Mark Abbey, true sexual predator

Man faces child pornography charges

Posted by Lisa Medendorp November 30, 2007 02:16AM
Categories: Muskegon County

A 50-year-old Muskegon man has been charged with taking sexually explicit photographs of children in the East Muskegon area and with possessing child pornography.

Muskegon police are continuing an investigation that began Nov. 15 after a visitor to the man's home was shown some of the pictures, said Detective Sgt. Monica Shirey.Police executed a search warrant on Nov. 21 at the home of Mark Edwin Abbey, 760 Catherine, and seized a variety of items related to child pornography, said Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague.

Abbey was arraigned Monday before 60th District Judge Harold F. Closz III on felony charges of child sexually abusive commercial activity, possession of child sexually abusive material and accosting a child from immoral purposes.

He remains lodged in the Muskegon County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. A preliminary examination has been set for Dec. 6.

"He had hundreds of photographs -- a mixture of adult and child pornography," Shirey said.

Tague said many of the printed photos were of "clearly pre-pubescent males and females."

Tague said some of the children in the photographs have been identified as local children and other pictures appear to be from outside sources, such as the Internet.

Investigators are continuing to check for other possible local victims. Parents who think their children may have frequented Abbey's home should contact Muskegon police. The contact number, (231) 724-6738, is for Shirey.

"The investigation revealed that Abbey had enticed children to allow him to take nude, sexually-suggestive photos," Tague said. "We were also able to determine that he was visiting various Web sites involved in child pornography and had a mySpace page."

Abbey's computer system, which included a Web camera, was seized and is being analyzed by the Michigan State Police crime lab.

"He is obviously an extremely dangerous predator of young children," Tague said, adding that he "offered at least one child money in order to perfrom a sexual act."

The first offense Abbey is charged with carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The other two offenses are four-year felonies.

The court file shows Abbey has a prior conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under the age of 13. On Aug. 31, 1994, he was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison for the offense, which was committed two years earlier.

Abbey was discharged from prison on Aug. 29, 2005, according to the state Department of Corrections Web site. He also has a prior conviction from 1976 for vehicle theft in Newaygo County.

Because of the earlier convictions, he could face significant time in prison as a habitual offender if he is convicted of the current offenses.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/11/man_faces_child_pornography_ch.html

Man charged as child pornographer may face additional counts

Posted by Local reports December 06, 2007 22:46PM

A 50-year-old Muskegon man already charged with taking sexually explicit photographs of children in the East Muskegon area and possessing child pornography might face additional charges.

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Thursday Mark Edwin Abbey of 760 Catherine could face additional charges of criminal sexual conduct.

Tague said two alleged victims have come forward and authorities are questioning people in the neighborhood to determine if there are additional victims.

Police executed a search warrant on Nov. 21 at Abbey's home and seized a variety of items associated with child pornography.

Abbey was arraigned Monday before 60th District Judge Harold F. Closz III on felony charges of child sexually abusive commercial activity, possession of child sexually abusive material and accosting a child for immoral purposes.

The court file shows Abbey has a prior conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child younger than 13. On Aug. 31, 1994, he was sentenced to 3-15 years in prison for the offense, which was committed two years prior.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/12/man_charged_as_child_pornograp.html

Man to face multiple child porn charges

Posted by John S. Hausman The Muskegon Chronicle

December 27, 2007 16:14PM
Categories: Breaking News, Muskegon

"He asked me if he could take naked pictures of me."

That was the testimony of a Muskegon teen Thursday about an incident that happened in the summer of 2006 when he was 13 years old, at the home of family friend Mark Edwin Abbey, 50, of 760 Catherine.

The boy said Abbey offered him $50 per picture if he agreed to be photographed. The boy did so on two separate occasions, he said.

That testimony -- coupled with exhibits of some 200 allegedly pornographic photographs and testimony by Muskegon Police Detective Peter Boterenbrood -- was enough to persuade visiting 60th District Judge Robert Benson to bind Abbey over for trial in 14th Circuit Court on three counts: manufacturing child pornography, a 20-year felony; possessing child porn, a four-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes.

More charges are likely against Abbey, who is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail in lieu of $500,000 case bond. In court Thursday, Senior Assistant Prosecutor Robert Hedges said an additional count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct was expected later that day. As of 3 p.m., no new charges had been filed.

The boy who testified in court, who is now 15, testified that Abbey had not asked him to perform any sexual acts -- just pose naked.

But at least two other children already have been identified from photos found at Abbey's home, Prosecutor Tony Tague said earlier. Officials believe more victims may also be out there.

The investigation of Abbey began Nov. 15 after a visitor to the man's home was shown some of the pictures, police said. Police executed a search warrant Nov. 21 at his home and seized child pornography and computer equipment, including a Web camera.

Last week, Tague said investigators learned Abbey had enticed children to let him take nude, sexually suggestive photos.

Abbey has a prior conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child younger than 13, committed in 1992. He was in prison from 1994 to 2005 for that.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/12/man_to_face_multiple_child_por.html

Child porn suspect faces new charge

Friday, December 28, 2007
By John S. Hausmanjhausman@muskegonchronicle.com

A Muskegon man already facing trial on child pornography counts has now been charged with having sex with an underage boy.

The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant late Thursday for the already-jailed Mark Edwin Abbey, 50, on a new charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13 and 15. Abbey's arraignment was expected today.

Prosecutors said the alleged conduct was oral sex and occurred this year at Abbey's home at 760 Catherine.

Authorities learned of the alleged victim and interviewed him in the course of their investigation after Abbey's arrest on child porn and other charges.

The boy was not one of those pictured in Abbey's collection of hundreds of photographs, according to Senior Assistant Prosecutor Raymond J. Kostrzewa.

Kostrzewa said other children have also been talking with investigators about "inappropriate contact" by Abbey.

Earlier Thursday, another boy testified in court: "He asked me if he could take naked pictures of me."

The teen was speaking about an incident that happened in the summer of 2006 when he was 13 years old, at the home of Abbey, a family friend.

The boy said Abbey offered him $50 per picture if he agreed to be photographed. The boy did so on two separate occasions, he said.

That testimony -- coupled with exhibits of some 200 photographs as well as testimony by Muskegon Police Detective Peter Boterenbrood -- was enough to persuade visiting 60th District Judge Robert Benson to bind Abbey over for trial in 14th Circuit Court on three counts: manufacturing child pornography, a 20-year felony; possessing child porn, a four-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes.

Abbey is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash or surety bond.

The boy who appeared in court testified that Abbey had not asked him to perform sexual acts -- just pose naked.

At least two other children have been identified from photos found at Abbey's home, Prosecutor Tony Tague said earlier.

The investigation of Abbey began Nov. 15 after a visitor to the man's home was shown some of the pictures, police said. Police executed a search warrant Nov. 21 at his home and seized child pornography and computer equipment, including a Web camera.

Last month, Tague said investigators learned Abbey had enticed children to let him take nude, sexually suggestive photos.

Abbey has a prior conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child younger than 13, committed in 1992. He was in prison from 1994 to 2005 for that.

http://www.mlive.com/muskegon/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-13/11988567277930.xml&coll=8

Child porn suspect faces sex charge

Posted by Local reports January 04, 2008 20:53PM
Categories: Muskegon County

A Muskegon man already facing trial on child pornography counts has now been arraigned for allegedly having sex with an underage boy.

Mark Edwin Abbey, 50, was arraigned Thursday in 60th District Court on a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13 and 15.

Judge Harold F. Closz III set bail at $10,000 cash or surety and preliminary examination for Jan. 16.

The alleged conduct was oral sex and it reportedly occurred in November at Abbey's residence, 760 Catherine.

Authorities learned of the alleged victim and interviewed him during the course of their investigation after Abbey's arrest on child porn and other charges.

In late December, Abbey was bound over to 14th Circuit Court for trial on on three charges: manufacturing child pornography, a 20-year felony; possessing child porn, a four-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes. The criminal sexual conduct charge is a 15-year felony.
Abbey now has a bail totaling $510,000 and remains lodged in the Muskegon County Jail.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/01/child_porn_suspect_faces_sex_c.html

Boy testifies against child porn suspect

Posted by John S. Hausman January 16, 2008 16:29PM

"He would, like, whisper stuff in my ear: 'How would you like to be with them?' ... 'What would you do if you were there?'"

The teen-age boy on the witness stand was testifying that 50-year-old Mark Edwin Abbey would show him pictures on Abbey's home computer of "naked women (and) a couple young children" -- all appearing to be "home photos" -- then talk to the boy about them.

Eventually, the boy testified, Abbey began performing oral sex on him. That happened at least 10 times over a period of months, the witness said.

The boy said he was 14 when the sex started. The acts occurred in 2006 and 2007, he said.

The boy testified Wednesday at a 60th District Court preliminary examination for alleged child pornographer Abbey, of 760 Catherine. In the newest case, Abbey is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13 and 15, a 15-year felony.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Michael J. Nolan decided that probable cause had been established that Abbey committed the crime and ordered him bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court. He is charged as a third-time habitual offender, which could lengthen his maximum prison term if he's convicted.

Abbey already faces trial on charges of manufacturing child pornography, a 20-year felony; possessing child porn, a four-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes. At Abbey's Dec. 27 preliminary examination on those charges, a different boy testified that Abbey took naked pictures of him when the boy was 13.

More charges are expected.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/01/boy_testifies_against_child_po.html

Accused child pornographer to stand trial

Thursday, January 17, 2008

By John S. Hausmanjhausman@muskegonchronicle.com

"He would, like, whisper stuff in my ear: 'How would you like to be with them?' ... 'What would you do if you were there?"'

The teenage boy on the witness stand was testifying that 50-year-old Mark Edwin Abbey would show him pictures on Abbey's home computer of "naked women (and) a couple young children" -- all appearing to be "home photos" -- then talk to the boy about them.

Eventually, the boy testified, Abbey began performing oral sex on him. That happened at least 10 times over a period of months, the witness said.

The boy said he was 14 when the sex started. The acts occurred in 2006 and 2007, he said.

The boy testified Wednesday at a 60th District Court preliminary examination for alleged child pornographer Abbey, of 760 Catherine. In the newest case, Abbey is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13 and 15, a 15-year felony.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Michael J. Nolan decided that probable cause had been established that Abbey committed the crime and ordered him bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court. He is charged as a third-time habitual offender, which could lengthen his maximum prison term if he's convicted.

Abbey already faces trial on charges of manufacturing child pornography, a 20-year felony; possessing child porn, a four-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes. At Abbey's Dec. 27 preliminary examination on those charges, a different boy testified that Abbey took naked pictures of him when the boy was 13.

More charges are expected. In court, Senior Assistant Muskegon County Prosecutor Paula Baker said the prosecutor's office plans to charge Abbey with two additional sex counts.

Abbey is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail in lieu of $510,000 bail on the various charges.

The Muskegon Police investigation of Abbey began Nov. 15 after a visitor to the man's home was shown some of the pictures, police said. Police executed a search warrant Nov. 21 at his home and seized child pornography and computer equipment, including a Web camera.

Abbey has a prior conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 13, committed in 1992. He was in prison from 1994 to 2005 for that.

http://www.mlive.com/muskegon/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1200584728194400.xml&coll=8

Too bad Abbey doesn't live in Texas!

Texas says DEATH to child rapists!

Jessica's Law faces critical test

Supreme Court review may affect state law allowing the execution of child sex offenders

By PEGGY FIKAC

AUSTIN — The U.S. Supreme Court's review of whether the death penalty can be imposed against a Louisiana man convicted of raping a child will reverberate in Texas, which just last year passed its own law targeting those who prey on children.

How the court rules may determine whether Texas can implement the death-penalty portion of Jessica's Law, named after Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl who was kidnapped, raped and buried alive.

A convicted sex offender was found guilty in Jessica's murder, spurring some states, including Texas, to examine their laws punishing sex offenders.

Texas' law adds the death penalty as an option in cases in which someone for a second time has been convicted of aggravated sexual assault against a child under 14. The other possible penalty would be life without parole.
The Texas law also strengthens other sections of the law against aggravated sexual assault of children, including by providing for minimum sentences of 25 years.

Some worried whether imposing the death penalty against an offender who hasn't committed murder would pass constitutional muster. A clause in the law provides that the rest of it will stand if the death penalty portion is found unconstitutional.

"We believed then, and we believe now, that that bill, which is now a law, is absolutely constitutional and should withstand the scrutiny of anyone, including the Supreme Court," said Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, who pushed the bill in the House.

"However, ... we did put a firewall in there so that it would not affect the punishment in the rest of the bill" or the death penalty as it applies to other crimes in Texas, Riddle said.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, who worked on the Texas legislation, considers child rape to be a crime so heinous that the argument can be made that it is more damaging than murder.

At the same time, he didn't support putting the death penalty in the law because he said that could work against successful prosecution. Children most often are victimized by friends or family members, he said, and they may feel intense pressure against coming forward if their testimony might result in the death penalty.

'Good timing'

Bradley sees more strength in the rest of the law. He is prosecuting what appears to be the first case in Texas that was brought under the law, but he is not seeking the death penalty.

The prosecutor said it's good that the Supreme Court is taking up the issue before Texas has a death-penalty prosecution under the law.

"It's a very healthy thing for the Supreme Court to take the case," he said.
Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project, who favorably cited court rulings narrowing the instances in which the death penalty can be used, said, "It's good timing. We're right at the beginning of the Texas statute. ... It'll be good guidance from the get-go."

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who championed the measure, said Texas' law has more requirements for the death penalty than Louisiana.

"The Louisiana case is differentiated from Texas law in that, in Texas the death penalty or life without parole only applies on the second conviction of aggravated rape of a child under the age of 14. If, in the future the Texas law is challenged, Jessica's Law would still give prosecutors the option to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for convicted child molesters," Dewhurst said in a statement.

"Either way, in Texas we are serious about protecting our children from these monsters and will do what it takes to keep them off of the streets and away from our kids," Dewhurst said.

Questions to consider

That distinction could matter depending on the court's decision whether the provision violates the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.

After that question, the case also presents a second one — whether, even if the death penalty is allowed in such cases, the Louisiana law sufficiently narrows the type of defendants who can be executed, said John Holdridge, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Capital Punishment Project.

The ACLU opposes the death penalty without minimizing the seriousness of the crime, he added.

"Child rape is a very serious crime. I think everyone takes that position," Holdridge said. "We don't think the death penalty is the right way to go about this. We have come to learn that the death penalty is highly error-prone. It's biased against minorities and poor people, and it's really expensive. We should be repealing the death penalty, not expanding its use."

In my opinion Texas has it right.
Fool me once shame on you,
Fool me twice.. You will fry!
You cannot cure sexual proclivity to children.

Illegal alien assaults 13 yr old in canyon

Man gets 16 years for sexual assault on 13-year-old boy in Poway

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

Illegal immigrant plied boy with alcohol, prosecutors say.

SAN DIEGO ---- A Mexican national who admitted sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in a makeshift encampment in a secluded Poway canyon in July was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in a California prison.

Prosecutors said Jesus Nava, 31, plied the child ---- a stranger to him ---- with alcohol before eventually convincing the boy to follow him back to Nava's makeshift encampment in the rural, brushy hills behind Meadowbrook Middle School, which sits not far from busy Pomerado Road.

Neither the child nor his family attended Nava's sentencing; the length of his prison term was predetermined the day Nava pleaded guilty.

Authorities said the stocky transient, who worked at a carwash in the area, gave the boy watermelon and plied him with beer and hard liquor in the encampment before forcing the child down and assaulting him, according to the probation report in the court file.

Nava threatened to harm the boy's family unless he kept quiet about the assault, and slapped and kicked the child, the report stated.

The boy left the canyon, stopped a jogger and reported the rape, according to the court filing. Deputies, using a helicopter with a heat sensor, found Nava hiding in the canyon's heavy brush within six hours of the July 16 attack.

"The boy is doing much better. It was devastating to him and his family," Deputy District Attorney Dino Paraskevopoulos said after the sentencing in a San Diego courtroom.

Nava's defense attorney Kate Braner declined to comment after the brief hearing.

Nava pleaded guilty Nov. 15, on the day his case was to be presented to a judge to determine if there was enough evidence to send Nava to trial.

The early plea spared the child from testifying, where he would have had to "relive this violent crime," Paraskevopoulos said.

"Anonymity in these types of cases is very important," Paraskevopoulos said. "The victim did not have to testify. That was very important to his family."

When Nava pleaded guilty, both the prosecution and defense agreed to the 16-year prison sentence, as did the child's family, the prosecutor said.

Nava admitted to two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony charge of using false documents to conceal his citizenship status. Investigators found a resident alien card and a Social Security card in Nava's name at his encampment, the probation report stated.

Nava, who turned 31 on Christmas Day, is from the Mexican state of Chiapas, according to the probation report, which stated that Nava had been in the United States since at least May 2007.

Under California law, he must serve at least 14 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. As a noncitizen, he will be deported after his release. He must also register as a sex offender.

Advocates who work with child sexual assault victims say attacks by strangers are uncommon. The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2000 that only 7 percent of child victims of sexual assault were attacked by a stranger.

Nava approached the child while the boy was standing outside of the middle school. In pleading guilty, Nava admitted he befriended the boy with the intent to assault him.

The assault happened in an undeveloped canyon that frequently attracts migrant workers, transients and other homeless people who establish illegal camps in the tall brush, authorities have said.

Meadowbrook students who live in homes on the other side of the ridge have been known to use the area as a shortcut to and from school, although school officials discourage them from doing so.

On Friday, San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Dan Deese said deputies patrol the brushy area, sometimes flying overhead in a helicopter.

There are also increased patrols near the school, which sits at the end of a dark cul-de-sac by the canyon.

Deputy Bailiff Chris Pangalos leads Jesus Nava from the courtroom at the San Diego County Courthouse after Nava's sentencing Thursday. Nava received 16 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in a Poway canyon in July.

BILL WECHTER Staff Photographer

Internet Predators Are Now Prey To Florida Law Enforcement

Predator campaign top priority for Fla.

Originally posted on January 05, 2008
THE LAW
Here are some features of the state's new Cyber Crimes Against Children law:
• 15-year maximum sentence for contacting a child online and attempting to meet the child for sexual purposes
• Increases from five to 15 years the prison term for possession of more than 10 images of child pornography, and from 15 to 30 years for promotion and distribution of such materials
• New penalties for offenders who misrepresent their ages online
• Requires sex offenders to register all e-mail addresses and instant-message names they use, so social-network sites can block them

The Internet is a marvel for young people, with the potential for vastly enhancing their education and general mental fitness — but it's a jungle out there in cyberspace.

Young people online are terribly vulnerable to sexual predators. They must be aggressively educated about the dangers, and monitored by savvy, vigilant parents (and teachers and librarians, too).

The other half of the campaign is law enforcement, and in that regard we are happy to see that Florida has torqued up its efforts to catch and punish these villains.

At the urging of Attorney General Bill McCollum, the 2007 Legislature increased his cyber-predator unit from six to 56 positions and opened new offices in several cities.

It's going to be very important to see that the funding isn't rescinded in the impending state budget crunch. The cyber-pervert campaign is one of those core public safety government functions that has to be shielded from budget-cutting. It has to have top priority.

That's because Internet access is becoming a universal part of young people's experience in America, and because tech savvy does not necessarily equal real sophistication. Many young teens are emotionally vulnerable, innocent or foolish. It's one of several downsides to the Internet, including invasion of privacy, identity theft and and child pornography — all of which McCollum is also eager to tackle, to his great credit.

The blatant, compulsive nature of sexual predation online makes it crucial to raise the stakes. The new law, for example, provides a 15-year maximum sentence for contacting a child online and attempting to meet the child for sexual purposes.Given the tough penalties and the widespread publicity given to sting operations, one might think predators would be pulling back.

One would be very wrong.

This is going to be a permanent war over the safety of our children. At last we're starting to fight back hard.

Luring a child soon to be a crime

Predators face laws on ‘luring’ next year

By David Steves
The Register-Guard


Published: December 31, 2007 05:00AM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SALEM — Sexual predators who use the Internet to lure and groom child victims will find police and district attorneys better equipped to catch and prosecute them under tougher laws that take effect Jan. 1.

For the first time, such pedophiles can be arrested and convicted for the crime of “luring,” which prosecutors say is a critical early step that, when allowed to take place, leads to more damaging forms of sexual abuse of children. Oregon law also creates the crime of online sexual corruption.

An Oregon man whose organization has sought to raise public awareness about sex crimes against children and target their perpetrators said the 2007 Legislature did not put Oregon on the cutting edge, but did bring it up to par with other states.

Portlander Xavier Von Erck founded Perverted Justice, which has worked with the NBC program “To Catch a Predator.” He said his group hasn’t gone after pedophiles in Oregon as much as in other states because of the state’s relatively weak laws.

“Half the time when we get a guy in Oregon, we’d go to the police and the prosecutor, and they’d say they could only charge them with a misdemeanor, and that’s just not worth it for a lot of them,” Von Erck said. “So we’re very happy to see these new laws come into effect. With proper felonies, there will be more focus on these kind of crimes and we’ll get more arrests.”

The laws passed overwhelmingly in the last session of the Legislature. Like society as a whole, laws have had to adjust to the ways that pedophiles have used technology — not just the Internet, but cell phone text-messaging and even iPod videos — to pursue their victims.

“Twenty years ago you had to go down to your local park and be observed by a bunch of adults, potentially, and try to approach kids who had been taught about ‘stranger danger.’ It was a lot more risky,” said Von Erck, who is Perverted Justice’s director of operations. “Nowadays, you’re online, you can go target thousands of kids ... and there’s really no one to see you do it.”

The crime of online sexual corruption, created by House Bill 3515, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and requires those convicted to register as sex offenders in the state. It passed the House and Senate without dissent.

House Bill 2843, which targets pedophiles for luring their victims with sexually explicit material, was approved by all but two members in the House and one in the Senate in its floor votes.

During the bill’s public hearing last spring, Marion County prosecutor Jodie Bureta said pedophiles use text messaging, social networking Web sites and even notes left outside a child’s home to expose them to pornography and begin the process of grooming them to be sexual abuse victims.

Current law requires police and prosecutors to go after predators only when their actions advance to the stages of attempted sexual abuse, she said, even though the earlier steps are damaging to children.

The new law, Bureta said, will “allow us to stop this abuse in the grooming stage and hold people accountable while they’re grooming the children, while the harm is just starting to be done. We no longer have to wait until abuse physically occurs in order to catch these people, hold them accountable and protect these kids.”

It creates two levels of criminality for furnishing sexually explicit material.

It will be a misdemeanor to provide such material to a child younger than 13. Prosecutors could not go after certain furnishers of such material, such as the child’s parents, librarians or law enforcement officials, in some circumstances.

It will be a felony to “lure a minor” if such material is provided to someone under 18 with the intent of sexual arousal or to induce the minor into sexual activity.

Dave Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said his group was considering a constitutional challenge to the new law created by HB 2843.

His group has no problem with the “luring a minor” provisions, but despite language to safeguard educators, librarians and others from prosecution, the new law’s “furnishing sexually explicit material” misdemeanor is overly broad, Fidanque said. The law could give the government excessive power to restrict otherwise protected rights to free expression.

“There are all kinds of mainstream literature and film that might contain material that could be arousing to a minor that are protected constitutionally,” Fidanque said, describing possible scenarios in which a book store clerk says “you’ll enjoy this,” or a friend says “this is a great work of fiction,” and end up being charged with a misdemeanor.

Sex Offender caught in library looking at child porn

James Lee Garner - Repeat Sex Offender

"This is the perfect example of what a person in a position of authority should do when events start standing out and appearing suspicious. She checked the registry, and it paid off.">




A convicted sex offender has been arrested at a Coweta County library for accessing "child erotica" on a public computer while in reach of children, authorities said.





An investigation continues and additional charges are pending, authorities said.





Here's what happened, according to authorities: On Dec. 18, Sgt. Mike McGuffey of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office was contacted by a state probation officer in reference to a registered Coweta County sex offender.





James Lee Garner, 43, of 499 Tabby Lynch Road in Moreland, was convicted of child molestation on June 1, 1995. He registered in Coweta County as a sex offender on May 23, 2005, upon his release from prison.





The probation officer informed McGuffey that Senoia Library Director Aime Scarbrough had noticed Garner coming to the library often and sitting at a computer in a corner of the facility for hours at a time. He had started this routine as early as the summer.Scarbrough became suspicious of the man's activities when one day at closing she found a Web browser minimized at the bottom of the screen on his computer after he left that contained inappropriate images, indicating that he'd somehow managed to get past the library's firewall.





Scarbrough decided to check the sex offender registry, in an attempt to identify the male. She realized that it was Garner and immediately contacted Senoia Police Department officials, who, in turn, notified Garner's probation officer and McGuffey.





On Dec. 18, McGuffey visited the Senoia Library and spoke with Scarbrough about the incident. She told the investigator that Garner would often come to the library during scheduled children's programming, and he always sat at the same computer, which wasn't visible from most of the library.





McGuffey attempted to access inappropriate sites to see if there were ways to skirt the computer's online security. He found that it was possible to access Web sites with inappropriate material by clicking on links posted on certain sites deemed reputable.





McGuffey told Scarbrough to notify police if Garner returned.





The following day, Dec. 19, Garner arrived at the library during the morning hours as at least 16 preschoolers were participating in a Christmas-themed storytime.





Scarbrough alerted the Senoia Police Department, which sent Officer S. Tomlin to wait outside the library until McGuffey and Investigator Casey Mullis could arrive.





According to the sex offender law, Garner is allowed to be at the library with children so long as he isn't loitering or committing a criminal act — such as viewing child pornography online, according to McGuffey.





When McGuffey arrived, he slipped in and met Scarbrough in her office.





The investigator walked slowly to the computer, noting that Garner was intently focused on the computer screen while "in arm's reach of children."





When McGuffey popped around the computer to surprise Garner and see what he was viewing, he found sexual images of young girls that he described as "child erotica."





According to McGuffey, who did not want to create a scene in front of the children, Garner quickly attempted to delete opened Web browsers from the computer screen while the sergeant attempted to remove him from the computer subtly. Additionally, Garner had his checkbook out and a legitimate banking Web site opened and minimized on the screen.





McGuffey escorted Garner out of the library and away from the children before arresting him and charging him with violation of the sex offender registry. The Senoia Police Department detained Garner until a transport vehicle could take him to the Coweta County Jail.





"This investigation is still ongoing, and other charges — possibly of child pornography — are pending," said McGuffey.





McGuffey was pleased, as the sergeant in charge of managing Coweta's sex offender registry, that the sex offender registry network worked in this case.





"Ms. Scarbrough should be solely credited for this," said McGuffey.





"This is the perfect example of what a person in a position of authority should do when events start standing out and appearing suspicious. She checked the registry, and it paid off."

Criminally insane sex offenders living in OR neighborhood

Cornelius residents fume over treatment home for criminally insane
Lawmakers say they'll seek changes to method of siting residential facilities

By Christian Gaston
The Forest Grove News-Times, Jan 4, 2008, Updated Jan 8, 2008 (11 Reader comments)


Chase Allgood / Forest Grove News-Times


More than 150 residents peppered elected officials and state employees Jan. 3 about a secure treatment facility in Cornelius that houses three sexual predators.

The public hearing, called by Washington County Sheriff Rob Gordon, came less than a week after Gordon made headlines by issuing notice that the three men were living in Cornelius. Gordon's move sidestepped state officials who were reluctant to inform neighbors of the presence of the sex offenders, all of whom were found guilty except for insanity and had been housed in the Oregon State Hospital until August.

Gordon said Thursday that serious changes need to be made to state law that regulates the siting of such facilities. As for the Cornelius facility, at 177 N. 29th Ave., Gordon said it's a bad fit.

"This particular home is misplaced and misguided and the wrong kind of people are living in this neighborhood," Gordon said.

A trio of state lawmakers was in attendance, and all of them pledged to the roiled crowd that they would take the issue up in force in the 2009 legislative session.

State Rep. Linda Flores (R – Clackamas), Rep. Chuck Riley (D – Hillsboro) and Sen. Bruce Starr (R – Hillsboro) all echoed Gordon's concern that residents were living near sex offenders without knowing it.

"Let's work together to change the law," Starr said.

On the minds of many in the audience was why the city of Cornelius granted a conditional use permit to the contractor that operates the facility, Tigard nonprofit Luke-Dorf Inc.

Gordon indicated that Luke-Dorf wasn't forthright with the city during the permitting process.

Rigorous determination

A woman in the audience reported that a friend of her daughter's got a job at the facility. The daughter's friend eventually told woman that the facility would house sex offenders.

But the woman, who would not give her name, said Cornelius officials, Luke-Dorf and others told her that wasn't the case.

Cornelius Police Chief Paul Rubenstein conceded that he had told the woman that the building wouldn't house sex offenders, after he received assurances from Luke-Dorf that the facility wouldn't be home to such criminals.

Gordon said local officials didn't learn the true nature of the facility until Washington County District Attorney Robert Hermann was told that Matthew Shipley, who was arrested in 1988 for brutally assaulting a 3-year-old girl in Tualatin, was in the house.

Hermann informed Gordon, who later issued a news release and public notification to the media and 1,300 Cornelius residents.

Bob Nikkel, who administers the office of mental health and addiction services for the state, said that siting decisions were based on established planning rules and that those released from the Oregon State Hospital into community homes like the one in Cornelius go through a rigorous determination by a state board before they are released.

Nikkel said he understands residents concerns. When Cornelius residents asked him where he lives, he said his home is near a residential treatment facility for former state hospital patients.

"I live next to a facility and have grandkids that come over quite often," he said.