U.S. Marshals search for upstate NY father of 4 y/o,
accused of sexually abusing the child
WKBW Staff
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The U.S. Marshals Service is now joining the search for a child sex abuse suspect from Grand Island.
The Erie County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday 24-year-old Jacob Beach is on the run while his live-in girlfriend, 28-year-old Courtney McDonell, is under arrest.
McDonell's arrest comes after a grand jury indictment against the couple for Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child and other charges.
In January 2018, deputies say they collected evidence of abuse against the four-year-old's father, Jacob Beach, and his girlfriend, Courtney McDonell.
The Sheriff's Office says Beach never appeared at his arraignment and is now considered a fugitive.
The District Attorney's Office has authorized a nationwide extradition order for beach's return.
Anyone with information on beach is asked to call 858-2903 and should refer to CL 18-001449.
South Carolina man arrested, accused of
sexual conduct with 7 y/o girl
By: WBTW
CONWAY, SC - A Loris man has been arrested and is accused of sexual conduct with a child.
According to an incident report from the Horry County Police Department, a worker with the South Carolina Department of Social Services reported a case of possible sexual abuse of a minor on October 3. The complainant said she was working a case in which minor children were taken from a home.
The reported victim is "a minor child that was brought to the Children's Recovery Center for a forensic interview," the report says. During the interview, the 7-year-old female victim said the suspect had performed sexual acts on her. These acts were "reportedly done on more than one occasion," possibly "between the first of this year and until September." The suspect is identified in the report as 28-year-old Lander Soles of Mt. Zion Road in the Loris area.
According to J. Reuben Long Detention Center booking records, Soles was booked around 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday and remains incarcerated as of 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday. He is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 in the first degree. No bail has been set.
Two charged in connection with sexual abuse
of children in Montana
MTN News
A man and woman have been charged in connection with the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.
Joshua Rowland, 29, has been charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent. Kimberly Cooke, 42, has been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of children. Additional charges are expected to be filed.
This is the 3rd story I've done in two days involving a couple being charged with CSA. In all 3 stories, the woman charged was older than the man. Curious, eh?
According to court documents, the Great Falls Police Department responded to reports of a 12-year-old girl who had engaged in sexual acts with an approximately 20-year-old man.
A man and woman noticed the girl using a cell phone they did not recognize and found inappropriate Snapchat messages between the girl and Cooke.
When confronted about the phone, the girl admitted to the man and woman that she and Rowland had several sexual encounters.
During the investigation, police found several videos of the encounters on Rowland’s phone. Cooke can be heard encouraging the victim in some of the videos.
Both Cooke and Rowland’s bonds are set at $150,000.
NOTE: “Sexual intercourse without consent” is the legal term in Montana for what is commonly referred to as rape, according to Montana Code.
Man arrested in Wisconsin sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor
Trent Tetzlaff, Appleton Post-Crescent
GREEN BAY - A 41-year-old Cudahy man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Monday on a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor. It stemmed from an arrest made in April in Neenah.
Additional charges of distribution of child pornography and child enticement were dismissed as a part of a plea agreement, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
In March, a Winnebago County investigator began an online conversation with Adam J. Westphal, who thought he was chatting with a 34-year-old mother who had a 14-year-old daughter and was interested in child pornography.
Westphal sent the investigator multiple images and videos of child pornography and started conversations about the molestation of children, according to the release. He also referenced plans to sexually abuse specific minor relatives.
In April, Westphal asked the investigator to meet in Neenah so that he could meet the 14-year-old for sexual intercourse and produce a video for sharing online. On April 5, Westphal arrived at the Neenah location and was taken into custody, according to the DOJ.
In addition to his 15-year prison sentence, Westphal will spend 15 additional years on supervised release and have to register as a sex offender.
The case was handled as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Alabama man to be deported after serving sentence
for sex abuse of a child
By Cliff Williams
Judge Tom Young Jr. sentenced Maximino Dejesus Hernandez to 10 years in prison after Hernandez was found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse of child under the age of 12.
“I took into consideration three things,” Young told Hernandez from the bench Monday. “I do find the remarks of the child advocate in this case troubling. I am going to tell you that you cannot be in this country illegally. When you are released (from prison) you will be deported. If you come back, you will serve the remainder of the 10-year sentence.”
Young spilt the sentence allowing Hernandez to serve two years with four years of probation. Hernandez has been in jail since his arrest 18 months ago. In six months he will be released. Hernandez was also notified ICE has a hold on him when he is released.
If Hernandez is caught returning to the United States after he is deported, he will have to serve the remainder of the 10-year prison sentence.
Hernandez has been deported once before for using for having a forged Social Security card. The Social Security number had been used by numerous people.
Hernandez’s attorney Jason Jackson asked for the court’s mercy in sentencing. “He has lived here for an extended period of time,” Jackson told the court. “He has a wife and child and has been employed here for several years. He used the Social Security card to gain employment.”
Earlier this month, a jury found Hernandez guilty of two of three counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12.
The child victim known to Hernandez testified she went to a home to play with her best friend and explained a blind food challenge with her best friend. The game involved the children being blindfolded when it was their turn to try to figure out what candy they were tasting. She said Hernandez took part in the game.
“He put something weird in my mouth,” she said. “It felt like a ball with honey in it.” She went on to describe it as “soft and squishy.”
The state called to the stand forensic interviewer Sarah Flint who works with the Tri-County Child Advocacy Center. Flint testified how the interviews are done in such a way to let the child tell the story in his or her words with open-ended questions.
Flint testified her job is not to determine the truth. “I am not a lie detector,” Flint said from the stand.
Flint said the victim told a story like the one she told from the stand of being blindfolded while playing a game with her best friend and the abuse possibly happened while playing the game. Flint also interviewed the friend who made no abuse disclosers to her.
Hernandez took the stand in his defense testifying it was just a game.”
2nd Alex City man's sentencing continued
Tony L. Dates, 53, of Alexander City was scheduled to be sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to willful abuse of a child in September, but attorney Robert Walls was not present to represent Dates. Young continued to the case to November.
Dates is also being held on a $75,000 bond at the Tallapoosa County Jail after being arrested two weeks (10th story on link) ago on sexual abuse charges.
The warrant for the new charge was issued Dec. 18, 2017.
“It involves a 12-year-old girl,” Alexander City Police Department deputy chief James Easterwood said. “It doesn’t appear to be rape.”
Easterwood explained the delay between the issuance of the warrant and the arrest was because the report was made through a family member in the Montgomery area causing more agencies to be involved in the matter.
10 months!!! It sat on someone's desk much too long!
Accused Pennsylvania child molester
captured in Florida
by Joseph A. Gambardello, Philly.com
An accused child molester who fled after failing to appear in court in Bucks County last week has been captured in Florida, officials said.
U.S. marshals took Shannon Westmoreland, 48, into custody Monday afternoon after stopping a van in Daytona Beach, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.
Westmoreland, a former youth football coach from West Chester, had been sought since Oct. 22, when he failed to appear in court to answer charges of child sexual abuse and rape.
"In finding and arresting this defendant, the U.S. Marshals Service has shown again why they're the best in the business when it comes to finding people who don't want to be found," District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said in a statement.
It was not immediately known if Westmoreland would fight extradition to Pennsylvania.
Texas man arrested, charged with
continuous child sex abuse
Advocate staff report
A 47-year-old Victoria man charged with continual child sex abuse remained in jail Tuesday in lieu of a $350,000 bond.
Joaquin Martinez Espinoza was held in the Victoria County Jail on warrants charging him with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child and two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14, according to a Victoria Police Department news release issued Tuesday.
Victoria police officers with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Espinoza on Thursday at a home in the 3300 block of Houston Highway.
According to Victoria County court records, Espinoza has convictions for driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.15 percent, theft, burglary and possession of prohibited weapons.
