Teacher gets 60 days jail, lifetime SO registration for banging 18 year old student

A former high school French teacher and bowling coach was sentenced to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, and lifetime sex offender registration for having sexual encounters with an 18 year old student on Monday, May 16, 2011.  
 

44 year old Cheryl Clark’s sentencing was the culmination of a guilty plea entered Monday, April 11, 2011 in a Bellefontaine, OH courtroom. The guilty plea was for a single count of sexual battery. The presiding judge over was Logan County Common Pleas Judge Mark S. O'Connor. Clark, of Huntsville, OH, was a teacher for 15 years at Indian Lake High School before she was charged with sex with an 18 year old student.

Clark and the teenager had sex in her home at least twice, the first time on Feb.10 [2011], 16 days after the student turned 18, [Logan County Assistant Prosecutor Eric]Stewart said. Still, under Ohio law, it is a felony because Clark held a position of trust.

The boy’s mother became suspicious after she saw Clarke with her son at a school event. She went to local authorities,  and the Washington Township Police Department went to Clarke’s home and found evidence, including text messages.

Clark told probation officers who were conducting a pre-sentence investigation that she thought the relationship was permissible because the student had turned 18, Stewart said. O'Connor could have sentenced Clark to as long as five years in prison, and the prosecutor wanted prison time.

Besides the jail sentence, lifetime registration, and the $500 fine, Clark's teaching certificate was permanently revoked. She must also undergo counseling and have no contact with her victim.

27 to life for rape of coed by fellow college student

Former Cuesta College student David Andrew Shenosky was sentenced to 27 to life on Friday, April 22, 2011 for the rape and kidnapping of a fellow student on March 27, 2010. The 23 year old plead no contest under San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge John Trice

After the incident, her eyes had broken blood vessels, consistent with the choking she described, and an examination found that she had been raped, police said. Police found a note on Shenosky’s computer expressing his regret for hurting her. The note said he loved her and wished the incident had never happened. According to the woman’s statements to police, Shenosky drove her home to San Luis Obispo after the rape and then she told her roommates, later describing the events to police.

Shenosky's sentence is as follows : 15 years to life on a single count of forcible rape, and 12 years for 2 counts of felony sexual penetration by a foreign object and a count of kidnapping, all to be served consecutively.

"Man" sentenced to 80 to life for murdering wife in front of 4 year old son

A 30 year old Omaha, NE "man" who beat, choked, and stabbed his wife to death in front of their 4 year old son was sentenced to 80 years to life by Douglas County District Judge J. Michael Coffey yesterday afternoon. Sonia Espinoza-Lucero, 34, was brutalkly murdered by her husband Johnny Rix, described as controlling and violent. Deputy Douglas County Attorney Kim Pankonin said that the murder scene was the worst she saw in 16 years as a prosecutor, but the DV leading up to it was all too typical. Rix plead no contect to murder and child endangerment.

A sweet woman, Sonia Espinoza-Lucero kept the couple's volatile relationship secret from her coworkers, friends, even family. She worked hard and raised the couple’s three sons — including 1-year-old twins, Pankonin said. And she dealt with the neverending specter of her husband’s temper.

Pankonin said Rix was "insanely jealous" and controlling. He drove his wife to work, constantly called to check on her and hounded her at home. It was the same behavior Rix was accused of in the late 1990s.

In that case, a Grand Island, NE woman's family helped their daughter escape the relationship while Rix was at work. "This was not unusual conduct for the defendant. And it resulted in the senseless loss of a mom, sister and friend. It was a gruesome, horrible death she did not deserve," Pankonin told the court.

The 4 year old witnessed the beating and murder, and was also traumatized because his father tried to jump of of a fast food restraraunt with him before police intervened.

"By the child’s interview he saw a good portion of it,” said Pankonin. “He was able to act it out to a therapist and act it out with a doll so he saw a good portion of it which is very, very sad.” 

He made a big mistake, he left three little kids without mom and dad and the big kid, he got too many problems, too many psychological problems ‘cause he saw everything and right now his behavior is not really good,” said Sonia's brother, Alex Espinoza.

The sentence breakdown is 60 to life for 1st degree murder, and 20 years, served consecutively to the 60 to life term, for use of a weapon during a felony. Rix must serve 40 years, or half the minimum term, before parole, something Pankonin believes Rix will never be granted.

Though Rix apologized for the pain he cause his wife's family, Judge Coffey said that "people have described her death as ‘horrific.’If you saw what has been done here, that might be mild. It was completely senseless. Extremely violent. I only hope the children can somehow put it aside."

Judging from the aftereffects on the now 6 year old boy, it looks like that will be a long way off.

The blind raping the blind - rape between two residents of complex catering to visually impaired - attacker sentenced to 20 years

(Original Post 6-8-08)
Hawley Ridge Apartments, 920 N. Hawley Rd in Milwaukee, was the scene of a rape May 31 when Matthew Lilek, 41, allegedly impersonated himself as a 75 year old woman's son so he could rape her. The woman, who is visually impaired, and Lilek both live at that same apartment building.

According to a complaint:
The woman told police she was waiting for a visit from her son when someone rang her doorbell. She admitted a man, claiming to be her son, into her apartment. The man told her he sounded different because he had a cold. He then assaulted her.

At one point, the woman said, the man carried her into her bathroom and dumped her into her bathtub. He started to pour water on her, then continued to attack her until her doorbell rang.

The woman described the man as weighing more than 200 lbs., with moles on his back and dry elbows, wearing a wristwatch on one wrist and a name tag on the other.

According to police, a videotape shows a resident of the apartment building, Matthew Lilek, entering the woman's apartment and then leaving it a short time later carrying a bra. The bra, the complaint says, was recovered from Lilek's apartment, along with a pair of women's underpants. Lilek told police he took the underpants from the apartment building's laundry room and wore them while he attacked the victim.

Lilek is charged with second-degree sexual assault; aggravated battery and burglary. He faces 58 1/2 years in prison if convicted of all charges and if given the maximum sentence.

(Update 4-13-10) Lilek plead no contest in January to second-degree sexual assault, use of force, and aggravated battery in exchange for prosecutors dismissing a felony burglary count. Yesterday, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet sentenced Lilek to 20 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision.

Judge Dallet said that despite developmental delays, Lilek chose a particulary vulnerable victim, posed as the victim's son, and inflicted serious injuries. Judge Dallet read previous uncharged incidents of inappropriate sexual contact into the record. "I'm not sure he can understand how wrong this is, so how will he not do it in the future?" she said.

The victim's son said she began suffering from Usher syndrome, a genetic disorder that leads to loss of hearing and sight. She had lived at Hawley Ridge a little more than five years at the time of the attack and enjoyed the independence it offered. Since the attack, she has moved to a group home, her son said, and does not like it. The woman attended the sentencing and was happy with the outcome, her son said.

He also said the family plans a civil suit against Hawley Ridge, noting that the management kept Lilek as a tenant despite earlier reports of inappropriate sexual contacts with residents. Lilek's mother was a major contributor to the Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired. She declined to comment after the hearing.

As for Lilek, his attorney said that his client was focused of returning to jail to listen to yesterday's Brewers game (which Milwaukee lost, 10 to 5). Lilek told Judge Dallet, "I want to go to jail, and that's exactly what I want to do. And I'm disavowing my entire family as well."

Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 30 years prison, lifetime parole for rape, beating of wife

A Cedar Rapids, IA man was sentenced Friday, February 5, to 30 years in prison and lifetime parole for the rape of his then-wife. Shawn Kruse, 32, pled no contest to second-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual abuse, assault while participating in a felony, going armed with intent and eluding charges for the attack last December. Kruse must serve 17 1/2 years on the abuse and kidnaping charges before being eligible for parole.

The assault began after Kruse grabbed and choked his now ex-wife, forcing her into their basement. According to the victim impact statement Kruse's ex-wife read, he then beat, gagged, raped, and then stomped on her pubic bone.

She said the only reason her torture that lasted for hours stopped is because he left the house to get a shotgun, so he could kill them both.

Before he left, he piled a sofa and an ottoman on top of her, so she couldn’t escaped. Once he left, she loosened the tape around her wrists and the belt around her legs and got out from under the furniture to get to her cell phone and call her mother. She first called 911 but she had the gag on her mouth and the dispatcher hung up on her because she couldn’t understand her.

In the meantime, Kruse came back to the house but when he saw police he turned around. Police later found him and he led them on a high speed chase on Highway 30 before crashing his car into a ditch. Kruse remains paralyzed from the waist down.

In Linn County District Court, he apologized to his family and friends, and his now ex-wife's family and friends. The victim still has nightmares and can't catch her breath due to the attack.

Groping police officer pleads no contest to sexual abuse of women

A former San Leandro police officer has plead no contest to two counts of false imprisonment - a felony and a misdemeanor count - for groping two women while on the job. Forty-five year old Greg Cannedy was sentenced to 6 months home detention and 18 months probation by Judge Kevin Murphy of Alameda County Superior Court.

The misdemeanor charge came in the case of Jennifer Acuna, who Cannady abused while she was in her kitchen back in September 2006. He leaned over her body, began to kiss her, then put his hand over her crotch. The felony charge came after Cannady repeatedly showed up at Starlah Burke's house between May and December 2005, asking for sex, culminating with the groping of Burke during a traffic stop. Acuna and Burke were awarded damages of over $90,000 by the city of San Leandro.

Cannedy's attorney Michael Rains said that he believed that the allegations against Burks had no merit.

Habitual criminal sentenced to at least 32 years for rape

A Greenville, NC man was sentenced to 32 to 39 years in prison Monday, November 16 for raping a 22 year old woman. James Lee Cotton, who turns 40 on November 22, was supposed to go to trial for the rape of the woman, but decided to enter an Alford (or no contest) plea. Superior Court Judge W. Russell Duke Jr. sentenced Cotton, and after he's released, he'll have to register as a sex offender.

Cotton was arrested in 2007 after DNA testing matched him to evidence collected in the 2002 rape. The woman, then 22, said she woke up to someone who put a pillow to her face, produced a knife and raped her, police reported. The suspect entered the residence through a partially opened window at the residence on East Fifth Street.

Cotton was in prison at the time of his arrest. N.C. Department of Correction records indicate Cotton had been convicted on multiple breaking and entering of vehicle charges and a habitual felon charge.

Cotton's plea spared him from a possible de facto life sentence for two counts of 1st degree rape, 1st degree sex offense, and a count of 1st degree burglary.

Disgraced Sacramento divorce lawyer gets 1 1/2 years for fondling clients

A former Sacramento divorce layer was sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison, 5 years probation, and lifetime sex offender registration yesterday for fondling his female clients under the guise of helping them medically. Gary Appelblatt, 57, plead no contest to four counts of sexual battery and a fifth count of improper touching in exchange for 9 other sexual battery counts being dropped and a maximum sentence of 18 months. Judge Gary E. Ransom sentenced the disgraced former lawyer in Sacramento Superior Court. Appelblatt tried to ask for a few days of free time to get his affairs in order, but Judge Ransom ordered him directly to prison.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives launched their investigation of Appelblatt in February 2008 when a woman told them he made her take off her tank top and then reached into her pants during a divorce consultation. Appelblatt, she said, had a pharmacy degree on his office wall. She said he checked her breathing with a stethoscope and pounded her knees with a rubber mallet, then conducted something along the lines of a breast exam.

A month later, the detectives arrested Appelblatt. A TV report of the arrest brought out other victims who told investigators about similar experiences with Appelblatt that dated back to 2003.

Another victim stated that Appelbaum offered to reduce her legal bill by $5000 if she would have sex with him. All victims stated that the lawyer told them not to tell anyone about the assaults. 

At the time of the plea deal on August 17, Deputy District Attorney Keith Hill said "I think to me the most important thing is that lawyers are in a position of trust with their clients. I think he violated that, and I think he deserves the punishment he is going to get."

Hill went on to explain what he and the victims were hoping to accomplish with the no contest plea. "Realistically, when you take it all into consideration, it's a lot for these victims to go through again. You've always got to consider the victims. What was allowable under the law, this will be an appropriate sentence, and I hope and trust the judge will give him the maximum at the time of sentencing, and he indicated on the record this morning that that is the likely outcome."

Hill said he spoke to all of the victims last week and that they approved of the plea deal. "They were all willing to come forward and testify at trial, but they are relieved to not have to do that and to know that he's admitting guilt and that he will be punished for it."

At sentencing, Hill said that the use of the phony medical certificate and doctors' tools, as well as the fact that divorce clients have been through "terrible emotional" times just befor hiring him as a client, showed "planning and sophistication." "It was a complete legal and moral breakdown on his part. This is something he did for years, something he did over and over and over, to victim after victim after victim."
 
Tom Johnson, Appelblatt's defense lawyer, said his client, a practicing lawer for the past 2 decades, "stands before you utterly humiliated as a person and as an attorney." Echoing this, Appelblatt himself said that he had suffered from unaddressed mental issues and expected to be disbarred later this month. "I've lost my livelihood which I have loved for the last 20 years and (am) facing loss of my freedom."
 
Three of his victims also appared in court. One victim said that "You preyed upon my life when I was most weak and most vulnerable..."You robbed me of my dignity and self-worth." A second victim stated that "I only hope Mr. Appelblatt never has the opportunity to get his hands on anybody again."  All of them said that Appelblatt violated their trust, took advantage of their vulnerability, and made them suspicious of professionals.

Killer of young mother sentenced to 20 years - currently serving life for rape-slaying of another woman

In the space of two hours yesterday, a Dubuque, IA man went from being charged with to being sentenced for the murder of a Rockford, IL mother of three. Gregory Otterbeck, 54, was charged with the murder of Thomasina Dunivant back in December 1980. The prostitute, 23, was last seen alive outside a bar in East Dubuque, IL on December 7, 1980. Her strangled, beaten body was found on the side of a road in Grant County, WI. The case went cold until 2007, when Wisconsin Department Of Justice matched Otterbeck's DNA to samples taken from the victim's vagina.

Grant County Circuit Judge Robert P. VanDeHey said after accepting Otterbeck's no contest plea that the defendant was one of the most dangerous defendants in his courtroom. "It was a violent murder ... her death shouldn't be minimized just because it took 28 years," he said.

The victim's daughter Margaret, four when her mother was killed, said "He's the type of scum no one should feel sorry for."

Otterbeck is currently serving life for being party to the rape and murder of Jodi Bausman. She was gang raped before being killed at a cabin Otterbeck's friend owned back in April 1981.

The complaint said it was "plausible" Otterbeck killed Dunivant at the same cabin because Dunivant's purse was found 500 yards from the building, it was a short drive from the bar where Dunivant was last seen and bedding from the cabin was missing after Dunivant was killed but before Bausman's death.

The complaint also says a woman told investigators that Otterbeck's sister told her he had wandered into his sister's restaurant at 4:30 a.m., looking half-drunk, and told his sister he had killed a woman. He said they were going to have sex, but she decided not to and began to scream. He covered her mouth until she stopped breathing and he dumped the body in a ditch.

Otterbeck's sister, however, told investigators she didn't remember any such conversation.

Oliveto told the judge she explained to Otterbeck that the complaint was laced with circumstantial evidence, hearsay and evidence of other criminal acts, which might not be allowed at a trial in Dunivant's death, and another conviction would erase any chance at parole.

"He understands all these things," Oliveto told the judge. "Mr. Otterbeck wants to proceed in this manner."

Mr. Otterbeck wants Ms. Dunivant to be at peace," Oliveto said.

In accordance with the plea deal, Assistant Attorney General Dave Wambach asked Judge VanDeHey to order Otterbeck to pay for Dunivant's headstone, a request the judge denied. Wambach recommended the perpetrator for transfer from Oshkosh Correctional Institution to WIsconsin's Supermax in Boscobel, the Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. While judges can make a recommendation on placement, only Wisconsin Department of Correction officials can actually transfer inmates.

Serial rape-strangler pleads no contest to second rape murder

A serial rapist already serving life without parole for the rape slaying of one woman has plead guilty to a similar crime involving another woman. 26 year old Jerry Lee Williams Jr. of Sanford, FL was sentenced to life without parole, to be served consecutively to a previous life without parole sentence. The LWOP sentence came after a plea of no contest in the rape-strangling of 40 year old Patricia Kimmons of Orlando, a crime which occurred back in 2004. Williams is suspected of attacking at least six Central Florida women between 2003 and 2007.

Williams was on GPS satellite monitoring for rape when he raped and suffocated Lisa Marie French, 39. French's body was found behind a warehouse. Williams plead guilty to that crime back in November 2008 and was sentenced to life. Life without parole is the only life sentence handed down in Florida.

Contractors sentenced to jail (not prison) for sexual assault of inmate

Two contractors working for a company which transported prison inmates have been sentenced to 270 and 75 days in jail, respectively for forcing a woman to perform oral sex with them. Both men, Miguel Jacobo, and Ronald Yglesias, plead no contest to a count of sexual activity in a detention facility, with Yglesias also pleading to a count of oral copulation in a detention facility. The sentencing s were held September 4, 11 days ago.

Yglesias was sentenced to 270 days in the Santa Barbara Jail, while Jacobo was sentenced to 75 days in the same facility. Both must register as sex offenders for life, and both cannot work as guards in any capacity anymore.

The illegal acts were committed while the two were returning the female inmate to Santa Barbara County Jail in October of last year. They had worked for just under six months for U.S. Extradition Services, which contracted with the county to transport prisoners among facilities throughout California. The company no longer has a contract with the Sheriff.

The victim said that Ygelsias made her give him oral sex while in a van with seven inmates in it, both male and female. “Clearly, the victim was particularly vulnerable,” Dudley said. “I think his behavior was despicable.” He claimed to detectives that he had taken four Ambien sleeping pills to fall asleep, and woke up to find the victim performing oral sex on him.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley, prosecutor of this case, stated that “those who work within our criminal justice system are public servants, their behavior must be above reproach. In this case, it wasn’t just criminal, it was unconscionable.”

The victim stated to presiding judge Frank Ochoa that "I am supposed to trust law enforcement, and now I am going to have a hard time doing that.”

NC teacher charged with 9 counts for sexual relationship with student - sentenced to 45 days jail, 3 years probation

(Original Post 6-10-08)

Shebana Rajput of Kinston, NC, a Jones High School teacher, was charged with 8 counts of sexual activity with a student and a single count of sex offense with a 17 year old student. She is being held on $100,000 bond in the Lenoir County Jail.

According to a news release, Lenoir County Sheriff's investigators were contacted May 23 by Jones County authorities regarding an investigation of sexual assault by a teacher with a 17-year-old student, who attended Jones Senior High. The incidents took place at Rajput's home, the news release said, which is why Lenoir County authorities got involved.

According to officials, all incidents occured between March and May. Rajput was arrested at her home. Sex between teachers and students, regardless of age, in North Carolina is a felony.

(Update 9-3-09) Rajput pled no contest to having sex with the victim at least 9 times Monday, August 31. Sentencing is set for September 28. The student attended Jones Senior High School, and was hired to clean the gutters of her home, which were only accessible thruogh Rajput's bedroom. When inside, Rajput lured the victim onto the bed, saying that he owed her something. During later sexual encounters, rajput bought the student a car and other expensive gifts, among other things. She resigned in May of last year.

(Update 10-28-09) Rajput was sentenced to 45 days in jail, 3 years probation and a $10,000 fine by the Lenoir County Superior Court yesterday on nine felony charges. According to Lead investigator Detective Christy Smith, “This was the first time the defendant had been charged with a felony. The victim in this case was not underage, but the fact that he was a student of Rajput’s makes it a felony.” The now 19 year old victim is currently undergoing counseling.

The boy and his parents filed a federal lawsuit Monday.

The lawsuit says the 17-year-old boy suffered severe physical, mental and emotional trauma after being "sexually exploited, assaulted and abused" by Shebana Rajput.

The suit says the science teacher made sexually provocative contact with the student on school property, both during and after school hours. It says the sex began in March 2008, with Rajput providing alcohol, gifts, money and a cell phone to the 17-year old.

It claims the teacher purchased the student a car and even promised to marry him. The lawsuit says the boy was ridiculed by a former coach, who blamed him for the teacher's arrest.

Ex Pennsylvania judge gets 2 years probation for fondling 18 year old

Former Blair County Judge Richard E. Behrens was sentenced to 2 years probation for fondling a woman after open pleading (aka "no contest") to indecent assault of an 18 year old woman, Tuesday, August 18. County District Attorney Richard Consiglio did not make a sentencing recommendation. Due to a conflict of interest, Senior Judge John K. Reilly of Clearfield County imposed the sentence. The maximum sentence for indecent assault in Pennsylvania is 2 years in prison.

In April 2008, on the opening night of the baseball season, Behrens took the 18-year-old high school senior and another girl to an Altoona Curve game. After the game, Behrens dropped off one girl and then pulled to the side of Decker Hollow Road in Snyder Township and began fondling his young passenger, police said.

She reported the incident to state police, and within days, Aungst, then an investigator at the Hollidaysburg barracks, interviewed Behrens. Behrens called the girl the next day, stating he was concerned about her, police said.Since the incident, Behrens said he has been attending counseling sessions with a Cambria County minister and at Family Resources of Pittsburgh.

Behrens began the counseling programs before criminal charges were filed, said his defense attorney, Terry Despoy. "I really have to commend his efforts at dealing with this problem," Despoy said after the hearing.

Court papers also stated that after the incident, "I know you must think that I'm the worst hypocrite in the world. ... I feel that way. I failed my wife, I failed my children and I failed my family."

The victim, now a college student in California, stated that she needed counseling and that the fondling "continues to haunt me. This is going to be a process of healing no matter where I am."
According to investigating state trooper Charles Aungst, the woman wanted guilt acknowledged more that a jail sentence.

This is not the first incident involving Behrens and a young person. In 1986, he was charged with indecent assault of his stepdaughter, but charges were dropped after the stepdaughter refused to testify. Behrens also faces mandatory reporting of his conviction to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania since the maximum jail term for indecent assault is more than a year.

Connecticut men get three years for gang rape of woman

The last of 4 Connecticut men who took part in the gang rape of a 24 year old New Canaan woman was sentenced to 3 years in prison in Superior Court on Wednesday, August 12. Wilkens Placide, 26, of Norwalk, CT, pled guilty to 3rd degree sexual assault, 1st degree unlawful restraint, and battery on a peace officer for an incident which happened July 30, 2007. Placide and a 2nd defendant, Catragne Moresca, 28 and of Stamford, pled no contest under the Alford doctrine March 19 of this year after jurors were picked in their joint trial. two other defendants pled no contest earlier.

Placide, Moresca and the two other defendants -- Cliff Cenelien and Carl Colas, both 21 and from Stamford -- were accused of taking part in a gang rape of the victim during a night of drug use and partying. The incident began July 30, 2007, and took place over a span of 14 hours in three different houses in Stamford and Norwalk.

Cenelien and Colas each pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint under the Alford Doctrine in June 2008 and agreed to serve two years of a five-year prison sentence, followed by five years of probation.

Darnell Crosland, Placide's attorney, said his client and Moresca pled no contest due to racial factors. "They might look at the victim as a white girl from New Canaan and these Haitian men she accused. It was too much of a risk." The defendants said that the sexual encounter was consensual, but the victim, on probation for drug use, wanted an excuse to escape possible revocation.

Suburban Columbus, OH man pleas no contest to raping prostitute, attempt on another - sentenced to 2 decades

(Original Post 6-3-09)
Edwin Zimmerman, 46 of Madison County, OH, was convicted of rape and attempted rape after a plea deal in a case which involved 2 prostitutes. The prostitutes, based on the west side of Columbus, OH, were abducted for sexual purposes. Zimmerman claimed to he had sex with 800 prostitutes, and that he had been a john in that area since 2001.

One said she was grabbed by a man with a knife in a white van on Sullivant Avenue at 3 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2007, and forced to perform sex acts near Rickenbacker Airport, Assistant County Prosecutor Christopher Brown said. She was threatened with a butcher knife and left on a roadside.

A month later, a woman told London police that she willingly got into Zimmerman's van along W. Broad Street but immediately felt uncomfortable and asked to be dropped off. She was instead driven to Zimmerman's house in London. He demanded sex, but she sprayed a chemical irritant in his face and escaped.

A DNA sample from the first victim was a match for Zimmerman, who was arrested in July 2008 after a high-speed chase by police.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard A. Frye dropped abduction and kidnapping charges in exchange for the Alford (no contest) plea of the sexual charges. Zimmerman faces as much as 28 years in prison when sentenced July 2. Police have not found any other victims in this case so far.

(Update 8-13-09) Zimmerman tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye upheld his pleas, finding that the perp had adequate legal representation. Judge Frye sentenced Zimmerman to 20 years without parole, a $35,000 fine, and a lifetime as a sexual predator on Ohio's sex offender list.

Hurricane police officer charged with sexual assault on duty sentenced to 60 days jail, 3 years probation

(Original Post 4-4-08)

Nathan Amosa, a 24 year old police officer from Hurricane, UT, was charged with coercing sex from a woman by threatening to cite her for child neglect to obtain sexual favors from his alleged victim. He was on call when he allegedly coerced her into letting him fondle her and perform a sex act.

"Amosa stated that he used his authority and the threat of a citation for child neglect in order to obtain sexual favors from the victim," Washington County sheriff's officials stated.

[He] was charged in 5th District Court in St. George on Monday with forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony; and two counts of second-degree felony forcible sex abuse. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Hurricane police received a complaint of officer misconduct on Friday, and Amosa was placed on administrative leave. The Washington County Sheriff's Office conducted a criminal investigation, and the case was forwarded to the county attorney's office.

(Update 8-12-09)

Amosa pleaded no contest to custodial sexual relations, a 3rd degree felony, today. Judge James Shumate of Utah's 5th District Court sentenced Amosa to up to 5 years in prison, the standard sentence for a 3rd degree felony. The sentence mandates that Amosa spend 60 days in the Washington County Jail and 3 years probation. Amosa was also ordered to stay away from the victim and not go within 500 yards of her or her residence.

Amosa was originally charged with forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and two counts of second degree-felony forcible sex abuse. He entered the no-contest plea after negotiations with prosecutors, his defense attorney and the victim.

According to the probable-cause statement filed with the charges, Amosa admitted to "coercing the victim into oral sex," and said he fondled her and put his mouth on her breasts. He "used his authority and the threat of a citation for child neglect" to gain the sexual favors, the document said.

The victim told investigators Amosa was at her house and on duty when she was assaulted.
The victim was "distraught" when she talked to investigators, telling them she thought she had to comply with Amosa because "he was in uniform and had a gun," according to court documents.

Prosecutor Ryan Shaum, Adult Probation and Parole's pre sentence report, and Amosa's attorney Gary Pendelton agreed to the sentence. Shaum stated that due to the difficulty of proving whether the sex act was coercive or not, "If Mr. Amosa was not in law enforcement, I don't think we'd be here for sentencing for anything."

The victim, her father, and their lawyer, Brandon Simmons, appeared for sentencing. The victim's letter said in part, "I always trusted the police and their integrity, until he entered my home and took that trust away."

The victim's father said about the 60 day sentence, "I don't think he got what he deserved."

Kelly Ann Abdo, Monroe, Mi teacher, pleads no contest to indecent exposure

(Original post 2-13-09)

Kelly Ann Abdo pled no contest to a single count of indecent exposure February 11 for having sex with an 18 year old student in a parked car on a street in Monroe, MI last May. According to authorities, 2 other Monroe High (MI) students saw Abdo and the victim going at it.

The Monroe County Prosecutor's Office charged Ms. Abdo with indecent exposure because under Michigan law a teacher and a student can have sexual relations legally if the student is 18 or over.

Assistant Prosecutor Amara Hunter said the student in the car was not charged with indecent exposure because Ms. Abdo had relations with multiple students. Additionally she was older and should have shown more responsibility because she was the teacher."This is the best resolution to this case," Ms. Hunter said after the hearing. "It was poor judgment on her part."

The plea agreement, accepted by 1st District Court Judge Terrence Bronson yesterday February 11, calls for a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $1000 fine. The Monroe County (MI) Prosecutor's Office agreed not to file any more charges against Abdo, and Abdo agreed to have her teaching certificate revoked for at least 2 years.

The no contest plea works the same as a guilty plea in criminal proceedings, but affords protection to defendants facing civil lawsuits. The formal sentencing of Abdo will occur March 25.

(Update 3-26-09) Abdo was formally sentenced to two years probation yesterday. Other conditions of the plea agreement include 30 days of community service, $1175 in fines and fees, no unsupervised contact with minors, no teaching anywhere for the next two years, and not challenging her firing by the school district.

"It didn't happen," Mr. [Mark S.] Bilkovic [Abdo's lawyer] said. "I'm not happy she was charged or convicted of anything."He said his client did have phone conversations with students and sent them text messages, but that was all.

Asked why she would plead guilty to a criminal charge, Mr. Bilkovic said Ms. Abdo pleaded to the misdemeanor offense to avoid having her family endure a painful trial. Besides, he added, if she did not accept a plea to the indecent exposure charge, the prosecutor's office threatened to file a 15-year felony charge against her.

Abdo spoke about the charges for the first time after her formal sentencing.

"This past year has been a nightmare...This has affected my family even worse than it affected me. The rumors and media are not correct."

Mt Clemens, MI teacher convicted for sex with student

(Original Post 5-31-08)

Janelle Batkins, 42, a former Michigan teacher, plead guilty to 2 counts of 2nd degree CSC today. The former teacher was charged because while normally, 17 year olds can consent to sex, in Michigan, teachers who have sex with 17 year olds are charged with either second or third degree CSC.

Initially there were 9 counts of 2nd degree CSC, but that was plead down to two counts of second degree CSC, with the sentences to be served consecutively. The five sexual encounters took place at her home during the 2006-7 school year.

Macomb Assistant Prosecutor Jean Femminineo said that while prosecutors were willing to try Batkins in a court of law, the victim's family wanted to get the ordeal of court appearances over with.

"We were ready to proceed and go to trial and put the defendant behind bars. [The victim's family] indicated they want to end this today. They are tired of it. They don't want to go to trial. They want this to be over."

Batkins could face up to 15 years in prison when she is sentenced July 2 by Judge Mark Switalski. She will have to register as a sex offender.

Authorities say the two had a six-month relationship that began with friendship and escalated to include phone calls, text messages and e-mails. The teen testified during a preliminary exam in Clinton Township District Court that the relationship began to heat up after he turned 17 in October 2006. The pair was caught when one of Batkins' sons came home unexpectedly, the teen testified.

Batkins resigned from her 15-year job before she was charged. She was named 2002 Teacher of the Year. The teenage victim has since graduated from Roseville High School and is planning to go to college.

Defense attorney David Griem said that the boy blackmailed Batkins, thretening to expose the relationship and calling her names. He also cited the fact that the relationship would have been legal except for the fact that she was his teacher.

"If it wasn't for this statute, it would have been no harm, no foul," Griem said. "The risk was so huge, there was really no alternative here. Her biggest concern was to bring this case to an end."

(Update 7-3-08) Batkins pleaded guilty to two counts of 2nd degree CSC, a more serious charge than the 9 counts of 3rd degree CSC, because second degree criminal sexual conduct does not carry a mandatory minimum sentence. Besides placement on the SO list and loss of her teaching position, Batkins has also lost her pension. She was formally sentenced to 3 years probation by Judge Judge Mark Switalski.

Her lawyer, David Griem, considers it a win because she'll serve no jail time and isn't required to wear a tether. That allows her to stay with her husband and two children, he said.
"I was very relieved," Griem said after the hearing.

Though her plea was to a more serious charge, it allowed Switalski more latitude in sentencing because both first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct convictions carry with them mandatory imprisonment sentences. Second degree does not.

(Update 3-20-09) Batkins was caught violating her probation by watching her son's wrestling match held at the Palace Ot Auburn Hills. He was a finalist at the state wrestling championships, and Batkins' presence at the competition violated her probation conditions of not being around minors.

According to defense attorney David Griem, his client did not violate her probation by attending the meet based on two reasons. For one, at The Palace, she reportedly stayed in a suite with other adults.

“The probation officers in her report to the court (stated) in careful review of the Student Safety Zone Act, the defendant does not appear to have violated that act,” Griem said.

As a second defense, Griem said, the accuser took pictures of Batkins while at the wrestling finals.

“He was stalking her and taking photos of her,” said Griem, adding that describing the complainant in the case as a victim “is a complete denigration of that word.”

Batkins was fined $500.

Tallahassee, FL man sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder of girlfriend

Edward Lee Everett, 24, who entered a no contest plea, was sentenced to 2 decades in prison Monday in the attempted murder of his girlfriend by shooting her through the window of her car after he rammed it on October 9, 2007 on the northeast side of Tallahassee, FL. The girlfriend, 7 months pregnant at the time, was injured, but recovered. Official charges included shooting into an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Voyeurism case dropped due to poor wording of law - public places are not protected, but perp sentenced on disorderly conduct charge anyway

(Original Post 5-11-08)
Brian Presken, 32, of Pensacola, is filing a motion to get his misdemeanor voyeurism conviction overturned because of the legal argument that people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in public places. The former teacher allegedly placed a mirror under a woman's skirt at a Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Pensacola last summer.

Presken is suspected of looking under the woman's skirt July 8 at Barnes & Nobles Booksellers on Airport Boulevard in Pensacola.

Here is what, according to a police report, happened:

The woman was slightly bent forward browsing bookshelves when she noticed a flash of light. She said she thought Presken had taken a picture of her. The Pensacola woman said she noticed another flash of light, and when she turned around, Presken's hand was beneath the opening of her skirt, and there was something in his hand.

The woman screamed, and Presken retreated. The woman caught up to Presken, confronted him and called police.Someone in the store found a mirror on a shelf and gave it to police.
Presken, who passed out while being questioned by police, told police he kept a mirror with him to check his appearance. The 26-year-old victim wouldn't comment on the motion.

Victim's advocates acknowledge that depending on how the laws are written, voyeurism charges can be overturned based of poor wording, and that laws need to be clear and concise.

"I guess what would really matters is the way the law in Florida is written," said Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime in Washington, D.C. "It seems ridiculous, but we have to really, really be clear in laws about things like that because every single word gets evaluated, and it makes a difference."

In the motion, defense attorney Katheryne Snowden points out that the statute her client is charged under — 810.14 — doesn't define the phrase "reasonable expectation of privacy."
An analysis of the bill that eventually became law also noted that the phrase was not defined.
According to the motion, "No Florida court has addressed section 810.14 ... or the reasonable expectation of privacy therein." Snowden didn't return messages left at her office.

Since the phrase "resonable expectation of privacy" is undefined, that gives plenty of wiggle room for defendants and their lawyers to fight voyeurism charges. The Florida statute criminalizing video voyeurism gives places where a reasonable expectation of privacy can be found as anyplace where a person can disrobe. Laws in other states have been overtured, and then re-written because defendants have sucessfully used the privacy argument.

In Washington, two men convicted in separate voyeurism cases used the privacy argument when they appealed their cases to their state's supreme court. In 2002, the court overturned the men's convictions, and state lawmakers ended up amending the state's law.

One of the men was accused of taking pictures under the skirts of two female employees at a mall. The other was suspected of videotaping under the skirts and dresses of women and girls at an event in Seattle.

The court said both men had engaged in reprehensible behavior, but the law they were charged under didn't apply to public places.

"They found that the way the law was written wasn't clear that a person should have an expectation of privacy under their clothes in public, which is ridiculous," Knecht said. "But (lawmakers) changed the law to be clear to give people that expectation of privacy."

Many states passed the laws in effort to combat "upskirting" and "downblousing" or the practice of secretly videotaping and taking photographs underneath women's skirts and dresses and down their blouses. The crimes have become more prevalent as cell phones have gotten smaller and more are equipped with cameras.

"It's kind of high-tech Peeping Tom," Knecht said.

Candy Carlisle, a spokeswoman at Cordova Mall, said the mall tries to safeguard customers against crimes like "upskirting" and "downblousing" by making sure security officers are as visible as possible.

She said the more security officers are seen throughout the mall, perhaps people will be less inclined to secretly photograph and videotape women.

Some pictures and videos taken under women's skirts and dresses end up on the Internet. A Google search of the terms upskirting and downblousing reveals thousands of Web sites.

"I think it's really disrespectful," said Heysi Barrientos, 20, who lives in Ensley. "Knowing people do that makes you think about wearing different kinds of clothes."

A victim of voyeurism tells how her life charged after the incident.

Sarah Spivey, 53, of Foley, Ala., was shopping at Books-A-Million in Pensacola last year when a man was accused of taking pictures under her dress. Faith Wilson, 43, of Pensacola, pleaded no contest in the case. Spivey said she had no idea the pictures had been taken until a store employee told her and she talked with police.

"My dress (reached) all the way down to my ankles," she said. "He had to do some contorting to get them."

Spivey said the incident has caused her to be more aware of her surroundings when she's in public.

"I was mortified," she said. "I thought I was safe in the bookstore."

Some victims of voyeurism refer to themselves as sexual assault victims, and some say they experience a feeling of always being watched, Knecht said.

"It's not just a kind of creepy thing," she said. "It actually has a real ramification for victims."

(Update 7-30-08) Presken's appeal of the voyeurism charge was allowed to go ahead, and on May 16, that charge was dropped, though the judge said it was reprehensible.

"As of this moment ... there is no clear prohibition of this reprehensible conduct anywhere in the laws of Florida, especially in the section under which the defendant was charged," Roark said in a May 16 order granting the motion.charge was dismissed as such.

However, prosecutors filed a disorderly conduct charge involving the same incident and charges on May 13. Defense attorney, Katheryne Snowden asked to have the latest charge dropped, which didn't happen.

Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Emerson asked for the maximum sentence for Presken - 60 days in jail, which the victim, a 26 year old woman, concurred with.

"I would have loved to have seen him get 60 days," she said.

However, Judge Roark sentenced Presken to 60 days of electronic monitoring and 6 months probation after he pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charge. Roark barred Presken from contact with the victim and her her family or with the bookstore, and banned him from entering Escambia County without permission.

"There is no answer to this situation. It's a very difficult situation for everyone involved, including the court," Judge roark said in closing.