Nathan Antonio Washington a serial rapist who preyed on Virginia women for as long as 10 years, was sentenced to four life terms plus 20 years Tuesday.
Before the judge imposed sentence, Washington stood in court and said that he took responsibility for his actions. He also apologized to his victims, his family and to the Charlottesville community, and asked for divine forgiveness.
"I didn’t mean for these things to happen they way they did," Washington said, his voice breaking.
"I had no self-control. I always thought I was good, until I was tempted."
In many cases, Washington broke into the victims' homes and attacked them, and it is believed he stalked his victims before the burglaries.
According to the Charlotteville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman, some victims have recovered amazingly well, others are stil struggling.
In court, Chapman read from a statement one victim provided in which she explained that, nearly nine years after she was raped, she still battles daily bouts of fear and anxiety.
“I never sleep in the dark, never go outside alone,” the victim wrote.
She also addressed Washington directly: “I feel like I see you all over.”
Washington pleaded guilty to four attacks in Charlottesville and one in Albemarle County. A sixth attack in Albemarle will not be pursued.
Authorities in Waynesboro are waiting on lab results before deciding whether to prosecute a 1997 rape that has also been attributed to the serial rapist, a prosecutor there said Monday.
Before he was sentenced, Washington also asked for divine forgiveness and asked God to bless his victims and family.
The sentences were part of a plea deal which requires him to give information on other rapes he may have committed, while prosecutors promise not to bring any more charges.
Crimestoppers gave a $60,000 reward to the person whose tip lead to his arrest and conviction. This tipster is though to be a victim who was raped back in 2004 who provided a license plate number which led to Washington.
Investigators then took a covert sample of his DNA that matched DNA left behind by the serial rapist.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Ex-cop sentenced to life with parole in 57 years
An ex-cop who killed his pregnant mistress was sentenced to life with parole eligibility in 57 years, but spared the death penalty yesterday. This case will be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, who may turn down the case because Cutts was not sentenced to death. Bobby Cutts, 30, killed his pregnant girlfriend Jessie Davis, 26, on June 14, 2007 presumably because he did not want to pay more child support to Davis. Cutts was convicted of aggravated murder for the death of Chloe, his unborn daughter and murder for Jessie's death.
Cutts took the stand in his own defense Feb. 11. Attempting to explain Davis' death, Cutts told jurors it was an accident and that he panicked on June 14. Cutts, along with co-defendant Myisha L. Ferrell, dumped the body at a Summit County park. Nine days later, Cutts led investigators to the decomposed remains.
Prosecutors stated that if it wasn't for Cutts' testimony or Ferrell's involvement, Cutts may have gotten away with murder.
[Prosecutor Chryssa]Hartnett said Cutts might have gotten away with the murders if not for his own actions: Involving Ferrell and leading investigators to the bodies. Except for cell-phone records, there was no hard evidence. Hartnett said Ferrell's testimony was an "integral part" of the convictions. "Her testimony helped shed light on the mechanism of death," though jurors heard a soft version, she said.
At the sentencing, neither Cutts nor his family spoke, but Jessie's family did. Her mother, Patty Porter, asked for a parolable sentence because she forgave Cutts, but not the rest of Jessie's family.
"I would have never been able to raise Blake and hate you," she said. Davis' sisters questioned if Cutts even knew how to tell the truth. "You sat there and you lied," Audrey Davis told Cutts. "I just hope that one day you'll be able to look at your son and tell him the truth. It just makes me sick. ... I'll just never understand it." Despite the request of Cutts' attorneys, Brown ran all the sentences consecutive, except for the two aggravated murders. Those he ran together because they related to Chloe's death.
While deliberating Cutts' fate, jurors were deciding if Cutts should serve a life without parole sentence or have a shot at parole in a very long time. When their sentence was decided, Cutts' parole eligibility date was set 57 years in the future.
Cutts took the stand in his own defense Feb. 11. Attempting to explain Davis' death, Cutts told jurors it was an accident and that he panicked on June 14. Cutts, along with co-defendant Myisha L. Ferrell, dumped the body at a Summit County park. Nine days later, Cutts led investigators to the decomposed remains.
Prosecutors stated that if it wasn't for Cutts' testimony or Ferrell's involvement, Cutts may have gotten away with murder.
[Prosecutor Chryssa]Hartnett said Cutts might have gotten away with the murders if not for his own actions: Involving Ferrell and leading investigators to the bodies. Except for cell-phone records, there was no hard evidence. Hartnett said Ferrell's testimony was an "integral part" of the convictions. "Her testimony helped shed light on the mechanism of death," though jurors heard a soft version, she said.
Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Barr told jurors Cutts' story makes no sense.
Barr said Cutts wanted Davis and her fetus dead because of mounting debt and child support for a fourth child.
"He knew when he was suffocating Jessie, when he was strangling Jessie, he was killing that baby inside her. You don't hide the body unless you're trying to cover up a criminal act, a purposeful killing, especially when you're a trained police officer sworn to serve and protect," Barr added.
Cutts was charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of Davis and her fetus. If he is convicted he could be sentenced to death.
Defense attorney Fernando Mack conceded that Cutts must take responsibility for dumping her body and leaving their son home alone for more than 24 hours. But he said those actions don't prove Cutts killed them.
"They don't even come close," he said, pointing out that no witnesses testified that Cutts had been complaining about child support payments or about Davis' pregnancy.
Mack also reminded jurors that the medical examiner could not determine the cause of Davis' death and that a key witness, Cutts' friend Myisha Ferrell, didn't testify that Cutts strangled Davis.
Mack also told jurors that Cutts tried to perform CPR and revive Davis with bleach.
"The panic is increasing now," Mack said. "He knows that this is not supposed to be, not because he went in there with the intent to commit murder but because something escalated and got out of control."
Barr responded in his rebuttal by reminding the jury of what Blake told an investigator: "Mommy's crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in the rug," and later "Daddy's mad."
"How can a 2½-year-old make that up?" Barr asked. "That's evidence that Bobby committed aggravated murder."
The penalty phase of the trial took place Monday, with deliberations taking place Tuesday to Wednesday, with Cutts testifying that he finally took responsibility and did not deserve to die for killing his “girlfriend” and their child.
"Bobby Cutts deserves the maximum sentence allowed by law in the state of Ohio. That's the sentence of death," Barr said.
Defense attorney Fernando Mack said the murder was "a situation that got out of hand" and a death sentence would orphan Black, their toddler son.
"This penalty is to be used sparingly," Mack said.
As the jurors began deliberating, the victim's father, Ned Davis, sobbed quietly as he hugged the defendant's mother, Renee Jones, in the courtroom.
Jurors found Cutts not guilty of aggravated murder in the death of Davis but convicted him of a lesser charge of murder. He was convicted of aggravated murder in Chloe’s death. He faced the death penalty because of the aggravated murder conviction, but also faced life with no parole for either 20, 25, or 30 years.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm asking you to spare my life," Cutts said in an unsworn statement, which exempted him from cross-examination by prosecutors.
Apologizing to the teary-eyed members of Davis' family sitting in the front row, Cutts said he could not express in words how he felt knowing that he had killed her and the baby.
Prosecutors told the jury that Cutts killed Davis and the unborn baby at her Lake Township home to avoid making child support payments for the child.
For more than a week, Cutts denied knowledge of her whereabouts as thousands searched in the area. He finally led authorities to the body in a park, wrapped in a comforter.
Cutts, who also was convicted of abuse of a corpse, burglary and child endangering for leaving Blake alone, resigned as a patrolman from the Canton police department.
At the sentencing, neither Cutts nor his family spoke, but Jessie's family did. Her mother, Patty Porter, asked for a parolable sentence because she forgave Cutts, but not the rest of Jessie's family.
"I would have never been able to raise Blake and hate you," she said. Davis' sisters questioned if Cutts even knew how to tell the truth. "You sat there and you lied," Audrey Davis told Cutts. "I just hope that one day you'll be able to look at your son and tell him the truth. It just makes me sick. ... I'll just never understand it." Despite the request of Cutts' attorneys, Brown ran all the sentences consecutive, except for the two aggravated murders. Those he ran together because they related to Chloe's death.
While deliberating Cutts' fate, jurors were deciding if Cutts should serve a life without parole sentence or have a shot at parole in a very long time. When their sentence was decided, Cutts' parole eligibility date was set 57 years in the future.
Wife poisoner sentenced to life without parole - new trial likely?
Mark Jensen, who killed his wife with antifreeze, then tried to say her death was suicide instead of murder was sentenced to life without parole. Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder said at Jensen's sentencing that his crime "was so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations."
Jensen was convicted February 20 of 1st degree intentional homicide in the murder of his wife, Julie Jensen, 40, on December 3, 1998. This crime is subject to a mandatory life sentence, but the judge has the authority to set a parole period - or none at all.
Jensen was present for the sentencing, but declined to speak. His lawyer, Craig Albee, asked that Schroeder consider the desire of Jensen's sons to have their father eligible for parole.
Mark and Julie Jensen's sons - 18-year-old David, who was in court, and 12-year-old Douglas, who was not - asked that their father be made eligible for parole consideration.
"If anyone in this world is the epitome of loyalty, it is our dad," said the letter, which referred to Mark Jensen as innocent.
The sons have been living with Mark and Kelly Jensen, who was also in court with Mark's parents, since Julie Jensen's death. Mark had been having an affair with Kelly prior to Julie's death. He married her later, and they have a young son together.
The letter, which was read aloud by Jensen's Milwaukee lawyer, Craig Albee, was followed by statements from Julie Jensen's four brothers.
Killing Julie was not enough for Mark Jensen," Paul Griffin said. "He further chose to spit on her grave by claiming she killed herself. He tried to erase her existence from the lives of her sons. He has continued for almost 10 years to make the children believe that she left them stranded" by committing suicide.
Several of the jurors attended the sentencing. After reaching their verdict Feb. 21, several jurors said a letter written by Julie Jensen about 10 days before her death had been pivotal.
Julie, who had told people she feared her husband would poison her, said in the letter that if something happened to her, Mark would be her "first suspect."
Schroeder initially had ruled that the letter could not be used in the trial because it would violate Mark Jensen's Sixth Amendment right to confront a witness against him. But the issue was taken to the state Supreme Court, which adopted a new doctrine in Wisconsin, declaring that a defendant forfeits his right to confrontation if he is responsible for the witness not being available.
That led to a pretrial hearing in which Schroeder determined that Jensen was probably guilty, and therefore the letter and other evidence could be admitted.
After the hearing, Albee stated that he would appeal because the letter, as well as other pieces of evidence admitted might have affected Jensen's chance at a fair trial.
Albee cited a case where a convicted California murder victim told a police officer that she expected him to kill her. Two weeks later, Giles shot her to death and claimed self-defense., Dwayne Giles' lawyers argued that the police officer's statements should not have been allowed at his trial, but they were, and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
But the California Supreme Court rejected Giles' appeals, ruling that "no person should benefit from his own wrongful acts." The decision was similar to the one articulated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear the Giles case in April.
Jensen's lead prosecutor, Robert Jambois, would not comment on what the U.S. Supreme Court ruling might mean for Jensen but said he was sure Kenosha County would put Jensen on trial again if his conviction is thrown out.
Jambois said he hopes the courts can find a way to allow evidence such as Julie Jensen's letter to be heard in a trial.
Jensen was convicted February 20 of 1st degree intentional homicide in the murder of his wife, Julie Jensen, 40, on December 3, 1998. This crime is subject to a mandatory life sentence, but the judge has the authority to set a parole period - or none at all.
Jensen was present for the sentencing, but declined to speak. His lawyer, Craig Albee, asked that Schroeder consider the desire of Jensen's sons to have their father eligible for parole.
Mark and Julie Jensen's sons - 18-year-old David, who was in court, and 12-year-old Douglas, who was not - asked that their father be made eligible for parole consideration.
"If anyone in this world is the epitome of loyalty, it is our dad," said the letter, which referred to Mark Jensen as innocent.
The sons have been living with Mark and Kelly Jensen, who was also in court with Mark's parents, since Julie Jensen's death. Mark had been having an affair with Kelly prior to Julie's death. He married her later, and they have a young son together.
The letter, which was read aloud by Jensen's Milwaukee lawyer, Craig Albee, was followed by statements from Julie Jensen's four brothers.
Killing Julie was not enough for Mark Jensen," Paul Griffin said. "He further chose to spit on her grave by claiming she killed herself. He tried to erase her existence from the lives of her sons. He has continued for almost 10 years to make the children believe that she left them stranded" by committing suicide.
Several of the jurors attended the sentencing. After reaching their verdict Feb. 21, several jurors said a letter written by Julie Jensen about 10 days before her death had been pivotal.
Julie, who had told people she feared her husband would poison her, said in the letter that if something happened to her, Mark would be her "first suspect."
Schroeder initially had ruled that the letter could not be used in the trial because it would violate Mark Jensen's Sixth Amendment right to confront a witness against him. But the issue was taken to the state Supreme Court, which adopted a new doctrine in Wisconsin, declaring that a defendant forfeits his right to confrontation if he is responsible for the witness not being available.
That led to a pretrial hearing in which Schroeder determined that Jensen was probably guilty, and therefore the letter and other evidence could be admitted.
After the hearing, Albee stated that he would appeal because the letter, as well as other pieces of evidence admitted might have affected Jensen's chance at a fair trial.
Albee cited a case where a convicted California murder victim told a police officer that she expected him to kill her. Two weeks later, Giles shot her to death and claimed self-defense., Dwayne Giles' lawyers argued that the police officer's statements should not have been allowed at his trial, but they were, and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
But the California Supreme Court rejected Giles' appeals, ruling that "no person should benefit from his own wrongful acts." The decision was similar to the one articulated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear the Giles case in April.
Jensen's lead prosecutor, Robert Jambois, would not comment on what the U.S. Supreme Court ruling might mean for Jensen but said he was sure Kenosha County would put Jensen on trial again if his conviction is thrown out.
Jambois said he hopes the courts can find a way to allow evidence such as Julie Jensen's letter to be heard in a trial.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Serial Maryland rapist sentenced to life for three attacks
James Ellis Hackey Jr., 39, a serial rapist who victimized an 11 year old girl, a 18 year old woman, and a 40 year old woman, was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 65 years to life in a Hagerstown, Maryland court for 3 counts of 1st degree rape.
Before other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea, Hackey was charged with 54 counts of assault, rape and other sexual offenses related to three incidents.
One of those incidents involved the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl who was taken from her bedroom at Oak Ridge Apartments.
“I don’t think I will be able to think like a kid again,” said the mother of the 11-year-old victim, reading Tuesday morning from a letter her daughter wrote. The girl wrote that she always is hiding and can’t sleep in the dark.
Hackey is “the most dangerous predator this community has seen ... in recent memory,” Assistant State’s Attorney Gina Cirincion said Tuesday.
Hackey raped the women in separate burglaries, and left DNA evidence Police got a hit after Hackey's June arrest. The 40 year old woman was raped first, and regrets not doing more to catch Hackey before he raped his two next victims.
Hackey told the psychologist that he would have killed a woman eventually had he not been taken off the street. He also said that “white women are easy prey,” and that he enjoyed watching his victims and how scared they were, the prosecutor said.
“What I did was wrong,” Hackey said before the judge sentenced him. “I’m dealing with some problems a lot of people don’t understand.”
Assistant Public Defender Jerome J. Joyce said his client had been abused as a child, and said Hackey should receive some type of treatment in prison. Joyce also reminded the judge that Hackey wanted to take a plea to spare the victims the trauma of testifying.
The Herald-Mail reported in June 2007 that Hackey was charged by the Frederick Police Department with second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, several counts of burglary and battery on July 14, 1987.
Hackey served 17 years in prison for burglary. Burglary sometimes is the first step for sexual offenders, State’s Attorney Charles Strong said after Tuesday’s hearing.
Prosecutors said after the hearing that Hackey will be eligible for parole after he serves 25 years for each of the life sentences, with all but 50 suspended, and after he serves 15 or 16 years of the life sentence. In Maryland, the governor must approve the parole of any inmate serving life in prison.
Hackey must be registered as a violent sexual offender and as a child sexual offender, the judge ordered.
Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley said Hackey was “too violent, too dangerous” to live in the community and that he showed domination over and violence toward women.
Before other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea, Hackey was charged with 54 counts of assault, rape and other sexual offenses related to three incidents.
One of those incidents involved the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl who was taken from her bedroom at Oak Ridge Apartments.
“I don’t think I will be able to think like a kid again,” said the mother of the 11-year-old victim, reading Tuesday morning from a letter her daughter wrote. The girl wrote that she always is hiding and can’t sleep in the dark.
Hackey is “the most dangerous predator this community has seen ... in recent memory,” Assistant State’s Attorney Gina Cirincion said Tuesday.
Hackey raped the women in separate burglaries, and left DNA evidence Police got a hit after Hackey's June arrest. The 40 year old woman was raped first, and regrets not doing more to catch Hackey before he raped his two next victims.
Hackey told the psychologist that he would have killed a woman eventually had he not been taken off the street. He also said that “white women are easy prey,” and that he enjoyed watching his victims and how scared they were, the prosecutor said.
“What I did was wrong,” Hackey said before the judge sentenced him. “I’m dealing with some problems a lot of people don’t understand.”
Assistant Public Defender Jerome J. Joyce said his client had been abused as a child, and said Hackey should receive some type of treatment in prison. Joyce also reminded the judge that Hackey wanted to take a plea to spare the victims the trauma of testifying.
The Herald-Mail reported in June 2007 that Hackey was charged by the Frederick Police Department with second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, several counts of burglary and battery on July 14, 1987.
Hackey served 17 years in prison for burglary. Burglary sometimes is the first step for sexual offenders, State’s Attorney Charles Strong said after Tuesday’s hearing.
Prosecutors said after the hearing that Hackey will be eligible for parole after he serves 25 years for each of the life sentences, with all but 50 suspended, and after he serves 15 or 16 years of the life sentence. In Maryland, the governor must approve the parole of any inmate serving life in prison.
Hackey must be registered as a violent sexual offender and as a child sexual offender, the judge ordered.
Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley said Hackey was “too violent, too dangerous” to live in the community and that he showed domination over and violence toward women.
British killer of young women sentenced to life without parole
Levi Bellfield, 39, known as the 'Bus Stop Stalker" who killed vulnerable young British women, has been given a whole life tariff (life without parole), a sentence which has only been given to three dozen other British prisoners. He is the second British prisoner to be given this sentence in a week, Steve Wright, a serial killer of five women, being given the same life without parole sentence February 22.
Sentencing Bellfield at the Old Bailey on Tuesday in his absence, Mrs Justice Rafferty said: "You have reduced three families to unimagined grief.
"What dreadful feelings went through your head as you attacked and, in two cases, snuffed out a young life is beyond understanding."
Explaining her sentencing she said: "Aggravating features are the chronicle of violence directed towards lone vulnerable young women during the hours of darkness and substantial premeditation and planning."
The judge also praised Det Ch Insp Colin Sutton, who led the case, for seeing through Bellfield's "web of deceit".
"This case has depended on thousands of hours of unglamorous, painstaking work by officers who took their lead from you," she said.
Bellfield is the second person in the UK to be handed a "whole life" term in four days.
Steve Wright, who killed five women in Suffolk at the end of 2006, was given the same sentence at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday.
The Old Bailey heard that Bellfield had refused to attend his sentencing because of a "welter of accusations" that he was behind other unsolved crimes.
His barrister, William Boyce QC told the judge: "Overnight there has been what some consider to be a quite extraordinary explosion of bad publicity."
Blunt instrument
The wheel clamper from West Drayton carried out attacks on the three students in 2003 and 2004.
Police suspect him of carrying out 20 other attacks on women, including date rapes.
He is also the main suspect in the murder of Milly Dowler, who went missing on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey on 21 March 2002.
Her body was found in Yateley Heath, Hampshire, six months later.
Miss McDonnell was hit three times on the head with a hammer just yards from her front door after she got off a bus in February 2003.
In a similar attack in August 2004, Miss Delagrange was hit on the head with a blunt instrument on Twickenham Green while she was walking home after missing her bus.
Miss Sheedy, who is now 21, suffered a broken collarbone, a punctured lung and other internal injuries when Bellfield drove his people carrier into her and reversed back over her in May 2004.
In an impact statement Dominique Delagrange described the pain of losing her daughter Amelie.
She said: "Her loss is an open wound that will never heal. We shall never get over it."
Miss McDonnell's uncle, Shane, said: "Marsha's murder was an act of pure evil, an innocent girl attacked from behind with no motive, no reason and no justification."
Sentencing Bellfield at the Old Bailey on Tuesday in his absence, Mrs Justice Rafferty said: "You have reduced three families to unimagined grief.
"What dreadful feelings went through your head as you attacked and, in two cases, snuffed out a young life is beyond understanding."
Explaining her sentencing she said: "Aggravating features are the chronicle of violence directed towards lone vulnerable young women during the hours of darkness and substantial premeditation and planning."
The judge also praised Det Ch Insp Colin Sutton, who led the case, for seeing through Bellfield's "web of deceit".
"This case has depended on thousands of hours of unglamorous, painstaking work by officers who took their lead from you," she said.
Bellfield is the second person in the UK to be handed a "whole life" term in four days.
Steve Wright, who killed five women in Suffolk at the end of 2006, was given the same sentence at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday.
The Old Bailey heard that Bellfield had refused to attend his sentencing because of a "welter of accusations" that he was behind other unsolved crimes.
His barrister, William Boyce QC told the judge: "Overnight there has been what some consider to be a quite extraordinary explosion of bad publicity."
Blunt instrument
The wheel clamper from West Drayton carried out attacks on the three students in 2003 and 2004.
Police suspect him of carrying out 20 other attacks on women, including date rapes.
He is also the main suspect in the murder of Milly Dowler, who went missing on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey on 21 March 2002.
Her body was found in Yateley Heath, Hampshire, six months later.
Miss McDonnell was hit three times on the head with a hammer just yards from her front door after she got off a bus in February 2003.
In a similar attack in August 2004, Miss Delagrange was hit on the head with a blunt instrument on Twickenham Green while she was walking home after missing her bus.
Miss Sheedy, who is now 21, suffered a broken collarbone, a punctured lung and other internal injuries when Bellfield drove his people carrier into her and reversed back over her in May 2004.
In an impact statement Dominique Delagrange described the pain of losing her daughter Amelie.
She said: "Her loss is an open wound that will never heal. We shall never get over it."
Miss McDonnell's uncle, Shane, said: "Marsha's murder was an act of pure evil, an innocent girl attacked from behind with no motive, no reason and no justification."
Oregon state student charged in rape of fellow student
Melchior Avila, a 28 year old pre-mechanical engineering student at Oregon State University, is on trial for the alleged rape and strangulation of a fellow OSU student last December 29th. He was arrested New Year's Eve and charged with her rape and strangulation. The facts leading up to the alleged rape are not in dispute.
The woman testified that she had driven to Albany from her home in Springfield to spend time with her best friend on Dec. 28. After she drank five martinis at her female friend’s house, the two decided to drive to the Cantina, a bar in Corvallis, at around 10 p.m.
Avila was an acquaintance from school, where they had a gym class together two years ago, she said. He saw her at the Cantina around 11 p.m. and came to sit with the woman and her friend, where they both drank more alcohol.The two women decided to go to El Presidente in Corvallis around midnight and they took Avila along after he asked to come.
They stayed for a few more drinks and decided to leave just before 2 a.m., when Avila asked for a ride home.The woman’s friend drove them to Avila’s Southtown apartment complex. The woman said she knew she was drunk and was feeling sick by the time they arrived. She said she didn’t want to get sick in her friend’s car and Avila offered to let her sleep on his couch.The details at that point have two versions.
The two versions of the story differ after this point. Avila's attorney, stated that the principals were having consensual sex, and the woman told him to stop, which he did. The she started trashing his apartment.
The woman's story was that was sick, woke to go to the bathroom, then returned to sleep. Avila was on top of her when she woke up the second time. She fought him off, and he choked and held her down. She waited 2 days to come forward because “I was embarrassed and scared. I thought no one would believe me because I was so intoxicated.”
The woman testified that she had driven to Albany from her home in Springfield to spend time with her best friend on Dec. 28. After she drank five martinis at her female friend’s house, the two decided to drive to the Cantina, a bar in Corvallis, at around 10 p.m.
Avila was an acquaintance from school, where they had a gym class together two years ago, she said. He saw her at the Cantina around 11 p.m. and came to sit with the woman and her friend, where they both drank more alcohol.The two women decided to go to El Presidente in Corvallis around midnight and they took Avila along after he asked to come.
They stayed for a few more drinks and decided to leave just before 2 a.m., when Avila asked for a ride home.The woman’s friend drove them to Avila’s Southtown apartment complex. The woman said she knew she was drunk and was feeling sick by the time they arrived. She said she didn’t want to get sick in her friend’s car and Avila offered to let her sleep on his couch.The details at that point have two versions.
The two versions of the story differ after this point. Avila's attorney, stated that the principals were having consensual sex, and the woman told him to stop, which he did. The she started trashing his apartment.
The woman's story was that was sick, woke to go to the bathroom, then returned to sleep. Avila was on top of her when she woke up the second time. She fought him off, and he choked and held her down. She waited 2 days to come forward because “I was embarrassed and scared. I thought no one would believe me because I was so intoxicated.”
Rapes up in Amarillo, TX, but that may be due to reporting
Reported rapes are up 30% in Amarillo, Texas in 2007 as compared to 2006, but that doesn't mean that there are more rapes actualy occuring. It may mean that reported rapes are up, with more victims coming forward than in times past.
The Amarillo Police Department calls it incident based reporting. Cpl. Jerry Neufeld says when a break-in is reported, if an assault took place at that break-in, the police would report two incidents as opposed to the one event.
In 2007, 438 sexual assault exams were conducted in Amarillo. But La Viza Hollingsworth of Family Support Services says 347 of those were on children under the age of 18.
The FBI says Amarillo's rape rate is about 1.5 times higher than the national average. In fact, Amarillo has the highest rate per capita of sexual assault against women and children.
But Hollingsworth says in the last couple of years, more awareness has been raised. She says that is a good sign. She says "you do have to talk about it. You do have to get counseling, and it's ok to go to the police."
Hollingsworth says through counseling and saying out loud that it happened, victims can be helped.
She also points out that the typical rapist is not a stranger, but someone the victim lives with, whether a boyfriend or spouse.
A distubing finding is that 35% of men would rape someone if they knew they would not get caught, according to the Texas Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
When victims are treated like offenders, even to the extent of being polygraphed, and sex crimes against adults are minimized if the victim was drinking, involved with, or was a prostitute, there is a good chance that rapists won't get caught.
A person who wants to sexually exploit can stay away from these four things and they'll have a hard time getting more than a minor felony conviction, even if they break the law.
1) Minors - minor victims are taken more seriously that adult victims, even if the minor is 17 years and 11 months and the adult is 18 years and 1 month.
2) Force - most laws state use of force is required for a rape comviction against an adult.
3) Fiduciary or custodial relationships - without a teacher/student, guard/inmate or therapist/patient relationship with over 18s, adults with more power can literally get away with using their power to victimize without criminal charges. Sexual harassment lawsuits are civil charges.
4) Drugs or alcohol - without these, coerced or manipulated sexual behavior can never be seen as date rape under current laws.
The Amarillo Police Department calls it incident based reporting. Cpl. Jerry Neufeld says when a break-in is reported, if an assault took place at that break-in, the police would report two incidents as opposed to the one event.
In 2007, 438 sexual assault exams were conducted in Amarillo. But La Viza Hollingsworth of Family Support Services says 347 of those were on children under the age of 18.
The FBI says Amarillo's rape rate is about 1.5 times higher than the national average. In fact, Amarillo has the highest rate per capita of sexual assault against women and children.
But Hollingsworth says in the last couple of years, more awareness has been raised. She says that is a good sign. She says "you do have to talk about it. You do have to get counseling, and it's ok to go to the police."
Hollingsworth says through counseling and saying out loud that it happened, victims can be helped.
She also points out that the typical rapist is not a stranger, but someone the victim lives with, whether a boyfriend or spouse.
A distubing finding is that 35% of men would rape someone if they knew they would not get caught, according to the Texas Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
When victims are treated like offenders, even to the extent of being polygraphed, and sex crimes against adults are minimized if the victim was drinking, involved with, or was a prostitute, there is a good chance that rapists won't get caught.
A person who wants to sexually exploit can stay away from these four things and they'll have a hard time getting more than a minor felony conviction, even if they break the law.
1) Minors - minor victims are taken more seriously that adult victims, even if the minor is 17 years and 11 months and the adult is 18 years and 1 month.
2) Force - most laws state use of force is required for a rape comviction against an adult.
3) Fiduciary or custodial relationships - without a teacher/student, guard/inmate or therapist/patient relationship with over 18s, adults with more power can literally get away with using their power to victimize without criminal charges. Sexual harassment lawsuits are civil charges.
4) Drugs or alcohol - without these, coerced or manipulated sexual behavior can never be seen as date rape under current laws.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sexual assault normalized in high schools
Ontario (Canada) school officials are alarmed that a growing number of schoolgirls see sexual harassment and even sexual assault as normal.
During a keynote address to the annual Safe Schools Conference in Toronto, Gerry Connelly said a young girl will see somebody being pushed against a locker, or touched inappropriately, and apparently shrug it off.Connelly told the crowd, girls think "it's just the way it is."
A recent study by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health finds they're not alone.
Almost half of female high school students in Southwestern Ontario were subjected to sexual comments or gestures from classmates. The study also found that one-third had been touched in a sexual manner in school.
The Ministry of Education says a team of experts will examine the causes of these problems.
According to the AAUW's 2001 study of sexual harassment in schools, 83% of girls and 79% of boys in geades 8 through 11 have been harassed sexualy at school.
A recent University of Virginia study stated that one in six women who go there experienced rape, and when other forms of unwanted sexual conduct is tallied, the number of female victims is over one in three.
According to a prominent author dealing with student victims, "Sexual harassment is not about flirting, humor, raging hormones, or horseplay. It is about power and the harasser's need to exert it over a victim." (Shoop, Sexual Exploitation In Schools, p. 11)
Sexual coercion, sexual assault, rape and domestic abuse is also about the same thing that sexual harassment is about - power and control over a victim.
During a keynote address to the annual Safe Schools Conference in Toronto, Gerry Connelly said a young girl will see somebody being pushed against a locker, or touched inappropriately, and apparently shrug it off.Connelly told the crowd, girls think "it's just the way it is."
A recent study by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health finds they're not alone.
Almost half of female high school students in Southwestern Ontario were subjected to sexual comments or gestures from classmates. The study also found that one-third had been touched in a sexual manner in school.
The Ministry of Education says a team of experts will examine the causes of these problems.
According to the AAUW's 2001 study of sexual harassment in schools, 83% of girls and 79% of boys in geades 8 through 11 have been harassed sexualy at school.
A recent University of Virginia study stated that one in six women who go there experienced rape, and when other forms of unwanted sexual conduct is tallied, the number of female victims is over one in three.
According to a prominent author dealing with student victims, "Sexual harassment is not about flirting, humor, raging hormones, or horseplay. It is about power and the harasser's need to exert it over a victim." (Shoop, Sexual Exploitation In Schools, p. 11)
Sexual coercion, sexual assault, rape and domestic abuse is also about the same thing that sexual harassment is about - power and control over a victim.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Assistant coach charged with rape of woman
Adam Leiter, 27, an assistant wrestling coach at Coon Rapids High School has been charged with 3rd degree CSC for allagadly raping a victim he met at a sports bar in Minnesota. He was hired 5 years ago, and passed a background check.
[Anoka-Hennepin School district spokeswoman Mary Olson] said that Kelley Scott, the assistant principal supervising athletics, said Leiter did a fine job as an assistant coach.
Leiter has been suspended pending the outcome of the case. Olson said the district notified high school parents about Leiter's suspension through its automated phone system.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim and two girlfriends met Leiter and two men at Be-Bops Sports Bar in Blaine on Friday night. The three men returned with the three women to one woman's home in Coon Rapids, where they continued to party. The victim went to sleep about 4 a.m. in a spare bedroom. She said she was awakened by an unknown man having sex with her. She asked who he was and he replied, "This is me, Cauliflower."
"Cauliflower" is a reference to a damaged ear after wrestling, and Leiter allegedly told the victim that he worked as a coach. He was later picked out of a lineup by the victim. He was released after posting $10,000 bail.
[Anoka-Hennepin School district spokeswoman Mary Olson] said that Kelley Scott, the assistant principal supervising athletics, said Leiter did a fine job as an assistant coach.
Leiter has been suspended pending the outcome of the case. Olson said the district notified high school parents about Leiter's suspension through its automated phone system.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim and two girlfriends met Leiter and two men at Be-Bops Sports Bar in Blaine on Friday night. The three men returned with the three women to one woman's home in Coon Rapids, where they continued to party. The victim went to sleep about 4 a.m. in a spare bedroom. She said she was awakened by an unknown man having sex with her. She asked who he was and he replied, "This is me, Cauliflower."
"Cauliflower" is a reference to a damaged ear after wrestling, and Leiter allegedly told the victim that he worked as a coach. He was later picked out of a lineup by the victim. He was released after posting $10,000 bail.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Professor sentenced to 3.5 to 7 year sentence for rape
A professor, initially placed on house arrest, was resentenced to between 3.5 and 7 years in prison for drugging, then raping a then 23 year old woman in 2002 who was the niece of a college friend after showing her around campus. He pleaded no contest to sexual assault and marijuana possession back in 2004.
"I mistook your trust and openness for physical attraction," he said.
McIntosh had taken the woman out for several drinks in September 2002 until she became ill and vomited. He then brought her back to his Penn office, gave her marijuana, put her on a couch and raped her, prosecutors say.
McIntosh, 54, of Media, is married and has two daughters not much younger than the victim. He said he had pleaded only because of a deal that would allow him to avoid jail time. In March 2005, he was sentenced to house arrest. Prosecutors, however, said they had no such deal and appealed the sentence. A state appeals court agreed, saying the judge had treated McIntosh more like a "school boy" than a criminal.
Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe, while sentencing McIntosh, compared the sexual assault of his friend’s niece to child molestation.
"It's breathtaking in its vileness. I can think of no circumstance in which it is appropriate to victimize a child who's the next best thing to a relative."Judge Dembe refused a defense request to withdraw his guilty plea, and immediately revoked McIntosh’s bail after sentencing.
The 28-year-old victim, now a fourth-year veterinary student at Penn, watched as McIntosh was handcuffed and taken to jail. He acknowledged "inappropriate" and "shameful" behavior, but denied drugging or raping her.A string of character witnesses -- neighbors, church friends, a colleague and McIntosh's wife, Cynthia -- described McIntosh in 2002 as an arrogant, self-centered philanderer.
But they said he had transformed himself during his five-year legal battle, when McIntosh spent six months on house arrest and picked up trash as part of a community service requirement. They suggested that the ordeal had been just as harrowing for him as for the victim.
"Are you telling me that no one ever encourages a man and then regrets it later?" neighbor Deborah B. Sloman testified. The victim, sobbing, ran from the courtroom.The prolonged case has forced the victim's parents and uncle to repeatedly fly to Philadelphia for several rounds of court hearings.
"What you did was to rape a vomiting, incapacitated 23-year-old girl who looked at you like a mentor," the victim testified."There's no way I would be here five years after the fact ... if that had not happened," she said. She said she came forward to prevent McIntosh from attacking any other women.
The victim filed a civil suit against him in 2002, where she found out from other reports that numerous women complained about McIntoshe’s sexual advances.
The civil suit, which also named McIntosh and several university officials as defendants, was settled confidentially.
The victim charged in the suit that she pursued criminal charges after the university failed to act on an internal complaint. Penn forced McIntosh, head of its Head Injury Research Center, to resign after his no-contest plea.McIntosh plans to appeal Dembe's decision not to let him revoke his plea. He previously worked at Boston University, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Connecticut.
"I mistook your trust and openness for physical attraction," he said.
McIntosh had taken the woman out for several drinks in September 2002 until she became ill and vomited. He then brought her back to his Penn office, gave her marijuana, put her on a couch and raped her, prosecutors say.
McIntosh, 54, of Media, is married and has two daughters not much younger than the victim. He said he had pleaded only because of a deal that would allow him to avoid jail time. In March 2005, he was sentenced to house arrest. Prosecutors, however, said they had no such deal and appealed the sentence. A state appeals court agreed, saying the judge had treated McIntosh more like a "school boy" than a criminal.
Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe, while sentencing McIntosh, compared the sexual assault of his friend’s niece to child molestation.
"It's breathtaking in its vileness. I can think of no circumstance in which it is appropriate to victimize a child who's the next best thing to a relative."Judge Dembe refused a defense request to withdraw his guilty plea, and immediately revoked McIntosh’s bail after sentencing.
The 28-year-old victim, now a fourth-year veterinary student at Penn, watched as McIntosh was handcuffed and taken to jail. He acknowledged "inappropriate" and "shameful" behavior, but denied drugging or raping her.A string of character witnesses -- neighbors, church friends, a colleague and McIntosh's wife, Cynthia -- described McIntosh in 2002 as an arrogant, self-centered philanderer.
But they said he had transformed himself during his five-year legal battle, when McIntosh spent six months on house arrest and picked up trash as part of a community service requirement. They suggested that the ordeal had been just as harrowing for him as for the victim.
"Are you telling me that no one ever encourages a man and then regrets it later?" neighbor Deborah B. Sloman testified. The victim, sobbing, ran from the courtroom.The prolonged case has forced the victim's parents and uncle to repeatedly fly to Philadelphia for several rounds of court hearings.
"What you did was to rape a vomiting, incapacitated 23-year-old girl who looked at you like a mentor," the victim testified."There's no way I would be here five years after the fact ... if that had not happened," she said. She said she came forward to prevent McIntosh from attacking any other women.
The victim filed a civil suit against him in 2002, where she found out from other reports that numerous women complained about McIntoshe’s sexual advances.
The civil suit, which also named McIntosh and several university officials as defendants, was settled confidentially.
The victim charged in the suit that she pursued criminal charges after the university failed to act on an internal complaint. Penn forced McIntosh, head of its Head Injury Research Center, to resign after his no-contest plea.McIntosh plans to appeal Dembe's decision not to let him revoke his plea. He previously worked at Boston University, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Connecticut.
Man sentenced to 78 years for torturing, killing "girlfriend"
A Joliet Township man, who tortured, then killed his girlfriend after he allegedly stole just over $100 from her was sentenced to 78 years in prison. Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes sentenced him to 78 years. 58 years were for murder, 12 years were for arson, and 8 years were for concealing a body.
Describing the torture-murder as "incomprehensible," Policandriotes called Hall "a danger to society."
Bailey died in July 2005 after Hall hit her in the head with a clothes iron, slammed her fingers in a door hinge, tied her up with speaker wire and put her in his bathtub.
Hall, an alleged drug dealer and aspiring rap musician with a history of physically abusing women, tired to conceal the murder by burning Bailey's body on a wood pile in rural Kankakee County and setting fire to his Preston Heights-area apartment, records show.Hall was angry because Bailey allegedly had taken between $100 and $120 from him, according to testimony.
Will County State's Atty. Jim Glasgow credited prosecutors Domenica "Dede" Osterberger, Jessica Colon-Sayre and Chris Messina for "expert trial work" that led to Hall's conviction and lengthy sentence. Glasgow also praised the Will County Sheriff's Department for a first-rate investigation.Prior to sentencing, Policandriotes read an anguished victim-impact statement written by Rose Bailey's mother, Deborah, who sat in the audience, as she had during Hall's trial for the murder of her youngest daughter."
When I learned of Rose's suffering and death, I could not be consoled. To find out that you don't even have your daughter's body to bury is more painful than I can explain here and now," the mother said.
Hall declined to speak on his own behalf. Defense attorneys, searching for a clemency issue, argued that their client had been respectful during his weeklong trial and that incarceration would be a hardship for his seven children.Policandriotes pointed out that Hall actually had fathered nine children, but only knew the names of seven. She said he had routinely dodged making child support.
Describing the torture-murder as "incomprehensible," Policandriotes called Hall "a danger to society."
Bailey died in July 2005 after Hall hit her in the head with a clothes iron, slammed her fingers in a door hinge, tied her up with speaker wire and put her in his bathtub.
Hall, an alleged drug dealer and aspiring rap musician with a history of physically abusing women, tired to conceal the murder by burning Bailey's body on a wood pile in rural Kankakee County and setting fire to his Preston Heights-area apartment, records show.Hall was angry because Bailey allegedly had taken between $100 and $120 from him, according to testimony.
Will County State's Atty. Jim Glasgow credited prosecutors Domenica "Dede" Osterberger, Jessica Colon-Sayre and Chris Messina for "expert trial work" that led to Hall's conviction and lengthy sentence. Glasgow also praised the Will County Sheriff's Department for a first-rate investigation.Prior to sentencing, Policandriotes read an anguished victim-impact statement written by Rose Bailey's mother, Deborah, who sat in the audience, as she had during Hall's trial for the murder of her youngest daughter."
When I learned of Rose's suffering and death, I could not be consoled. To find out that you don't even have your daughter's body to bury is more painful than I can explain here and now," the mother said.
Hall declined to speak on his own behalf. Defense attorneys, searching for a clemency issue, argued that their client had been respectful during his weeklong trial and that incarceration would be a hardship for his seven children.Policandriotes pointed out that Hall actually had fathered nine children, but only knew the names of seven. She said he had routinely dodged making child support.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Couple pimp 17 year old girl, face minor charges due to Illinois AOC
Jermel D. Pope, 22, and Mary M. Jefferson, 30, both of the 2000 block of Fox Pointe Drive, were charged Saturday with pandering and may face additional charges after arranging for a Wisconsin runaway, who is 17, to have sex with paying customers. The 17 year old runaway, Trisha Jobe of Bagley, WI, faces prostitution charges.
Because Illinois' age of consent is 17, and all 17 year olds in Illinois are considered adults from a criminal perspective, Pope and Jefferson are not being charged with the more serious offence of juvenile pandering. Regular pandering is not a SO registry offense in Illinois.
Police launched an investigation Thursday after receiving an anonymous tip they said linked Pope to alleged prostitution-related activities. Undercover investigators from the Aurora Police Department's Special Operations Group contacted him and arranged a meeting for the next night that was to involve three girls at an Oswego hotel, a release stated.
When officers arrived, Pope and Jefferson provided only Jobe for the sexual acts. After money was exchanged, all three were arrested without incident. Police said Jefferson booked the room under the instruction of Pope, her boyfriend.It is unclear how the couple initially made contact with the teen, but police said they allegedly drove to Wisconsin several weeks ago to help her run away. They then arranged for her and other women to act as prostitutes, police alleged.
This is the latest in a string of Craigslist prostitution cases uncovered by Chicagoland police investigators.
Because Illinois' age of consent is 17, and all 17 year olds in Illinois are considered adults from a criminal perspective, Pope and Jefferson are not being charged with the more serious offence of juvenile pandering. Regular pandering is not a SO registry offense in Illinois.
Police launched an investigation Thursday after receiving an anonymous tip they said linked Pope to alleged prostitution-related activities. Undercover investigators from the Aurora Police Department's Special Operations Group contacted him and arranged a meeting for the next night that was to involve three girls at an Oswego hotel, a release stated.
When officers arrived, Pope and Jefferson provided only Jobe for the sexual acts. After money was exchanged, all three were arrested without incident. Police said Jefferson booked the room under the instruction of Pope, her boyfriend.It is unclear how the couple initially made contact with the teen, but police said they allegedly drove to Wisconsin several weeks ago to help her run away. They then arranged for her and other women to act as prostitutes, police alleged.
This is the latest in a string of Craigslist prostitution cases uncovered by Chicagoland police investigators.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Pawn shop owner gets 36 to life for killing wife, wounding judge
Darren Mack, a former pawn shop owner, was sentenced to 20 years to life for the stabbing murder of his wife Charla in 2006, and 16 to 40 years, to be served consecutive to the murder sentence, for the attempted sniper-style murder of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller at a Washoe County courthouse. The 36 years to life sentence was imposed by District Judge Douglas Herndon as part of a plea agreement.
In handing down the sentence, Herndon cited the heinous nature of the crimes and Mack’s lack of remorse.
“The truth is Mr. Mack is guilty of these crimes, but he doesn’t want to hear anything about that,” the judge said.
Mack, during testimony Thursday, reiterated his claims that he acted in self defense when the slashed his wife’s throat in the garage of his southeast Reno townhouse. He also has argued that he was coerced by his former lawyers into the plea deal, and suggested the attorneys, prosecutors, investigators and law enforcement officers who investigated the case were corrupt.Herndon said while he allowed Mack to go on at length, he never said what the judge hoped he’d hear: “I’m sorry.”Herndon’s sentencing followed emotional testimony earlier Friday by Charla Mack’s family and Weller.
Soorya Townley, Charla's mother, grew closer after adulthood. "I was one of those lucky mothers to be best friends with my daughter. In those last years, Charla and I cleared our past mother-daughter conflicts.”
Townley stated that Charla wanted to be either a professional singer, or be a spokeswoman with a business involving divorcing couples.
“Charla believed ... she could even tame Darren’s rage” and get him involved,” Townley said. Mack hung his head in his hands and appeared to cry when Townley concluded her testimony with a song Charla had recorded before her death.“It was a song she wanted to sing to Darren,” Townley said.
In handing down the sentence, Herndon cited the heinous nature of the crimes and Mack’s lack of remorse.
“The truth is Mr. Mack is guilty of these crimes, but he doesn’t want to hear anything about that,” the judge said.
Mack, during testimony Thursday, reiterated his claims that he acted in self defense when the slashed his wife’s throat in the garage of his southeast Reno townhouse. He also has argued that he was coerced by his former lawyers into the plea deal, and suggested the attorneys, prosecutors, investigators and law enforcement officers who investigated the case were corrupt.Herndon said while he allowed Mack to go on at length, he never said what the judge hoped he’d hear: “I’m sorry.”Herndon’s sentencing followed emotional testimony earlier Friday by Charla Mack’s family and Weller.
Soorya Townley, Charla's mother, grew closer after adulthood. "I was one of those lucky mothers to be best friends with my daughter. In those last years, Charla and I cleared our past mother-daughter conflicts.”
Townley stated that Charla wanted to be either a professional singer, or be a spokeswoman with a business involving divorcing couples.
“Charla believed ... she could even tame Darren’s rage” and get him involved,” Townley said. Mack hung his head in his hands and appeared to cry when Townley concluded her testimony with a song Charla had recorded before her death.“It was a song she wanted to sing to Darren,” Townley said.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Police release composite sketch of suspect in Lane Bryant killings
The funerals of the last three victims of a massacre at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, took place today, and police have finally made a sketch of the suspect in the murders of the five women. A sixth victim is still in protective custody by the police after being shot in the neck, but surviving.
Police were canvassing the Brookside Marketplace in hopes of finding someone "who may have seen something that may aid in this investigation," said Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Rick Bruno. Five women -- Connie Woolfolk, Jennifer Bishop, Sarah Szafranski, Carrie Hudek Chiuso and store manager Rhoda McFarland -- were slain. A sixth woman, 33, survived a gunshot wound in the neck. The gunman walked into the Lane Bryant store near 191st Street and Harlem Avenue after 10 a.m. Saturday.
The funeral for McFarland began at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Word of Life Christian Center in Crest Hill. More than 600 people attended the funeral, which had a celebratory tone as friends and family remembered McFarland's strong faith.
"A precious person has been removed from our lives in a mysterious, unexpected, violent and horrible way," Rev. Tim Bagwell said during his eulogy. "At a moment like this, we would not be human if we didn't ask why."The funeral for Szafranski, 22, a recent college graduate, began at 10 a.m. at St. Damien Church in Oak Forest. Woolfolk, 37, a mortgage lender with two sons, will be honored at her funeral at 4 p.m. at Leak and Sons Funeral Home in Country Club Hills.
Funerals for the other two victims took place earlier this week. Over the past two days, dive teams have searched frozen ponds and streams in the area for evidence while police have conducted "grid searches" of roadsides and interstates and received more than 200 phone calls on a tips hotline, said Bruno. Authorities have described the gunman as a black man, 25 to 35 years old, clean shaven with his hair arranged in three to five thick, puffy corn rows. A single braid, sporting light-green beads, hung down the right side of his face. He is large-framed, with his weight proportionate to his height, and was last seen wearing black jeans with rhinestones on the back pocket, a dark jacket and a gray knit cap.
One theory states that the gunman went into the Lane Bryant store specifically because it was a women's store and because he did not want to target men. According to the surviving victim, the gunman made a sexual advance to, then fondled one of the women that he killed before shoothig all of them, and blended in with the "crowd." police, earlier this week, asked other departments if there were any other robberies of women's stores involving fondling of victims.
Lane Bryant has offered a $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the gunman, and Cook County Crime Stoppers offered $5,000 for the arrest of a suspect in the case. Anyone with information about the case should call 708-444-5394.
Man gets life for beating girlfriend to death, burying body in shallow grave
A Mount Pleasant, Michiogan man serving up to 15 years for beating his girlfriend is going to serve life for beating her to death, then dumping her body in a shallow grave.
Isabella County Trial Judge Mark H. Duthie on Thursday handed the life term to Gordon D. Schultz, the 46-year-old convicted of first-degree murder Jan. 11 in the beating death of Becky S. MacDonald in 2005.
MacDonald, 43, disappeared Nov. 11, 2005, from her home near Winn. She had worked as a caregiver for an Alzheimer's patient.
After Schultz killed MacDonald and concealed her remains, the Midland man attempted to strike a deal with an undercover officer to kill MacDonald's daughter.
The undercover officer obtained information which led to MacDonald's remains in the AuSable State Forest in Midland County's Edenville Township. Schultz is currently serving a 46 month to 15 year sentence for 3rd offence domestic violence, and had other convictions for destruction of property and carrying a concealed weapon.
Isabella County Trial Judge Mark H. Duthie on Thursday handed the life term to Gordon D. Schultz, the 46-year-old convicted of first-degree murder Jan. 11 in the beating death of Becky S. MacDonald in 2005.
MacDonald, 43, disappeared Nov. 11, 2005, from her home near Winn. She had worked as a caregiver for an Alzheimer's patient.
After Schultz killed MacDonald and concealed her remains, the Midland man attempted to strike a deal with an undercover officer to kill MacDonald's daughter.
The undercover officer obtained information which led to MacDonald's remains in the AuSable State Forest in Midland County's Edenville Township. Schultz is currently serving a 46 month to 15 year sentence for 3rd offence domestic violence, and had other convictions for destruction of property and carrying a concealed weapon.
Serial criminal sentenced to life for rape
Alvin McCullogh, a Fayetteville, Arkansas criminal with an extensive history starting when he was 18, was sentenced to life for the rape of a 22 year old woman in the fall of 2006 plus 40 years and a $15,000 fine for kidnapping and burglary charges. The victim was walking home from a bar and McCullough attacked and raped her at her house.
Fourth Circuit Judge William Storey stacked the life sentence for Alvin McCullough on top of 47 years he received after a jury trial in May, when he was found guilty of two residential burglary charges and an attempted residential burglary charge for home invasions in December 2006 in Fayetteville.
McCullough has a criminal history that goes back to age 18, when he solicited a 14-year-old girl to have sexual relations. He also has a battery conviction for hitting a police officer. He went to prison on both charges.
Washington County Prosecutor John Threet on Wednesday argued for a life sentence after the jurors found McCullough guilty of the rape, kidnapping and residential burglary charges related to the Oct. 29, 2006, incident.
"He cannot get back out. He's shown what he does when he's out and he's free."
The defense lawyers, Bruce Schlegel and Scott Parks, argued for leniency while acknowledging his client's previous criminal history.
"People at 22 aren't the same people at 32," Schlegel said.
"All of them have been out of this court," Parks said.
He added that the penitentiary "killed my client's soul"before he began committing more crimes, including the rape in October 2006 and the home invasions in December 2006.
Storey went ahead and imposed the jury-recommended sentences.
Those sentences were 40 years plus a $15,000 fine for the kidnapping and burglary charges McCullough also faced.
"What mercy was shown to the victim in this case "Storey asked. "There is no compelling reason to show mercy at this point."
He told McCullough," You're without a doubt a habitual offender," and said that he has become "a menace to society."
The rape charges were laid after a DNA match from Arkansas' state crime lab.
Fourth Circuit Judge William Storey stacked the life sentence for Alvin McCullough on top of 47 years he received after a jury trial in May, when he was found guilty of two residential burglary charges and an attempted residential burglary charge for home invasions in December 2006 in Fayetteville.
McCullough has a criminal history that goes back to age 18, when he solicited a 14-year-old girl to have sexual relations. He also has a battery conviction for hitting a police officer. He went to prison on both charges.
Washington County Prosecutor John Threet on Wednesday argued for a life sentence after the jurors found McCullough guilty of the rape, kidnapping and residential burglary charges related to the Oct. 29, 2006, incident.
"He cannot get back out. He's shown what he does when he's out and he's free."
The defense lawyers, Bruce Schlegel and Scott Parks, argued for leniency while acknowledging his client's previous criminal history.
"People at 22 aren't the same people at 32," Schlegel said.
"All of them have been out of this court," Parks said.
He added that the penitentiary "killed my client's soul"before he began committing more crimes, including the rape in October 2006 and the home invasions in December 2006.
Storey went ahead and imposed the jury-recommended sentences.
Those sentences were 40 years plus a $15,000 fine for the kidnapping and burglary charges McCullough also faced.
"What mercy was shown to the victim in this case "Storey asked. "There is no compelling reason to show mercy at this point."
He told McCullough," You're without a doubt a habitual offender," and said that he has become "a menace to society."
The rape charges were laid after a DNA match from Arkansas' state crime lab.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Man stabs women, one his wife in her own classroom
A gunman and anti-woman stabber critically wounded two women - a 22 year old by stabbing, then his wife, a teacher, by barging into her classroom while it was in session, then stabbing her. The incidents occored in Portsmouth, OH.
His first victim, Stephanie Loop, 22, was stabbed multiple times, and is in critical condition at a Columbus hospital. This incident occured four blocks away from his wife's workplace. Then Layne went to his wife's workplace so he could attack her.
A teacher police identified as Michael's wife, Christi Layne, was stabbed inside her classroom, according to Porstmouth Police. Police originally had said Michael Layne shot his wife Christi, but later said it was unclear whether a gunshot fired in the school hit her. Students reported hearing at least one gunshot during the incident, but medical officials haven't been able to confirm if Layne suffers from a gunshot wound. Layne was last listed in critical condition at Cabell Huntington Hospital at noon Thursday. Her family has since requested that hospital officials no longer release her status.
A short time later, they got a call about the shooting at the school. Christi Layne is a fifth grade teacher at Notre Dame Elementary School. The principal of the school, Kay Kern, said she had been a teacher for 19 years. Wallace confirmed seventeen fifth grade children were in the classroom when she was shot.
Michael Layne then returned to his house where he engaged in a standoff with police before shooting and killing himself.
(Update - Feb 9)
Both victims are in critical, but stable condition. Stephanie Loop, the first stabbing vistim, was his girlfriend. Layne stabbed her after she told him that she wanted to break up with him and she had second thoughts about being with an older man.
Loop's cousin, Chrissy Shepherd, told the Portsmouth Daily Times that Layne considered Loop his girlfriend.
"I don't know if he feared she was abandoning him or what," she told the paper for a story published Friday.
Officials were still sorting out other parts of the story, the chief said. They had declined to talk about details of the attacks, the motive, weapons and what was found in Layne's home.
Shepherd told the newspaper that Loop had called her Wednesday night to ask for a ride home from Layne's house. On Thursday morning, he attacked Loop as the two women returned home from a visit to a tattoo parlor, Shepherd said.
"He kept slashing at her, but for the most part, the knife was just ripping her coat," she said. "We jumped inside and I locked the door – locked the front door, too – and called 911."
She said Loop had stab wounds in the chest and left shoulder.
"I sat with her on the couch and held pressure on her wounds until the police and ambulance came," Shepherd said.
Neighbors interviewed said that Layne, a retired city water works employee, was friendly but strange, digging in his yard one night, and could show a temper.
His first victim, Stephanie Loop, 22, was stabbed multiple times, and is in critical condition at a Columbus hospital. This incident occured four blocks away from his wife's workplace. Then Layne went to his wife's workplace so he could attack her.
A teacher police identified as Michael's wife, Christi Layne, was stabbed inside her classroom, according to Porstmouth Police. Police originally had said Michael Layne shot his wife Christi, but later said it was unclear whether a gunshot fired in the school hit her. Students reported hearing at least one gunshot during the incident, but medical officials haven't been able to confirm if Layne suffers from a gunshot wound. Layne was last listed in critical condition at Cabell Huntington Hospital at noon Thursday. Her family has since requested that hospital officials no longer release her status.
A short time later, they got a call about the shooting at the school. Christi Layne is a fifth grade teacher at Notre Dame Elementary School. The principal of the school, Kay Kern, said she had been a teacher for 19 years. Wallace confirmed seventeen fifth grade children were in the classroom when she was shot.
Michael Layne then returned to his house where he engaged in a standoff with police before shooting and killing himself.
(Update - Feb 9)
Both victims are in critical, but stable condition. Stephanie Loop, the first stabbing vistim, was his girlfriend. Layne stabbed her after she told him that she wanted to break up with him and she had second thoughts about being with an older man.
Loop's cousin, Chrissy Shepherd, told the Portsmouth Daily Times that Layne considered Loop his girlfriend.
"I don't know if he feared she was abandoning him or what," she told the paper for a story published Friday.
Officials were still sorting out other parts of the story, the chief said. They had declined to talk about details of the attacks, the motive, weapons and what was found in Layne's home.
Shepherd told the newspaper that Loop had called her Wednesday night to ask for a ride home from Layne's house. On Thursday morning, he attacked Loop as the two women returned home from a visit to a tattoo parlor, Shepherd said.
"He kept slashing at her, but for the most part, the knife was just ripping her coat," she said. "We jumped inside and I locked the door – locked the front door, too – and called 911."
She said Loop had stab wounds in the chest and left shoulder.
"I sat with her on the couch and held pressure on her wounds until the police and ambulance came," Shepherd said.
Neighbors interviewed said that Layne, a retired city water works employee, was friendly but strange, digging in his yard one night, and could show a temper.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
California cousins allegedly pimp disabled woman
Two cousins, one of wich is a suspect in a juvenile prostion ring, have been arrested for allegedly pimping a 19 year old develpmentally disabled woman. Della Silva, 19, along with her boyfriend, was identified as a suspect in pimping and pandering a 14 year old girl in an incident which occured last year.
Police continued an investigation into Silva when, in January, a 19-year-old developmentally disabled woman alleged that Silva's cousin raped her and that Silva had forced her into acts of prostitution with strangers, according to police.Police served a search warrant at Silva's Vallejo home Tuesday, arresting Silva and turning her 21-month-old daughter over to Solano County Child Protective Services, according to the Police Department.
Silva's cousin, San Francisco resident Dwayne Fitch, was arrested a short time later in Napa, Vallejo police reported. During interviews with police, Fitch allegedly admitted to taking part in the rape of the 19-year-old victim, police reported. Fitch also reportedly described how Silva allegedly sought out clients for the victim and drove the woman to meet the clients and engage in sex acts in exchange for money, according to the Police Department.
Bpth suspects were booked on charges of pimping, rape of a person with a mental disorder, sodomy, lewd and lascivious acts, and conspiracy. Police believe that there were additional victims, and anyone with any information should call Vallejo police Detective Cpl. Les Bottomley at (707) 648-4533.
Police continued an investigation into Silva when, in January, a 19-year-old developmentally disabled woman alleged that Silva's cousin raped her and that Silva had forced her into acts of prostitution with strangers, according to police.Police served a search warrant at Silva's Vallejo home Tuesday, arresting Silva and turning her 21-month-old daughter over to Solano County Child Protective Services, according to the Police Department.
Silva's cousin, San Francisco resident Dwayne Fitch, was arrested a short time later in Napa, Vallejo police reported. During interviews with police, Fitch allegedly admitted to taking part in the rape of the 19-year-old victim, police reported. Fitch also reportedly described how Silva allegedly sought out clients for the victim and drove the woman to meet the clients and engage in sex acts in exchange for money, according to the Police Department.
Bpth suspects were booked on charges of pimping, rape of a person with a mental disorder, sodomy, lewd and lascivious acts, and conspiracy. Police believe that there were additional victims, and anyone with any information should call Vallejo police Detective Cpl. Les Bottomley at (707) 648-4533.
Rape "training" attack leads to a year of probation
A former security guard who lured a young co-worker to a hotel room and sexually assaulted her under the guise of "rape training" has been sentenced to one year house arrest.
Robert Mayer choked back tears in court this morning as he apologized for the bizarre 2006 attack.
"I know what I did was wrong," said Mayer, 39. "I can't express the guilt I have about what happened."
Court heard Mayer was a security guard at Great West Life when he befriended the then 20-year-old victim, a co-worker's girlfriend. Mayer gave the woman a job helping with security at the Galaxy roller rink and then told her she would have to complete mandatory rape training if she wanted to keep it.
"She was absolutely humiliated by this incident and she still suffers to this day," said Crown attorney Melinda Murray.
Robert Mayer choked back tears in court this morning as he apologized for the bizarre 2006 attack.
"I know what I did was wrong," said Mayer, 39. "I can't express the guilt I have about what happened."
Court heard Mayer was a security guard at Great West Life when he befriended the then 20-year-old victim, a co-worker's girlfriend. Mayer gave the woman a job helping with security at the Galaxy roller rink and then told her she would have to complete mandatory rape training if she wanted to keep it.
"She was absolutely humiliated by this incident and she still suffers to this day," said Crown attorney Melinda Murray.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Learning about exploitation from teacher/student sex part 2
When boyfriends/husbands are convicted of rape, stalking, or kidnapping, there were no real relationships, but adult intimate sexual exploitation. Simply victims and victimizers. Encounters which lead to criminal charges are no more "relationships" than the teacher and the 17 year old student or the pedophile and the 7 year old boy. If a 20 year marriage ends in rape charges and a rape conviction against the husband, there was no romance, but two decades of grooming, manipulation, deceit, and intimate sexual exploitation. Adult, married status does not change this fact in the least.
When sexual assault charges occur, there is a victim and a perp. Any "relationship" the parties had pre-assault was simply an opportunity for the offender to groom, then violate his victim. Any sex the couple had before the criminal act was exploitative. Whether it's a teacher and a student, a doctor and a patient, or "partners" and spouses, the offender scouted out, obtained access to, groomed, then violated his victim(s). Criminal charges are only brought to court when they are founded.
When a conviction is obtained, the courts are saying that there was a sexual victim and a sexual offender. It doesn't matter whether it's the teacher and 17 year old student, the boss and the employee, or even the husband and the wife. It matters to the courts that a law was broken, that the victim needed justice, and that society needs to be protected from that person.
When a teacher has illegal sex with a student, it doesn't matter whether a student is under 18 or over 18, whether the student was in "love" or not when charges are filed. When a therapist has sex with a patient, or a prison guard has sex with an inmate, it doesn't matter to the law what "consent" if any the victim and perp had before the sexual assault charges. It only matters within the court system that a sex offense occured, and how to punish the perp and heal the victim.
A predatory teacher and a predatory husband is subject to the same SO listing and same SO restrictions if they occur in the same jurisdictions. They may be in the same SO groups and have the same restrictions on the Internet and contact with kids. In Michigan, they will be charged with the same crime - CSC 3. This is why status before victimization does not matter.
When sexual assault charges occur, there is a victim and a perp. Any "relationship" the parties had pre-assault was simply an opportunity for the offender to groom, then violate his victim. Any sex the couple had before the criminal act was exploitative. Whether it's a teacher and a student, a doctor and a patient, or "partners" and spouses, the offender scouted out, obtained access to, groomed, then violated his victim(s). Criminal charges are only brought to court when they are founded.
When a conviction is obtained, the courts are saying that there was a sexual victim and a sexual offender. It doesn't matter whether it's the teacher and 17 year old student, the boss and the employee, or even the husband and the wife. It matters to the courts that a law was broken, that the victim needed justice, and that society needs to be protected from that person.
When a teacher has illegal sex with a student, it doesn't matter whether a student is under 18 or over 18, whether the student was in "love" or not when charges are filed. When a therapist has sex with a patient, or a prison guard has sex with an inmate, it doesn't matter to the law what "consent" if any the victim and perp had before the sexual assault charges. It only matters within the court system that a sex offense occured, and how to punish the perp and heal the victim.
A predatory teacher and a predatory husband is subject to the same SO listing and same SO restrictions if they occur in the same jurisdictions. They may be in the same SO groups and have the same restrictions on the Internet and contact with kids. In Michigan, they will be charged with the same crime - CSC 3. This is why status before victimization does not matter.
Pennsylvania professor sentenced to 2.5 to 5 years in prison
A former Eastern Stroudsburg University (PA) professor is facing deportation and a lawsuit from his victim after his sentence of 30 to 60 months in prison for the sexual assault of a 19 year old student. Richard Nyamwange, 51, also faces five years of probation for a second charge of indecent assault, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's office.
On Nov. 22, 2006, he invited [the victim] to lunch and told her he would hand her a check for office work she had done for him. After lunch, he told her the check was at his home and had her follow him there.
At the house, he told her he had to go back out to get money from an ATM to pay her. He had her wait in his bedroom and left.
A short time later, he came back into the bedroom and wrote out a check. As he was about to hand it to her, he “fell” into her, knocking her onto the bed, and sexually assaulted her.
He ejaculated into his hand and then when into the bathroom, at which point she left the bedroom. As she was exiting the house, he caught up to her and handed her cash, which she threw back at him. She then left.
In Nyamwange’s version of the story, she was the one who came on to him. A neighbor and her son-in-law testified for the defense that they saw Nyamwange and a young woman outside his home and that the woman appeared not to be in any distress.
The prosecution pointed out that the time the defense witnesses claimed they saw Nyamwange and this woman does not match the time frame of the circumstances surrounding the sexual assault.
Family members stood by Nyamwange, including his wife Monica and his son Joseph.
“He has four boys who need him. He came a long way from poor roots. He lost an older sister last year. This whole thing has been devastating. His parents have been displaced by political turmoil (in Kenya).The family has been affected emotionally. If he goes away to prison, I’ll have to raise (our youngest son) on one income.”
“After all the media coverage, after hearing random students call my father a rapist, after his conviction, it’s been faith that’s kept me going,” he said. “For me and my brothers, this is a moment in our lives when our father’s presence in our family is pivotal to us. I have faith that the court will see my father is a good man. He’s my personal hero.”
Others called Nyamwange an inspirational role model to many who know him, a man who does what he can to support his blind father and sick mother in Kenya.
“There’s not a single female on campus who can testify that Richard ever looked at them in an inappropriate way,” said Mamadou Kane, an associate professor of economics at ESU.
Defense attorney James Swetz requested a lenient sentence, citing the fact that Nyamwange has no prior criminal record and the support of family and friends, evident in more than 100 letters written to the court on his behalf. Swetz added that Nyamwange has not been charged with any other offenses since this case began, that he is not a sexually violent predator and that he is not likely to commit another offense.
Monroe County Court Judge Margherita Worthington later noted the victim herself in a letter to the court requested leniency for Nyamwange while expressing the pain his actions have caused her and her family.
“This is an extremely troubling case,” the judge said. “Here is a man for whom this was aberrant behavior.
“While I am sympathetic to his family, there are two sides affected here,” she said. “Only one person is responsible and that’s the defendant. But for his actions, his own family would not be affected.”
The judge did not find a probationary sentence, as requested by Swetz, to be an appropriate punishment. As a result, Nyamwange will spend at least the next two and a half years in state prison.
“His supporters believe he is a good person. The victim, too, believed this. She believed she had nothing to fear. He took advantage of her trust. She told him "no" and he kept going. We can’t blame her for being naive enough to think she was safe.”
Worthington commented on the difficulty of trying to fashion a sentence which reflects both Nyamwange's sexual assault as a reprehensible crime and his previous good character.
The judge also denied the defense’s request to allow Nyamwange to remain free on bail, meaning he wouldn’t have to be in state prison, pending his appeal of the jury conviction. The judge disagreed with Swetz’s argument that Nyamwange has no incentive to be a flight risk now that he has been convicted.
On Nov. 22, 2006, he invited [the victim] to lunch and told her he would hand her a check for office work she had done for him. After lunch, he told her the check was at his home and had her follow him there.
At the house, he told her he had to go back out to get money from an ATM to pay her. He had her wait in his bedroom and left.
A short time later, he came back into the bedroom and wrote out a check. As he was about to hand it to her, he “fell” into her, knocking her onto the bed, and sexually assaulted her.
He ejaculated into his hand and then when into the bathroom, at which point she left the bedroom. As she was exiting the house, he caught up to her and handed her cash, which she threw back at him. She then left.
In Nyamwange’s version of the story, she was the one who came on to him. A neighbor and her son-in-law testified for the defense that they saw Nyamwange and a young woman outside his home and that the woman appeared not to be in any distress.
The prosecution pointed out that the time the defense witnesses claimed they saw Nyamwange and this woman does not match the time frame of the circumstances surrounding the sexual assault.
Family members stood by Nyamwange, including his wife Monica and his son Joseph.
“He has four boys who need him. He came a long way from poor roots. He lost an older sister last year. This whole thing has been devastating. His parents have been displaced by political turmoil (in Kenya).The family has been affected emotionally. If he goes away to prison, I’ll have to raise (our youngest son) on one income.”
“After all the media coverage, after hearing random students call my father a rapist, after his conviction, it’s been faith that’s kept me going,” he said. “For me and my brothers, this is a moment in our lives when our father’s presence in our family is pivotal to us. I have faith that the court will see my father is a good man. He’s my personal hero.”
Others called Nyamwange an inspirational role model to many who know him, a man who does what he can to support his blind father and sick mother in Kenya.
“There’s not a single female on campus who can testify that Richard ever looked at them in an inappropriate way,” said Mamadou Kane, an associate professor of economics at ESU.
Defense attorney James Swetz requested a lenient sentence, citing the fact that Nyamwange has no prior criminal record and the support of family and friends, evident in more than 100 letters written to the court on his behalf. Swetz added that Nyamwange has not been charged with any other offenses since this case began, that he is not a sexually violent predator and that he is not likely to commit another offense.
Monroe County Court Judge Margherita Worthington later noted the victim herself in a letter to the court requested leniency for Nyamwange while expressing the pain his actions have caused her and her family.
“This is an extremely troubling case,” the judge said. “Here is a man for whom this was aberrant behavior.
“While I am sympathetic to his family, there are two sides affected here,” she said. “Only one person is responsible and that’s the defendant. But for his actions, his own family would not be affected.”
The judge did not find a probationary sentence, as requested by Swetz, to be an appropriate punishment. As a result, Nyamwange will spend at least the next two and a half years in state prison.
“His supporters believe he is a good person. The victim, too, believed this. She believed she had nothing to fear. He took advantage of her trust. She told him "no" and he kept going. We can’t blame her for being naive enough to think she was safe.”
Worthington commented on the difficulty of trying to fashion a sentence which reflects both Nyamwange's sexual assault as a reprehensible crime and his previous good character.
The judge also denied the defense’s request to allow Nyamwange to remain free on bail, meaning he wouldn’t have to be in state prison, pending his appeal of the jury conviction. The judge disagreed with Swetz’s argument that Nyamwange has no incentive to be a flight risk now that he has been convicted.
Prison guard gets a sweet deal - 2 months jail, 3 years probation
A former prison guard who sexually assaulted an inmate in a blanket room at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, a women's prison in central Wisconsin has been sentenced to 2 years probation and 3 months jail with work release privileges.
Dustin M. Schultz, 20, of Brandon, was convicted in September of second-degree sexual assault by correctional staff for having sexual contact with the 26-year-old woman last May.
Schultz was sentenced Monday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court. He was granted work release privileges and ordered to report to jail March 7.
Defense lawyer Michael Sias said that Schultz was being "groomed" and "worked" by the inmates and described Schultz as being naive and flattered by the inmate's crush on him.
Kaye Watkins, who prepared a presentence investigation report, said the victim and another inmate who stood watch during the encounter had "approached him in order to get some perks."
Schultz apologized to the court and expressed his desire to put the incident behind him.
"I know what I did was wrong. I've regretted it every day since," Schultz said. "I'm ready for this to be over with so I can try and get on with my life."
If this was a 20 year old and a 13 year old girl, he would not have been sentenced to just 3 months in prison. The same reasoning and lack of values behind asult/minor sex is behing guard/inmate sex. People without power do not groom those with it; it's vice versa.
Definition of exploitation (from this blog):
"To exploit someone is to make use of him or her for one's own ends by playing on a weakness or vulnerability. Those with power have the inherent potential to exploit those without power."Sexual Exploitation in Schools: How to Spot It and Stop It." p 7
Dustin M. Schultz, 20, of Brandon, was convicted in September of second-degree sexual assault by correctional staff for having sexual contact with the 26-year-old woman last May.
Schultz was sentenced Monday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court. He was granted work release privileges and ordered to report to jail March 7.
Defense lawyer Michael Sias said that Schultz was being "groomed" and "worked" by the inmates and described Schultz as being naive and flattered by the inmate's crush on him.
Kaye Watkins, who prepared a presentence investigation report, said the victim and another inmate who stood watch during the encounter had "approached him in order to get some perks."
Schultz apologized to the court and expressed his desire to put the incident behind him.
"I know what I did was wrong. I've regretted it every day since," Schultz said. "I'm ready for this to be over with so I can try and get on with my life."
If this was a 20 year old and a 13 year old girl, he would not have been sentenced to just 3 months in prison. The same reasoning and lack of values behind asult/minor sex is behing guard/inmate sex. People without power do not groom those with it; it's vice versa.
Definition of exploitation (from this blog):
"To exploit someone is to make use of him or her for one's own ends by playing on a weakness or vulnerability. Those with power have the inherent potential to exploit those without power."Sexual Exploitation in Schools: How to Spot It and Stop It." p 7
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Michigan women prisoners win $15.4 million in sexual assault lawsuit
10 women who were imprisoned in Michigan's Scott Correctional Facility in suburban Detroit held hand and sobbed as they were awarded a total of $15.4 million for rapes, sexual harassment, and verbal abuse by prison guards. The jury foreman read an apology on behalf of Michigan citizens which went "We would like to express our extreme regret and apologies,"
"I'm heading back to prison today," one of the women said, facing the jury. "I feel strong today because of you. I thank you for believing in us."
The verdicts ranged from $335,000 to $3.6 million, depending on factors including whether there was sexual penetration and how many times the sexual acts had occurred. The jurors found there was a sexually hostile atmosphere at the prison and the state did not act to protect the prisoners. Today's verdict came after a three-week trial.
The state expects to appeal the case, said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. Seven of the women are still prisoners at Scott and three have been released. "I was shocked," said one of the plaintiffs, whose name the Free Press is not disclosing because of the nature of the acts. She has been released from prison and lives in Saginaw with her children. "We've had so many doors closed along the way."
"We showed there was a pervasive, sexually abusive atmosphere at Scott Regional Correctional Facility," said plaintiff's attorney Deborah LaBelle. The women are part of a group of 400 current and former prisoners in the class action lawsuit which covers the state's three women's prisons. Another trial involving female inmates who claim sexual abuse is scheduled later this month in the same courtroom.
The large number of potential victims raises the stakes for the state.Beginning about seven years ago, the state started removing male officers from the housing of female inmates.The case was first filed in 1996 but only came to trial this year after years of appeals and stays over issues such as whether prisoners are covered under the state's civil rights law. A federal judge ruled last year that they are covered.LaBelle said the plaintiffs have tried for 12 years to get the state to recognize there's a problem."The state says it's consensual, or that it doesn't believe what the women say," she said.
"It goes on and on," LaBelle said. More trials are scheduled this year.
Jody Nunn, a guard at Huron Valley Women's Prison, was sentenced to between 43 months and 15 years for raping a female inmate back in March 2005. Nunn's victim is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, and charges came after the victim gave prosecuting attorneys flannel shorts which contained Nunn's semen.
Nunn was convicted last month on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Circuit Judge Archie Brown sentenced him above state guidelines, which called for 36 months on the bottom end of his sentence.
The state said that many sexual assaults inside the prisons are not reported, and that when reported, officers were arrested and disciplined.
There is no such thing as consent in a custodial relationship or a fiduciary relationship. In Michigan, prison/guard sex is classified as Criminal Sexual Conduct 1 to 3, which also applies to teacher/student sex, rape, and therapist/patient sex. If consent is not considered to be obtained for the other cases, then consent isn't possible with prisoners or guards.
"I'm heading back to prison today," one of the women said, facing the jury. "I feel strong today because of you. I thank you for believing in us."
The verdicts ranged from $335,000 to $3.6 million, depending on factors including whether there was sexual penetration and how many times the sexual acts had occurred. The jurors found there was a sexually hostile atmosphere at the prison and the state did not act to protect the prisoners. Today's verdict came after a three-week trial.
The state expects to appeal the case, said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. Seven of the women are still prisoners at Scott and three have been released. "I was shocked," said one of the plaintiffs, whose name the Free Press is not disclosing because of the nature of the acts. She has been released from prison and lives in Saginaw with her children. "We've had so many doors closed along the way."
"We showed there was a pervasive, sexually abusive atmosphere at Scott Regional Correctional Facility," said plaintiff's attorney Deborah LaBelle. The women are part of a group of 400 current and former prisoners in the class action lawsuit which covers the state's three women's prisons. Another trial involving female inmates who claim sexual abuse is scheduled later this month in the same courtroom.
The large number of potential victims raises the stakes for the state.Beginning about seven years ago, the state started removing male officers from the housing of female inmates.The case was first filed in 1996 but only came to trial this year after years of appeals and stays over issues such as whether prisoners are covered under the state's civil rights law. A federal judge ruled last year that they are covered.LaBelle said the plaintiffs have tried for 12 years to get the state to recognize there's a problem."The state says it's consensual, or that it doesn't believe what the women say," she said.
"It goes on and on," LaBelle said. More trials are scheduled this year.
Jody Nunn, a guard at Huron Valley Women's Prison, was sentenced to between 43 months and 15 years for raping a female inmate back in March 2005. Nunn's victim is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, and charges came after the victim gave prosecuting attorneys flannel shorts which contained Nunn's semen.
Nunn was convicted last month on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Circuit Judge Archie Brown sentenced him above state guidelines, which called for 36 months on the bottom end of his sentence.
The state said that many sexual assaults inside the prisons are not reported, and that when reported, officers were arrested and disciplined.
There is no such thing as consent in a custodial relationship or a fiduciary relationship. In Michigan, prison/guard sex is classified as Criminal Sexual Conduct 1 to 3, which also applies to teacher/student sex, rape, and therapist/patient sex. If consent is not considered to be obtained for the other cases, then consent isn't possible with prisoners or guards.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Shauna the sexual exploiter screws over soldiers
A woman has been held without bond for the past three weeks after charges that she married men, then left them without divorcing her previous husbands. Shauna Marie Keith, 27, is currently facing bigamy and fraud charges in Georgia.
Shauna’s mother, Cindy Gibson, who lives in Gresham, OR, told Good Morning America that she was expecting this.
"This is somewhat of a shock, but I've been expecting this. For the last five or six years, I've gotten random calls from men saying, 'I think I am married to your daughter.’”
Gibson told "GMA" her daughter suffers from Munchausen syndrome, a disorder where a person tells fictitious stories about their health or background in order to gain sympathy and attention. "People with factitious disorders act this way because of an inner need to be seen as ill or injured , " the Cleveland Clinic says about the condition on its Web site.
"If the world she's living in doesn't fit her needs, she creates another reality," said Gibson.
Authorities count at least five marriages starting in 1999 to men stationed at bases from San Diego to North Carolina. Some of those marriages ended legally, but in others, she just left. Keith, who is currently pregnant, has three children, two of whom Gibson legally adopted.
Georgia authorities say that Keith's reality has included leaving her military husbands financially and emotionally devastated and abandoning at least three children to be raised without their mother. Walton County Sheriff's Office Detective Jim Mayes counts seven names, five different Social Security numbers and three dates of birth used by Keith since 1999At least three times, Mayes said, Keith has been married to two men at the same time.
Mayes began investigating Keith in early January, shortly after she was married to a staff sergeant Marine at a Christmas Eve ceremony in Georgia. After a doctored license and other evidence of identity theft was discovered, suspicious family members called police.
On Jan. 4, a warrant was issued for Keith’s arrest — her birth name is Shauna Marie McDonald. The next day, Keith was picked up in Beaufort County, S.C., just miles from the Parris Island Marine Corps base. She was staying with another Marine when authorities found her.
Shauna was returned to Walton County January 11th. She currently faces bigamy and fraud charges, and is being held without bond because she is considered a flight risk.
During Mayes' investigation, which included interviews with Keith and conversations with Gibson, Mayes says a timeline emerged showing at least five marriages that began in 1999 when Keith married a Navy sailor based in San Diego. Keith gave birth to her first child during that marriage, which ended in divorce. A California court, Mayes said, gave full custody of the child to the father. Keith then reportedly married a member of the Air Force stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. She became pregnant during that marriage and the child was ultimately adopted by Gibson, Mayes said. That marriage was legally dissolved after Keith left the man.
In August 2006, Keith married again, this time to a soldier stationed at Fort Knox, Ky. Sometime around that date, Mayes said, she gave birth to a third child, whose father remains unclear. That child was also adopted by Keith's mother. Soon after, she left that husband without a divorce, Mayes said, adding that the soldier has continued to work to get military officials to annul his marriage to Keith.
Just months later, in January 2007, Keith allegedly married a fourth military man, this time someone met at Fort Riley, Kan. In that case, the Army soldier found out that Keith was still legally married to the third husband from Fort Knox and the Army annulled the marriage, Mayes said.
After that, Keith met her most recent husband, a Marine Corps staff sergeant stationed at Cherry Point, N.C. After talking online, they met and subsequently married in a civil ceremony Christmas Eve in Walton County, Ga.
While Shauna had never actually enlisted in the military, she had obtained a military issued card which allowed her to go on and off bases without any suspicion. Shauna faces possibly more fraud charges.
There was never any love, and never any caring. The marriages were a sham, and her husbands were the victims of a sexual predator and exploiter.
Dr. Bob Shoop, the specialist in teacher/student sex abuse, calls it intimate sexual exploitation.
(Shoop, 2004, Sexual Exploitation In Schools, page 3)
The modus operandi of the intimate exploiter involves leading the youngster to believe the educator has a genuine desire for a mutually committed intimate relationship. The immature youngster is often mesmerized by the belief that a charming, smart sophisticated, attractive adult is interested in him or her.
Regardless of the sincerity of the adult’s motivation, the intent is irrelevant; the impact of the behavior is exploitative.
The same processes can be defined for sexually exploitive relationships between adults outside an education or other fiduciary setting. It is my view that most bigamous, abusive, and otherwise dysfunctional adult relationships have this type of exploitation.
All of Shauna’s victims believed that they were into an mutually committed intimate relationship, otherwise, they would not have married her. While the military men which Shauna exploited were not kids, and were not students, they believed that a young attractive woman were into them for their military service and their high moral vaules and sense of duty. Indeed, the sense of duty led one victim to take full care of his child after Shauna abandoned the child. yet the same exploitation inherent in teacher/student sex occurred.
Factors include
1) Hormones – the sex drive of a male under 40 is not that much weaker than that of a teenager.
2) The desire to settle down and have kids, which she exploited for her own purposes.
3) Power imbalances between the exploiter and the victims, where there is no formal power difference, but the foreknowledge that she would cut and run acts as a power difference.
There are a lot a comments about this case. Some comments are from parents of grown sons who are trying to deal with other exploiters, some blame both the (alleged) victims and Shauna's mom, and others shed more light on the situation.
Statement from Shauna's family:
Our family has been deeply saddened by the developments in the life of our daughter, Shauna Keith. Shauna has long suffered from Munchausen (facticious) syndrome, but only within the past few years did we become aware of this little-known disorder.
Unfortunately, she would not respond to our requests to receive medical and psychiatric help. We have been working with the police and child protection services in several states for the past five years sharing with them what little information we received on Shauna’s whereabouts. We are relieved that Shauna is now incarcerated in hopes she can make retribution for her mistakes and eventually receive the help she so desperately needs.
Our greatest hope is that no one else, especially husbands and children, will be harmed or heartbroken by her actions. We hope the families who have been hurt can find it in their hearts to forgive her. We ask the news media to please respect our privacy at this time as we search for ways to best help those affected by this ordeal.
Shauna’s mother, Cindy Gibson, who lives in Gresham, OR, told Good Morning America that she was expecting this.
"This is somewhat of a shock, but I've been expecting this. For the last five or six years, I've gotten random calls from men saying, 'I think I am married to your daughter.’”
Gibson told "GMA" her daughter suffers from Munchausen syndrome, a disorder where a person tells fictitious stories about their health or background in order to gain sympathy and attention. "People with factitious disorders act this way because of an inner need to be seen as ill or injured , " the Cleveland Clinic says about the condition on its Web site.
"If the world she's living in doesn't fit her needs, she creates another reality," said Gibson.
Authorities count at least five marriages starting in 1999 to men stationed at bases from San Diego to North Carolina. Some of those marriages ended legally, but in others, she just left. Keith, who is currently pregnant, has three children, two of whom Gibson legally adopted.
Georgia authorities say that Keith's reality has included leaving her military husbands financially and emotionally devastated and abandoning at least three children to be raised without their mother. Walton County Sheriff's Office Detective Jim Mayes counts seven names, five different Social Security numbers and three dates of birth used by Keith since 1999At least three times, Mayes said, Keith has been married to two men at the same time.
Mayes began investigating Keith in early January, shortly after she was married to a staff sergeant Marine at a Christmas Eve ceremony in Georgia. After a doctored license and other evidence of identity theft was discovered, suspicious family members called police.
On Jan. 4, a warrant was issued for Keith’s arrest — her birth name is Shauna Marie McDonald. The next day, Keith was picked up in Beaufort County, S.C., just miles from the Parris Island Marine Corps base. She was staying with another Marine when authorities found her.
Shauna was returned to Walton County January 11th. She currently faces bigamy and fraud charges, and is being held without bond because she is considered a flight risk.
During Mayes' investigation, which included interviews with Keith and conversations with Gibson, Mayes says a timeline emerged showing at least five marriages that began in 1999 when Keith married a Navy sailor based in San Diego. Keith gave birth to her first child during that marriage, which ended in divorce. A California court, Mayes said, gave full custody of the child to the father. Keith then reportedly married a member of the Air Force stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. She became pregnant during that marriage and the child was ultimately adopted by Gibson, Mayes said. That marriage was legally dissolved after Keith left the man.
In August 2006, Keith married again, this time to a soldier stationed at Fort Knox, Ky. Sometime around that date, Mayes said, she gave birth to a third child, whose father remains unclear. That child was also adopted by Keith's mother. Soon after, she left that husband without a divorce, Mayes said, adding that the soldier has continued to work to get military officials to annul his marriage to Keith.
Just months later, in January 2007, Keith allegedly married a fourth military man, this time someone met at Fort Riley, Kan. In that case, the Army soldier found out that Keith was still legally married to the third husband from Fort Knox and the Army annulled the marriage, Mayes said.
After that, Keith met her most recent husband, a Marine Corps staff sergeant stationed at Cherry Point, N.C. After talking online, they met and subsequently married in a civil ceremony Christmas Eve in Walton County, Ga.
While Shauna had never actually enlisted in the military, she had obtained a military issued card which allowed her to go on and off bases without any suspicion. Shauna faces possibly more fraud charges.
There was never any love, and never any caring. The marriages were a sham, and her husbands were the victims of a sexual predator and exploiter.
Dr. Bob Shoop, the specialist in teacher/student sex abuse, calls it intimate sexual exploitation.
(Shoop, 2004, Sexual Exploitation In Schools, page 3)
The modus operandi of the intimate exploiter involves leading the youngster to believe the educator has a genuine desire for a mutually committed intimate relationship. The immature youngster is often mesmerized by the belief that a charming, smart sophisticated, attractive adult is interested in him or her.
Regardless of the sincerity of the adult’s motivation, the intent is irrelevant; the impact of the behavior is exploitative.
The same processes can be defined for sexually exploitive relationships between adults outside an education or other fiduciary setting. It is my view that most bigamous, abusive, and otherwise dysfunctional adult relationships have this type of exploitation.
All of Shauna’s victims believed that they were into an mutually committed intimate relationship, otherwise, they would not have married her. While the military men which Shauna exploited were not kids, and were not students, they believed that a young attractive woman were into them for their military service and their high moral vaules and sense of duty. Indeed, the sense of duty led one victim to take full care of his child after Shauna abandoned the child. yet the same exploitation inherent in teacher/student sex occurred.
Factors include
1) Hormones – the sex drive of a male under 40 is not that much weaker than that of a teenager.
2) The desire to settle down and have kids, which she exploited for her own purposes.
3) Power imbalances between the exploiter and the victims, where there is no formal power difference, but the foreknowledge that she would cut and run acts as a power difference.
There are a lot a comments about this case. Some comments are from parents of grown sons who are trying to deal with other exploiters, some blame both the (alleged) victims and Shauna's mom, and others shed more light on the situation.
Statement from Shauna's family:
Our family has been deeply saddened by the developments in the life of our daughter, Shauna Keith. Shauna has long suffered from Munchausen (facticious) syndrome, but only within the past few years did we become aware of this little-known disorder.
Unfortunately, she would not respond to our requests to receive medical and psychiatric help. We have been working with the police and child protection services in several states for the past five years sharing with them what little information we received on Shauna’s whereabouts. We are relieved that Shauna is now incarcerated in hopes she can make retribution for her mistakes and eventually receive the help she so desperately needs.
Our greatest hope is that no one else, especially husbands and children, will be harmed or heartbroken by her actions. We hope the families who have been hurt can find it in their hearts to forgive her. We ask the news media to please respect our privacy at this time as we search for ways to best help those affected by this ordeal.
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