Transient babysitter faces decade-old child sex charges
in Portland, Ore
There should be no such thing as 'male babysitters'
by: KOIN 6 News Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Investigators looking into the case of a 33-year-old man facing multiple child sex charges are asking for the public’s help to determine if there are more victims.
Lee Zon Bennett was arrested in September 2019 after tips led them to begin an investigation into the child sex abuse arrived in May, Beaverton police said.
The cases date back to 2009 and 2011. In the first case, Bennett allegedly abused a 4-year-old girl, while the second case involves a 10-year-old girl. In both cases Bennett was staying at people’s houses and babysitting them.
He was indicted in August and arrested the next month. He faces 3 counts of first-degree sex abuse and 2 counts of first degree unlawful sexual penetration.
Beaverton police said Bennett has been transient in the past and investigators believe there are more victims.
Anyone with information or concerns should contact Beaverton PD Detective Jeff Gill at 503.526.2660.
Husband and wife sentenced to prison in child sex abuse
case spanning Texas, Florida, and Alabama
Mathew Richards
ROSHARON, Texas — A husband and wife were sentenced to 40 and 10 years in prison, respectively, in connection with a years-long, multi-state child sex abuse case.
According to evidence presented at trial, 51-year-old Mack Doak sexually abused his three adopted children for several years beginning in 2012 in Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Those child victims were also victim to physical and verbal abuse from Mack Doak's 42-year-old wife, Jaycee, who, according to prosecutors, knew and tried to cover up the sexual abuse.
Chief United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Mack Doak to 40 years in prison and Jaycee Doak to 10 years in prison on multiple charges of child exploitation spanning multiple jurisdictions. DuBose also ordered both to receive mental health and sex offender treatment, to register as sex offenders, to pay restitution of $225,000, mandatory special assessments of $30,900 and $25,600, and, upon release, both will be placed on supervised release for 15 and five years, respectively.
The sexual abuse began in 2012 in Rosharon, Texas, which is located just south of Houston, Texas. One victim testified she was raped by Mack Doak, and told Jaycee Doak of the abuse. Jaycee, according to the testimony, told the victim not to tell anyone because the disclosure would be "ruinous."
Another witness testified she too was raped by Mack Doak years earlier and that she disclosed the abuse to Jaycee Doak in 2012.
In March 2013, as allegations of Mack Doak's sexual abuse began to surface, a witness testified he (Doak) took a pistol in his hand and threatened suicide stating, "I did something really bad and I’m not going to jail for it.”
In early 2014, the Doaks moved from Rosharon to Butler, Alabama, and then to Pinellas Park, Florida, in August 2014, and Thomasville, Alabama, in November 2016. The sexual abuse persisted.
Less than a year after moving to Thomasville, the Doaks moved to Monroeville, Alabama, where the sexual abuse continued and Jaycee Doak's physical and verbal abuse escalated.
The Monroeville Police Department was notified of the sexual abuse in early February 2018. On February 4, 2018, a Monroe County Department of Human Resources caseworker visited the victims, who disclosed the abuse and indicated they were unsafe in the Doak's care, and the next day, both Mack and Jaycee Doak were arrested on state charges for rape, incest, and sexual abuse.
The jury heard three days of evidence during the May 2019 trial before convicting both Doaks. During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, November 21, 2019, a victim impact statement was read which described how the Doak's abuse had irreparably altered their lives.
“The investigators and prosecutors did their job," United States Attorney Richard W. Moore stated after the sentencing. "A jury of the defendants’ peers found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court has imposed substantial sentences of imprisonment. Our criminal justice system has worked as best we could expect."
"Still, we take little comfort in any of this because the damage to young lives here is so severe and so undeserved," he stated. "We cannot make these children whole again. Something precious has been taken from them that we are powerless to give back."
We can make sure those survivors get the mental help they need, for as long as they need it. Those fines would go a long ways toward that.
"What we can do is stand together against the horror of child sex abuse and always do our best to protect children from evil whenever possible," he continued. "This case is a reminder that we must always be vigilant when the safety of our children is at risk.”
Vista, CA, teacher in prison for child porn, now the subject of a child sex abuse investigation
By ALEX RIGGINS
NORTH COUNTY — A retired North County teacher who was sent to federal prison last year for possessing child pornography is now the subject of a child sex abuse investigation, federal authorities said Thursday.
Tay Christopher Cooper, a 67-year-old Carlsbad resident who taught history at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, is set to be released from federal custody on Nov. 30, two days after Thanksgiving, according to federal prison records.
Agents with Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested Cooper in April 2018 on suspicion that he possessed child pornography on his home computer and external hard drive, according to federal authorities and court documents. Cooper pleaded guilty in July 2018 to one felony count and was sentenced in December to one year and one day in prison.
But in September this year, “a potential child predator victim ... accused Cooper of sexual abuse,” federal officials said in a statement Thursday.
“Since receiving this information, HSI is appealing to the public for assistance in identifying additional victims,” the statement said.
In addition to the sex abuse investigation, Cooper is also facing a federal lawsuit brought against him by the victims depicted in the child pornography that Cooper possessed, court documents showed.
“These cases serve to remind us of the vast underground world of child pornography where criminals like Cooper lurk,” Nick Annan, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego, said in a statement. “Too often we find that the layers of abuse that these predators have inflicted are far deeper than they initially appear.”
Annan added that “public tips are key to uncovering the layers, locating victims and bringing predators to justice for their heinous crimes.”
Child porn and child sexual abuse are so incredibly prevalent, it certainly takes a concerted effort by the police and the public to address it. If you know anything about a child being sexually abused, you must tell someone in authority.
Authorities asked that anyone with information about potential criminal conduct connected with Cooper call the Homeland Security Investigations San Diego field office at (760) 901-1004.
The public can also report suspected child predators at at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or from outside the U.S. and Canada at (802) 872-6199.
Maryland Middle School Teacher and Repeat Offender Found Guilty of Child Sexual Abuse
UPDATE 11/22/2019: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, November 21, 2019, after four days of trial, a Charles County jury convicted Keith Allan Krikstan, 32 of Waldorf, of Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Production of Child Pornography, and Visual Surveillance of a Private Area.
In January of 2018, detectives with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office discovered an inappropriate video of the victim during an investigation of Krikstan and his involvement with another juvenile. Communications with the victim and her mother revealed that Krikstan babysat the victim and her sibling on numerous occasions at their residence. Krikstan also worked as a substitute teacher at the victim’s school.
A further investigation revealed that Krikstan initially became acquainted with the victim through her mother’s place of employment in January of 2017. He later babysat the then 12-year-old victim at her residence. In June of 2017, Krikstan secretly set up a recording device in the victim’s bathroom and recorded the victim with no clothes on, unbeknownst to the victim. In November of 2017, Krikstan entered the victim’s bedroom with the victim and used his cell phone to record her simulating oral sex on a banana. Krikstan coached the victim on what to do while recording.
Downloads from Krikstan’s cellular device revealed the video simulation of oral sex. Downloads from two of Krikstan’s computer devices revealed inappropriate images of the victim captured in her bathroom.
During the course of the investigation, Krikstan admitted to the victim’s mother that he had inappropriate feelings for the victim.
On April 16, 2019, Krikstan was found guilty of Sexual Abuse of a Minor for the initial juvenile victim. A sentencing date for both cases has been scheduled for January 14, 2020.
UPDATE 4/17/2019: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, after five days of trial, a Charles County jury convicted Keith Allan Krikstan, 31 of Waldorf, of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
On January 11, 2018, a detective with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office met with the then 12-year-old victim, who stated that she had been in communication with Krikstan, her substitute teacher at John Hanson Middle School, through Snapchat, Facetime, and text message. She further stated that during those communications, Krikstan showed her part of his genitalia and asked her to send him inappropriate pictures.
An investigation revealed that from October 2017 through January 2018, Krikstan developed an inappropriate relationship with the victim and on multiple occasions requested and received pictures of the victim’s private areas. Krikstan, being the victim’s substitute teacher, on one occasion held the victim back after class to talk about the status of their relationship. He then gave her a pass so that she could enter her next class late.
A classmate of the victim learned the nature of the relationship and notified a school resource officer at the school.
Cell phone downloads from both the victim’s and defendant’s phones corroborated the inappropriate nature of their relationship. Krikstan also admitted to communicating with the victim through text and social media, as well as deleting messages.
During closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman told the jury, “[the defendant] took advantage of [the victim] for his own benefit. He knows this is wrong, yet he [continued] because his needs were more important [to him] than doing what’s right.”
1/13/2018: Charles County Sheriff’s detectives arrested Keith Allan Krikstan, 30, of Waldorf, in connection with child pornography, displaying sexually explicit materials to a minor, and sexual abuse of a minor after officers received information he was having inappropriate contact with an adolescent girl.
On January 11, several students at John Hanson Middle School reported to a Charles County Sheriff’s school resource officer that they were aware of a substitute teacher who was having inappropriate communication with another student.
Officers learned Krikstan had obtained a cell phone number of a female student in December 2017 and began texting her. Soon after, they kept in contact via FaceTime and social media. Evidence showed Krikstan convinced the girl to send explicit photos to him and he sent some to her.
Krikstan was immediately removed from the school and detectives served a search warrant, during which they recovered cell phones and computers. Forensic analysis will be conducted on the devices.
Parents are encouraged to talk with their children about this situation and if they report anything inappropriate about Krikstan to contact Det. E. Webster at (301) 609-6558.
Kansas man sentenced to 20 years for child sex abuse
By: 41 Action News Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl.
According to court documents, 24-year-old Corey N. Gray was found guilty of first-degree statutory sodomy and first-degree child molestation in July in Platte County.
The crime happened in February 2015 in a Platte City motel.
The child told her sister about what happened, and the sister told the girl's mother, who reported it to police, according to court documents.
“The unspeakable crimes this defendant committed will affect this girl for the rest of her life. He was brought to justice because she showed great courage by reporting the incident less than 24 hours after it occurred. This sentence should send the message that, in Platte County, we will not tolerate child sexual abuse," Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said in a statement.
Gray received 15 years for the statutory sodomy charge and five for the child molestation charge. The sentences will run consecutively.
'I've been dying for 25 years': How a cop has stalled his child sex abuse trial for decades
BY GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS, USA TODAY
DEVAN PATEL, NAPLES DAILY NEWS
ELIZABETH MURRAY, BURLINGTON (VT.) FREE PRESS
In 1995, Leonard Forte was due in a Vermont courtroom to face charges that he'd repeatedly raped and molested his daughter's 12-year-old friend.
Instead, he started dying.
Forte, then a 54-year-old former detective with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in New York, told the Vermont court his heart had failed and that he was on a transplant list. He said his doctors had given him a grim diagnosis: Without a new heart, he’d be dead within a year.
A Vermont prosecutor agreed to delay the case until Forte was healthy enough to stand trial – unless his terminal condition made prosecuting him a moot point.
Forte never received a heart transplant. But he also didn’t die.
Instead, he has been living as a retiree in Florida, collecting boats, taking vacations and successfully fending off his trial by professing for more than two decades that he’s on the verge of death.
USA TODAY Network reporters used police records and social media posts to show that in the past decade he has taken at least 11 extended trips, including RV jaunts to New York within 200 miles of the Vermont courthouse where he has said he is too ill to travel.
Meanwhile, in dozens of filings and phone calls to the Vermont court, Forte has stalled his case, typically by claiming end-of-life conditions that then don't come to fruition. In 2012, he said he’d been removed from the transplant list because his situation was so dire. In 2014, he said he was undergoing a surgical procedure with up to an 85-percent likelihood of death. In 2017, he said he'd been referred to hospice care and had six months to live.
"I’ve been dying for 25 years, your honor," he stated in a phoned-in court appearance to a Vermont judge that year. "I’m sorry I’m still alive.”
 |
| Michele Dinko |
Not as sorry as we are.
The 12-year-old girl who accused him of rape in 1987 is now a 45-year-old mother to her own teenagers. She has spent nearly three-quarters of her life waiting for him to appear in a Vermont courtroom.
However, the prospect of a trial seems increasingly unlikely, and not just because Forte is now 78. The USA TODAY Network found that Vermont officials have destroyed materials key to the prosecution of Forte, including most of the original trial record. The mistaken destruction of transcripts and court audio recordings appears to be due to the unprecedented age of the case, by far the oldest open prosecution in Vermont and certainly one of the oldest in the country where the defendant is not a fugitive.
Convicted, but Judge overturns it because prosecutor emotional
A Vermont jury initially convicted Forte in 1988 of three counts of sexual assault, which could have meant a 60-year prison sentence. But Judge Theodore S. Mandeville tossed out the verdict on grounds that prosecutors would decry as sexist, ruling that the female prosecutor in the case had prejudiced the jury by being overly emotional.
A new prosecutor, Vermont Assistant Attorney General David Tartter, decided seven years later to retry the case before he agreed to Forte’s request for a health-related delay.
Tartter, who is still the prosecutor assigned to the case, agreed to be interviewed for this story but later said by email that after “further reflection” he had decided public comment might hinder his “core responsibility, which is to ensure that this case stays prosecutable.”
Another status update on the case is scheduled for Dec. 9. Forte, who has not physically appeared at a Vermont courthouse in decades, is expected to phone in.
Reporters could not reach Forte by phone and he did not respond to a letter delivered to his address. During his most recent court conference, in June of this year, Forte stated via phone that he is “not strong enough to defend myself, but I am not guilty of these charges.” He also advised the court that he “can’t function” and is “on oxygen 24/7.”
A USA TODAY Network photographer in September documented Forte puttering around his yard in Labelle, Fla., and repositioning a car in the driveway. There was no oxygen tank in sight. When a reporter later attempted to interview Forte at the same home, his wife said he didn’t live there. Property records show that he claims it as his primary residence.
Over the years, Forte has provided to the court letters or records describing serious health issues, and in some cases the opinion of doctors that he is medically unfit for the stress of traveling and withstanding a trial. But Forte has been unable or unwilling to fulfill the court’s request that he produce a medical professional willing to testify under oath.
If Forte was accurately diagnosed with the severe heart failure outlined in the records he provided to the court, it would be “extraordinarily rare” for him to be alive so many years later, said Dr. Mary Norine Walsh, past president of the American College of Cardiology and medical director of an Indianapolis heart center.
Court recordings and filings show that Vermont judges and court officials have for years expressed skepticism and impatience concerning Forte’s claims. They have sent sarcastic congratulations to each other for inheriting the case, pretended to keel over on the bench during Forte's proceedings and yelled over his self-pitying diatribes.
In 1996, Tartter documented how Forte – who had claimed he was financially devastated by the court case and medically unable to fly to Vermont – was leading a lifestyle many retirees would envy, complete with boats docked outside of his waterfront home, at least seven vehicles registered in his name and regular flights to New York.
Yet Vermont authorities have failed to order Forte back to the state to face trial, which the prosecutor has estimated would last two days.
Michele Dinko, the alleged victim, said in a recent interview that Tarrter has expressed to her that he has little hope left of prosecuting Forte. Dinko said Tarrter also told her privately that having the case loom over Forte for so many decades is its own kind of punishment.
 |
| Vermont |
It’s meant that she has had to live with the same punishment, she said. Forte has dismissed her in court as a “disturbed child" and claimed, "she has no interest in pursuing this matter." As has been the case with some of Forte's other court pronouncements, the opposite is true.
Over the decades, Dinko said she has received only sporadic contact from Tartter, who at times has asked her if she still wants to go forward with the case.
To Dinko, a registered nurse, the answer is obvious. “If it was his child, he wouldn’t let it slide,” she said of Tartter. “He wouldn’t stop.”
A stalled grand jury...
There is more on this story on the Oklahoman.
Winter Park, Fla., man sentenced to life in prison for production, distribution of child porn
By KATIE RICE
ORLANDO SENTINEL |
NOV 22, 2019 | 6:22 PM
A 31-year-old Winter Park man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for enticement of a minor to produce child pornography and distribution of child sex abuse imagery, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
Eric Bales received a life sentence for enticement and 20 years for distribution, said William Daniels, spokesman for the Department of Justice. He will serve his sentences concurrently.
He pleaded guilty on May 22.
Bales has a history of involvement in child enticement and sexual abuse cases dating back to 2009. In 2015, he was sentenced to three years in prison in Seminole County for willful child abuse against a 14-year-old, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was released in October 2017.
Bales’ case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, Daniels said. Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials investigated and prosecuted the case.
“This serial child predator used social media to spread vile images across the digital spectrum," said David Pezzutti, the assistant special agent in charge for HSI Orlando. “This investigation highlights HSI’s authority to work with international and local partners, ultimately making our communities a safer place.”
Judge denies Twin Falls man's request for leniency
in child sex abuse case
JULIE A. FERRARO jferraro@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — A judge rejected a request for a lighter sentence from aTwin Falls man convicted of sexually abusing a child.
Shawn Hatfield, 44, appealed the sentence of 10 to 25 years imposed on Feb. 12, according to court documents. He asked for leniency and a reduction of the sentence to eight to 15 years.
Hatfield was arrested in April 2018 and charged with three counts of sexual abuse by soliciting a child younger than 16, three counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16, and battery with intent to commit a serious felony.
Police launched an investigation after a 14-year-old victim came forward in February 2018, court documents say. A second victim accused Hatfield of similar conduct, and police discovered Hatfield was a suspect in a similar case filed in 2017.
In a jury trial, Hatfield was found guilty of one count of lewd conduct with a minor under 16.
In a ruling filed on Sept. 3, District Judge Thomas J. Ryan denied Hatfield's motion without a hearing. The ruling said Hatfield had provided no new evidence to warrant leniency, nor did he identify any evidence that required a hearing.
Hatfield remains in the custody of the Idaho Department of Corrections.
Final defendant pleads guilty in plot to kidnap
and sexually assault Michigan child
Pictured, from left, are Talia Furman, of Springfield, Matthew Toole, of Battle Creek, David Bailey, of Coldwater and formerly of Kalamazoo, and Jayme LaPoint, of Athens.
By Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com
COLDWATER, MI — The final defendant who plotted to kidnap and sexually assault a child has pleaded guilty to two felony counts punishable by up to life in prison, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office reports.
Matthew Toole, the fourth and final co-defendant in a child sex abuse conspiracy ring, pleaded guilty Friday, Nov. 22, before Branch County Circuit Court Judge P. William O’Grady, according to a Nov. 22 news release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
Toole, 33, of Battle Creek, was set to stand trial for his role in a plot to kidnap, sexually assault and kill young children, but instead pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and one felony count of conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct on a child under the age of 13, both punishable by up to life in prison, the AG’s office reports.
“One of our important responsibilities as law enforcement officers is the safety and welfare of our children and residents,” Nessel said in a prepared statement. “I am incredibly proud of the swift action taken by the Michigan State Police and our career prosecutors who intercepted these plans to carry out incredibly heinous crimes and prevented Michigan children from being harmed.”
Several people have been arrested and charged in the case, police said.
In May 2018, Michigan State Police received a complaint from a witness who claimed Toole and a co-defendant, 33-year-old Talia Furman, also of Battle Creek, had child sexually abusive material on their phones and had plans to abuse and murder a young girl.
Upon further investigation by MSP and the Michigan Department of Attorney General, several messages were found that were exchanged with another co-defendant in the case, David Bailey, 37, detailing the same plans to abuse and kill a young girl, the attorney general’s office said.
Evidence retrieved from the phone of Bailey’s girlfriend and the fourth defendant in the case, Jaime LaPoint, revealed she also engaged in these conspiracies with Toole and Furman. The four met for pizza at Bailey’s home and laid out the plot to kidnap a child from the county fair, sexually assault and then murder that child, the news release states.
The police investigation is detailed in a Michigan State Police report that MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The copy of the police report included redactions of personal information, in-custody statements, techniques used during the investigation and other information, the state police said.
The Michigan State Police investigation revealed an alleged deadly plan to take a child from a county fair in either Eaton, Jackson, Branch or Hillsdale counties, or from a parade, during the summer of 2018. No one was kidnapped, but instead, police captured four people and charged them with crimes related to the alleged plot.
Furman, Bailey and LaPoint have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for their crimes.
Toole is set for sentencing Friday, Jan. 13, in Branch County Circuit Court. He could face a sentence of up to life in prison on each of the two charges.
Friday the 13th, might not be his lucky day!
OSBI arrests Nicoma Park, Okla., police officer
on child sexual abuse charges
KOCO Staff
NICOMA PARK, Okla. —
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Friday arrested Nicoma Park police officer Douglas Spencer on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse, according to an OSBI news release.
Nicoma Park police requested OSBI assistance after receiving allegations of “inappropriate touching of a minor child by one of their officers,” according to the release. The incidents, several years apart, involved two 14-year-old girls.
Spencer, 51, was arrested at the Nicoma Park Police Department and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on a $450,000 bond, according to the release. His charges include one count of first-degree rape by instrumentation and two counts of indecent or lewd acts involving a child under 16.
The OSBI investigation is ongoing.
If you believe a child is being abused or exploited contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.cybertipline.com, or the OSBI at 800-522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov.
Oregon man accused of child sex crimes in 7 states
Author: KGW Staff
An Oregon man has been indicted on 90 counts for allegedly going online and obtaining sexually explicit materials from seven different female minors in seven different states.
David Cohron, 58, allegedly reached out to seven victims between the ages of 13 and 14 in seven different states and compelled each of them to send him sexually explicit materials.
Cohron used the username "Perry Williams" as he communicated with the children he is accused of soliciting materials from. According to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, Cohron used flattery, manipulation, begging, dares and insults, and in some cases threatened his victims in order to receive sexually explicit material.
The investigation into Cohron began in April when authorities in North Carolina contacted the Portland Police Bureau about concerns that an unknown person was communicating with minors for sexually explicit materials.
Cohron is charged with:
30 counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse
30 counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse
23 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct
Five counts of luring a minor
One count of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child
One count of first-degree attempted coercion
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