Davenport, Iowa man charged in child sex-abuse case
By Rachel Warmke
A Davenport man is charged with sexually abusing a 9-year-old child.Zackery Z. Raley was booked into the Scott County Jail on Friday, his 29th birthday. He faces one count of second-degree sexual abuse alleging that, on March 9, he molested a child in the backseat of a vehicle while in Davenport.
Court documents say Mr. Raley later admitted to inappropriately touching the child.
He remained in custody late Friday on a $25,000 bond.
The Class B felony offense is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Salinas, California man charged with child sex abuse
Police say there may be additonal victims
Jairo Lopez
SALINAS, Calif. -
The son of a licensed daycare provider is in jail facing numerous charges of child sex abuse. According to Salinas Police, Jairo Lopez, 21, admitted to the sexual assault of a child at a Salinas daycare center operated by his mother on the 100 block of Valencia Street. The incidents date back to 2012.
"They're a really good family,” said Perez. “They're good friends of ours and I would never see Jairo doing any of that."
Police say they fear and it is believed that there could possibly be more victims from the daycare.
According to state records, the Lopez family daycare has been licensed for nearly 20 years. The department of social services told KION in 2012 the daycare received two minor citations.
"Sometimes once a year licensing will come and do a visit, an unexpected visit,” said Eulalai Bocanegra with the Monterey County Child Care Resource. “They will go over the house and they'll go over the children's files."
Officials said getting a license is a thorough process, which includes an orientation, inspections of the home and background checks on everyone 18 and over that are living, volunteering or helping in the home.
"You can never be too safe when it comes to children,” said Bocanegra “The Department of Justice wants to make sure everybody has a background check."
We reached out to the Lopez family day care, they did not respond.
Social services told KION Lopez is not allowed at the home, until the investigation is over.
He shouldn't be allowed at the home period! Boys and men have no business care-giving children. I've seen too many horror stories.
Lopez is being held at the Monterey County Jail on a $600,000 bail.
Anyone with information regarding Lopez or victim information is encouraged to contact the Salinas Police Department Investigations Division at (831) 758-7226; or Detective Gonzalez at (831) 758-7127 or gabrielg@ci.salinas.ca.us. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call the Salinas Police Department Anonymous Tip Line at (831) 775-4222, or the We-Tip Line at 1-800-78-CRIME, or text information to the Text Tip Line with the code "SPD831" to "847411".
Former Canaan, Maine youth ministry co-director indicted on child sex abuse charge
BY BETTY ADAMS STAFF WRITER
AUGUSTA — The former co-director of a youth ministry program in Canaan was indicted Friday on a charge of unlawful sexual contact that allegedly occurred with a child under the age of 12 between Sept. 1-Oct. 31, 2014, in Clinton.
Lucas Savage, 27, of Clinton is charged with a Class B crime, and a conviction can carry a prison term of up to 10 years.
An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with formal charges and a trial.
Savage’s attorney, Pamela Ames, said Friday she anticipates Savage pleading not guilty when he is arraigned on the indictment.
Savage was a co-director of Youth Haven Ministry at the time of his arrest on the charge in March 2016.
Youth Haven Ministry is a nonprofit group that provides free programs for children and teens, including weekly children’s and teen hangouts, classes and activities. The ministry is affiliated with, but not part of, the Canaan Calvary Church, which provided financial support to the ministry in the past.
Savage is currently free on $1,000 cash bail with conditions that allow him to have supervised contact with children under age 16.
“We made an offer (July 14) and it was rejected, so we have not settled the case,” said Maeghan Maloney, district attorney in Kennebec and Somerset counties.
According to a police affidavit filed in the case, the girl identified as the victim, now 11, told her mother that Savage “had put his hand down (her) pants” and left it there when she spent the night at his home. She said Savage had touched her inappropriately “about 30 times” and that the two had exchanged “secret kisses.”
The indictment says Savage intentionally subjected the girl to sexual contact.
Charges dropped against Washington
woman in alleged child sex abuse case
By Keith L. AlexanderFederal prosecutors dismissed charges late Thursday against a Northeast Washington woman who was arrested two weeks ago on allegations that she used ice cream and popcorn to lure three boys into her apartment and sexually assaulted them.
Prosecutors had charged Larona M. Steele, 42, with five counts of child sexual abuse after the boys, ages 12, 13 and 15, told police that Steele invited them into her apartment in the 3500 block of Clay Street for the treats and then locked the door and directed them to perform sex acts. She was arrested July 5.
The D.C. Public Defender Service said in a statement that its investigation “revealed that Ms. Steele is innocent.”
“Ms. Steele’s lawyer, Madalyn Harvey, shared this information with the government and upon the government’s review the government dismissed the charges,” the statement said. “Sadly nothing erases the trauma of the last two weeks during which Ms. Steele has been jailed and accused of a terrible crime she did not commit.”
The office declined to comment further. Steele could not be reached at the apartment or by phone on Friday afternoon.
As Steele and her attorney were preparing for a hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Friday morning, prosecutors dismissed the case and a judge ordered Steele released from the D.C. jail.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said that as prosecutors and D.C. police detectives were investigating the case, prosecutors determined that there was not enough evidence to secure a conviction.
“After further investigation, the U.S. attorney’s office has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the spokesman, William Miller.
The case rocked the Northeast Washington neighborhood where Steele is known as “Ronnie.” At the time of her arrest, court documents revealed that one of the three youths allegedly videotaped the incident. Steele told police that she was intoxicated that day and did not recall whether she had sex with the boys, according to court papers.
Hmmmm. Weird!
Miller declined to comment on whether police had retrieved the video or what it showed.
Steele was arrested after an adult family member of two of the boys filed a complaint with the police department’s youth division.
The arrest affidavit filed in court alleged that Steele approached the boys as they sat on the front steps of her apartment building.
Elise Schmelzer contributed to this report.
