..
Former Bethel, Ak school principal pleads guilty to federal charge of
attempted child sexual coercion
Author: Greg Kim, KYUK
BETHEL — A former Alaska elementary school principal reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to federal charges of attempted sexual coercion of a minor, court documents said.
The former principal of Gladys Jung Elementary School in Bethel will plead guilty to knowingly attempting to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, the agreement said.
A federal grand jury indicted Carmichael on three other charges including a second count of attempted coercion of a minor, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.
Those three charges will be dropped in the plea deal.
Carmichael was arrested in December 2019 by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.
A 14-year-old girl claimed in June 2019 that Carmichael sexually assaulted her. Police in Bethel investigated by posing as the girl’s 13-year-old cousin and messaging Carmichael online.
The former principal replied with sexually explicit messages and asked for a meeting in Anchorage with what he believed to be the 13-year-old girl, authorities said.
[A Western Alaska school district repeatedly dismissed allegations against a principal. Then an FBI agent pretended to be a 13-year-old girl.]
The maximum penalty for the charges are no less than 10 years and up to life in prison and a fine of $250,000. Carmichael will also have to register as a sex offender.
The state of Alaska separately charged Carmichael with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The charges are still being processed in the court system and Carmichael’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Attorneys for four girls have filed lawsuits against the Lower Kuskokwim School District claiming the district failed to protect them from sexual abuse by Carmichael. Jury trials for the lawsuits are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2021.
Abbeville, SC man faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor
An Abbeville County man is facing 11 counts connected to the sexual exploitation of minors, according to a news release from the state Attorney General's Office.
Benjamin Davis Henderson, 34, of Abbeville was arrested Nov. 3 and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, three counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and five counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Investigators followed up on an online tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led them to Henderson, the release said. He is accused of creating, distributing and possessing files of child sexual abuse material — a phrase the state Attorney General's office and others have been using to replace "child pornography," citing that the word pornography might imply the child was a consenting participant.
Investigators from the state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force paired with the Abbeville County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations to aid in this case, the release said.
Two East Bay men charged with cyberstalking, sexually extorting children; feds say there are at least 21 victims, youngest was 11 years old
By NATE GARTRELL Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 9, 2020 at 2:38 p.m.
OAKLAND — Two East Bay residents have been charged with cyberstalking and extorting sexual imagery from children as young as 11 years old, and authorities say they continue to search for potential victims.
Delaney Tang, 21, of Oakland, and Vincenz Sison, of Concord, were charged last week with solicitation of child pornography and conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, two federal offenses. The child pornography charge alone carries a minimum term of five years and a maximum 20-year penalty, along with a fine of up to $250,000, court records show.
In the charging records, authorities say they believe there at least 21 victims. So far, eight — residents of California and other states — have been identified, according to San Francisco police.
The criminal complaint describes Tang as the primary offender, alleging that he reached out to girls online for child sexual abuse material, and threatened numerous times to “expose” them if they didn’t film themselves committing various sex acts. Sison, meanwhile, is described by authorities as an accomplice; the complaint alleges that when the victims would block Tang’s social media accounts, he would ask Sison to reach out to them with threats.
At a Nov. 4 hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted Sison’s release from jail on a $75,000 bond, court records show. Tang remains in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on a no-bail hold.
According to the criminal complaint, Tang was blunt about his desire for customized child pornography from the girls. Later, when police interviewed Tang, he confessed, authorities said.
During his police interview, Tang claimed he thought the girls were all around 16 years old, according to the complaint. But police say that he knew some of the victims were much younger, allegedly replying, “so?” when one girl told him she was in middle school.
A girl younger than 13 allegedly told Tang she was crying on social media, in an attempt to rebuff his threats. “I don’t care,” Tang allegedly wrote back. “You did this to yourself.”
According to the complaint, Tang demanded victims send him various images and videos of themselves “until I’m bored of you,” and reached out to their also-underage male friends to participate in the videos with the girls.
Tang allegedly told one girl, listed in court records only as “Minor Victim 6,” that she had to comply with his sexual demands “or I could expose you to yoir (sic) classmates.”
Minor Victim 6 allegedly sent Tang at least 100 sexually explicit photos and videos, but stopped talking to him late last year. In response, he posted the videos and pictures online, making good on his threat against her, the complaint alleges.
On September 25, police served search warrants on both Tang and Sison, and interviewed them, with different results.
“Tang said that he successfully extorted 20-30 girls over approximately two years. He said that knew what he was doing was illegal and that his victims were all underage,” San Francisco police Sgt. Christopher Servat wrote in the complaint. Sison, meanwhile, “claimed that he was trying to investigate the accounts’ online activities because he knew that they were targeting minors. However, when officers confronted Sison with messages showing that he actively conspired with Tang, he could not explain his actions,” Servat wrote.
Police say they are still looking to identify 13 additional victims whose names they do not know, and are investigating the possibility that additional victims exist. They have advised members of the public to report activity involving specific Instagram screen names: thedrunkg1raffe, jimmynguyen0950, anthonytran800, bobbychao5150, davidnguyen850, kevin_luong5150, brianchao0150, and delaneyytang.
Authorities are encouraging any potential victims or people with information on Tang or Sison to contact the SFPD Special Victims Unit at 415-558-5500.
Father sues Carmel Clay Schools, alleging his child wasn't protected from sexual assaults
MJ Slaby
Christine Fernando
Indianapolis Star
The father of a special education student is suing Carmel Clay Schools because he believes the district failed to protect and adequately supervise his child and other students, leading to his child being allegedly sexually assaulted.
Per the lawsuit, the father said the school, principal, law enforcement officers and a hospital knew of the alleged sexual abuse as early as May 2019 but did not report it.
“They didn’t tell me and they didn’t tell DCS,” he told the IndyStar. “If this was reported in May, if I was notified in May, we could have helped her more. I would have gotten proper therapy that centers around victims of sexual abuse.”
The father is not being named by IndyStar to protect the identity of his minor daughter.
The alleged sexual assault happened when the student was 13, so because of her age and disability, the student is not able to consent, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, the student has “Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” and is under the care of a psychiatrist, takes medication and has been to the hospital at least three times for inpatient mental health treatment.
Her father said that due to her disabilities she often struggles to communicate what she has experienced, which made her more vulnerable.
“People who work with children with disabilities need to know what their obligations are in reporting,” he said. “These children are vulnerable, and they need to be protected.”
Carmel Clay Schools responded to the allegations in a statement to IndyStar.
"The facts we have gathered regarding this claim are very different from what is being alleged by (the father)," Carmel Clay Schools said in its regarding the lawsuit. "We will respect the privacy of all involved and follow the appropriate legal process to respond to these allegations."
Carmel Clay Schools administrative offices
The alleged assault
Somewhere between January and February 2019, the lawsuit alleges that the student was forced to perform oral sex on a male student and allow him to touch her chest in an area of the classroom called “the fort” that the resource teacher allowed the students to build.
The student said she told multiple teachers as well as the principal and school resource officer what happed, per the lawsuit. But the father said he was not notified.
Tenn. medic allegedly used hospital IP address to access account
with child sex abuse imagery
By Laura French, ems1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee paramedic is accused of possessing and sending sexually exploitative images and videos of children using an instant messaging app accessed from his employer's IP address.
Wilson allegedly used the instant messaging app Kik to possess and send 24 images and 29 videos of children as young as four involved in sexual activity, according to his arrest warrant. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation opened a case on Wilson's online activity after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Investigators said IP addresses from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Air Methods and Verizon Wireless were used to access the profile containing the images.
Wilson's bond was set at $100,000.
Wyoming Man Loses Appeal of Scotts Bluff Co. Child Sex Assault Conviction
BY Ryan Murphy | November 9, 2020
A 69-year-old Guernsey man who was sentenced to 12 to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Scotts Bluff County has lost his appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Last year, Larry Senteney was found guilty on two counts of 3rd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, one count of Attempted 1st Degree Assault of a Minor, and an additional Class 3A Felony sex crime. In his appeal, he claims the deputy that first interviewed him should not have been able to testify about his demeanor during questioning…as well as the sentences being excessive.
The high court ruled that Scotts Bluff County Court did not commit plain error by allowing the deputy’s testimony, and the sentences were not an abuse of discretion and within sentencing guidelines.
Both his convictions and sentences were upheld following the ruling.
Senteney is the second pervert to lose on appeal from Scottsbluff, this year. See Michael Sessions (last story on link).
No comments:
Post a Comment