Machesney Park, Ill., sex offender accused again
of child sex abuse
MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WTVO) — 33-year-old John Wayne Stedman was arrested Monday on charges of criminal sexual abuse of a child under 13.
According to court records, on multiple occasions between November 2018 and May 2019, Stedman allegedly molested an underage girl, both in his home on Jennie Drive, in Machesney Park, and another home in Rockford.
Stedman was also charged with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender in Machesney Park, where he lives.
Police say he was previously convicted of failure to register in 2014.
Stedman also faces charges of aggravated fleeing police, driving on a revoked license, reckless driving, failure to notify of damage to an unattended vehicle, and possession of cannabis.
He was booked into the Winnebago County Jail on Tuesday, December 3rd, and is being held on a $15,000 bond.
Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse At Former
Admiral Farragut Academy, NJ
A former student of the private military school in Pine Beach alleges
another student abused him in the 1980s and wasn't stopped.
By Karen Wall, Patch Staff
PINE BEACH, NJ — A former Ocean County resident has filed a lawsuit against the long-closed Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, alleging he was sexually abused by another student and that authorities at the former military school did nothing to prevent it.
David Jones, who now lives in Florida, alleges the abuse happened between 1981 and 1983, when he was 11 to 13 years old and a student at the Navy prep school.
Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach closed in 1994 amid financial difficulties and falling enrollment. The school had existed in Pine Beach for decades and had produced some noteworthy alumni, including astronaut Alan Shepard. It has a sister college prep school in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The lawsuit alleges Jones was molested by a student named John Wnek, who was older and was an ensign and battalion commander at the school. Wnek is not named as a defendant in the suit.
Wnek is accused of using his position to groom and sexually abuse Jones. Jones alleges there were about a dozen incidents from 1981 to 1983 and all happened in the dorms at Admiral Farragut, said Jay Mascolo, Jones' attorney.
Mascolo said Wnek is not named in the suit because they want to ensure the focus of the lawsuit stays on the actions of the staff and administration at Admiral Farragut.
"We know we know what the perpetrator did," Mascolo said. "We want to know what did you (Admiral Farragut's staff) know? What kind of safeguards did you have in place?"
Wnek could not immediately be reached for comment. He denied the allegations to the Asbury Park Press, saying, "This is devastating. I would never do anything to hurt anybody."
The lawsuit claims Admiral Farragut authorities "should have known that John Wnek posed a threat of foreseeable harm" and that they failed to take reasonable steps to protect Jones from him.
The lawsuit, filed Ocean County Superior Court, is among a number of lawsuits that have been filed since Sunday, when the state's new law that took effect on Dec. 1 – created a two-year window for victims to file lawsuits. Child sex abuse victims can sue until they turn 55, or within seven years of realizing the abuse that harmed them. Gov. Phil Murphy signed S-477 into law in May.
New York Man Sentenced for Role in
Sexual Abuse of 18-m/o Child
A New York man was sentenced Tuesday in Massachusetts for his role in the sexual abuse of an 18-month-old child, prosecutors said.
Gary Montana, 33, of Hudson, New York, was sentenced to up to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 years, and posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual contact, according to the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington.
The defense sought a more lenient prison term.
Montana persuaded a 30-year-old Pittsfield woman with whom he had an online relationship to send him explicit photos of herself, prosecutors said.
He then threatened to distribute the photos publicly unless she performed sexual acts on the child, which he recorded in January 2018, authorities said. He was arrested in August 2018.
The woman has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Former Iowa officer captured in Georgia
now faces child sex charges
KCCI
GRINNELL, Iowa —
A former Iowa police officer captured in Georgia on harassment and stalking charges now faces child sex abuse charges.
Jonathan Wayne Bailey, 34, was wanted on charges of violation of a no contact order, first-degree harassment and stalking.
Bailey was captured in Georgia on Nov. 21. Court documents show he is now charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of sexual abuse and eight counts of child endangerment.
He is scheduled to appear in Poweshiek County Court on Dec. 12.
Grinnell police began investigating Bailey on Nov. 7 regarding sexual assault allegations involving multiple children.
Court documents show on Nov. 21 victims described sex acts they were subjected to by Bailey to investigators. Bailey was then charged, and a no-contact order was issued.
According to court documents, Bailey contacted his wife, who has a no-contact order against him, on Nov. 10 to apologize and said he was going to kill himself.
Bailey reportedly called his wife from a restricted number and said she had taken everything from him, according to court documents.
Court documents say Bailey told her he was going to come after her and their children and asked her which one of her parents she wanted dead first.
Would that be before or after he killed himself? I hope she offered to load the gun for him to do himself in.
The investigating officer noted, "Ms. Bailey had tears in her eyes and was shaking while speaking to me about this. When my investigation began on the defendant in reference to the sexual assault allegations, Ms. Bailey left the state for a short time due to her being scared of the defendant."
Court documents state Bailey has allegedly told his wife in the past that if anyone messed with his family, he would "sniff them out" and "kill" them. Bailey has told multiple people that he is contemplating suicide, as he "won't go to prison," according to court documents.
Bailey left the Eagle Grove Police Department in 2013 after federal authorities launched an investigation into him. No charges were filed against him in the investigation.
Bailey is being held in the Poweshiek County Jail in lieu of a $1 million cash-only bond.
Madisonville, TX, woman sentenced to life
in child sex abuse case
BY ANDRE PERRARD
A Madison County woman has been sentenced for her role in a child sex abuse case.
Authorities in Madison County brought the hammer down on the woman, who admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing a child and possessing child pornography.
The woman is identified as Felicia Mulkey of Madisonville. She pleaded guilty last month to four charges and received two life sentences with no chance of parole. According to prosecutors, the survivor of the abuse was attacked hundreds of times.
Mulkey pleaded guilty to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of super aggravated sexual assault of a child, and two counts of possession of child pornography.
She was sentenced to the maximum punishment allowed by law on all charges.
Mulkey’s boyfriend, Joseph Farris, is also charged in connection with this case and is awaiting trial.
Altoona, Ala, man charged with child sex abuse
Gadsden Times
By Donna Thornton
Etowah County investigators arrested an Altoona man Tuesday on child sex abuse charges, according to Sheriff Jonathon Horton.
Eric Amon Firestone, 38, is charged with sexual abuse of a child less than 12, Horton said in a press release.
“A person commits the crime of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old if he or she, being 16 years old or older, subjects another person who is less than 12 years old to sexual contact,” Investigator Brandi Fuller explained.
In this case, the alleged abuse started when the victim was 8 years old.
Firestone is being held on a $50,000 cash bond with a condition of release that he have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with any child under 18 years old.
Horton thanked the James M. Barrie Center, Etowah County Department of Human Resources, and the Etowah County Criminal Apprehension Team for their assistance in the case.
Alabama man charged with 27 crimes
including sex abuse of child and bestiality
By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
A Dale County man is charged with more than two dozen felony sex crimes including abuse of a child and bestiality.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Wednesday announced the arrest of Jason Todd Park. He is 39, and lives in Pinckard.
Park is charged with 26 felonies and one misdemeanor brought by special agents with the Attorney General’s Office. He was arrested Nov. 25, Nov. 27, and Dec. 2. Each time he was released on bond, for a total of $316,000.
Specifically, Park is charged with three counts of production of child pornography, a Class A felony; three counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12, a Class B felony; 20 counts of possession of child pornography, a Class C felony; and one count of bestiality, a Class A misdemeanor.
Marshall said no additional information is being released at the time. If convicted, Park faces penalties of 10 years to life imprisonment or 99 years for each count of production of child pornography, two to 20 years for each count of sexual abuse of a child, one to 10 years for possession of child pornography and up to one year for bestiality.
If the child was involved in the bestiality, that should be a minimum 99 years in itself.
Repeat offender from Texas sentenced for
child sex abuse in Minnesota
West Central Tribune
WILLMAR, Minn. — A Texas man has been sentenced to six- and seven-year prison terms for his second and third sexual assault convictions in recent years.
Alexander Rudy Gamez, 25, of Carrizo Springs, Texas, was sentenced this week for molesting two boys when they were about 5 and 7 years old a decade ago in Willmar, Minn.
He was originally charged with one count of felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
In a plea agreement, Gamez pleaded guilty to the second-degree charges, and the first-degree charge was dismissed.
He was ordered to serve the two prison terms concurrently and was given credit for 487 days already served in jail.
Gamez was ordered to be on supervised release for the rest of his life. He must also register as a predatory offender.
Concurrently, so one was a freeby, because he's such a nice fella, I guess.
Suspect in child sex abuse case arrested
in Grants Pass, Ore.
by Vickie Aldous of the Mail Tribune
Grants Pass police arrested a man Tuesday suspected of child sex abuse after appealing Monday to the public for tips on his possible location.
At about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, a resident reported a suspicious person sitting on the porch of a vacant home in the 1000 block of Northeast Churchill Street in Grants Pass. The tip was one of several received by the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety.
Patrol officers and detectives responded to the tip and arrested Scott Aaron Murphy, 34, police said.
Murphy is lodged in the Josephine County Jail without bail on charges of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, six counts of sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree sodomy, two counts of felon in possession of a weapon/restricted firearm, methamphetamine possession and violating parole, according to jail records.
“GPDPS would like to thank the public for their awareness and assistance in helping us locate this suspect,” the department said in a news release.
The case began unfolding at about 4:05 p.m. Monday when police received a report of a sexual offense allegedly involving Murphy. Officers were provided with a video depicting Murphy allegedly engaging in a sexual act with a young child known to him, police said.
Multiple officers attempted to contact Murphy near a home on Southeast N Street but he fled on foot. He wasn’t located at that time despite an extensive search, police said.
Dating back to at least 2007, Murphy has a string of past convictions for crimes that include identity theft, felon in possession of a firearm, criminal driving with a suspended or revoked license and multiple counts of possession and delivery of methamphetamine, according to Josephine County Circuit Court records.
Sin is progressive!
Menasha, Wis., substitute teacher arrested
for child-sexual assault
MENASHA, Wis. (WBAY) - Menasha police say they arrested a substitute teacher in the Menasha Joint School District on suspicion of first-degree sexual abuse of a child.
Police say Tuesday's arrest of the 27-year-old Greenville man was the result of a weeks-long investigation.
They aren't sure if the man had other victims in other locations in the Fox Valley. They're working with other law enforcement agencies.
Anyone who has information which might help investigators are asked to call the Menasha Police Department at (920) 967-3500.
Police and school officials say they have worked with the state Department of Public Instruction to "suspend the suspect's ability to have contact with a child in any school in Wisconsin."
Good grief! I don't suppose anyone knows his name?
Registered sex offender charged with multiple
child sex crimes in Baldwin County, Ala.
Hal Scheurich
In a disturbing case out of Baldwin County, a registered sex offender has been arrested on child sex crime charges. Deputies believe the abuse went on for several years and involved more than one victim.
Thirty-seven-year-old Marc Allen Readman is charged with rape, sodomy, sexual abuse of a child less than 12 and sexual torture. Readman was arrested last Wednesday after investigators said the abuse was reported by a family member. Deputies searched Readman’s home on County Road 9 where they said they found evidence to substantiate the charges. Investigators said one child came forward and told a parent about the abuse.
“Unfortunately, it looks like this is sexual abuse that’s occurred over many years,” said Col. Anthony Lowery with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. “As you can see with the charges, the Sheriff’s Office obviously took this very seriously. It looks like there’s at least two children involved that were exposed to absolute torture.”
Readman registered as sex offender after deputies said he was convicted of statutory rape in Missouri in 2007. He’s been in and out of the Baldwin County Jail for failing to comply with requirements as a sex offender. Investigators said Readman is behind bars again because a victim was brave enough to come forward.
“This isn’t a situation where this is a stranger or anything like this. This is a person who builds trust with family members and builds trust with the children and it escalates to this,” Lowery explained. “Sadly, this case is like so many others. The children are scared to come forward. Fortunately, in this case they did.”
Marc Readman was given $236,000 bond on six charges but is being held on no bond on sodomy first and probation violation charges.
Baldwin Co., Ala
Cortland Police: Third Berry arrested
for child sex abuse
BY SARAH BULLOCK
The Cortland Voice
Lawrence and Brittany Berry
A third member of the city Berry family was arrested on child sex abuse charges, city police announced today. Jonathan Storm-Lee Berry, whose brother and sister-in-law were arrested in April on federal charges, is accused of abusing three young children.
City police began investigating Jonathan Storm-Lee Berry, 25, of 64 Owego St. Apt. 5, after officers were called on Nov. 20 to a disturbance at a Pendleton Street home, said Lt. Michael Strangeway.
Officers determined Berry had pushed a 32-year-old woman down a flight of stairs, punched her television and threw it out a window, Strangeway said. The woman did not report being injured, he said.
While police were investigating, she told officers she suspected Berry was sexually abusing three children known to her, Strangeway said. Detectives investigated the tip, leading to an interview with Berry on Wednesday at the City Police Station at 25 Court St., he said. After the interview, officers arrested Berry on sex abuse and criminal sex act charges, Strangeway said.
Berry sexually abused a 2-year-old boy, a four-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy on separate occasions at a Pendleton Street residence, according to a news release. Berry was acquainted with the young children before the attacks, according to police.
Jonathan Storm-Lee Berry is the third Berry to be arrested on child sex abuse charges since April, according city police and U.S. Department of Justice news releases.
Berry’s brother, Lawrence C. Berry, 26, was arrested by city police on Sept. 13, 2018 for conspiring with his wife to create the child pornography, according to The Cortland Voice archives. Lawrence Berry’s wife, Brittany Berry, 25, was arrested (10th story on link) Sept. 3 for sexually assaulting a boy relative under the age of five, filming the attack and sending the pornography to her husband, the archives note.
He threatened to leave her if she didn't! Creep!
Both Lawrence Berry and Brittany Berry were charged on April 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York with conspiring to sexually exploit a child, according to the Department of Justice.
Brittany Berry pled guilty on Oct. 10 to one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Justice Department. She is scheduled for sentencing at 11 a.m. Feb. 6 in Utica in federal court, according to the department.
Brittany Berry admitted when she pled guilty to conspiring with her husband, Lawrence Berry, to sexually exploit a 3-year-old, in August and September of 2018 and sexually exploiting the child on five different occasions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She also admitted she sent images of the sexual abuse to her husband over livestream, in a video and in a picture, according to a news release by the Attorney’s Office.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office was granted an extension until Dec. 15 to indict Lawrence Berry in federal court, according to a court clerk.
The Wednesday arrest of Jonathan Berry will not result in federal charges as Jonathan Berry did not send any images over the telephone or internet, said Strangeway today.
Jonathan Berry was charged Wednesday with eight felonies: three counts of first-degree sexual abuse for engaging in sexual contact with a person under the age of 11, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse for engaging in sexual contact with a person under the age of 13 when the actor is over the age of 21, one count of first-degree criminal sex act against a person younger than 11 and one count of first-degree criminal sex act against a person younger than 13 when the actor is over the age of 18. Berry was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
After the Nov. 20 dispute at Pendleton Street, city police charged Jonathan Berry with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree harassment, a violation. Berry was released after the dispute on the 20th, but was sent after Wednesday’s arrest to the Cortland County Jail on $25,000.00 cash bail or $50,000.00 bond. Berry is set to reappear at 9 a.m. Wednesday in City Court.
Sarasota, Fla., DJ, Baseball announcer, once accused of
taping teens gets prison for child sex abuse images
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
By Alan Shaw
Edward M. Peteja retired as the spring training announcer for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.
The retired spring training announcer for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, who was accused of videotaping teenagers having sex in 2005, was sentenced this week to more than 20 years in prison following his conviction on charges of possessing images of child sexual abuse.
According to the office of Ed Brodsky, state attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit, Circuit Judge Lee Haworth on Tuesday sentenced Edward M. Peteja, 61, known as “Big Ed,” to 23 years in prison. Peteja was found guilty in September of 21 counts of possessing child pornography. Peteja will be on sexual offender probation for 15 years after he completes his prison sentence.
In 2005 Peteja was arrested on charges of taping teenagers having sex and recording girls changing their clothes. The charges were later reduced.
Peteja was the public address announcer for spring training games at Ed Smith Stadium for 14 years before retiring in March 2004. He was also the sports director at WTMY in Sarasota, and a coach with Babe Ruth youth baseball. He was a disc jockey at WKLV at the time of his arrest.
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