Youngstown woman receives sentence in child sex abuse case
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A city woman who pleaded guilty to several charges in September for her role in a child abuse case was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison.
Tekia Huggins, 34, received the sentence from Judge Anthony D’Apolito in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court following Sept. 21 guilty pleas to third-degree felony counts of gross sexual imposition and attempted illegal use of a minor or impaired person in a nudity-oriented material and fourth-degree felony counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor and attempted gross sexual imposition.
Prosecutors were asking for an 11-year sentence, while defense attorney Michael Kivlighan argued for a lesser sentence.
The sentence prosecutors were asking for is the maximum.
Huggins was indicted June 18 via direct presentment, along with co-defendant Jeremiah Rodriguez, 32, who is charged with attempted gross sexual imposition and pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.
Rodriguez is serving a sentence of seven to 10 and a half years he received last month from Judge D’Apolito after he pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Rodriguez is also serving a life sentence from Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on another case with similar charges.
Prosecutors have not released many details of the Mahoning County case. Huggins and Rodriguez are accused of improper conduct with a then 2-year-old victim between January and June 2025.
Assistant Prosecutor Kyle Hilles said Huggins had several explicit texts between herself and Rodriguez about the victim.
Huggins’ mother spoke and said she did not approve of her daughter’s actions but she also asked for “mercy and grace” for Huggins.
“I’m just emotionally broken,” she said through tears.
Reading from a statement, Huggins said she has a lot of time to reflect while she has been in jail and that she is “ashamed” and “disgusted” by her actions. She said she hopes she can heal in prison from past traumas so that she can be a better person.
Kivlighan said his client has been abused herself, which led to self-esteem issues that made her make bad choices. He said his client attended Youngstown State University and has no prior criminal record and that she has taken responsibility for her actions.
Judge D’Apolito said the case is “one of the most disturbing cases I’ve had.”
With her family and educational background, Judge D’Apolito said her actions are even more puzzling.
“I can’t figure it out,” Judge D’Apolito said. “That’s what makes it more disturbing.”
Judge D’Apolito said that while he understands Huggins’ mother would want grace, the judge said the fact that the charges were amended in the case that allowed for Huggins to have a lesser sentence was grace enough.
In exchange for her pleas, prosecutors dismissed a first-degree felony charge of rape, which carries a life sentence.
Also as a condition of her plea, Huggins will be designated as a Tier II sexual offender. Under the designation, after she is released from prison, Huggins must register with the sheriff of the county she is living in every 180 days for 25 years.
Federal authorities searching for Colorado man who fled during child sexual assault trial
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man who cut off his ankle monitor and left the state while on trial for sexually assaulting a disabled teenager.
Sixty-two-year-old Jose Del Carmin Garcia Martinez was last seen in Wyoming and Utah, according to the FBI. Martinez, according to the agency's Denver office, is a dual citizen of Spain and Colombia and may have traveled to Colombia.
Martinez was arrested in August of 2025 on the same day that he was allegedly caught fondling a 15-year-old girl. The girl's grandmother witnessed the incident and told police Martinez assaulted the girl as she stood partially naked in a Centennial home's bedroom closet.
Martinez was the girl's stepfather at the time, according to a press release from the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
The girl told investigators a similar incident had occurred two years earlier.
Martinez paid a $50,000 bond and was released from jail two days after his arrest. He pleaded not guilty to the charges two months later. A jury trial began in March of this year; Martinez attended the first two days, then went absent.
He was not present days later when the jury read its verdict. Martinez was convicted on three felony counts.
"This verdict reflects the jury's clear recognition of the devastating abuse of trust inflicted on a vulnerable child," 18th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Tory Reavis stated in a press release issued at the trial's conclusion. "The defendant's decision to flee during trial only underscores his disregard for the law and for the victim he harmed."
Per the FBI, Martinez left the state on a Harley Davidson motorcycle with Colorado license plate 'DEXD78.' A federal fugitive warrant was issued for his arrest - this time, without the ability to bond out. And with an additional felony for fleeing.
Aside from Colorado, Spain and Colombia, Martinez has ties to Utah and Vancouver, Canada, according to the FBI.
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A very similar case recently concluded in neighboring Douglas County. Forty-two-year-old Jorge Alberto Campos also fled the state in March before his scheduled sentencing. He was convicted by a jury of molesting his girlfriend's daughter in their Castle Rock home from 2021 to 2023. The girl was 11 years old when the assaults began, according to prosecutors.
Campos was caught by federal authorities in New Mexico while on a bus traveling toward the Mexico border. He was sentenced in May to 100 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
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Former police officer to be castrated in 'worst' child sex abuse case DA has ever seen
By Heather Miller FOX Local,Crime and Public Safety
Published November 14, 2026 12:20 PM EST
Kedreyon Williams (18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, Louisiana)
The Brief
Kedreyon Williams, a former police officer and volunteer firefighter in Louisiana, will be castrated by the state after being convicted of horrific child sex crimes.
In a news release, the District Attorney's office said Williams was accused of raping multiple juveniles between 8 and 11 years old and forcing them to perform sex acts on him.
The DA said it was the "worst case" of child sexual abuse he's ever seen.
A former Louisiana police officer and volunteer firefighter will be castrated by the state in what the local district attorney called the "worst case" of child sexual abuse he’s ever seen.
According to 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton, 31-year-old Kedreyon K. Williams of New Roads was also sentenced to three life terms in prison for first-degree rape, indecent behavior with a juvenile and possession of pornography involving juveniles.
Former officer to be castrated
What we know:
In a news release, the DA’s office said Williams was accused of raping multiple juveniles between 8 and 11 years old and forcing them to perform sex acts on him. The crimes took place at local fire stations where he volunteered, at a business where he worked and at his home. He was also convicted of having video on his phone of a child performing a sex act on him.
The investigation began after one of the victims told her mother, who then called police. Investigators later discovered there were other victims.
MORE: Georgia mom sentenced to prison after teacher uncovers child torture
According to the DA’s office, it took a jury 39 minutes to convict Williams during his trial.
What they're saying:
"He performed disgusting acts on children who could not defend themselves," Clayton said in a prepared statement. "He is a child predator and he deserves exactly what he is getting and more. The castration is another layer of punishment for these horrendous crimes. If a man takes sexual advantage of a child … we will take his manhood!"
What we don't know:
It’s unclear whether Williams will be chemically castrated or surgically castrated. In 2024, Louisiana became the first state where judges can order offenders guilty of certain sex crimes against children to undergo surgical castration, a much more invasive procedure than chemical castration.
Former Florida teacher arrested on 30 counts of child sex abuse material possession
OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLA. -- A 41-year-old former Okaloosa County teacher has been arrested on 30 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material after investigators say they found files on his cell phone during a search of his residence.
Investigators said they received information from a third-party service that identified communications and images associated with Craig Ballreich.
During the investigation, detectives obtained a warrant to search his residence, and a subsequent search of Ballreich’s cell phone revealed files containing child sexual abuse material, the sheriff’s office said.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Ballreich in Santa Rosa County Friday afternoon and transported him to the Santa Rosa County Jail, where he is being held pending transfer to Okaloosa County.
The investigation remains ongoing as investigators continue to review the recovered digital evidence.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is encouraged to contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office at 850-651-7400.
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