Milwaukee teen gets 40 years prison, 20 years extended supervision for choking "girlfriend" to death

After the 18 year old killer asked for the maximum sentence in a Milwaukee courtroom yesterday, the judge gave it to him. His victim's still mourning mother "received her [50th] birthday wish" when he was sentenced to 4 decades in prison by Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffery Conen.

The events which led up to that courtroom scene started last year - July 19th to be exact. Eric Tavulares, now 19, choked (manually strangled) Lauren Aljubouri to death in their East Side of Milwaukee near UWM apartment after watching "Natural Born Killers." It was Tavulares' favorite movie, about a couple who went from childhoods of hurt to lovers and serial killers.


"I need to be punished. I believe this is best for me . . . I recommend the maximum sentence."

When he was 5, his father suffered a debilitating gunshot wound to the head during a failed suicide attempt. At 12, Tavulares began seeing a psychologist, Jeff Hollowell, who testified that his patient was depressed, angry and agitated - but also intelligent and artistic.

Tavulares' mental health problems were exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse.
Lauren was the bright light in Tavulares' life. They met in third grade. In the fifth he told a friend he liked her. They went to a dance in the seventh grade. In high school they began dating for real but broke up, only to rekindle their romance after she finished high school in January 2008.

While Lauren excelled, Tavulares dropped out of school, did drugs and drank frequently.
She helped him get his high school diploma and encouraged him to enroll in a Milwaukee Area Technical College program for prospective firefighters. They got an apartment on N. Frederick Ave., not far from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

According to Lauren's mother Debbie, who still talks to and goes to sleep with a picture of her daughter, she planned to study graphic design at UWM. The victim's father Faiek said that his daughter tried to call her killer 36 times, reaching him only twice. When the father asked his daughter about her "boyfriend," "tears filled her eyes and she said nothing."

"I am very angry that her life was cut short, her dreams were cut short," he said. "I am angry at the way she died, that I was not there to help her."

"I have a hard time believing that the defendant woke up in the middle of the night and had some demon inside him that made him choke the life out of Lauren Aljubouri,"but that if it happened as the perpetrator said, it would make him even more dangerous.

Tavares pled guilty to 2nd degree reckless homicide in November, and never gave a motive for the killing. Judge Conen said the sentencing was the most difficult decision he's had to make in the dozen years he's been on the bench, but the brutality of the killing, and the perpetrator's desire for the maximum sentenced tipped the scales.
"I can't help but be afraid of what will happen if he is released sometime in the near future."

British extreme porn law goes into effect

Officers will not actively target members of the public to track down those who own violent pornography banned under a new law, police chiefs admitted yesterday.

The law, which comes into effect today, was passed in response to a three-year campaign by the mother of the teacher Jane Longhurst, who was murdered by a man obsessed with hardcore internet pornography.

Its aim, according to the government, is to protect the public from exposure to material which "should have no place in our society", and to tackle demand for such images in order to hit supply. On the internet these come almost exclusively from websites hosted abroad, over which Britain has no jurisdiction.

A Home Office-commissioned review of research into the effects of exposure to extreme pornographic material in 2007 found a correlation between the viewing of violent sexual images and pro-rape attitudes among the men surveyed.

But yesterday the justice ministry said it expected to see a only small number of prosecutions a year under the new law, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and makes it illegal to own pornographic material that depicts necrophilia, bestiality or violence that looks life-threatening or is likely to result in serious injury to the breasts, genitals or anus.

Responsibility for implementing the ban will lie with individual police forces, which will receive no extra funding and will not be expected to devote resources to speculative hunts for people viewing extreme pornography.

The policy is in contrast with the investigation of the use of child pornography. At the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in London, officers monitor file-sharing websites to try to work out who is accessing illegal material.

A statement from the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "The police will not be actively targeting members of the public but will be conducting investigations into the unlawful possession of this material where found."

The justice ministry expects to see about 30 prosecutions a year. It estimates that 10 offenders will be jailed, for an average of six months. Women's organisations expressed concern that officers would not search for users of the material unless prompted by specific suspicions or other investigations.
Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society, said: "It would make a nonsense of the legislation if there wasn't proactive policing around it."

Sandrine Leveque, of Object, which campaigns against the objectification of women, said: "Many women's organisations see this material as a factor in violence against women. For a law to have any effect there needs to be the feeling that you might be caught breaking it, and if that's not there it does undermine it."

Liz Longhurst believes her daughter Jane might not have been murdered by Graham Coutts had he not had access to extreme pornographic sites. He had been viewing images depicting strangulation and faked murder and rape before he killed the 31-year-old in 2003.

Longhurst, 77, said she had expected that the implementation of the law would lack teeth and resources, but hoped it would eventually lead to tougher policing of violent pornography.
"I think it will have a slight effect, but if it doesn't have a lot of effect it will concentrate the minds of people and possibly they will tighten the law," she said."

Quadra faces life without a realistic parole chance in rape, kidnapping case

(Original Post 4-16-08)

Aristotle Quadra, a Santa Rosa, CA man, faced a preliminary hearing in Sonoma County Superior Court on charges he kidnapped, then raped a 29 year old woman in from of her 20 month old son. Quadra faces 9 counts from the attack, including rape and kidnapping. He allagadly used handcuffs to bind his victim, then asked her if she would cheat on her boyfriend before raping her. After the rape, he then stabbed her.

Inside the vehicle Quadra paused for about 30 seconds, then said "F--- it" before stabbing the victim, according to testimony at the hearing.

The woman and her son went to the nearby Park View Garden Apartments after Quadra fled on foot, according to Santa Rosa police.

Officer Travis Menke testified he found the woman lying on the ground 2 feet inside the apartment building's entrance. Her clothing was disheveled, her pants' zipper was down and her shirt was open, Menke testified.

The handcuffs, modified with a long chain, were still on one of her wrists, he said. Sanders presented DNA evidence, and Officer Jonathan Wolf testified that a chain with a broken metal link found in Quadra's Mayette Avenue residence matched the chain on the handcuffs.

Quadra, 30, stabbed himself in the stomach with a spear in the kitchen of his home when police served a search warrant two days after the Feb. 7 kidnapping and rape. A witness reported seeing Quadra in the Safeway parking lot on Yulupa Avenue, and the victim was able to provide enough description for police to develop a composite sketch of the suspect.

Deputy Public Defender Barry Collins contested the attempted murder charge against Quadra, but Judge Kenneth Gnoss held Quadra to answer to all felony counts that also include rape, kidnapping, kidnapping to commit rape or robbery, assault, false imprisonment, child cruelty, robbery and threatening a crime.

Quadra's next hearing will be April 25.

(Update 11-23-08) Quadra was found guilty as charged Thursday, November 20 for the attack on the then 29 year old victim. There was no doubt about the rape and kidnapping, but Quadra and his attorney wanted to show that the attack was not premeditated, a finding which would justify the attempted murder charge and an automatic life sentence for it (rape carries life with parole in California), and sentencing enhancements which would make Quadra's life sentences life without any realistic chance of parole.

Another juror said the group talked at length about the meaning of premeditation.
Before reaching a verdict, the jury requested to hear the victim’s testimony again. One juror said she couldn’t digest the information the first time because it was so compelling.
“It was so riveting we couldn’t take out eyes off her,” the juror said. “It’s why we needed to hear it again.”

Sentencing will be set for January 21. Quadra faces life without parole for at least 90 years.

The jury approved all but one sentence enhancement. It said the woman’s injuries in the rape did not rise to the level of great bodily injury, which could have added several years to any sentence.

(Update 1-24-09) The rapist was sentenced to 59 years to life Wednesday the 21st after hearing testimony from the rape victim's parents (the toddler's grandparents).

Wife rape apologist condemmed by Australian PM

KEVIN Rudd has demanded a Melbourne Islamic cleric apologise for reportedly telling male followers they can force their wives to have sex, and hit them if they're disobedient.

The Prime Minister said Samir Abu Hamza's comments had no place in modern Australia.

During a 2003 lecture also posted on the internet last year, Mr Hamza told followers that under Islamic law, men could demand sex from their wives, the Herald Sun reported. Despite Australian laws requiring consent, it was impossible for a man to rape his wife even if she refused to have sex, he said. He also reportedly said that Islamic law allowed men to hit their wives as a last resort, but were not allowed to leave them bruised or bloodied.

Mr Rudd said Mr Hamza should apologise.

“Under no circumstances is sexual violence permissible or acceptable in Australia - under no circumstances,” he told reporters in Hobart. “Under no circumstances are other forms of violence, physical violence, acceptable towards women in Australia nor are they acceptable in my view to mainstream Muslim teachings.

“Australia will not tolerate these sort of remarks. They don't belong in modern Australia, and he should stand up, repudiate them and apologise.”

In the lecture, titled The Keys to a Successful Marriage, Mr Hamza mocks Australia's sexual assault laws that require consent for sex between a man and his wife. “Amazing, how can a man rape his wife?” he asks. Mr Hamza, a cleric in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg, told the Herald Sun a man could hit his wife on the hand or leg, but not on the head.

"British Fritzl" sentenced to 14 years for rape of daughters

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent Last Updated: 6:34PM GMT 20 Jan 2009

The 72-year-old abused three daughters between 1976 and 1993 and began raping his eldest child when she was 12.

Now 42, she had a baby girl by her father when she was 17 and gave birth to a son six years later. She said yesterday that she hoped he would die in jail. He also raped a younger daughter from the age of eight and continued to abuse her until she was 16.

He was convicted last month of repeatedly raping two daughters and using lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a third.

His eldest daughter, who now lives in Aberdeenshire, went to the police after telling her teenage son the truth about his father during an argument. She said she had been too afraid to speak out beforehand because her father had threatened to shoot her. He raped her once every week or two.

Outside the High Court in Kilmarnock on Tuesday she said she was delighted with the sentence.
She added: "He has ruined my life and that of so many others and I will never be able to forgive him. It is one less paedophile on the streets and one more step on getting my life back together."
She thanked the jury and the judge for the conviction and the sentence.

The woman added: "I am disappointed he did not show any regret or remorse for his actions and did not acknowledge what he has done to me and my family. I hope he rots in jail."

Lady Clark of Calton told the elderly paedophile, who cannot be named in order to protect his victims, that he was guilty of "terrible" offences and criticised his reluctance to admit the impact he had on his daughters' lives.

She said: "You have been found guilty of very serious criminal charges against your daughters. The charges are terrible in their terms.

"You were in a position of trust and your daughters have suffered terribly over the years."
She sentenced him to 14 years in prison on each of the four rape charges and one year in custody for a charge of lewd and libidinous behaviour. The offences took place in Dundee and Fife.

His eldest daughter said he raped her for the first time when her mother was taken to hospital.
She said the attack happened in the early hours of the morning, and was repeated later that morning after her siblings had gone to school.

She added: "Two months later he took me shooting. He had a shotgun and he put me on to the ground and he told me that if I told my mum he would shoot me and say it was an accident."
She assumed until the recent court case, when DNA tests were carried out, that the father of her daughter was her boyfriend at the time. But the tests confirmed that her father was also the father of her first child.

When she gave birth to a son at 23 she knew that it was her father's child because she was not in a relationship.

She told BBC Scotland: "He said to me that if I let anybody know, my daughter would be taken from me, my son would be taken from me as well. "Also my brother and my sisters would be taken from the family because they would go to jail and the family would be broken up and I would get the blame of breaking up a family."

She added that her mother "should have come and spoken to us when he was found guilty.
"I was hoping for her to come over and say to me and my sisters 'I am so sorry this has happened' and maybe just have put an arm around us and given us a cuddle, but no.
"She never did that. She was just interested in him. She stands by him to this day."

She went to the police for the first time two years ago.

Korean courts recognize marital rape is a crime

A husband or a wife can no longer go unpunished for coercing his or her spouse into sexual relations. In fact, Korean society has so far tolerated forced sex in married life. But a local court made a landmark ruling Friday, recognizing marital rape as a crime for the first time here. The ruling is unquestionably designed to better protect spousal right to have sex or not.

The Busan District Court convicted a 42-year-old man of raping his 25-year-old Filipino wife, sentencing him to a suspended 30-month prison term. The husband, identified as Lee, said he will appeal to a higher court, claiming that his wife had tenaciously refused to have sex with him. It remains to be seen whether his appeal will be accepted or not.

In 1970, The Supreme Court overruled a guilty verdict in a similar rape case.The ruling on spousal rape also draws special attention from foreign wives mostly from China and Southeast Asian countries, many of whom have to endure domestic violence and other rights abuses from their husbands. The decision reflects this dire situation and growing calls for the better protection of rights of foreign spouses at multicultural households. It seems that the court has also given much consideration to the changing times in this globalized society.

In many Western countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany and France, marital rape constitutes a crime. The United Nations said in 2006 that marital rape is a prosecutable offense in over 104 countries. But the ruling is expected to touch off a heated debate as Korean society is still divided over this issue. Thus, it is necessary for the nation to build a consensus on spousal rape.The focal point is a right to sexual self-determination.

The court decision indicated that this right should be respected among married couples so that a husband or a wife can have sex with his or her spouse at his or her own will. In other words, married couples cannot coerce their partners into sexual intercourse against their will.

We have to bear in mind the district court's position that marital rape is against a constitutional right to lead decent life and pursue happiness as it damages a spouse's personality and human dignity. In this regard, we hope that the decision will put an end to spousal sexual violence and bring a significant change to the male-dominant patriarchal family system. We also expect that the court action will serve as an opportunity to better protect human rights of foreign wives who have come here to realize their Korean dream.

3.4 million stalking victims over course of year - new survey

NEW YORK (AP) — By the tens of thousands, victims of stalking lose their jobs, flee their homes and fear for their safety, according to a new federal survey providing the most comprehensive data ever on a crime affecting an estimated 3.4 million Americans a year.

About 11 percent of the victims said they had been stalked for five or more years, and one in seven said the stalking compelled them to move out of their home, according to the report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. It covered a 12-month period in 2005-06.

The study was described as a groundbreaking effort to analyze the scope and varying forms of stalking, which had not been featured in previous versions of the National Crime Victimization Survey.

The number of victims was up sharply from a more limited 1995-96 study commissioned by the Justice Department that estimated 1.4 million Americans a year were targeted by stalkers. Both surveys concluded that women more than twice as likely to be victimized as men.

In the span between the two surveys, e-mail and text-messaging emerged as common tactics for stalkers."The prevalence of these electronic devices gives stalker another tool in his tool kit, makes it easier to stalk and increases victims' fear," said Cindy Dyer, director of the federal Office on Violence Against Women. "It doesn't increase the number of stalking offenders, but it sure makes their job easier."

The Bureau of Justice Statistics defined stalking as a course of conduct, directed at a specific person on at least two separate occasions, that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The most commonly reported types of stalking were unwanted phone calls (66 percent), unsolicited letters or e-mail (31 percent), or having rumors spread about the victim (36 percent).

More than one-third of the victims reported being followed or spied upon; some said they were tracked by electronic monitoring, listening devices or video cameras. About 21 percent said they had been attacked by their stalker — with the forms of assault ranging from a slap to rape.Nearly 75 percent of victims knew their stalker in some capacity — most commonly a former spouse or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, sometimes a relative or co-worker.

"The public tends to perceive of stalking as something that happens to celebrities who have a stranger follow them around," said report co-author Katrina Baum. "This study tells us that stalking is not a stranger phenomenon."

People who were divorced or separated were more vulnerable to stalking than other marital categories, and those aged 18-24 were more likely to be stalked than older people.Victims reported suffering a range of emotions because of the stalking. Their most common fears included not knowing what would happen next (46 percent) and fearing the stalking would continue indefinitely (29 percent). Nine percent of the victims said their worst fear was death.

According to the report, about 130,000 victims said they had been fired or asked to leave their job because of problems arising from the stalking. About one in eight of all employed victims lost time from work, either for fear for their safety or to pursue activities such as seeking a restraining order or testifying in court.

Mary Lou Leary, a former federal prosecutor who is executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, remarked on the persistence of some of the stalking behavior depicted in the report.

"When you consider the impact that stalking has on a victim's life, five weeks is forever — five years is incredible," she said. "They often have to give up their current life, leave their jobs, their homes, establish a whole new identity."Leary credited law enforcement authorities with taking stalking seriously, but she said more needs to be done to strengthen anti-stalking laws and expand the resources to combat it.

One step recommended by Dyer was a modification of state laws so stalking victims could more easily obtain protective orders against their stalkers.The federal government and all 50 states have enacted laws making stalking a crime, but the laws and definitions of stalking vary widely.

The survey's authors tracked a range of stalking behaviors, including waiting for the victim at a certain location, sending unwanted messages or leaving an unwanted present.

"While individually these acts may not be criminal, collectively and repetitively these behaviors may cause a victim to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a family member," the report said.About 40 percent of the victims reported the stalking to the police, and about one-fifth filed charges.

Missouri governor grants clemency to women who killed abusive family members

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) Gov. Matt Blunt has commuted the prison sentences of two women who killed the men who had abused them.

"After an exhaustive review of the facts in both cases, I am commuting the sentences of Stacey Lannert and Charity Carey, who suffered extensive abuse before they took action against the men who raped them and subjected them to other horrible physical and emotional abuse," Blunt said in a statement.

Lannert has been in custody for 18 years after killing her father in 1990 when she was 18. Blunt says Lannert was sexually abused by her father for about nine years, from the time she was 8 until his death.

While the abuse issue was raised during her trial, the jury was told not to consider that as a mitigating factor. She was convicted of first-degree murder and armed criminal action and sentenced to life without parole.

Four jurors signed affidavits saying they thought the sentence was too harsh, and Lt. Tom Schulte, the first officer to question Lannert after the slaying, told the governor's office that he strongly supported the commutation.

"The night this happened, she was 18, alone, and I told her I'd be three for her," Schulte said. "It is 18 years later and I'm still there for her."

The commutation reduces her sentence to 20 years, making her eligible for immediate conditional release. Blunt says he supports that release being granted.

Lannert initially was offered a 15-year sentence as part of a plea bargain, but she refused to sign it because she would have had to say that she killed her dad for his money.

Her case was brought to the attention of former Gov. Bob Holden at the end of his tenure in 2005 when people carried posters and pictures at the Capitol asking him to show her mercy, but Holden took no action.

Carey was convicted of second-degree murder for killing her husband in 2000 when she was 27 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Blunt said Carey and her son suffered extreme emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her husband. Michael Carey began physically abusing her about six months into their marriage, Blunt said, and it got worse over the next three years when he began raping her and threatening to kill her and her son.

Another former wife of Michael Carey gave a deposition stating that the man had abused her and had been convicted of raping her 13-year-old daughter, but had only served 90 days in jail for that.

The woman said in her testimony that she would have liked to have killed him herself.
Charity Carey reported on Oct. 24, 200, that she found her husband's body in their mobile home after she returned from work. Her husband was shot in the head and chest, and his body was found next to him.

She later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The commutation reduces Charity Carey's sentence to 10 years, which will allow her to be eligible for parole later this year after she has served 85 percent of the sentence.

"I was overcome with joy at the news that Gov. Blunt has commuted Charity's sentence," said Brendan Roedigre, managing attorney of the Civil Justice Clinic at Washington University School of Law.

"The faculty and especially the students at Washington University Law School's Civil Justice Clinic have worked for years to document the severity of violence perpetrated against Charity and the excessiveness of her sentence."

All suspects in hate crime beating of lesbian arrested

All 4 suspects in the beating and gang rape of a 28 year old out lesbian have been caught by Richmond, CA police.

Three suspects were taken into custody on Wednesday, and the fourth suspect, 21-year-old Josue Gonzalez, known by the nickname "Pato," turned himself in Thursday after authorities issued a $1 million arrest warrant, describing him as armed and dangerous, police said. Gonzalez walked into the Richmond police headquarters with his mother, stepfather and girlfriend just 10 minutes after police finished a midday news conference about their pursuit of Gonzalez, authorities said.

Apparently, the widespread publicity about the case was a factor in Gonzalez's surrender. The family "saw all the coverage on the news and got so many calls from the family, they came down to the station," said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

Gonzalez, who immediately told police he wanted a lawyer, was being held on a $1 million arrest warrant on suspicion of his involvement in the alleged rape and kidnapping.

On Wednesday, Richmond police arrested a 15-year-old boy and 31-year-old Humberto Hernandez Salvador at their Richmond homes. The 15-year-old was booked on suspicion of felony counts of sexual assault, kidnapping and robbery, Gagan said.

Salvador, who authorities described as the ringleader in the incident, was arrested on suspicion of felony kidnapping to commit a sex crime, carjacking, rape, gang rape, as well as on suspicion of violating probation and committing felonies while on probation.

Husband attempts to murder wife - sentenced to 40 years

(Original Post 3-8-08)
A Ft. Wayne, IN man was arrested Thursday after admitting beating, kicking and burning his wife with cigarettes, leaving her comatose and in critical condition.

Jeffry Reichert, 51, of the 300 block of West DeWald Street, was booked into the Allen County Lockup on preliminary charges of aggravated battery, domestic battery and neglect of a dependent. He was being held in lieu of $20,750 bail.

According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called to Parkview Hospital on March 1 after Reichert’s wife, Barbara was brought to the hospital in a comatose state.

Hospital staff told police that she was suffering from bruises, bleeding and sores in various stages of healing, court documents said.

Police said Barbara Reichert remained unresponsive and on a ventilator in critical condition Thursday when officers interviewed her husband.

During an interview with officers, Reichert allegedly admitted to having battered his wife between Feb. 24 and March 1.

He did, according to police by slamming her head into the ground from 2 feet up, kicking her about 30 times, and not refilling medications she was taking. He also did not seek medical attention.

(Update 7-25-08) Last Friday, July 18, Reichert was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated battery and neglect of a dependant in the near fatal beating of Barbara Reichert, who is living in a nursing home as the result of her husband's injuries. A misdemeanor charge of domestic battery and a habitual offender (Reichert was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior with a child in California) was dropped when Richard Reichart pleaded guilty last June 19. However Judge Fran Gill, who presided over the case, said that she has seen her share of misery, including the case of Michelle VanMeter, sentenced to 30 years for molesting three teens, and that the beating ranks among the worst.

“I’ve seen my share of misery, … the destruction that occurs when people harm each other,” she told Reichert. “You tortured your wife. … Not one square inch of your wife’s body is not covered with bruises, deep bruises, cuts, abrasions. … It’s astonishing she’s still alive.”

When Reichert said that he was sorry for what happened and that he cried himself to sleep, Judge Gull said that "Candidly, Mr. Reichert, I’m not sure you’re sorry for what you did but are sorry you got caught."

But the nature of Reichert’s crimes and his criminal history provided enough aggravating circumstances, with Gull sentencing him to 20 years on each count and ordering the sentences to be served one after another. She also ordered him to pay $14,125 in restitution.

“The impact of your conduct far exceeds that which is associated with your crimes,” Gull told Reichert.

Reichert, a convicted sex offender, and his wife moved from California to live with Wendy Nattinger, also a convicted sex offender, and her girlfriend – a pair the Reicherts met in an online canasta league.

Nattinger, 38, is also charged with the abuse of Barbara Reichert. She is set to stand trial on charges of aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent this year. The other woman has not been charged and declined to comment after the hearing on what went on inside her home.

The motive - according to Deputy Prosecutor Michael McAlexander - failing to clean their room or the cat litter box. It didn't hurt that Barbara's father left her an inheritance and that she was collecting social security. According to the victim's family, she is breathing through a tracheotomy and it is unknown if she will recover.

(Update 1-2-09) Nattinger was sentenced to 15 years in prison and $19,465 in restitution on December 22, 2008 for the beating and near-killing of Barbara. Judge Fran Gull stated that "the fact that (Reichert) is alive is astonishing...Not one square inch of that woman’s body is not battered, bruised. You say you have a problem with anger. That’s a tremendous understatement.”

Nattinger apologized, stating that “If I could apologize to the family, I would. If I could take it all back, I would."

Judge Gull stated that the state's argument that the nature of the crime itself should count against Nattinger for sentencing was valid, ordering her to serve the battery sentence after two child molestation convictions.

Neenah, WI therapist pleads guilty to sexual exploitation

Winnebago County Circuit Judge Barbara Key accepted 62 year old Charles Morgan's plea to 2 counts of sexual exploitation by a therapist in exchange for dismissal of two 3rd degree charges. Formal sentencing will be on February 27, where Assistant Dist. Atty. Scott Ceman will be arguing for prison time. Sexual exploitation by a therapist carries 12 1/2 years and a $25,000 fine per count. Morgan worked for Affinity Behavioral Health in Oshkosh.

According to the criminal complaint, Morgan sexually assaulted a 27-year-old woman, whom he had been treating for bipolar disorder for two years. The woman told Morgan she wanted a different psychiatrist after he kissed her on two occasions while receiving hospital treatment.

Morgan kissed the woman on June 19 while she was receiving electronic convulsive therapy as in-patient treatment at Mercy Medical Center. He kissed her again on June 20.

When the woman told Morgan she wanted to see a different psychiatrist on June 21, Morgan arranged to meet her at his office on Ninth Avenue in Oshkosh. When the two met, Morgan began kissing the woman and having inappropriate sexual contact with her.

Affinity suspended Morgan from his position in June, and his license was to practice medicine was suspended in August, pending the outcome of this case. Since Morgan's guilt, here's hoping that Morgan's license will be permanently revoked.

Menominee Falls, WI therapist charged with sex assault

A Wisconsin therapist was charged on Monday with 6 counts of sexual exploitation by a therapist and other sex charged stemming from involvement with two clients - a 29 year old man, previously abused as a child, and a 39 year old woman. The Sheboygan County Circuit Court will hear the charges against the therapist. Judge James Bolgert will preside over a January 5 court apperance.

John R. Monacelli, 45, lived in Menominee Falls, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, but worked at Genesis Behavioral Services, in Sheboygan, 60 miles north of Milwaukee.

The 29-year-old man was assigned to have individual counseling sessions at Genesis with Monacelli about Oct. 10, 2007. About Oct. 16, toward the end of a session, Monacelli exposed himself to the man and told him to have oral sex with him, and after the sex act, told the man not to tell anyone else. Monacelli repeated the sex acts during counseling sessions on two other occasions later in October, including one time when the oral sex act was interrupted by a knock on the door by another Genesis employee.

The 39-year-old woman was assigned to have group sessions at Genesis in September 2007 and began individual sessions with Monacelli about Oct. 1.

During a session about a week later, the woman told the investigator that Monacelli approached her, kissed her on the lips and fondled her breasts over her clothing. The next day, she was in Monacelli's office and he exposed himself to her and asked her to perform oral sex on him. That session was interrupted by a knock on the door by another counselor.

In mid-October, the woman said she and Monacelli had sexual intercourse during a session. A few days after that, Monacelli offered to drive her to an appointment in Washington County, and before returning to Sheboygan, he took her to two stores to buy her clothes and cigarettes, but told her to keep the purchases secret. While driving back to Sheboygan, he had her perform another sex act on him.

If convicted on each count, Monacelli faces 45 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. People charged with sexual exploitation of a therapist in Wisconsin face 12 1/2 years in prison and a $25,000 fine per count.