Illinois child molester sentenced again for
playing Santa and posing with children
© Simon Katzer / Global Look Press
A registered child sex offender from Illinois has been given two-years’ probation for playing Santa Claus at a Christmas event. The man was banned from activities involving young kids, with dressing as Santa specifically mentioned.
On Wednesday, McHenry County Court imposed the sentence on 33-year-old Taylor Blaul from Crystal Lake for violating sex-offender laws. It’s after he sported a Santa Claus costume at a Christmas fundraiser at a local animal shelter, the Chicago Tribune reports.
In 2015, Blaul had to register as a sex offender for life after being convicted for molesting a 11-year-old boy on several occasions, according to local media. He was given a sentence of four months in jail and three years of probation, which was due to expire in 2018.
Last December, Blaul was asked to replace a man, who usually plays Santa at the Animal House Shelter. However, a local woman who came with her son to adopt a dog recognized him and reported him to police. She told the court on Wednesday that Blaul had a boy sitting on his lap while posing for a photo, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Assistant State’s Attorney Victor Escarcida said that Blaul “knew well and good dressing up as Santa was against the law with his status.” The official stressed that Blaul signed a document, that specifically mentioned playing Santa Claus as taboo. “He was working in a place where you expect kids to be present. Children love dogs, and they love Santa Claus,” he said, adding it was “improper” on Blaul’s side.
The offender said he was “caught off guard” and apologized to the judge. According to his lawyer, the shelter’s management were aware of Blaul’s convictions.
The shelter's management would appear to care a lot more about animals than children.
'I am part of the problem,' Morgan Spurlock
says of sexual harassment
Super-Sized Star is Falling
The Associated Press
'I am part of the problem,' documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock confessed in an online post about instances of sexual harassment and infidelity. (Katy Winn/AP/Fender Music Lodge)
Declaring "I am part of the problem," documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock confessed in an online post to sexual harassment and infidelity, and said a woman accused him of rape in college.
In the post, which he linked to from his verified Twitter account, Spurlock wrote that as he watches other influential men brought down by allegations of sexual misconduct, "I don't sit by and wonder 'who will be next?' I wonder, 'when will they come for me?'"
Spurlock recounted a sexual encounter in college which he said he thought was consensual, but said the woman believed it was rape.
I'm guessing the statute of limitations has run out on this or he would not be sticking his head out in a shooting gallery.
"I tried to comfort her. To make her feel better," Spurlock wrote.
"I thought I was doing OK, I believed she was feeling better. She believed she was raped. That's why I'm part of the problem."
Spurlock also said he paid a settlement to a female assistant who worked at his office and whom he called "hot pants" or "sex pants." In the post, Spurlock says he thought the nickname was funny, but later realized he was demeaning her.
"So, when she decided to quit, she came to me and said if I didn't pay her a settlement, she would tell everyone," he wrote.
"Being who I was, it was the last thing I wanted, so of course, I paid."
'I hurt them. And I hate it. But it didn't make me stop.…
I'm someone who consistently hurts those closest to me.'
- Morgan Spurlock
Spurlock also wrote that he has "been unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had."
"Over the years, I would look each of them in the eye and proclaim my love and then have sex with other people behind their backs," Spurlock wrote.
"I hurt them. And I hate it. But it didn't make me stop. The worst part is, I'm someone who consistently hurts those closest to me. From my wife, to my friends, to my family, to my partners and co-workers. I have helped create a world of disrespect through my own actions."
Spurlock wrote that he will do better and will be more honest with others and with himself. He ends the post by saying: "I've talked enough in my life.... I'm finally ready to listen."
Spurlock is best known for his Oscar-nominated 2004 documentary Super Size Me on the fast-food industry, in which he ate nothing but McDonald's food to show the health effects of the industry. He has produced dozens of other documentaries and TV shows and completed a sequel to Super Size Me this year.
Syracuse judge offers counseling to jurors
after guilty verdict in child porn case
By Julie McMahon jmcmahon@syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse judge offered free counseling to jurors after they found a Granby man guilty of 12 counts of producing child pornography.
Clif J. Seaway, 61, now faces up to 360 years in prison on the child sexual exploitation charges.
Twelve jurors sat through about three days of testimony and evidence, which included photos and videos of child pornography, and graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.
The case involved rare testimony from a victim of child pornography.
The jury convicted Seaway of all the charges, including two that he conspired with his ex-wife and girlfriend to sexually abuse a total of five children for the purposes of making pornography.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said jurors could access up to six counseling sessions through March 15.
U.S. District Court Senior Judge Norman Mordue offered counseling to jurors through the court's employee assistance program due to the graphic and disturbing evidence they were asked to view.
Dozens of lewd photos and videos of children were introduced as evidence in the trial.
One of Seaway's victims testified at trial. Prosecutor Lisa Fletcher said earlier this year she had only had to call on a victim to testify once in the 150 cases of this kind she's handled over the last 12 or 13 years.
Many jurors were visibly shaken, holding their hands to their mouths or clutching their chests, during the victim's emotional testimony.
Seaway sexually abused the victim, now in her 20s, for about three years. She testified that he had regular access to her and two of his other victims, and was a trusted adult in their lives.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Child, 77 percent of victims of child pornography know their abuser. Nearly 65 percent of perpetrators are parents, guardians, relatives, neighbors or family friends, according to the center.
Seaway faces 15 to 30 years in prison on each of the 12 counts on which he was convicted. He will be sentenced at a later date.
His ex-wife, Tammy Martin, pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting children with him earlier this year. She is also awaiting sentencing. The girlfriend has not yet resolved her case and is awaiting a psychiatric examination.
Harrisburg man accused of child sexual abuse
By Myles Snyder, ABC27 News
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A Harrisburg man has been arrested on child sexual abuse charges.
Joshua A. Brough, 34, was charged Wednesday with rape, aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 16, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors.
Police said the assault took place in a Susquehanna Township home.
Brough was arraigned on the charges and placed in Dauphin County Prison on $200,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 21.
Former Alabama police sergeant arrested
on multiple child sex charges
By Carol Robinson crobinson@al.com
A former Oneonta police sergeant who was fired four months ago after he was arrested on a DUI charge is in trouble with the law again.
Shane Osborn, who had been with the department since 2001, was arrested again Thursday morning, this time on multiple child sex charges.
Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said the 39-year-old Osborn was taken into custody shortly before 11 a.m. following a six-count indictment charging him with electronic solicitation of a minor, enticing a child for immoral purposes, two counts of second-degree sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse and reckless endangerment.
Four of the charges are felonies, and two are misdemeanors.
Casey said the investigation began in August after officers received a tip from a concerned parent, and wrapped up last week when the complete file was presented to her office. She said no further information about the investigation or charges is being released at this time.
The grand jury returned the indictments against Osborn on Wednesday. He was taken into custody Thursday by agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and is being held at the Blount County Jail on $100,000 bond.
He was arrested on Aug. 26 on the DUI charge in St. Clair County and later fired.
Casey commended the work of ALEA's State Bureau of Investigations and the Oneonta Police Department for their work on the new charges against Osborn. She reminded parents of the dangers associated with cell phones and use of social media apps.
"I urge all parents across the state to follow my social media app warning videos and to sit down and talk with their children about potential dangers online," Casey said.
Casey's videos can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Blount-County-District-Attorney-41st-Judicial-Circuit-153960977990333/.
If convicted, Osborn faces a maximum penalty of two to 20 years for each of the Class B felonies, one year and a day to 10 years for each of the Class C felonies and not more than one year for each of the Class A misdemeanors.
Oneonta, AL
Bond denied for Virginia pastor facing
child sex abuse charges
By THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Bond was denied for a Quincy pastor and former Marine colonel who faces multiple sex abuse crimes in Virginia.
WAVY-TV in Portsmouth reported that Todd Shane Tomko, 54, was denied bond during his appearance Wednesday in Virginia Beach General District Court.
Tomko was arrested Nov. 22 in Quincy on Virginia Beach warrants issued on three counts of aggravated sexual battery, three counts of indecent liberties with a child, and one count of felony cruelty to children.
Prosecutors said in court that Tomko made children watch pornography and learn sexual acts when they were as young as 4 years old, and then carried out sexual acts when they were older. The incidents allegedly occurred in Virginia Beach starting in 2002, police said.
A Quincy native, Tomko enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1983. He has been pastor of Parkview Church, 1500 S. Eighth, since his 2016 retirement from the military. The station reported that prosecutors said the charges were based on information from three accusers who knew Tomko was working with children at the Quincy church.
