Fort Wayne suspect braves storm to see 'teen'

Greeted by police in Ohio instead

By Abby Slutsky

The Journal Gazette

A Fort Wayne man drove about 260 miles “through a hell of a snowstorm” to meet a 14-year-old girl at an Ohio restaurant, police said.

Instead, Stephen A. Pritchard, 55, of the 10000 block of Pin Oak Circle, was arrested Friday after getting out of his car near a Massillon, Ohio, restaurant.

Massillon is about 54 miles south of Cleveland and, like most of the Buckeye State, was pummeled by a storm that dumped between 12 and 24 inches of snow beginning Friday.

Pritchard had been communicating online with undercover officers from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for a little more than a month, Massillon police Detective Bobby Grizzard said.

Pritchard believed he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl, and Friday was to be the first in-person meeting, Grizzard said.

The conversations were taking place in an online chat room, but Pritchard did not approach the “girl” through a Web site like MySpace.com , Grizzard said.

He did not identify which chat room Pritchard was frequenting.

Started in 1999, the task force is an alliance of city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. The group works to apprehend and prosecute Internet child predators and child pornographers, as well as helping educate parents and children about Internet safety, according to the group's Web site.

Pritchard was the 97th person arrested by the task force since its inception, Grizzard said.

When Pritchard arrived in Massillon, there was already 5 to 6 inches of snow on the ground, Grizzard said.

“He drove through a hell of a snowstorm to get here, because we were getting pelted,” he said.

Pritchard is charged with attempted unlawful sex with a minor, attempted child endangerment and importuning, which is soliciting a minor by means of a telecommunications device, police said.

Pritchard is not listed as a sexual offender, Grizzard said.

He was being held at the Stark County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to jail records.

Man Gets 2 Life Sentences For Raping Girl

Travis Gettys, WLWT.com

LEBANON, Ohio -- A Hamilton man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars on a sex crimes conviction.

William Meador, 35, was sentenced Monday to two consecutive life sentences after a jury convicted him on two counts of rape against a child.

Meador also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual imposition against an unrelated victim in a separate assault, and Judge James L. Flannery ordered him to register as a Tier III sex offender.

Authorities said Meador sexually assaulted a girl over the past three years in her bedroom while he lived with the family.

Previous Stories:

• February 27, 2008: Man Convicted Of Raping Girl In Her Bedroom

School board wrong on shelter

As a retired U.S. Coast Guard veteran and a Central High School alumni I am again appalled by the actions and attitudes of the R-12 School District.

They are claiming that a proposed shelter for homeless veterans in the former Social Security building would put the students of CHS at too great a risk.

Their spokespeople have made statements to the effect that "those people are generally unstable and some are even pedophiles." The district is making assumptions and passing judgment on these people partly because they are homeless, they are veterans and not what they want in their neighborhood or backyard.

Did the district complain when Alpha House was established just four blocks from Shady Dell Elementary? No! Was there this type of outcry when the Boys & Girls Clubs became the next door neighbor of Sigma House? No! Both of these establishments house known offenders in close proximity to much younger children than CHS has. Where is the outcry?

The R-12 School District needs to clean their own house before they start casting stones.

A pedophile's paradise?

By: Melanie Brooks

Palm River, Florida – Parents call it a pedophile’s paradise.

And, it makes them sick.

A mobile home park in the Palm River area is becoming a haven for sex offenders. They use the park as a rehab of sorts. Currently, 8 offenders live there and more could be on the way. Families across the street have had enough.

“They walk the street all the time. Every day I see them, and there isn’t anything I can do about it. I’ve just got to leave it alone,” said Carla Bowling.

Carla’s opinion is suddenly changing.

She felt empowered after a meeting at First Baptist Church Thursday night where fellow parents spoke up, wanting sex offenders out.

“If they want to go out in the country and do something like this, where it’s not around children, I wouldn’t have much of a problem. If they want to go into a community, an all-adult community, I don’t like that either, but they have to go somewhere. But, don’t put them in the middle of a candy jar,” pleaded Judy Cornett, a mother who knows firsthand the pain a sex offender can cause.

Her son was molested when he was just a boy. And, he wasn’t the only one. Other children were also hurt. Since then, Judy has been on such shows as Oprah and Leeza Gibbons. She was at the meeting to educate parents on how to shut down this mobile home park.

The park is called the “Florida Justice Transition” program located at 5015 24^th Avenue South. The manager, Patty Morais, works with offenders every day on their probation and watches them constantly.

She says, “We’re watching these guys. The probation officers are watching these guys. They’re going through their counseling. They’re doing everything they’re supposed to be doing.”

But, is what they’re doing legal? Should sex offenders have their own mobile home park?

Hillsborough County code enforcement says it may not be legal. They are investigating the case right now. They have not issued any citations, but they have started an active case. Case officers are going after the park for improper use of zoning.

So, who owns this park? Tampa Bay’s 10 News did some digging and found out that the park’s owner is traced back to Rooring Lake Gilbert, LLC. The owners did not return our phone calls.

Meanwhile, this predator colony, as some parents call it, is making money with rental charges. And, there’s 3 to 4 tenants per mobile home in some cases.

Carla Bowling worries every day about her 11-year-old daughter, Makayla, daughter who plays across the street. She calls the mere presence of these men near children, disgusting.

“I’m petrified. I’m scared, I’m really scared. It makes me mad. I don’t know how they can do it.”

Even her daughter says, “Sometimes they look at me. I’m worried about what to do if they come after me.”

A facility like this one already exists in St. Petersburg called the Palace Mobile Home Park. If parents in Palm River can help it, this new park in Tampa, only a month old, will be shut down as soon as possible.

Sexual Offenders Will Move

By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 11, 2008

TAMPA - The sex offenders living at Juli's Mobile Home Park may as well start packing now, according to Hillsborough County Code Enforcement Department supervisor Bill Langford. He says he has cited them, and they'll be leaving the Palm River park by choice or by force.

The residents, all convicted sex offenders or sexual predators, are at the mobile home park, 5011 24th Ave. S., illegally, Langford said at a Monday night meeting of the Greater Palm River Civic Association.

The mobile home park is in an area zoned industrial. However, the county granted a variance for residential uses. Langford said that approval covers single-family homes, not the nonprofit group home for sexual offenders and predators that Florida Justice Transitions Inc. has established there.

"If you're calling yourself transitional housing, then under our regulations it's considered a group home and that area is not zoned for that use," he said. Langford has cited the property owner, Rooring Lake Gilbert LLC. The citation mandates Florida Justice Transitions vacate Juli's Mobile Home Park within three days or the owner will face fines.

Florida Justice Transitions founder Nancy Morais said she is working with the owner to put a fence and gate around the park and assure residents no one younger than 15 would be allowed in. She said she is working with the civic association to find an alternative site.

She said she did not realize there was a family mobile home park across the street when she subleased Juli's Mobile Home Park. "We might be able to move this to a more appropriate location. I apologize. I wasn't aware there was a family park there," she said.

Morais said there are six offenders at the park, though 11 are listed on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

County Commissioner Kevin White attended the civic association meeting. He said he would look into the possibility of proposing a sexual offender anti-clustering ordinance to the commission.

Trust your gut

Don't disregard worries about unseen child molesters in your neighborhood.

Kimberly Edds

Q: My new neighbor seems a little creepy. I have small children and now I'm a little worried about letting them play outside. Is there anything specific I should be looking for that would tell me my gut feeling is right about this guy?

A:That sound you hear in your stomach isn't because you're in desperate need of some nachos and a cold one. It's your gut trying to smack some sense into you. If you're gut is telling you he's creepy, then he's creepy, at least to you.

You don't need some government checklist to tell you that. Just because your gut is screaming bloody murder at you, don't go burning the schmuck's house down. But you can keep you're kids away from Mr. Smith's backyard kiddie land and save a fortune in liquor and cigarettes that you'd be consuming trying not to worry about it.

Life would be simpler if the pedophiles were all hideous old guys in overcoats baiting children with candy. Those pedophiles are out there, fitting perfectly into society's stereotypes. But those are the easy ones to pick out.

Child molesters emerge from every nook and cranny. They can be men or women, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, religious or non-religious, highly educated or just street smart, or from any race and creed. For the most part, they know their victim, subtly seducing them.

You want your kids to be safe. If you didn't you would have dropped them off on a street corner and let them fend for themselves. But you didn't because you love them. And every night when you tuck them in bed and kiss them good night, they go to sleep knowing you'd walk through fire to protect them.

And that means figuring out where the real danger lies – and sometimes it isn't packaged nice and pretty with a guy with a tattoo on his on arm that says "I (heart) kids."

Luckily, the pinstriped suits over at the Department of Justice have seen a few child molesters over the years, and based on that they've come up with a list of developed characteristics and behavioral indicators of a pedophile. Just because your mailman or the grocery store clerk fits some of these doesn't mean he is a pedophile, but you might to start tuning into your gut.

For the most part they are men, usually married. They're pretty set on preference, gravitating to either boys or girls, and a specific age. They have been molested themselves. And they are givers, volunteering or working in programs which cater to the children they prefer.

Since adults really aren't their thing, child molesters tend to gravitate toward the smaller set or like-minded predator. They are avid collectors of children's erotica, and collect pictures of their victims; they may go to great lengths to hide their illegal activities.

And for the most part, these guys don't have much of a rap sheet. There just aren't too many little kids in the joint and even the lowest of the low of the criminal underworld don't have a high tolerance for the kiddie molesters.

If a Megan's Law search on your new neighbor came up empty, you may have come across the dirty little secret that not all convicted sex offenders are required to be listed. If you're going to worry, you might not want to worry so much about the ones you know about.

Worry about the ones who haven't gotten caught yet.

FdL man convicted on child porn charges

The Reporter Staff

A Fond du Lac man has been found guilty of possession of child pornography.

Matthew J. Pflum, 39, of N5268 Summit Court, a convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of possession of child pornography. Fourteen additional counts were dismissed and read in during a hearing before Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Robert Wirtz.

Pflum is accused of viewing explicit images of girls as young as 7 years old, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators took a look at Pflum’s activities after his probation agent learned he had created a MySpace profile, which violated conditions of his probation, according to the criminal complaint.

Pflum was convicted in a child enticement case in Colorado in 2003, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections sex offender registry.

A sentencing hearing for Pflum is scheduled for May 13.

Grand Prairie man found guilty in child porn case

By JASON TRAHAN

A Grand Prairie computer technician and convicted child molester was found guilty Tuesday on federal charges for taking a laptop computer containing child pornography into Canada.

A federal jury in Dallas took 40 minutes to find Kevin Dewayne Moore guilty of possessing and transporting child pornography.

Several videos of elementary school-age boys and girls being forced to perform sex acts were found on Mr. Moore’s laptop by customs agents at Ottawa International Airport in September 2005. He was entering the country on business.

Mr. Moore, 45, first came under suspicion during routine questioning by customs agents, testimony this week revealed. When border authorities asked him whether the laptop contained prohibited materials, Mr. Moore told them that his brother often used the computer.

“This is a man who had nothing to hide,” defense attorney Carlton McLarty said in describing his client’s cooperation with Canadian customs agents when he was initially questioned. “When he saw the child porn on there, he got angry. That’s a natural reaction of someone who sees something that they didn’t know was on there.”

But testimony from experts and Mr. Moore’s family revealed that Mr. Moore loaded the child porn movies onto his laptop off of a CD he kept in a collection at his Grand Prairie home.

“He couldn’t be without his stash for five days,” prosecutor Aisha Saleem said during her closing argument. “This man had deviant interests.”

Last year, Mr. Moore was convicted in Dallas County state court for the 2003 aggravated sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl. He also was convicted by a Canadian court and spent about five months in jail there before he was returned to the U.S. for prosecution in Dallas.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor will sentence Mr. Moore on the federal conviction June 17. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the transportation conviction and up to 10 years for possession.

Fort Wayne man faces charges for "tons" of child porn

Mug shot of Todd Smith

(FORT WAYNE - WANE) A Fort Wayne man is facing federal charges after authorities found child porn while serving a search warrant at his home.

Last week, federal authorities went to the home of 40-year old Todd Smith located at 5430 Old Maumee Road, Lot 49.

The investigation began in January after an Indiana State trooper discovered child pornography was being shared from a computer with an IP address assigned to Smith.

After serving the search warrant, court documents indicate Smith could not estimate how much porn he had on video, computer hard drives and other media , but he described it as, "a ton".

Smith also told authorities he had sent out child porn as well, through email and a file sharing program.

The federal criminal complaint shows Smith told police; "I don't know why I like it so much, I just do".

Smith also said he spent 6 to 8 hours a day on the Internet viewing child porn.

To view the entire court document (pdf), click here.

He'll be back in federal court on Thursday. If convicted on both counts against him, Smith could spend at least five years in prison and be fined up to half a million dollars.

Muscatine man sentenced on child porn charges

By JEFF REINTIZ, Courier Staff Writer

SIOUX CITY --- A Muscatine man has been sentenced to prison after sending child pornography to a person he thought was a 15-year-old girl.


The girl was really a Cedar Falls police investigator.


U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett sentenced Travis John O’Connor, 26, to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release after he pleaded to one count each of transporting child porn and distributing child porn.


The judge also ordered O’Connor to pay a $200 special assessment.


According to court records, O’Connor, a heating and ventilation technician, had conversations with the undercover investigator in an Internet chat room in August 2006. He talked about sex and then turned on a Web camera and began fondling himself, records state.


They chatted again in December, and O’Connor again used the Web camera and then sent 21 images of child porn to the investigator, records state.


When police later searched his computer, they found 150 items of child pornography, records state. Several of the images depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit activity.


The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan.

Nantucket man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

William Constable, of Nantucket.

BOSTON - A Nantucket man who filmed himself having sex with young girls in Asia has pleaded guilty to federal pornography charges.

William Constable, a self-employed contractor, pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced on June 10.

Constable was arrested in October when he tried to retrieve a digital camera he left in a Cape Cod hotel room. A hotel employee who found the camera called police after seeing images of a man having sex with young girls.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Gershengorn says Constable told police he had sex with about 30 girls — most under the age of 12 — in numerous trips to Asia since 1993.

Former Lagunitas schools chief pleads no contest to child porn

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

(03-11) 16:22 PST SAN RAFAEL -- The former superintendent of the Lagunitas School District in Marin County pleaded no contest today to possessing child pornography in a case that began after his girlfriend stumbled onto explicit photos of children at their Petaluma home, authorities said.

Craig Benedict Lee, 54, entered his plea to one count of possessing child pornography. He could be sent to state prison for as long as three years when Judge Lawrence Antolini of Sonoma County Superior Court sentences him June 30.

Legally, pleading no contest is the same as pleading guilty, but the conviction cannot be used against the defendant in a civil lawsuit.

Lee served as principal at the Lagunitas district's three elementary programs and a middle school as well as its superintendent since July 2006. The district serves four hamlets - San Geronimo, Lagunitas, Forest Knolls and Woodacre - in San Geronimo Valley.

Lee was arrested in April 2007 after authorities responded to a domestic violence call at his home in the 900 block of Aspen Way. His live-in girlfriend was cleaning their house when she found child pornography, Petaluma police said.

She confronted Lee when he came home, and he allegedly pushed or shoved her, police said. The woman called police and gave officers the photos she had found.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

Deep River Man Sentenced to Three Years for Child Porn in New Haven, Connecticut

By Corey Sipe

DEEP RIVER - Demian Wells, 33, of Winthrop Road, was recently sentenced after pleading guilty in July to one count of possession of child pornography.


United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven sentenced Wells on Mar. 4 to 36 months of imprisonment, and following that, five years of supervised release where Wells must perform 200 hours of community service.


According to court documents and statements, on Oct. 11, 2006, Wells knowingly possessed computer disks that contained more than 600 images of child pornography.


He was subsequently arrested on Mar. 19, 2007 and was released on a $200,000 bond with strict conditions, including electronic monitoring by the United States Probation Office, on Apr. 4, 2007.


Connecticut and New Jersey Office of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) first conducted the investigation leading to this case.


The agencies were looking into a commercial website which called itself "Illegal.CP" and undercover agents purchased access to the website which offered access to thousands of images and videos of child pornography through 20 and 30 days' duration.


Wells was identified as one of the individuals accessing the website and during interviews with law enforcement agents admitted that he visited child pornography sites and had downloaded child pornography.


Consenting to a search of his storage locker, law enforcement agents found numerous DVDs and computer disks with hundreds of still images of child pornography that Wells downloaded from the "Illegal CP" website.


More than 600 images of child pornography were found including the discovery of child pornography movies.


Wells is required to register as a sexual offender and during his supervised release is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18.


Judge Arterton authorized the United States Probation Office to place monitoring software on any computer Wells will use and conduct searches of Wells' residence if the Office has reason to believe Wells is not meeting conditions of his supervised release.


The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alina P. Reynolds.


Kevin J. O'Connor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation.


More information about Project Safe Childhood is available by visiting www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Goldsboro Man Sentenced for Sending Child Porn Over Internet

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Goldsboro man already registered as a sex offender received a 35-year prison sentence on Tuesday for sending child pornography over the Internet.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Raleigh said a federal judge imposed the sentenced on Johnny Ray Lee, a 40-year-old parolee from Wisconsin, where he was convicted in 1994 for sexually abusing two children.

A news release said Lee moved to North Carolina in 2004 and began trafficking in child pornography. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that a New Hampshire police detective, working undercover, received child pornography from Lee over the Web.

An SBI agent, posing as someone interested in child pornography, met Lee in a Goldsboro-area restaurant and arrested him. Lee admitted to having sent child pornography over the Internet and entered a guilty plea in November.

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Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sexual Offenders Will Move

By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 11, 2008

TAMPA - The sex offenders living at Juli's Mobile Home Park may as well start packing now, according to Hillsborough County Code Enforcement Department supervisor Bill Langford. He says he has cited them, and they'll be leaving the Palm River park by choice or by force.

The residents, all convicted sex offenders or sexual predators, are at the mobile home park, 5011 24th Ave. S., illegally, Langford said at a Monday night meeting of the Greater Palm River Civic Association.

The mobile home park is in an area zoned industrial. However, the county granted a variance for residential uses. Langford said that approval covers single-family homes, not the nonprofit group home for sexual offenders and predators that Florida Justice Transitions Inc. has established there.

"If you're calling yourself transitional housing, then under our regulations it's considered a group home and that area is not zoned for that use," he said. Langford has cited the property owner, Rooring Lake Gilbert LLC. The citation mandates Florida Justice Transitions vacate Juli's Mobile Home Park within three days or the owner will face fines.

Florida Justice Transitions founder Nancy Morais said she is working with the owner to put a fence and gate around the park and assure residents no one younger than 15 would be allowed in. She said she is working with the civic association to find an alternative site.

She said she did not realize there was a family mobile home park across the street when she subleased Juli's Mobile Home Park. "We might be able to move this to a more appropriate location. I apologize. I wasn't aware there was a family park there," she said.

Morais said there are six offenders at the park, though 11 are listed on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

County Commissioner Kevin White attended the civic association meeting. He said he would look into the possibility of proposing a sexual offender anti-clustering ordinance to the commission.

Reporter D'Ann White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

Parents get lowdown on Internet predators

By Sharon K. Wolfe

BLOOMINGTON — Being a sexual predator luring children and teenagers has never been so easy. “Now predators can sit in their own homes and surf (the Internet) for hours,” said Jack Bristow, who spoke to about 125 adults Monday night at the Project Oz Parents Forum at Bloomington High School.


Other speakers with cybercrimes expertise were Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Keith, Bloomington Police Detective Bill Lynn, FBI agent Jeff Heinze and Mike Peterson, an account technology specialist with Microsoft. Bristow, a former police officer, teaches law enforcement in Pontiac.


“In almost every one of the cases, the child is almost always a willful participant,” said Keith, who told about a 16-year-old girl weeping on the witness stand. She said, “I love him with all I have” but she had never even met the predator in person. The sexual predator, who flew from California to Illinois, was caught by police before the two could meet. Part of the plan was having the girl drug her parents with sleeping pills.


Lynn had a list of texting acronyms for parents to watch for. They include GNOC (Get Naked on Camera), IWSN (I want sex now), and KPC (Keep Parents Clueless). What he called the most chilling was LMIRL (Let’s Meet in Real Life).


Keith suggested a new computer acronym — PGCO (Parents Going Covert Online).


The crowd was shown an example of how anyone can log in to a chat room as a 14-year-old boy. In one minute there was a paid porn site, and within two minutes there was an online conversation from a man who became graphically explicit.


Bristow previously selected an actual Web site of a Twin City co-ed and showed how easy it would be for him to stalk her — given the amount of information she put on the Internet, which included what classes she attended and where she worked.


Key points from speakers included:


-- Cautioning children never to put any information online identifying them to a stranger.


-- Keeping computers out of bedrooms or other rooms not in clear view of parents’ eyes.


-- Online gaming sites are increasingly a way predators strike up conversations with kids.


-- Installing monitoring software to find out what your children are doing online. “You’ll find out things you don’t want to know —- but you need to know,” said Lynn.

City briefs

he following information was provided by Lisa M. Douglass, public information coordinator for the city of Marco Island.


East Winterberry bridge project requires lane closure
On Tuesday, March 11, the contractor working on the East Winterberry bridge project will shut down one lane of traffic on South Barfield at the Winterberry intersection.

Barfield will be reduced to one lane southbound for the eight hour work day to enable the water main tie-in to be completed. Message boards and signs will be located on Barfield north of the construction area. This work will not affect the two northbound travel lanes. More more information, please contact Tim Pinter at 239-389-5018.

Updated sex offenders list now online
The Marco Island Police Department is providing the community with updated information regarding registered sexual offenders residing on Marco Island.

Florida law requires each city to notify the community of all registered sexual predators residing in the city. Sexual predators are designated as such by court order. There are currently no sexual predators residing on Marco Island.

The Marco Island Police Department is not required to notify the community about sexual offenders, but is authorized to do so. Currently, there are four sexual offenders registered with Marco Island addresses. An officer from the Police Department recently visited each registered sexual offender and verified his address. This information is public record and can be accessed by contacting the following website: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/ Clicking on the sexual predator file, you can enter any location to find the predators or offenders registered in that area. The city is sending this information to all schools, churches, day care centers and youth facilities in the city limits.

If you have any questions, contact police department at 239-389-5050 or FDLE at 888-357-7332. To view the flyer, click on the link below: http://www.cityofmarcoisland.com/Public_Documents/MarcoIslandFL_Police/sexoffenders310.pdf

Spring Jubilee volunteers needed
The city of Marco Island Parks and Recreation Department is looking for volunteers to be part of the annual Spring Jubilee on Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m.-noon.

Volunteers will be needed to help move more than 12,000 Easter eggs and provide various other activity support.

Activities include; music and games by Mobile Sound Entertainment, snow cones and a special dance performance by Island Dance Troop, food and drinks by Lely High School Marching Band Boosters, Egg Science booth by Super Science and Amazing Art, Easter Bunny photos available by Bradford Cox Photography, Caricatures by John Salustro, bounce house, sand art, Legos, and much more.

Those interested in volunteering, contact Mindy Matusiak at 239-642-0575.

New Hampshire Senate Committee Asked to Protect Children from Online Predators

On Monday, Governor John Lynch asked the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee to continue the state's efforts to protect children from sexual predators by supporting the Online Child Safety Act.

The legislation, developed with a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, the Attorney General and New Hampshire's law enforcement community, modernizes the state's laws to better protect children from sexual predators who use the Internet. The legislation builds on the Child Protection Act passed in 2006, which is one of the country's toughest laws to protect children from sexual predators.

"People who prey on our children are among the most dangerous criminals. They target our most precious and our most vulnerable citizens," Lynch said. "We will not allow sexual predators to hide in the shadows of cyberspace. We must modernize our laws to protect our children from the threats of the 21st century."

With greater access to the Internet and advancing technology, children are increasingly exposed to graphic online images and unwanted solicitations. Research has shown that despite the use of filters, blockers and software monitoring, unwanted exposure to sexual material on the Internet has increased over the last five years.

"We must make sure we have the laws we need to protect our children from the threats of the 21st century," Lynch said.

The bill strengthens the penalties in existing law for enticing a child over the Internet, and provides enhanced penalties for repeat offenders; it overhauls and expands existing child pornography laws to better reflect the victimization that occurs everyday when images of sexually abused children are created and distributed; and it closes a loophole so that sex offenders using Web cams can be held accountable.

This legislation is just one piece of a comprehensive effort to make New Hampshire a safer place for our children.

Lynch worked with lawmakers, the attorney general and the state's police chiefs two years ago to craft one of the toughest and most comprehensive child protection laws in the nation.

This year, the state added an Internet crimes prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office was created to address this issue. The state is also continuing its efforts to help educate parents and children about the potential dangers lurking on the Internet.

"Parents are the most important people in protecting children from online predators. By monitoring their children's on-line activities, parents can help prevent exposure to sexually explicit material and unwanted solicitation from adults," Lynch said. "However, we realize the Internet is becoming easier to access everyday and a child can access the Internet from just about anywhere -- without parental supervision. With this legislation, we are both helping parents and taking another important step forward in making our state a safer place for all our children."

Senate Bill 495 is sponsored by Sens. Joe Foster, Bob Letourneau and Betsi DeVries; Reps. David Welch and William Knowles.

Huntington Nabs Six Predators Living in Violation of the Law

from the Town of Huntington

by Lynn E. Ruvolo


HUNTINGTON, N.Y. - Legislation sponsored and passed by Councilman Stuart Besen to closely monitor the residences of sexual predators has resulted in the discovery of six convicted sex offenders living illegally and in close proximity to local schools, playgrounds and parks.


One of the predators, found living less than a quarter-mile from the Birchwood Intermediate School in South Huntington, has already left the community and relocated to Pennsylvania. Efforts are now underway to force the remaining five predators to re-locate and comply with Town and Suffolk County law.


"Immediately after determining that six predators were living in residences in violation of this law, we launched an investigation and put in motion our process to force these predators to pack up and relocate," Councilman Besen said. "This legislation played an integral role in helping us discover these sexual predators living in clear violation of the Town Code. Nothing is more important than protecting the welfare of our children and this new law has already proven itself in less than one year."


The sweeping legislation, enacted by the Town Board last year, established an innovative mapping program that monitors and tracks the residences of sexual predators through information provided by the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services. A recent check of the State website by the Town's Department of Public Safety revealed that six Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders were living in residences in violation of Town Law. This law, also sponsored and passed by Councilman Besen, restricts predators from living within 1,320 feet of a school, park, licensed day care center, playground or day camp.


On a monthly basis, Public Safety personnel check a website operated by the State Department of Criminal Justice Services that identifies the residences of registered sex offenders. By applying information provided on the website to the Town's mapping program, a recent check revealed an offender living in close proximity to the Birchwood Intermediate School.


Public Safety then issued a notice of violation to the property owner and the offender directing that the offender re-locate within 45 days or face prosecution. Last week, the Town received word from the State and Suffolk County Police Department that the sex offender had re-located to Pennsylvania.


Similar notices of violations have already been sent to the remaining five offenders directing them to re-locate within 45 days. These five were found living illegally in Huntington and Huntington Station.


"Together with our Public Safety Division, Suffolk County's cooperating agencies and this enforcement tool, we are working to rid these sensitive areas of predators," said Supervisor Frank P. Petrone. "We want to keep our children safe and this legislation is proving to be an effective measure in doing just that."

Train derails in Wabash, another stuck in Alexandria

Thursday, March 06, 2008

WABASH, Ind. (AP) - Eighteen cars of a 25 car train derailed on the west side of Wabash.

The Wabash County Sheriff's Department says no one was injured and no hazardous materials were on the train when the derailment occurred Wednesday afternoon.

Norfolk Southern is investigating the cause of the derailment.

Meanwhile in Alexandria, a stalled train blocked downtown crossings for nearly two hours Wednesday morning. Police say the train was forced to stop because of frozen switches on the track ahead.

City employees used blowtorches to thaw the switches.

Several school buses, already delayed by the weather, were stuck at the crossings.

'Highly regarded' doctor charged in teen sex case

BY ERIC HERMAN AND STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporters

A "highly regarded" Wilmette doctor faces sexual assault and child pornography charges stemming from his relationship with a 17-year-old girl, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Robert Hughes, 48, was ordered held on $500,000 bond at a court hearing in Skokie. He faces 4 to 15 years in prison if convicted of criminal sexual assault and manufacturing child pornography.

A neighbor in Hughes' apartment building Wednesday described Hughes as "a very wonderful person" and "highly regarded." The neighbor, who didn't want her name used, also said Hughes counts some of the residents in his building as patients.

The alleged crimes took place at Hughes' apartment in the 700 block of Ridge Road in Wilmette. "The defendant had a habit, since he separated from his wife, of allowing teenagers to come to his apartment to do drugs and drink," Assistant State's Attorney Cathy Crowley said.

The alleged victim "had a substance abuse problem," Crowley said. She said Hughes met the 17-year-old through another teen and gave her "the means of obtaining and taking illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine."

Crowley said Hughes gave her money to buy drugs, drove her to the West Side of Chicago to buy them, and gave her clean needles to use.

The relationship began in autumn 2007 and lasted until February, Crowley said. The girl's parents became concerned about their daughter's behavior and evidence she had drugs and money, a source said. They also "saw some questionable e-mails," a source said.

Hughes allegedly paid the girl money to perform lewd acts, which he would videotape. Her proceeds went to purchase drugs, Crowley said. Hughes also gave the girl prescription drugs, though he was not her treating physician, she said.

At one point, the girl's parents put her in rehab, and Hughes "used his position as a doctor to get access to her four times," Crowley said.

A 1984 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Hughes practices family medicine in Buffalo Grove with the Advocate Medical Group. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Wilmette Police arrested Hughes on Monday after the girl's parents contacted police. They had discovered a text message from Hughes to their daughter offering "to transport their daughter to a location in Chicago to purchase illegal narcotics," police said in a statement.

"It took an act of courage for the parents and the victim to come forward to report these incidents," Deputy Chief Brian King said.

EASTFIELD MAN CAUGHT IN FBI CHILD PORN STING

Federal agents posted bogus Web link

by Joseph M. Giordano

A trail of online solicitations for child pornography led to the arrest of an Eastfield man on Feb. 27, according to the Maryland State Police.

A joint investigation conducted by the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the FBI Cyber Crime Task Force led to the arrest of Julius Ruley Jr., 59, of the 1600 block of Searles Road, according to Sgt. Arthur Betts, a state police spokesman.

Ruley was charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography, Betts said.

The investigation began in October 2006, when an undercover FBI agent in Los Angeles used a public computer message board to post a link offering pornographic images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to Betts.

Shortly after the link was posted, the agent’s computer access files revealed that several individuals connected to the Web site, Betts said.

The files contained in the fake link actually contained nonpornographic encrypted images.

In November 2006, the undercover FBI agent began to gather subpoenas on those who accessed the covert Web link, and investigators traced the origin of one of the users back to an Internet account registered to Ruley, according to Betts.

In March 2007, investigators searched Ruley’s home and interviewed him about the links and pictures, according to Betts.

During the interview, Ruley admitted to having child pornography on his computer, Betts said.

Investigators seized his computer, and a complete forensic examination turned up numerous images of graphic child pornography, according to Betts.

Ruley was arrested at his office, which police declined to identify, and taken to the Baltimore County Detention Center, where he remained on $50,000 bail earlier this week, Betts said.

If convicted on all counts, Ruley could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and/or $25,000 in fines, according to Betts.

Gardening group hid porn ring

By EMILY WATT - The Dominion Post

Something was peculiar about the gardening news group.

Internet users discussing the seemingly innocuous topics of plants and motoring were encrypting files so others couldn't see it. The sheer volume of material on the site was odd.

Their suspicions raised, Internal Affairs inspectors in Wellington infiltrated the site. Over three months they uncovered a vast secretive child pornography ring in Australia, United States, Canada and Europe.

The site sold made-to-order movies, satisfying the perverts' specific preferences for age, appearance, and sexual position.

Officers found images with the victims holding a piece of paper with the name of the customer - a personal trophy.

It also offered live violent sex abuse. The victims were as young as two.

Forty children have been rescued from sex slavery, a core group of 22 network members arrested, four commercial child pornography websites shut down, and a further 100 people who bought the pornography also nabbed.

The covert international operation, codenamed Operation Achilles, began in 2005, when Internal Affairs officers began to monitor the site.

Censorship compliance manager Steve O'Brien said the paedophiles considered themselves the most sophisticated of child pornographers.

They were paranoid and security was tight; they quizzed any newcomer with tests such as: "What is the name of this [child pornographic] image?"

"The volume of material [being distributed by the group] was phenomenal. It kept two of us going fulltime."

The group also watched law enforcement authorities closely and analysed how to stay beneath the radar. They used several layers of encryption, background checks and secret passwords to hide members' identities.

"They classed themselves as the most sophisticated group out there," Mr O'Brien said.

The network had more than 400,000 child abuse films and images on their computers. Many were sadomasochistic.

The men messaged each other, freely offering pictures. "These girls are heavily drugged ... to move or resist.

Three girls, the first one being the youngest, around eight or nine years old," Australian broadcaster ABC reported that one said.

Another wrote: "My thanks to you and all the others that together make this the greatest group of pedo's to ever gather in one place. I'm honoured just to be part of it."

By January 2006, the Internal Affairs team was fairly certain that one of the key ringleaders was Australian - their vernacular of "G'day" and "Bloody awful" a clear giveaway - and called in Queensland police's specialist child abuse investigation team.

It was an investigation that was to span the globe, involving world agencies in what authorities say is unprecedented collaboration.

By July, Queensland police alerted the international law enforcement agency network that a video dubbed "the Daphne and Irene" video showing the repeated rape of two girls aged 11 and nine, probably originated in Europe.

That same month, their 35-year-old Belgian father was arrested, and both children removed from risk.

The man had 150 videos of his children.

Last Friday, detectives around the world swooped, arresting 22 key players including two Australians, two from Britain, four Germans, and 12 Americans.

Mr O'Brien said no New Zealanders were in the core group, though one had tried to join while overseas.

Jury Charges 12 Americans In International Online Child Porn Trafficking Ring

Windsor Genova - AHN News Writer

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida charged Tuesday 12 American members of an international online child pornography trafficking ring for taking part in trading over 400,000 images and videos of children in sexual acts.

According to indictment papers of the case, charged for advertising, transporting, and shipping of child pornography materials since August 2006 were Michael Berger, 33, of Mechanicsville, Virginia; James Freeman, 47, of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; Ruble Keys, 55, of Medford, Oregon; Gary Lakey, 54, of Anderson, Indiana; Marvin Lambert, 33, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Neville McGarity, 40, of Medina, Texas; John Mosman, 46, of Waterbury, Connecticut; Warren Mumpower, 63, of Spokane, Washington; Raymond Roy, 54, of San Juan Capistrano, California; Erik Wayerski, 46, of Round Rock, Texas; Warren Weber, 56, of Boise, Idaho; and Ronald White, 59, of Burlington, North Carolina.

Two other suspected American members of the syndicate--Stepan Bondarenko, 38, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Daniel Castleman, 43, of Lubbock, Texas-were arrested on Friday.

Eight members of the group based in England, Canada and Germany were also arrested by local police.

The ring was first discovered by Australian authorities and undercover agents infiltrated the group in January 2006. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators from Germany and the U.K. and the Toronto, Canada police joined the investigation initiated by the Queensland, Australia police.

Investigators eventually cracked the computer security codes and other security measures used by the ring and accessed their online users group, where they conducted their illegal activities.

Meanwhile, authorities have identified and rescued 20 victims of the ring. According to Freepress.com, FBI executive assistant director J. Stephen Tidwell said it will take years to find the other victims, who appeared in the 400,000 images of the group.

High-school senior accused of having sex with preteens

KENTON, Ohio -- A Kenton High School senior was in court yesterday, accused of having sex more than once with someone younger than 13.

Addam Hale, an 18-year-old former football player, faces three counts of rape, three of gross sexual imposition and one of contributing to the delinquency or the unruliness of a minor, Hardin County Prosecutor Brad Bailey said.

Hale, who had not yet turned 18 when investigators say the crimes occurred, has been charged in Juvenile Court under Ohio's serious youthful offender law. That means the court can impose more serious penalties than in an ordinary Juvenile Court case.

Juvenile Court Judge James S. Rapp released Hale yesterday but ordered that he have no contact with anyone under the age of 16 unless properly supervised by a competent adult, Bailey said.

There are two victims in the case, Bailey said, and the incidents occurred last spring.

Hale was accompanied by his father and several other relatives in court but did not yet have a lawyer, Bailey said.

-- Holly Zachariah

Gay Youth More Likely to be Exploited on Internet

by Bob Roehr 2008-03-05

Youth who are gay or are questioning their sexual identity are significantly more likely than others to be victims of Internet-initiated sex crimes. However, the vast majority of those encounters are illegal because of the age of the participant, not because of coercion or violence. That finding was part of a very large comprehensive study, “Online ‘Predators' and Their Victims,” published February 18 in the American Psychologist. It was based upon three surveys; two were telephone interviews of 3,000 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 taken in 2000 and 2005; the third were 612 interviews with law enforcement officials. Overall, it concluded that hysterical media coverage of isolated events and television programs such “To Catch a Predator” have left a distorted picture of both the scope and nature of this activity. It noted that from 1990 to 2005, reported cases of child sex abuse declined by half and the rates of runaways and pregnancy among teens also declined. “The reality about Internet-related sex crimes—those in which sex offenders meet juvenile victims online—is different, more complex, and serious but less archetypically frightening than the publicity about these crimes suggests.” Of the prosecuted cases, 99 percent involved youth 13 to 17, a time of growing independence and exploration, including sexual exploration. The median age for first intercourse is 17. Romance and sex generally are key in those encounters, with sex discussed ahead of time online and anticipated by both parties. “Many victims profess love or close feelings for offenders” and 73 percent of the youth had more than one physical encounter with the same person. The study concluded “Although a new medium for communication is involved, the nonforcible sex crimes that predominate as offenses against youths only are not particularly new or uncommon.” Youth with a history of sexual abuse, sexual orientation concerns, and patterns of risk-taking are particularly likely to find sexual encounters online with older partners. About a third of those solicitations came in chatrooms. Males were the victim in a quarter of all criminal cases. The fact that most met their sexual partner at online sites such as a gay chatroom strongly suggests that being gay or questioning one's sexual orientation is a risk factor. Study co-author David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, said the survey did not ask the youth to self-identify their sexual orientation. He added, male victims off-line “tend to be younger, particularly 8 to 12 years old.” He made the point, “You don't have to worry about gay sex offenders online; kids are made vulnerable by the fact that they are not able to get good information and support around sexual orientation issues from their family and schools, so they are out there online.” Social stigma, concerns about confidentiality, inability to talk with and often alienation from parents often lead some gay youth to the Internet, and the potential for exploitation by some adults. First amendment rights advocate Bill Dobbs said, “There is a great deal of hysteria around youth sexuality, and the Internet just inflames the issue.” He stressed the need to differentiate between prepubescent kids and teens “who may not be adults but are not children.” “It is an age-old story, teens on a journey of life and getting around their parents.” He stressed the need for society in general to become more educated and accepting of a spectrum of sexual orientations. The 19-page study is available online at www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp632111.pdf .

County seeks to strengthen Jessica's Law

By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 03/04/2008 11:03:03 PM PST

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday called for tougher local restrictions on where the state can place released sex offenders.

The supervisors directed the County Counsel's Office to review Jessica's Law, or Proposition 83, to determine options local government have to restrict the housing of sex offenders in neighborhoods.

"Right now, the state has the authority to place them basically anywhere and, as a result of a great outcry in the Altadena community ... we were able to mobilize the community, and the state has now removed the sexual predators from that neighborhood," Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said.

"But we want to ensure there is no neighborhood in this county or state where sexual predators are allowed to roam and create a danger and threat to young people."

The vote follows a community effort late last month that led state officials to remove six sex offenders placed in an Altadena neighborhood.

Earlier in the month, a judge denied a request by a twice-convicted child molester from Santa Barbara to move to the county, possibly the Antelope Valley.

Those actions followed revelations late last year that about 660 convicted sex offenders were wandering free in California, not wearing the monitoring devices that Jessica's Law requires.

State corrections officials say they removed the satellite tracking devices from the sex offenders who had completed their parole, regardless of the lifetime monitoring requirement.

They argued that the law was too vague and wasn't clear on which authorities - state or local - would be responsible for monitoring them.

"The issue of finding sex offenders housing is one that is complex," California Department of Corrections spokesman Seth Unger said. "And at the state level, the Sex Offender Management Board is actively looking at this issue and making recommendations."

Jessica's Law, co-authored by Lancaster Republican husband-and-wife state legislators Sen. George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner and passed by voters in 2006, cracks down on sex offenders and sets distances they must live away from schools and parks.

The law includes a provision that authorizes local governments to include additional restricted sites they deem appropriate.

Last month, the city of Long Beach directed its city attorney to draft an ordinance restricting residency requirements of sex offenders in relation to licensed child-care facilities.

The city is also researching the possibility of limiting the number of sex offenders living in the same apartment complex.

The County Counsel's Office is expected to draft a legal analysis for the supervisors, exploring specific restrictions on where sex offenders can live, how they are monitored and an overview of group homes and licensing requirements.

The office will then make recommendations that may include a proposed ordinance similar to the one in Long Beach, along with other steps the county can take.

Offenders' residency rules face court test

Lawyers for Cherry Hill will appear before a state appellate court today to defend a township ordinance that prohibits convicted sex offenders from living anywhere near places where children tend to gather.

A Superior Court judge in Camden County struck down the ordinance one year ago and Cherry Hill decided to appeal the ruling on the basis that the ordinance protects some of the township's most vulnerable residents -- children -- from potential sexual assault.

Immediately after Cherry Hill's hearing, attorneys for Galloway Township in Atlantic County will present a similar defense of its own sex offender ordinance, which a Superior Court judge rejected in February 2007.

Both municipalities want the appellate court to overturn the lower court decisions so they can get back to enforcing their ordinances, which have been suspended throughout the appeal process.

The three-judge panel won't issue a ruling on the Cherry Hill and Galloway ordinances today. But when the court does make its decision, officials say it will have a statewide effect since it's estimated that more than 100 municipalities across New Jersey have sex offender ordinances on the books.

"It will at least govern the language of the ordinances," said defense attorney Scott Schweiger, who is representing the two male sex offenders fighting the Cherry Hill ordinance.

Local governing bodies began adopting sex offender measures in 2005 as a way to both protect their communities and scare away would-be sexual predators. In the case of Cherry Hill and Galloway, sex offenders are banned from residing within 2,500 feet -- think seven football fields lined up end-to-end -- of any school, park, playground, or day-care center. If offenders don't move within 60 days of being notified, they are subject to hefty fines, imprisonment and community service.

Under the ordinances, sex offenders are banned from living in nearly two-thirds of Galloway and most of Cherry Hill, with the exception of a high-income neighborhood of $400,000-plus houses and an undeveloped area.

Superior Court Judges John McNeill in Camden County and Valerie Armstrong in Atlantic County rejected the ordinances. Their main point was that Megan's Law, a state law requiring sex offenders to inform local police where they live, trumps the local ordinances. The judges said the ordinances violated the constitutional rights of convicted sex offenders and punished them again for their crimes. The measures were also overly broad because they didn't attempt to assess a particular offender's actual risk to the community, the judges stated.

Vincent McCarthy, a lawyer representing Galloway, considers the judges' reasoning faulty.

"The town has a compelling interest in creating these setback zones because these people are felons who have been convicted of sexual attacks, some of them against young children," said McCarthy, a senior attorney at the Washington D.C.-based American Center for Law & Justice, a conservative nonprofit law firm specializing in constitutional law issues.

It's one of the few situations where local government has a reasonable and rational basis for burdening some people's constitutional rights, McCarthy said.

In its legal brief, Cherry Hill argues New Jersey municipalities have broad entitlement to adopt ordinances for the safety and protection of their residents. The township says sex offenders, particularly those who target children, have a high recidivism rate and can go years before striking again. The ordinance, therefore, is regulatory in nature and not intended to punish offenders again for their crimes, the township asserts.

"The mayor's primary job is ensuring public safety," said Dan Keashen, Mayor Bernie Platt's spokesman. "Bernie and town council believe this ordinance is an additional layer of protection . . . Keeping convicted sex offenders from living near public places where Cherry Hill families convene is an important part of this local legislation and the township will continue to support that concept."

These ordinances actually impede the rehabilitative objectives of Megan's Law, according to the legal brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a Richard Stockton College student battling the Galloway measure. The ordinance would banish the student, who was convicted of criminal sexual contact as a juvenile, from living on campus and prevent him from fully taking advantage of what the college has to offer.

"The question I get all the time is: "How would you feel if these guys moved next to you?' " said Schweiger, who got the case when he was a Cherry Hill public defender.

But the fact is these ordinances don't stop sex offenders from visiting parks, malls, playgrounds, movie theaters and other places where children and teens go, he said.

Reach Lisa Grzyboski at (856) 486-2931 or lgrzyboski@courierpostonline.com

Law would protect children from predators

Stoneham - Over the past few weeks, I have been contacted by many constituents who were shocked and repulsed to read about Corey Saunders, the Level 3 sex offender who raped a 6-year-old boy inside a New Bedford library in January.

According to police reports, Saunders lured the boy to a secluded corner of the library and sexually assaulted him. The boy’s mother was nearby, working on one of the library’s computers, unaware of what was going on just a few feet away from her.

Saunders already had a prior conviction for attempted rape and indecent assault and battery on a 7-year-old, but served only four years in prison and thereafter was briefly confined to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater. A judge freed Saunders in 2006, despite pleas from prosecutors and testimony from three psychologists that he continued to pose a serious threat to children and was likely to re-offend.

According to recent media reports, the same judge who freed Saunders also ordered the release of at least two other Level 3 sex offenders with extensive prior records. Both men were arrested again last month on new charges.

Few crimes are as horrific as those perpetrated against a child, especially when the crime is of a sexual nature. Unfortunately, when it comes to protecting some of our youngest and most vulnerable residents, Massachusetts’ sex offender laws often fall short of those implemented in other states.

Beginning with the 2005 passage of Jessica’s Law in Florida, 33 states including Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island have adopted tougher penalties for dealing with child predators. The law is named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a registered sex offender that kept her tied up in a closet for three days before burying her alive.

In response to this heinous crime, Florida lawmakers passed legislation mandating a minimum 25-year prison sentence and lifetime electronic monitoring for adults convicted of lewd and lascivious acts against children under the age of 12. Florida law also treats sexual battery or rape of a child under the age of 12 as a capital felony, punishable by death or life imprisonment without parole.

In Massachusetts, the laws are quite different. Judges are free to decide the punishment for individuals convicted of rape of a child under 18 years old, as there are currently no minimum mandatory sentences in statute. A minimum of five years incarceration in a state prison is all that is required for a second or subsequent offense.

If a weapon is involved, the punishment is tougher, but still not as severe as in other states. A first offense carries a minimum 10-year sentence, while any subsequent offenses call for a term of 20 years to life in prison.

Sen. Scott Brown and Rep. Karyn Polito have been leading the charge to adopt a version of Jessica’s Law here in Massachusetts. Their proposal, filed as House Bill 1688, would expand the penalties for child rape and child pornography while introducing new penalties for sex crimes against children under the age of 12.

If enacted by the Legislature, child rape would be punishable by an automatic prison sentence of 10 years to life for a first offense and 20 years to life for any subsequent offense. If the child is under 12, the punishment would be 20 to life for the first offense and 30 to life for any subsequent offense.

If a weapon is involved, the sentence would be 20 years to life for a first offense, and 30 years to life for any subsequent offense. Penalties would increase to 25 to life if the child is under 12 and 35 to life for repeat offenders.

House Bill 1688 would also establish tougher penalties for individuals convicted of creating, disseminating or purchasing child pornography. Additional penalties would apply if the child is under the age of 14.

An important reform contained in House Bill 1688 is the elimination of judges’ ability to determine whether certain sex offenders must register with the Sex Offender Registry Board. Not only would the bill make registration mandatory, but it would also require all sex offenders convicted of child rape to register for life.

Statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice confirm the need for lifetime registration and closer monitoring of sex offenders. A recent study involving inmates currently serving time in a state prison for rape or sexual assault found that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18. Close to 60 percent of these prisoners had committed these crimes against children who were 12 or younger.

According to the Justice Department, many sex offenders are repeat offenders. In fact, those who have served time for sexual assault are seven and a half times more likely than those convicted of other crimes to be re-arrested for sexual assault.

House Bill 1688 also proposes the establishment of Predator-Free Zones in Massachusetts. This provision would prohibit all Level 3 offenders, and all Level 1 or 2 repeat offenders, from living in any state-owned housing or working within 1,000 feet of a school, licensed daycare center, or any other child care facility.

The Senate Republican Caucus has been trying to get a vote on Jessica’s Law, most recently two weeks ago when the Senate debated a bill to revamp Massachusetts’ child welfare system and strengthen the state’s child abuse laws, but the amendment was ruled out of order. Despite the questionable ruling, I remain committed to bringing this issue up for a vote this session.

The Saunders case shows we need to do more in Massachusetts to protect children from sexual predators. If Jessica’s Law had been in effect at the time of his first conviction, Saunders would never have been released from prison, and a 6-year-old boy would not be forced to deal with the trauma of sexual assault.

Thirty-three states have already adopted Jessica’s Law. Massachusetts should not wait until another innocent child is victimized before it does the same.

Sen. Richard Tisei: Protect kids from predators

Wakefield - Over the past few weeks, I have been contacted by many constituents who were shocked and repulsed to read about Corey Saunders, the Level 3 sex offender who raped a 6-year-old boy inside a New Bedford public library in January.

According to police reports, Saunders lured the boy to a secluded corner of the library and sexually assaulted him. The boy’s mother was nearby, working on one of the library’s computers, unaware of what was going on just a few feet away from her.

Saunders already had a prior conviction for attempted rape and indecent assault and battery on a 7-year-old, but served only four years in prison and thereafter was briefly confined to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater. A judge freed Saunders in 2006, despite pleas from prosecutors and testimony from three psychologists that he continued to pose a serious threat to children and was likely to re-offend.

According to recent media reports, the same judge who freed Saunders also ordered the release of at least two other Level 3 sex offenders with extensive prior records. Both men were arrested again last month on new charges.

Few crimes are as horrific as those perpetrated against a child, especially when the crime is of a sexual nature. Unfortunately, when it comes to protecting some of our youngest and most vulnerable residents, Massachusetts’ sex offender laws often fall short of those implemented in other states.

Beginning with the 2005 passage of Jessica’s Law in Florida, 33 states — including Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — have adopted tougher penalties for dealing with child predators. The law is named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a registered sex offender, who kept her tied up in a closet for three days before burying her alive.

In response to this heinous crime, Florida lawmakers passed legislation mandating a minimum 25-year prison sentence and lifetime electronic monitoring for adults convicted of lewd and lascivious acts against children under the age of 12. Florida law also treats sexual battery or rape of a child under the age of 12 as a capital felony, punishable by death or life imprisonment without parole.

In Massachusetts, the laws are quite different. Judges are free to decide the punishment for individuals convicted of rape of a child under 18 years old, as there are currently no minimum mandatory sentences in statute. A minimum of 5 years incarceration in a state prison is all that is required for a second or subsequent offense.

If a weapon is involved, the punishment is tougher, but still not as severe as in other states. A first offense carries a minimum 10-year sentence, while any subsequent offenses call for a term of 20-years-to-life in prison.

State Sen. Scott Brown and Rep. Karyn Polito have been leading the charge to adopt a version of Jessica’s Law here in Massachusetts. Their proposal — filed as House Bill 1688 — would expand the penalties for child rape and child pornography while introducing new penalties for sex crimes against children under the age of 12.

If enacted by the Legislature, child rape would be punishable by an automatic prison sentence of 10-years-to-life for a first offense and 20-years-to-life for any subsequent offense. If the child is under 12, the punishment would be 20-life for the first offense and 30-life for any subsequent offense.

If a weapon is involved, the sentence would be 20-years-to-life for a first offense, and 30-years-to-life for any subsequent offense. Penalties would increase to 25-life if the child is under 12 and 35-life for repeat offenders.

House Bill 1688 would also establish tougher penalties for individuals convicted of creating, disseminating or purchasing child pornography. Additional penalties would apply if the child is under the age of 14.

An important reform contained in House Bill 1688 is the elimination of judges’ ability to determine whether certain sex offenders must register with the Sex Offender Registry Board. Not only would the bill make registration mandatory, but it would also require all sex offenders convicted of child rape to register for life.

Statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice confirm the need for lifetime registration and closer monitoring of sex offenders. A recent study involving inmates currently serving time in a state prison for rape or sexual assault found that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18. Fifty-eight percent of these prisoners had committed these crimes against children who were 12 or younger.

According to the Justice Department, many sex offenders are repeat offenders. In fact, those who have served time for sexual assault are seven and a half times more likely than those convicted of other crimes to be re-arrested for sexual assault.

House Bill 1688 also proposes the establishment of Predator-Free Zones in Massachusetts. This provision would prohibit all Level 3 offenders, and all Level 1 or 2 repeat offenders, from living in any state-owned housing or working within 1,000 feet of a school, licensed daycare center or any other childcare facility.

The Senate Republican Caucus has been trying to get a vote on Jessica’s Law, most recently two weeks ago when the Senate debated a bill to revamp Massachusetts’ child welfare system and strengthen the state’s child abuse laws, but the amendment was ruled out of order. Despite the questionable ruling, I remain committed to bringing this issue up for a vote this session.

The Saunders case shows we need to do more to protect children from sexual predators. If Jessica’s Law had been in effect at the time of his first conviction, Saunders would never have been released from prison, and a 6-year-old boy would not be forced to deal with the trauma of sexual assault.

Thirty-three states have already adopted Jessica’s Law. Massachusetts should not wait until another innocent child is victimized before it does the same.

Sen. Richard Tisei represents the 3rd Middlesex District, which includes Wakefield.

Expert: Parents the key to safe Internet travel

by Andy Hoag | The Saginaw News

Thursday March 06, 2008, 10:46 AM

''Don't take candy from strangers'' simply isn't enough anymore, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Roth says.

In a presentation on Internet safety at Chesaning Middle School, Roth told a group of about 25 that explaining to children to avoid strangers while in public can only go so far.

''Now those people are in the privacy of their own homes,'' Roth said of child predators.

More than 30 million children in the United States use the Internet, Roth said. One in five have received a sexual solicitation or approach while online, and 1 in 25 have received an aggressive one, he said.

More alarming, Roth said, is that only 25 percent of children who have received such a solicitation tell their parents, and only 10 percent of those parents tell law enforcement authorities.

While he stopped short of blaming a lack of parental supervision in child sexual abuse cases, Roth did say parents must help prevent the crime from happening.

He offered several ways to get involved in a child's Internet use: Establish rules, communicate and educate them.

Parents can become too reluctant to establish Internet rules for their children, Roth said. But since they pay for the access for their children, they essentially need to take a my way or the highway approach.

Before a child views a Web site, Roth said, the parents should first view it to check its content. In addition, parents should restrict -- or, at the very least, monitor -- who the children are chatting with online.

He provided the example of one parent who reads his child's online address book every week and deletes any e-mail address or instant message screen name of anyone the child does not know personally.

Just as important in prevention is communication, because too often children who may have received a sexual solicitation online are reluctant to speak to their parents about it.

To help avoid such a situation, Roth said, remaining open and cool when talking with children is essential.

Education is equally important, because without knowledge of potentially dangerous Web sites and chat rooms, parents are generally in the dark about what their children are doing online, Roth said.

He recommended that parents ask their youngsters to show them the Web sites they view and the social networks -- for example, MySpace or Facebook -- they belong to.

''Pedophiles and predators don't go to 'pedophiles and predators only' chat rooms,'' Roth said. ''Where do they go when they want to talk to kids? Where the kids go.''

Educating the children is key, too, because they often don't understand the importance and magnitude of their online decisions. Besides not giving personal information online, Roth said children also must know that people they communicate with online ''may or may not be who they say they are.''

Finally, Roth said parents should maintain access to their child's online account. This, of course, requires knowing the child's user name and password.

''Know your child's password,'' Roth said emphatically. ''It's your responsibility.''

To receive more information, including interactive computer software, on Internet child sexual abuse prevention, go to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Web site at www.netsmartz.org.

International Child Porn Bust has Alamance Co. Connection

An Alamance County man is among 12 Americans charged in a massive international child porn ring that uncovered more than 400,000 images.

It is stomach turning stuff involving children under five.

On your side investigates as WBTV's Jamie Boll has been working with the FBI to help us shed some light on this growing problem.

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The internet is where so much of this ends up, but as we have shown you in our reports over the past month, the internet is also where these crimes often begin.

Predators are finding access to our children can be way too easy.

FBI agent Colleen Moss spends her time pursuing child molesters. It's a cyber chase that never ends.

Moss said, "I can work this 24/7, seven days a week for the rest of my life and will never get there."

That is because the numbers are overwhelming.

Every year, there are almost 70,000 arrests nationwide involving sex crimes against children.

Remember, many more of these crimes are not even reported and the internet is making it easy, way too easy, for child predators to get after our children.

FBI Agent Doris Gardner said, "Every session when you get on line could potentially be an opportunity for a pedophile to find a child."

Gardner helped start "Innocent Images," the FBI program tracking down on-line predators.

She says parents are the best weapon. "Parents need to understand that the internet is like neighborhoods. It is like good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods, places you don't want your children to go after dark."

Agent Gardner says parents should put the computer in a common area, not it in the child's bedroom.

Keep a close eye on the computer itself. Check the files for content.

And parents should keep up on the latest technology and should not allow personal pictures to be posted on the net.

She also says parents should limit the amount of personal information posted.

Those are the things that can make your child an easy target.

But mostly she says it's about communication.

Gardner said, "The best thing is to talk to your child, know what they're doing and sit with them and say 'look, I don't know how this works, will you show me?' And the children are wonderful teachers."

And as Agent Moss points out, these are the crimes that never stop punishing the victim. "And that child will never escape that abuse, because once something is released on the internet, it's out there permanently, there is no way to retract it."

And think about it, with this international ring busted this week, there are hundreds if not thousands of victims.

20 of them have been ID'd and rescued so far.

The FBI says it will take years to find the rest.