NC state tropper sentenced to 6 to 9 years for sexual battery

A North Carolina state trooper who target Hispanic women, some of them illegal immigrants, for sexual battery at traffic stops has been sentenced to between 6 and 9 years in prison. Michael Steele was sentenced by Judge Allan Baddour, and asked for leinency before sentencing.

"I hope if it's in your pleasure, I have a chance to spend time with my family," he said.

Steele, 28, will now spend up to nine years in jail for 10 charges he pled guilty to last month. Those charges range from felonious restraint, to second-degree kidnapping, extortion, assault on a female and sexual battery.

It was August of last year that three Hispanic women claimed he pulled them over in separate traffic stops, touched and kissed them and threatened to kill their families or report them to immigration officials if they did not comply. Some of the victims were illegal immigrants.

"He used his position in a way I've never seen in the almost 18 years I've been a prosecutor," said Jim Woodall, Orange County District Attorney. "I've never seen an officer use his position in this way to target people he felt were powerless against him."

Woodall said this case has affected every member of the highway patrol and beyond.

"Law enforcement in general has been touched and every person who lives in this state who wants to trust law enforcement has been affected by this," he said.

Steele's attorney said his client took responsibility for his actions, has never been in trouble before and is remorseful.

After court, neither Steel's attorney or family had a comment.

According to prosecutors, Steele's prosecutors said that he will probably serve about 8 years.

Guard-inmate sex leads to official misconduct charges

(Originally Posted 12-1-07)

An ex-guard at the Milwaukee County Jail has been charged with misconduct in office after having a sexual relationship with an inmate awiating trial for murder charges.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal (my hometown paper;)

Cindy A. Bartoshevich, 31, faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison. She is accused of having an affair with Michael Carroll, the aftermath of which saw Bartoshevich resign after Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. moved to fire her. According to the criminal complaint, Bartoshevich used her maiden name of Chojnacki to post bail for Carroll at one point and, at other times, used the alias "Penny Berlin" to send him money while in jail.

Other actions taken to further the relationship include buying Carroll $1100 worth of phone minutes. Bartoshevich was released on a $10000 recognisance bond, and ordered not to have any contact with Carroll, who is also a Latin Kings gang member.

Reference:

Ex-guard charged with misconduct

(Update 4-17-08)

Bartoshevich was sentenced to probation after a lengthy explanation (with some justification thrown in perhaps?) by Milwaukee County Judge Micheal Moroney.

"When Michael Carroll approached me for the first time, I was in a bad situation. I was in a marriage that was falling apart for years and I was finally at my wits end as far as that was concerned," she said.

Bartovshevich also explained that she was diagnosed with cancer recently.

"When the doctor told me the lump on my head was cancer, I cried for two days and thought, yeah, my life can't get worse," Bartoshevich said.

Wisconsin prison guard charged with sex assault

James Trentin, a 58 year old guard at the Prarie Du Chien (WI) Correctional facility, has been charged with 22 counts of sexual assault and 6 counts of bringing contraband to inmates.

According to the criminal complaint, Trentin brought in contraband for the inmates including chewing tobacco, candy bars, cologne and other items in exchange for sexual favors.

All of the acts happened at the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution between July 2007 and January, and involved inmates in their late teens and early 20s, according to the 14-page criminal complaint filed by Vernon County District Attorney Tim Gaskell, special prosecutor on the case.

The inmates all reported Trentin performed oral sex on them numerous times after bribing them with contraband, including money, coffee, vodka and orange juice, chewing tobacco, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, candy and cologne, according to the complaint.“If you continue to take care of me, I’ll take care of you. You won’t have any problems,” Trentin told one inmate, according to the complaint.

The incidents occurred in a prison telephone room, shower, custodial closet and cells, sometimes when Trentin was the only officer in the unit, according to the complaint.

They say Trentin also sent money orders to the inmates' prison accounts. Investigators say a handwriting expert confirmed it was Trentin's handwriting on the money orders.

Trentin faces 40 years on each sexual assault charge. He started as a correctional officer at the institution in October of 2000, and his jobs included providing transportation, security, and monitoring of inmates.

“The Department of Corrections has zero tolerance for any staff sexual misconduct,” a Wiscsonsin Department of Corrections spokesman said. “The misconduct detailed in the allegations is certainly not reflective of the vast majority of the staff at the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution or the Department of Corrections.”

Police officer, husband of news anchor, charged in rape of 17 year old girl,

New Rochelle policeman Sgt. David Rodriguez, the husband of a prominent New York City anchorwoman, was arrested on 1st degree rape charges after having sex with a 17 year old girl.

The incident allegedly occured February 8, after police officers were called to the 17 year old girl's home for a domestic incident. The 35 year old boyfriend was arrested on domestic charges, and released that night. After the release, police were called again to the residence, including Rodriguez, and the boyfriend was charged with violating an order of protection. The girl's boyfriend is not being charged with statutory rape because the AOC in New York is 17.

The victim alleges that on February 10, Rodriguez forced his way into her home and sexually attacked her.

His wife, Darlene Rodriguez, anchorwoman of WNBC-TV's "Today in New York," was in tears outside the courtroom before the arraignment. But she left the courthouse dry-eyed with her husband and said,

"I just want to say I know a lot of you and a lot of you know me. I'm here to support my husband," she said. "I believe in him. I love him. And he's innocent 100%."
Rodriguez did not speak, but his attorney, Stephen Worth, said the charge was false, the investigation was slipshod and the girl "has a number of motives to make up a false allegation." He did not elaborate.

[New Rochelle Police Commisioner Patrick Carroll]said the investigation was thorough.
"We took our time," he said. "We didn't jump to any conclusions." Carroll had announced the rape allegation, without naming Rodriguez, more than a month ago, and suspended him with pay. At the time, he said the sergeant had "a sterling record."

Rodriguez, a nine year veteran, pleaded not guilty to 1st degree rape, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and posted his $25,000 bail yesterday.

WA state trooper convicted of sexual misconduct

Carlos Torres, 46, was a state trooper before he was charged with sexual misconduct with women that he pulled over for aallegedly driving drunk. Now, one can say that he has officially gone over to the other side of the law - as a sex offender.

The [1st degree custodial sexual misconduct] charges stem from a complaint made by the woman, then 38, who said she was driving home to Federal Way in June 2005 when Torres pulled over her pickup truck, accused her of drunken driving and had her get into his patrol vehicle.

He sent home her two passengers -- the woman's boyfriend and teenage daughter -- and then, after taking her to a Fife police station for a breath test, drove the suspect to a deserted truck-weighing station along Interstate 5, making her partially undress before initiating sexual contact with her, according to court documents.

The woman's blood-alcohol level was well below the legal limit, authorities said.

Two other women accused Torres of using drunk driving arrests as an excuse to behave inappropriately with them, and the victim who Torres was convicted of abusing expressed relief at his conviction.

"She's relieved the trial's over and happy that the jury believed her," said a King County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson.

The trooper's attorney, Michael Schwartz, had argued that the woman made the whole thing up because she was worried about the consequences of a drunken-driving charge and wanted to sue for money.

He pointed out that FBI investigators had interviewed the woman several times but found insufficient evidence to proceed with federal charges. Torres, Schwartz said, was "shocked at the jury's verdict."

He was very disappointed and very sad," the attorney said. "He's just spending the time at home now with his family."

Torres faces a year in jail for the sexual misconduct charges. He was fired in January, and will be sentenced May 2. Torres plans to appeal the conviction.

Cop scheduled to stand trial for rape

This is just sickening. A cop, sworn to help sexual assault and domestic violence victims, assaults a victim all over again. No wonder trust between cops and the people who they are supposed to protect is non-existent in some circles.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, which includes Cincinnati, is scheduled to hear the case of William Simpson, 47, a former police officer, who instead of protecting a woman from an abusive husband, stands trial on charges of rape and sexual battery from an incident October 3, 2006.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer's Cop On Trial For Rape,

The former boyfriend had broken into her home, assaulted her and run off, according to prosecutors.

Simpson said he needed to take pictures of her injuries, prosecutors have said. The woman asked Simpson if a female officer could take the pictures or if she could take them herself, but he refused and took the photos, making sexual advances toward her, prosecutors have said. He is accused of holding her down and raping her three times, according to prosecutors.

Simpson faces 31 years in prison. In Ohio, inmates serve every day of their sentences, and there is no 50%, or even 85% time. Bad cops, even when not sex offenders, and sex offenders, even when they don't molest kids, don't have the best reputations in prison if they are convicted.

Officer faces 5th degree CSC charges for groping woman

A part time Atwater (Minnesota) officer, has been released on personal recognizance Thursday in Kandiyohi County District Court. He has been charged with groping a woman who was riding in his car, under the condition that there is no contact between him and his alleged victim.

The West-Central Tribune has more in their Atwater cop makes 1st appearance on criminal sex charges:

Paul Reed Schmidt, 34, of Atwater, was released on his personal recognizance with the condition that he have no contact with the alleged victim. His next court appearance is March 6 before District Judge David L. Mennis.

During the hearing, Schmidt answered the judge’s questions with one-word answers. No plea is entered at this point in the process. Schmidt is represented by Julius Nolen, who is a former Hennepin County attorney.

Michael J. Lieberg, the Stearns County assistant county attorney serving as a special Kandiyohi County attorney on the case, made no bail request and asked only that Schmidt be ordered to have no contact with the woman.

Two misdemeanor 5th degree CSC (criminal sexual conduct) charges were filed against Schmidt, who has been placed on unpaid leave pending the resolution of the charges. Schmidt violated city policy by having an unauthorized person (the victim) riding in his squad car.

According to the complaint, the woman contacted the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office to report a sexual assault. The woman told a detective that she was a ride-along participant with Schmidt, who is a licensed peace officer and was on duty at the time.

During the ride-along, in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, Schmidt took her to the Atwater Police Department. They watched video clips on a city computer. The woman said when she got up to move away from Schmidt, he tackled and restrained her and made a sexual request of her.
The allegations also state that Schmidt groped the woman’s chest and genitals through her clothing, then pulled her to him and kissed her several times.

According to the complaint, Paul Schmidt told the detective in a statement that some “wrestling” took place at the Police Department and that he grabbed the victim’s breast “by accident.” He did not remember grabbing her genital area.

Macon police officer accused of sexual coercion fired

A Macon, GA police officer accused of sexually assaulting three women has been fired after his failed appeal to the police chief. William Enders, 35, was charged with sexual assault of a person in custody the day after Christmas, and released on $25000 bond, according to records. Until the firing, Enders was on administrative leave.

Macon.com, "Macon police fire investigator," has more.

"Enders has been terminated effective today," said police spokeswoman Sgt. Melanie Hofmann. Avery said Enders still has 30 days to appeal to the city's Human Resources Department for a hearing before an administrative law judge.

A police report says that Enders solicited sex from the initial victim and coerced another woman to take of her clothes by promising not to jail her. A victim initially went to the Georgia Bureau Of Investigation (GBI), but the case was transferred back to Macon police.

Later in the day, another one of the women under suspicion met with Enders at his office. While being questioned by Enders, the woman complained that she felt she wasn't free to leave, according to the report. At one point in the conversation, Enders told the woman that he "could make things disappear if something could be done for him."

When other officers later interviewed the woman about the conversation, she said she had asked Enders what he meant and "having sex with him" was mentioned, according to the report. She told officers that Enders called her repeatedly later that evening, and she did have sex with him at her apartment "because she did not want to go to jail."

A third woman being investigatedtold officers that Enders made her take off her clothes in his office with the lights out after stating that he could make her case go away, according to the report. While disrobed, the woman told officers that Enders saw the woman's sister drive into the parking lot outside the police department, and he told her to put on her clothes, leave and not tell her sister what had happened, according to the report.

After the interview, the woman told officers Enders repeatedly called her "wanting to get together," according to the report. Officers outfitted the third woman with a wire after launching an investigation into Enders' alleged activities Dec. 26. They were listening when Enders met with the woman at Applebee's on Riverside Drive. After listening to the conversation and observing Enders, officers arrested Enders.

Officers took towels from the second woman's apartment into evidence, according to the report.

Enders was hired back in 2003 as a bike patrolman, and trasnfereed to a property crimes investigator in 2006. There were no disiplinary actions in his file at the time of arrest.

Prosecution of professor/student sex as official misconduct

This post deals with the acquittal of ISU professor Michael Forbes after his bench trial on official misconduct charges. The idea that professor/college student sex is or can be criminalized using this statute may be far fetched, but lets look more closely.

Official misconduct, in layman's terms, is defined as using a position in government to obtain favors or other advantages. A public university employee is technically a government employee, and sexual encounters with students, even students which may be older than the sexually boundary-confused employee, count as favors and perks. So McLean County (which includes Normal, IL, where ISU is located) prosecutors saw the sexual misconduct by professors against students as official misconduct.

The tactic of charging teachers/professors with official misconduct for sex with students over the AOC is a tactic which has been used before. Timothy Zisa, as described in this blog, was sentenced to 5 years on probation and barred from teaching or holding other public employment in NJ for sex with 2 18 year old students.

I agree with the prosecution of sexual encounters between public college employees and students as official misconduct. If the professor who had sex with his student was a high school teacher and a 16 year old girl, there would have been prison time. The lack of prison time is due to a dismissal of victims over 18 as true victims.

Women high school teachers who have sexual relationships with students over 16 are now getting prison time, and 21 and 17 are not a whole lot different in maturity. If a boy who is in his mid to late teens can be damaged by sex with a female teacher who is around 30, then a woman in her early 20s can be damaged with a sexual relationship with a professor in college. When it comes to a position of power, college professors and high school teachers have similar power and influence over their students.

I disagree with Judge Fitzgerald's contention that Forbes wasn't in a position to influence grades, because he was the victim's professor. Professors have the power to raise grades of students they are over, regardless of whether the student asks for the favor or not. The fact that former Professor Forbes had a employer-employee relationship with the student as a babysitter is an example of a dual relationship, something frowned upon by most professions.

If sex between a high school teacher and student is illegal, and this case between a professor and a college student was prosecuted as a felony, due to the implication of grades for sex, then perhaps Illinois (and other states') official misconduct laws can be expanded to include professor-student sex in public universities, if they can't be interpreted that way already.

In the case that official misconduct can't be expanded to cover professor/college student sex under existing constructs, perhaps it's time to criminalize professor-student sex, and a start would be making sex between professors and college students official misconduct or sexual imposition of a vulnerable adult. There are people who believe in laissez-faire when dealing with sexual relationships between adults, but the candy store should be closed regardless of age if you are teaching a student. Young adults and their parents need to be protected when the potential victim is over 18 or the local AOC just as much as if the victim was under 18.

Professor gets off (in both senses of the word) for sexual encounter with student

A former Illinois State University professor was acquitted of official misconduct after a bench trail because the judge ruled that while the relationship between the married professor and the then 21 year old student was unethical and immoral, but also that the professor was not in a position to influence that woman's grade. "It’s not a question of the morality of this relationship but the legality of it,” Judge Kevin Fitzgerald said in the decision.

According to the Pantagraph:

Michael Forbes, a former associate professor in the ISU music department, was accused of convincing a student to perform a sex act on him on April 22, 2006, after she came to his home to baby sit for his child.

Prosecutors contend Forbes sought the sexual activity in return for his arranging music performances for the student, who was 21 at the time of the incident. Judge Kevin Fitzgerald ruled that insufficient evidence existed to show a connection between Forbes’ official duties at the university and the sexual activity.“There needs to be a nexus, a connection, between his official capacity and the alleged act,” the judge said.Evidence at the bench trial showed Forbes was not in a position to influence the woman’s grade.“It’s not a question of the morality of this relationship but the legality of it,” Fitzgerald said in the decision.

Forbes, who is married, admitted adultery when having sexual contact with the 21-year old student. “I do believe that I’ve committed adultery and for that I’ll always be sorry,” he said. The music professor also said that he was trying to regain his reputation, and that an contract with a North Carolina university was rescinded after Normal police told his prospective employer of the charges. “I have a lot of things to solve in the court of public opinion before I can put the pieces back together. There’s been a lot of damage done in the court of public opinion.”

More from the Pantagraph:

According to Forbes, the April 22 incident began when the woman asked Forbes if he wanted to see a tattoo located below her navel. Forbes said he kissed the tattoo and the two engaged in sexual activity before he left for a recital.

"Not once on April 22 did I utter the words ‘you owe me,’” to the student, Forbes testified. Assistant State’s Attorney Jane Foster argued that Forbes exploited his position to obtain sexual favors from the student. “The only reason they had interaction with each other was because he was a professor and she was a student at Illinois State University,” Foster said.Foster called suggestions that the sexual activity was consensual “incredulous, at best.”

The prosecutor also pointed out that Forbes asked the woman to keep the relationship confidential because of the harm a disclosure could mean for his career and family. Foster praised the student’s decision to file the complaint against the professor.“What’s important here is the victim came forward and made a report. She’s to be commended for that,” Foster said after the acquittal. A civil lawsuit filed by the student is pending against Forbes and ISU in federal court.

ISU is being sued for $500,000, and Forbes is being sued for $100,000. The federal trial is scheduled for 2009.

This was not the 1st time than an ISU professor faced criminal charges over sexual activity with a college student and was acquitted.

In May, former ISU theatre professor Patrick O’Gara was acquitted by a judge of battery and official misconduct charges for kissing a student who said the attention was unwanted.

Brian's opinion - My opinion about this case will be shown in the next posting. Here a a few of the over three dozen comments for this article: The comments I agree with I've shown below:

"Whatever price this educator pays he deserves. Along with being an educator goes the responsibility of leadership. He holds a position of trust to be revered by students. Every relationship between an educator and a student should be based on dignity, respect and above all high moral character. Mr Forbes chose to degrade his family, his unversity , his peers, and most of all the students when he engaged in adultery with a young female student. No law was broken since he did not force this young lady into doing anything, but the moral character of this educator is definitely in question. I question if this professor has the qualities we need in higher education professors. "
"... At either level, high school or college, it is ethically wrong (and in case of HS, legally) wrong to have sex with students."

Sex offender cop gets 4 years for unwanted contact

A NYC ex-cop has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for sexually assaulting two different women while on duty. The judge which sentenced him, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Chambers (unnamed in the New York Post story), said that Clerge "used the power of his office to obtain sexual gratification."

According to the Post and the New York Daily News:

Fernand Clerge, 40, had faced up to seven years behind bars for his crimes, which included unwanted sexual advances against two women on two separate occasions while armed and in uniform.

One of his victims, a 37-year-old waitress, testified at trial that Clerge and his partner followed her home after a routine traffic stop and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

The other victim was 21 when Clerge performed a sexually intrusive search on her while investigating a noise complaint. Clerge's apology rang hollow in court to the older victim, as noted below:

"You, myself and God know the truth of what occurred that day," he said to one of the victims, reading from a carefully worded, handwritten statement through tears and begging the judge to spare him. "I'm so sorry for any harm I may have caused you."

His words did little more than reduce the victim to tears herself.

"I think he was just doing that to get fewer years in jail," the 37-year-old woman said afterward as she left the courthouse still crying and barely able to talk.

Clerge was convicted of official misconduct, attempted criminal sex act, and sex abuse.

A comment at the Daily News describes what many people have on their minds about sex offender cops:

Another lowlife creep molesting women. Why don't they casterate[sic] his *** & call it a day. What is even more frightening it that he was an ex-cop!! I wonder how many ppl he beat up & molested during his stint as a cop? Well when those boys know about him being an ex-cop. I guess he will be somebody's B***H