Former School Aide Sentenced To 100 Years In Prison
For Child Sex Abuse
BALTIMORE (WJZ)– A former school aide has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to 23 charges involving sex abuse of minors in Prince George’s County.
Deonte Carraway, 24, was sentenced to 395 years and all but 100 years were suspended after he pleaded guilty to 23 counts of child sex abuse and possession of child pornography.
Carraway, a former school aid and volunteer at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School, was indicted in Prince George’s County last summer on 270 counts, including 23 counts of sex abuse of a minor, 40 counts of first degree sex offense and related charges. The charges were based on Carraway’s interactions with students from the elementary school, on and off school property.
Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School
Carraway was sentenced to 75 years in federal prison, in August, after pleading guilty to 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography, which involved 11 victims between the ages of nine and 12 years old. His state sentence will run concurrently with his federal sentence.
“This case was absolutely tragic for everyone involved; the children who are still suffering from nightmares and anxiety as well as their parents and the community as a whole,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks. “Mr. Carraway’s actions sent a ripple effect throughout this community and we are pleased and confident that, through this sentence of 100 years, he will not have the opportunity to walk our streets ever again.”
Scotland County couple is jailed on
child sexual abuse charges
By Beth Lawrence
LAURINBURG, N.C. – A Scotland County couple have been arrested on numerous child sex abuse charges stemming from an investigation initiated by the Department of Social Services, authorities said on Wednesday.
Annie L. Johnson, 36, and Carlos Juan Gonzales, 36, both of the Hasty community, were arrested on a total of 21 counts of various charges related to the sexual assault of a child, according to Capt. Ruben Castellon, chief detective with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office.
“DSS started their own initial investigation and they had enough suspicions to forward it to us,” Castellon said. Detectives received the report from the Scotland County Department of Social Services on Sept. 11. The couple were arrested on Sept. 21.
Authorities did not specify the number of victims. They said one was six years old.
Gonzales was arrested on one count of felony second-degree sexual offense, two counts of indecent liberties with a minor, three counts of felony child abuse sex act, and one count of sexual assault.
He is being held in the Scotland County Detention Center under a $1.5 million bond.
Johnson was charged with five felony counts of child abuse by sexual assault, eight felony counts of accessory after the fact indecent liberties, and one felony count of forcible sex offense.
She is being held in the Scotland County Detention Center under a $500,000 bond.
The investigation is ongoing and other charges may be added as victims are interviewed or if other victims come forward, Castellon said.
Neither Johnson nor Gonzales have a criminal record. However, investigators are being cautious where Gonzales is concerned.
“We don’t know that is his real name. We are assuming that it is, but we’re not sure right now,” Castellon said.
The sheriff’s office contacted US Immigration and Custom Enforcement − ICE because Gonzales is alleged to be an illegal alien. ICE has placed Gonzales under a detainer hold.
An ICE detainer, or immigration hold, is used when an illegal immigrant is arrested by local authorities. It places an extra 48-hour hold on an individual after his or her release date in order to give ICE agents time to make a decision as to whether to detain the person for deportation.
Registered San Gabriel sex offender faces
child sex abuse and child porn charges
By CITY NEWS SERVICE
ALHAMBRA — A 66-year-old registered sex offender being held in lieu of $500,000 is expected to be arraigned in Alhambra today on charges of child sexual abuse and child porn.
Ronald Melvin McKenzie was arrested at his home in San Gabriel about 10:30 p.m. Monday after officers responded to a report of suspected child abuse received from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said San Gabriel police Lt. Brian Kott.
“During the initial investigation, numerous images of a sexual nature depicting minors were found on the suspect’s computer and cell phone,” Kott said. “At least one minor depicted in the photos was confirmed as also being a victim of sexual abuse.”
McKenzie was booked on suspicion of possession of sexually explicit matter involving minors, possession by a registered sex offender of sexually explicit matter involving minors and committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, the lieutenant said.
A search warrant was served at the residence as part of the ongoing investigation, according to Kott, who said McKenzie is due to be arraigned in Alhambra today.
Webbers Falls man guilty of child sexual abuse
A Webbers Falls man was found guilty of three counts of child sexual abuse on Thursday, and the jury recommended two life sentences and 50 years in prison as his sentence.
Luther Hyslope, 56, was found guilty of molesting an 11-year-old girl between June and August of 2015, according to court documents. The abuse occurred in a black Chevrolet truck and in Hyslope's Webbers Falls home, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Muskogee County District Court Judge Thomas Alford ordered a presentence investigation to be completed on Hyslope prior to his Nov. 27 sentencing date.
Virginia Beach jury recommends life plus 25 years to defendant in child sexual abuse case
BY NICK BOYKIN
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Jurors Thursday found Brando Colon Jr. guilty of multiple charges including Forcible Sodomy, Aggravated Sexual Battery, and Indecent Libertines following a two-day trial.
Colon’s victim was under the age of 13, and the jury in the case recommended that Brando receive life plus 25 years in prison and a fine of $20,000, the maximum prison sentence for the crime under the law.
A judge will formally sentence Colon on Feb. 5, 2018.
The Commonwealth proved that Colon sexually molested a child close to him on a regular basis, multiple times per week.
The child disclosed the abuse to a Child Protective Services caseworker and police began an investigation. The defendant also showed the child a video with sexually explicit content.
Former airman pleads guilty in child sex abuse case
By RANDALL CHASE
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A former Dover Air Force Base airman is facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges involving the alleged sexual abuse of a teenage runaway. (10th story on link)
Twenty-one-year-old Akeem Beazer of Pompano Beach, Florida, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 3 after pleading guilty Thursday to sex abuse of a minor. In return for his acceptance of responsibility, prosecutors say they will not oppose a reduction in the factors used to calculate his sentence.
Beazer's guilty plea comes after prosecutors said in court papers earlier this month that searches of Facebook accounts and cellphones had uncovered materials giving rise to additional charges against him.
Another airman, 25-year-old Dalian Washington of Philadelphia, also is charge with sex abuse of a minor, as well as sex trafficking of a child.
Trial starts for man accused of 2013 sexual abuse in a Hagerstown-area residence
Don Aines
The jury trial of a man accused of sexually abusing a child four years ago got underway Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court with recordings of statements the man made to a Baltimore County detective in which he apparently admitted to improper conduct with the girl.
Kenneth Majeed Smith, 39, of Randallstown, Md., was indicted in 2016 on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree sex offense and two counts of third-degree sex offense, according to court records.
The alleged victim was a preteen girl at the time when the incidents took place in 2013 at a residence in the Hagerstown area. At the time, Smith was in a brief relationship with the girl's mother and was staying at her home, Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer told the jury in her opening statement.
"This case began with his statements," Mollett-Gaumer said, noting that Baltimore County police had no knowledge of any activity with the girl until Smith mentioned it while being questioned on another matter.
"You can't convict someone based on their statement. ... There has to be corroboration," Assistant Public Defender Robert Sheehan told the jury. The case against Smith involved no physical evidence and the testimony of state witnesses might also fail to provide corroboration of the state's accusations, he said.
Sheehan said he would raise questions about whether the statements Smith gave police were made knowingly and willingly.
Testimony began in the afternoon with Baltimore County Detective Josh Rees, who testified he questioned Smith on Oct. 12, 2015, during the course of the execution of a search warrant at the apartment he shared with his mother.
During direct questioning, Mollett-Gaumer introduced portions of the recorded police interview from that day in which Smith talked about kissing and physical contact with the girl, but denied having sexual intercourse.
On cross-examination by Sheehan, Rees said the search was conducted at about 5 a.m., but Smith was cooperative and appeared to be alert and sober. Sheehan questioned Rees about whether Smith might have been questioned while short on sleep and under the influence of marijuana or prescription medications.
"I'm not completely awake," Smith said at one point in the interview, according to Sheehan.
Rees testified Smith showed no obvious signs of intoxication.
Not mentioned in the trial was the circumstances under which Smith became a suspect during a child pornography investigation by the Baltimore County Police Crimes Against Children Unit.
Smith was charged in Baltimore County Circuit Court, but the charges were dismissed when he was indicted in federal court on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child pornography, according to online county and federal court records.
The federal case is on hold pending the outcome of Smith's case in Washington County, according to online federal court records.
Jury returns mixed verdict in sex abuse case
Mary Schenk
URBANA — A Champaign County jury Wednesday returned a mixed verdict against a man accused of sexually molesting a child in her own home earlier this year.
The jury acquitted Roberto Pedro-Francisco, 23, of the 500 block of South Lynn Street, Champaign, of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 but convicted him of a less serious charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Pedro-Francisco faces penalties ranging from probation to three to seven years in prison when Judge Tom Difanis sentences him on Nov. 7.
In the trial, which began Tuesday, the child testified she was home sick from school in her Champaign apartment and came out of the bathroom to find Pedro-Francisco present. He was known to the victim's family, according to Assistant State's Attorney Larry Solava, and lived in the same building.
The girl's 3-year-old sister was also in the apartment, but their parents were not.
Solava said the girl testified that Pedro-Francisco gave her younger sister a sucker and his mobile phone to play with then allegedly took her into her mother's bedroom, where he committed various sex acts with her.
The acts allegedly happened in April or May on two different occasions, but Solava said the child was unable to give specific dates.
It was not until May 8, after she had revealed what had happened to her parents, that she went to a hospital to be examined. Champaign police investigated and a forensic interviewer at the Children's Advocacy Center talked with her, gleaning what information she could, which led to criminal charges being filed against Pedro-Francisco on May 12.
Jurors heard from the child, the police detective and the interviewer during the trial.
Pedro-Francisco, who needed the assistance of a Guatemalan translator, was represented by assistant public defenders Stephanie Corum and Ben Dyer.
The jury had only two counts to consider as Difanis issued a directed verdict of acquittal on a third count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The judge ruled that there simply was no evidence to support the allegation in the third count.
Difanis ordered that Pedro-Francisco be held without bond pending sentencing.
State police charge Clermont man with
child sex abuse
Amanda Purcell
Columbia-Greene Media
CLERMONT, NY — State police said they have arrested a Clermont man and charged him with sexually abusing a child under the age of 13.
Keith Pierson, 23, faces charges of first-degree sexual abuse, a class D felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Police were alerted to the alleged incident after receiving a report from Columbia County 911 dispatch.
Pierson was remanded to Columbia County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond after his arraignment in Germantown Town Court.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.
