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

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

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

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

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

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

Child rapist only gets 30 yrs.

September 17, 2008

Man gets 30 years on child-porn charges

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congress Considers Child Exploitation Act

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KY Gov. grants pardon to child rapist!!

Governor grants partial pardon to Lexington child molester


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

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

Couple busted for years of sexual abuse to children

North Middleton Township

North Middleton couple charged with sexually abusing children

By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter, August 28, 2008

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

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

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

Vermont needs more money to fight sexual predators

More Resources Needed To Investigate Sex Crimes

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