Ohio gym teacher charged with allegedly doing members of football team gets 4 years, lifetime SO registration

(Original Post 2-6-11)
An Ohio teacher has been charged with 16 counts of sexual battery and 3 misdemeanor counts of offenses involving underage persons for allegedly having sex with football team members and providing them alcohol at the high school she worked at. Stacy Schuler of Springboro OH, was charged by the Warren County Prosecutor's Office after parents went to the authorities regarding their sons' sexual contact with Schuler. Schuler's indictment can be found here.

Schuler, a health and physical education teacher at the 3,048 student-populated Mason High School, has been under investigation by police after an anonymous tip was given to school officials during the week of Jan. 10, according to Tracey Carson, schools spokeswoman. Carson said Schuler was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 18. During that time, Schuler was prohibited from attending district events or being on district property.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bruce McGary said the allegations did not happen at a party. Mason police Detective Toni Hoelke said when the parents of the students found out about the allegations, they “were surprised and that they had no idea about it.”

The Mason High School teacher, who turns 33 next week, was arraigned in Warren County Common Pleas Court Friday, February 4 and is currently being held on $50,000 bond, which she has not yet raised, according to her attorney, Charlie Rittgers of Lebanon, OH.

“We knew she was being investigated. There has been no discovery from prosecutors and we’ll be starting our own investigation.” Rittgers also stated that if she made bond, thought to be unlikely before the end of the weekend, she would have to wear a GPS monitoring device. and stay away from the victims and other Mason High students. “Anytime a teacher is accused of having sex with students, it gets peoples attention. It doesn’t surprise me with those allegations.”

Mason High school mother Ginnie Sclosser said that "It is just heartbreak all over, and I especially feel bad for the students that were involved and my heart breaks for their parents, too. It's just a bad situation for everybody,"

Schuler graduated from Centerville High School in 1996 and Wright State University in 2000. She was a student teacher at Fairmont High School in Kettering from 1999-2000, according to her file.Her duties included work as an athletic trainer for the high school’s girls and boys sports teams. She earned $53,194 in 2008, according to her personnel file.

In her Health Education Philosophy as part of her application to work at Mason, Schuler wrote that she wanted to teach students about major risk factors for teenagers including “sexual behaviors that result in disease, STDs, and unwanted pregnancies.” Part of her mission statement included “Today’s society has its own standards of behavior, values, and norms that do not necessarily reflect healthy living...How can a child who is sexually active as a teenager learn about STDs and how to prevent unwanted pregnancies?”

Mason superintendent Superintendent Kevin Bright said that “Our job at the end of the day, is to partner with our families and to empower our staff to report anything that seems out of line, and then to act swiftly when someone behaves inappropriately. He also said his district “acted swiftly, partnered with police immediately, and we are standing her[e] today because of how seriously our high school principal took an anonymous tip.”

 

The principal of Mason High, Mindy McCarty-Stewart sent out a e-mail to parents January 31. She said that “As high school principal, I am committed to the safety and well-being of our students, and will not tolerate behavior that does not conform to that goal. Our staff is prepared to help our students during this situation, and know how it important it is to continue to build trust with our students and families.”

 

Schuler isn't the only Mason High employee who has been embroiled in this scandal. George Coates, an assistant Mason High principal, allegedly sent Schuler sexually explicit images. Coates turned in his resignation and the Mason High School board is voting on whether to accept it at their upcoming Tuesday meeting. The school board is also voting on whether to suspend Schuler without pay and beging termination procedures against her at the meeting.

(Update 2-9-11) Schuler was released on her own recognisance yesterday. Conditions of release include a 8PM to 6AM curfew, no contact with any minors or high school students over 18, and no drugs or alcohol. The now former teacher must also wear a GPS device.

During the Mason School Board meeting last night, the board unanimously accepted the resignation of Schuler, who has submitted a letter of resignation Monday. They also accepted the resignation of former assistant principal George Coates. Despite this, Dr. Kevin Bright, Mason School District superintendent, faced calls from parents to also resign. One said "All this stuff happened under his watch." and another said, "It's your policies that now have cost the children their innocence. You ought to get out of Mason. Just get out of Mason. Get out."

Bright said that he reported the allegations to the Ohio Department Of Education, and "While we had begun the process to terminate Ms. Schuler, we received her resignation today and believe that accepting it will save the district a lot of legal fees, which is in the best interest of our taxpayers and students."

(Update 10-28-11) After a three day bench trial, Stacy Schuler was convicted of 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of giving alcohol to minors in a Warren County, OH courtroom yesterday. The presiding judge was Judge Robert Peeler. All five teenage boys were over Ohio's age of cpnsent, which is normally 16, but does not exist when there is a position of formal authority.

All five teens, who were about 17 years old at time, testified that Schuler was drinking alcohol at the time of the alleged incidents, was a willing participant in the acts and initiated much of the contact.

One of the teens testified they considered Schuler’s home a safe place to get high. Several said they were high on marijuana during sex with Schuler and that she made them vodka smoothies and served them beer and peach wine.

Originally, Schuler plead not guilty to all charges, but changed her plea to guilty by reason on insanity, a plea which according to a prosecution witness, was planned by Schuler before she was formally charged. During Thursday's closing arguments, Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Teresa Hiett said that "She got drunk and made some really poor choices. Does that mean she’s insane? No. She was the adult. She was the teacher. She had the trust. It’s the relationship between the defendant and the victims that makes this a crime.”

Defense attorney Charlie Rittgers said that her condition was caused by a mixture of bipolar disorder, Zoloft, an antidepressant drug, and alcohol."The underlying disease is the bipolar. The catalyst is the Zoloft magnified by the alcohol.”

Rittgers said it didn’t make sense that a person with Christian values would risk her livelihood and freedom, and said that the evidence supported an insanity defense.

“They want us to believe that all of a sudden after 10 years teaching, she wants to throw it away to have sex with five different guys,” he told the judge. “It’s far more reasonable to believe Stacy was suffering from an underlying psychological disorder.”

Judge Peeler said that while the defense argument about the adverse reaction of alcohol and drugs or an underlying condition may explain Schuler's behavior, it does not excuse it. Being voluntarily drunk was no excuse for taking advantage of students, and that it would be "a leap" to suggest that Schuler did not appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct.

Before the verdict, the mother of one of the victims took the stand and said while crying, "These young men may appear as if they are tough guys, but in reality they are truly hurting. (Schuler) played on their emotions and she crossed the line.”

The four year prison sentence comes with an option for early release in six months. Besides the felony convictions of sexual battery, Schuler must register as a Tier 3 sex offender every 90 days for the rest of her life. Schuler resigned as a gym teacher from Mason High school back in February.

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.

Woman charged with biting boyfriend's lip off during fight

A 26 year old Las Cruces, NM woman is facing a third degree felony charge after biting her "boyfriend's" lip off during an argument on Sunday May 1, 2011. Aurelia Lorena Reyes, 26, is charged with one count of aggravated battery against a household member causing great bodily injury, a third-degree felony.

At around 11 p.m. Sunday, Las Cruces police were called to the Coachlight Inn at 301 S. Motel Blvd., where officers found the victim with a bloody face. The 35-year-old man was taken to a local hospital and then, because of the severity of his injuries, to University Medical Center of El Paso. His injuries are not life-threatening.

According to Las Cruces police, Reyes had an argument with her boyfriend, who told her to leave. Reyes became angry, so she grabbed the victim's head and bit off his upper lip, which was found about two feet from the entrance to their shared apartment. After hiding out in a neighboring school parking lot, Reyes turned herself it Monday, May 2 morning. Reyes is currently being held on $10,000 bond in the Dona Ana County Detention Center.

Teacher who faced 10 years behind bars for "relationship" with 19 year old student gets 10 months

(Original Post 5-29-10)
A 28 year old Shelby, NC teacher is facing a decade behind bars for an "affair" with a 19 year old student at the school she worked at. Nichole Chapman, a married mother of three daughters was arraigned at the Cleveland County Law Enforcement Center Thursday morning. Chapman was charged with two counts each of indecent liberties with a student and sex offense with a student.

The judge set Chapman's bond at $75,000 and ordered her not to have any contact with the victim, 19 year old Vavaughia Snipes. This may be a problem since instead of listing her estranged husband, Chapman listed Snipes' mother, Chella Whisnant as her nearest relative during booking.

Chapman and Snipes began their "relationship" about a month ago at North Shelby School, a school for special needs students between 3 and 21. All encounters took place at his home, and he claimed to have started the relationship. Snipes said that "I ain't no victim...I love her and she loves me, so as far as that goes. They are not going to stop me from seeing her so it don't matter,” he said. He suffers from seizures and a learning disability.

Chapman said she believes she was arrested and charged “Probably because I'm white and he's black." Jeff Ledford, the Shelby police chief, disagrees. "That teacher-student relationship, that's where it's at. That's where your issue lies. The age goes out the window when you are talking about a teacher [and a] student,” because North Carolina law considers teachers to be guardians of students.

(Update 5-2-11) Chapman was sentenced to 10 to 12 months in jail for indecent liberties with a student and sex offense with a student. In December, Cleveland County (NC) Superior Court Judge Forrest D. Bridges accepted Chapman's pleas. On Monday, May 2, it wasn't Judge Bridges, but Judge James W. Morgan who formally sentenced Chapman. Bridges ordered psychatric evaulations for Chapman, conducted while at a psychiatric hospital in Butner, NC. The evaluations stated that she was competent to stand trial.

Chapman’s lawyer, Katherine Haen, said the former teacher was on medications to treat her various disorders at the time of the incident. Haen said this “cocktail” of medicine affected her behavior.

Chapman’s mother and father sat in the courtroom during the proceedings. Haen said Chapman’s parents drove to Raleigh on a regular basis to visit their daughter over the three months she was at the psychiatric hospital. Haen said it was over the course of her stay at the psychiatric hospital that Chapman changed.

"I think she’s gotten to know herself. She actually thanks Judge Bridges for putting her through that program...She has three daughters she hasn’t seen since December. I hope that the court will allow her to be released today to start a new life, a new direction. This experience has really transformed her.”

Chapman echoed her lawyer's statement. “I’m not the same Nicole. I can tell, and my family can tell, I’m a different person thanks to the help I’ve gotten.”

Stripper sentenced to decade of imprisonment for running over customer

By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer [Journal-News, Hamilton, OH]

HAMILTON — An exotic dancer who pleaded guilty to striking a customer with her vehicle and dragging him to death was sentenced to 10 years in prison this afternoon [Thursday, April 7, 2011]in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Kristina Hensley, 35, of Higginsport, was given the maximum sentence by Judge Keith Spaeth at a 1:30 p.m. hearing. Supporters of Jae Cho, the 31-year-old Monroe man killed by Hensley, applauded the judge’s ruling. Pam Birch, Hensley’s mother, began wailing as her daughter broke out in tears and doubled over.

Spaeth called the autopsy photos and the autophy report detailing how Cho died, “ghastly.” The judge said he had seen a lot of autopsy photos over the years, but Cho’s were “very hard to look at.”

“Given the circumstances of this case, Ms. Hensley, the court has not choice,” Spaeth said before handing down her sentence. “You didn’t just hit Mr. Cho, he was (dragged) to a horrible death.”

Hensley took a deal in February, pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and failure to stop after an accident. Her plea came days before she was scheduled to go to trial on charges of murder, aggravated robbery, theft and failure to stop after an accident.

She was accused of robbing and killing Cho on Aug. 7, and stealing from another customer a few hours earlier in Blue Ash. In the statement of facts read at her plea hearing, Hensley admitted to causing Cho’s death after attempting to steal from him.

Hensley originally told police that after the incident she received a call from her employer, Naughty Bodies, to go to 367 Timrick Place in Monroe for a private show. She said she arrived about 4:20 a.m., and that once inside, Cho touched her inappropriately. She told police she left immediately, and Cho followed her out of the house. She struck him with her vehicle as she fled, but told authorities she didn’t know Cho was lodged underneath her sport-utility vehicle.

In a sentencing memorandum filed this week, defense attorneys Jeremy Evans and Timothy Upton urged the judge to give Hensley community control or sentence her to the minimum of three years in prison with credit for the 334 days she has served since her arrest. Hensley has three sons, ages 13, 8, and 7, and is engaged to their father, who has been unemployed for some time, according to defense attorneys.

“As a result, Kristina has been the sole income provider for their family, opting to work as a dancer due to economic hardship in an economy that had nothing else to offer her,” Evans wrote in the motion. “She would sit in a parking lot waiting for a call to do a show, travel alone to a show, go alone to a stranger’s home to perform and was expected to collect the money, perform a show and leave without incident.”

The defense also said Hensley has no prior violent history and her only exposure to the criminal system was in 2002 in Florida for petty larceny and resisting an officer in the recovery of a stolen vehicle. “The facts surrounding this event show that this was not a vindictive, malicious or retaliatory act toward Mr. Cho nor that Kristina Hensley intended to cause his death,” Evans wrote.

The defense said GPS evidence shows Hensley pulled out of Cho’s driveway and sat in the street before driving off. “There is some evidence that she did not just heartlessly plow over Mr. Cho, but sat in the street for more than 9 minutes before leaving his home.”

Evans and Upton said Hensley then drove 1.3 miles to the nearest open and lit establishment — a Shell gas station — and stopped. Hensley has shown emotional trauma and remorse for her actions, according to her attorneys.

Letters asking the judge to show leniency for Hensley have been sent by family members, including her oldest son, her mother, Pam Birch; and stepfather, Douglas, who live in Middletown.

According to the prosecutor’s office, numerous letters from Cho’s friends and loved ones also have been sent to Spaeth. Cho, a University of Cincinnati graduate, worked as a server at Sammy’s Gourmet Burgers and Beer in Blue Ash.

Last month, a wrongful death lawsuit asking for $3 million in damages was filed by Cho’s father, In Chae Cho, against Hensley, State Auto Insurance Companies and Allied Communications Network (doing business as Naughty Bodies).

The suit filed by attorney Gary Franke of Cincinnati seeks damages for reasonable and necessary funeral expenses, mental anguish and a loss of Cho’s support and services, according to Butler County court documents.

Correctional officer sentenced to probation for sex acts with inmate

A female former correctional officer was placed on two years probation Friday, March 25 with 2 years imprisonment suspended for having sexual contact with a 24 year old male inmate at the Burlington, IA facility where she used to work. 32 year old Megan Elizabeth Cecil originally faced four counts of sexual misconduct with offenders, but per plea agreement, two of those counts were dropped, and prosecutors agreed "not to file any additional charges now known to the state related to the defendant's employment at the Burlington Residential Correctional Facility."

Cecil admitted to engaging in a "sex act with an individual committed to the custody of the 8th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services," while she was a residential officer on March 9 and again on March 19, both of last year. The original charging document stated she had an inappropriate relationship with the inmate two more times later that same month.

Dan Fell, the correctional service's District Director, said Cecil started as a part-time residential officer in Sept. 14, 2007. She became a full-time employee in the position May 30, 2008, and resigned in April of last year. Three of the "sex acts" were reportedly committed inside the halfway house, and one was "in a location outside the facility," prosecutors said.

The two years probation were a compromise between jail time prosecutors were asking for and a deferred judgement that the defense wanted. Besides the probation related to her charge, Cecil will have to register as a sex offender and undergo counseling. Cecil will spend a decade on probation after the initial sentence.

St. Paul weight trainer accused of sexual misconduct with 16 year old - stipulated facts trial leads to probation

(Original Post 12-4-09)

A 25 year old weight room supervisor at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, MN was charged with two counts of 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct for a sexual relationship with one of her 16 year old students which took place back in 2008. Gail E. Gagne is alleged to have engaged in sexual contact with the 16 year old several times, including at her Bloomington, MN home and at a hotel near the Mall Of America.

Hotel records and Gagne's credit card receipts show that on Sept. 13-14 of that year, she spent the night at LaQuinta Hotel on Nicollet Avenue south in Bloomington, the complaint said.

The principal at the private Catholic school told police that Gagne was hired in November 2007 as an assistant basketball coach. From January through September 2008, she was a substitute teacher. In the summer of 2008, she worked in the weight room, and in late September 2008, she was hired as a full-time teacher, the complaint said.

Gagne is not in custody because she is believed to be in Chicagoland. Hennepin County District Judge Ron Abrams issued an arrest warrant Tuesday, December 1. Her attorney, Earl Grey, said his client will plead not guilty. Third degree CSC is a 15 year felony in Minnesota.

(Update 12-13-09) Gagne turned herself in at the Hennepin county Jail 3:30 Thursday, December 10, but made her $50,000 bond four hours later, according to jail records. She appeared for her preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Thomas Sipkins Friday, December 11, where she was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim.

(Update 2-8-11) A "stipulated facts" trial heard by a judge only will decide the case of Gagne. He jury trial was supossed to have started yesterday, February 7, 2011. This means that the prosecution and defense attorney has gone to agreement on facts without having a formal plea agreement. Also like a plea agreement,  a count of 3rd degree CSC was dropped and a second count of 3rd degree CSC was reduced to 5th degree CSC, a gross misdemeanor.

Under the agreement, prosecutor Judith Hawley will prepare a statement of the facts in the case and she, Gail Gagne and Gagne's attorney, Earl Gray, will sign it and submit it to Judge Richard Scherer on Wednesday. A sentencing hearing is set for March 28 if she's convicted.

According to Professor Joseph Daly of Hamline University Law School, such a legal arrangement meant it was a near certainty that Gagne would be convicted during the bench trial.

(Update 3-29-11) Yesterday, Gagne was sentenced to a year in jail, suspended, and two years probation by Hennepin County District Judge Richard Scherer. Gagne did not speak, but her victim's mother did. The mother said that she had hoped to send her son to Cretin-Derham to "provide a safe, loving environment," but that Gagne had betrayed her trust and damaged her family's lives. "His family is left holding the dirty laundry of the defendant's unprofessional, self-serving actions."

After the hearing, both sides used the words "reasonable" and "appropriate" to describe the outcome. Then again, they had both agreed to what it would be last month when they filed a "stipulation" with the court laying out what the facts were.

"I thought it was a reasonable disposition of the case," defense lawyer Earl Gray said afterward. "Although I thought I could win it, you can also lose."

"I think we had an appropriate resolution to a very unhappy situation," said Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman. He said he believed the verdict and sentence would send a message to teachers, coaches and others with authority over youths that having sex with students has strong consequences. "Society doesn't permit it, and morality doesn't permit it," Freeman said.

Gagne has moved to California.

Wife gets life without parole for at least 20 years for son's murder of husband

A woman who conspired along with her 20 year old son to kill the woman's husband was sentenced to life without parole for at least 20 years in a Topeka, KS courtroom Thursday, February 17.

44 year old Michelle Eberhardt was convicted of felony 1st degree murder for the murder by her son of 51-year-old Gerald “Jerry” Eberhardt. Judge Debenham said to the perpetrator, "You have violated the trust between a husband and a wife.[The family's] pain and suffering won't end today. It will continue for the rest of their lives." The shooting death rook place on October 25, 2009. Michelle's plea to felony 1st degree murder spared her a trial on premeditated first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder.

Scott M. Mosher, 20, the alleged triggerman in his stepfather's murder, is scheduled to go on trial June 13 for premeditated first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder

According to facts presented in Eberhardt's plea, Michelle Eberhardt and Mosher had talked about killing her husband, a used car dealer in Topeka. Mosher said he knew someone who would kill Jerry Eberhardt for $2,000. Michelle paid the money, but Jerry Eberhardt wasn't shot. She negotiated with the man who had taken the $2,000, but the man wanted more money and a car from the lot.

Mosher told Michelle he had a pistol and would take care of the slaying. Michelle Eberhardt said the house at 2538 S.E. Shawnee Heights Road would be empty Oct. 25, 2009, after 12:30 a.m., and at 1:30 a.m., she heard a gunshot. When she found her husband, he was sitting up in bed in the master bedroom of the family home.

A third defendant, Derrick Dwayne Haase, now 21, of Topeka, pleaded no contest April 26 to a reduced charge of reckless second-degree murder. On July 22, Haase was sentenced to 10 years and 11 months in prison.

The victim's father, Duane Eberhardt, said that the Eberhardts tried to welcome Michelle and her two children, but that she was "unberable" and a "rat." Like good parents do, Duane tried to convince his son to divorce her, but Jerry claimed to still be in "love" with her. "Dad, I know you're right, but I love her," Jerry told his dad. "You’ve stolen part of my future. The father said he intended to live long enough "to urinate on you and your son's graves because neither one of you will survive your prison sentences."

The victim's mother Mary said that her son would protect his wife after Mosher would beat her when she refused to give him money for drugs. However, she repaid that concern with betrayal when after the murder, Michelle told Shawnee County deputies her husband was responsible for his murder. “Why? Why did you do it? Jerry loved you. We loved your family. Why did you betray us...“You killed Jerry. Scott just pulled the trigger. What mother would encourage her son to kill? You threw your son under the bus.”

At least one Topeka Capital-Journal commenter said that Jerry should have listened to his father instead of his heart regarding Michelle.

pleasurestud said,

Too bad the guy stayed with that wicked woman. He should have listened to his family to dump her sorry ass. In the end he loses his wife over "love"............whatever. It wasn't love.

Long term substitute teacher charged with misconduct with three boys

A British literature teacher who allegedly had sexual relationships with three Bay City Central High School students is free on $100,000 bond. 41 year old Heidi Lewis was charged with 6 counts of 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct, punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.

While the AOC in Michigan is normally 16, Michigan state law raises the AOC to 18 when dealing with teacher student sex under normal circumstances The same law raises it to 26 when dealing with Michigan special needs students. Lewis was arrested after the "girlfriend" of one of the alleged victims told Assistant Principal Joseph Buggs that her beau had had sex with the teacher. The teacher was a long term substitute, who taught between January and June 2010.  This led to an interview with Buggs and a Bay City police officer.

The students, both 17, told Buggs and the officer they had been in Lewis’ class and that during the school year, their relationship had been of a typical teacher-student nature.

Near the end of the school year, Lewis and one of the students exchanged cell phone numbers, one of the teens said. A short while after school let out for the year, Lewis came over to the teen’s house and they had sex, the teen told investigators.

The second teen told investigators the first teen later told him of his relationship with Lewis while they were hanging out together. When the second teen said he did not believe his friend, the first teen called Lewis over to his house. Both teens then simultaneously had sex with Lewis, they said, according to court records.

Over time, the two teens told a third classmate about having sex with Lewis. Investigators interviewed the third teen, who claimed to have had sex with Lewis in the back of her silver Jeep Cherokee. This teen told his girlfriend what happened and she ended up passing the information to school authorities.

Lewis was arrested later that day. She was arraigned February 9, 2011 in Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida's courtroom.  Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Jordan E. Case asked that an additional stipulation prohibiting her from contact with minors be added to her release conditions. Defense attorney Richard Lee Jr objected, but Judge Klida granted the prosecution request.

Lawsuit by 17 year old boy alleges school did nothing to protect him from teacher - teacher sentenced to 2 years sex offender probation

(Original post 8-21-09)
A math teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 17 year old boy at a Chicago West Side college preparatory school was sued by the boy's family yesterday. The suit alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, willful and wanton misconduct, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Damages are over $50,000 per count, excluding court costs.

The student-athlete, an unnamed minor, was recruited and enrolled at Chicago Hope Academy, 2189 West Bowler Street in the Near West Side neighborhood on the West Side, in 2005, the suit said.

Beginning in the spring of 2008, when the boy was 16 years old, his math teacher Kathryn Vail-Wesley, 22, “publicly and privately showered Plaintiff with attention and affection,” the suit said.Vail-Wesley “would hug or touch Plaintiff on an almost daily basis during the 2007-2008 school year, and would invite Plaintiff to her home,” the suit said.

Vail-Wesley was “well-liked” by students, and the boy felt “privileged to receive attention” and looked to her as a “mentor, leader, protector and authority figure,” the suit said.

After the grooming, Vail-Wesley began making phone calls and “gratuitous inappropriate and/or intimate discussion regarding her private life and sexual history,” eventually approaching his for sex because she was fond of him and wanted to “mix [his] chocolate skin with [her] vanilla skin.” This culminated in repeated sexual encounters between August and October of 2008. The end of the relationship occurred after Vail-Wesley’s husband, a fellow teacher at the school, found his wife and the victim, physically assaulting the victim.

Vail-Wesley’s solicitation and sexual exploitation of the boy included sexual touching, kissing, intercourse and other sexual acts. It occurred in various locations, including but not limited to classrooms, passageways, the teacher’s lounge, chapel and other locations on the Academy’s premises, the suit said. Vail-Wesley explained that her sexual behavior was a “reward” for the boy’s good athletic performance for the school's football team, the suit said. She would attend the boy’s football games exclusively wearing his jersey.

Vail Wesley has been charged with 5 counts of sexual assault, with the trial still pending. The lawsuit stated that teacher student boundaries were blurred, particularly between teachers and student-athletes. The perp's sexual actions were “regular and conspicuous” and “should have been apparent” to other teachers and coaches, but "[a]cademy staff turned a blind eye to Vail-Wesley’s inappropriate attention.”

The lawsuit says that school administrators, teachers, and coaches began to intimidate the victim, culminating after the administration gave the boy a choice to either withdraw or be expelled from Chicago Hope, disrupting both his academic and athletic careers.

(1-14-11 - guilty plea to lesser charges) Vail-Wesley was sentenced to 2 years of sex offender probation Wednesday, January 12, 2011 after pleading guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The other counts of sexual assault were dropped by prosecutors. Chicago Hope principal Mike Laneve said that “Chicago Hope Academy doesn’t discuss school affairs in public.”

Former beauty queen pleads guilty to soliciting kidnapping of "boyfriend," sentenced to 2 years in prison, 6 years probation

(Original Post 12-10-09)

A former beauty queen has plead guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and aggravated assault Tuesday, December 8. Twenty-seven year old Kumari Fulbright's guilty plea was heard and accepted by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols, who will formally sentence her to two years in prison for aggravated assault and seven years probation for kidnapping.

Fulbright and three other defendants, Larry Hammond, Robert Ergonis, and David Wayne Radde planned and carried out the attack, according to law enforcement. The motive for the attack, according to prosecutors, was Fulbright's anger at her jewelry being pawned off to settle a $16,000 drug debt.

Defense attorney Steve Weiss told Judge Richard Nichols that Fulbright conspired with others to restrain her former boyfriend in December 2007 and brandished a knife near his ear, threatening to cut it. Although she signed a plea agreement, Fulbright was reluctant to verbally acknowledge her actions and accept the terms in court, as required, saying she did not agree with her attorney's description of the crime.

Each time Nichols asked Fulbright if she committed a particular act, she refused to answer directly. Instead answering yes or no, Fulbright told the judge such things as "I agree I'm pleading guilty" or "I am guilty" or "The evidence shows that."

At one point, Fulbright also snapped that she reads, writes and understands English and she signed the plea agreement. Eventually, Fulbright said, "OK, yes" when asked if she conspired to have the man restrained, she brandished the knife and she threatened him with it.

Fulbright was a law clerk for a federal court and a law student at the University of Arizona. She won the Miss Pima County pageant in 2005 and the Miss Desert Sun pageant in 2006. Hammond plead guilty to aggravated assault, and faces a sentence of as much as 8 3/4 years in prison. Radde also plead guilty to kidnapping conspiracy charges and faces 3 to 12 1/2 years in this case as well as another 3 to 12 1/2 years for unrelated drugs and weapons charges. All sentences will be handed down after the trial of Ergonis.

(Update 12-13-10) The former law clerk was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment and 6 years probation for her role in the kidnapping of her "boyfriend." Pima County Superior Court Judge Michael Miller handed down the sentence after Fulbright pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and aggravated assault in a Tuscon, AZ courtroom Thursday, December 9.

Defense attorney Steve Sherick asked for 18 months of probation. Prosecutor Michael Jette didn’t specify how long he thought she should be placed on probation, but told Miller she didn’t live up to the terms of her plea agreement and almost had it revoked.Jette told Miller Fulbright has done “anything and everything” to protect Ergonis, thus violating her promise to tell the truth on the stand. She also told Radde what he should testify, Jette said.

[The victim]’s desire to move on with his life is the only reason Fulbright was extended a plea agreement in the first place and it’s the only reason it hasn’t been revoked, Jette said. Fulbright still hasn’t accepted responsibility for her actions or shown remorse, Jette said.

Sherick told Miller his client’s testimony was truthful and consistent with police statements and defense interviews she’s given. The defense attorney cited Fulbright’s remorse and behavior while on pretrial release and while in jail as reasons for a short term of probation.

Besides the prison sentence, Fulbright was also ordered to pay $15,000 restitution to her victim. Ergonis will be sentenced later this week.

(Update 1-12-11) Ergonis was sentenced to 22 1/2 years imprisonment on December 16, 2010. He was convicted in November 2010 by a Pima County jury of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated robbery. It was revealed that Fulbright had been "dating" Ergonis for months, writing him while he was on tril to tell him that the prosecution had no case and that she did not want to testify against him.

Wife gets too light sentence for running over and killing husband during drunken argument

A wife who ran over her husband during a drunken argument, killing him, was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison by Rockland County County Court Judge Charles Apotheker on January 3, 2011. 33 year old Kelly McElroy of Stony Point, NY, faced a maximum of 7 years for 2nd degree vehicular manslaughter, a sentence that the victim's family wanted. After last October's guilty plea to the vehicular manslaughter charge and a DWI, Judge Apotheker promised a maximum of three years.

In the early morning of January 24, 2010, Kelly McElroy and her husband, Glenn, 26, left a pub and drove home. During a heated argument, the husband got out of the car and Mrs. McElroy, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 percent, struck Glenn.

Emergency responded found him unconscious with severe head injuries. He died on January 30 at Nyack Hospital when he was removed from life support.

Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said his office “ believe[s] that the ends of justice have been served.”

However, local opinion suggested that McElroy's sentence was too light.

Stony Point Mom asked,  How can the judge "promise" three years and consider less? That doesn't sound like a promise - it sounds like no justice for Glenn and his family...It's hard to understand how you can be drunk, kill someone's son (and the father of your children) and get away with a slap on the wrist.

Another local said,

What is a human life worth these days? For Rockland County Court Judge Charles Apotheker the answer is 1 to 3 years in prison. Apotheker said that Kelly McElroy, a woman who ran over her husband while driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, will have to, one day, answer to a "higher authority." That's all well and good but Judge Apotheker represents a higher authority in this life. McElroy pleaded guilty in October to second-degree vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.

Apotheker should be held accountable for this absurd sentence that does not in any way equate to the loss of a young man's life.

Frank DeGennaro


Nanuet

Duke lacrosse accuser charged with attempted murder of "boyfriend", convicted on misdemeanor counts

(Original post 2-19-10)
The Duke Lacrosse accuser has been charged with serious offenses of her own, including arson and the attempted murder of her "boyfriend." 31 year old Crystal Mangum attacked her "boyfriend" and set his clothes on fire while her three children were inside, according to an arrest warrant handed out Wednesday night.

According to the arrest warrant, Mangum scratched, punched, and threatened her "boyfriend," Milton Walker after he decided to break up with her. Mangum's 9 year old daughter called 911.

After picking up the remains of his clothes, the victim said, "I don't know what she was thinking, sometimes she does things without thinking...I believe Crystal is a good person, so there's no problem. We were friends before so I hope everything works out for the best,"

In March 2006, Mangum accused three Duke lacrosse players of raping her at a party where she was hired to strip. The case gained national attention. In April 2007, all charges were dropped by Attorney General Roy Cooper. The case also led to Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong being disbarred. Mangum later released a book entitled "The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story."

Mangum is currently being held on $1 million bond. Her official charges are 5 counts of arson, 3 counts of misdemeanor child abuse, attempted first degree murder, assault and battery, identification theft, communicating a threat, injury to personal property, and resisting [a] public officer.

(Update 1-7-11 - mistrial on arson charges) Last month on December 16, Mangum was found guilty of injury to personal property, child abuse, and resisting an officer. Superior Court Judge Abe Jones sentenced her to 88 days in jail - time she had already served. Jurors deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of a non guilty verdict on the 1st degree arson charge. Three of those jurors believed Mangum was guilty of being reckless in setting fire to the "boyfriend"'s clothing.

Supporter Victoria Peterson reiterated a claim by the Friends of Crystal Mangum that authorities were punishing Mangum for accusing Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006. Mangum was retaliating against her boyfriend, Milton Walker, for allegedly punching her in the face; Walker was never charged. "It's a victory," Peterson said of the judge and jury's decisions.

Over the past 10 months, Peterson and others have complained about Mangum's treatment, which included an attempted murder charge, $1 million bond, the 88 days in jail and a no-contact order with her children."There did seem to be a lot of severe charges for what the evidence showed," said jury forewoman Shauna Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Durham County prosecutor Mark McCullough will decide later this month whether to retry Mangum on the 1st degree arson count.

Mother sentenced to 9 years prison, 5 years post release supervision for stabbing husband

A mother who stabbed her husband in the same house that their kids lived in was sentenced to 9 years in the New York state prison system and 5 years post release supervision for the attack. According to prosecutors, this stemmed from a desire to cash in on a life insurance policy. The mother was sentenced in Saratoga County Court Judge Jerry Scarano's courtroom on December 2, 2010.

On the night of Nov. 9, 2009, deputies from the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call made by Thomas Vautrin from the home the couple shared with their two children, who were then 5 and 10 years old. Police arrived to discover both Thomas and Mary Jane had suffered serious stab wounds, and the couple were taken for treatment at Albany Medical Center.

Mary Jane Vautrin, 36, initially told police she was attacked by her husband. But investigators said her wounds were self-inflicted, so she was arrested and charged with a six-count indictment that included second-degree attempted murder. Those charges were later dropped in favor of a first-degree felony assault charge as part of a negotiated plea deal.

The stabbing incident was believed to be part of a plan to cash in on a life insurance policy in excess of $30,000, which the woman allegedly forged in her husband's name.

The victim impact statement by Thomas Vautrin,"We had a normal life, normal kids, normal problems. That changed one night about a year ago. On that night, I woke up to my wife stabbing me...Why would you want me dead?"

"When I was in the hospital, I prayed not to live through this," said Thomas Vautrin, who has "14 visible scars. "I can't deny I love you," Thomas Vautrin said to his wife in court Thursday morning.
He went on to explain, however, that the attack has had significant repercussions."The (children), pulled from their beds, seeing the blood-splattered walls ..." he said, his voice trailing off in the courtroom.

Thomas also read victim impact statements from the couple's two children. "I can't see you. I can't snuggle with you...No more doing holiday stuff. No putting up the tree. No Halloween with us," the younger child said.

Besides the prison sentence, Scarano issued a permanent order of protection for the victim against his wife.

Wife gets decade for "manslaughter" of husband

A woman who helped her "lover" to kill her husband was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment Wednesday, December 1, in a St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana courtroom. Kendra Talley, a 30 year old mother of an eight year old son, was sentenced to the decade long term after pleading guilty to 2nd degree manslaughter and crystal meth posession last month. Judge Peter Garcia presided over her trial. The "lover," Tommy D. Rowell Sr., is serving a mandatory life without parole sentence for 2nd degree murder.

The deadly night of Dec. 11, 2004, started when Kendra Talley left her home wearing a sweater, a T-shirt and jeans. Her husband stayed home to recover from surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.

Kendra Talley later met up with Rowell and slipped into a blouse, black miniskirt and knee-high boots, and they drove together to the French Quarter to feast on crystal meth, marijuana and potent "hand grenade" drinks, according to witness testimony from Rowell's trial.

They spent most of the evening and morning with friends at a Bourbon Street bar. There, Rowell and Talley argued after Talley gave Carnival beads to another man and flashed him by lifting her leg onto a railing, friends at the bar testified.

Finally, as the sun rose during their journey back across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, Kendra Talley told Rowell that her husband had raped her.

Rowell took Kendra Talley to her home at 108 Gratitude Drive. He honked his horn. Thomas Talley, who had been taking pain medication, stepped outside, wearing only his pajamas. Rowell drew a gun and shot the husband six times, twice point-blank to the head.

Rowell met Kendra when she was 15 and he was 27, meeting through her parents.

David Talley, the victim's brother said through his victim impact statement that the killing robbed the victim of family bonding time, including watching his son grow up. "I know my brother would like to take his son fishing, but he can't - because his life was taken by a selfish act....Zachary's birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter," he said. "The saddest thing in my life was seeing my little brother in his casket . . . all because of bad choices that were made."

Defense attorney Kevin McNary asked Judge Garcia to take into account the single parenting of his client and Zachary's high grades in school. He said his client was not the same person she was "when she was 24," completing a drug rehabilitation program.

Judge Garcia, focusing on the killing, told Talley, "You had a high degree of responsibility," sentencing her to the maximum possible in the plea deal.

Bangor, ME woman gets six years for scalding, sexually assaulting man

A 28 year old Bangor, ME woman was sentenced to 6 years in the Maine prison system yesterday for sexually assaulting, then scalding a now 43 year old man. Laura M. Smith plead guilty in June to elevated aggravated assault and gross sexual assault for scalding her victim with boiling water and sexually assaulting him with a wooden dowel on November 28, 2009.

The 43-year-old man, who is not being identified by the Bangor Daily News, was passed out at a party at Smith’s First Street apartment in Bangor. In addition to suffering second-degree burns on his back, the man’s bowel was perforated, according to court documents. The victim also suffered a broken ankle when Smith and another man moved him to his apartment. He was hospitalized for more than a month, according to previous reports.

Superior Court Justice William Anderson sentenced Smith to 18 years in prison with six to serve and four years probation afterwards. Penobscot County district attorney Michael Roberts and  defense attorney David Bate agreed on the 18 year sentence, but Roberts believe only 6 years of the sentence should be suspended. Bate did not give a sentencing recommendation.

Just before the sentencing, Smith said “I am truly sorry for the pain and suffering I caused. I truly, truly am sorry for all that you have been through.” The victim was not present during Smith's sentencing. Smith also tried to partially excuse herself by claiming the attack was due to her alcoholism.

The following is Judge Anderson's sentencing statement. “Although this was a barbaric and depraved act, I can’t conclude it was done for sexual gratification as the statute defines the crime. It seems to have begun as a cruel, painful and degrading prank. The person who did it was not really aware of how horribly painful this was going to be to the victim. There’s absolutely no reason in the world for this to have happened.”

Smith will be credited for the time she has served in the Penobscot County Jail. After release, she will have to register as a sex offender for a decade.

Text messaging "lovers" receive life without parole in murder of woman's husband

Monterey County, CA Judge Larry Hayes sentenced a mother and her "lover" to life without parole for kidnapping and killing the woman's husband.  Marisela Zarate Andrade, 33, and Sergio de la Cruz, 34, were sentenced to life without parole Tuesday, September 14 for the murder of Jose "Nicco" Zarate of Wasco, CA. Zarate was kidnapped April 11, 2008 from his home and his body was found three days later in the trunk of a Ford Escort near Gonzales, CA vineyard with his hands and feet bound with duct tape, shot between the eyes.

The evidence which convicted the two was collected by Monterey County Sheriff's detective Brett Speirs. These included text messages which spoke of how Marisela and De La Cruz intended to kidnap and kill Jose. Marisela would drug her husband's coffee with chloroform, then De La Cruz and another man would kidnap Jose from his Wasco home. After killing Jose, Marisela wanted De La Cruz to behead her husband to make sure "the rat (is) very dead." The pistol used to kill Jose was recovered in San Francicso during a drug raid.

She gave police different statements about the last time she saw him. When confronted with the text messages, she admitted she participated in the plan to have her husband abducted, but insisted she only wanted him beaten up, a claim she maintained at trial.

Noting that he had received a letter from Zarate Andrade prior to sentencing, Hayes said Tuesday the woman was in denial. He said the length of time the two spent planning the murder, and the content of the text messages, showed the extent of the cruelty they intended to inflict on the victim.

Judge Hayes said,"In some ways you are both very lucky the DA did not choose to (seek) the death penalty in this case. That's how atrocious this murder was." Prosecutor David Gross could have sought the death penalty because Zarate's murder occurred duing the course of a kidnapping.

Besides the life without parole sentenced, Judge Hayes sentenced Marisela to an additional 8 years for kidnapping and De La Cruz to an additional 33 to life for kidnapping and executing the victim. Hayes stayed both sentences. The victim's family attended the sentencing.

Woman who allegedly staged shotgun murder of husband charged

A Minnesota woman who claimed that intruders killed her husband was charged with 2nd degree murder in Blue Earth County, MN on September 10. 26 year old James Nibbe was found shot to death early the morning of August 31 in his Lake Crystal, MN home. Jennifer claimed a masked intruder took James' shotgun, killed him, then fled on foot. Police poked holes in the story after learning that there were no footprints out of the house and that the Labrador the couple owned had stayed asleep during the killing.

Charges cite journal entries by Jennifer Nibbe that chronicle her dissatisfaction with her two-year marriage, her interest in another man and how "Sometimes I wish I could go back to just [my son, who is 17] and I plugging along."

The complaint describes Jennifer Nibbe, a nurse, as addicted to painkillers and deeply in debt. Just two months before he was killed with a single shotgun blast to the head, James Nibbe, 26, had taken out a $250,000 life insurance policy, naming his wife as the beneficiary.

On September 13, a judge set bail at $600,000 in front of a courtroom packed with both the suspect and the victim's family.

German girl band singer sentenced to community service, suspended 2 year sentence for infecting "lover"

A German court has given pop singer Nadja Benaissa a two-year suspended sentence for having unprotected sex while failing to tell her sexual partners she was HIV positive.

The 28-year-old Benaissa is a member of the popular girl band No Angels. She discovered she was HIV positive in 1999 when she was three months pregnant. She was arrested in April 2009 for having unprotected sex with three men in 2004 and 2006 and failing to inform them of her HIV status. To do so can be classified as aggravated assault under German law.

Both the state prosecutor Peter Liesenfeld and her defense had asked the courts for the suspended sentence in the trial, which ended on Wednesday. Liesenfeld cited her confession and her expression of remorse as reasons for lighter sentence "I made a huge mistake," Benaissa said in an emotional apology during the closing arguments.

"I am sorry from the bottom of my heart," she said. "I would love to turn back the clock, but I can't."

But the 34-year-old man she infected with HIV gave an angry testimony during the trial, saying she had caused "a lot of suffering in this world." Because she and the man both have a strain of the virus that is relatively rare in Germany, medical experts had determined the man had almost certainly been infected by Benaissa.

She was also convicted of attempted aggravated assault for having unprotected sex with another man who did not contract the virus.She said she was afraid that her career would be negatively impacted if it became public that she is HIV positive.

Instead of jail time, the pop star is expected to complete 300 hours of community service and attend regular counseling sessions. No Angels, which first formed in 2000 and got back together in 2007 after a brief break, are expected to restart their tour. That tour was interrupted last year when Benaissa was arrested just before performing in Frankfurt.

Woman gets 6-15 years for blasting husband while sleeping

A 48 year old Michigan woman was sentenced on August 11, 2010 to 6-15 years in prison for shooting her husband, a Michigan State trooper, to death. 53 year old Sgt. Melvin Paul Holbrook was killed with gunshot blasts from his service revolver to his body on August 11, 2009. Both lived in the Michigan town of Beulah.

Joni Holbrook shot her husband multiple times as he slept in their Benzie County home, then called 911 and reported the incident. She pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder after agreeing to a last-minute plea deal the day before her jury trial was set to begin.

Joni Holbrook told [Benzie Circuit Judge James]Batzer when she entered her plea that she killed her husband because he subjected her to years of mental, physical and sexual abuse. Batzer later told the Record-Eagle that Holbrook's attorneys had "considerable evidence" she had been sexually battered and abused, and he took that evidence into account for her sentence.

Joni's statement to her victim's family echoed those remarks. ""I am sorry that my actions have taken someone so special away from you," she said. "I don't look at myself as a killer. I look at myself as a survivor."

Joni's attorney Jesse Williams said that the sentenced for her husband's killing, "a matter of self defense," was better than he thought. "The outcome was better than people expected. I didn't know what to expect. This court and this judge gave her a fair shake down."

State police Lt. Bill Elliott, who worked with the victim at the Traverse City post for two decades, said "It's just a very difficult situation. I don't know what the right answer would have been, but I was surprised to hear how lenient the sentence was." The victim's sister, Meleen Froman, said "I just think it's a mockery. I just think it's sad. I'm a little angry now." Froman traveled from Oklahoma to MIchigan for the sentencing.

Judge Batner explained to the detractors of the plea deal why their was a 15 year maximum for Joni's sentencing. "The law is an imperfect vehicle, but it's what we have. I know this sentence is going to be unsatisfactory to parties aligned on both sides. There is nothing that this court can do ... that can make it satisfactory."