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Kane County ex-pastor gets 15 years in prison for sexually abusing
9-year-old who attended his church in Big Rock
Mark Rivera will serve at least 11.7 years in prison for assaulting the child at his home
The Daily Herald
Mar 7, 2023, 5:27pm PST
Kane County Judge John Barsanti, who convicted Mark Rivera in December, sentenced him to six years apiece on two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and three years on a charge of criminal sexual abuse.
Rivera will have to serve at least 11.7 years before being eligible for parole but will receive credit for the approximately three years he has spent in jail or on electronic home monitoring while he awaited trial and sentencing.
Multiple times between June 2018 and May 2019, Rivera assaulted the child, whose family attended the Christ Our Light Anglican Church in Big Rock, where Rivera was then a lay pastor. The attacks happened at Rivera’s home in Big Rock.
The victim’s family and Rivera had previously attended a church in Wheaton.
TikTok Orthodox rabbi who adopted nine sons is
charged with child sex abuse
Orthodox rabbi Rabbi Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, from Texas, US, was arrested in February
after his son phoned a podcast to reveal some of his brothers had been allegedly abused
Hayim Nissim Cohen with his nine adopted sons (Image: Our Unique Family/Instagram)
By Liam Buckler, US News Reporter
14:16, 7 Mar 2023
A TikTok Orthodox rabbi who adopted nine sons has been charged with child sex abuse.
Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, from Texas, US, was arrested in February after his 17-year-old son phoned into a podcast to reveal a number of his brothers had been sexually abused.
The son revealed police had visited their house at least eight times, but after each visit Cohen would bribe the brothers or scare them. He claimed if the alleged abuse was ever revealed he would kill them.
Six of the kids have since been removed from Cohen's care and placed into children's services. The children, who range from eight-years-old to 18, do not include the three older adopted boys.
Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecutor Janna Oswald said of the alleged abuse: "This was a household of boys that were extremely abused and neglected, groomed. They were threatened. They were in fear of their safety, and he utilised a grooming of the community.
"His grooming was not just of a child, but also the people around the children in the most offensive way."
According to ABC, five more of Cohen's sons have come forward since the allegations after the 17-year-old said the abuse started when he was 11.
In addition, their dad allegedly made the children perform sex acts on him and each other.
Everything he does is fake
According to court documents, the student alleges Cohen can walk without a wheelchair and that everything he does is fake. His charge document states: "The (teen) stated that (Cohen) only uses his wheelchair when people come over or when he is in public.
"The (teen) stated that (Cohen) has six oxygen tanks and does not use them and that (Cohen) only coughs uncontrollably when he is in court."
It is a stark contrast to the image the suspect has tried to paint on social media after he revealed he was raising nine adopted sons.
His social media included a TikTok page with over 200,000 followers, along with YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram profiles.
On his website he claimed he would show off his religious lifestyle to help inspire single men to adopt children.
He wrote: "Our mission is to help provide support and understanding from a Jewish perspective. Our goal is to reach out to other homeschooling families in order to create a network. "We are open to all levels of observance. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions."
In the last 24 hours there has been eight new charges against Cohen ( Image: Our Unique Family/Instagram)
In the last 24 hours there has been eight new charges against Cohen.
Prosecutor Janna Oswald said Cohen would use religion to mask his alleged abuse.
She said: "That mask, along with the children's inability to find their voice yet, allowed the abuse to go on for a long time.
"I think the extent of the neglect and abuse and the fear that these boys endured is incredibly poignant."
Cohen was charged back in 2019 with indecency with a child after a foreign exchange student from Spain, who lived with the family, claimed he was sexually abused too.
The suspect currently remains at no bond until his next court date.
Plea deal anticipated in case against former New Hampshire pastor
accused of possessing 40,000 child sex abuse images
WMUR
Updated: 12:43 PM EST Mar 8, 2023
Ray Brewer, News Reporter
NASHUA, N.H. —
A former New Hampshire pastor charged with possession of child sex abuse images could reach a plea deal by the summer.
A defense attorney and prosecutor on Wednesday morning updated the judge on where the case against former Nashua pastor Stephen Bates stands.
Bates was given the right to appear at the hearing by telephone, so he wouldn't have to travel from New York.
Bates was the pastor at the Bible Baptist Church in Nashua at the time of his arrest. He was indicted on 12 counts of possession of child sex abuse images.
The case is currently in criminal mediation, in which a third-party judge who has not been assigned to the case is involved in negotiations to reach a resolution. The judge overseeing the criminal case said that she has yet to hear from that mediator.
According to the original affidavit, the case against Bates began in 2016, when police received tips submitted by Skype about child sexual abuse images being uploaded. The IP address was traced back to the parsonage at Bible Baptist Church.
Nashua police said a search uncovered more than 40,000 images.
None of the details of a potential deal have been released, but according to the prosecution, it’s anticipated there will be a fully negotiated plea ready in late June or early July.
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