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2 Jacksonville, Fla men indicted for child sex-abuse images and
3rd man, an infantophile, takes plea deal
Author: Florida Times-Union, Dan Scanlan
Published: 7:29 PM EST November 20, 2020
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Federal indictments have been handed down against two Jacksonville men in separate cases of distributing or producing images of sexual abuse against children, according to the U.S. Attorney‘s Office.
Additionally, a third man faces sentencing after pleading guilty to producing such images, prosecutors said.
Columbus Donavan Jeffrey, 41, was indicted Friday on two counts of producing images depicting the sexual abuse of a child.
Jeffrey was arrested Oct. 3 by the Jacksonville Sheriff‘s Office on three counts of sexual battery of a minor, as well as four more of producing a sexual performance of a minor. He also was charged with four counts of possession of child pornography and one charge of sexual intercourse without disclosing HIV, and remains behind bars on $625,000 bail, jail records show.
Federal court documents state that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received two reports in May from a company administering an online social messaging application of someone with username “hideme1977” uploading and distributing child sex abuse images via that application. Further investigation traced them to Jeffrey‘s home.
A search warrant was served on the home, and Jeffrey identified himself and a child in one of the photos that had been uploaded to the app, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The Sheriff‘s Office was able to locate the child.
The second indictment was handed down against 22-year-old Reece Christopher Depew, accused of distributing sexual-abuse images of young children.
Court documents state an online user named “Android 18” had uploaded and distributed child sex abuse images to a social media chat platform, the U.S. Attorney‘s Office said. Further investigation led to a home where Depew lived, and the FBI served a search warrant there that ended in his arrest.
Authorities received reports that a social network user was sharing images of child sex abuse and determined they had been created in Duval County, according to court documents. The Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Prater’s home, where his cellphone had images of him sexually abusing babies and children. The cellphone contained about 900 images and 50 videos of child sexual abuse.
So, the infant sexual abuse is just forgotten? Seriously?
Prater faces 15 to 80 years in federal prison when he is sentenced May 4, the U.S. Attorney‘s Office said.
Montoursville, Pa man convicted of 66 felonies stemming from
rape of a child
Morgan Snook Nov 20, 2020
Williamsport, Pa. – A 42-year-old Montoursville man was found guilty today of dozens of felony counts stemming from the repeated rape of a child.
Lycoming County Judge Marc F. Lovecchio handed down dozens of guilty verdicts to Matthew A. Sauter:
Six felony counts of rape of a child
12 felony counts of statutory sexual assault
12 felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
18 felony counts of aggravated indecent assault
12 felony counts of corruption of minors
Six felony counts of indecent assault
Sauter had oral, vaginal, and anal sex with a child numerous times over an 18-month period.
"In order for a person Mr. Sauter's age to carry on a sexual relationship with a 13 year old, all of these conditions must be satisfied," First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade said.
Wade described the following six conditions:
A legitimate reason for spending time with her
Privacy for the acts to occur
Secrecy
He can’t hurt her badly enough to leave marks someone can discover
He must be physically attracted to her to have the desire to take such a risk
Some type of in or opening.
Sauter met all six conditions, Wade successfully argued to the judge.
"Some of the information [Sauter] introduced to this case paints a picture of a private and secure environment where sexual abuse could certainly thrive," Wade said.
Sauter's attorney George E. Lepley Jr. argued that there was no corroborating evidence to support the child's accusation – including no evidence of physical trauma on her sexual assault exam. But according to expert testimony, most sexual abuse victims don't show signs of physical trauma.
"More than 90% of girls with substantial sexual abuse will have a normal or nonspecific exam," Child Abuse Pediatrics Specialist Dr. Pat Bruno testified. "A fissure is like a paper cut, it heals at a rate of approximately 1 millimeter per day, so three to four days."
Weeks passed between the last sexual episode and the child's sexual assault examination.
Lepley pointed out that the child had a history of mental health issues, including "telling stories" and being admitted to The Meadows.
"I’d submit that the lack of any corroborating evidence, the Meadows admission, references to mental health history, maybe she believes that it actually happened but with all of that I’d submit that the Court has to have reasonable doubts," Lepley said before Lovecchio rendered his verdict.
"You determine credibility for a living," Martin said to the Lovecchio. "Your Honor has to make a credibility determination." As evidenced by the verdict, Lovecchio indeed found the child to be credible.
In addition to the 66 felonies listed above, Sauter also was convicted of 12 counts of misdemeanor indecent assault.
His bail was revoked and Sauter was ordered to undergo an assessment by the Pa. Sexual Offender's Assessment Board to determine if he is a sexually violent predator.
Sauter's sentencing is scheduled for March 3, 2021.
Utah man, 71, faces felony child sexual abuse charges for
decades-old alleged incidents
By MARK SHENEFELT Standard-Examiner 5 hrs ago 0
LAYTON — A 71-year-old man has been released to home detention while prosecutors pursue child sexual abuse charges against him for alleged incidents of as long as 30 years ago.
A Layton Police Department probable cause statement said a woman, now about 40 years old, reported Aug. 31 that she had been abused by a former neighbor in 1990 and 1991.
During the investigation, police said they determined the woman's report corroborated a separate report by a different woman in 2017 who alleged abuses she said occurred in 1998-2000.
Under Utah law, there is no statute of limitations for most child sexual abuse offenses.
They include one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in the 1990-91 case, plus two charges of sexual abuse of a child and one count of forcible sexual abuse in the 1998 case.
"He adamantly denies all of these allegations against him," Mitchell's attorney, Andrew McAdams, said Friday.
The Layton police statement said the first woman reported she was at Mitchell's home in 1990 when he, clad only in underwear, allegedly pressed his penis on her vagina and stomach and ejaculated.
She had multiple journal entries, the affidavit said, indicating other instances of alleged inappropriate acts.
The second alleged victim said she recalled spending time at Mitchell's house in 1998-2000.
She reported a hide-and-seek game with Mitchell and other girls during which he allegedly massaged her genitals with his hand.
The affidavit said Mitchell told police in interviews in 2018 and in September this year that he played hide-and-seek and wrestling games with his daughter and friends in the 1990s. He denied touching anyone's genitals, the affidavit said, but "admitted that their bodies would often rub together and it was possible that he had ejaculated at some point based on the friction."
So that pretty much nails it. He was sexually stimulated by little girls.
The affidavit said Mitchell told police "the 10-year-old girls were the sexually aggressive ones who often touched him in strange ways." He said they wore "immodest" clothing and he recalled accidentally touching a girl's breast at one point while they were wrestling.
"He's subjected himself to being interrogated twice by Layton City police over the last 2 1/2 years, and he's talked with them voluntarily," McAdams said. "He's always maintained that he didn't do what they're alleging him to have done."
According to 2nd District Court records in Farmington, a judge issued an arrest warrant for Mitchell on Nov. 6 and the defendant was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail on Nov. 10.
Judge John R. Morris ordered Mitchell released Nov. 13 pending trial.
Morris said Mitchell must remain home except to work or shop. On Wednesday, a court contractor reported to the judge that Mitchell had been fitted with an electronic monitor.
Mitchell's next court appearance is set for Dec. 3 before Judge Thomas Kay.
Vernonia, Ore man facing multiple counts of child sex abuse, accused of possessing child porn
NOV 20, 2020
Scott Allen Skeels
VERNONIA, OR (KPTV) - A Vernonia man was arrested Tuesday and is facing multiple counts of child sexual abuse, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office said the Vernonia Police Department and the Department of Justice served a search warrant on Sept. 23 in Vernonia after receiving a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
During the search warrant, investigators seized electronic devices that belonged to Skeels. The devices were searched and, according to the sheriff's office, several live videos of a young child were found.
Deputies, along with help from the Hillsboro Police Department, arrested Skeels on Tuesday at about 5 p.m. in Hillsboro.
Skeels was booked into the Columbia County Jail on four counts of invasion of personal privacy, three counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse, two counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse, three counts of using a child in a display of sexual conduct, three counts of second-degree attempted sex abuse, and one count of first-degree sex abuse.
His bail has been set at $575,000.
The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing.
45-y/o man allegedly sexually abused child for 2 years - Houston police
November 20, 2020 12:49PM
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police are searching for a man accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Martinez is said to have sexually abused the child between 2014 and 2016, according to HPD.
Authorities described Martinez as a Hispanic man who is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, between 150 and 180 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair.
Crime Stoppers may pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, charging and/or arrest of the suspects in this case. Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app. Only tips and calls DIRECTLY TO Crime Stoppers are anonymous and eligible for a cash reward.
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Beulah, ND man charged with child sex crime
Bismarck Tribune staff 10 hrs ago
A Beulah man who police say repeatedly forced himself on a young girl during the last year now faces a felony charge that could send him to prison for life.
Steven Zarr was charged Thursday with continuous sexual abuse of a child, court documents show.
Police in an affidavit say Zarr inappropriately touched and forced himself on a young girl on multiple occasions since November 2019. He allegedly told investigators in an interview on Tuesday that the contact occurred “at least five to 10 times during the previous three months,” according to the affidavit.
Zarr, who was born in 1990, is in custody pending $100,000 cash bail. No attorney is listed for him in court documents.
Whatcom, Wa man receives 4-year sentence for repeatedly raping sixth-grade girl
BY DAVID RASBACH
NOVEMBER 20, 2020 02:00 PM
A 29-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, Nov. 20, after he pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping a sixth-grade girl at various locations around the Lummi reservation in Whatcom County.
U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran announced Gideon Thomas Bewley’s sentencing, which occurred in U.S. District Court in Seattle, in a news release.
“This is a very painful case. The victim was so vulnerable … this was an aggressive act by a person almost twice the age of a 12-year-old girl,” U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said during the sentencing hearing.
Bewley was 23 years old at the time of the sexual assaults, the release states.
According to records, which were filed in 2014 and 2015, Bewley sexually assaulted the victim at various locations around the Lummi Nation’s reservation and told the victim, who had just finished sixth grade, that he would harm her if she told anyone.
The victim first told a school counselor about the attacks in 2014, according to the release, and the counselor notified law enforcement, but the victim was too scared to discuss it with police investigators.
Child Protective Services was notified in 2016, the release stated, and during a forensic interview arranged by the Lummi Police Department, the victim disclosed the sexual abuse.
It took 2 years to notify CPS? What?
Bewley was arrested by Lummi police in December 2018 and indicted in January 2019, according to the release, before he pleaded guilty in August 2019.
Is it just me or does the Lummi police operate at a snail's pace? 2 more years to arrest the creep after the victim disclosed the abuse? Was she victimised again in those 2 years?
A spokesperson for the Lummi Nation’s victim services told the court during Friday’s sentencing hearing that the victim has “dealt with a lot and is working on her healing,” the release states.
In addition to serving time in prison, Bewley must register as a sex offender once he is released and will be placed on probation for five years.
So, how many times was this child raped? How many years did it go on? It seems like the creep will spend less time in prison than the girls spend being raped? Everything about this story is very disturbing. There should be an investigation from start to finish. Four years is an absurd sentence!
Fall River, Mass woman charged with sexual exploitation of children
BOSTON – A Fall River woman was indicted Tuesday, Nov. 24, by a federal grand jury on child sexual exploitation charges.
Nichole Cyr, 25, was indicted on two counts of sexual exploitation of children. According to the indictment, Cyr produced child pornography involving two minors on various dates between November 2019 and July 2020. Cyr will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at a later date. She is currently in state custody.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; David Magdycz, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III; Fall River Police Chief John M. Souza; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Flint, Mi police officer facing 9 more child sex abuse charges involving second victim
By Ann Pierret
Published: Nov. 25, 2020 at 12:47 PM PST
FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) - A Flint police officer is facing nine more child sex charges after investigators say a second underage female victim came forward.
Justin McLeod, who has worked with the Flint Police Department for nearly five years, originally was charged last week with nine crimes related to alleged sexual abuse involving a girl under age 13 who was part of his “circle of influence.”
The new charges announced Wednesday involving a second alleged victim bring the total number of charges against 36-year-old McLeod to 18. The second alleged victim was described only as another young female under McLeod’s “circle of influence” who now is an adult.
“It’s nauseating to think that he ever wore a police uniform, because while he was sworn to protect and serve, he was preying and hurting,” said Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
The woman claims she endured two and a half years of sexual abuse from McLeod until her family moved out of the area. She came forward after hearing news of the first alleged victim last week.
The second alleged victim stayed silent because she believed she was McLeod’s only victim until last week.
“They didn’t want to destroy the family, so they kept it inside. But when they saw the courage of number one, they knew they had to come forward and tell their story and they did, and it was a compelling one,” Swanson said.
McLeod is facing several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carry a prison sentence of 25 years to life if he is convicted.
“We won’t have a problem with this guy hurting our people again. I promise you that,” said Swanson.
Authorities began investigating McLeod last week after the first victim contacted a nurse and detailed the allegations against him on the evening of Nov. 15. The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Flushing Township Police Department and Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST) raided a residence on McKinley Road as part of the investigation.
McLeod, who was on the Flint Police Department’s K-9 team since 2018, was arrested and Flint Police Chief Terence Green said termination proceedings began Nov. 16 to remove McLeod from his position.
“Absolutely, he used his position as not only a police officer but a canine officer to use as a leverage, as a an authority over this individual,” Swanson said of the second alleged victim.
He accused McLeod of grooming his victims over several years. Police welcome any more alleged victims of McLeod to contact the sheriff’s office.
“We know that they just don’t stop at one. It’s just not common,” Swanson said. “So I’m hoping that if any victim out there hears the story -- has the ability to trust the system that we will protect you.”
McLeod remained in custody at the Genesee County Jail on Wednesday with no bond offered.
Farmington gaming center owner accused of child pornography charges tied to business
Joshua Kellogg
Farmington Daily Times
FARMINGTON — The owner of a Farmington video and computer gaming center is accused of distributing and possessing child pornography using the businesses’ internet account.
Court documents reveal Gigabytes Gaming Center owner Christopher Roske has a 1999 felony conviction for possessing child pornography.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation into the case with assistance from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.
A Sheriff’s Office detective on Nov. 3 reviewed the activity of a user who was sharing photos and videos of child sexual abuse using the BitTorrent file sharing program
The detective contacted an Attorney General’s Office special agent regarding the files downloaded from a Comcast Business internet account. The agent turned over the files he allegedly downloaded from the user.
The affidavit states the internet account, which allegedly possessed and distributed the photos and videos of child sexual abuse, was in Roske’s name at the address of 3030 E. Main St. Suite M in Farmington.
Roske’s name is listed as the owner of Gigabytes Gaming Center on the business registration application at the same address filed with the City of Farmington, according to records obtained by The Daily Times.
The business lets customers play video, computer and virtual reality games while serving food and drinks from its snack bar, according to the Gigabytes website.
On Nov. 13, the detective was able to download more images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet account allegedly tied to Roske.
A search warrant was executed on Nov. 18 at Gigabytes. Roske was at the business and tried to force his way into the building as it was being searched, according to court documents. Roske said he needed a briefcase that had a firearm in it from inside the business.
The briefcase contained two firearms and multiple forms of identification for Roske along with a laptop computer. An examination of the laptop showed evidence it was the laptop allegedly used to download the explicit videos and photos.
The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion on Nov. 23 to keep Roske at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center with no bond, keeping him at the jail until his jury trial.
The motion also stated Roske has a 1999 felony conviction for possession of child pornography in Olympia, Washington. The DA’s office also wrote the defendant “continues to exploit young children” but no further details were available.
Roske’s preliminary hearing in Aztec Magistrate Court is set for the morning of Dec. 3.
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