Man abducts two men, rapes and tortures them in Wisconsin

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

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

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

Georgia predator kills 13 yr old girl in Florida

Police: Georgia sex offender killed Florida teen

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

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

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

By Richard Wilson
Staff Writer
Friday, July 11, 2008

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

Convicted sex offender strikes again in Cincinnatti

Michael Hamblin's Bond Set at $750,000

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

Urine man busted again, and again

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

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Victor Salva: Director of Jeepers Creepers, convicted child molestor

Film director's past worries school officials

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


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

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

Disney hires pedophile to direct movie "Powder"

MOLEST VICTIM PROTESTS AT DISNEY FILM RELEASE;

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

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

Halliburton and KBR keep gang rapists from being prosecuted

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

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

Disney Ice Skater is now chilling in jail!

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

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

Disney Worker To Be Arraigned On Child Porn Charges

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

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