Washington County, OR Judge Gayle A. Nachtigal sentenced "serial, sadistic" sex offender James Worley, 47, to 30 years in prison July 10. Under Oregon's dangerous offender law, Worley must serve almost 25 years of that sentence before being considered for parole. In March, a jury found him guilty of 1st degree kidnapping and attempted 1st degree rape and sexual assault, among other charges. Jurors acquitted Worley of attempted 1st degree sodomy and deadlocked on an attempted murder charge.
Worley has a lengthy criminal record for attacking women, having served a total of 25 years in prison for various incidents. In 1983, he raped and kidnapped an Oklahoma woman, and in 1998, he was convicted of harassing a Bend, OR woman. Worley was on post-prison supervision for robbing and kidnapping a Clackamas County woman at the time of the latest crime.
During the trial, [Heather]Struznik riveted the courtroom with harrowing testimony about the night of Oct. 20, 2007. Approaching Struznik outside a Gaston bar, Worley said he was about out of gas and didn't know the area. She said she'd lead him into Forest Grove, but he pulled over on Oregon 47, near the turnoff to Hagg Lake.
Thinking he had run out of gas, Struznik stopped. Worley jumped into her Jeep and punched her in the head three times. During a savage struggle, a profanity-spewing Worley slammed her head into the dash, pulled her face, yanked at her belt and dragged her outside. She scratched, kicked and bit her attacker, gripping the door frame until her hands bled.
On Friday, Struznik, 37, told a smiling Worley that she wasn't his victim and she no longer was afraid of the dark or going out alone. She said she still has a bulging disc in her neck, healing bones in her face and fingers so sore she can't even open a jar.
"Every time it happens, I think 'You got beat by a girl. You picked the wrong girl.' "
Frank P. Colistro, a forensic psychologist for Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, said that community safety was the only consideration and that "this type of individual we can't fix." Colistro, a Portland man, also said that Worley, a misogynist who thinks women look down on him, attacks them from nowhere to inflict terror, humiliation, and sadistic power over them.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Former Lebanon Township, PA man convicted of rape - faces other charges
John Russell Field, 32, of Cleona, PA was convicted of 5 out of 11 counts for raping an 18 year old woman he met through a dating service back in 2004. After the meeting, he raped her while she was passed out from drinking a dozen vodka shots. The jury, which deliberated 3 hours, acquitted Field of using force on his victim.
The woman, then 18, said she drank about 12 shots of vodka, got sick and vomited on his floor. She said Field threatened to call police because she was drinking while underage. He agreed not to call police but wanted to have sex. "I didn't want to have sex," she testified.
She said she later woke in his bed as he was raping her.
According to testimony, Field initially told police he didn't remember the woman. Later, he agreed he did take her to his home and had sex with her. The sex was consensual, he testified.
Field faces at least 5 years in prison when he is sentenced October 15 by Judge John Tylwalk. The prosecutor of the case was Lebanon County Assistant District Attorney Megan Ryland-Tanner. Field faces more rape charges in Susquehanna and Lower Swatara townships and an indecent assault on a 5 year old girl charge in Lebanon County.
The woman, then 18, said she drank about 12 shots of vodka, got sick and vomited on his floor. She said Field threatened to call police because she was drinking while underage. He agreed not to call police but wanted to have sex. "I didn't want to have sex," she testified.
She said she later woke in his bed as he was raping her.
According to testimony, Field initially told police he didn't remember the woman. Later, he agreed he did take her to his home and had sex with her. The sex was consensual, he testified.
Field faces at least 5 years in prison when he is sentenced October 15 by Judge John Tylwalk. The prosecutor of the case was Lebanon County Assistant District Attorney Megan Ryland-Tanner. Field faces more rape charges in Susquehanna and Lower Swatara townships and an indecent assault on a 5 year old girl charge in Lebanon County.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Marine faces murder, arson charges in death of wife, an Army nurse
By KEVIN MAURER, Associated Press Writer
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The husband of an Army nurse who worked in the maternity ward at Fort Bragg's hospital was charged Monday with murder in her death, a day after her body was discovered by authorities.
Marine Cpl. John Wimunc, 23, was also charged with first-degree arson and conspiracy to commit arson in the death of his wife, Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, of Dubuque, Iowa. Her body was found Sunday, three days after a suspicious fire at her Fayetteville apartment.
In May, Wimunc secured a temporary restraining order against her husband. She told authorities he got drunk and held a loaded handgun to her head and his. At the time of her death, the couple was going through a divorce.
"You start with people who are closest to the spouse and you work your way out from that," Fayetteville Detective Jeff Locklear said of the investigation.
Authorities also charged Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden, 22, with first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit arson and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Both were arrested at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps base about 130 miles southeast of Fayetteville where they are stationed as combat engineers.
Wimunc's body was found in a wooded area near the southern border of Camp Lejeune late Sunday afternoon, not far from Alden's residence. The body had been there several days and there is evidence she was dead upon arrival, said Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson, who wouldn't elaborate. The men were arrested late Sunday night after police interviewed Alden.
"We were able to corroborate a lot of the things he told us," Locklear said. "We used that information, interviews with witnesses ... to get the arrest warrant."
Both men are currently being held without bond in the Cumberland County jail and are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys. John Wimunc's father declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press, but Alden's mother said her son's only involvement was giving a friend a ride to Fayetteville.
"He had no idea what was going on. He didn't do this," Connie Johnson said in a phone interview from her home in Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Fayetteville police began searching for Wimunc when she didn't show up for work Thursday. Co-workers could not find her at her apartment, but smelled what they suspected was a fire and called police. Once inside, investigators found evidence of arson.
Sgt. Chris Corcione said Monday that investigators found several points where the fire was started, but the blaze was concentrated in the apartment's rear bedroom. While the interior walls of the burned room were black with soot, Corcione said, the fire burned itself out and left behind useable evidence.
Holley Wimunc, 24, was commissioned by the Army Nurse Corps in 2007. Her first duty assignment was at Fort Bragg, where she worked in the mother and baby unit at Womack Army Medical Center.
Corcione said Wimunc was last seen alive the night of July 8, when she went out with friends and used her ATM card. Police believe she was dead when she was taken out of the apartment, but they are not yet sure when her body was taken to Onslow County.
Hudson said an attempt to burn the body set off a brush fire that drew the attention of authorities, and the body was located by Division of Forest Resources personnel. He said detectives likely would never have found her body had it been burned in a brush-free area about 100 feet away.
"It seems that someone tried to torch the body in the shallow grave," Hudson said.
Maj. Cliff W. Gilmore, a spokesman with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, said both suspects are assigned to the division's 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion. John Wimunc has served two tours in Iraq, including that ended in January.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The husband of an Army nurse who worked in the maternity ward at Fort Bragg's hospital was charged Monday with murder in her death, a day after her body was discovered by authorities.
Marine Cpl. John Wimunc, 23, was also charged with first-degree arson and conspiracy to commit arson in the death of his wife, Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, of Dubuque, Iowa. Her body was found Sunday, three days after a suspicious fire at her Fayetteville apartment.
In May, Wimunc secured a temporary restraining order against her husband. She told authorities he got drunk and held a loaded handgun to her head and his. At the time of her death, the couple was going through a divorce.
"You start with people who are closest to the spouse and you work your way out from that," Fayetteville Detective Jeff Locklear said of the investigation.
Authorities also charged Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden, 22, with first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit arson and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Both were arrested at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps base about 130 miles southeast of Fayetteville where they are stationed as combat engineers.
Wimunc's body was found in a wooded area near the southern border of Camp Lejeune late Sunday afternoon, not far from Alden's residence. The body had been there several days and there is evidence she was dead upon arrival, said Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson, who wouldn't elaborate. The men were arrested late Sunday night after police interviewed Alden.
"We were able to corroborate a lot of the things he told us," Locklear said. "We used that information, interviews with witnesses ... to get the arrest warrant."
Both men are currently being held without bond in the Cumberland County jail and are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys. John Wimunc's father declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press, but Alden's mother said her son's only involvement was giving a friend a ride to Fayetteville.
"He had no idea what was going on. He didn't do this," Connie Johnson said in a phone interview from her home in Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Fayetteville police began searching for Wimunc when she didn't show up for work Thursday. Co-workers could not find her at her apartment, but smelled what they suspected was a fire and called police. Once inside, investigators found evidence of arson.
Sgt. Chris Corcione said Monday that investigators found several points where the fire was started, but the blaze was concentrated in the apartment's rear bedroom. While the interior walls of the burned room were black with soot, Corcione said, the fire burned itself out and left behind useable evidence.
Holley Wimunc, 24, was commissioned by the Army Nurse Corps in 2007. Her first duty assignment was at Fort Bragg, where she worked in the mother and baby unit at Womack Army Medical Center.
Corcione said Wimunc was last seen alive the night of July 8, when she went out with friends and used her ATM card. Police believe she was dead when she was taken out of the apartment, but they are not yet sure when her body was taken to Onslow County.
Hudson said an attempt to burn the body set off a brush fire that drew the attention of authorities, and the body was located by Division of Forest Resources personnel. He said detectives likely would never have found her body had it been burned in a brush-free area about 100 feet away.
"It seems that someone tried to torch the body in the shallow grave," Hudson said.
Maj. Cliff W. Gilmore, a spokesman with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, said both suspects are assigned to the division's 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion. John Wimunc has served two tours in Iraq, including that ended in January.
Oakland to pay as much as $2 million in groping, sexual harassment case
Angela Woodall The Oakland Tribune, Calif.
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Jul. 11--The city of Oakland is expected to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit involving an Oakland police officer accused by 16 Asian-American women of pulling them over on bogus traffic stops and then groping or sexually harassing them.
If approved by the City Council, this will be the second such payment Oakland has made to settle claims involving Officer Richard Valerga, who resigned from the Oakland Police Department in 2005.
City Attorney John Russo recommended the city approve the $2 million settlement to avoid a jury trial, according to media reports. He could not be reached for comment.
In 2006, Oakland paid a $190,000 settlement to two women who claimed the city should have done more to stop Valerga from pulling them over and touching them inappropriately. The suit alleged that Valerga targeted the women -- Asian-Americans between 18 and 40 -- because of their race.
In that case, Valerga pleaded no contest to four misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and violating the women's civil rights after three other charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain. Valerga was sentenced to six months in county jail, placed on three months probation and ordered to undergo counseling.
In this latest case, all of the 16 women were Vietnamese or Chinese and many could not speak English, according to attorney Jim Chanin, who together with lawyer John Burris represented the plaintiffs.
The women, who have not been named in the suit, claim that Valerga targeted them in 2004 or 2005, near the eastern corner of Lake Merritt or the Fruitvale district.
Valerga refused to testify, but according to the testimony, the officer pulled the women over on bogus or minor traffic stops and asked them to sit in the front seat of his patrol car. He then "engaged in grotesque hands-on physical contact," Chanin said.
Neither Valerga's lawyers nor Oakland police could be reached for comment.
--
Jul. 11--The city of Oakland is expected to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit involving an Oakland police officer accused by 16 Asian-American women of pulling them over on bogus traffic stops and then groping or sexually harassing them.
If approved by the City Council, this will be the second such payment Oakland has made to settle claims involving Officer Richard Valerga, who resigned from the Oakland Police Department in 2005.
City Attorney John Russo recommended the city approve the $2 million settlement to avoid a jury trial, according to media reports. He could not be reached for comment.
In 2006, Oakland paid a $190,000 settlement to two women who claimed the city should have done more to stop Valerga from pulling them over and touching them inappropriately. The suit alleged that Valerga targeted the women -- Asian-Americans between 18 and 40 -- because of their race.
In that case, Valerga pleaded no contest to four misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and violating the women's civil rights after three other charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain. Valerga was sentenced to six months in county jail, placed on three months probation and ordered to undergo counseling.
In this latest case, all of the 16 women were Vietnamese or Chinese and many could not speak English, according to attorney Jim Chanin, who together with lawyer John Burris represented the plaintiffs.
The women, who have not been named in the suit, claim that Valerga targeted them in 2004 or 2005, near the eastern corner of Lake Merritt or the Fruitvale district.
Valerga refused to testify, but according to the testimony, the officer pulled the women over on bogus or minor traffic stops and asked them to sit in the front seat of his patrol car. He then "engaged in grotesque hands-on physical contact," Chanin said.
Neither Valerga's lawyers nor Oakland police could be reached for comment.
York Township, PA man convicted of attempted rape of ex-girlfriend
Justin J. Mease, 21, of York Township, PA, was convicted of attempted rape and other offerses for attacking his ex-girlfriend last fall. After an argument at her Palmyra, PA home, Mease began to choke her while trying to rape her. The victim tried to leave, but he ran after her, dragged her back into the house by her hoodie, and held a knife to her throat. Mease also took her house and cell phones.
At a trial Tuesday before Lebanon County President Judge Robert J. Eby, the jury found Mease guilty of attempted rape, attempted sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, making terroristic threats, indecent assault, unlawful restraint, indecent assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, false imprisonment and theft. He was found not guilty of aggravated assault.
Sentencing was set for August 28.
At a trial Tuesday before Lebanon County President Judge Robert J. Eby, the jury found Mease guilty of attempted rape, attempted sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, making terroristic threats, indecent assault, unlawful restraint, indecent assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, false imprisonment and theft. He was found not guilty of aggravated assault.
Sentencing was set for August 28.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Suspected rapist ordered to prison on drug charges, then sentenced to 35 years for rape
(Originally Posted 1-10-08)
James Clayton Solomon, a physical fitness instructor whose training business goes by the ironically named Bodies For Christ, was ordered to report back to prison on or before April 2nd to serve a 5 year term in a federal prison facility after a hearing Monday (January 7) in the U.S. District Court in Fort Smith .
Solomon, convicted in federal court of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in 1999, was placed on supervised release back in 2005. One condition of supervised relase is not to break any other laws, state or federal.
The Ft. Smith (AR) Times-Record's Accused Sex Offender Must Return To Prison has more:
However, Solomon ran into trouble last summer in connection with allegations that he raped or sexually assaulted several women at his personal training business, Bodies for Christ.
Solomon was charged June 12 in Washington County with two counts of rape after two women said they were attacked at his gym in Springdale. On a petition to revoke his release, he was arrested and set for a federal detention hearing nine days later in Fort Smith. On June 21, the same day he was released on $50,000 signature bond, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Crawford County on suspicion of two incidents of second-degree sexual assault alleged to have occurred at his Van Buren gym. Federal probation officers filed a supplemental petition to revoke, adding the new allegations to the previous ones listed.
Solomon was placed on home electonic monitoring after his release on bond. At the hearing, three of four accusers, federal probation officers, detectives and several defense character witnesses testified.
In the Washington County incidents, one woman said she was raped Feb. 11, when she went to interview for a job at Solomon’s gym. The other said she was raped Nov. 14, 2006, when she went to his gym to discuss her fitness goals with him.
In the Crawford County incidents, Van Buren policedetective Steve Weaver said a Hackett woman, who madeher report over the phone and was never available afterward, said Solomon touched her inappropriately at his Van Buren gym in January 2007. Weaver said a Fort Smith woman reported a similar incident as occurring in February 2007.The latter woman testified, but was unclear on the stand as to whether she was assaulted in February 2006 or 2007. She said the incident occurred when she went to see Solomon about buying a cheap car he had offered to help her obtain.
Federal Prosecutor Kyra Jenner stated witness tampering may have occured after one of the alleged victims stated she was promised a car in exchange for not testifying.
District Judge Robert T. Dawson declined to consider the question, but at the end of the hearing, he expressed concern about witness tampering. In revoking Solomon’s release, Dawson found the defendant guilty of the both new law violations alleged — the June 12 rape charges and the June 21 warrant on sexual assault charges.
Solomon will be credited with time served on electronic monitoring.
(Update 5-12-08) Soloman ran from Arkansas to the Los Angeles area, where he started a new job as a fitness trainer. He was arrested there in April, and returned to Oklahoma. The trial for the rape charges will be in July. He's being held in the Washington County Jail.
(Update 7-13-08) Soloman was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the rape of the 25 year old fitness trainer that the charges were for, and 15 years for the failure to appear charge. The rape charge and 10 years of the failure to appear charge will run consecutively, so that means Soloman will spend a total of 45 years in prison, barring early release. More details about how Soloman groomed the victim were aired - the rape occured after he met the victim, a fellow fitness instructor, at a Wal-Mart, and he set up a "job interview," where he then held her down on the floor and raped her.
Circuit Judge Kim Smith sentenced Soloman immediately. The rape sentence and 10 years of the failure to appear sentence will run consecutively. The remaining five years will run concurrently."I think, under the circumstances, 35 years is an appropriate sentence," Smith said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Duell said running the sentences concurrently would have provided no punishment for Soloman fleeing justice."The bottom line is the jury did the right thing," Duell said.
Soloman was somewhat argumentative with the judge during sentencing. Afterward, Soloman spoke with his mother and daughter as he was escorted by deputies out of the courtroom."I love you, baby," he told the daughter. She sat in the hallway floor sobbing after he was gone.
According to Duell, Soloman targheted vulnerable women, and faces federal charges for violating his federal probation. Charges are pending in other Arkansas counties, and other women who were raped declined to press charges.
James Clayton Solomon, a physical fitness instructor whose training business goes by the ironically named Bodies For Christ, was ordered to report back to prison on or before April 2nd to serve a 5 year term in a federal prison facility after a hearing Monday (January 7) in the U.S. District Court in Fort Smith .
Solomon, convicted in federal court of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in 1999, was placed on supervised release back in 2005. One condition of supervised relase is not to break any other laws, state or federal.
The Ft. Smith (AR) Times-Record's Accused Sex Offender Must Return To Prison has more:
However, Solomon ran into trouble last summer in connection with allegations that he raped or sexually assaulted several women at his personal training business, Bodies for Christ.
Solomon was charged June 12 in Washington County with two counts of rape after two women said they were attacked at his gym in Springdale. On a petition to revoke his release, he was arrested and set for a federal detention hearing nine days later in Fort Smith. On June 21, the same day he was released on $50,000 signature bond, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Crawford County on suspicion of two incidents of second-degree sexual assault alleged to have occurred at his Van Buren gym. Federal probation officers filed a supplemental petition to revoke, adding the new allegations to the previous ones listed.
Solomon was placed on home electonic monitoring after his release on bond. At the hearing, three of four accusers, federal probation officers, detectives and several defense character witnesses testified.
In the Washington County incidents, one woman said she was raped Feb. 11, when she went to interview for a job at Solomon’s gym. The other said she was raped Nov. 14, 2006, when she went to his gym to discuss her fitness goals with him.
In the Crawford County incidents, Van Buren policedetective Steve Weaver said a Hackett woman, who madeher report over the phone and was never available afterward, said Solomon touched her inappropriately at his Van Buren gym in January 2007. Weaver said a Fort Smith woman reported a similar incident as occurring in February 2007.The latter woman testified, but was unclear on the stand as to whether she was assaulted in February 2006 or 2007. She said the incident occurred when she went to see Solomon about buying a cheap car he had offered to help her obtain.
Federal Prosecutor Kyra Jenner stated witness tampering may have occured after one of the alleged victims stated she was promised a car in exchange for not testifying.
District Judge Robert T. Dawson declined to consider the question, but at the end of the hearing, he expressed concern about witness tampering. In revoking Solomon’s release, Dawson found the defendant guilty of the both new law violations alleged — the June 12 rape charges and the June 21 warrant on sexual assault charges.
Solomon will be credited with time served on electronic monitoring.
(Update 5-12-08) Soloman ran from Arkansas to the Los Angeles area, where he started a new job as a fitness trainer. He was arrested there in April, and returned to Oklahoma. The trial for the rape charges will be in July. He's being held in the Washington County Jail.
(Update 7-13-08) Soloman was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the rape of the 25 year old fitness trainer that the charges were for, and 15 years for the failure to appear charge. The rape charge and 10 years of the failure to appear charge will run consecutively, so that means Soloman will spend a total of 45 years in prison, barring early release. More details about how Soloman groomed the victim were aired - the rape occured after he met the victim, a fellow fitness instructor, at a Wal-Mart, and he set up a "job interview," where he then held her down on the floor and raped her.
Circuit Judge Kim Smith sentenced Soloman immediately. The rape sentence and 10 years of the failure to appear sentence will run consecutively. The remaining five years will run concurrently."I think, under the circumstances, 35 years is an appropriate sentence," Smith said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Duell said running the sentences concurrently would have provided no punishment for Soloman fleeing justice."The bottom line is the jury did the right thing," Duell said.
Soloman was somewhat argumentative with the judge during sentencing. Afterward, Soloman spoke with his mother and daughter as he was escorted by deputies out of the courtroom."I love you, baby," he told the daughter. She sat in the hallway floor sobbing after he was gone.
According to Duell, Soloman targheted vulnerable women, and faces federal charges for violating his federal probation. Charges are pending in other Arkansas counties, and other women who were raped declined to press charges.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Wisconsin woman banished for sexual relationship with 17 year old
AMERY (AP) - A former teacher's aide who had sex with her daughter's high school classmate has been banished from her western Wisconsin hometown. A judge ordered Brenda K. Baillargeon, 40, out of Amery for the next 15 years after she repeatedly violated court orders to stay away from the now 17-year-old boy.
Polk County District Attorney Daniel Steffen said the sentence was appropriate given that Baillargeon had contacted the teen at his home, work and elsewhere in the city of about 2,800.
"It's not common," he said. "But where there's a clear victim and a threat, it is done."
Baillargeon also was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.
Judge Molly GaleWyrick told the mother of four that if she had any contact with the boy during her banishment, she would spend at least five years in a state prison.
"He relied on you to say, 'Stop, this is wrong,' " GaleWyrick told Baillargeon. "He is blameless. You are not. You were 39 and he 16. It is not too much to ask what you were thinking."
Judges have discretion in sentencing and terms of probation, and Baillargeon's punishment could have been worse, a Hamline University School of Law professor said.
"She has found it difficult to discipline herself, so this is just another way of accomplishing that," said Robin Magee, who teaches criminal law and procedure at the St. Paul school. Baillargeon must register as a sex offender after entering no-contest pleas to sexual assault and child enticement.
She did not look at the victim's mother or family, even when she addressed them during the sentencing hearing.
"I do realize what I did," she said, "and I am very sorry for the hurt it has caused. I do apologize to you in public. I think that shows I am trying to be remorseful. I am not a sexual predator who seeks out young boys."
The teenager's mother got a restraining order after becoming suspicious about the relationship last fall. Over the course of seven months, Baillargeon had sex with the teen at his home, at his grandfather's cabin, on a bench at a nearby park and at her cabin near Amery, Steffen said. She also took the boy on trips and sneaked into his home in the early morning hours for sex, court records said.
After Baillargeon got a divorce, she and the boy planned to marry and move to NC where the teen wanted to become a Nascar mechanic.
There have been other cases of banishment. A child molester was banished from his Minnesota neighborhood in 1992. In 2003, a small Alaskan village gave a troublemaker with a history of drunken violence a one-way ticket to Anchorage and told him not to come back.
Polk County District Attorney Daniel Steffen said the sentence was appropriate given that Baillargeon had contacted the teen at his home, work and elsewhere in the city of about 2,800.
"It's not common," he said. "But where there's a clear victim and a threat, it is done."
Baillargeon also was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.
Judge Molly GaleWyrick told the mother of four that if she had any contact with the boy during her banishment, she would spend at least five years in a state prison.
"He relied on you to say, 'Stop, this is wrong,' " GaleWyrick told Baillargeon. "He is blameless. You are not. You were 39 and he 16. It is not too much to ask what you were thinking."
Judges have discretion in sentencing and terms of probation, and Baillargeon's punishment could have been worse, a Hamline University School of Law professor said.
"She has found it difficult to discipline herself, so this is just another way of accomplishing that," said Robin Magee, who teaches criminal law and procedure at the St. Paul school. Baillargeon must register as a sex offender after entering no-contest pleas to sexual assault and child enticement.
She did not look at the victim's mother or family, even when she addressed them during the sentencing hearing.
"I do realize what I did," she said, "and I am very sorry for the hurt it has caused. I do apologize to you in public. I think that shows I am trying to be remorseful. I am not a sexual predator who seeks out young boys."
The teenager's mother got a restraining order after becoming suspicious about the relationship last fall. Over the course of seven months, Baillargeon had sex with the teen at his home, at his grandfather's cabin, on a bench at a nearby park and at her cabin near Amery, Steffen said. She also took the boy on trips and sneaked into his home in the early morning hours for sex, court records said.
After Baillargeon got a divorce, she and the boy planned to marry and move to NC where the teen wanted to become a Nascar mechanic.
There have been other cases of banishment. A child molester was banished from his Minnesota neighborhood in 1992. In 2003, a small Alaskan village gave a troublemaker with a history of drunken violence a one-way ticket to Anchorage and told him not to come back.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Man convicted of rape and torture of 19 year old acquaintance
(Original Post 5-18-08)Robert Gnade, a 42 year old man from Troy, Missouri, was convicted on 2 counts of rape and felonious restraint for raping and torturing a 19 year old acquaintance last summer. He offered to give her a ride to pick up prescriptions, but took his victim to a shed owned by his parents in rural Lincoln County and raped and tortured her.
Police say Gnade had a duffel bag in his vehicle that contained handcuffs, rope, and sex toys. Instead of taking the woman to a pharmacy, he took her to a shed on his parents' rural Lincoln County property.There, he handcuffed her to the ceiling of a shed, beating her with a belt, police say.
As he beat her, he told her he would stop the beating if she would agree to have sex with him, police say. When she repeatedly refused, he raped her several times.In a released statement, Lincoln County Sheriff Dan Torres said, "This is an especially egregious crime because it is associated with unimaginable brutality that goes far beyond just a sexual assault."
The woman told family members what happened and Gnade was arrested a short time later. Prosecutors are trying Gnade for 10 other counts of sodomy involving victims between 1977 and 1989.
Police say Gnade had a duffel bag in his vehicle that contained handcuffs, rope, and sex toys. Instead of taking the woman to a pharmacy, he took her to a shed on his parents' rural Lincoln County property.There, he handcuffed her to the ceiling of a shed, beating her with a belt, police say.
As he beat her, he told her he would stop the beating if she would agree to have sex with him, police say. When she repeatedly refused, he raped her several times.In a released statement, Lincoln County Sheriff Dan Torres said, "This is an especially egregious crime because it is associated with unimaginable brutality that goes far beyond just a sexual assault."
The woman told family members what happened and Gnade was arrested a short time later. Prosecutors are trying Gnade for 10 other counts of sodomy involving victims between 1977 and 1989.
(Update 7-11-08)
Gnade was sentenced to 14 years in prison, a sentence which his victim, who is currently attending counseling, said wasn't enough.
"I'm scared to walk by myself," she said. I'm scared to be by myself. It's very terrifying for me."
Gnade's attorney, public defender Gary Grunick, said a pre-sentence report prepared by Probation and Parole officers recommended a sentence of 3 years in prison if there were aggravating circumstances. He asked for the three-year sentence and said his client had no prior felony or misdemeanor convictions. The first of the remaining three cases against Gnade is scheduled for trial on Oct. 28.
Gnade's attorney, public defender Gary Grunick, said a pre-sentence report prepared by Probation and Parole officers recommended a sentence of 3 years in prison if there were aggravating circumstances. He asked for the three-year sentence and said his client had no prior felony or misdemeanor convictions. The first of the remaining three cases against Gnade is scheduled for trial on Oct. 28.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
2nd Massachusetts man convicted of killing wife, sentenced to life without parole
WOBURN, Massachusetts (AP) -- A former Missouri radio reporter was convicted Wednesday of killing his wife by poisoning her Gatorade with antifreeze and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
A Middlesex Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two days before convicting James Keown of first-degree murder in the death of his 31-year-old wife, Julie, who died of a lethal dose of ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
Prosecutors said Keown slowly poisoned his wife over several months and gave her a fatal dose on Sept. 4, 2004, because he was deeply in debt and wanted to cash in her $250,000 life insurance policy. Julie Keown slipped into a coma and died four days later.
Keown's lawyer, Matthew Feinberg, told the jury Julie Keown could have committed suicide or accidentally ingested the chemical. No antifreeze was found in the Keowns' home.
Before handing down the mandatory life sentence, Judge Sandra Hamlin called Keown "an evil human being."
Julie Keown's parents, Jack and Nancy Oldag, held onto each other while giving victim impact statements.
"In my mind, James is no longer a person. He's just a mass of flesh and bone. A real person never would have done so evil a thing," Nancy Oldag said.
Keown, 34, did not address the court. His mother sobbed as he was led away in handcuffs.
Assistant District Attorney Nathaniel Yeager said Keown killed his wife after he was fired from his job, the couple's financial problems worsened and a string of lies he had told his wife began to catch up with him.
Yeager said Keown told his Kansas City employer -- an educational consulting company -- he had been accepted at the prestigious Harvard Business School and asked if he could work remotely from the Boston area. The company agreed, and the Keowns relocated to Waltham in January 2004.
Six months later, Keown was fired when his boss discovered he had lied about being accepted to Harvard and had stolen a Web site design he was asked to develop for the company, Yeager said.
Julie Keown, a registered nurse, was hospitalized in August 2004 after her speech became slurred and she had difficulty walking. Doctors told her she was suffering from a kidney ailment.
Two weeks later, Julie Keown was hospitalized again. She died on Sept. 8, 2004.
During the trial, a computer expert testified that two days before Julie Keown entered the hospital the first time, James Keown's computer showed he did a search using the words "ethylene glycol death human."
Keown's defense attorney told the jury Julie Keown became despondent after she was hospitalized in August, when doctors discovered she had an underlying chronic kidney disease that had been undiagnosed for years.
Keown was not charged in his wife's death until more than a year later, when he was arrested in Jefferson City, Mo., where he was a reporter and talk show host at radio station KLIK-AM.
A Middlesex Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two days before convicting James Keown of first-degree murder in the death of his 31-year-old wife, Julie, who died of a lethal dose of ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
Prosecutors said Keown slowly poisoned his wife over several months and gave her a fatal dose on Sept. 4, 2004, because he was deeply in debt and wanted to cash in her $250,000 life insurance policy. Julie Keown slipped into a coma and died four days later.
Keown's lawyer, Matthew Feinberg, told the jury Julie Keown could have committed suicide or accidentally ingested the chemical. No antifreeze was found in the Keowns' home.
Before handing down the mandatory life sentence, Judge Sandra Hamlin called Keown "an evil human being."
Julie Keown's parents, Jack and Nancy Oldag, held onto each other while giving victim impact statements.
"In my mind, James is no longer a person. He's just a mass of flesh and bone. A real person never would have done so evil a thing," Nancy Oldag said.
Keown, 34, did not address the court. His mother sobbed as he was led away in handcuffs.
Assistant District Attorney Nathaniel Yeager said Keown killed his wife after he was fired from his job, the couple's financial problems worsened and a string of lies he had told his wife began to catch up with him.
Yeager said Keown told his Kansas City employer -- an educational consulting company -- he had been accepted at the prestigious Harvard Business School and asked if he could work remotely from the Boston area. The company agreed, and the Keowns relocated to Waltham in January 2004.
Six months later, Keown was fired when his boss discovered he had lied about being accepted to Harvard and had stolen a Web site design he was asked to develop for the company, Yeager said.
Julie Keown, a registered nurse, was hospitalized in August 2004 after her speech became slurred and she had difficulty walking. Doctors told her she was suffering from a kidney ailment.
Two weeks later, Julie Keown was hospitalized again. She died on Sept. 8, 2004.
During the trial, a computer expert testified that two days before Julie Keown entered the hospital the first time, James Keown's computer showed he did a search using the words "ethylene glycol death human."
Keown's defense attorney told the jury Julie Keown became despondent after she was hospitalized in August, when doctors discovered she had an underlying chronic kidney disease that had been undiagnosed for years.
Keown was not charged in his wife's death until more than a year later, when he was arrested in Jefferson City, Mo., where he was a reporter and talk show host at radio station KLIK-AM.
Pennsylvania man charged with raping ex-girlfriend
GREENSBURG (AP) - A Westmoreland County man is accused of kidnapping and raping his former girlfriend hours after he was released from jail.State police say 34-year-old Curtis Scharer IV of Greensburg went to the woman's house early Friday, cut her utility lines, slashed the tires of a vehicle in front of her house and punched her boyfriend.
Police say Scharer then forced the woman into nearby woods, where he physically and sexually assaulted her.
Police say Scharer had been released a few hours earlier from the county jail, where he was awaiting trial on unrelated assault charges.Scharer was returned to the jail Friday on charges of rape, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault and other crimes. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Police say Scharer then forced the woman into nearby woods, where he physically and sexually assaulted her.
Police say Scharer had been released a few hours earlier from the county jail, where he was awaiting trial on unrelated assault charges.Scharer was returned to the jail Friday on charges of rape, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault and other crimes. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
New Australian book about women's sexual attitudes show interesting sexual habits
ONE in five women have featured in a home-made sex tape, a new survey of women's attitudes to sex has found.
But judging by some of the 2000 responses author Joan Sauers received to her online study exploring the sex lives of Australian women, many now regret it. "It was exciting when we were doing it. When I saw the tape I just felt fat," one 30-year-old teacher from Victoria wrote.
Ms Sauers's book, Sex Lives of Australian Women, to be released tomorrow, covers the gamut of emotions and experiences including sexual fantasies, the pros and cons of threesomes, the changing face of sex as women get older, and, of course, orgasms.
Women contributed anonymously to the online survey apart from their age, state and occupation, and while some of the findings appear skewed towards a younger, more internet-savvy population (one in four say they look at pornography at least once a month, for instance), it is the honesty of their responses that is striking, Ms Sauers says.
"I think women do talk to each other more than men do about their sex lives, but there are the really personal things we don't even tell our best friends, and I think this is where the anonymity of this survey provides important material," she says. "It became a place where women could vent about what was right and wrong about their sex life, and I got 7000 pages of material."
Ms Sauers, who two years ago wrote Sex Lives of Australian Teenagers using a similar online survey, says there are two big surprises in the results.
"The first was that younger women in their 20s felt the most guilt about cheating on their partner while older women tended to be more forgiving of themselves," she says. "I think it shows the older we get, the more complicated our sense of moral relativism becomes.
"And second, I was stunned to find the number of women who still don't know it's illegal to be forced to have sex by their husband. They still have this sense of debt that part of the marriage vows include having sex even if they desperately don't want to."
The book covers sexual fantasies and finds a liaison with another woman is the prevailing imaginary encounter for 57 per cent of the women surveyed.
But judging by some of the 2000 responses author Joan Sauers received to her online study exploring the sex lives of Australian women, many now regret it. "It was exciting when we were doing it. When I saw the tape I just felt fat," one 30-year-old teacher from Victoria wrote.
Ms Sauers's book, Sex Lives of Australian Women, to be released tomorrow, covers the gamut of emotions and experiences including sexual fantasies, the pros and cons of threesomes, the changing face of sex as women get older, and, of course, orgasms.
Women contributed anonymously to the online survey apart from their age, state and occupation, and while some of the findings appear skewed towards a younger, more internet-savvy population (one in four say they look at pornography at least once a month, for instance), it is the honesty of their responses that is striking, Ms Sauers says.
"I think women do talk to each other more than men do about their sex lives, but there are the really personal things we don't even tell our best friends, and I think this is where the anonymity of this survey provides important material," she says. "It became a place where women could vent about what was right and wrong about their sex life, and I got 7000 pages of material."
Ms Sauers, who two years ago wrote Sex Lives of Australian Teenagers using a similar online survey, says there are two big surprises in the results.
"The first was that younger women in their 20s felt the most guilt about cheating on their partner while older women tended to be more forgiving of themselves," she says. "I think it shows the older we get, the more complicated our sense of moral relativism becomes.
"And second, I was stunned to find the number of women who still don't know it's illegal to be forced to have sex by their husband. They still have this sense of debt that part of the marriage vows include having sex even if they desperately don't want to."
The book covers sexual fantasies and finds a liaison with another woman is the prevailing imaginary encounter for 57 per cent of the women surveyed.
McHenry man charged with rape
A McHenry, IL man who allegedly beat and raped his girlfriend is being held on $90,000 bond at the McHenry County Jail, charged with criminal sexual assault, among other crimes.
Renato Mata, 28, of 4514 Garden Quarter Road, Apt. 14, remained in jail Tuesday afternoon after his bond was set at $90,000. A judge granted his request for a public defender Tuesday morning.Mata was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, two counts of domestic battery and a single count of unlawful restraint.
Mata allegedly pulled the girlfriend's hair, took her cell phone away so she could not call for help, and struck her in the leg.
Renato Mata, 28, of 4514 Garden Quarter Road, Apt. 14, remained in jail Tuesday afternoon after his bond was set at $90,000. A judge granted his request for a public defender Tuesday morning.Mata was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, two counts of domestic battery and a single count of unlawful restraint.
Mata allegedly pulled the girlfriend's hair, took her cell phone away so she could not call for help, and struck her in the leg.
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