them to torture.
Vogt is being held at the Kane County Jail on $500,000 bail, the state's attorney's office said. If he posts bond, he is not allowed to use the internet or have contact with anyone younger than 18 and must surrender his passport.
If convicted of all felonies, Vogt faces a sentence of as many as 150 years in prison, the state's attorney's office said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 1.
That seems about appropriate!
Texas educator accused of child sex abuse
taught at McKinney middle school at the time
By Tom Steele, Dallas Morning News
A North Texas educator has been arrested on a charge of child sex abuse.
Kirby Glynn Smith, 50, was booked into the Collin County jail Tuesday on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. He remained in custody Wednesday, with bail set at $100,000.
At the time of the alleged reported abuse, Smith was a teacher at Cockrill Middle School in the McKinney ISD, police said. He is currently the assistant principal at Van Alstyne Middle School.
Van Alstyne ISD Superintendent David Brown wrote in a letter to parents that Smith has been placed on administrative leave and is not allowed on any district property. He said his district was cooperating with authorities.
Police said they did not know of any other potential victims. Anyone with information about the case may call police at 972-547-2710.
2 allege sex abuse in lawsuits against Boy Scouts
in Montana
Phil Drake, Great Falls TribuneA man who was a member of a Boy Scout troop sponsored by the Malmstrom Air Force Base Kiwanis is suing the Boy Scouts of America, alleging he was sexually abused by a troop leader in the 1980s.
The man, known as M.B. in his lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Montana 8th Judicial District Court in Cascade County, was joined in another lawsuit by a man identified as M.M., who is also suing the Scouts. He was in Troop 26 out of Hamilton that was sponsored by the Elks Club, according to court documents.
The defendants named in the court filings include the Boy Scouts of America and the nonprofit Great Falls-based Montana Council, Boy Scouts of America.
The defendants named include the Boy Scouts of America and the nonprofit Montana Council, Boy Scouts of America. (Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images)
M.B., who was born in 1968 and still lives in Montana, alleges he was sexually abused by Boy Scout Troop 190 leader George C. Deblois from 1980 to 1985. He said that Deblois served as a surrogate father because M.B.’s father was in the military and often deployed. The lawsuit alleges Deblois molested M.B. in Deblois' car as they were going to and returning from scouting events, hiking and campaign trips and at the Deblois’ home.
Dumas said Deblois was never charged or convicted. Efforts to locate Deblois for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.
Both men say the Boy Scouts and Montana Council were negligent and committed fraud. They failed to supervise the men who abused the two plaintiffs and did not enforce proper child protection policies despite notice of child sexual abuse.
M.B.'s suit claims the Boy Scouts breached their duty to use reasonable care. It asks for general, special and punitive damages, plaintiffs costs and other relief the court deems just and equitable.
In the other filing, M.M., who was born in 1957 and now lives in Oregon, alleges he was sexually abused from 1968 to 1971 by his Scout leader Clare Conroy. The suit states the Boy Scouts failed to properly train and supervise Conroy.
It states the plaintiff reported Conroy to other adult Scout leaders around 1970. They did not terminate him and Conroy remained a Troop leader until 1984 and continued to abuse the plaintiff. Conroy died in 1993.
Gilion C. Dumas, Portland, Ore., based attorney representing the plaintiffs, said Montana recently changed its statute of limitations for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. She said the new law extends the deadline for filing a civil action for child sexual abuse to age 27 or three years.
Good grief! 3 years? Why bother?
She said in a news release the law opens a “window” for claims earlier prohibited. Under some circumstances, even if a claim is time barred under the previous deadline, survivors have a window until May 7, 2020 to bring a claim.
“It is well-documented that child abuse survivors rarely report the abuse while it is happening and often do not report until well into adulthood, after they realize the long-term effects of the abuse on their lives or finally feel safe enough to report,” Dumas said.
Most of us well after we turn 27.
Other attorneys for the plaintiffs include Bozeman attorney James P. Molloy and Ashley L. Vaughn, who practices with Dumas.
Dumas represented three women who finalized a settlement with the Boy Scouts in August. The women claimed they were sexually assaulted by an adult Scout leader nearly 40 years ago when they were members of a Kalispell Explorer post.
The suit was filed in 2011. The terms of the settlement, reached during mediation, are confidential.
New charges filed against Orem, Ut., man
after third alleged victim comes forward
By Gephardt DailyOREM, — An Orem man charged in August (8th story on link) with multiple counts of abuse and lewdness involving children now faces additional charges after a third alleged victim has come forward.
The new charges bring Gygi’s total charges to 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony; and 12 counts of lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor.
The alleged victims were two males and one female. All reports were delayed.
In the case filed this week, the abuse of the male victim allegedly happened in the approximate 2003-2004 time period, the charging document says. At that time, the victim was at 7 or 8 years old, and he was at least 10 when the abuse ended, the statement says.
Gygi was approximately 16 to 19 at the time, the charging documents say.
“(The) victim disclosed that defendant was viewed as a mentor in the neighborhood and children would frequent his home in Orem to play games,” the statement says. “Defendant began inviting victim to play alone with him. Defendant would ‘lure’ victim in with the offer of playing with certain toys.
“(The) defendant then began asking victim to play ‘dares’ with him.” The dares began with touching underwear in the dresser of Gygi’s sister, and progressed to a wiggling game that lasted until the boy’s clothes came off, the statement says. Naked touching then occurred, it says.
In the case filed in August, the charges filed stemmed from incidents from about three years earlier, involving a boy and a girl, reported to be 9 and 8 at that time.
The female victim told officers that Gygi had “dared” her and the boy “to take their clothes off and run around naked. (She) said this occurred more than once.” She also said that Gygi had dropped his pants and underwear, and had her touch is penis.
Gygi was transported to the Orem Police station and interviewed, and confirmed he knew he was there to discuss the alleged abuse because the male victim had warned him a month earlier.
Post Mirada, “Lincoln said he felt bad that he and (the two victims) had engaged in ‘dares’ or ‘challenges’ which involved all of them taking off their clothes and running around naked.” Gygi said it occurred between 10 and 20 times, the charging document said.
He also confirmed lying on a bed, naked, with the girl, with skin-to-skin contact on three occasions. Gygi said he had told the female victim touch his penis, and he confirmed her vague memory of him touching her vagina.
Gygi said the abuse went on for about a year, and that a third child was present on one occasion.
Okmulgee, Ok., pensioner arrested for child sex abuse
A 75-year-old Okmulgee man was arrested after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday.
OSBI agents arrested Lay on Tuesday, after the week before he admitted to committing various sexual acts on the child, the release states.
Lay was believed to be familiar with the girl, and had walked her home from a residence on North 280 Road before. The night of the assault, his grandson had gone inside to sleep.
The girl went back inside the residence to get her phone that was charging, and Lay followed before reportedly sexually abusing her, the release states.
The girl reported the incident to authorities and criminalists matched Lay's DNA to the DNA found during the girl's medical examination.
Lay remains booked in the Okmulgee County jail on a $100,000 bond, the release states.
Albertville, Al., pensioner guilty of child sex abuse
TAYLOR BECK The Reporter
GUNTERSVILLE — Walter Richard Rives, 77, of Albertville, was found guilty of sexually abusing a child less than 12 years old.
A jury of 13 men reached the verdict after deliberating for less than one hour Thursday morning inside the Marshall County Courthouse in Guntersville.
Trial began with opening statements and a testimony from the victim Tuesday afternoon. The Marshall County District Attorney’s Office is led the prosecution. Attorney Mark Hopper led the defense. Judge Chris Abel presided.
Before trial began, Rives pled not guilty.
During opening testimonies, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bray said the case boiled down to “motive and opportunity.” She said Rives had motive due to his past.
In 1985, Rives was put on trial after being charged with first degree sodomy of a girl that was 8-10 years old. Despite Rives’ admission to abuse of the girl in a separate dependency hearing, Bray said a mistrial was ordered — the reason is unknown.
In March of 1986, Bray said, Rives pled the charge down to a misdemeanor. Rives was not registered as a sex offender, according to Bray. She said a second case of alleged sex abuse of a child was later reported against Rives, but charges were not presented.
During the defense’s opening statement, Hopper said it was important for the jury to separate Rives’ history from the current case. “What we are here for today is what happened to [the victim of the present case]” Hopper said. “Not what happened decades ago.”
Shortly after opening statements, the now 13-year-old victim took the stand to testify against Rives.
She said she could not remember every detail of what happened more than six years ago, but she definitively remembered Rives abusing her.
According to the victim, Rives would take her out for a ride on his 4-wheeler, and then stop once away from the house. Then, she said, he would abuse her. She said her cousins would ride on the 4-wheeler with them occasionally, but the abuse only happened when Rives and the victim were alone.
She could not remember if similar incidents happened in other locations. She also couldn’t remember how many times it had happened.
When she eventually told her mother what was happening, it was only by accident. The victim said she didn’t understand that what was happening was bad, only that it was uncomfortable.
The mother, who also testified, said her daughter revealed what was happening when they were talking about who she enjoyed staying with the most. The family lived on the same street as Rives and other family members, and the victim regularly stayed with them.
While she said she enjoyed staying with one family member, the victim told her mother she didn’t like staying at Rives’ home. That’s when the mother learned of the alleged abuse.
During her testimony, the mother claimed she had no knowledge of Rives’ history of alleged abuse. In fact, she said the family was on good terms before the incident was brought to light — she said there was no reason to fabricate a lie about Rives. The family thought of Rives as another grandparent.
Witnesses related to Rives past alleged abuse cases testified Wednesday. Closing arguments were made Thursday morning before the jury decided the case.
A sentencing hearing for Rives will be held Jan. 6, 2020. Being found guilty, Bray said Rives could be sentenced 10-20 years in prison.
Although the defense requested Rives be placed in immediate custody following the trial, Abel ordered him to remain on bond until the sentencing hearing.
Jury Convicts Minnesota Man of
Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses
Terrance Nordwall, age 50, of Faribault, Minnesota, was convicted of attempted sex trafficking of children, attempted enticement of minors, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Nordwall remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Nordwall faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, $15,300 in special assessments, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Hiawatha Police Department.
This case was brought as 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 visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Charges filed on Naples, Fla., man after
family member records sexual abuse
By: WFTX Digital TeamCOLLIER COUNTY, Fla. -- An East Naples man is facing felony child sexual abuse charges after a family member secretly recorded the crime on a cell phone.
According to the Collier COunty Sheriff's Office, an investigation determined that he was sexually abusing a child.
According to reports, once the victim disclosed the abuse to her sister this week, the sister put an iPhone in the room where the abuse was taking place and set it to record.
When detectives were called to the scene they reviewed the video and Serrano was arrested. The iPhone was taken into evidence.
Following his arrest Wednesday a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer was placed on Serrano. ICE lodges detainers on individuals arrested on criminal charges when ICE has probable cause to show they are removable aliens.
Once Serrano has satisfied his local criminal charges he will be released into ICE custody.
Jury Convicts Jacksonville, Mo., Man For Possessing
Child Sex Abuse Videos And Images
(STL.News) – A federal jury has found Jason Ryan Fain (38, Jacksonville) guilty of possessing videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of young children. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by a potential life term of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
A forensic analysis conducted by the FBI confirmed that Fain’s thumb drive had accessed a particular file-sharing network on the internet. The device also contained a document that advocated the legalization of child pornography possession.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.
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