Women Against Sexual Predators

What Happens When You Allow Sex Offenders In Your Home

2009-07-20T10:37:00.004-04:00

Inviting Sex Offenders Home: When Mom's Relationship Puts Children at Risk
Two Midwest Children Disappeared, Third Killed After Moms Associated With Sex Offenders
By SARAH NETTER
June 24, 2009
55 comments

Losing a child to a sex offender is a mother's nightmare. But what if that mother is the one who brought the sex offender into her home?

In the cases of at least three Midwestern children reported missing this year, police have discovered that their mothers had relationships with known sex offenders.

One little boy was found safe in a motel. One little girl was found buried in a riverside grave. And the third -- 3-year-old Haylee Donathan --was found Tuesday thousands of miles away from her home.

Federal authorities hunting Haylee's abductors knew who they are looking for -- her mother Candace Watson, 24, and Robbi Potter, 27, a convicted sex offender she is accused of helping escape from a post-prison halfway house in Mansfield, Ohio, May 28.

Police say the two disappeared with Haylee from Watson's Crestline, Ohio, home May 31, days after Watson, her brother, Haylee's biological father and his girlfriend allegedly helped Potter leave the halfway house he'd been staying at since being released from prison three days earlier.

Cyle Watson, along with James Donathan and his girlfriend Nicole Kirkpatrick have all been arrested and charged with complicity to escape, the same charge Watson is facing.

But authorities were most concerned with apprehending Potter and getting Haylee home safe to her grandmother who had been awarded emergency custody in the little girl's absence.

Related

Police Say Child's Body in Cement Is Nevaeh Buchanan

Cantu Case: Are Female Molesters Rare?

Sandra's Murder Latest Tragedy in Tracy

Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Andrew Deserto told ABCNews.com that all three were picked up just outside San Diego after someone recognized them from a billboard the U.S. Marshals had placed in several states.

Both Watson and Potter have been arrested and are being held in California. Haylee appeared to authorities to be unharmed saved for a case of what looked to be chicken pox. She is currently in state custody, also in California.

They had apparently been staying at a Christian ranch for about a week, Deserto said, adding that Watson could face federal charges for aiding a fugitive.

Potter had two warrants out for his arrest, one for a federal probation violation stemming from a bank robbery conviction and the other a state probation violation related to his sex offender status.

Ken Lanning, a consultant and former FBI agent who spent two decades studying the sexual victimization of children, said that, in general, the first hurdle for pedophiles on the prowl is access to children. One of the most common ways to get that, outside of abusing a family member, is to latch on to a woman with children, often in a romantic relationship.

And while mothers of the abused children run the gamut from being knowingly involved with the abuse to being completely fooled, Lanning said, most fall into the category that is hardest for police to deal with -- "mom should have known."

Lanning said that while some would consider a mother's attention to a sex offender crime enough, some women don't just turn a blind eye to abuse. They participate.

Lanning added he's heard of some women who actually consent to the predator having sex with their children, with the stipulation that the predator has sex with them first.

Those are the cases that are easy to prosecute, he said. Most of the others fall into a grey area with authorities unable to prove how much about the sex offender the mother knew and whether or not she knowingly put her children at risk.

Lanning said he couldn't comment specifically on Haylee Donathan's disappearance, but he said women who choose to stick by sexual predators, even at the risk of their own children, have succumbed to the offenders' ability to prey on their vulnerabilities.

"Adult human beings tend to believe what they want or need to believe," he said. "Someone to tell her she's pretty, someone to support her.

"The more desperate she is and the greater the need, the more vulnerable she becomes to this," Lanning said.

'Nothing's Been Proven Yet'

Haylee's grandmother, Mary Watson, said she isn't sure whether her daughter went on the run with Potter willingly at this point.

"It was like her voice was shaky the last time," Watson said of the last time she spoke to her daughter the day she disappeared. "And her voice was short."

The last known sighting of Haylee before she was found was at an Ohio Wal-Mart they day she was reported missing. Deserto said Watson was caught on the store's surveillance system returning a tent and allegedly stealing some clothes while Donathan and a child believed to be Haylee waited in the parking lot.

Watson was seen again getting into the passenger side of the truck at a Colorado gas station June 2, Deserto said. While police believe that Donathan was in the driver's seat, Haylee couldn't be seen.

Related

Missing Girl's Mom Had Sex Offender Friends

Case Closed: Adam Walsh Killer ID'd

Paroled Rapist Slips Authorities... Again

Potter's criminal history includes prison time for two counts of sexual battery and Deserto said he has a history of child sexual abuse.

But Mary Watson said her daughter had no idea of the severity of Potter's crimes until after she picked him up.

As for the charges against her daughter and son and the others, Mary Watson said she's not sure what to believe.

"I don't know nothing about them helping" Potter escape, she said. "Nothing's been proven yet."
But in an interview with the Mansfield News Journal, Cyle Watson, who served his own prison sentence on a rape conviction, admitted to helping Potter leave the halfway house, but said he only did so in hopes Potter would get in trouble with the law -- retribution, Cyle Watson told the paper, for not paying a debt.

"Things are really, really serious. It went from a trick to now," he told the Journal from inside jail. "He messed with another girl. He might be messing with my niece."

'He Would Have Done It a Little Sooner'

Lanning said mothers who knowingly admit sex offenders into their lives aren't knowingly stupid. Women with high self-esteem, good educations and successful careers are less likely to fall into this trap, he said, but aren't immune.

"The more needy you are, the more you need to believe," he said.

In last month's murder of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, her mother had relationships with two sexual offenders who have since been jailed because their parole conditions prohibited associations with women who have children.

Though no arrests have been made since Nevaeh's body was found in a cement-covered grave along the River Raisin in Michigan June 4, Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield has called George Kennedy, 39, and Roy Lee Smith, 48, persons of interest.

Some locals have begun turning against Nevaeh's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, for giving sex offenders access to her only child.

Buchanan told the Detroit Free Press in an interview earlier this month that she was "completely innocent" in Nevaeh's disappearance and murder.

Buchanan had been released from prison earlier this year after being convicted of a 2006 home invasion. She was living in a Monroe, Mich., apartment with her daughter and mother when Nevaeh disappeared.

"I didn't think it was a crime to have my child around someone," she told the Detroit Free Press, later adding that "If George wanted to do that, he would have done it a little sooner. That's the way I feel. But I could be wrong."

She told the newspaper that she had known Kennedy for a couple of years and met Smith through him a couple months before her daughter disappeared. And while she was aware of Kennedy's sex offender status, she only guessed the same of Smith because of the men's association.

3-Year-Old Found Safe, Mother and Sex Offender Arrested
In the kidnapping of a little Wisconsin boy earlier this year, the 3-year-old's mother was arrested and charged with child neglect after her babysitter, Joseph Rivera, took off with her son.

Rivera, who had been convicted of second-degree sexual assault in 2003, was found in a motel room with the unharmed boy and marijuana and THC.

The boy's mother told police that Rivera had sent her text messages threatening to take her son. But Rivera told police he only took the boy because he was upset with the child's mother for leaving him home alone for several hours, according to the police report.

As for Haylee Donathan, her grandmother just wanted to know she was alive. Mary Watson said she's already prepared for the attention and counseling her granddaughter will likely need when she comes home.

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFiY25ld3MuZ28uY29tL1VTL1N0b3J5P2lkPTc5MDcxMTEmcGFnZT0x

Carl Courtright sentenced to life!

2009-07-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

Granite City sex offender sentenced to life

Associated Press
9:48 PM CDT, July 17, 2009

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A federal judge has sentenced a Granite City man to life plus 10 years in prison for the production of child pornography and other offenses.

U.S. Attorney Courtney Cox announced the sentence against registered sex offender Carl Courtright III on Friday.

After a five-day trial in March, a U.S. District Court jury convicted Courtright on one count of production of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of bank fraud.

The 37-year-old Courtright is believed to be the first sex offender in the country to be charged with new offenses stemming from subscriber information disclosed by the social networking Web site MySpace.

Teen Commits Suicide After Sexting

2009-07-18T10:30:00.003-04:00

Her teen committed suicide over ‘sexting’
Cynthia Logan’s daughter was taunted about photo she sent to boyfriend

‘Sexting’ leads teen to suicide

March 6: 18-year-old Jesse Logan took her own life after a nude picture of her was passed around by e-mail. TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to her mom, Cynthia Logan, and Internet safety expert Parry Aftab about the dangers of “sexting.”

The image was blurred and the voice distorted, but the words spoken by a young Ohio woman are haunting. She had sent nude pictures of herself to a boyfriend. When they broke up, he sent them to other high school girls. The girls were harassing her, calling her a slut and a whore. She was miserable and depressed, afraid even to go to school.

And now Jesse Logan was going on a Cincinnati television station to tell her story. Her purpose was simple: “I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this again.”
The interview was in May 2008. Two months later, Jessica Logan hanged herself in her bedroom. She was 18.

Conveying the message

“She was vivacious. She was fun. She was artistic. She was compassionate. She was a good kid,” the young woman’s mother, Cynthia Logan, told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Friday in New York. Still grieving over the loss of her daughter, she said she is taking her story public to warn kids about the dangers of sending sexually charged pictures and messages to boyfriends and girlfriends.

“It’s very, very difficult. She’s my only child,” Logan told Lauer. “I’m trying my best to get the message out there.”

It is a growing problem that has resulted in child pornography charges being filed against some teens across the nation. But for Cynthia Logan, “sexting” is about more than possibly criminal activity: It’s about life and death.

Last fall, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed teens and young adults about sexting — sending sexually charged material via cell phone text messages — or posting such materials online. The results revealed that 39 percent of teens are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages, and 48 percent reported receiving such messages.

‘She was being tortured’

Jesse Logan’s mother said she never knew the full extent of her daughter’s anguish until it was too late. Cynthia Logan only learned there was a problem at all when she started getting daily letters from her daughter’s school reporting that the young woman was skipping school.

“I only had snapshots, bits and pieces, until the very last semester of school,” Logan told Lauer.

After her picture was disseminated electonically, formerly upbeat Jesse Logan began skipping classes.

She took away her daughter’s car and drove her to school herself, but Jesse still skipped classes. She told her mother there were pictures involved and that a group of younger girls who had received them were harassing her, calling her vicious names, even throwing objects at her. But she didn’t realize the full extent of her daughter’s despair.

“She was being attacked and tortured,” Logan said.

“When she would come to school, she would always hear, ‘Oh, that’s the girl who sent the picture. She’s just a whore,’ ” Jesse’s friend, Lauren Taylor, told NBC News.

Logan said that officials at Sycamore High School were aware of the harassment but did not take sufficient action to stop it. She said that a school official offered only to go to one of the girls who had the pictures and tell her to delete them from her phone and never speak to Jesse again. That girl was 16.

Logan suggested talking to the parents of the girls who were bullying Jesse, but her daughter said that would only open her to even more ridicule.

“She said, ‘No, I need to do something else. I’m going to go on the news,’ and that’s what she did,” Logan said.

Finding Jesse

When Cynthia Logan decided to go public with her story, she told Lauer that a school official told a local television station that he had given Jesse the option of prosecuting her tormentors. “That was not so. It’s absolutely not true,” she told Lauer. “And if he did, why didn’t I get a notice in the mail that he gave her that option?”

Cynthia Logan is still contending with her grief over her daughter Jesse’s suicide.

After her daughter’s death, Logan quit her job and was hospitalized for a time with what she described as a mental breakdown. When she spoke about finding her daughter in her bedroom last July, tears coursed down her cheeks.

Jesse had been talking about going to the University of Cincinnati to study graphic design. Her mother thought she was over the worst of the bullying. Then one of Jesse’s acquaintances committed suicide. Jesse went to the funeral. When she came home, she hanged herself.

“I just had a scan of the room, her closet doors were open,” Logan told NBC News. “And I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. The cell phone was in the middle of the floor.”

Quest for justice

Logan said she’s been through six lawyers in what has so far been an unsuccessful battle to hold school officials responsible for the bullying of her daughter.

She was joined on TODAY by Parry Aftab, an Internet security expert and activist in the battle to protect teens from the dangers that lurk in cyberspace. Aftab said that there are laws that apply.

“There absolutely is a law,” Aftab told Lauer. “It depends on the age of the child. If somebody’s under the age of 18, it’s child pornography, and even the girl that posted the pictures can be charged. They could be registered sex offenders at the end of all of this. Even at the age of 18, because it was sent to somebody under age, it’s disseminating pornography to a minor. There are criminal charges that could be made here.”

Aftab said that it is normal kids just like Jesse who fall victim to the perils of the Internet and the easy exchange of information on cell phones.

“We talked about her being a good kid, a normal kid. Those are most of the ones that are sending out those images,” she said. “Forty-four percent of the boys say that they’ve seen sexual images of girls in their school, and about 15 percent of them are disseminating those images when they break up with the girls.”

Aftab asked Logan to join her in her fight against the electronic exploitation of kids. “I’m going to get her involved in a huge campaign to allow kids to understand the consequences of this and allow schools to understand what they need to do to keep our kids alive,” she said.

Aftab turned to Logan to see if she would help.

“Absolutely,” she said.

Logan Ohio Bus Driver Guilty Of Sexual Abuse Of Children

2009-07-18T10:18:00.002-04:00

Ex-Bus Driver Pleads Guilty To Sexual Abuse
Saturday, July 18, 2009 7:21 AM

LOGAN, Ohio — A former bus driver pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that he sexually abused two young girls.

Morgan Monroe pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition.

"Had he went to trial on all the charges he would have faced significantly more," said Hocking County prosecutor Laina Fetherolf.

Monroe spent nearly 20 years working in the Logan-Hocking School District. He was a bus driver and custodian until his arrest in April, 10TV's Brittany Westbrook reported.

"I was really shocked," said parent Tracy Rose.

Rose's son is going to be in fifth grade, and she said at one time she applied to be a bus driver.
"Morgan trained me and he just didn't seem like... it was shocking," Rose said.

The district performed a background check on Monroe, but since he was never charged, nothing turned up, Westbrook reported.

Monroe will not be able to work at another school because of his current status as a sex offender.

In order to keep students safe, the school district said all of the buildings will have renovated security measures and the buses have cameras in the front and back, Westbrook reported.
Even so, Fetherolf said there is a reality that remains.

"There really isn't any way to know until they've been caught at least once," Fetherolf said.
Justice might only come from a brave victim's voice.

"I am hoping that if there are other victims of this particular defendant or other perpetrators that they will come forward so we can do whatever we can to help them," Fetherolf said.

Monroe did not come into contact with his victims through the district and Fetherolf said so far there is no indication that he abused any children in the district.

He could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for more information

javascript:PlayRelatedVideo('7032969')

Warren Ohio Predator Released To Another Predator

2009-07-18T10:13:00.003-04:00

Sexual predator coming home
Prosecutor questions Warren man’s parole

By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune Chronicle
POSTED: July 18, 2009

WARREN - The Trumbull County prosecutor is questioning why the Ohio Parole Board would OK a prison release for a convicted sexual predator from Warren that allows him to live here with his brother - another sexual predator.

''He should only be released to an institution or halfway house where treatment is provided and required. One would never release a sex offender to another sex offender's care,'' prosecutor Dennis Watkins told parole officials in a letter earlier this week.

Watkins said in the letter he will challenge the July 27 release planned for Juan Wade, 46, who has served 23 years of a 7-to-25-year sentence.

The prosecutor's office was informed this week that Wade's approved plan for release involves him living in Warren with his brother Willie Wade of Bingham Avenue N.W. Watkins points out in his letter that Willie Wade recently was released from a prison in Georgia and is on parole after serving time on a rape conviction.

''I would request a hearing before his release to make sure that you have all the relevant information about his release in the community. According to forensic experts, Wade is a high risk to engage in a sexually oriented offense in the future,'' Watkins wrote.

Wade was sentenced July 30, 1986, by former Common Pleas Judge Mitchell Shaker after pleading guilty to three counts of rape that involved two girls and a boy. Wade was originally indicted on seven counts of rape and one count of child endangering involving five victims between the ages of 3 and 7.

Wade told a counselor and a clinical psychologist who examined him in 1999 that he was unable to cite specific reasons for the assaults, but he has taken sex offender programs in prison.

Currently in Lorain Correctional Institution, Wade ''does not take much responsibility for his deviant sexual behavior,'' according to the psychological report. The mental health experts labeled Wade a predator - a high risk to offend in the future - and say he should be required to continue in an outpatient sex offender treatment program.

Watkins said he believes that Wade was rejected for three other release plans, all of which include treatment programs.

''It's totally unacceptable for this defendant, a convicted sexual predator, to be released and placed to live with another convicted sexual predator in Trumbull County,'' Watkins said.

cbobby@tribtoday.com

Michigan releases sex offenders by the HUNDREDS

2009-06-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

Early release of sex offenders from state prisons concerns victims, county law officials
By SUSAN YOUNGER staff reporter

LAPEER -- As the State of Michigan closes prisons and slashes prison populations to save money, those charged with the safety of the community are concerned with the early release of sex offenders into Lapeer County.

"The Michigan Department of Corrections is releasing criminal sexual conduct offenders by the hundreds from prison," said Lapeer County Prosecuting Attorney Byron Konschuh Tuesday. "It is my understanding they dropped 10 off on the courthouse steps today. Genesee County is getting over 130 and this is happening throughout the state. They're being released in Lapeer County, even if they didn't necessarily reside here prior to the crime or committed the crime in Lapeer County."

Michigan officials are still trying to balance the state budget, which has a projected $2-billion shortfall for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

More sex offenders are expected in the county, and the early releases are a recipe for disaster, Konschuh added.

"No one in the community knows this is happening," Konschuh said. "We don't know where they will be living. They're supposed to receive help to find jobs. With unemployment the way it is I'm concerned."

Adding to the problem, Konschuh and Director of Victim's Services Catherine Strong has no idea which offenders are receiving the early out dates and how many more will be in the county.

"It's my job to make sure they're not a victim again," Strong said. "I would hope to contact the victims, but I don't know which offenders are due for release. I was getting LEIN (law enforcement information network) sheets, but they're no longer forwarding them to us. Now I have to rely on the state doing their job of notifying the victim."

Strong and Konschuh recently helped two women file appeals in an attempt to keep the offenders behind bars. They had no idea the two were going to be released early; they were contacted by the victims.

A former Metamora woman, now 18, who was sexually abused when she was a juvenile by her stepfather, has left home. She is so frightened he will find her that she is hiding, said her mother Crystal Galloway.

"He was sentenced in 2002 to two counts of criminal sexual conduct to a person under 13," said Galloway, who has remarried. "He was sentenced to between seven and 30 years in prison. I got a letter Thursday saying he will be on the streets in September. He told people he was grooming my daughter to be his next wife. How can they let this happen to her?"

Another woman, who was raised in Lapeer County, left the state and has since remarried after her daughter was abused. Though she changed their names and left without a trace, her former husband found her while still in prison.

"He abused my daughter for almost eight years beginning when she was just over two years old," said the woman, who doesn't want her name used. "I am devastated. When you're a sex offender there is no cure."

Though he was supposed to be incarcerated for up to seven more years, the man could be on the streets in September.

"I haven't told my daughter yet," she said. "We don't want contact with him, and I don't want him around my children. I would not want to take the chance."

Konschuh and Strong will file applications for leave of appeal on behalf of any CSC victims to deter early release of sex offenders. Phone (810) 667-0326 if notified of a release.

Susan Younger may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8122, or susan.younger@lapeergroup.com
Click here to return to story:http://www.countypress.com/stories/062809/loc_20090628090.shtml

Women in Crime Ink: One-Way Invitation to "Hell"

2009-05-05T12:15:00.000-04:00

Women in Crime Ink: One-Way Invitation to "Hell"

Read Nicole's story of her assault from an internet predator.

Wanted Predator

2009-01-10T08:53:00.003-05:00

January 08, 2009

Contact:
Supervisor Deputy U.S. Marshal Steve Jurman

San Diego Fugitive Task Force (619) 557-7111;

Public Affairs Officer Toni M. Wheetley (619) 571-2498;

USMS Headquarters Public Affairs (202) 307-9065

U.S. MARSHALS ASK FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE IN THE MANHUNT FOR 15 MOST WANTED FUGITIVE AND ALLEGED SEXUAL PREDATOR FREDERICK McLEAN

WASHINGTON – U.S. Marshals in Southern California are more determined than ever to bring Frederick McLean to justice. McLean, an alleged sexual predator, is on the run and U.S. Marshals believe his crimes are so heinous they earned him a spot on the Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted fugitive list in 2006.

“This fugitive has evaded capture for nearly three years, but he needs to know that we will never cease our efforts of hunting him down,” said George W. Venables, United States Marshal for the Southern District of California. “We are absolutely resolute in our commitment to bringing in Frederick McLean to face the charges brought against him.”

The San Diego Fugitive Task Force recently executed a search warrant and obtained new leads and updated photos on Frederick McLean.

Fugitive Frederick McLean, 57, is wanted on multiple counts of sexual assault on a child, but according to Supervisor Deputy U.S. Marshal Steve Jurman of the San Diego Fugitive Task Force, “multiple counts” is an understatement. Jurman explained, one alleged victim, now an adult, reported McLean assaulted her more than 100 times, starting when she was five and ending about seven years later.

“We believe McLean’s abusive acts against young victims span over a 20-year period, and are likely to continue until he is caught,” Jurman said. “It is imperative that predators like this be taken off the streets. Public assistance is one of law enforcements greatest assets and is essential to locating McLean.”

An arrest warrant was issued January 20, 2005, for McLean, but authorities believe he sensed his days of freedom were numbered almost six months prior.

In May 2004, family members confronted McLean regarding a young female victim’s allegations of molestation. McLean admitted they were true, and the victim’s family decided to call Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. After the confrontation, McLean’s wife and children left him.

He began liquidating financial assets and he signed divorce papers. In September 2004, McLean’s father-in-law woke up one morning to find McLean’s truck in his driveway. Inside the truck were McLean’s cell phone, letters for the family, and instructions on how to sell the vehicle. It was evident from his actions that he believed criminal charges against him were looming.

“Honoring the victims by arresting violent fugitives like McLean and making our streets safer is the main concern of the U.S. Marshals,” said Marshal Venables.

McLean is a 57-year-old white male who weighs 170 pounds and is 5 feet, 11 inches tall. He has brown/gray hair and hazel eyes. He is an auto mechanic by trade and once owned a race-car restoration business, specializing in racing cars from the 1960s and 1970s.

McLean is also an experienced outdoorsman and may frequent camping areas. McLean’s character traits include: being financially frugal, meticulous, organized, and probably pays by cash.

Investigators believe McLean may have assumed a new identity and could be using an alias name.

Authorities caution citizens to consider McLean armed and dangerous, and possibly suicidal.

There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of McLean, and all inquiries remain confidential.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact their nearest U.S. Marshals Service office, or call the Marshals’ 24-hour phone line at 1-800-336-0102.

U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization. Fugitive Task Forces lead by the U.S. Marshals capture thousands of fugitives each year. For more information on the U.S. Marshals and 15 Most Wanted Fugitive Frederick McLean, go to http://www.usmarshals.gov/.

Baby raper gets 110 yrs!

2009-01-10T08:11:00.005-05:00

Springdale man faces life in prison after child porn conviction

Aug 28, 2008 07:28 PM EDT

Joseph Michael Rector

SPRINGDALE - A 56-year-old Springdale man could be sentenced to life in prison on child porn charges after a federal judge convicted him of six counts of receiving, posessing, and distributing child pornography.

Joseph Michael Rector, owner of Arkansas Home Elevators, was set for a jury trial, but asked the judge to decide his fate, instead. Nearly 200-thousand pictures and 2-thousand videos of sex acts with children ranging from infants to 6-year-olds were found by the FBI in his possession.

Asst. U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner said, "In Scott Ledford's investigation the children in Mr. Rector's collection were as young as infants."

56-year-old Joseph Michael Rector kept an external hard drive full of child porn pictures and videos hidden in his bathroom.

Jenner said, "...when he was not using it he had that kick place floor-molding nailed shut over it, so if you walked into the bathroom as a casual observer you would have no reason to think that there was contraband evidence on an external hard drive hidden in that bathroom."

Neighbors say they rarely saw him and never knew they lived in a neighborhood with that kind of person.

Jenner said, "194,000 still images just individual photos and the other was over 2,000 videos."

Among the thousands of pictures and videos in evidence-what was referred to by prosecutors as his prized possession-an encrypted DVD of Rector molesting a 6-year-old girl. During the trial Jenner told the judge she wouldn't even tell him the name he'd given the video-as the language was too degrading, offensive, and horrifying.

Jenner said, "...it would almost be significant enough that a juror might ask for psychological counseling as a result of having to see these images because they are so horrifying."

Rector was not tried in Arkansas for producing child porn[performing the actual sex acts with the children on video or in pictures]since he allegedly did that in the state of Oklahoma.

Jenner said, "He could be charged and will be charged in Oklahoma for the production of the pictures."

The FBI has reportedly called this case it's biggest child porn bust in Arkansas. Rector backed out of an earlier plea agreement for a 30-year maximum sentence-now he's facing up to life in prison for these six counts of child porn. His sentencing date likely won't be set for several months.

Springdale Man Sentenced To 110 Years On Child Porn Charge
POSTED: 3:50 pm CST January 9, 2009
UPDATED: 4:13 pm CST January 9, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Joseph Michael Rector, 57, of Springdale, was sentenced Friday on charges of producing child pornography, said Deborah Groom, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. Rector appeared in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville where Chief U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren sentenced him to 1,320 months (110 years) in prison. Rector was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and will be on court-ordered supervision for life if he is released from prison.

Rector was convicted on a six count indictment after a trial to the Court on Aug. 27, 2008. The charges centered around an investigation conducted by the FBI when it received information that Rector had shown photographs on his computer that he had taken of a minor female posed in a sexually explicit manner, Groom said.

Police searched Rector’s residence in Springdale, where they found encrypted computer files containing images of a girl younger than the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Groom said.

http://www.4029tv.com/news/18448975/detail.html

Immigration officer busted for having sex with 11 yr old and photographing the acts

2009-01-10T08:03:00.002-05:00

ICE officer indicted on child-porn charge
By Maria Sacchetti
Globe Staff / January 10, 2009

A federal immigration officer was arrested yesterday for allegedly having sex with an 11-year-old child, and photographing the acts, while on official business in Brazil.

Michael Clifford, a 44-year-old immigration agent from Hull, was indicted by a grand jury on a child-pornography charge and ordered held without bail pending a hearing Tuesday. If convicted, he faces 15 to 30 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000.

A woman at Clifford's house in Hull declined to comment.

Clifford, who escorted deported immigrants to their homelands, allegedly picked up the child late at night in March at an outdoor café in Rio de Janeiro, according to the US Attorney's office in Boston. He allegedly returned to his hotel, had sex with the child, and photographed the child involved in sexual acts.

The hotel's security camera showed Clifford entering the hotel with the child late at night and then sending the child out of the hotel the next morning, the US Attorney's office said. The photographs were seized at his home in June. Yesterday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement saying that Clifford was placed on leave after the agency received a complaint last year, and is now suspended without pay. He has worked for the US government for more than 15 years, said spokeswoman Paula Grenier.

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Professional Responsibility in New England are investigating.

Clifford's arrest follows two recent immigration-related investigations in New England.

Last month, Lorraine Henderson, Massachusetts' top federal border official in charge of stemming drug smuggling and illegal immigration, was arrested on charges that she hired illegal immigrants to clean her Salem condominium.

This week, seven workers at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I., were punished in connection with the death of a 34-year-old Chinese immigrant, Hiu Lui Ng, who was held there for 25 days until he died in August of cancer. The facility denied that the actions resulted in his death, but said the employees were disciplined for failing to follow unspecified policies and procedures. US Immigration and Customs has withdrawn all 153 immigrant detainees from the facility and is investigating the death.

Another blonde teacher having sex with a child

2009-01-10T07:57:00.002-05:00

South Shore teacher accused of statutory rape

January 9, 2009 01:50 PM
By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- Police described an Abington elementary school teacher today as an obsessive predator who allegedly seduced a 13-year-old boy and carried on a sexual relationship that lasted for 18 months.

Christine A. McCallum, 29, had become like a surrogate mother to the teen, who was being raised by a single father, prosecutors said today. That relationship allegedly progressed to snuggling and kissing after McCallum plied the boy with alcohol. Then on Feb. 7, 2006, she allegedly had sex with the teen for the first time, said Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Michael Scott.

The boy, who is now 16, told police that over the next 18 months he and McCallum had intercourse every other day for a total of "approximately 300 times," according to a police report filed today in Brockton District Court. She gave him a cell phone so they could communicate, authorities said, and wrote him a series of letters that while not overtly sexual depicted an obsessive woman in the throes of an intimate relationship with a teenager.

"We truly believe that this person was a predator," said Chief David Majenski of the Abington Police Department, speaking at a press conference. "I would hope there are no other victims, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out."

McCallum has been charged with seven counts of statutory rape stemming from seven alleged sexual encounters that investigators said they were able to document. She appeared in Brockton District Court today with her husband of five years, Scott, at her side and pleaded not guilty to the three counts that allegedly occurred at the teen's home in Abington.

McCallum was released on personal recognizance, outfitted with a GPS monitoring device, and ordered to report this afternoon to Hingham District Court, where she was arraigned on the remaining charges. The other four counts of statutory rape allegedly occurred in Rockland, where McCallum lives.

"These are very disturbing allegations, especially when they involve someone who is in a position of public trust within a school," Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said after the brief hearing. "I'm concerned about the victim in this case, I'm concerned about a 13-year-old child because that's what you are when you are 13 -- you are a child."

Defense attorney Frederick McDermott disputed the prosecution's facts and said there was no evidence that his client ever had sex with the teen. McCallum had become like a surrogate mother to the boy, McDermott said, and the relationship never progressed past that point.

McCallum holds a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts, her lawyer said. On her Facebook page, the native of Coventry, RI, says she earned her undergraduate degree from Northeastern University in 2002. McCallum is a 1997 graduate of Coventry High School, said her Facebook page. Her husband is a 1994 graduate of the same school.
McCallum began working for the Abington School District as a tutor and paraprofessional during the 2006 academic year, according to Abington Schools Superintendent Peter G. Schafer.

McCallum was fired on Thursday from her current position as a fifth grade teacher at Woodsdale Elementary School, according to Schafer, who would not discuss the details. The allegations are "of great concern and we will be fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation," Schafer said in a telephone interview. "We do everything humanly possible to create the safest environment for the children."

McCallum met the alleged victim at the Abington Public Library when she began tutoring his younger brother through the school district, prosecutors said today. The alleged victim was never one of McCallum's students.

In the letters that McCallum allegedly wrote to the victim, she pledged her love for him and urged him to keep their relationship secret, according to Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Michael Scott, who read excepts aloud today at her arraignment.

"There's no question I will choose you over this job," McCallum wrote of her teaching position. "That's a very easy decision."

In a message sent to the boy from her MySpace page, McCallum wrote: "It's hard to be in love with you and set boundaries for you. It's hard to kiss you and tell you no."

The boy's father discovered the letters in 2006 and was disturbed but did not think that McCallum and her son had a sexual relationship, according to Chief John Llewellyn of the Rockland Police Department.

"He couldn't comprehend that this person was a predator," Llewellyn said.
The defense, however, disputed that the letters included any evidence of a sexual relationship between McCallum and the boy. McDermott said the letters showed only that she had served as a surrogate mother, a relationship that ended in July 2007. McCallum caught the boy stealing liquor from her home, McDermott said, and when she tried to impose boundaries, they stopped talking.

Recently one of the teen's friends told his mother about the alleged sexual relationship. That mother told the teen's father, who went to police. McCallum was arrested on Thursday.

Edwin Toomey, 12, attended the Center Elementary School in Abington when McCallum worked there.

"I thought she was awesome" Tooney said, who was interviewed with his father's permission. "She was cool, she wasn't like other teachers ... she was kind of, like, young ... she was very pretty."

His father, Robert Toomey, said he also knew McCallum through the school. "She was professional. She had a solid reputation as far as I'm concerned," Robert Toomey said.

Are they Sex Offenders, or just STUPID?

2008-11-20T11:06:00.001-05:00

Dear Friend-

I'm sure everyone had heard in the news of teenagers taking nude pictures of themselves and sending it to other teens. This is starting to be a huge problem. Not only are these teens setting themselves up for embarrassment, but they are risking the chance of thier pictures getting on the internet and into the hands of pedophiles.

Preteens Unknowingly Contribute To Child PornSacramento County Sheriff's Department Finds Images On Sex Offenders' Hard Drives
http://www.kcra.com/news/18019985/detail.html

Not only are they risking becoming victims of child porn, they are also risking becoming sex offenders themselves.

Teens are now being charged with disseminating child pornography, and the reciepients of thier pictures are being threatened with child pornography charges also!

Teen Girl Faced Child Porn Charges for E-Mailing Nude Pictures of Herself to Friends
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/teen-girl-faces.html

These are not just isolated cases...

My question to you is,
Should teens be charged as sex offenders for sending nude pictures of themselves?

I have already spoken with a Senator on this issue, and I am interested in creating a law that specifically deals with this.

Are these kids sexually deviant, or just stupid?

How much of a price should they have to pay for what they have done?

A few thoughts to ponder before you answer:

This law should have gender equality, meaning you cannot treat the boys any different than the girls.

There are victims with this crime!
1) the picture taker is making themselves a victim of child pornography (but is it illegal and punishable to make yourself a victim on purpose)
2) The person who gets the picture has been forced to view "porn" - if they wanted to or not. Could this cause the person to have any emotional damage?

Are these children sex offenders, or should they be charged with a non-sex crime?

What would you like to see done with this law?

Tracy Golden
WASP Ohio
www.waspohio.org
waspsnest@yahoo.com
.
Be Proactive, And Not Reactive !
Women Against Sexual Predators

No faith is exempt from sexual abuse

2008-09-25T13:58:00.001-04:00

Rabbinic Molesters Issue Moving Agudah

David Zwiebel of Agudah says he is closely watching emerging details of proposed sex abuse legislation in the Senate and Assembly.

by Larry Cohler-Esses

The recent rash of cases in which rabbis have allegedly molested young children going back decades has moved one group that usually bristles at government involvement in Orthodox schools to envision shifting its stance.

“Our general sense is that we’re much better off when government leaves us alone,” said David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America for government and public affairs. “But because of the sensitivity of this particular issue, I could see the possibility of our rabbis affirmatively encouraging schools to buy into the system, and even maybe affirmatively encouraging government to impose it on us.”

Zwiebel was speaking specifically about a new law that will, for the first time, allow non-public schools to voluntarily take part in a program to
fingerprint school employees for use in criminal background checks.

But for Agudah, an umbrella organization of ultra-traditional Orthodox groups that seek a degree of insulation from the secular world, it was a striking statement.

To be sure, Agudah contemplates no welcome mat for a mandatory government fingerprint program just yet. That would be “quite premature,” said Zwiebel. Agudah, he said, wants first to see how the state implements the voluntary law.

But in an interview with The Jewish Week, Zwiebel, with whose organization many in Albany check first on legislation involving the Orthodox community, appeared to offer a wary road map to supporting greater oversight by the government on issues relating to sexual molestation of children.

The pressure for increased government involvement has been building for years. It began with the shocking emergence earlier this decade of Catholic priests who, it turned out, had molested children under their care for decades, and had often been protected by their Church superiors.

More recently, credible allegations have emerged here in New York against a small number of yeshiva rabbis said to have also sexually abused their students over several decades. The alleged victims — often now adults — have also charged that the yeshivas and rabbinic supervisors were informed about their teachers’ conduct but did nothing, or even protected them.

Now, state Assembly Member Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who has become deeply involved in this issue, speaks of hearing “hundreds” of reports of rabbinic sexual abuse — reports that appear to him to be credible. This week, speaking at a conference on this controversy, Hikind for the first time numbered these reports in the “thousands.”

Slowly, and somewhat erratically, the state legislature has begun to take up the question of legal reforms to address this situation. The fingerprinting law passed last year will permit non-public schools to voluntarily take part in a program that is already mandatory for all public schools.

But some lawmakers hope to go further next year, with legislation to make non-public school participation mandatory. They also want to pass a bill that would make clergy and non-public school officials “mandated reporters” — individuals required by law to report to the authorities any information or evidence they receive that a child has been abused or molested in a school setting. Public school officials are already required to do so, thanks to an education law passed in 2000 that excluded the private school sector.

Another bill, now stalled by differences between the Assembly and Senate, would extend the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of molesters and for civil suits to be filed against them. Presently, prosecutors cannot go after a child molester once the child in question reaches age 23. And a child victim of sexual molestation must sue his molester — or a school that fails in its duty to protect him — for civil damages by between one and six years after he turns 18, depending on the nature of the allegation. But experts say child victims can take many years, or even decades, after they reach adulthood to process what was done to them and act on it.

Agudath Israel does not oppose any of these measures in principle, Zwiebel said. But God is in the details. And one red flag for the group is disparate treatment.

“It’s never been our position that non-public schools should be treated differently than public schools,” when it comes to protecting children, he said. “But our position is that they should not be singled out.”

This led Agudath Israel to vigorously oppose a 2003 proposal that would have required members of the clergy and certain categories of religious educators and administrators to go to the authorities with any information they had received about child abuse by other clergy over the last 20 years.

Inspired by the continuing revelations coming from the Catholic Church, the bill singled out the duty of these religious workers to report on their colleagues — but not on sexual abuse from other sources.

In a memo then to leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, Zwiebel denounced the legislation as “patently unconstitutional” for its “apparent assumption that religious functionaries, more than any other element of society, are inherently suspect — and should therefore be subject to special legal scrutiny and reporting requirements — regarding allegations of child abuse.”

Since then, critics have frequently denounced Agudath Israel’s stand as obstructionist and cited its opposition to this bill as evidence of an intent to shield rabbinic abusers. Condemnations on the Internet against the group have been especially angry and intense.

But Zwiebel said that if the Legislature were to introduce a bill that simply included non-public school officials in the duty to report evidence of abuse of students in a school setting, as public school officials already must do, “At a minimum, I am pretty certain we’d advise our friends in the Legislature we don’t oppose this.”

As for efforts to expand the statute of limitations, whether criminally or civilly, “I don’t imagine we’ll oppose any of that” either, Zwiebel said. “Whether we would affirmatively push it, I can’t answer.”

Indeed, legislation on this appears to be stuck between the State Senate and the Assembly. And according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County), it is opposition from the Catholic Church and the insurance industry that is playing a role.

The Assembly’s bill would significantly extend both the criminal and civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse going into the future. But the Democratic-dominated Assembly is determined to also give those now beyond the civil statute of limitations a key back into the courts. Its bill would establish a one-year “window” for adults with allegations of childhood abuse to file suit, regardless of when the abuse took place.

Skelos’ spokesperson voiced concern about this provision, citing the potential difficulties of obtaining evidence in very old cases. The Senate, he noted, has passed three different bills to eliminate or extend the criminal statute of limitation. But it has refused to pass the Assembly’s bill. The Assembly, in turn, has held fast against the Senate’s bill.

Meanwhile, the regulations have yet to be published for implementing the law passed last year that would allow non-public schools to opt in on fingerprinting and criminal background checks of its staff.

Zwiebel made clear that Agudah’s willingness to accept a bill to make this mandatory for non-public schools will depend on how the voluntary program goes.

One regulation under consideration, he related, would institute a “roach motel” principle: Once a school chooses to opt in, it will not be allowed to opt out.

“I’m troubled by that,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like wise public policy.”
Another proposed rule would mandate that a school opting into the system must require every employee to be fingerprinted, without exception.

“I don’t understand that part of it,” he said. “It would allow us no discretion to [exempt], say, certain veterans about whom there have never been any questions from a criminal background check.”

Still, he said, “I’m not necessarily implying those two rules would push us away. I’d like to know exactly what the details are.”

In many cases, Zwiebel said, Agudah’s views have been misrepresented. He pointed, among other things, to an error in a recent Jewish Week story — since acknowledged — that stated the group opposed a mandatory fingerprinting law and another to make yeshiva officials mandated reporters.

But referring to disturbing exposes that have appeared in this paper and elsewhere, he said, “Some of the anguish and pain that has come in the last few years, though uncomfortable, promotes consciousness of a problem that’s been in the shadows. So, though our views have been misrepresented, I can’t say [the critics] are bad people. They obviously care a lot about this issue.”

Hella Winston contributed to this story.

Prisoners proud they beat child molestor to death

2008-09-25T13:43:00.001-04:00

Prosecutor: Accused Jailhouse Killers 'Proud Of What They Did'
Defense: Accused Were Looking To Intimidate, Not Maim Inmate

INDIO, Calif. -- Lawyers representing four of five men charged in the killing of a fellow inmate told an Indio jury Wednesday that their clients did not intend to kill the convicted child molester, but wanted to intimidate him into seeking protective custody to get him moved.

But prosecutor Anthony Orlando disputed the defense version of what happened at Chuckawalla State Prison near Blythe on June 21, 2005, saying two of the defendants beat Michael Green so savagely that he never regained consciousness, and all five were in on the plan and "proud of what they did."

Security was tight as the trial got under way at the Larson Justice Center for Robert James Deffenbaugh, 27, Frank George Barbosa, 55, Jack Stewart Woller, 23, Reggie Allan Bullock, Jr., 25, and Johnnie Dalerae Johnson, 29.

Nine sheriff's deputies positioned throughout the courtroom of Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan.

Green suffered severe head trauma when beaten in a bathroom in the C Yard, 7 building, according to court documents. He was transported to Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe and then moved to the critical care unit at a UC San Diego hospital, where he remained unresponsive.

The 45-year-old Los Angeles man's family made the decision to take him off life support systems several days later.

The prosecutor told jurors that many offenses are accepted by the general prison population, but convicted child molesters are "in trouble."

Orlando said it's routine for prisoners to ask a new inmate for "paperwork" when they arrive in the yard, which he said Deffenbaugh and Woller did to the victim.

Green told them he did not have his papers, but information that he was in custody on a child molestation conviction was passed on to Barbosa, the "shot- caller," who then ordered Bullock and Johnson to "take him out," the prosecutor alleged.

That night after "last count," Bullock and Johnson followed Green into the bathroom and savagely beat him, Orlando alleged.

Bullock's attorney, Melanie Roe, said the case is not "black and white" and has two parts -- the assault, and what she contended was delayed -- and lacking -- medical care to Green.

"There are no eyewitnesses to this incident, and stories vary," Roe said in her opening statement.

She told jurors that "evidence will show no person charged intended to kill him (Green)." Instead, the intention was to get him moved to another facility to finish out his sentence, she said.

John Patrick Dolan, who is defending Woller, said his client was on hand when Green was approached and asked for "paperwork." Woller was silent or "maybe said a few words as he stood around," the attorney said.

Dolan said his client, who is doing time for a car theft conviction and had been due to be paroled in a few months, did nothing wrong. He was following an "honor among thieves or a code of honor," where inmates ask for paperwork to determine the bottom order -- child molesters and rapists, the lawyer said.

"The intention of asking (is) to get them ... to ask for protective custody," which would remove them from interacting with prisoners who consider child molesters the lowest type of criminal, Dolan said.

James Silva, who is representing Barbosa, denied his client was the "shot caller," as alleged by the prosecution.

"Barbosa is not guilty of conspiracy with any of these individuals," Silva told jurors. "He did not give the order to assault Green."

Johnson's attorney, Cameron Quinn, said his client was a "short- timer" who, at the time of the attack, was soon to be released.

"It did not make sense for his to subject himself to this," Quinn said.
The attorney told jurors that placing a child molester in the general prison population tends to "stir things up."

Quinn said the term used by inmates is to "roll up" someone they want moved -- but that means to "rough up ... beat someone up to get him out, and not to kill them."

Deffenbaugh's attorney did not make an opening statement.

The trial, which is expected to last five or six weeks, is in recess until Monday, when testimony is scheduled to begin.

Child Molestors Referee Pennsylvania school games

2008-09-25T13:37:00.001-04:00

Push on for refs' scrutiny
3rd bill introduced to alter PIAA rules
Thursday, September 25, 2008
By Bill Moushey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Another legislative bill intent on forcing registered PIAA athletic officials to undergo criminal background checks was introduced yesterday in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in Harrisburg. It is the third to be introduced this week.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, citing recent Post-Gazette reports that showed child pornographers, molesters and other criminals continued to officiate games despite convictions, introduced a bill with more than 50 bipartisan co-sponsors requiring background checks on all officials who participate in sporting events on school property.

"We must protect our children from child predators in Pennsylvania," DeLuca said.

His bill will be sent to the House Education Committee.

Brad Cashman, executive director of the PIAA, has said existing checks and balances over officials and their criminal records are adequate, stating the newspaper reports identified less than 1 percent of all WPIAL officials as having criminal records. He had no comment on DeLuca's filing yesterday.

"I don't care if it was half a percent, all you need is a couple of kids to be harmed, you can't make up for the devastation they'd go through the rest of their lives. If one person gets harmed because there is no oversight, it would be horrible," DeLuca said.

The PIAA will consider instituting background checks at its October meeting.

Chester the Molestor banned from Indiana parks

2008-09-25T13:33:00.001-04:00

Ban on molesters in parks is upheld
Ruling in Plainfield's case considered key for Indiana communities with similar rules

By Bruce C. Smith
Posted: September 25, 2008

Plainfield won a key court decision Wednesday in the fight over banning sex offenders from parks, a case closely watched by other Indiana cities and towns with similar bans.

Although courts struck down an Indianapolis ban two years ago, Plainfield's ordinance is the latest in a series of narrower measures to survive court challenges. Lafayette and Michigan City enacted bans against individual sex offenders that have withstood court review.

Greenwood enacted a ban similar to Plainfield's two years ago, and a suit over the constitutionality of that ordinance has been on hold pending the outcome of the Plainfield case. Another suit is pending concerning a ban in Jeffersonville.

The Indianapolis ordinance prohibited convicted sex offenders within 1,000 feet of a park or school. A federal judge found the ordinance overly broad, noting there were few places in the city that were not within 1,000 feet of a park, a school, a playground or other children's gathering spot.

Indianapolis officials chose not to appeal the ruling, and the City-County Council has not discussed trying to draw up a new version that might survive in the courts.

On Wednesday, the appeals court, in a unanimous ruling, said that while Plainfield's ban does have a punitive aspect, the ordinance did not violate guarantees to the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness under the Indiana Constitution. The ruling upholds a March decision by Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert Freese in favor of Plainfield.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed suit in November 2005 on behalf of a Marion County man identified only as John Doe, claiming Plainfield's ordinance was unconstitutional on several grounds.

The ACLU had argued that enjoyment of the parks is a core value under the Indiana Constitution, and that banishment from the parks is a second punishment for a crime.

"Obviously we're disappointed because we felt this ordinance is impinging on constitutional rights," said ACLU Legal Director Kenneth J. Falk.
A decision on whether to appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court will be made within a few days, he said.

Town officials praised the ruling.

"We're pleased with the outcome and a 3-0 vote by the court," said Plainfield Town Attorney Mel Daniel. "We all know how very important the parks are in Plainfield, and how adamant the town is to keep them clean and safe for the kids."

Under Plainfield's ordinance, people listed publicly on the state registry of sex offenders are prohibited from going into town parks and recreational areas. People with convictions for such crimes as rape, child molesting and incest must register with the state.

The man identified as John Doe is a convicted sex offender who was released from probation in August 2004. According to the lawsuit, Doe and his son visited Plainfield parks until June 2005, when a policeman recognized him and knew he was on the state registry of sex offenders.
He told Doe the town ordinance bans anyone on the state's online registry of convicted sex offenders from being in the parks.

Doe sued Plainfield, setting off three years of twists and turns in the legal case. In one key development, Doe won a court ruling to keep his identity secret in the legal proceeding, even though he is listed publicly on the sex offender registry.

Pennsylvania man busted for child porn

2008-09-25T13:24:00.002-04:00

Lower Pottsgrove man pleads guilty to child porn charges

By Carl Hessler Jr., chessler@pottsmerc.com
09/25/2008

NORRISTOWN — A Lower Pottsgrove man has admitted to possessing child pornographic images on his home computer.

Mark A. Neiva, 33, who listed an address in the 1300 block of Walnut Ridge, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of sexual abuse of children, possessing child pornography, in connection with a November 2007 incident.

President Judge Richard J. Hodgson deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Neiva. The judge will use that report to assist him in sentencing Neiva later this year.

Neiva faces a possible maximum sentence of 3 ½ to seven years in prison on the charge.

Neiva also must undergo an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if he meets criteria under Megan's Law to be declared a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions under Megan's Law, including a lifetime requirement to report their addresses to state police and mandatory counseling.

Neiva remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing.

An investigation of Neiva began in November 2007 when a woman who shared access to Neiva's laptop computer reported to Lower Pottsgrove police that she and a friend discovered inappropriate images of female children on the computer, according to a criminal complaint.

Township detectives turned the computer over to members of Montgomery County's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who conducted a forensic examination of the computer. Detectives discovered numerous images of child erotica and child pornography on the computer, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Lower Pottsgrove Detective Sergeant Michael Foltz.

When detectives searched Neiva's home, they seized compact disks that contained additional images of child pornography, court documents alleged.

Under state law, by pleading guilty to the charge, Neiva admitted that he possessed or controlled computer images that depicted a child under 18 years engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such act.

Man breaks in PA. home and assaults teen, also charged for assault on 6yr old.

2008-09-17T11:48:00.001-04:00

Milton man faces new sexual assault charges

MILTON — A Milton man charged with allegedly taking sexually explicit photos of a 16-year-old girl now faces charges that claim he also assaulted a 6-year-old girl.

On Thursday, police withdrew charges against Thomas B. Flynn, of 362 Wall St., and filed a new array of charges.

Flynn was arraigned before District Judge William Kear of Milton on charges of photographing a sexual act with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, burglary, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by force and indecent assault of a child younger than 13.

Kear reportedly raised Flynn’s original bail from $75,000 to $150,000 and placed him in Northumberland County Prison, Sunbury.

Police were called to Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, on Sunday where the 16-year-old was being treated.

Flynn allegedly entered her home at around 3 a.m. Sunday and took photos using a cell phone camera of the 16-year-old while she pretended to be sleeping. The girl reportedly told police Flynn allegedly pulled down her pajama bottoms as he took photos. Police said they found the photos saved on his camera.

After filing the initial charges against Flynn, police later discovered he allegedly assaulted the 6-year-old by placing one of his hands in her pajama bottoms.

A preliminary hearing has been set for March 6.

Man busted for downloading child porn in a fire station

2008-09-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

Milton man faces child pornography charges

MILTON — A Milton man accused of having 10 pornographic images of children and nine videos on his laptop computer was arraigned Monday before District Judge William Kear.

Thomas A. Dreistadt, 21, was charged with nine felony counts of sexual abuse of children and nine felony counts of possession of child pornography.

Dreistadt was stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard in California when the charges were pressed. He was detained and held by U.S. marshals before being transported back to Pennsylvania.

According to reports, police were tipped off that Dreistadt was downloading child pornography using the wireless Internet service at the Milton Fire Department.

Police subsequently seized Dreistadt’s laptop and allegedly found images identified as child pornography.

The Milton man reportedly lived at the fire station for a brief time.

Early reports from the arraignment indicate Dreistadt is maintaining innocence and claiming someone else must have used the computer to download the illegal images.

Dreistadt was locked up in lieu of $25,000 bail. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 2.

50 yr old Texan busted for child porn

2008-09-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

Greenville man convicted of child pornography charges

12:10 PM Tue, Sep 16, 2008

A 50-year-old Greenville man has been convicted of possessing child pornography and faces up to 30 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney's office said today.

Steve Kelby Samples, 50, was charged with transporting, shipping and possessing child pornography after an undercover FBI agent downloaded child porn images from Mr. Samples' computer in September 2006, said Kathy Colvin, of the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas. In January of last year, federal agents seized a computer containing child pornography from Mr. Samples' Greenville residence, Ms. Colvin said.

Mr. Samples pled guilty to the possession charge last month and was convicted last week on the other charges, Ms. Colvin said.

In addition to prison time, Mr. Samples could face up to a $500,000 fine at his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 18 before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

Authorities said the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national program intended to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Monk in Hong Kong busted for child porn

2008-09-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

Monk gets 8 months for stash of child porn

A Buddhist monk who was caught in a British internet sting was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for possessing child pornography.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008A Buddhist monk who was caught in a British internet sting was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for possessing child pornography.

In jailing Chow Yee-cheong, 41, Deputy District Court Judge John Glass ruled the offense was serious and that the sexual exploitation of children was a global problem that had to be stamped out.

The judge rejected a submission by defense lawyer Herbert Leung Yiu-fai that Chow, who lived at the Chuk Lam Sim Yuen monastery in Tsuen Wan, had purchased the materials to satisfy his sexual needs and was remorseful and ashamed at what he had done.

A psychiatric report indicated Chow was not suffering from any psychological disorder, but recommended he should get counseling.

Leung said the Malaysian-born monk, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1993, was aware that his offense contradicted his religious beliefs, and that he would be expelled from the monastery.

Leung said no level-five - the most serious - material was found among the two optical discs Chow bought in Malaysia, or the 17 videos and 85 photos he downloaded from a commercial child abuse website. The total length of the video clips and optical discs was nearly seven hours. Glass accepted that most of the material was not explicit, and did not include violence. But he rejected Chow's claim he bought the pornography out of curiosity and had only viewed it once.

Glass said the children depicted in the videos and photos were very young and may have suffered some physical harm during the production.

Although Chow did not share, produce or reproduce the child pornography, he indirectly encouraged the exploitation of children by paying for the material, the judge said.

Glass said neither a community service order nor probation was appropriate, but after taking into consideration Chow's previously clear record and his guilty plea, he decided on an eight-month term.

Chow, who holds a master's degree in philosophy, was the first in Hong Kong to be prosecuted in an anti- child sex abuse operation triggered by a British police crackdown on a commercial child pornography website last year.

Local police, acting on intelligence from Interpol, raided Chow's room in the monastery on May 7.

Couple molests and tapes children as young as three months old

2008-09-17T11:29:00.004-04:00

Pa. jury weighs "excruciating" child-porn case
By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 09/16/2008 04:41:13 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA—A federal jury began deliberating the case of a man charged with producing thousands of images of himself sexually abusing children, including three infants, one just three months old.

John Jackey Worman, 41, of Colwyn had cameras mounted in the bathroom of a friend who baby-sat children in her Philadelphia-area rowhouse, prosecutors said.

The jury viewed what authorities called "excruciating" evidence for more than a week before starting their deliberations late Tuesday. Worman is charged with 51 counts of producing and possessing child pornography.
"It's excruciating to have to look at it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella told jurors, some of whom had looked away from their monitors during the trial. Worman had no such revulsion, she said.

"This defendant was riveted. He couldn't take his eyes off it," Rotella said.
Worman's lawyer, Mark Cedrone, told jurors Tuesday that they may hate his client, but still had a duty to see if the government proved its case on each charge.

Worman made the bathroom videotapes over a three-year period between 2003 and 2006, capturing children as they undressed and showered at baby sitter Concetta Jackson's home in Collingdale. Jackson, who pleaded guilty before trial, knew about the camera and assisted Worman with the filming, authorities said.

Worman sexually abused eight other children from 1997 through 2006, including five forced to engage in sex acts that were also videotaped and saved in Worman's computer, the January 1997 indictment charged.
Police recovered more than 1 million images from Worman's computer, they said.

Co-defendant Dorothy Prawdzik of Drexel Hill posed children in front of the hidden video cameras, prosecutors said. The jury will deliberate her case after reaching a verdict on the Worman counts.

Worman has been in custody since February 2006.

Florida Man Busted For Child Porn

2008-09-17T11:22:00.001-04:00

Largo man charged in child porn investigation

Tallahassee, Florida -- A Largo man has been arrested in a child porn investigation conducted by the state's CyberCrime unit, Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Tuesday.

Christopher Bobo, 24, is charged with four counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child, and is jailed in lieu of $40,000 bond.

McCollum said investigators traced known images of child pornography to Bobo's home computer, which was seized for further examination. He said Bobo admitted to knowingly downloading the images, including videos of apparent prepubescent children.

If convicted, Bobo could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each of the felony charges. Additional charges are pending, McCollum said.
FL Attorney General's Office

Only 10 yrs for Iowa man who recorded minors in sex acts

2008-09-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

Davenport man gets max child porn sentence
Associated Press
8:19 PM CDT, September 16, 2008

DAVENPORT, Iowa - A federal judge has sentenced a Davenport man to the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on a child pornography charge. In addition, 55-year-old Donald Colbert was ordered to be on supervised release for the rest of his life and to register as a sex offender.

Prosecutors say Colbert was arrested in June 2006 and pleaded guilty the following May. The district court noted that Colbert caused a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction.

It said he was eligible for sentencing enhancements based on the fact the offense involved images of minors between 12 and 16 years old, that he possessed of images that portrayed violence and that he used a computer for the offense.

The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Iowa says the case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Child initiative.

Child rapist only gets 30 yrs.

2008-09-17T11:12:00.001-04:00

September 17, 2008

Man gets 30 years on child-porn charges

A Mason County man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- A Mason County man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Clyde H. Hall Jr., 37, of Point Pleasant, pleaded guilty in May, admitting that he took over 20 sexually explicit photographs of multiple children between 2004 and 2006, the news release states.

At the sentencing hearing, evidence was introduced that Hall had sexually assaulted at least three underage girls in Mason and Jackson counties, two while he was on probation from a state conviction on wanton endangerment charges, the release states.

U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. gave Hall the maximum sentence allowed. Hall will also be on supervised release for life if he is ever released from prison.

Copenhaver ordered Hall to pay roughly $27,000 in restitution to pay for counseling for the victims, according to the release.

2008-09-17T10:57:00.000-04:00

Congress Considers Child Exploitation Act

Congress considers a bill that would change the way police pursue suspected child molesters. The proposal gained national attention on the Oprah Winfrey show.

We hear from those who work locally with victims and investigate the offenders, and we want to warn you, some of this information is graphic.

Hundreds of children in the Big Sandy region are examined for signs of sexual abuse each year. National researchers say 80 percent of people with child pornography have images of children being raped, and 21 percent have images of children gagged or tied up during sadistic sex.

Laura Kretzer, Executive Director of the Big Sandy Children's Advocacy Center, says, "Yes, there are severe reports of child sexual abuse in our region. Last year we saw approximately 200 children."

Workers at the Big Sandy Children's Advocacy Center and state police are often overwhelmed with caseloads. Investigators handled more than 700 cases since 2006 in the Big Sandy area alone. Some take a year to go to court.

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer Mike Goble says, "They're tough to get prosecuted, due to the fact that a lot of times there's a lack of evidence, and pretty much you only have the victim's word."

U.S. Senate Bill 1738 aims to change that by increasing police authority to investigate internet crimes against children, among other measures. The idea is that going after child porn collectors will lead police to those actually molesting children.

David Keith, Hollywood actor and board member for the National Association to Protect Children, says, "It makes it a slam dunk case. You basically have a hard drive full of child porn, and you don't have a fragile little child on the stand who has to point her finger at, you know, Uncle Joe."

The legislation would cost more than half a billion dollars, but supporters say you can't put a price tag on a healthy childhood.

Texas mom busted for selling sex with her 5yr old.

2008-08-30T13:02:00.001-04:00

No bond for mother accused of trying to sell girl
By MICHELLE ROBERTS – 3 days ago

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A mother accused of trying to prostitute her young daughters cried in court Tuesday as a magistrate ordered that she be held without bond.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Stein Nowak concluded that 25-year-old Jennifer Richards, who moved to San Antonio from Phoenix nine months ago, was a flight risk and is likely to be convicted.
"It's about as dangerous as it can get when a mother sets up her own child for this," said Nowak in finding that Richards should remain in custody.
The waitress with shoulder-length blond hair sat with her shoulders hunched and began to cry.
Richards is charged with using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, a charge that carries as many as five years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Braun said other charges could be added.
Clare Koontz, Richards' attorney, said the Internet exchanges about child pornography and sexual assault were just chat room discussions.
"All of this is fantasy. It was chat room stuff," Koontz said in court. "This was a fantasy response to Mr. Block, not actual conduct."
FBI agent Rex Miller testified that Richards offered to allow her 5-year-old daughter to be molested in exchange for a car, an apartment and money for day care for her 10-month-old daughter. Richards also planned to use the baby for child pornography when she got older, the agent said.
She allegedly took the girls to meet an informant she thought was a child molester and accepted $300 on the promise that they would meet again. Richards was taken into custody a short time later.
Authorities say neither girl was sold for sex and are no longer in Richards' custody.
He said Internet chat logs also recorded her and her boyfriend, 40-year-old Sean Michael Block, making plans to use the girls to create child pornography. Block, who allegedly offered the girl to the informant through a text message, was ordered held without bond Friday; he faces a charge of distribution of child pornography.
Miller also described chat logs in which Richards and Block allegedly talked about luring a teenage girl from a bus station or night club to sexually assault her and cut her face.
"Many of the stories were instigated by Ms. Richards," Miller said.

KY Gov. grants pardon to child rapist!!

2008-08-30T12:54:00.001-04:00

Governor grants partial pardon to Lexington child molester

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Gov. Steve Beshear has restored some civil rights to a Lexington man convicted of child molestation.

Beshear gave back the right to vote and to hold office to Ron Berry, who served three years in prison after being convicted in 2002 on 12 counts of sodomy involving teenage boys.
Berry, 64, formerly headed Lexington's Micro-City Government youth program, which is now defunct.
Jay Blanton, Beshear's spokesman, said Berry's application for a partial pardon was sent to Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, who prosecuted the case. He said the governor's office received no objections.
Larson said he didn't object to it because he didn't see it.
"We object to people who kill people and people who are sex offenders," Larson said. "And I just obviously didn't see it."
Blanton said the governor had refused to restore the civil rights of felons in each of the 56 instances when prosecutors have objected. Attorney Gayle Slaughter, who represents several people who accused Berry of molesting them, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that she doesn't mind Berry being allowed to vote but was surprised the governor would let him hold office.
"I guess it is good to know which side of the fence the governor is on in this battle against this scourge on society," Slaughter said.
Blanton said the governor routinely approves the partial restoration of civil rights if applicants have served their sentence, paid restitution and have no further charges against them. Blanton said allowing Berry to vote gives him the right to run for office.
A full pardon would have restored all of his civil rights, including the right to carry a firearm and sit on a jury, and would have wiped away his convictions.
"We apply the same standard for everyone," Blanton said.
The partial pardon was signed Aug. 20 and filed Wednesday in Fayette County court.

Couple busted for years of sexual abuse to children

2008-08-30T12:24:00.003-04:00

North Middleton Township

North Middleton couple charged with sexually abusing children

By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter, August 28, 2008

Last updated: Friday, August 29, 2008 7:36 AM

EDTA former North Middleton Township couple was arrested Wednesday on charges that they had sexually abused children over a six-year time span, according to North Middleton Township police.Renee Lamason, 27, now of the Betty Nelson Trailer Court, Lower Frankford Township, was taken into custody about 10:30 p.m. at her home, police said, and her husband, Scott Lamason, 28, formerly of the Betty Nelson Trailer Court, was taken into custody about 7 p.m. by police near Bessemer, N.C.The investigation that sparked the arrests began on March 3, police said, when a child said the Lamasons engaged in sexual contact with him and a female child. The abuse is believed to have begun around August 2001, when the family lived in the first block of Evandale Court in North Middleton Township, police said, and ended in Sept. 2007, after the children were placed into foster care by Cumberland County Children and Youth Services.Scott Lamason, who is expected to be extradited back to Cumberland County soon, faces charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and unlawful contact with a minor, police said.Renee Lamason is being held without bail in Cumberland County Prison on charges of attempted rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, incest, endangering the welfare of children and unlawful contact with a minor, police said.
Her preliminary hearing before Cumberland County Magisterial District Judge Paula Correal has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 4, court personnel said, and she has applied to be represented by a public defender.

Can you believe that these sick freaks are smiling? They must be proud of thier abuse. This is exactly what the registry is for, to warn parents of sick pedophiles like them. Hopefully now they will never hurt another child.

Vermont needs more money to fight sexual predators

2008-08-30T12:22:00.001-04:00

More Resources Needed To Investigate Sex Crimes

Vermont's Senate Committee on Judiciary meets Friday to investigate further and discuss how the state handles sex offenders. The committee heard from the director of the Vermont State Police, Col. James Baker, and Detective Sgt. Ingrid Jonas. Also it heard from Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling and Sheriff Roger Marcoux, president of the Vermont Sheriffs' Association.
More Resources Needed to Investigate Sex Crimes
Baker said Vermont State Police are ready to take the lead on the issue of protecting communities from sex crimes. But he said the roles of state police need to be redefined, as he's publicly said before.
Sheriff Roger Marcoux said he will advocate that the sheriff's departments are a partner in the reorganization of state police if it happens.
Col. Baker said he would like to see state police and probation bridge their roles. For instance, he said in the special investigation units, specialized probation officers would work along with investigators.
He said in preparation for additional special investigation units around the state, Jonas, their expert in the area of child sexual abuse and domestic violence against women, will work full-time at headquarters to lay the blueprint. She emphasized the need for well-trained investigators who are skilled at interviewing children.
He said the additional special investigation units needed across the state should be like the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, but essentially on steroids.
Burlington's police chief has an extensive background in child exploitation and computer and Internet investigations. Schirling said the state needs to recognize sex offenders are a completely different animal than other criminals. "As we talk about crime prevention, response to crime, really two completely separate approaches are needed. I don't think Vermont as a whole has evolved to address those two things separately. We still deal with criminals, or people committing criminal acts, in one big bucket, versus, specialized individual buckets, with a few exceptions."
He said the Internet plays a huge role in sex offenders' manipulative ways of doing business. He said sex offenders are constantly finding ways to beat and manipulate the system. He added that seemingly unrelated crimes like a robbery can be related to an addiction, for example, of finding young boys on the Internet.
Baker added that violent sexual predators need to be supervised to the point where they worry about when they will be checked next. He said "mail covers," meaning permission to check someone's electronic and paper mail routinely, without warning, need to be done.
"We live in a different world today. The way sexual predators groom their victims is much different than it used to be," said Baker.

Sex offenders locked in the looney bin may lose the ability to get government grants for education

2008-08-05T11:18:00.002-04:00

Sex Offenders May Lose Pell Grant Eligibility Under Revised Higher Education Act

Published 04 August 08 04:49 PM Student Loan Girl

Starting July 1, 2009, sex offenders confined in treatment centers throughout the country may no longer be eligible to receive need-based federal Pell Grants, under a new provision of the reauthorized Higher Education Act, according to an article in the Associated Press (“Congress Cuts Off College Aid For Sex Offenders,” Aug. 4, 2008).

President Bush has yet to sign the act into law, but after the act passed through Congress July 31, Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., said, “Today, the most insane wasteful spending program in America comes to an end.”

Keller cited an AP article from March that revealed dozens of rapists and child molesters had taken higher education classes at taxpayers’ expense while confined to treatment centers after serving their prison sentences.

Some prisoners were using the financial aid to buy clothes, DVD players, and music CDs even after they had dropped their classes in some cases.

While the U.S. Department of Education does not know exactly how many sex offenders receive Pell Grants, spokeswoman Stephanie Babyak predicted that making sex offenders ineligible for the aid would save taxpayers millions.

Critics say the new measure may rule out a higher education for sex offenders who are trying to rehabilitate themselves. Instead of cutting off grant aid to all sex offenders, Congress should better regulate how it administers the program in order to help prevent abuses, said Michael Macleod-Ball, chief legislative and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The grant aid provision would affect the 20 states that allow violent sex offenders — those who it is believed would likely repeat their crimes if they were to be released — to be held indefinitely in treatment facilities after they have served their prison sentences. Prison inmates have been ineligible for Pell Grants since 1994, but sexual offenders can qualify for the grants once they are transferred from prison to treatment centers.

Yeah, like these crazy violent sex offenders are gonna use thier "education" to get them a good job after they get out of the nut house. I don't know of any "good jobs" that are going to hire a felon who has been in the nut house, do you?

Sex Offender busted again in MO.

2008-08-05T10:41:00.002-04:00

Monroe City man arrested after selling computer filled with child pornography

KIRKSVILLE — A Monroe City man has been charged in Adair County after his girlfriend sold his computer containing several hundred pornographic images of children.

Joseph M. Ketsenburg, 31, is currently in custody at the Adair County Detention Center on a charge of possession of child pornography.

He was arrested over the weekend after his former girlfriend, April Bass, told Kirksville police she sold Ketensburg’s computer and a flash drive to her stepfather, Ernest Gotham on July 20. Ketensburg gave Bass the computer to sell to repay money he owed her.

According to a probable cause statement filed, eight days after Bass sold the computer, Ketensburg went to her residence and asked for it and the flash drive, stating “there were things on them that would put him in prison for life.”

He asked her to mail them to him or burn them when she recovered them.

When Bass relayed this conversation to her stepfather, he observed numerous pornographic images on the computer, some including children.

Gotham then turned over the computer and flash drives to police, and officers observed hundreds of images of Ketsenburg and children ranging in ages from 5 to 14 years in various sexual engagements and positions.

According to the probable cause statement, a check of Ketsenburg’s criminal history indicated a prior conviction for statutory rape and statutory sodomy.

He was also charged July 17 in Circuit Court on felony charges of domestic assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment. He was released July 24 on his recognizance.

What this article leaves is questions. Was he charged with assault on his girlfriend, what did he do to that child that he was charged for endangering her welfare, and who did he falsly imprision. Also in the photos found on his computer were they pictures of him WITH the children, or pictures of him and pictures of children?

This guy is definately an idiot. He beats up his girlfriend then gives he a computer that he has child porn on and expects her not to turn his sorry butt in? DUHHHHH!

Teachers aid busted for child porn

2008-08-05T10:35:00.002-04:00

Teacher’s aide indicted on child porn charges

By JOHN SIEVERS Contributing Writer
Published: Monday, August 4, 2008 2:26 PM EDT

LEBANON ‑ A local man was indicted last Thursday, July 31, by a Hunterdon County grand jury on charges that he allegedly had images of child pornography on his home computer.

The man, James Leonarczyk, 39, had been working as a teacher’s aide at Phillipsburg Middle School in Phillipsburg after clearing a criminal background check in 2004.

The indictment charges Leonarczyk with second and fourth degree counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
WTF is this???? Where is the child porn charges? Does this mean the perv doesn't have to register?

He is accused of distributing child pornography between August 2006 and July 2007.

Leonarczyk is also accused of knowingly possessing or viewing child pornography between August 2006 and April 2008, according to the indictment.

Authorities began investigating Leonarczyk last year after getting a tip from the Rhode Island State Police that he might have received child pornography from someone who had been charged with possessing illegal pornographic materials.

Authorities said they had learned through their investigation that Leonarczyk had been involved with another person who had child pornography in Gloucester County, who was also charged.

Using computer forensic technology, investigators were able to gather enough evidence to execute a search warrant.

Leonarczyk was arrested last Nov. 9. Investigators seized several computers in a search of his home, and images of child pornography were found on the computers, according to authorities.

Cleared Background Check
Any school employee must undergo a criminal background check, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Education.
Certain crimes disqualify employment at a school system, according to the spokesman, who was interviewed at the time of Leonarczyk’s arrest last November.
The school district suspended Leonarczyk after his arrest. Last Friday, a spokesperson for the Phillipsburg School District would not comment on Leonarczyk’s status, saying that it was not the district’s policy to comment on personnel matters.

Indiana man busted with over 5000 images of child porn

2008-08-05T10:28:00.002-04:00

Local man held on child porn charges

A Jackson Township resident has been charged after a compact disc which police said contained images of child pornography was found at his former residence in the Spring Valley Shelter in Valparaiso, the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.

Michael T. McGinley, 38, of 975N 250E, has been charged with five counts of child exploitation, a Class C felony punishable by a term of two to eight years; and five counts of possession of child pornography, a Class D felony punishable by a term of six months to three years.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Lt. John Ross of the Valparaiso Police Department, on June 26 an employee of Spring Valley Shelter was cleaning an apartment recently vacated by McGinley and found a CD. On viewing the CD, Ross stated, the employee observed child-pornography images.

Ross subsequently made contact with McGinley on July 24 and in an interview, Ross stated, McGinley confirmed that the CD was his but advised that someone had sent the images to him and he had been unable to delete them.

After further questioning, however, McGinley authorized Ross to search his computers and several discs, Ross stated. McGinley also advised Ross that the hard drive of his computer contained “upwards of 5,000 images of child pornography that he has received and downloaded,” Ross stated.

“Furthermore, Mr. McGinley admitted to managing the images by placing them into particular folder files and titling them with names particular to the images contained in the file folder,” Ross stated. “He further admitted to disseminating the images across the Internet and provided me with various e-mail and Internet accounts and their respective passwords.”

Ross added in his affidavit that he viewed the CD found at Spring Valley Shelter and confirmed that it contains images of sexual conduct by children “who are clearly under 18 years of age.”

McGinley was being held at Porter County Jail.

Child exploitation is defined as knowingly or intentionally managing, producing, sponsoring, presenting, exhibiting, photographing, filming, videotaping, or creating a digitized image of any performance which includes sexual conduct by a child under the age of 18.

Possession of child pornography is defined as being in possession of an image which depicts or describes sexual conduct by a child under the age of 16.

What he was trying to say was "Someone sent me the images, but I was unable to delete them because I wanted to add them to my well catergorized collection for later viewing"
Sick freak

Pfizer executive is a sick freak

2008-08-05T10:07:00.005-04:00

Judge denies bond in Child porn case
MICHAEL P. MAYKO
Article Last Updated: 08/04/2008 05:56:52 PM EDT

BRIDGEPORT — The former Pfizer executive caught in a child porn scandal won't be getting out on bond despite offering to post $500,000 Monday.

Following an hour-long hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton told Alan Hesketh that he considers the former global patent attorney for Pfizer a risk of flight by virtue of his owning four properties, including one on the Isle of Man off the Irish Sea, and because he has been an international traveler. "I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I can rationalize my decision by my long experience in life" Eginton told Hesketh, a 61-year-old with the English equivalent of Ph.D and receipient of three different pensions. "But I can rationalize my decision by my long experience in life.

" Given the extent of his assets and his knowledge of travel I consider him more of a risk of flight," the judge said.

Eginton struck down a request for release pending sentencing from Jonathan Einhorn, Hesketh's lawyer. Last week, Hesketh, a British citizen who has been living in the U.S. for the past six weeks, pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing more than 1,000 images of child pornography.

As a result, he faces a mandatory minimum five year prison term when sentenced Oct. 17. The federal sentencing guidelines recommend he receive between 10 years and 12 years seven months in prison.

Once he completes his sentence, Hesketh is expected to be deported to England.

Einhorn told the judge that Janet Hesketh's the defendant's wife of 39 years, needs Hesketh home to help her arrange the family's finances in preparation for the prison term he received in October. He said the couple's four children all live in the United Kingdom.

"I don't know if that's going to be a detriment or an advantage," said the judge after hearing that initially Hesketh's wife wanted nothing to do with him after learning of the charges.' Hesketh was arrested at the Kennedy International Airport on March 26. At the time, federal agents found a portable hard drive containing 1,981 images and 71 video files many depicting sadomachistic activities on infants and young children.

A resulting investigation alleged that Hesketh carried this item with him on business trips and to work where he sometimes traded his collection over the internet.

"The images present were the most horrific depictions of infants and young children being abused," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Slater.

Agents from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement came across Hesketh's involving while investigating Gregory Nadolski, 29-year-old Buffalo, N.Y. man who lives at home with his parents and works as a company mail clerk. The pair traded dozens of images.

Nadolski, who cooperated with authorities, is free under house arrest.

Einhorn sought the same kind of conditions for his client, who was willing to post $500,000 backed by equity in his homes.

The lawyer also suggested if free Hesketh would receive necessary mental health treatment.

Hesketh is being detained without bond at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I..

People may think that child porn is picture of naked kids standing there doing nothing, but that is far from the truth. Sure that can be considered child porn and be prosecuted as such but most times this is not what child porn collectors are interested in. Child porn is more like pictures of INFANTS, TODDLERS, and every age of children being TORTURED with sadistic sexual acts being not only forced upon thier little bodies that cannot withstand the abuse, but they are also forced to perform this upon other children and adults. Children have died from massive trauma to thier frail bodies as a result of some sicko getting his jollies. What is even worse is that these men KNOW that this child could die, but they don't care. This is another testiment that pedophilia cannot be "cured". These people are psychopaths and need to be institutionalized.

Internet predators getting busted in N.D.

2008-08-05T09:38:00.002-04:00

Police pose as predators on online stings
An AP Member Exchange Feature By TERI FINNEMAN
The Forum
The Associated Press - Monday, August 04, 2008
BISMARCK, N.D.

Steve Harstad remembers the cold winter night when he first became a teenage girl.
Sitting at his computer, Harstad entered an Internet chat room. All it took was a few clicks on the keyboard to establish a new identity: that of a 13-year-old girl.
It didn't take long to make new friends.
Within two hours, a Fargo man struck up a flirtation with "her" as they exchanged typed messages. The man asked to meet in person the next day.
If he had shown up, he would have found himself surrounded by law enforcement and under arrest for Internet luring of a minor.
Harstad, 34, is a special agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Bismarck.
Part of his job is to catch online child predators. That means getting in touch with his inner teenage girl a few times each month to see if anyone tries to solicit "her" for sex via the computer.
"I feel very strongly that crimes against children are the worst possible crime," Harstad said.
"To be a part of something that maybe I'm getting that guy put away, maybe I'm getting that guy before he gets to the next child, is very rewarding for me," he said.
But opponents of law enforcements' efforts say men are being set up and prosecuted for victimless crimes.
"I think they're ruining a lot of lives, I guarantee you that," said Darnell Hitterdal-Olson of Moorhead, whose 24-year-old son was arrested earlier this year for solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual contact.
"There's two sides to every story," she said.
Both Fargo and Moorhead police departments assign officers to investigate Internet luring.
But, like for Harstad, trying to find time for the work isn't easy when there are child abuse, child pornography and other computer forensic cases to get done.
"Unfortunately, a big portion of what we do is reactive, where somebody has brought us a case and the child has already been affected," Harstad said.
"We're working on and hopefully being fairly successful with getting to be more proactive."
Because of their ongoing work, officers can't disclose all of the details about how they find child predators online.
They also declined having photos of themselves published because they are involved in arrests and don't want to be recognized.
However, they can give an overview of their training and what it's like to talk online to men interested in minors.
For Harstad, it isn't too difficult to sound like a teenage girl when he's typing back and forth with someone online.
He has nieces and nephews who keep him connected to what's cool and how they talk. He also pays attention to what's new in music and popular on TV.
Since men often ask his teenage personality for a photo, BCI takes pictures of young women who work in the office.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children then transforms the photos through age regression or other alterations.
"You can't just randomly take a picture off the Internet," Harstad said of why the extra work is done to create the photos. "What if (a predator) runs into that child? We have to be pretty careful with that."
With his photos ready, Harstad also creates Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo and MSN accounts to add to the believability of his teenage personality.
So far, it works.
"I've never had anybody call me out. I've never had anybody say you're not who you say you are," Harstad said.
"In general, I'm trying to talk to somebody else who's 35 or 40. They don't necessarily know what a 13-year-old would be into. In general, I'm talking to somebody else who's as naive about it as I am, I guess."
The publicity of "To Catch a Predator" means it takes longer for men to suggest meeting the "minor," Harstad said. But the show hasn't deterred men from seeking out children online.
"They're not real smart. It's a disease. It's an addiction for them," he said.
Not all men want to meet. Some just want to chat, but all conversations are documented if they're needed in court.
Fargo police investigator Paula Ternes said it isn't easy for her to chat online with child predators.
"It's a very strange feeling, thinking that the person on the other end of that computer wants to harm a child," she said. "Even though we are police officers and we've seen a lot and done a lot, that's something I'll never get used to by any means."
Ternes, 41, has only spent 22 hours or so posing online as a young teenager since April. Other duties kept her too busy.
Yet she's started forming pages on social networking sites and developing her online teenage personality.
A few years ago, Fargo police assisted Perverted Justice a group that goes after child predators online by making four arrests, Ternes said.
Ternes also worked with Moorhead police this year to arrest Allen Duane Halstad, 24, of Moorhead.
Halstad pleaded guilty to going into an Internet chat room and speaking with individuals he believed to be 13-year-old girls for the purpose of engaging in sexual contact.
He was actually talking to Ternes and Moorhead Police Sgt. Mike Detloff.
Moorhead police have made two arrests and are working on several cases since starting undercover chatting in January, Detloff said.
Detloff, 36, does research at home to keep his online teenage personality believable.
He pays attention to his preteen daughter and her friends "so I can throw that drama back into my online identity." He also listens to Taylor Swift and watches "Hannah Montana."
Men involved in the chats include college students, businessmen and "worthless bums," Detloff said. Conversations can turn dirty within minutes, and some men will use Web cams to show sexual images, he said.
"It's not uncommon for me to be having six conversations at one time," Detloff said.
His recent promotion in the department means another officer will soon take on the online chatting. He hopes efforts and funding to catch child predators will increase.
"This is a priority for us."

I've actually seen this in action here in Ohio. All it takes is a matter of minutes of a 13yr old girl popping up in a chat room and she has numerous men trying to talk to her. The "girl" only has to say something to the effect of "female 13 ohio" and within seconds she has adult men instant messaging her sexual messages and sending her links to thier webcams- featuring the men masterbating. It is wrong to think that these police try to "frame" these men. They always give them a way out by reminding them they are 13. Only on a rare occasion does someone tell the girl she is too young and to leave the chat room. Most of the time the men just say "If it doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me". I just can't fathom how a 35 year old man can not be bothered at the notion that a 13 year old girl is watching him materbate, and he even takes it a step further to ask this CHILD very sexual questions and tell her explicitly what he would like to do to and with her sexually. These men are not "framed". They are sick, and are just upset that they got busted.

Sex offenders living with children?! This reporter doesn't think it is dangerous!

2008-07-18T20:25:00.004-04:00

The Ohio House of Representatives has recently passed legislation that makes it a case of neglect if a parent allows a sex offender to reside in the same home as children. This legislation needs to be passed by the Senate before it can become law.

A reporter (Margo Pierce) for a Cincinnatti based newspaper (City Beat) was interviewing a woman (Jackie Sparling)who is a high ranking member of SoClear Media about the effects this law would have on sex offenders.

If you haven't heard before, SoClear Media is a radical group of sex offenders who will do anything to abolish the sex offender registry and other legislation dealing with sex offenders.

I offered Margo Pierce Women Against Sexual Predators opinion of the legislation so that she could have both side of the story for her article.

Margo Pierce intentionally misconstrued what WASP said to fit her own agenda- to defend sex offender rights.

here is my original letter to Margo:

Dear Margo,
I have been informed that you will be interviewing Jackie Sparling concerning HB111. I am sure you would understand my concern about you running a story about sex offenders living with children, and you only print the sex offenders side of the story. I would be willing to give WASP's opinion of the legislation, and even contact information for the parent who asked Rep. Collier to bring this legislation forward.

Tracy Golden
President
Ohio Chapter
WASP

Her reply was this:

Dear Ms. Golden,
Thank you for your interest in my upcoming article. If you've read any of my work you know that I frequently review and analyze state legislation. I have some experience in this area and do not spare poorly written laws criticism, not matter how they are cloaked – helping the elderly, protecting children, saving jobs. Thoughtful analysis that attempts to extrapolate potential consequences (intended or otherwise) and the legality of the action are my primary goals.
Please do not make the mistaken and simplistic assumption that if I do not agree with the way a law is written that I support the opposing view (e.g. if I find this legislation lacking then I support allowing all sexual predators to roam free and victimize whomever they choose). I support good public policy that is able to accomplish what is is designed to do and call law makes to task on sloppy, inn-conceived work.If you could take some time to respond to a few questions that would be helpful. I can't make any guarantees about how much, if any, of your responses will be included simply because my word count is only 675 and my editor has final say.My deadline is Friday, so I will need to you're your responses by noon tomorrow. If I don't hear from you I'll presume you aren't interested,
Best regards,
Margo Pierce

Her Questions: My answers in purple

How does this law make children any safer when child welfare agencies already have extensive rights to investigate even a hint of abuse and all of the people in any household where an accusation is made?

As everyone already knows, Child Welfare Agencies consistantly are poorly ran. Everytime I hear from a family who is having problems getting thier childs sexual abuser prosecuted is due to the lack of help and actual hinderance from Children Services. Unless there is DNA left in the child, many times they refuse to prosecute because they refuse to take the words of a child as true.
This law will make children safer because it will do what some parents lack to do, which is use common sense. You do not place your children in a home with a convicted felon who has a propensity to sexually abuse. We all know the staggering statistic that the over 90% of victims know thier attacker. It would be foolish to assume that this is not occuring in thier home.
From RAINN:
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.
Of these, 75% were girls.
Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.
34.2% of attackers were family members.
58.7% were acquaintances.
Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

The language for HB111 does not include any language that protects parents who are unaware of a former conviction in their guest's past – if the person lies, is not registered and therefore not on any list, etc. – so what recourse will these parents have to get their children back? What is going to be done to prevent the unnecessary trauma children will face being wrongly separated from their families?

Parents will have to prove to children services that they are no longer neglectful IE: remove the offender from the home.

They will not be wrongly seperated from thier families. They will be seperated for thier own protection until the sexual offender is removed from the home. You do not leave the fox in the chicken coop and hope that he leaves. First you protect the chickens, then remove the fox.

Your own analysis of this bill makes it clear that you expect many children to be removed form their homes. Why is there no funding included to pay for the added burden this will place on the already under-funded child welfare system?

I don't know if there will be a significant number of children affected due to the fact that most sex offenders are "loners" after release.
I did not write the legislation, so I don't know. This bill was mirrored after one in Florida.

As I'm sure you know, up to 95 percent of the victims of sexual abuse know their attackers – a parents, sibling, aunt, uncle, coach, teacher. If incest is identified and reported, the families will never be allowed to reunite and heal under the threat of minor children being taken away when parents are charged with neglect. How does this help the child?

Are you serious? Most children do not want to "reunite" with someone who has raped or molested them. The farther away from thier abuser they are , the more safe they feel. If the childs parents still want to hang out with Uncle Joe who raped thier little girl, then they can go to his house and visit him, and leave thier child with a babysitter.

The goal of the child welfare system is to reunite families whenever possible – to help create healthy family environments – but this legislation will eliminate that possibility because any placement of the child back in the home will result in another charge of neglect if the offender is in the family. How can HB 111 be a protection for children when you eliminate the possibility of returning to their biological families?

The possibility is not eliminated. The child can return home when it is offender free. The child cannot LIVE with a sex offender. If the family really felt that the offender was an important member of thier family, they would visit them. This law is not about keeping children out of the presence of all sex offenders ~ it is about keeping KNOWN sexual abusers out of the homes with children. A child cannot dictate who they live with, but this law will at least keep sexual abusers out of thier homes. A child has a right to not be FORCED to live with thier abuser.

It is impossible to prevent a crime – if another person wants to commit a crime, they are going to do it. The most anyone can do is practice personal safety – if protecting children is what you want to do then why is there no provision for educating the public about how to practice personal safety related to sexual assault and identify the behaviors in children that are hiding the fact that they are being hurt? (When a child's parent is threatened by her attacker, the child does not tell so how is a parent.)

I'm sure you have heard , but the Gov. has decided to cut funding in those areas. I would love to see some type of legislation that makes this mandatory in schools.

I do not see any language in the bill that addresses false accusation – how is a family or parent supposed to defend themselves against this open-ended language and vindictiveness of others? Say an ex-husband doesn't like the man his ex-wife marries, so he makes an unfounded accusation that subjects the children and the family to an unnecessary invasion of their privacy. (The number of false charges that occur in divorce situations alone make it impossible to say this kind of thing will not happen.)

This legislation only is geared towards convicted sex offenders, not "suspected".

Her response:

Dear Ms. Golden,
Thank you for taking time to respond to my questions. Just like everyone else, I have a boss and my editor is the one who makes all final decisions about what ends up in print. As soon as the HB 111 review is up on line I'll forward a link so that you will be able to see what answers you provided are printed, poor grammar and all.
In the meantime, I am writing to remind you that your responses are all "on the record" and can be used in the article. You avoided directly answering a number of questions. made some broad and potentially inaccurate assumptions about the victims of sex crimes and misrepresent the truth of the potential repercussion of this legislation.
Best regards,
Margo

Margo Pierce
Staff Writer, CityBeat
513.665.4700 Ext. 136
mpierce@citybeat.com
811 Race Street, Fifth Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
www.citybeat.com

NICE HUH?

Her Article:
http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A145630

News: Background Checks for Houseguests
Ohioans might be at risk of losing their kids if they don't know a visitor's criminal history
BY Margo Pierce Posted 07/16/2008

A friend from another state spends a few nights in your home. One morning before he leaves, a social worker shows up on your doorstep with a cop telling you that she's there to remove your children pending an investigation of an anonymous allegation of negligence.
If convicted of child endangerment, you could lose custody of your children. Permanently.
Sound like a bad made-for-TV-movie? It's a real-life scenario that will play out all over Ohio if House Bill 111, already passed by the Ohio House, moves out of a Senate committee and is voted into law by legislators.
The brief summary provided by the bill's author, State Rep. Thom Collier (R-Mount Vernon), states that the law will in part "expand the definition of neglected child to include a child whose parent, guardian or custodian knowingly allows certain sexually oriented offenders or child-victim offenders to reside in the same residence as that child."
If you're not aware of a houseguest's conviction on a sex-related crime, your children could be defined as "neglected." Can't prove you didn't "knowingly" allow this to happen? You're going to be in deep, because anyone could make an anonymous call to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (JFS) and start an investigation.
One of the many problems with this law -- beyond unnecessary trauma for children who aren't at risk and debates over wrongful convictions -- is that it's redundant. JFS already has the power to launch investigations of parents; all they need is a suggestion of abuse, according to Jackie Sparling, administrative assistant for the Sex Offender Support and Education Network.
Sparling is a child-victim of molestation at the hands of a family member. She passionately believes that former offenders have the right to a second chance.
Sparling says that most individuals on the Ohio electronic sex offender registry are male and many have children. She says HB111 all but guarantees that former sex offenders will be prohibited from living with and therefore parenting their own children.
"Case workers are human beings," she says. "Human beings come with their own set of prejudices. ... They're going to go in (to home investigations) with a preconceived notion ... and I fear happy, healthy, well-adjusted children are going to be taken out of perfectly fine and wonderful homes ... and put into foster care."
The potential for false accusations and botched investigations is something Tracy Golden, president of the Ohio chapter of Women Against Sexual Predators, avoids addressing. When asked to comment about the potential harm done to children and families when false accusations of abuse are made, she doesn't respond. She does point out problems within the agencies as proof this law is necessary.
"As everyone already knows, child welfare agencies consistently are poorly run," Golden says. "Every time I hear from a family who is having problems getting their child's sexual abuser prosecuted (it's) due to the lack of help and actual hindrance from Family Services. Unless there is DNA left in the child, many times they refuse to prosecute because they refuse to take the words of a child as true.
"This law will make children safer because it will do what some parents lack to do, which is use common sense. You do not place your children in a home with a convicted felon who has a propensity to sexually abuse. We all know the staggering statistic that the over 90 percent of victims know their attacker. It would be foolish to assume that this is not occurring in their home."
Golden says children won't be taken from a safe home environment as a result of HB111.
"They will not be wrongly separated from their families," she says. "They will be separated for their own protection until the sexual offender is removed from the home. You do not leave the fox in the chicken coop and hope that he leaves. First you protect the chickens, then remove the fox."
Aside from providing no evidence to support her claims about JFS obstructing investigations, Golden's logic is flawed. She assumes that any person convicted of any sex crime is a risk to a child.
The nature of the mental health issues that cause people to act out sexually aren't all the same (see "Postcards from the Edge," issue of Jan. 12, 2005). Portraying people convicted of any sex crime as out to molest children and a guaranteed repeat offender isn't helping children or anyone else, according to Sparling.
"There are about 600,000 people in the national registry," she says. "According to the Department of Justice, only about 5.3 percent are people you'd really want to know if they were your neighbor -- they are of the predator caliber. The rest of them are paying for that 5.3 percent.
"Ninety five percent of all new sex crimes are committed by people who are not on that registry. So tell me, what good is it? It's a public gallows. It's a shaming tool. We should know from past history that it does not work."
One of the things that concerns Katherine Blacksmith (not her real name) of Northern Ohio is the "false sense of security" laws like HB111 give the general public. She believes the money spent on registries and enforcing laws that prohibit former offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school perpetuate a "lie" that children are safe from sexual abuse if these laws are enforced.
After working with former offenders for five years, Blacksmith says that most people still aren't aware that most offenders know their victims.
"It's a false sense of security because ... it's normally someone that's close to the victim," she says. " 'Stranger danger,' are there those icky pedophiles out there? Yes. But they make up such a minute part of the population and yet everybody is being classified as being that dangerous."
Now married to a former sex offender who committed his crime more than 25 years ago, Blacksmith says the stigma is an added punishment but the laws on top of that make it difficult to move on.
"We have the worst of the worst case here with my husband," she says. "What I find very disturbing is that he spent over 19 years in prison. He received treatment. He got a very good job since he got out. He's getting on with his life. He has remorse. He doesn't blame anyone else for what he did, and yet he's going to be persecuted for life."
Unwilling to subject his victim to potential publicity participating in an interview could bring, Blacksmith and her husband decided to remain anonymous. They want to live their life together with their daughter, who's a toddler, and that's what they're trying to do despite his requirement to register for life as a sex offender.
"My husband is a lot of things: He's a husband, a father, a Viet Nam veteran," Blacksmith says. "He had a great naval career, he's a hard worker, he's a friend. He's somebody's uncle, cousin. But sex offender still remains. ... Does that ever go away?"
HB111 additionally mandates that former sex offenders can't change their name or they'll face fraud charges. It also contains outdated language -- the passage of Senate Bill 10 last year changes all of the offender categories -- and includes an exception for an offender who's a juvenile in order to allow families to deal with problems related to incest when the offender is under age and a blood relative.

Did you notice that they focus entirely on the fact that most abusers are known to the child
*THE VERY REASON for this bill that they now deny a need for

Now does that seem like a fair story?
I didn't think so.......
so I decided to write the editor of the paper, John Fox
My Letter..........

Dear Mr. Fox,

I am writing in complaint of the article recently published about HB111. I contacted Margo when I learned through the sex offender support forums that she was writing an article against HB111, and was planning on asking one of the senior members of the sex offender support group for an interview (Jackie Sparling). I offered Margo my opinion on the legislation so that she could get both sides of the story for her article.

Little was I aware that Margo seems to think that the sex offenders are the victims. I came to this conclusion after reviewing Margo's numerous articles on the subject of sex offenders and the legislation against them. In every article she quotes individuals from various groups that support sex offenders, or advocate for thier rights- yet she rarely interviews victims advocates about thier side. When she does, she makes them appear as if they are crazed lunatics.

I am assuming that Margo must have a sex offender in her family that she feels is getting a bad wrap, or else she would not be interviewing and siding with convicted felons, thier families, and the radical groups that they belong to.

SoClear Media- a group almost entirely consisting of child victim sex offenders and thier loved ones. Jackie Sparlin belongs to this group. Her husband tried to lure a 13 year old to his home to be his captive sex slave. Jackie feels that the public should not be aware of sex offenders and thier crimes http://www.wikisposure.com/SOclear_Media_Productions

Roar For Freedom- The founders (Betty Price) husband, convicted of sexual battery of a child under 12. One member wanted to start a "sex offender militia". He wanted to arm themselves, and he said that the media and polititcans would be thier targets because of all of the grief that they have caused sex offenders.
http://www.wikisposure.com/Roar_for_Freedom

SOSEN- The former leader Shirley Lowery believes that pedophiles are a natural part of society and even claimed that Jesus was a pedophile. She also claims that Jessica Lunsfords death was actually an assisted suicide by John Couey. They kicked Shirley out only after she started sabotaging her own group. The new leader Linda Pehrson, welcomed her husband back into her home after he was convicted of molesting her daughter, who is also still in the home. http://www.wikisposure.com/SOSEN

Most members of these groups are also members of the other groups. Many have signed this petition created by a NAMBLA member, that basically wants to abolish the sex offender registry, to eliminate the age of consent so that ANY child under 18 can legally consent, and any other law that may restrict sex offenders. http://www.wikisposure.com/Reform_Sex_Offender_Laws_Campaign

I could go on and on about the groups she has decided to associate your paper with supporting.

Not only that, she misleads the public as to the true consequences of the law. She falsely states that if someone spends the night at your home and they are a sex offender, your kids will be taken away.

The law as passed by the house states that if an convicted sex offender resides in a home with children, it is considered neglect. Residence refers to a place of adode that is more than merely temporary. ( http://definitions.uslegal.com/r/residence/ )

Then she posts the link to the legislation as it was INTRODUCED, not the link to what the bill was when it was passed - basically leaving out the amendments.

I have also attached below the copy of our correspondence. She was exceptionally rude without provocation other than she did not agree with my opinion.

You will also see that she lied about me refusing to answer her questions. If I did not know, I stated so. And when she asked a question about false accusations, I corrected her, I did not refuse to answer. Only people convicted of a sex crime are considered. If you have pled guilty to or been convicted of a sex crime- that is not a false accusation, but a proven fact in the court of law.

I suggest you do something about Margo turning your newspaper into a sex offender advocacy "free for all". The vast majority of citizens believe that sex offender restrictions and legislation are important to keep our families safe. Your articles should be about what is important to your readers, not Margo.

Oh, and by the way- this is "on the record", as I will be posting this on various websites.

Best Regards,
Tracy Golden

If anyone feels the need to write the editor, or Margo
thier email as listed on the city beat website is
John Fox - Editor & Co-Publishere-mail: jfox@citybeat.com
Margo Pierce - Staff Writere-mail: mpierce@citybeat.com

Man abducts two men, rapes and tortures them in Wisconsin

2008-07-14T14:04:00.001-04:00

Man charged with 12 felonies in Wis. abductions
By ROBERT IMRIE Associated Press Writer

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. — A paper mill worker accused of abducting and sexually assaulting two men was charged with 12 felonies Friday, and authorities said he told an investigator "he knew what he did was wrong."
A judge found probable cause for a preliminary hearing for 46-year-old Edward Lanphear.

Police say Lanphear held two men in his house, stripped them, chained them up, beat them and assaulted them several times. One of the men told police Lanphear threatened him with a gun.
Police said that after one of the men escaped early this week, the other was found in the basement of Lanphear's home in a rural area outside Wisconsin Rapids, in the central part of the state.
Lanphear faces felony counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment, substantial battery, and misdemeanor impersonating a peace officer. He's being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
Lanphear, 46, said little when he appeared in court by video conference Friday afternoon, and his attorney declined to comment on the charges. Lanphear remains in jail on $1 million bond.
Investigators have been searching Lanphear's home but have found no evidence of other crimes committed there, Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert said.
According to a criminal complaint, Lanphear picked up a 23-year-old weary from a night of drinking as the man sat at a curb Friday. Lanphear then allegedly hit the man over the head and abducted him. He kidnapped a 21-year-old man early Tuesday morning after the man got drunk at a Wisconsin Rapids bar and passed out in his truck, the complaint said.
Lanphear chained both men naked in his home, blindfolded them with duct tape and sexually assaulted them, the complaint said.
The 23-year-old told investigators Lanphear put what felt like a shotgun to his face at one point. He said he also heard a gunshot and smelled gunpowder and Lanphear told him, "This is just to let you know I'm serious," the complaint said.
The 21-year-old told investigators he was able to escape Tuesday night because he asked Lanphear for a cigarette and Lanphear left the home to buy some, the complaint said.
The man said he removed his blindfold, dragged a ladder close enough so he could use it to climb to the ceiling in the garage, got out of his restraints and ran naked next door to seek help, the complaint said.
Lanphear returned as officers were talking to the man, the complaint said.
When officers went to Lanphear's home, he had the 23-year-old get dressed and brought him from the basement, Reichert said. He said there was no evidence Lanphear intended to kill the men and that he had talked to one of them about possibly releasing them.
Lanphear spoke with one sheriff's deputy and told him "that he knew what he did was wrong," the complaint said.
He has since stopped speaking to investigators and asked for an attorney, so investigators do not have a complete statement from him, Reichert said.
So far, authorities have collected more than 100 pieces of evidence, including chains, restraints, handcuffs and guns, Reichert said.
The two men were home with their families Friday, recovering from bruises and cuts and the emotional ordeal of a "truly nightmarish" incident, the sheriff said. He called them heroes for doing what they needed to do to survive.
"They were subjected to some things that boggle your mind," Reichert said.

Georgia predator kills 13 yr old girl in Florida

2008-07-14T13:54:00.000-04:00

Police: Georgia sex offender killed Florida teen

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Police say a registered sex offender from Georgia confessed to killing a 13-year-old girl whose body was discovered by a maid in a hotel room.
Mathew Caylor, 33, told investigators late Thursday that he had killed Melinda Denise Hinson, Police Capt. Robert Colbert said Friday. Her body was found Thursday in a room registered to Caylor.
"It was a very detailed and very lengthy confession," Colbert said. "Investigators will be working in the coming days to validate every component."
Another man who stayed in the room the following night did not know the body was there and has been cleared of involvement in the case, police said.
Caylor, of Auburn, Ga., is charged with murder, sexual battery and failing to register as a sexual offender. He was being held in the Panama City Jail and had not yet been assigned a public defender.
As Hinson's family moved out of their room at the hotel Friday, the girl's mother said she knew something was wrong Tuesday when her daughter left to walk a neighbor's dogs and never returned.
"I kept telling them that she would not run away from me," Rhonda McNallin told the Panama City News Herald. "She is a mama's girl."
Caylor was arrested by the Bay County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday after he was accused of attacking and attempting to rob two women at a Panama City Beach condominium.
When Hinson's body was found, Caylor was being held at the Bay County Jail on charges including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, fugitive from justice and failure to register as a sex offender.
Police said he has a lengthy history of petty crimes and sex crimes.
Hinson and her family had moved to Panama City from Henderson, Ky., in November and were living at the hotel. Caylor checked in June 28.
Authorities said they were awaiting autopsy results to determine how Hinson was killed.

Child rapist finally busted after several years of "unsubstantiated" complaints

2008-07-14T13:47:00.003-04:00

Police: Rape suspect linked to several girls
Additional charges could involve as many as eight juvenile girls, Hamilton police say.

By Richard Wilson
Staff Writer
Friday, July 11, 2008

Photos
Kenneth Lee AshcraftClick to enlarge
HAMILTON — A man accused of raping two juveniles over a 10-year period had relationships with other girls, including fathering an illegitimate child while cheating on his wife, who was 14 and he was in his 20s, according to police.
The now 41-year-old Kenneth Lee Ashcraft of New Miami faces for now three counts of rape and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The charges stem from crimes that allegedly occurred between 1989 and 1997 involving two female victims who were ages 11 and 12 when Ashcraft allegedly had sexual contact with them, according to records.
But Ashcraft has been interviewed by Hamilton police at least three times in the past. Additional charges may come that involve as many as eight female juvenile victims, the youngest age 4, said Hamilton police Detective Mark Hayes.
Police are investigating relationships that Ashcraft had with numerous female juveniles dating back to 1988, when he married a 14-year-old girl in Kentucky, Hayes said.
The marriage lasted about six months, according to court records. Ashcraft allegedly committed adultery and impregnated a 13-year-old girl, Hayes said. The girl bore a son, who is now 17.
Numerous complaints against Ashcroft of physical and sexual abuse are on file with Butler County Children Services dating back to the late 1980s, said agency director Michael Fox.
One file contains a complaint of sexual abuse involving Ashcraft's adopted daughter, who was removed from his custody, Fox said.
Each complaint, Fox said, was investigated by children services and police; with the majority unsubstantiated.
"This guy has spent a good part of his life molesting little children and it is an absolute shame that he wasn't nailed before this," Fox said.
Ashcraft is being held in the Butler County Jail on a $225,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear Wednesday, July 16, in Hamilton Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing.

Convicted sex offender strikes again in Cincinnatti

2008-07-14T13:32:00.001-04:00

Michael Hamblin's Bond Set at $750,000

A convicted sex offender arrested last night in Butler County, is held on $750,000 bond. Police say they found a knife and latex gloves in Michael Hamblin's truck.Police told the judge they believe he was tying to lure children into his truck.Hamblin was arrested in Oxford yesterday, on a warrant out of Mason. He is accused of trying to entice children at Heritage Oak Park Sunday. Monroe police say Hamblin also exposed himself to two children at the community park there last week. The Butler County Sheriff's Office believes Hamblin is also linked to a similar indecency report in Liberty Township recently. Hamblin appeared in a video arraignment this afternoon in Mason on a charge of child enticement. He was sentenced last year for exposing himself to a child, at a Hamilton Kroger, while on parole. Hamblin was previously convicted for an incident involving a 10-year old girl at a Deerfield Township Walmart. He also served time for exposing himself to a girl at a West Chester department store.

Urine man busted again, and again

2008-07-14T13:26:00.001-04:00

Man with urine fetish disobeys judge's order
Saturday, July 12, 2008 2:53 AM
By Amanda Dolasinski

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Alan D. Patton was at a public pool shortly after he was told to stay away from places where children gather.
A Northwest Side man who was arrested in June trying to collect boys' urine at a sports complex restroom was issued a criminal-trespassing warning yesterday after he was found at a public swimming pool.

Alan D. Patton, 56, of 6269 Emberwood Rd., was escorted out of a City of Hilliard pool at 3800 Veterans Memorial Dr., about 2:30 p.m.

He had just appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court that morning on the charge from June, which stemmed from his arrest at Sports Ohio on Cosgray Road.

He was allowed to remain free with the order to stay away from all public restrooms, as well as places where children gather, such as pools, movie theaters and playgrounds.

Patton, an admitted child molester, was not arrested in Hilliard yesterday but was issued a criminal-trespassing warning, according to Dublin police.

He reportedly was acting strangely, and some patrons notified the pool's managers, who recognized him from a flier that had been sent to county recreational facilities.

When Patton, a registered sex offender, was arrested on June 14 at Sports Ohio, he was trying to collect urine in a men's restroom, Dublin police said. He allegedly covered toilet seats in plastic wrap and shut off water to urinals, placing Styrofoam cups in them. He was charged with criminal mischief and released on bond that day.

From an arrest several years ago, Patton was ordered to wear a tracking device for five years so parole officers can follow his location. It was unclear last night whether he was wearing it when stopped at Sports Ohio and in Hilliard.

In 1994, Patton admitted to sexually assaulting boys ages 7 to 9 in Columbus-area public restrooms. His attorney at the time said Patton suffers from urophilia, an interest in urine for sexual gratification. Patton served four years of an eight-year term.

He also was convicted of charges such as voyeurism, public indecency and disorderly conduct in Columbus, Westerville and Gahanna in 1990, 1992, 2003 and twice in 2006.

Victor Salva: Director of Jeepers Creepers, convicted child molestor

2008-07-14T10:17:00.002-04:00

Film director's past worries school officials

St. Petersburg Times September 01, 2000, Friday,
South Pinellas Edition Pg. 5B
Compiled from Times wires
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE; OCALA; MIAMI; PANAMA CITY
OCALA —
School board members are upset they weren't told that a movie director who is making a low-budget horror film near two Marion County schools was a convicted child molester.
Members of the Marion County School Board had already agreed to let director Victor Salva and his film crew near Dunnellon Elementary and Dunnellon High School.
When they approved the contract, board members weren't told that Salva was a convicted child molester who once videotaped himself having oral sex with a 12-year-old actor in California.
Salva, sentenced to three years in state prison, served 15 months and completed parole in 1992.
Salva is filming a $ 10-million horror film titled Jeepers Creepers in Marion County.

Director's history causes controversy
DATELINE: DUNNELLON, Fla., Aug. 30
United Press International August 30, 2000, Wednesday
GENERAL NEWS

Filming on a motion picture continues outside three Dunnellon, Fla., public schools although school officials have learned the director is a convicted sex offender.
Hopes of having students visit the set of "Jeepers Creepers" or serve as interns have been dropped since Victor Salva's past came to light.
The $10 million film is being produced by American Zoetrope, a company owned by famed director Francis Ford Coppola, who is serving as executive producer. Coppola is not expected to visit the set.
Salva was paroled in 1992 after serving 15 months of a three-year sentence for five felony counts based on sexual involvement with a 12-year-old boy in 1988. The boy appeared in a low-budget film he directed. Salva also directed "Powder," "Nature of the Beast," and "Rites of Passage." He has registered with police as a sex offender as required by Florida law.
Marion County school officials were not told about Salva's criminal record when location director Sue Gummerson negotiated payment for use of parts of a street ouside the elementary, middle and high schools.
Although the filming is being done largely at night, street closings have required rerouting school buses. An abandoned high school and rural areas will also be used as film locations.
"We have a drama department and we also have a TV production class," Dunnellon High School assistant principal Cynthia Saunders said. "We were talking about what could we get out of it educationally."
Once she learned of Salva's past, the idea of having students interact with the film crew was abandoned. On-set publicist Joe Hemingway said Salva has paid his debt to society and was focused on making the film. He said they never offered to have students on the set. The filming will take about two months.

Disney hires pedophile to direct movie "Powder"

2008-07-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

MOLEST VICTIM PROTESTS AT DISNEY FILM RELEASE;

Director served prison term for sex crime 7 years ago
By Jim Herron Zamora
THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
October 25, 1995, Wednesday News; Pg. A-1

The victim of a childhood sexual molestation is urging filmgoers to boycott the new Disney film "Powder," which was directed by the man who videotaped himself having oral sex with the then-12-year-old Concord boy.
The film, about a troubled teenager, is scheduled for release this Friday in 1,200 theaters nationwide. Its director, Victor Salva, confessed in 1988 to five felony counts related to having sex with a boy he directed in a low-budget film.
The molestation victim, Nathan Winters, now 20, has decided to go public with his ordeal to protest Salva's connection with the movie, which was made by a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios.
Winters led a small band of protesters outside an entertainment industry screening of the movie in Los Angeles on Monday night.
"Please don't spend your money on this movie," urged leaflets handed out by the group "It would just go to line the pockets of this child molester." Friends toted signs: "Victor Salva: Writer, Director, Child Molester" and "Support the Victim, not the Victimizer."
Salva, 37, said in a statement Tuesday that he regretted his past actions.
"I paid for my mistakes dearly," he said. "Now, nearly 10 years later, I am excited about my work as a filmmaker and look forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to our industry."
Nathan's mother, Rebecca Winters of Concord, called Salva's return to filmmaking "absolutely outrageous."
"I can't believe it. It just makes me sick," she said. "I'm not going to stand by. He should not be allowed to live his life as if nothing happened."
She said the family learned that Salva was directing the movie when they saw his name on TV during an advertisement for "Powder."
"We were shocked to see his name in the credits," she said.
Salva confessed to having oral sex with Nathan Winters in 1987 while directing the then sixth-grader in "Clownhouse," a film about three boys terrorized by circus clowns.
"Clownhouse" won several awards and was the first horror movie released at the acclaimed Sundance Film Festival.
Salva was sentenced to three years in state prison, serving 15 months and completing parole in 1992, according to the state Corrections Department and court records in Contra Costa County. He is a registered sex offender in Los Angeles County, according to state records.
Laws in 46 states, including California, treat sex offenders differently than other convicted criminals in that sex offenders, once released from prison, are required to register with authorities in communities where they take up residence. This is because pedophiles are driven by a psychological compulsion that has typically not been cured by therapy, according to criminologists and prosecutors.
Although Salva's prison sentence was the shortest he was eligible for, it did not come as a result of a plea bargain, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Jack Waddell, who headed Contra Costa County's sexual assault prosecution unit at the time.
Winters, who also acted for Salva in the 1986 short film "Something in the Basement," told his mother during the making of "Clownhouse" that Salva had forced sex on him.
When police raided Salva's house, they found two homemade pornographic tapes, one showing Salva having oral sex with Winters.
In April 1988, Salva pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, one count of oral copulation with a person under 14 and three counts of procuring a child for pornography. At his sentencing hearing, a prosecutor said Salva appeared to seek jobs where he could work with children. Salva has written children's books and in 1985 worked at the Crawford Village Child Care Center in Concord.
Rated PG-13, the $ 10 million "Powder" is Salva's first mainstream Hollywood movie. The film was made for Caravan Pictures, a production company wholly owned by Disney.
Movie industry sources said that Salva was not under contract with Caravan or Disney for any movies beyond "Powder."
Salva's work with Caravan could prove embarrassing for Disney, whose theme parks, animated characters and popular cartoon videos have cemented its reputation for wholesome family fun for more than six decades.
Disney declined comment to The Examiner. Disney spokesman John Dreyer told the Associated Press, "What's the point, other than you want to make headlines?"
But Dreyer confirmed that Disney's corporate office was not aware of Salva's criminal record.
The producer of "Powder" defended his embattled director.
"He paid for his crime, he paid his debt to society," said Roger Birnbaum, head of Caravan Pictures who also recently produced "Dead Presidents" and "The Big Green." "What happened eight years ago has nothing to do with this movie."
Birnbaum said he was tipped about Salva's conviction halfway through filming "Powder" and confronted him. Told only the basics, Birnbaum elected to neither dismiss Salva nor inform the entire cast and crew. Instead, Birnbaum said, "Key production people were told to keep an eye out for anything, just in case." Nothing improper was observed, Birnbaum said.
"Powder" stars Mary Steenburgen and Jeff Goldblum as the teachers of a boy with telekinetic powers and pure white skin, which repels his peers.
The actor who plays the teenage Powder, Sean Patrick Flanery, is 29, and Birnbaum told the Los Angeles Times that no minors were on the set during filming of the movie.
Experts in child abuse fear that Salva's role as a director of a teen-oriented film could put him in a position where he could use his power as a lever to abuse other minors.
"The frustrating part for law enforcement is that you have a convicted molester who is able to be around children and to be in a position of authority," Officer Joe Kreins of the Concord Police Department said. "It would be very easy for him to abuse his power and authority in that position."
A 1988 state Justice Department study found that almost half of all sex offenders are re-arrested; nearly 20 percent of sex offenders commit another sex crime. Convicted sex offenders are more than nine times as likely to commit another sex offense than a person convicted for a non-sex offense, statistics show.
"People do commit offenses and get out and get on with their lives," Waddell said. But "pedophiles and child molesters do have a tendency toward recidivism."

Halliburton and KBR keep gang rapists from being prosecuted

2008-07-14T09:52:00.003-04:00

Gang-Rape Victim Says She And Others Silenced by Halliburton
Jones Says They Are Forced To Argue Their Sexual Assault Cases in Secretive Arbitration
By MADDY SAUERFeb. 12, 2008

A Houston, Texas woman, who says she was gang-raped by her co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad, says 38 women have come forward through her foundation to report their own tragic stories to her, but that many cannot speak publicly due to arbitration agreements in their employment contracts.
Jamie Leigh Jones is testifying on Capitol Hill this afternoon. She says she and other women are being forced to argue their cases of sexual harassment, assault and rape before secretive arbitration panels rather than in open court before a judge and jury.
Jones returned from Iraq following her rape in 2005. She was the subject of an exclusive ABC News report in December which led to congressional hearings.
After months of waiting for criminal charges to be filed, Jones decided to file suit against Halliburton and KBR.
KBR has moved for Jones' claim to be heard in private arbitration, instead of a public courtroom, as provided under the terms of her original employment contract.
Halliburton, which has since divested itself of KBR, says it is improperly named in the suit and referred calls to KBR.
In arbitration, there is no public record or transcript of the proceedings, meaning that Jones' claims would not be heard before a judge and jury. Rather, a private arbitrator hired by the corporation would decide Jones' case.
In fact, Tracy Barker, who says she was sexually harassed and sexually assaulted while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq, also recently tried to file suit against the companies. She was forced into arbitration last month.
Jones will tell Congress today that she was not aware that when she signed her employment contract, she was effectively signing away her right to bring a lawsuit.
"When I decided to pursue a civil suit, I was informed that within my 13-page employment contract that had an additional five pages attached, [there was] included an arbitration clause," Jones says in her prepared statement Jones didn't know much about arbitration when she signed the contract and was shocked to learn what she had done.
"I learned that I had signed away my right to a trial by jury," she said.
Congressman Ted Poe, R-Texas, who has been involved in the Jones case since the beginning, will also appear at today's hearing. He disagrees with the arbitration solution.
"Air things out in a public forum of a courtroom," said Rep. Poe in an earlier interview with ABC News. "That's why we have courts in the United States."
More than two years since her attack, no criminal charges have been brought in the matter, and legal experts say that it is highly unlikely that Jones' alleged assailants will ever face a judge and jury.
Jones says that the arbitration clauses are letting her rapists and other criminals off the legal hook.
"The forced arbitration clause in Army contractor's contracts prove to protect the criminals of violent crimes, rather than enforce they be held accountable by a judge and jury," Jones says in her remarks. "My goal is to ensure all American civilians who become victims of violent crimes while abroad have the right to justice before a judge and jury."
KBR said in a statement to ABCNews.com, "Arbitration is the last step of KBR's Dispute Resolution Program. The vast majority of employment disputes at KBR, approximately 96 percent, are resolved through this program without resort to arbitration. KBR remains committed to ensuring the arbitration process is fair to all employees."
Since the attacks, Jones has started a nonprofit foundation called the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which is dedicated to helping victims who were raped or sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations.
"I want other women to know that it's not their fault," said Jones. "They can go against corporations that have treated them this way." Jones said that any proceeds from the civil suit will go to her foundation.
"There needs to be a voice out there that really pushed for change," she said. "I'd like to be that voice."

Disney Ice Skater is now chilling in jail!

2008-07-14T09:45:00.001-04:00

Disney ice skater charged with sex assault
Last Updated: 7:26PM GMT 05/02/2002

A BRITISH performer in a Disney on Ice show was tonight facing 60 years in prison after being charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
Matthew Fisher, 31, of Moncrieffe Road, Sheffield, was accused of entering the girl's room at the Radisson Hotel in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and fondling her while her parents were asleep in the room next door.
Fisher was being held at La Crosse County Jail on £7,000 bail and was due to appear at a preliminary court hearing on February 14.
Captain Doug Groth, of La Crosse Police, said that Fisher was charged yesterday with sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, child enticement and criminal trespass. The offence of sexual assault on a child under the age of 13 carries a maximum punishment of 60 years in jail.
Fisher had been staying at the hotel in La Crosse while on tour with Disney on Ice when the incident was alleged to have taken place on December 9 last year. The group left La Crosse the next day but Fisher was arrested in the town of Ashwaubenon, north-east Wisconsin, on January 31.
Capt Groth said that Fisher admitted going into the girl's room when he was drunk and lying on the floor but denied that he had indecently assaulted her.

2008-07-14T09:39:00.002-04:00

Disney Worker To Be Arraigned On Child Porn Charges

Sunday, July 13, 2008 5:13:20 PM

LAKE COUNTY -- A Disney worker is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on child pornography charges.
Charles Hurrey, 29, was arrested June 17 after Lake County investigators found three videos showing children engaging in sex acts with adults and each other on his home computer.
Hurrey reportedly admitted to downloading the images, but said he was just curious as to why anyone would make those types of videos.
Disney placed him on unpaid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the charges.

Discuss internet safety with children

2008-07-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

Experts say families need to discuss Internet usage, safety issues

July 2, 2008
By Sarah Hinckley Times Argus Staff

SHELBURNE – Ken Wooden learned most of what he knows from convicted child molesters.Using the information he collected through two decades of interviews with hundreds of child predators as an investigative journalist, Wooden now runs a business in Shelburne called Child Lures Prevention. He travels throughout the country teaching children and young adults how to ward off pedophiles and others who look to prey upon them."I've taught a couple hundred thousand kids across the country," said Wooden, who was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize – once as a Chicago Sun Times writer and again as a book author. "I've done my research and I was trained as a teacher."When asked to speak at a conference in Washington D.C. on the matter in 2002, he had one question for federal officials."If predators are using lures, shouldn't we be teaching our children about them?"Wooden's interest in child predators began when he took a job as a fingerprint classifier with the New Jersey police as a young man. Each week he would nab up to 12 pedophiles among the people looking to qualify to drive a school bus, who were required to be fingerprinted.Later as a journalist gathering information, Wooden unearthed the Pedophile Information Exchange – or PIE. The Web site had a feature called 'lure of the week,' according to Wooden. He cited one example where the use of soap crayons – artistic bath-time items – was suggested as an easy, fun way to get children to disrobe.When asking the molesters he interviewed how they targeted children, most explained they would go to playgrounds and look for the loners. According to Wooden, that tactic is used by predators on the Internet, as well. In both situations there is one question that predators told Wooden they would ask the child – "How do your parents get along?""If you want to protect your child from Internet predators, I suggest you go over what moments are all about," said Wooden, referring to those times that highlight a family and relationships.Explaining moments – of anger, frustration, happiness, sorrow, etc. – to a child can be a weapon against predators. Those looking to prey will use what appears to be a weak relationship as a crowbar to separate parents from their children, according to Wooden.Open communication with children is important, explained Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling, who has spoken to numerous groups about Internet safety for children. There are three important factors Schirling stresses about Internet safety to parents and children."Parents should know what their kids are doing online, they should be involved," he said of the first factor. "It's always eye-opening when we do safety presentations with parents. They don't realize the scope and depth of what is going on in the online world."A second important point: Computers should be in a public place, not in a bedroom or behind a closed door."It eliminates the chance of kids making potentially bad choices," said Schirling, emphasizing the third point."They should never meet anyone they meet online without parents being present – not just with their permission, but being present."While working with parents and children, Wooden also focuses on three majors points: People are like weather, teach the law, and use your gut instinct – or "siren in the belly.""For the most part weather is safe… and sometimes there is dangerous weather," he said, explaining his lure prevention program on Tuesday from his Shelburne business.As with tornadoes, hurricanes and thunderstorms – or bad weather – there are warning signs, which is the same with sexual predators."I'd rather have them afraid and worried about people versus totally trusting," said Debra Sargent, a counselor who works with victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, of children.She points out that people who are sexually abusive typically look to isolate their victims."You don't go with people you know not well enough, alone," said Sargent, adding that there is no such thing as a typical-looking predator. "It could be the music teacher, grocer, baseball coach, uncle… Any one of those people, it could be none of them."Through his years of research, Wooden found that describing the typical sexual molester wasn't possible."Most of these guys I've interviewed are good-looking con artists," said Wooden, adding that statistics show one in four girls and one in six boys is sexually abused.Sexual predators can be from across class or economic levels, ethnicity groups, education levels and any age. A large percentage of predators are teens, according to Wooden's information. Sargent explains that almost all predators have been victims themselves at one time."We teach children the concept of luring," said Wooden. "We also teach the concept of law."In his research, Wooden found that the incidents of molestation and pedophilia were not rising as quickly as the incidence of threats that accompanied the behavior. Most predators will threaten harm to a child or their family member in order to manipulate the victim into compliance."If someone ever threatens to harm you or your little brother or your mom and dad, that is a serious felony," Wooden said in pointing out his approach with children – from preschool through graduate school.He explained that most professionals who require certification or a license to practice must maintain a clean record. When children understand their rights and the consequences someone will undergo by making threats, it empowers them. In fact, Wooden said, many of the sexual predators he spoke with had admitted to not being successful with children who had been trained against their lures."I don't think there's a one-shot solution," said Mark Moody, School Resource Officer in the Montpelier School District. "It's pieces of the puzzle in communities that make things work right."

Missouri works to protect children

2008-07-02T10:37:00.002-04:00

Missouri working to stop child predators
Michael Gibbons • July 2, 2008

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against a Louisiana case pursuing the death penalty for child rapists, here in Missouri we have taken a number of steps to protect our children from those who would sexually prey on them. On Monday Gov. (Matt) Blunt signed a law that strengthens protections for our children from sexual predators. We have passed some of the toughest laws in the nation that lock the door and throw away the key on sex offenders. We have also created a cybercrime task force system that hunts predators who try to entice our children on the Internet. These new laws build on these measures to keep our kids safe.

Identifying online predators
Our kids deserve to be safe whether they are playing in a park or surfing the Web. The best way to keep them safe is with prevention. Having online identifying information up front will better help parents and teachers protect their children online, and give law enforcement better tools to catch cyber predators in the act. That's why we're adding online identifying information of any registered sex offenders to the sex offender registry. The Missouri Highway Patrol will share the online information with electronic and computer businesses to prescreen users. The information will be available to the public through searches using the online identifier. We made it a crime for failing to register as a sex offender, shortened the amount of time those convicted have to register and require sex offenders from other states to register in Missouri if they are here more than a week. They also will now also be photographed, have to provide palm prints and a DNA sample.

Funding cyber crime task forces
The bill also creates the Cyber Crimes Investigation Fund. This new fund benefits the Internet Cyber Crimes Grant program that we put in place two years ago by providing $3 million annually. The grant program has supported and created local law enforcement and multijurisdictional task forces across Missouri that employ cyber detectives and computer forensic experts. These task forces target Internet predators and child pornographers. Since the grant program began, arrests of cyber predators targeting our children has quadrupled.

Safer trick-or-treating
Sex offenders are banned from participating in all Halloween festivities related to children. Sex offenders must stay inside their residence from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Halloween, post a sign at their residence stating there are no treats there and make sure all outside lighting is off. Even with this new safety measure in place, I encourage parents to continue to check their children's Halloween route against the state's sex offender registry in order to avoid potentially harmful situations.

Cracking down on child pornographers
Anyone convicted of possessing child pornography will face tougher sentences by increasing the severity of the crime to a Class C or Class B felony, depending on previous offenses. Plus, those convicted of promoting child pornography will be ineligible for probation or parole for at least three years. We also overturned a state Supreme Court decision that allows defendants or their attorneys in child pornography cases to obtain any electronic or any other copies of alleged child pornography. Defendants and their attorneys will now only be allowed to view evidence at approved state or governmental facilities, rather than regaining access to their harmful images for possible reuse or distribution. These changes improve our ability to enforce the laws already in place as well as create new ways to help shield our children from being sexually exploited online. Our children deserve to be safe -- whether playing in their yard, trick-or-treating or in their home while on the computer. We are fully committed to protecting our children and will punish those who do to the fullest extent of the law.

Supreme Court decisions
I am disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against a Louisiana law that would impose the death penalty for child rapists. The court's ruling was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy who, according to The Associated Press, was joined by "his four liberal colleagues" in striking down the law. I support Justice Samuel Alito's dissent that in part stated: "The harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapists is grave. It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other states that these harms justify the death penalty." Earlier this year, we considered a similar law. I am disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, but I will enforce the tough laws we passed to protect our children from sexual predators as the next attorney general of Missouri. We will lock the door and throw away the key on those vermin that prey on our children as well as focus on prevention to make sure our kids are never hurt in the first place.

I also praise the Supreme Court for upholding law-abiding Missourians rights under the Second Amendment to the Constitution to own guns for self-defense and hunting. I agreed with the court's decision and in particular with Justice Antonin Scalia who said in writing for the majority that the Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home." This is a major victory for Missourians, and I strongly commend the Supreme Court for its common-sense ruling on this very important legal issue. As attorney general, I will work to protect our Second Amendment rights and enforce Missouri laws that give our citizens the right to carry, prevent their firearms from being confiscated during natural disasters and make sure that they can defend their homes from intruders.

Michael Gibbons is president pro tem of the Missouri Senate and a Republican candidate for state attorney general.

Don't send your computer to be fixed if you have child porn as your wallpaper!

2008-07-02T10:15:00.002-04:00

Idiot Pedophile of the year award goes to.......

Lindenhurst man charged with child porn

A Lindenhurst man has been charged with possession of child pornography found on his computer by a Kansas technology firm.
Peter Macdonald, 57, was arrested Monday by Lake County sheriff's police.
Lou Archbold, an investigator for the Lake County state's attorney's office, said Macdonald sent his laptop computer to Resq System in Olathe, Kan., to have a new hard drive installed March 16.
Technicians at the firm could not start the computer, Archbold said, so they called Macdonald for his user name and password.
Macdonald supplied the company with the information, Archbold said, and technicians found a pornographic picture of a young boy as the desktop background of the device.
Technicians also located several files they suspected contained child pornography, Archbold said, so they contacted local police.
Kansas police sent the computer to the FBI for analysis, Archbold said, and the FBI alerted Lake County authorities.
Macdonald was taken into custody at his home at 839 Colony Court. He was released after posting $10,000 cash for bond.
He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted and is scheduled to appear July 7 in court.

William Phillips ~ Delaware predator

2008-07-02T09:52:00.001-04:00

New Castle man charged with creating child porn
By SEAN O'SULLIVAN • The News Journal • July 1, 2008

WILMINGTON -- A New Castle man who has been in federal detention since February on charges of possession of child pornography has now been federally charged with creating child porn.

U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly today unsealed a superseding indictment against William A. Phillips, 41, for 14 counts of production of child pornography and 11 counts of interstate travel with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a child less than 12 years old.

According to Connolly and New Castle County Police Chief Rick Gregory at a press conference this morning, investigators originally seized more than 250,000 images and 1,200 videos during a search at Phillips home in February.

After Phillips was arraigned and ordered detained in federal court pending trial on possession-related child porn charges, investigators, while reviewing the evidence, realized Phillips had apparently been creating as well as attempting to trade in obscene images of children engaged in sexual acts.

“The phrase ‘child predator’ is an apt one. They see children as prey. We need to make sure these hunters feel like prey,” said Connolly, adding that the best way to do that and make people like Phillips feel vulnerable is through aggressive investigations and prosecutions.

Connolly said investigators recovered at least one video of two minor girls - identified at Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 - and thousands of still images allegedly created by Phillips.

After this discovery, police returned to Phillips’ home with a new search warrant in June and recovered items that could be seen in the video and images.

This included furniture, women and children's clothing, make up, a comforter, sex toys and "handcuffs with a belt," according to court papers.

Connolly said they have identified some, but not all of the children victimized by Phillips.

He would not say how many have been identified and how many they are still seeking to identify -- citing rules about protecting the identity of victims -- nothing that police have still not completed a review of the vast number of obscene images and videos.

However, Connolly said most have likely been identified and the final number of victims will be a small amount.

He asked anyone who may have information about children that may have been victimized by Phillips to call either New Castle County Police Detective Jason Wilson at 395-8110 or FBI Special Agent Michelle Taylor at 658-4391.

The case against Phillips was one of the first undertaken by New Castle County's three-person Cyber Crimes Unit that was established last year, Gregory said.

Phillips was originally charged with one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of attempted distribution, four counts of receipt of child pornography and four counts of possession of obscene image. The distribution and receipt charges each carry a minimum mandatory five-year sentence, if convicted and a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

The possession count carries a maximum charge of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The new charges against Phillips carry heavier potential sanctions. The production counts set a minimum prison term of 15 years, if convicted and up to 30 years with a $250,000 fine. The interstate travel charge to engage in a sexual act with a child has a minimum punishment of up to 30 years and a maximum of up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The travel is alleged to have occurred between Nov. 2001 and Oct. 2005. The video was believed produced between April 2000 and April 2003. The explicit still photos were allegedly created between Nov. 2003 and Oct. 2005.

Florida man had child porn involving a one year old child

2008-07-02T09:47:00.001-04:00

North Naples man faces prosecution on child porn charges

A North Naples man is awaiting extradition from Michigan to Southwest Florida to face prosecution on 130 counts of possessing child pornography on his computer.

Kenneth Lee Wilson, 43, faces a maximum five-year prison sentence on each count.
Wilson was arrested Sunday near Grand Rapids, where he fled after Collier County sheriff’s deputies found photos and videos on his computer of children, including a 1-year-old, engaging in sex acts.
Deputies said they discovered the child pornography while they were on an Internet information sharing site.
They said they traced the pornography back to Wilson’s computer, which they seized at his home June 18 after he fled the area.

Child porn producer had 1200 videos, 250,000 images as well as 100 disks full of kiddie porn

2008-07-02T09:44:00.003-04:00

Child Pornography charges
By Mellany Armstrong

A New Castle man is facing even more charges of child pornography.

41-year-old William Phillips had been charged by federal authorities in February with having child porn, then county police found he had actually produced the porn.

Investigators found more than 12-hundred videos and 250-thousand images, as well as 100 computer disks full of child porn.

Prosecutors say one video showed two young girls engaging in sex acts. They are trying to identify the girls, and say there may be more victims.

Man traveled 11 times to have sex with children under 12 years old!

2008-07-02T09:29:00.005-04:00

New Castle Man Charged With Child Porn

William Phillips has been charged with 14 counts of production of child pornography and 11 counts of interstate travel to engage in sex with a minor.

By Ted Efaw
Tuesday, July 1, 2008

U.S. Attorney Colm Connolly unsealed a superseding indictment against William Phillips of New Castle. He was already being held in Federal detention on charges of possession of child pornography.
Connolly says New Castle County Police learned Phillips was producing child porn in his home.
In June police used a warrant to search his home. More damaging evidence was found. "which enabled us to supersed the indictment with 14 counts of producing child pronograph and 11 counts of interstate travel with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a child under the age of 12."
The new charges could put Phillips away for a long time. The production counts set a minimum prison term of 15 years.
The interstate travel charge to engage in a sexual act with a child has a minimum punishment of up to 30 years.

The parents of these children need to be looked at as well. I cannot believe that this perv just found these kids on the internet and went to go have sex with them without the parents knowing. They were all under the age of 12! I really don't see these children hanging out in chatrooms or myspace, and giving this man thier address so he can come over and have sex with them. This reeks of parents pimping out thier children!

Federal charges for Tennessee child pornographer

2008-07-02T09:13:00.001-04:00

Kingsport Man Is Held On Child Porn Charges

Published: 11:52 AM, 07/01/2008

Source: The Greeneville Sun

By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

A Kingsport man, at the conclusion Monday of his initial appearance in U.S. District Court here on child pornography charges, was ordered held in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending July 3 detention and preliminary hearings.

Jason Brad Ford, 28, of 148 Hidden Valley Road, Kingsport, had been taken into custody June 27 by Washington County sheriff's deputies who were assisting the FBI.

Ford had been named in a federal criminal complaint filed by FBI Special agent Sandra Farrow.

The eight-page complaint charged Ford with production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography and inducing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

In the complaint, Agent Farrow said she was contacted on March 13, 2008, by the Washington County Sheriff's Department to investigate "a possible Internet crime against children."

The complaint alleges that Ford "produced child pornography via the Internet using a Web camera and a minor child who lived in Colorado that Ford met via the Internet," a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office said.

If convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's release, Ford faces between 15 and 30 years in prison on the production of child pornography charge, and five to 20 years in federal prison on the receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography charges. He also faces 10 years to life in prison on the charge of inducing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity charge.

Also the charges also carry potential fines of up to $250,000 upon conviction.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman ordered Ford held in custody pending detention and preliminary hearings scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, July 3.

What does the bible say about rape?

2008-07-02T08:56:00.003-04:00

No Death Penalty for Child Rapists

Obviously, raping a child is a heinous crime that is equal to or only slightly less than murder. It is an atrocity that even to our hardened, modernized thinking is seen as an abomination.
But America's become a conundrum in the last few decades. We have become a people that are over-tolerant in some areas, and fiercely under-tolerant in others. It's almost as if we are so stifled by political correctness that we re-direct our negative energies to something that NO one could disagree with. So, we have developed an overweening hatred of child molestors while we excuse away serial killers and attempt to understand terrorists.
Perhaps this explains why so many people claim to be shocked by the latest Supreme Court ruling, which was handed down yesterday: We are now told that we cannot execute child molestors, though we still can execute murderers.
This decision was not made merely by a toss of the coin. As one writer pointed out yesterday, "There has not been an execution in the United States for a crime that did not also involve the death of the victim in 44 years, a factor that weighed in [Justice] Kennedy's decision.
"However, the decision was a close one: Four Justices dissented with this (there are a total of nine).
Immediately everyone was up in arms over this. And yet, we have to ask ourselves why we didn't execute a rapist within the past 44 years. Surely there is a reason!
The reason is that, up until now, modern society believed that the death penalty was to be reserved for people who took a life.
Were they right or wrong?
Like it or not, much of our modern laws are based on Old Testament laws from the earliest part of the Bible (also known as the Hebrew Pentateuch). There, in Exodus 21:23-25, we are told "But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." *
Obviously we don't enact these laws literally. Instead, we demand payment for such injuries.
In the Bible, the penalty for rape was death. When Dinah was kidnapped and raped in Genesis 34, her tribe retaliated by killing every male in that city. They weren't condemned by God for that act. But later on, in Deuteronomy 22:25-27, we are informed that if someone rapes a women he is to be put to death, but his family and friends should be spared. (We are also told that the woman is innocent in this matter, which is something that modern Muslims disagree with).
Personally, I believe that we should always have kept the death penalty for rapists, no matter who they rape, and no matter what age. However, one could certainly argue that we do not literally interpret all Old Testament (Pentateuch) laws.
Another argument against the death penalty is that some women have cried "rape" falsely. As we know, there have recently been many men who have been exonnerated of their rape charges. They served time because they were either mistakenly identified or falsely accused. Until modern DNA testing, we remained unsure in many cases.
Generally, the arguments for and against the death penalty for rapists are the same ones used in the case of murderers. The biggest one that stands out is "What if they're innocent?"
In this modern era, there is a greatly reduced possibility of convicting an innocent man. No doubt, an innocent one will slip through the cracks here or there. But the likelihood of innocence after a jury trial with medical evidence is VERY small indeed. I am willing to take that chance, and allow the theoretical innocent to be put to death when there are so many proven rapists taking that final walk, as well.
You cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
What is our alternative? A life sentence without parole? Somehow that isn't usually satisfying enough for the victim and the victim's family. But it may have to suffice for now.
Eventually, there will be new justices seated on the Supreme Court, and we may have another chance at a successful challenge.
Granted, most experts believe that the death penalty is not a great deterrent for homicide. Apparently, there is no real threat of death in most murderers' minds when they commit their crimes. But that is more the fault of our justice system, which allows prisoners to sit on death row for decades as their cases grind slowly through the wheels of justice.
What we really need is a solution to the lag time between a sentencing and the execution of the criminal. But as long as we are allowing our courts to get tied up in the smaller minutae of family and civil court, we will never be able to make the time for true justice.

* Incidentally, the next two verses read "If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth." This is a striking example of how un-Biblical modern slavery was and is. For more that I've written on the Biblical perspectives of slavery, go here.

posted by Saur♥Kraut @ 6/26/2008 06:49:00 AM 14 comments

Child molestor holds two women hostage for a beer?

2008-07-02T08:52:00.001-04:00

Molester Arrested For Taking Hostages In Cypress
A convicted child molestor from Norwalk has been arrested for allegedly holding two women hostage in Cypress.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Listen to Jodi Becker's Report

A convicted child molestor from Norwalk has been arrested for allegedly holding two women hostage in Cypress.

Cops say someone called 911, but wouldn't talk back to dispatchers. Officers went to the home early Monday to check things out.

When they got there two women ran out saying a man they didn't know had been holding them hostage.

The man turned out to be Louie Herrera, a convicted child molestor. He allegedly got in the home through a window, choked one woman, holding her and her elderly mom in the living room while he had a beer.

Cypress police arrested Herrera. He's scheduled to be in court Wednesday.

2 month old baby a victim of Canadian porn ring

2008-06-27T08:46:00.001-04:00

Quebec police say baby was victim of porn ring

Jun 25, 2008 05:07 PM
Peter Rakobowchuk
THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL – Quebec provincial police allege a baby only a few months old was one of the victims of an international child pornography ring that operated over the Internet.
A two-year investigation has led to the arrest of 27 men in Quebec aged between 19 and 68.
"What we know is that most of the victims were of elementary school age and one of them was as young as a baby who was just a few months old," Sgt. Joyce Kemp said today.
"They are children who had not yet reached puberty."
Police began their inquiry in July 2006 after receiving a tip from an Internet service provider in Europe.
"The owner of a website in Germany who hosted free forums for discussion alerted authorities that some individuals were using his website to exchange juvenile pornography material," Kemp said.
She said there were nearly one million exchanges of pornography on the forums.
The 27 men have already appeared in court and most face charges of accessing and possessing material related to child pornography.
Kemp said several of the accused also face charges of production as well as possession.
A total of 29 searches were conducted in a number of regions across the province.
RCMP Const. Melanie Laroche, a spokeswoman for the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa, said the centre worked closely with Quebec provincial police and that information about the porn ring was sent to 28 countries.
"In this case, Canada was one of several countries that were involved in this operation after Germany established that several targets were linked to Canada," Laroche said in an interview.
She said the latest arrests were part of an international investigation into child porn which led to six people being arrested in New Brunswick in October 2007.
Tom Copeland, chairman of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, described the porn ring as "pretty frightening."
"I can't fathom how a human being can do that to another human being, let alone a child just months old," he said.
Copeland said more needs to be done in schools to warn young people about the dangers of putting information on the Internet.
"It's a huge problem that's not being addressed by the education system," he said.
"We don't have Internet safety as part of the curriculum in schools and that's something which needs to change and begin at the kindergarten level."

Keep sex offenders out of homes with children!

2008-06-26T10:19:00.002-04:00

The Ohio House has passed a bill aimed to keep people convicted of sexual crimes out of the homes of children. It would be a case of child neglect if a child victim offender was living with children.

The Ohio Senate needs to pass this bill in order for this law to proceed and become law.

SOSEN ~ a group of sex offenders and thier advocates who work to get laws for sex offenders LOOSENED has decided to fight this legislation, and has started an email campaign to the senate to make it seem that nobody wants this legislation.

I am in need of your help! I need you to write or call the Ohio Senate members and tell them you are in support of HB111. Children should not be led to the slaughter by careless parents.

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_111

Here is a form letter that you could copy and paste to your email:

Dear Senator,
I am writing to show my support for HB111. I want Ohio children to be protected from sexual offenders. Children should not be endangered from neglectful and careless parents by being forced to live with sexual offenders.
This bill is common sense, and Ohio needs to stop protecting the needs of sex offenders, and work on protecting our children. If this bill is passed it will actually prevent sexual abuse of children.
According to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.
29% are age 12-17.
44% are under age 18.
80% are under age 30.
12-34 are the highest risk years.
Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.
Of these, 75% were girls.
Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.
34.2% of attackers were family members.
58.7% were acquaintances.
Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

Please pass HB111 and protect these innocent children who cannot protect themselves.

Sincerly,

Copy and paste this into your TO box in your email:
SD22@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd10@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, senatorboccieri@maild.sen.state.oh.us, SD01@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, senatorcafaro@maild.sen.state.oh.us, sd17@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD04@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, kcoughli@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD12@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, fedoroffice@maild.sen.state.oh.us, dgoodman@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD18@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD19@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, jjacobso@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, Senatorkearney@maild.sen.state.oh.us, senatormason@maild.sen.state.oh.us, SD23@maild.sen.state.oh.us, rmiller@maild.sen.state.oh.us, senatormorano@maild.sen.state.oh.us, mailto:SD26@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd14@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd20@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, troberts@maild.sen.state.oh.us, senatorsawyer@maild.sen.state.oh.us, SD31@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD07@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, SD29@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd08@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, senatorsmith@maild.sen.state.oh.us, rspada@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd16@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, sd02@mailr.sen.state.oh.us, senatorwilson@maild.sen.state.oh.us

please forward this to all groups that have an interest in protecting children!
Thanks! Tracy

No legal cure for pedophiles

2008-06-24T10:49:00.004-04:00

I just want to say that I am sick to my stomach after viewing some pedophile websites where they boast of thier "love" of children.

These sick people have thier own holidays to celebrate the molestation of children.

I personally cannot handle looking at these websites, let alone read the posts that they share with each other. I am not able to control my emotions that emerge from viewing such things. It makes me want to vomit, cry, and kill these sick twisted individuals.

They take pictures of beautiful little girls and boys, and turn them into something sexual.

I hear all the time from people "I just don't understand how or why they do this"

The reason you don't understand why, is because you are not insane.

Only people who suffer from the same insanity could understand thier thought process.

They actually think what they are doing is okay, because they have changed thier thought process. It is called a cognitive distortion.
Go here to view some ways that sex offenders have thinking errors.

From Absolute Zero:

A perfect example of a pedophile thinking:

Jonathan Johnson, a 31 year old bi-sexual pedophile from Nebraska, and a regular poster on the very graphic pedophile forum, BoyMoment.
He is a very dangerous pedophile because not only has he worked as a DJ at a Skating Rink where he had access to young children daily, he also has many young boys who stay overnight and sleep in the same bed with him on a regular basis.
He admits to showing his "Young Friends" the pedophile posts on the BoyMoment forums, which include graphic discussions such as "Little Boys Cum", "Little Boys Butts", "When is the last time you saw a Boy naked?", along with graphic photographs of young boys in various stages of undress.

In Response to the question "has anyone ever had an orgasm while a toddler was wiggling around on your lap?":

Hmmm maybe a lot of pre-cum once or twice, one YF felt me get hard, knew what it was and wiggled even more.

God I love it when they know what's going on, they know they cuased it and they tease you even more.

These pedophiles actually believe that a toddler knows what an erection is, and enjoy getting them aroused!

Toddlers do not have that thought process.
They just want to play and have fun, and enjoy getting attention from an adult. They don't want to be raped and molested. They don't even know what that is.

Pedos have twisted thier thoughts to actually BELIEVE that children want and enjoy being fondled and raped.

There is no cure for these sick twisted people, other than lobotomys or death.

They can only try to avoid children (which they won't and can't), or curb thier desires (impossible- you can't stop thinking unless you have a lobotomy)

Michigan man reoffends

2008-06-17T08:25:00.002-04:00

Dexter man sentenced to 10 years in prison for child porn

Posted by News Staff The Ann Arbor News June 16, 2008 16:34PM
Categories:

A Dexter man previously convicted of molesting a young relative was ordered to prison for 10 years Monday after authorities found child pornography on his computer, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Thomas Vanbuhler, 60, pleaded guilty last August to one felony count of possession of child pornography. At that hearing, officials said Vanbuhler admitted he had been receiving child pornography through the Internet since at least 2003.

The case was prosecuted under the federal Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, federal agents searched Vanbuhler's home and discovered 109 images of child pornography and 134 images of child erotica, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In 2003, Vanbuhler was convicted in Wayne County of fondling a young female relative during a party. He was sentenced to probation, and accused of violating probation by groping another young relative, officials said.

When Vanbuhler is released from prison, he will serve five years on supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

What is ridiculous is the man was only charged with one count of child porn. He had over 100 images! This was not something done by "accident". He has revictimized over 100 children, but since the NCMEC can only validate one child as "real" that is all he gets charged for. The law for child porn has to be changed. Unidentified victims of child porn should also be counted.

Illegal Aliens are sexually abusing Americas children

2008-06-17T08:07:00.002-04:00

Our Children Are Being Victimized By Illegal Aliens!
Posted on Monday, June 16 @ 10:04:18 CDT
Topic: Crimes Scenes illegal immigration laws

Contrary to what President Bush claims, family values do stop at the Rio Grande for many illegal aliens. In addition to suppressing wages, bankrupting our hospitals, and over-crowding our jails and public schools, illegal aliens are preying upon our children In Operation Predator sweeps across the country conducted between 2003-2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nabbed over 10,700 foreign national child molesters.

Many of these predators had been previously convicted of other crimes, and many had already been deported once. The number predators apprehended in the sweeps actually only represent the tip of the iceberg. In fact, a study conducted by the Violent Crimes Institute reports that between 1999 and 2006, there were nearly 1,000,000 sex crimes committed in the United States by illegal aliens.

Using U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration, as well as state and local law enforcement data, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes Institute determined that there are no less than 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders currently inside the U.S.

A very cursory search on the subject of illegal aliens committing acts of child molestation turned up countless examples of the growing problem.

The following are two recent ones: The suspect in the recent rape of a 13 year old Alabama girl is believed to be an illegal alien. Mobile County Sheriff's detectives are looking for a man named Domingo Lorenzo for the rape which was reported on June 4. Sheriff´s department spokesman Sgt. Jerry Taylor said: "The first thing they're trying to do is verify his true identity. Once that's done they'll be able to check with immigration officials to see if he did have the proper credentials to enter the country."

Lorenzo is known to neighbors of a West Mobile trailer park, though the owner of Ridgewood Acres claims that he has no record of Lorenzo paying rent. Many residents told reporters he is frequently on the premises.

Warren McLamore, the victim´s father told a WKRG reporter: "My daughter doesn't even go outside now. If she does, I just put her in the car, lock the doors, get in and get out of here."

On May 28, a 25 year old Mexican national named Israel Lugo Rios was arrested and charged with molesting a 3 year old Bradenton, FL girl. The little girls was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital after complaining of pain. Upon medical examination, it was discovered that the girl had been sexually violated. The sheriff´s department has determined that Rios is in the country illegally.

In 2007, Americans For Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC) tracked child sexual assaults committed by illegal aliens. In a 30 day period, they recorded 27 assaults by foreign nationals illegally inside the United States. The results are as follows:

July 28, 2007 Milwaukee, Oregon Charged: Alejandro Emetrio "Alex" Rivera Gamboa, 24, and Gilberto Javier Arellano-Gamboa, 23
Charges: rape and murder Victim: Dani Countryman of Texas (15 years old)

August 6, 2007 Trenton, N.J. Charged: Jose Carranza, 28 Charges: child rape (later charged with murder of Newark teenagers as well) Victim: child's name withheld

August 16, 2007 Huron, Ohio Charged: Lucio Sanchez-Martinez Charge: gross sexual imposition of a minor Victim: 8 year old girl

August 20, 2007 Oregon City, Oregon Charged: Alejandro Hernandez-Flores, 19 and Mario Alberto Flores-Estrada, 20 Charges: rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse Victims: two girls ages 14 and 15

August 21, 2007 Franklin County, Alabama Charged: Alvaro Vargas, 38 Charge: rape, sexual abuse Victim: 11 year old girl

August 23, 2007 Bryan County, Oklahoma Sought/Charged: Jose Retana Charge: rape by instrumentation Victim: 4 year old girl

August 24, 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana Charged: Jesus Valenzuela, 19 Charges: child molestation and burglary Victim: 5 year old girl

August 27, 2007 McAllen, Texas Charged: Jorge Alberto Escobar Charge: aggravated kidnapping Victim: 5 year old girl

August 27, 2007 Rockville, Maryland Sought/Charged: Mahumbo Kanneh, 23 Charges: rape, sexual assault, and molestation (Dismissed due to lack of interpreter!) Victims: 18 month and 7 year old girls

August 15, 2007 Indiantown, Florida Charged: Ruben Hernandez-Juarez, 52 Charge: battery on a child for molesting Victim: 6 year old boy

August 8, 2007 North Hollywood, California Charged: Chalearmchai Nopthaisong, 41 Charges: kidnapping and lewd acts on a child Victims: seven children (Police have since discovered six more victims ranging from age 4 to 8 years old.)

July 20, 2007 Tulsa, Oklahoma Charged: Daniel P. Ramirez, 39 Charges: sexual battery Victim: 16 year old boy

August 14, 2007 Portsmouth, Massachusetts Charged: Marvin Hernandez, 27 Charges: sexual assault Victim: 14 year old girl

August 20, 2007 Gaston County, North Carolina Charged: Ramon Zamora-Solano, 41 Charges: kidnapping and sexual assault Victims: 5 and 6 year old girls

August 9, 2007 Poway, California Charged: Jesus Mora Nava, 30 Charges: sexual assault Victim: 13 year old boy

August 22, 2007 Palm Bay, Florida Charged: Dwayne Modeste, 19 Charges: rape (armed with a machete) Victims: 13 year old girl and 20 year old woman

August 20, 2007 Manchester, New Hampshire Charged: Alan Hernandez, 18 Charges: sexual assault and criminal threatening Victim: 14 year old girl

August 18, 2007 Brewster, New York Charged: Sergio Antonio Martinez-Garza, 32 Charges: two felony counts of sexual conduct against a child Charges: rape Victim 15 year old girl

July 28, 2007 Tacoma, Washington Charged: Terapon Adhahn, 42 Charges: rape, kidnapping, and murder Victim: Zina Linnik, 12

July 30, 2007 Murfreesboro, Tennessee Charged: Jesus G. "Egg" Garay-Barrientos, 18 Charges: aggravated sexual battery and rape Victim: 6 year old girl

July 27, 2007 Alto, Texas Charged: Eleazar Posadas, 49 Charges: indecent contact with a child Victim: 7 year old girl

July 21, 2007 Village of Monroe, New York Charged: Armando Sierra, 22 Charges: statutory rape Victim: 14 year old girl

August 16, 2007 Bentonville, Arkansas Charged: Daniel Lopez Bibiano, 34 Charges: attempted rape, sexual assault, and rape Victims: 5, 10, 12, 13, and 15 year old girls

August 18, 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana Charged: Israel Baez Charges: In custody on other charges. Approached a group of children and arrested with a 'rape kit' in his van.Witnesses: 5 children

So why does the crime of child molestation seem to be so prevalent among illegal aliens from Mexico?…The answer may lie within the age-old Mexican culture of "machismo," as well as within the actual laws of that country. The crime of rape or child molestation is incredibly under-reported in Mexico, because there is so much shame placed upon the victim as well as the difficulty in proving the case. A 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post article, reporter Mary Jordan detailed the case of a 16 year old Mexican girl who had reported being raped by three policemen in 1997.

When Yessica Yadira Diaz Cazares and her mother went to the police station to report the rape, she was laughed at by the officers and actually jailed overnight.
Diaz was forced by police to undergo a medical exam as well as a total of eight blood tests. She was told that the blood tests would determine whether or not she had actually been raped. Prosecutors told the girl that she must physically put her hand on the men who raped her, courageously she proceeded even as the family received death threats.
The accused officer laughed at her and verbally abused the girl as she identified him as an attacker. Eventually, Yessica realized that justice would never be served and simply gave up. Sadly, she not only gave up her search for justice but her life as well. Despondent, she committed suicide by taking an overdose of prescription pills.
After Yessica´s death, the national human rights commission pursued the case, resulting in the conviction of two of the accused officers.
The crime of kidnapping a woman for the purpose of rape and marriage against their will, or "rapto" as it is known in Mexico is actually a minor crime and rarely ever prosecuted. A Mexican legislator actually called the practice "romantic." Of course, this crime if committed in the United States would elicit felony charges and a penalty of 20 years to life in prison. While rape is a serious crime in the United States, many Mexican nationals cannot understand why they are prosecuted on this side of the border. Often, a small payment of $10 to $20 to the victim´s family will settle the matter back in Mexico.The most troubling and telling reason behind the growing epidemic of child molestation at the hands of Mexican illegal aliens, is the fact the age of sexual consent throughout the majority of Mexico is 12 years of age!
The only other nation in the world which boasts such a disregard for childhood innocence is Zimbabwe, where the age of consent is also 12.
Article 177 of the Mexican Federal District Penal Code discusses "sexual abuse" and punishment of other acts referred to as "unintentional" acts –"who without purpose of reaching copulation, performs a sexual act with a person under 12 or a person that has no capacity of understanding the meaning of the act or that for any reason cannot resist it, or that demands that such act is observed or performed, will be punished with 2 to 7 years in prison".

In addition to Mexico City, the age of consent is 12 years old in the following Mexican states:

Aquascalientes
Baja California Sur
Campeche
Coahuila
Guanajuato
Guerrero
Hidalgo
Jalisco
Michoacan
Morelos
Nayarit
Oaxaca
Puebla
San Louis Potosi
Sonora
Tabasco
Tamaulipas
Yucatan
Zacatecas

The age of consent is 13 years old in Nuevo Leon and 14 years old in the seven remaining Mexican states.

The attitude towards having sex with little girls is carried with many Mexican men as they cross into this country. An example of this attitude can be found in Mexican national Diego Lopez-Mendez, who pled guilty in 2006 to sexually assaulting a 10 year old West Virginia girl. Through an interpreter, he told the court: "In the pueblo where I grew up girls are usually married by 13 years old….I was unaware of the nature of the offense or that it was a bad crime."

In order to bring charges of rape in most Mexican states, the law requires that the girl prove that she is a virgin, and that the charge of statutory rape be dropped if the rapist wishes to marry his victim.

Of course, when discussing the issue of illegal immigration, this dirty little secret is never talked about by our politicians, nor is the impact that such an attitude towards the abuse of children could have on this nation by offering amnesty to millions of Mexican nationals.

The next time someone tells you that illegal immigration is a 'victimless crime,' remind them of the children whose lives will never be the same.

Until our politicians gain the courage to actually defend our border…Keep your children close!

DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE WITH OUR ONLINE ACTIVISTS AT...http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-704861.html#704861

Deltona loosens residency restriction

2008-06-17T07:46:00.001-04:00

Deltona takes steps to relax residency rule for sex offenders

By BOB KOSLOW Staff Writer

DELTONA -- Sex offenders and predators may find more legal places to live in Volusia County's largest city of more than 86,000 residents.

Elected leaders here Monday tentatively amended a city code by removing school bus stops as a measuring point from where certain convicted sexual offenders and designated predators cannot live.

"(Bus stops) change all the time, and enforcement is difficult," City Attorney George Trovato said Monday. "You have to research when an offender moved in and when a bus stop was created. (Offenders and predators) could be illegal one year and legal the next. It's just not enforceable."

State law prohibits convicted and registered sexual offenders and predators, whose victims were younger than 16 years old, from living within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, park or playground. Deltona officials in May 2006, copying many other Florida cities and counties, extended the distance to 2,500 feet and added school bus stops to the list.

The commission unanimously approved eliminating the bus stops and scheduled a second hearing July 7.

About 99 registered sexual offenders and predators live in Deltona, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Web site.
The move was not enough for George Griffin, head of the Volusia/Flagler American Civil Liberties Union.

"The ordinance, when it was passed, created a wall around the city to the point that it might be unconstitutional," he told officials. "While the opening of more places to live is a step in the right direction, there is no proof that the residency restrictions make a city safer. It's time to relook at the entire ordinance."

Griffin suggested looking at anti-loitering laws to better control where offenders and predators hang out during the day.

"I am all for making the city livable for everyone, but we need to be very very careful," Commissioner Mike Carmolingo said. "There are too many young families out there."

Resident and registered sex offender Richardo Maldonado pleaded with the commission to eliminate its law.

"Even taking out bus stops, who is Deltona to decide to add on what the state says?" he said. "When is the harassment going to stop? I made a mistake and paid for it. Enough! Enough!"

Other changes to the city's sex offender ordinance take into account the ages of some victims and defendants -- known as Romeo and Juliet cases -- and the intent not to jail violators.

Under the changes, which must pass the second public hearing, residency restrictions would not apply to offenders and predators if the case involved consensual sexual conduct when the defendant was not more than four years older than the "victim" and the "victim" was older than 14 and younger than 17.

Registered sex offenders and predators with a clean record for at least 10 years since the initial conviction also are exempt from the city code. All state distance laws still apply.

The possibility of jail time for those found in violation of the city law was also removed. Penalties shall be a fine not to exceed $500 a day.

"It was never the intent to send them to jail, only to get them to move," Trovato said. "So, why have it if you are not going to enforce it?"
The changes to provide more places to live could make the city's law less likely to be challenged and overturned as unconstitutional, supporters said.
What they will not do is impact the city's current Circuit Court case involving three defendants charged with violating the city's distance law and refusing to move. A Circuit Court judge ordered the city to pay for the defendants' legal costs and a three-judge panel is reviewing a city appeal.

There are more than 10 additional known cases, Trovato said.

New York is not keeping predators out of shelters

2008-06-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

Department of Homeless Services still not screening for sex offenders

BY Bill Egbert DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, June 15th 2008, 11:06 PM

Sex offenders are still being housed at shelters for homeless families a year after the problem was first exposed, a new report revealed Sunday.
State Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) charged that the Department of Homeless Services is still failing to screen applicants to make sure they are not on the Megan's Law registry, allowing serious sex offenders to be assigned to shelters that house children.
"It will take them five minutes to avoid a lifetime of trauma for a child who may be hurt by one of these individuals," said Klein outside the agency's Manhattan office.
Last year, Klein found six level 2 or 3 sex offenders who had registered family shelters as their addresses.
The latest report found five sexual predators giving family shelters as their address, though only two could be verified as still living at the facilities.
DHS officials cited the agency's legal obligation to shelter anyone who applies and policies that make it difficult to separate families who apply together.

17 years for 50,000 child porn images? Sicko needs a year for every image!

2008-06-12T17:08:00.001-04:00

Slidell man gets 17 years for child porn
10:46 AM CDT on Thursday, June 12, 2008
wwltv.com

(NEW ORLEANS)---A Slidell man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison in connection with a child pornography case where more than 50,000 images of child pornography were found on his computer, according to U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Letten said that 60-year-old Danny M. Daugherty was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison, placed on a life term of supervised release, ordered to pay $20,000 in victim restitution, required to give a DNA sample and register as a sex offender, prohibited from owning a computer or television with internet access, and ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 18.

Letten reported that Daugherty pled guilty on January 23, stemming from a search warrant being served on his home back on May 8, 2007. Deputies with the St. Tammany Sheriff's Office and officers with the Slidell Police Department recovered a photo album and a computer loaded with child pornography images, reportedly including three young boys, age 12-14, from Daugherty's neighborhood.

Letten concluded that Daugherty was taken into custody, but not before he allegedly pulled a 9mm pistol on officers.

ISP's to block child pon sites

2008-06-12T17:05:00.001-04:00

ISP child-porn deal sparks censorship fears

Posted Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:02pm AEST Updated Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:14pm AEST

Some advocacy groups fear the ISPs' move to block child porn sets a dangerous precedent for censorship.

In a first for the United States, three internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to block access to web sites that show child pornography, however not everyone is welcoming the move, with some groups claiming it raises censorship issues.
It may seem like an altruistic move, but ISPs Time Warner, Verizon and Sprint, were forced into the landmark agreement by New York Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo.
It took an eight-month undercover investigation in which his officers posed as subscribers to the ISPs.
When the officers' complaints to the ISPs that they were allowing child pornography online were ignored, the Attorney-General threatened to charge the companies with fraud.
Now they have come on board and offered the non-government organisation, the Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, more than $US1 million to set up the scheme.
Parry Aftab is an internet privacy and security lawyer and the founder of internet safety advocacy group, wiredsafety.org and he says the agreement means child pornography could potentially be wiped from the networks.
"What they've done is they've agreed to stop allowing anyone to access the channels that are frequently used for child pornography, and to use technology and people to help ferret it out wherever it is on their network," he said.
"Children are exploited and killed often in the making of child pornography."
However, the move has raised concerns over censorship, with some advocacy groups fearing it sets a dangerous precedent.
Mr Aftab agrees that issues have been raised as to whether or not it is appropriate that a non-government organisation potentially decides what is and what is not child pornography.
"The US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children is non-governmental and governmental," he said.
"It was created by a special act of congress, so although it is a non-profit it is also government controlled.
"It's our official tip line in the United States on child pornography and it acts as a quasi-governmental unit in many cases.
"Everything's regulated, if you're a charity then you're regulated, but yes it is regulated and overseen by the Government here."
However the website for the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children claims it is a private, non-profit organisation with a congressional mandate.
Australian censorship fears
The fact that a private organisation can essentially act as an official censor is why anti-censorship lobby group Electronic Frontiers does not want to see a similar scheme set up in Australia.
The organisation's chairman, Dale Clapperton, says ultimately the agreement is a bad move.
"First and foremost placing the decision over what type of material is or is not child pornography in the hands of a non-governmental, non-transparent, non-accountable private organisation is fundamentally a bad move," he said.
Mr Clapperton refers to the recent uproar over photographer Bill Henson's artwork which raises issues of defining child pornography.
"We've just recently seen in Australia the consequences of what can happen when an organisation such as this gets a bee in its bonnet about something they believe is child pornography," he said.
"If this type of scheme was replicated in Australia, potentially access to all of his [Bill Henson's] artworks would be blocked."
The head of the School of Information Systems at Deakin University, Professor Matthew Warren, is another critic of the US system, but for technical reasons.
"The reason why it's flawed is that it will only stop the access of these types of images via user groups," he said.
"The flaw with the American approach is that it doesn't focus on blocking inappropriate internet websites."
Professor Warren argues that the Federal Government is coming up with a better system to stop the spread of child porn on the internet.
"The new Rudd Government is now in the process of implementing the strategy that will filter into their content at the internet service provider levels," he said.
"So it means that people will have a clean feed of internet content to their site.
"The problem that's been raised with that is that you'd actually slow down the internet."
Dale Clapperton argues the Australian approach is also flawed and says it will be difficult to ever fully prevent people from accessing child pornography on the internet.
"I don't think that anybody is pretending for a moment that implementing this scheme here, such as they are going to do in New York, or what Labor has proposed, that Australia is actually going to be effective at preventing people from accessing child pornography on the internet," he said.

Adam Walsh Law, in Ohio

2008-06-02T10:48:00.002-04:00

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
MIAMI COUNTY

{¶11} Having reviewed S.B. 10, we do not find a legislative intent to impose
punishment through the reclassification and registration process. As with prior versions of R.C. Chapter 2950, we believe the legislature intended to enact a civil, regulatory scheme rather than to impose criminal punishment. The new law includes a declaration about the risk of recidivism posed by sex offenders. R.C. 2950.02(A). It also contains a declaration that its various requirements are intended to protect the safety and welfare of the population. R.C. 2950.02(B). The General Assembly further declared that the release or exchange of information about sex offenders is not punitive. Id. We note too that S.B. 10 grants King a right to a hearing to contest her reclassification, but the legislation fails to
provide her with a right to appointed counsel. It also states that the hearing shall be governed by the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. These facts bolster our belief that the legislature intended a civil, non-punitive proceeding. Smith v. Doe (2003), 538 U.S. 84, 96.

1On its face, the present proceeding is a civil action commenced by King to
challenge the Attorney General’s administrative reclassification of her as a Tier II offender. Although S.B. 10 provides King with a right to a hearing, the legislation does not authorize the appointment of counsel. Therefore, King has no statutory right to counsel under S.B. 10.

{¶6} In State v. Cook, 83 Ohio St.3d 404, 1998-Ohio-291, the Ohio Supreme
Court held that the registration and notification requirements in R.C. Chapter 2950 are nonpunitive in purpose and effect. Id. at 414-423. Thereafter, in State v. Williams, 88 Ohio St.3d 513, 2000-Ohio-428, the court reaffirmed its view that R.C. Chapter 2950 is “neither ‘criminal,’ nor a statute that inflicts punishment[.]” Id. at 528. More recently, in State v.
Wilson, 113 Ohio St.3d 382, 2007-Ohio-2202, the court again concluded that “sexoffender-classification proceedings under R.C. Chapter 2950 are civil in nature[.]” Id. at 389. Wilson produced a three-member dissent opining that the restrictions imposed under R.C. Chapter 2950 have become more onerous since Cook and should be viewed as “part of the punishment that is imposed as a result of the offender’s actions.” Id. at 392.

Basically this says that SB 10 does not inflict punishment on a sex offender, and they cannot get the state to pay for thier attorney

~Cry Me A River A Sex Offender!~

Weekend jail time?? WTF!

2008-05-27T09:44:00.001-04:00

Weekend jail time for child porn collector

Mike Chouinard
The Times
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Chilliwack physiotherapist caught with a large collection of child pornography on his computer will spend two months' worth of weekends in jail for his offence.
Judge Russell MacKay gave Laurence Wong a 60-day jail sentence in provincial court Friday morning. The sentence is to be served intermittently.
"I sincerely hope this chapter is put behind you," the judge told him.
Wong was arrested May 3, 2007 after police found approximately 26,000 images on his home computer that depicted various degrees of pornographic images involving children. It also contained several hundred explicit videos.
"Needless to say, this material is shocking, repulsive and abhorrent," MacKay said.
The arrest was part of an international investigation based in the Netherlands.
Wong pleaded guilty in December. Prior to sentencing, both a pre-sentence report and psychiatric evaluation were ordered.
The physiotherapist has faced restrictions about working around children in his practice. Currently, he is working in the Vancouver area at a grocery store. He also lost a chance to serve as a physiotherapist for the British kayak team at the upcoming Olympics in China.
Wong's professional association is expected to review his status now that the court case has concluded. Judge MacKay said he expected the association will impose further sanctions against the physiotherapist.
In addition to the 60-day sentence, Wong faces two years of probation when his term ends. Judge MacKay also included an order that Wong be placed on a sexual offenders' registry for a 10-year term, but declined to make an order for a sample for an offenders' DNA registry.
Wong faces restrictions against being around young people under 16 years of age and can only use a computer for work purposes. He must also pay a victim surcharge fine of $1,000.
He faced a minimum of 14 days in jail and a maximum of 18 months. When passing sentence the judge took into account the accused's lack of criminal history, his willingness to admit his mistake, and that he had not produced or distributed the material.
"He acknowledges that his behaviour was extremely inappropriate," MacKay said.
The judge took note of Wong's family and a letter from his mother.
"It is a credit to the family that they continue to stand behind their son," MacKay said.
However, he also cited the extreme nature of some of the material Wong possessed and did not grant defence counsel's request for a minimum jail sentence.

Arizona tracking child molestors

2008-05-27T09:19:00.002-04:00

GPS 'eye' now tracking sex offenders
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 05.27.2008

Anthony Garcia got busted, not by a cop on the street, but by an eye in the sky.
The 18-year-old registered sex offender got too close to a couple of schools, and he didn't stick to his probation-officer-approved schedule.
His probation officer wasn't anywhere around, but he knew where Garcia had been because of a satellite-based GPS tracking system quietly put into use 18 months ago.
Since late 2006, some child molesters who are placed on probation have been required to wear Global Positioning System ankle bracelets that track where they are 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Probation officers can download data whenever they want to check where a defendant has been and whether they're keeping to their pre-approved schedules. Or, the officers can sit at a computer screen to watch a probationer move from place to place in real-time, said David Sanders, Pima County's chief probation officer.
Pima County probation officers are monitoring nine local residents, plus 16 people who live in other Southern Arizona counties that don't have the necessary equipment, said Barbara Johnson, who supervises the sex offender unit of Pima County Adult Probation.
In each case, the child molesters are told there are certain areas where they can't go, Sanders said. If they go into an "exclusionary zone," the ankle bracelet sounds an alarm and immediately notifies his probation officer.
If the probation officer thinks it's necessary, he or she can immediately call the police, Sanders said.
Exclusionary zones could include playgrounds, school yards and victims' neighborhoods.
The tracking system also can be used as an investigative tool, Sanders said. Detectives investigating a sex crime can compare a sex offender's GPS data with the location and time of that crime to see if they match, he said.
Johnson stressed that probation officers are still doing all the same checks they did before GPS — making unannounced visits to homes and jobs, testing for drugs and alcohol and meeting with probationers on a regular basis.
"Just because they are on GPS doesn't mean we sit back," Johnson said. "It's just another tool for us to use."
Garcia, the 18-year-old, was placed on lifetime probation in February 2007 after admitting to sexual conduct with an 8-year-old relative.
A probation officer filed a motion to revoke Garcia's probation on May 6.
According to court documents, Garcia wasn't where he was supposed to be on 11 days, failed to live up to GPS requirements on six days, went near schools twice and failed to participate in his counseling program on a certain day. He also failed to report to his probation officer on another day.
Garcia said he didn't adhere to his schedule, and he didn't live up to his GPS requirements on those dates. Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo could place him back on probation June 6, or he could sentence him to up to 15 years in prison.
Garcia is the first person placed on GPS monitoring who could have his probation revoked because of it, Johnson said. However, a warrant has been issued for a second sex offender who cut off his GPS monitor and disappeared.
Right now, the only sex offenders who are fitted with the GPS monitors are those convicted of "dangerous" crimes against children, who have been placed on probation, Sanders said.
The number who fall into that category is relatively small because most people convicted of such crimes are sent to prison, Sanders said.
In addition, there are some sex crimes that are not considered "dangerous" under Arizona law, Sanders said.
But the number is expected to increase, Sanders said, because there are a few dozen people in prison now who will have to spend time on probation after they're released.
The state is paying for the bracelets, which cost $6 a day, Sanders said.
He said he expects legislators will eventually expand the circumstances under which GPS can be required, possibly to include people awaiting trial, domestic-violence suspects and those convicted of adult sex crimes.
Although no studies have been done to see if the monitors have a deterrent effect on sex offenders, there is speculation they could make them think twice about committing bad acts, Sanders said.
"GPS makes the most sense in cases where there are exclusionary zones that have been set up for justifiable reasons, such as when you have a stalking-type situation when the victim is at a higher risk of being attacked," Sanders said.
Pima County Public Defender Bob Hirsh said he has problems with GPS monitoring, especially considering the cost.
"They've got to know where these people are every second of every day? What's the point of that?" Hirsh said. "I think it's all pretty circumstantial. I'm found near schools every day going to and from the grocery store."
There is no correlation between someone being successful on probation and GPS, Hirsh said. Some people succeed on probation because they've decided to change their behavior, and others simply because they are in a more structured environment.
"I don't see any benefit," Hirsh said. "This is just another example of encroachment by the government."

Possible sreial killer/rapist found with rape images on his computer

2008-05-24T08:46:00.002-04:00

Suspect eyed in 4 vanishings
Feds are investigating a man held in Jeffco in connection with 2003-04 disappearances.
By Carlos Illescas and Jace Larson The Denver Post/9News
Article Last Updated: 05/16/2008 07:02:28 PM MDT

A man is in custody in Jefferson County who federal authorities believe is connected to the disappearance of at least four people.

Scott Lee Kimball: According to a search warrant, information about three of four missing people plus images of rape were found on Kimball's computer.

Scott Lee Kimball, 41, is in jail on unrelated charges as authorities investigate his link to the disappearances of Jennifer Marcum, Kaysi McLeod, Terry Kimball — Scott's uncle — and Leann Emry of Aurora.

Information from a search warrant issued for Kimball's laptop computer in 2007 showed that information about three of the four was in his computer, according to court documents obtained by 9News.

Also found on his computer were images of bondage, sex acts and rape as well as photos of four other unidentified women, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Marcum, a dancer at a Glendale strip club, disappeared Feb. 17, 2003. Her car was found abandoned at a remote parking lot at Denver International Airport.

Jennifer Marcum disappeared in 2003.

The documents say that Kimball's and Marcum's cellphones both went three days without any calls around the time she disappeared.

In June 2003, Kimball told authorities that a drug dealer had killed Marcum. He said that a friend of a former cellmate had shown him a photograph of Marcum with her hands and legs bound and her mouth taped shut, according to an affidavit. Kimball said that in the photo Marcum was lying in a fetal position on the floor with her eyes closed.

Kaysi McLeod was reported missing in August 2003. She was 19 at the time and was never seen after Kimball was supposed to pick her up from a Thornton hotel. Kimball married Kaysi's mother, Lori, later that year.
Rob McLeod, Kaysi's father, told 9News: "I believe Scott Kimball killed my daughter."

Terry Kimball, 60, disappeared in late 2004, shortly after he arrived in town and began to stay with Scott Kimball.

Scott Kimball told people that his uncle won the Ohio state lottery, then went to Mexico with a woman.

Emry, 24, disappeared somewhere between Moab and Washington state in 2003. In January 2003 she told her father, Howard,

Jennifer Marcum disappeared in 2003. that she was planning a camping trip. Her car was found in Moab.

James Davis, FBI special agent in charge of the Denver office, told 9News that the FBI was trying to gather information about the four other women, concerned that they, too, are victims.

"I think that's entirely possible," Davis said. "We don't know what we don't know."

Scott Lee Kimball may be connected to the disappearances of these four unidentified women. If you have any information, call the FBI at 303-629-7171.

Child sex trade Industry

2008-05-24T08:22:00.002-04:00

Barnaba Institute seeks to spread awareness in SE CT about sex trade and teens

Posted by Suzanne Thompson on May 23 2008, 10:44 AM

It’s hardly the stuff of polite conversation around the Lymes, but families and children in all of southeastern Connecticut towns are not immune to the seamy business of prostitution and sex for pay, according to Frank Barnaba, founder of the Barnaba Institute (BI) of Clinton.
In fact, pimps and perpetrators particularly prey on the stiff upper lips of parents and the seeming naiveté of young people from this region, according to Barnaba, who has worked in the field, both undercover and in advocacy, for almost 35 years. In the last three years he has tried to help several young women get away from exploitative situations in New London County that involved prostitution, pimps, and drugs: three cases in Old Lyme, one in Niantic, and two in Norwich and New London. Families or friends of someone in need of help will contact him; not every case is successful.
Barnaba started the Paul & Lisa Program, Inc., in 1980. The nonprofit organization was named after Lisa, a young woman Barnaba happened to meet at a diner in Woodbridge when he got stuck in a snow storm. The young honors student from a religious and caring family had gotten involved with a businessman who “sold” her to the mob in New Haven. After much counseling and support by Barnaba, she made plans to escape prostitution and drugs. But she died of a suspiciously large overdose of cocaine. The “Paul” came from St. Paul’s Church in Westbrook, which gave money to start the organization.
Since 1980, Barnaba personally has rescued about 135 people from human trafficking and sexual exploitation, most of them in the New York metro area. Some have gone on to be nurses, school teachers, and there are two psychologists—one is a famous doctor in New York City. Barnaba has gone undercover with federal agents on some cases and has trained FBI agents on commercial sexual exploitation. In 1988, he was recipient of the National Victim of Crime Award by President Ronald Reagan for his outstanding contributions in assisting victims of crime.
“People think of trafficking in other countries—Africa and Indonesia—but domestic trafficking is truly growing,” he said. “Nobody has the numbers, really.”
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates 200,000 to 300,000 U.S. citizens, mainly children and young women, are at high risk of being trafficked throughout the country for sexual purposes. Barnaba considers this a low estimate.
“It’s not organized crime anymore,” he said. “Gangs are getting involved big-time, and this is changing the whole scope.”
Nationally, the average age of a child roped into trafficking and prostitution is 13, according to BI. Barnaba said he recently dealt with 12-year-olds working the streets in Waterbury. It’s not unusual for the pimps now to be 17 to 25 years old.Along the shoreline, he said, the perpetrators often are drug dealers.
Lest anyone think they are preying only on inner city youth and the suburbs are safe, he recounts what a New London drug dealer and pimp told him last year: “It’s a piece of cake with these upper-class wealthy kids; parents don’t talk about this with them.”
Barnaba said parents and teachers need to be talking with children starting around age 11 about the fact that there are people in the local community who are here for one reason: to exploit children.
Since retiring from Paul & Lisa about two years ago, Barnaba decided to form the institute in his name, to carry out a two-pronged mission: One is a preventative approach to raise awareness of the problem among community leaders, schools, and residents.Lisa Bragaw of Niantic, one of BI’s directors and a mother of three children under age 11, agrees that knowledge is power, for both adults and children.
“While it’s a difficult topic, it’s something that we need to know as parents to help protect our children,” Bragaw said. “We raise our children to be polite and to say hello to people who say hello to them. On the other hand, I’m trying to tell them to watch themselves and to look out for predators, without scaring them. It’s a really fine line.”
The PTA at Niantic Center School sponsored a BI presentation for parents in East Lyme last spring. Bragaw is in discussions with East Lyme High to put on a similar presentation.
“This was all new to me,” Bragaw said of hearing BI’s presentation the first time. “The predators befriend the kids, get them to trust them, buy them gifts, and they get the kids to start telling little white lies, sneaking out on their parents a bit. They are very patient on how they will get these kids involved.”
“Kids are so much smarter today,” Barnaba said. “They know what’s going on, more than their parents. They can find anything they want on the Internet. They think it’s a lark.”
“‘Stranger-danger’ isn’t necessarily the way to go because unfortunately kids who are abused are often abused by people they know,” Bragaw said. “You have to learn what to look for in a predator.”
BI also can conduct presentations for community and citizen groups and training for law enforcement. It recently received a three-year, $70,000 grant from the Ittleson Foundation of New York City to develop an educational program, including a survivor transitional guide, for outreach staff at other organizations that help victims. The materials will first be used by Covenant House locations worldwide.
The grant has made it possible for BI to hire Sandra Taylor of Niantic, who started out as a BI volunteer, to work part time as a grants researcher and use her graphics and editorial skills on developing the pilot program materials. She also is involved in fund-raising and promoting BI’s objectives.
Taylor has enlisted two Old Lyme Middle School eighth-graders to help with local fund-raising projects. Alyssa Bernblum, 14, daughter of Bennett Bernblum and Barbara Fallon, and Kelsey Riggs, 14, daughter of Jeff and Julie Riggs, helped with a bake sale at Stop & Shop in East Lyme and a fund-raiser at Plaza Ford in Niantic earlier this year. Tracy McHugh of Niantic is a new member to the BI board. She will be contributing her experience in fund-raising, magazine publication, and marketing.
BI’s other targeted effort is outreach to victims who want to get off of the street. This is a more undercover operation for Jen Sheehan, BI outreach director, and trained volunteers. They get to know the kids, give them a BI phone number to call, and make arrangements to get them out of their environment to a safe location. Sometimes this involves Covenant House in New York or other support organizations. For now, the focus is on Waterbury, a town with extreme trafficking problems, according to Barnaba.
Before BI starts outreach in a community, it maps out the centers of trafficking activity. BI hasn’t mapped out New London County yet, according to Alexis Taylor Litos, BI executive director, but that doesn’t mean trafficking isn’t going on here.
“Many law enforcement agencies still treat prostitution as a crime and don’t look at the trafficking that’s beneath the surface,” she said. “We haven’t approached the police here yet.”
Barnaba considers a case from Old Lyme, about eight years ago, to be one of his worst. A former high school student got recruited by a man in New London and went off to New York to dance in peep shows. Despite attempts by Barnaba and her family to get her out, she became an adult film actress. Barnaba noted the Hollywood portrayal of young girls turned hooker only to meet a nice, handsome client is hardly what happens.
Perpetrators are looking for naiveté over good looks in their victims, he said. They look for children who are loners, a bit despondent. In southeastern Connecticut, he said, children are as likely to be approached on the beach or at a fast-food restaurant as at a shopping mall.
“These guys brag that all they need is two hours, all they need to do is get the kids into a car,” Sheehan said. It often starts with lavished praise or adoration. Sometimes it might start with requests to take photos of the child, or for them to do something special for the perpetrator.
Youth of a similar age often are used as recruiters, she said, and the targeted child doesn’t meet the person behind it all until later.At some point, sexual and physical abuse and violence enter the picture.
“They use the fact that these are good kids. Kids want to please an adult, that’s natural,” she said. “It just depends on what the adult is demanding of them.”
BI hasn’t studied the educational level or aptitudes of kids it rescues, she said, but at ages 12 and 13, they aren’t even old enough to be stereotypical teen drop-outs.
“For the most part, they seem to be very well-mannered, well-spoken kids,” Sheehan said. “One thing a lot of the girls seem to have in common is some sort of abuse.”
She also cautions that there isn’t one socioeconomic class that is preyed upon.
“I think that pimps can range from wealthy to poor,” she said. “The range is just amazing.”
One barrier Sheehan has seen among the trafficked victims is that they feel ashamed of having been roped into prostitution, not really understanding what was going on at the time.
“A lot of the girls feel so ashamed to talk to their families because they really don’t realize that someone else has committed a crime against them,” she said. “They think they should have known better.”
Sheehan currently has three clients from Deep River, one an adult who was purchased by someone from out of state. One girl claims to be 14, she said, but is likely to be a malnourished 12- or 13-year-old.
“I know it sounds so clichéd, but talk to your children, listen to them,” Sheehan said. “Know where your kids are, who they are with. If they suddenly develop this cool friend who is a year or two older than they are, know who that person is. Know who their family is before you allow your child to go and visit them.
“If they go to the mall and meet some older kid, they need to know that they can’t leave with them,” she said.

Maryland child molestors not on the registry

2008-05-24T08:00:00.002-04:00

Md. has gaps in offender registry
Loophole keeps some convicted of sex crimes off list

By Justin Fenton Sun Reporter
May 24, 2008

A former Roman Catholic priest who was convicted in 2006 of sexually abusing a student at Calvert Hall College High School 20 years earlier will not be required to register as a child sex offender due to a loophole in state law, which legislators unsuccessfully sought to address this year.

Jerome F. Toohey Jr., who was permanently removed from the ministry this week, completed an 18-month jail sentence last year for abuse that had occurred in the late 1980s. He is not required to register because of the time lag between his offense and his conviction.

Maryland law requires sex offenders convicted of offenses that occurred after September 1995 to register with the state. Also, offenders convicted of earlier crimes are required to register - if they were in prison or on probation in October 2001. Toohey is among a small number of sex offenders who fit neither of those two descriptions. The manager of the state's sex offender registry said his case is troubling.

"Eventually the problem won't exist, as you move further and further away" from the 1995 cutoff date, said Elizabeth Bartholomew, the registry's manager. "But right now it does exist, and it's not a good loophole to have, and we would like to see it corrected. Individuals like Mr. Toohey have hurt a child and have been convicted, but, because of this loophole, get out of that particular part of his obligation. Even one person who gets out of it is probably too many."

Lisae C. Jordan, legal director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said that two or three cases fall within the sex offender registry loophole each year."It seems to be a simple oversight from when the law was made retroactive," Jordan said. "There was a desire to put people under the registry if they were in jail at that moment, and there's no indication that the legislature considered that some cases would be involving someone convicted after 1996 but who had committed the crime long ago."

The sex offender registry was created in 1995, the year before Congress passed "Megan's Law," which requires states to keep track of registered sex offenders. It is designed to inform communities of convicted rapists, child predators and other such criminals in the area, and has since been expanded to include mapping software and to enable victims to receive automatic updates when an offender changes addresses or is released from prison.

Del. Christopher B. Shank, a Washington County Republican, sponsored a bill this year designed to close the loophole by requiring anyone convicted in October 1995 or later of a child sex offense to sign on to the registry. He said he filed his bill in response to concerns from a woman in his district who had come forward in 2005 with allegations against a former teacher more than 20 years after the alleged assault. The woman - told that the man would not be required to register as a sex offender - testified before a House committee in February that as a mother of two she was worried for the safety of children as the man nears his release from prison, Shank said.

The bill passed both chambers unanimously but stalled while waiting to be heard in front of a committee on the final day of the session.

Shank said Toohey's situation shows that the problem went beyond his constituent's concerns and provides more incentive to get changes passed into law next year. Both he and Sen. Nancy Jacobs, a Harford County Republican, said they intend to re-introduce the bill next year.

"If it can prevent one other crime, then it's important for public safety," Shank said. "I think that's why we have it for sex offenders, and this loophole in the law is the only reason they're not on there."

Toohey, 62, served as chaplain at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson from 1982 to 1993. He also worked at St. Francis of Assisi Parish from 1977 to 1984 and as chaplain to the deaf community from 1984 to 1993, according to the archdiocese. In addition, he was a member of the board of directors of the John Carroll School and celebrated Mass regularly at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hydes.

He was stripped of his authority to function as a pastor in 1993 by the Baltimore Archdiocese after a former John Carroll student, Michael Goles, accused the priest of sexually abusing him in the 1980s after he had sought counseling. A lawsuit Goles filed in 1994 against Toohey was dismissed because state law requires that civil suits be filed within three years of an alleged incident.

Toohey pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court in November 2005 to abusing Thomas Roberts when the victim was attending Calvert Hall and went to the chaplain for counseling about his parents' divorce.

Roberts went on to become an anchor at CNN Headline News. Toohey, known as "Father Jeff," was sentenced to 18 months in prison. However, because of threats on his life by other prisoners, he was kept in solitary confinement and was later granted a change in sentence by Baltimore County Circuit Judge John G. Turnbull II. After serving 10 months, Toohey was placed on home detention.

The woman who urged Shank to propose his bill told the House committee that she was sexually assaulted by a former Boonsboro Middle School social studies teacher, during the 1983-1984 school year but did not speak out until 2005, Shank said.

Other former students then came forward with their own allegations against the former teacher, Robert Merle Haines Jr., according to the Hagerstown Herald-Mail. He was charged in 2005 with second-degree rape and four counts of third-degree sex offense and pleaded guilty in 2006 to one count of child sex abuse. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with 5 1/2 years suspended, court records show. The newspaper reported that he is scheduled to be released in December.

A former teacher of bar mitzvah lessons who was active in Baltimore's Orthodox Jewish community could also be affected by the proposed change in law. Israel Shapiro, 58, received a suspended five-year prison term and five years of probation in March after having been accused of abusing two boys on separate occasions in September 1988 and June 1994. Baltimore Circuit Judge John P. Miller ordered Shapiro to undergo sex offender screening and treatment but said he would not have to register as a sex offender because the registry did not exist when the incidents occurred.

Bartholomew, the sex offender registry manager, emphasized that sex offenders such as Toohey are watched closely by parole and probation agents who are specially trained and work with smaller caseloads. "Parole and probation won't treat him any differently just because he doesn't have to register," she said.

Reoffending sex offender lived within 1000 ft of a school

2008-05-22T09:33:00.000-04:00

indictment IN LANCASTER
Kids get message on sex abuse

Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:06 AM

By Mary Beth Lane
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
LANCASTER, Ohio --

No. Go. Tell.
That is the advice that children in Fairfield County are hearing to protect themselves from sex abuse.
Educators from the Child Advocacy Center of Fairfield County, which opened in September to investigate and prosecute child abuse and provide treatment to young victims, are visiting schools.
Their message goes like this: The parts of your body covered by a bathing suit are private, and if someone tries to touch those parts, you should say no, then go and tell a trusted adult.
The program is working, said Lancaster City Prosecutor Terre Vandervoort.
As a result of its efforts, a convicted sex offender is back in court on new charges.
A third-grader at Cedar Heights Elementary School in Lancaster listened to the presentation in class Feb. 26. Two days later, the 9-year-old indicated by her comments and behavior in the classroom that she had been sexually abused.
School administrators contacted her parents and county Child Protective Services workers the same week, and the girl was interviewed at the center the next Monday morning by a Lancaster police detective. She identified a neighbor, registered sex offender Virgil E. Larson Jr., as the abuser. The detective interviewed Larson later the same day.
"He made confessions, which resulted in him being arrested, and he was taken into custody that evening," Vandervoort said.
A county grand jury has indicted Larson, 27, on two counts of rape and six counts of gross sexual imposition. He is being held in county jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash or securities bond and a $25,000 recognizance bond. He is scheduled for trial on Tuesday.
"Obviously, that child was waiting for the affirmation to tell someone. It was an ongoing situation. It was not something that wasn't going to occur again," Vandervoort said.
Larson is among four registered sex offenders who Vandervoort has been trying to force to move because they live within 1,000 feet of a school, which is in violation of state law. Larson lives too close to Cedar Heights Elementary.
Common Pleas Judge Chris A. Martin ruled in July that Larson and the others must move, but he granted a stay of the ruling while the men appeal. Meanwhile, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the residency restrictions don't apply to sex offenders who committed their offenses or were convicted before the law took effect in 2003. That includes Larson and the others.
"The (new) charges, as far as we are concerned, have nothing to do with the fact that he is living near a school," said David Singleton, executive director of the Cincinnati-based Ohio Justice & Policy Center, which represents Larson and the others in challenging the residency restrictions. "Drawing an arbitrary line does not do a thing to stop these types of crimes from happening. Kids live everywhere, not just near schools."
David Stansbury, Larson's court-appointed attorney defending him against the new charges, could not be reached for comment.
"Sometimes in government, the success of what you're doing is very intangible," Vandervoort said. "This time, you can actually say this project, this education did actually work and stop something for her and probably for another child. We don't get that very often."
mlane@dispatch.com

Background checks for camp workers

2008-05-22T09:21:00.002-04:00

Bill would require camps to run background checks

COLUMBUS — Testimony began Wednesday on a new bill that would require camps to run background checks on their counselors.

Camp safety is now under intense scrutiny after what occurred last year at a central Ohio camp.

Timothy Keil, a camp volunteer, was caught sexually molesting a child inside a cabin at a Perry County youth camp. His crime revealed a loophole that legislators are working to close. The state requires background checks at summer day camps but no checks for residential or overnight camps.

Senate Bill 321 calls for criminal background checks for all camp staffers, FBI checks if the person has not lived in Ohio for the past five years and requires Social Security number background checks on camp volunteers.

If the bill is passed, it probably won't go into law before camps kick off in June.

The state is now teaming with health inspectors to notify camp directors that criminal records are now required."I promised you that last year and we're doing it this year," said Helen Jones-Kelley, the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

According to Jones-Kelley, the department is working to protect children despite the loophole.

"We're just kind of taking on a more positive, proactive kind of role so that we can get out of there and make sure children are safe," Jones-Kelley said.

Carl Morgan, the business manager for the Scioto Youth Camp, Inc., where Keil volunteered, said that he received a letter from the Perry County Health Department through the ODJFS. According to the letter, all workers including volunteers need to be fingerprinted if they have contact with children.

Anyone from the dish washer to the evangelist will have the fingerprint background check. According to Morgan, Keil would not have been caught that way but he said that the checks are worthwhile.

Camp operators and directors are also being cautious. Central Ohio's YMCA calls its policies more stringent than state requirements. There is fingerprinting on camp counselors and reference checks, including a Social Security number background check, on paid staff and volunteers.

"Once a counselor is hired and gone through the background checks, they are required to go through pretty impressive and stringent child prevention and care training and we do that, actually, the first week on the job," said John Bickley, the YMCA's chief executive officer.

10TV checked on other camps, including the Boy Scouts. Thousands of campers will spend part of the summer at all Boy Scout sites in central Ohio.

A Social Security background check and youth protection training are required to become a registered volunteer."There's no one-on-one interaction between any youth and any adult that's not in public view," said Don Sheppard, the development director for the Boy Scouts of America's Simon Kenton Council. "We can make sure that's adhered to and that all of our staff and volunteers understand that policy and several others aimed at protecting kids."

Catholic church pays for hiding pedophiles

2008-05-22T09:03:00.002-04:00

Church actions show why jury award was justified
May 20, 2008
By BARBARA BLAINE and DAVID CLOHESSY

Following is a statement by Barbara Blaine and David Clohessy, leaders of the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group based in Chicago:

When a corporation knowingly hides the flaws in dangerous products and hurts unsuspecting consumers, no CEO tries to escape responsibility by saying, "I've reformed and won't do it again." Nor can the CEO of a nonprofit that deliberately risks others' safety say, "But ours is a nonprofit that helps people. Don't make us pay a fine."

In both cases, the institutions are held accountable, because that's what will make them (and other institutions) be safer and more responsible in the future.

So how can Vermont Bishop Salvatore Matano claim that his organization shouldn't face consequences for decades of recklessness, secrecy and deceit surrounding hundreds of horrific child sex crimes by clergy?

Matano is stunned by the $8.7 million punitive damage decision by an impartial jury. But such a decision will certainly help deter future wrongdoing. It gives employers more incentive to screen out molesters. It also prods employers to train employees how to spot warning signs of child molestation and respond appropriately when allegations surface. Vermont kids are safer now because of these wise jurors.

Any reasonable person will applaud that result. But within hours of the verdict, Matano vowed to fight it. He could accept responsibility, admit wrongdoing, and make genuine reforms to prevent future crimes and cover ups. Instead, he's pointing fingers, shifting blame and making excuses.

He claims he has already "reformed.""This stuff isn't happening any more," one of his defense lawyers insists.

That's tempting to believe, but evidence, history and common sense suggests otherwise.

Common sense tells us that decades, perhaps centuries, of deceptive and self-protective patterns cannot be reversed in just a few short years. This is especially true in the church hierarchy — an ancient, rigid, secretive, all-male monarchy that essentially answers to no one. Thousands of crimes were successfully covered up for dozens of years. None of the complicit church officials has been disciplined. So, on its face, it's just plain silly and naïve to think that this deeply rooted, Mafia-like behavior has suddenly and magically ended.

A look at recent evidence leads us to the same conclusion.

If Matano has reformed and clergy sex crimes aren't being covered up any more, then why does he refuse to take simple prevention measures like some of his colleagues? Why isn't he:

Posting the names of proven, admitted and credibly accused predator priests on his Web site.
Working to reform the archaic laws that prevent predators from being exposed in court.
Personally visiting parishes where predators worked and begging victims to come forward.
Insisting that his pedophile priest live in a remote, secure, independent treatment center where neighbors are warned, kids are protected and sick men get treatment.

Several Catholic bishops are taking these steps. But Matano is doing none of this. Instead he continues to do the absolute bare minimum. When credible allegations of child molestation arise, he follows the advice of his insurers, lawyers and public relations staff and suspends the priest. But he stops there, ignoring Jesus' admonition that shepherds leave the 99 behind and search for and help the one lost sheep.

If Matano has reformed, why hasn't he disciplined even one church worker who suspected or knew of sexual abuse but stayed silent or concealed it? (With at least a dozen credibly accused pedophile priests in his diocese, surely Matano knows of one employee — whether priest, principal or custodian — who kept quiet or did nothing about an abuse charge.)

If he has reformed, why does Matano tolerate hardball legal maneuvers by his defense lawyers? (One church attorney's excesses caused a judge to harshly criticize him and declare a mistrial, possibly deterring other victims from coming forward and certainly rubbing even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of a clergy sex abuse victim.)

And why, just two years ago, did Matano wait four months before telling police about child sex allegations against the Rev. Steven J. Nichols? That's ample time for a possible criminal to invent alibis, fabricate evidence, intimidate witnesses, and threaten victims.

Finally, if Matano has reformed, why did national church authorities find him in violation this year of the bishops' own weak abuse policy, even though he has had six years to comply? Why, when this finding was announced, did Matano not discipline a single staff member who was at fault?

Actions like these would show remorse, reform and commitment to change. On the other hand, passivity, inaction and mere words do not. In Vermont's Catholic diocese, there has sadly been little of the former and plenty of the latter.

Because of this disturbing and persistently callous track record, these 12 unbiased men and women were right to send a strong signal that neither child sex crimes by predators nor ongoing complicity by officials will go unpunished.

Mothers Against Predators

2008-05-13T13:33:00.002-04:00

Coral Springs teen, mom work to stop online predators

Nicole had barely turned 12 when a 29-year-old man crept into her bedroom.His entry point was her PC. His ticket was AOL Instant Messenger. His method was to befriend her through online chats, lure her from home and molest her.It took a month for him to accomplish it all.That happened nearly four years ago. Though the predator was arrested, and police say he confessed, he is a fugitive.Now, Nicole and her mother seek their own kind of justice. They want to make sure the mistakes made by prosecutors at the time — allowing Waqas "Michael" Rehman to flee the country before being brought to justice — won't happen again. And they want Nicole's story to be a lesson for others.Out of their Coral Springs home, Nicole and her mother, Jaemi Levine, whose last name is different from her daughter's, have launched their version of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Theirs is called MAP, Mothers Against Predators.They are pressing Florida legislators to require specialized training for police and prosecutors who go after Internet predators. And they hope to change the way children are taught to deal with criminals who stalk via computer screens."He got me to trust him," said Nicole, now 15.The South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't usually identify minors who have been victimized but is honoring Nicole and her mother's request to do so to raise awareness of the issue. "Too many victims feel they have to hide in shadows or shame," said Levine. "We put our faces out there to protect other children."On the surface, Nicole is a typical kid. She has a giggly laugh, is prone to sarcastic remarks and hounds her mom for what she wants. These days what she wants most is freedom from her mother's overprotective watch.But talk to Nicole about what happened and her mood darkens. Quiet and polite by nature, a scowl washes over a reddened face and she tends to swear. She is angry, still a little scared. Yet she's determined to change the world, the online world, which connects so many vulnerable kids to hunters like Rehman."They tell kids 'You're so sexy,' and 'I want to meet you' when they mean 'I want to have sex with you.' It's disgusting," Nicole said. "It's horrible."She spends little time online now. She prefers her cell phone to stay in touch with family and friends. She appeared on several television shows, including America's Most Wanted, after the crime occurred. Because of that, students at her high school recognize her.Some have asked if it was fun to be on TV. Some teased her about what happened, in that way that high school kids can sometimes be brutally mean. But some have confided that they, too, were contacted inappropriately by adults online, and ask her for advice. "Those are the kids I care about," Nicole said. "I say tell an adult. Tell police."When Nicole was victimized, she was into Care Bears, Barbie dolls and learning to use her new computer. Along with her three siblings, she convinced her mother, a single parent, that it made sense for each to have a computer in their bedrooms. Convenience and a quiet place to study was the argument.Her foray online began with setting up an AOL profile and posting a series of photos of her and her friends at a pool party. They included shots of her in a yellow swimsuit."They were not provocative," said Nicole. "I was 12. How could they be?"Within a few days, she received an instant message from Rehman. "Hi. Looking for a friend. Wanna chat?" She was flattered and didn't tell her parents. "I didn't want to get grounded," she said.Nicole was 12, but her profile claimed she was 15. Rehman said he was 18, 11 years younger than his real age, according to police reports. Only a few days passed before he professed love for her."I was fighting with my dad," recalled Nicole, whose parents are divorced. "He said my dad was wrong for fighting with me. He told me he loved me. I thought, 'Wow,' he's real."
Rehman was real, all right — real dangerous. Police say he convinced Nicole to meet him twice and molested her both times. After the second incident, she told her mom."I went from a Martha Stewart mom, a Brownie leader, to someone who now knows a lot about online dangers and is determined to make sure this never happens to another child again," said Levine.Statistics indicate that MAP, with its two dozen members, all parents of South Florida teens, has an uphill battle. More than 77 million children regularly use the Internet. Approximately six out of 10 teens ages 13 to 17 have profiles on social-networking sites, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. One in seven report being solicited by predators.Fortunately, Florida is on the forefront in attempts to apprehend cyber criminals targeting children.
Video
Attorney General Bill McCollum has made the law-enforcement campaign a central cause in his administration. In the past year, his office has conducted teaching seminars at middle and high schools across the state, reaching more than 65,000 students. During the presentations, more than 3,700 students told officials that they had either been sexually solicited by an adult online or sent pornography — both of which are felony crimes.McCollum also has launched a special law enforcement division — the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit — to investigate and arrest adults who prey on children online or traffic in child pornography.The Legislature last year approved state funding to operate seven offices statewide with 56 full-time investigators, prosecutors and victim advocates. But budget cuts have forced plans for two of those offices (Fort Myers and Tallahassee) to be put on hold and jeopardized two others ( Tampa and Pensacola). Only three offices are up and running (Jacksonville, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale) with half the staffing approved by lawmakers.Yet, in just 2 1/2 years, the unit has made 63 arrests of alleged criminals charged with creating, possessing or distributing child porn, or sexually soliciting children online and traveling to carry out the crimes.The state effort is commendable. But, it needs to be expanded. Funding needs to be preserved and eventually increased.Spend time on sites like AOL, MySpace and Facebook, and you'll get a taste of what law enforcement is up against. For a predator, these sites can provide shopping lists of children, with public profiles that often detail ages, names, home cities and other personal information. The profiles may be meant for friends, but predators infiltrate them with ease.Just as Rehman did with Nicole's.MAP's intentions are solid, but the group is understaffed, underfunded and not well-publicized. Levine attemptsto recruit members through home meetings and handing out flyers in public. She also is developing plans for public meetings with the attorney general's office.MAP's core mission is to educate parents and children about what to do when they're approached. Some educational campaigns encourage children to turn off their computers when contacted by anyone suspicious or to end communications. Nicole and her mother want children and parents to be more proactive. They want children to SCREAM: Save, Copy and Report, Every Arrest Matters.Authorities are warming up to the SCREAM concept."We encourage children and parents to report the incident to the CyberTipline with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children," said Maureen Horkan, director of the state's CyberCrime units, adding, "Certainly, if they want to do more by saving and copying, it is helpful."Levine wants more from authorities too."We need more than a separate state police force; we need a separate judicial system," said Levine, adding that drug courts serve as a model of what she is talking about. Short of that, she calls for mandatory cyber crime training for all county and state prosecutors, police and judges.Rehman, a Pakistani national, was released from a Broward County jail because of missteps by the state. He was set free despite confessing to six felony counts of crimes against a child between the age of 12 and 16, according to police reports. He skipped three court hearings before an arrest warrant was issued.That day was Dec., 20, 2004, the same day Rehman boarded a flight to Jordan."A mistake was made," said Dennis Siegel, a supervisor of the state attorney's Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit in Broward County. "We filed the case too late to require him to post a bond in order to be released." Siegel said his office has made changes to ensure the same thing won't happen again.Changes after the fact offer little comfort to Nicole and her mom."I know he's out there. I know he knows where I live," said Nicole. "Sometimes I want to forget what happened and move on. But I also don't want him to hurt another little girl."Nicole, Levine and MAP are the underdogs in this battle. The cyber stalkers have the advantage now. But Nicole is willing to put her pink Care Bears backpack aside, along with her pain, and give up what's left of her childhood years to fight this fight.The least we can do is line up behind her.Daniel Vasquez can be reached at dvasquez@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6600, ext. 4219.

NCMEC giving workshop in Naples

2008-05-13T13:28:00.001-04:00

Workshop to teach about child predators
By RYAN MILLS (Contact)
9:16 p.m., Sunday, April 20, 2008

It might not be fair to the Nile crocodiles, but Naples Detective Joe Whitehead compares their method of attack to that of adults who prey on children for sex.
Nile crocodiles, he said, move slowly through shallow water without making a ripple, and attack their victims when they least expect it.
“They work with their environment to camouflage their aggression,” Whitehead said. “Predatory people work in a similar way. ... They use whatever tools they have, such as presenting themselves as a volunteer, someone who helps kids. They have a goal, something they want to achieve.”
Thursday morning, Whitehead is joining professionals from across Collier County for the Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation, a free workshop designed to instruct people on how to protect their children from becoming victims of sexual exploitation.
The workshop, which runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Norris Community Center, 755 8th Ave S., in Naples, is a new effort by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the National Association of Counties.
The other agencies participating in the workshop are the Collier County Board of Commissionaires, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County, Project HELP, and the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
“It’s going to be a presentation, but at the same time there is going to be an exchange of ideas,” said Maribel Slabaugh, program manager for the National Center of Missing & Exploited Children of Collier County.
Though there tends to be less crime in Collier County than in surrounding counties, sexual predators can be found in any community, authorities said.
For instance, on April 7, Naples police arrested a 22-year-old Golden Gate Estates man after they say he confessed during a monitored phone call to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl he met on the social networking Web site, MySpace.
Later that week agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested a 35-year-old Golden Gate Estates man after they say he sent e-mails containing child pornography from his girlfriend’s computer.
“We can’t continue thinking that nothing is happening here just because I don’t know of it,” Slabaugh said. “It’s happening.”
People who attend the workshop will learn about a predator’s profile, the investigative process, signs of abuse, and the healing process. There will also be a question-and-answer period, and information booths.
“They’re going to get a very complete picture in regards to child exploitation,” Whitehead said.
Just as the Nile crocodile likes to keep a low profile while pursing its prey, a seemingly safe community like Naples can be appealing to a sexual predator, Whitehead said.
“The placid environment,” Whitehead said, “is sometimes an attractive one for some of the most predatory individuals.”
For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Maribel Slabaugh with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of Collier County at (239) 566-5806 or by e-mail at mslabaugh@ncmec.org.

Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation
When: Thursday, April 24, 2008, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Norris Community Center, 755 8th Avenue South, Naples, Fl
Cost: Free
Age limit: All ages
Categories: Meetings
Description: Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation is a free workshop designed to instruct people on how to protect their children from becoming victims of sexual exploitation. The workshop, which runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Norris Community Center, 755 8th Ave S., in Naples, is a new effort by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the National Association of Counties.
Event posted: April 20, 2008Last updated: April 20, 2008

Blunt wants to kill child rapists! We all would...

2008-05-13T13:24:00.002-04:00

Governor tours state to call for death penalty for sexual offenders who attack children

Monday, April 21, 2008, 10:51 AM
By Steve Walsh

Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO) is renewing his call for the state's worst sexual predators to be death penalty eligible.

The Governor is asking the General Assembly to send him legislation that would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases of forcible rape and forcible sodomy when the victim is younger than 12-years of age.

In issuing his call, Blunt noted a recent child rape case in Springfield where a 36-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping and forcibly raping and sodomizing a 7-year-old girl and leaving her for dead in a burning house. Blunt strongly believes death should be an optional penalty for child rape.

Currently Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas have laws that allow capital punishment for a violent offender convicted of child rape. Alabama, Colorado, Mississippi and Tennessee also are considering similar laws.

Judge frees sex offenders who did not register

2008-05-13T13:17:00.001-04:00

Judge frees out-of-state sex offenders
He rules that making them register if they move to another state is unconstitutional.

Jim Leusner Sentinel Staff Writer
April 19, 2008

An Orlando federal judge has ordered the release of two jailed, out-of-state sex offenders who moved to Florida, ruling that part of the Adam Walsh Act requiring their registration is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell on Friday ruled that the 2006 federal law requiring state sex offenders to register with law-enforcement officials when they move across state lines was largely a local issue.

The ruling, made in two unrelated sex-offender cases pending in Orlando, led to the dismissal of charges against Robert D. Powers, 43, and Tommy William Buckius, 60, both of Orlando. Powers was released Friday from the Seminole County Jail, but Buckius remained in the Orange County Jail.

Powers was convicted in 1995 in South Carolina of sexual assault, freed in 1997 and later arrested for failing to register as a state sex offender. In 2002, he registered in North Carolina but absconded in 2005 and did not register with Florida authorities when he repeatedly visited Orlando in the late 1990s and lived with his mother in 2007.

Buckius, who pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a 13-year-old Ohio girl in 1986, was freed from prison there in 2000 and later registered as a sex offender. He previously was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape in Texas in 1973, court records show.

But in November 2006, Buckius moved from Liverpool, Ohio, and did not notify local authorities of his new address. He was documented living in Orlando as early as March 2007 and arrested in February 2008.

Assistant Federal Public Defenders Michelle Smith and Stephen Langs argued that Congress lacked the authority to force state sex offenders solely convicted of local offenses to register.

Powers had an IQ of 68, a second-grade reading level and did not understand state sex-offender forms he had signed, Smith argued.

They also contended both men were convicted of crimes before the new law was passed and should not be subjected to them. But federal prosecutors argued that an Attorney General's rule applied to sex offenders before the new took effect in 2007.

Known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, it was passed in honor of Adam Walsh, a South Florida boy killed in 1981. It was designed to help identify up to 200,000 unaccounted-for sex offenders nationwide.

Failing to register carries a prison term of up to 10 years. The law requires states to notify all sex offenders in or out of prison about the federal provision, but Florida has yet to comply with the new federal rules deadline of July 2009.

"The Adam Walsh Act was enacted with a commendable goal -- to protect the public from sex offenders," Presnell wrote. "However, a worthy cause is not enough to transform a state concern [sex-offender registration] into a federal crime."

Ironically, three other Central Florida federal judges have upheld the law's constitutionality in other cases, though one last year said he wished he could have dropped the case the next day if the suspect had registered. He sentenced the suspect to probation.

Presnell's problem with the federal law centered on the "mere unrelated travel in interstate commerce" to link it with local criminal conduct. Such reasoning would subject virtually all criminal activity to federal scrutiny, he wrote."

Surely, our founding fathers did not contemplate such a broad view of federalism," Presnell wrote.

Jim Leusner can be reached at jleusner@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5411.

Sex offenders have to pay for treatment

2008-05-13T13:10:00.000-04:00

Funds dry up for indigent sex offender treatment in four counties
April 21st, 2008 @ 8:42am

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) -- Funds have run out for psychosexual examinations and sex offender therapy for indigent sex offenders in Davis, Weber, Morgan and Tooele counties.

Probation and parole officials in those counties say the $10,000 budgeted for that work has been spent. New funds will be available when the next fiscal year begins July 1.

Defense attorneys, prosecutors and probation agents say the $550 evaluation and treatment are intended to help defendants cope and resist re-offending.

Defendants who can afford to do so pay for their own exams and treatment, but many defendants become indigent once they're in jail, and many are indigent before even coming to court.

Wisconsin limits sex offenders living area

2008-05-13T13:05:00.002-04:00

Ashwaubenon considering sex offender ordinance
Restrictions similar to Green Bay's

By Patti Zarling • pzarling@greenbaypressgazette.com • April 21, 2008

ASHWAUBENON — Ashwaubenon leaders want to slam the door on sex offenders migrating from Green Bay into the community.

The village may adopt restrictions mirroring a Green Bay ordinance that bars certain sex offenders from living in most of the city. Village officials took a wait-and-see approach last year when Green Bay enacted its tough new rule. Today, Ashwaubenon leaders say residents are fed up with sex offenders coming into the village because they can't find housing in Green Bay.

"We have to do something to protect our citizens," said village President Jerry Menne. "When you have someone crying on the phone because they're so upset, it's time to take action."

The village Public Works and Protection Committee supports an ordinance that would restrict certain sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of a school, day care center, park or other place children might gather. That's less stringent than the Green Bay law, which sets a 2,000-foot restriction.

But it's still tough enough to limit sex offenders to small patches of properties within the village.

The committee also endorsed a loitering rule making it illegal for certain offenders to visit areas within 200 feet of certain places where children might be.

The restrictions need final Village Board approval. The board is expected to discuss the issue at its regular Tuesday meeting.

If enacted, the village likely also would create an appeals board, similar to Green Bay's, said public safety Director Eric Dunning.

That board, made of ordinary citizens, considers requests from offenders who want to move into or to a different home within the community.

Many offenders in so-called "Romeo and Juliet" cases, in which teens have consensual relations with teens, are not seen as likely to re-offend and are allowed to move.

Dunning said the village likely would grandfather in sex offenders already living in the village.

Although neighbors may be unhappy with sex offenders moving in next door, state Department of Corrections officials say they're likely to go underground if communities make it too hard for them to find housing.

Jed Neuman, corrections field supervisor for the DOC, further argues that 86 percent of victims know their perpetrator.

"Let's not assume these ordinances are keeping people safe," he said. "I would hate for residents to think they've solved the problem."

Both Dunning and Menne say they support those arguments, but they insist Green Bay has created an uneven playing field.

"I truly believe in the process (the state) laid out and that we'll be worse off if we don't know where they are," Dunning said.

Alabama gets more dough to track offenders

2008-05-13T12:57:00.002-04:00

$300,000 GRANT WILL HELP TRACK SEX OFFENDERS

Marc Summers
04-21-2008

Governor Bob Riley recently announced that Alabama has been awarded a $300,000 federal grant to enhance the states ability to track sex offenders.

The grant application was coordinated through the Governors Community Notification Task Force, which Governor Riley established by executive order last August.

Sex offenders are considered the most dangerous criminals because of the great likelihood that they will repeat their crimes. Thats why it is so vitally important for law enforcement and the public to know where these dangerous predators live, said Governor Riley.

This federal grant will augment law enforcements ability to monitor, track and take enforcement actions against convicted sex offenders in Alabama.

The funds will be used by the state to improve electronic information sharing, concerning sex offenders and provide local law enforcement agencies with assistance for conducting in-person address verification checks.

This will occur through the coordinated efforts of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services.

The Department of Public Safety, which maintains the states sex offender registry, will serve as the lead agency and administer the grant.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Need a new organ? Buy a poor kid!

2008-04-28T19:42:00.003-04:00

Do you need a bone marrow transplant?

How about a new kidney?

Are you really rich?

Then we can set you up with a perfect genetic match, in the form of a CHILD! For the right price.........

But wait there is more...

these children have other things to offer!!!!

Do you need a servant?

Name: John LeeAge: 16 years oldCountry: China.
About John: A strong, strapping, handsome boy, and one of the very few males available for adoption from China, John has charmed our representatives with his limited command of the English language, despite his severe learning disabilities and lack of thumbs. John enjoys tending to small, household animals, but would also like to learn about cooking, cleaning and being a faithful household servant.

How about a sex slave?

Name: Natia BudzianowskiAge: 15 years oldCountry: Georgia
About Natia: An orphan whose parents whereabouts have never been known, she spent six years working in the underage sex-trade, several more years in foster homes, and now needs a new home. She’s since discovered our Lord Jesus Christ, pledged a vow of chastity, and has been free of the sins of physical flesh for more than six-months, though suggests that this may be open to negotiation.

Name: Masha GorbechovaAge: 11 years oldCountry: Russia.
About Masha: Masha’s mother died in child birth, and her father was involved in an industrial accident almost six years ago. Without support, she’ll be nothing more than a mere statistic in the orphan system in the faltering nation state. She loves playing with dolls, and would like for a loving family to help her take a bath and show her how best to take her antibiotics, assuming she gives an organ so great as to need it.

Name: Bngu HjritnunAge: 2 years oldCountry: Niger.
About Bngu: Sweet, little Bngu has perfect health, despite the conspicuous absence of parents. This child has uncommonly big lips, but some parents find that to be an attractive quality for personal reasons.

Name: Maria GarciaAge: 14 years oldCountry: Paraguay.
About Maria: She grew up on a her family farm, but her parents allegedly died in a flood late last year. Her time as an orphan is very short, so she will quickly assimilate back into a traditional family unit, and she is very pretty even at her young age. Maria enjoys reading the Bible, darning her undergarments, and arranging flowers from anything that grows locally.

But wait.... we say you can't have sex with them. Here is our disclaimer:

Please bear in mind that you can not sexually victimize your new child, and that, even if your new child is over the age of consent (14 in Mississippi, but older in other states,) we strongly discourage you from participating in even “consensual” sex acts, regardless of gender balance, status of those in attendance, or reasonably traditional nature of the acts. This is a serious “no no” for our agency.

Then they ask you in the registration form:

Which sex related crimes have you been convicted of:
PLEASE NOTE: This is for U.S CITIZENS ONLY. U.S. Law requires to ask these basic questions, however, your answers are not a factor in the adoption approval process.

Misdemeanor Exposure

Misdemeanor Soliciting

Misdemeanor Pandering

Misdemeanor Assault

Felony Prostitution

Felony Indecency

Felony Assault

Felony Rape/Sexual Battery

Felony Rape/Murder

Now according to Snopes.com : This is all a big joke

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/medicaladoptions.asp

Why would someone waste the time and effort to create this website?

WHOIS says:

Registrant: Vexes Media, LLC

2519 McMullen Booth

Suite 510-323

Clearwater, FL 33761 US

404-551-5587x1

Domain Name: MEDICALADOPTIONS.COM

Administrative Contact: Master, Domain

domain@vexes.com

2519 McMullen Booth

Suite 510-323

Clearwater, FL 33761 US

404-551-5587x1

Technical Contact: Master, Domain

domain@vexes.com

2519 McMullen Booth

Suite 510-323

Clearwater, FL 33761 US

404-551-5587x1

Showing Web Search results for the term MEDICALADOPTIONS.COM:
" Full Service Medical Adoption Agency Medical Adoptions - Full ...
Send this site to a friend ... Finding high-quality organs in a timely fashion can often be a problem. You can't buy them for any price legally, and attempts ...medicaladoptions.com
Medical Adoptions Childrends Profiles
Medical ... Crappy but Free Legal Help. Fix Your Credit (possibly) Lose Weight ... Welcome to a sample of our childrens profiles who are awaiting a ...medicaladoptions.com/childrens_profiles.html
Medical Adoptions FAQ's
Medical Adoptions Services ... Crappy but Free Legal Help. Fix Your Credit (possibly) Lose Weight Today (sort of) ... Adoption is a serious, life changing, and ...medicaladoptions.com/medical_adoption_faqs.html

the same company, Vexas Media has this site:

www.Felonspy.com

Safety starts with good information, even if it ends with a loaded .44 caliber pistol. While FelonSpy.com can’t help you get a gun, we can certainly help you figure out which direction to point it in.

The good news is that you can be safer in your home at night, even if just because you have better information, or because “somebody” takes the needed actions to get these people off the streets.

felonspy.com then warns you about these terrible sites (which they own )

Please Help Us! You Can Make A Difference!
Please help protect children and stop Medical Adoptions and
this horrible site for Promoting Dog Fighting In Your Neighborhoods

Some hacker somewhere is laughing his ass off, and thousands are pissed.