A Hamersville, OH man who sexually battered a woman during a party on Halloween 2010 was sentenced to a mandatory 2 years imprisonment and Tier III sex offender registration in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas on April 7, 2011.
38 year old Marlon Scott Schauer plead guilty to a single count of sexual battery, down from two charges of rape for the incident, which took place last fall. Assistant Prosecutor Steve Purtell said that the charges involved a woman who wastoo drunk to give meaningful consent to sex, and who may have also been asleep.
Court of Common Pleas Judge Scott Gusweiler accepted the plea and sentencing recommendation, and noted during the hearing that the case files do not reflect any prior criminal charges in Schauer's history.
The two year sentence is mandatory and cannot be shortened by early or judicial release, Gusweiler told Schauer Thursday. As part of the plea, Schauer also relinquished his right to appeal to the 12th District court of Appeals, the judge said.
Five years of mandatory post-release control are also included in the sentence, and Schauer will be permanently considered a Tier III sex offender for the remainder of his life. Tier III is the most serious of Ohio's sexual offender designations, and after his release from prison Schauer will be required to register, in person with the sheriff of the county in which he lives, works or goes to school. Tier III offenders like Schauer are also required to provide other identifying information, including mobile phone numbers and email addresses, with law enforcement, Gusweiler said.
Defense attorney Kenneth Miller said that Schauer's wife has remained by her husband's side dispite the nature of the charges, and that his client showed "a great deal of remorse," during the sentencing. Miller said that his client's Valentines' Day 2011 suicide attempt, leading to hospitalization and a mental evaluation, stemmed from genuine guilt, and was not an attempt to delay court proceedings.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hitman sentenced to life for murder at behest of victim's wife
A hitman hired by the victim's wife to kill for a $500,000 life insurance policy was sentenced to life plus 25 years in a Fulton County, GA courtroom for the killing. Jean Pierre Devaughn, 29 of suburban Atlanta, was sentenced by Judge Stephanie Manis Monday, April 11, 2001 for the murder of his cousin, 35 year old Eric Clark of Alabama. According to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Clark's wife, Constance Shinell Clark, hired Devaughn to kill her husband for his life insurance.
Clark had driven to Atlanta the day he was murdered with $500 cash to get discounted alcohol for a party he was bartending, prosecutors said. Authorities learned that in the months before he died, Clark's wife had secured a $500,000 life insurance policy on her husband, prosecutors said.
The victim's mother, Janice Clark, spoke for her son during the sentencing."Not seeing his lovely face and smile has been hard for our family. Eric was loved so much and he was brutally murdered and left like trash. This man has taken his life and shown no remorse...He destroyed our son and we will never be the same."
The wife is currently serving time in federal prison for identity fraud, but is scheduled to be tried for her husband's murder.
Clark had driven to Atlanta the day he was murdered with $500 cash to get discounted alcohol for a party he was bartending, prosecutors said. Authorities learned that in the months before he died, Clark's wife had secured a $500,000 life insurance policy on her husband, prosecutors said.
The victim's mother, Janice Clark, spoke for her son during the sentencing."Not seeing his lovely face and smile has been hard for our family. Eric was loved so much and he was brutally murdered and left like trash. This man has taken his life and shown no remorse...He destroyed our son and we will never be the same."
The wife is currently serving time in federal prison for identity fraud, but is scheduled to be tried for her husband's murder.
Syracuse men sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for attempted murder of wife
A Syracuse man was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for shooting his wife Wednesday, April 6, 2011 in a Onondaga County courtroom for the attempted murder of his wife. Cecil Torrence III, a 35 year old father, pled guilty on Valentine's Day 2011 to a single count of attempted 2nd degree murder for shooting his wife Lisa in the bathtub after an argument over texting.
The couple reportedly was arguing about text messages the victim had received when Torrence pulled a gun and opened fire on her in the bathtub, the prosecutor has said. The victim was shot four times, but managed to crawl from the residence after the gunman left with the couple's 2-year-old child.
The victim collapsed in a snowbank outside her home where neighbors discovered her and called for help. The defendant was arrested the following day when he was found hiding in a closet of a home on North Midler Avenue.
Given an opportunity to speak in court, Torrence turned to face about a dozen relatives and apologized for any shame and embarrassment he caused them. He then apologized to his children for being taken away from them as a result of his conduct. Lastly, he apologized to his wife for causing her any pain and suffering.
Aloi noted Torrence's courtroom comments were far different from his reported comments to the probation officer who prepared a pre-sentence report. The judge said the probation report indicated no remorse by Torrence.
Paul Carey, Torrence's defense lawyer, said that the lack of remors in the pre-sentencing report was due to his advice not to talk about the case until after sentencing. The defendant's two daughters and aunt were upset with the length of the sentence because homicides can get that lenght of time behind bars. The aunt said her nephew was"a good person, a good father and a good husband."
The couple reportedly was arguing about text messages the victim had received when Torrence pulled a gun and opened fire on her in the bathtub, the prosecutor has said. The victim was shot four times, but managed to crawl from the residence after the gunman left with the couple's 2-year-old child.
The victim collapsed in a snowbank outside her home where neighbors discovered her and called for help. The defendant was arrested the following day when he was found hiding in a closet of a home on North Midler Avenue.
Given an opportunity to speak in court, Torrence turned to face about a dozen relatives and apologized for any shame and embarrassment he caused them. He then apologized to his children for being taken away from them as a result of his conduct. Lastly, he apologized to his wife for causing her any pain and suffering.
Aloi noted Torrence's courtroom comments were far different from his reported comments to the probation officer who prepared a pre-sentence report. The judge said the probation report indicated no remorse by Torrence.
Paul Carey, Torrence's defense lawyer, said that the lack of remors in the pre-sentencing report was due to his advice not to talk about the case until after sentencing. The defendant's two daughters and aunt were upset with the length of the sentence because homicides can get that lenght of time behind bars. The aunt said her nephew was"a good person, a good father and a good husband."
Tracy, CA physician settles for millions in patient molestation cases - sentenced to 3 years imprisonment
(Original Post 2-7-10)
Peter Chi, a Livermore, CA plastic suregeon who practiced in Tracy, CA, has settled a lawsuit for $1.8 million filed by 37 female patients who alleged that they were groped and fondled by him at his practice, according to Stewart Tabak, the attorney for some of the victims. Tabak said that he and other attorneys reached the settlement because "It would be better to resolve it now." Chi's insurance company, Evaston Insurance, is trying to revoke his policy for criminal acts, not covered under the policy.
Chi, a Livermore resident, was the medical director of Beauty Renewed Laser Skin Center at 1770 N. Tracy Blvd. He was first charged in February 2009 after eight women filed reports with Tracy police. More women came forward after the investigation became public. The incidents are alleged to have occurred from May 2007 to January 2008.
The criminal case against Chi, 46, is still ongoing. He has pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of sexual battery, 15 counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object while the victim was unconscious and one count of committing a lewd act upon a child. One of Chi's accusers was 15 at the time of the alleged molestation.
Chi's trial is scheduled to start October 25. He's currently free on $500,000 bail and has surrendered his passport and medical license to authorities.
(Update 4-13-11) Chi was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and a lifetime on the sex offender registry on April 4, 2011. The disgraced physician pled guilty to 36 counts of sexual battery and one dozen of the victims were present in the courtroom. "Renee" said that Chi botched her plastic surgery as well as groped her. "I feel like I was in a major car accident... He mutilated not only my body but my spirit. Today is judgment day."
As for Chi himself, he said just before sentencing,"I accept complete responsibility for my actions, and I am very sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused the victims and their families." San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapudua chastized him for "taking advantage of mothers, daughters, and sisters."
Diana Koron, Chi's marketing director between 2004 and 2006 until she said Chi sexually assaulted her, attended Chi's sentencing. “I’m glad it’s over. I wish the sentence would be longer. But I am glad it’s over. I’ve been waiting since 2006 for him to be sentenced. Being in the courtroom yesterday was so emotionally draining....He showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever. He wouldn’t even look at anyone,”she said. Koron was not represented in any of Chi's civil lawsuits or criminal charges.
Peter Chi, a Livermore, CA plastic suregeon who practiced in Tracy, CA, has settled a lawsuit for $1.8 million filed by 37 female patients who alleged that they were groped and fondled by him at his practice, according to Stewart Tabak, the attorney for some of the victims. Tabak said that he and other attorneys reached the settlement because "It would be better to resolve it now." Chi's insurance company, Evaston Insurance, is trying to revoke his policy for criminal acts, not covered under the policy.
Chi, a Livermore resident, was the medical director of Beauty Renewed Laser Skin Center at 1770 N. Tracy Blvd. He was first charged in February 2009 after eight women filed reports with Tracy police. More women came forward after the investigation became public. The incidents are alleged to have occurred from May 2007 to January 2008.
The criminal case against Chi, 46, is still ongoing. He has pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of sexual battery, 15 counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object while the victim was unconscious and one count of committing a lewd act upon a child. One of Chi's accusers was 15 at the time of the alleged molestation.
Chi's trial is scheduled to start October 25. He's currently free on $500,000 bail and has surrendered his passport and medical license to authorities.
(Update 4-13-11) Chi was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and a lifetime on the sex offender registry on April 4, 2011. The disgraced physician pled guilty to 36 counts of sexual battery and one dozen of the victims were present in the courtroom. "Renee" said that Chi botched her plastic surgery as well as groped her. "I feel like I was in a major car accident... He mutilated not only my body but my spirit. Today is judgment day."
As for Chi himself, he said just before sentencing,"I accept complete responsibility for my actions, and I am very sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused the victims and their families." San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapudua chastized him for "taking advantage of mothers, daughters, and sisters."
Diana Koron, Chi's marketing director between 2004 and 2006 until she said Chi sexually assaulted her, attended Chi's sentencing. “I’m glad it’s over. I wish the sentence would be longer. But I am glad it’s over. I’ve been waiting since 2006 for him to be sentenced. Being in the courtroom yesterday was so emotionally draining....He showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever. He wouldn’t even look at anyone,”she said. Koron was not represented in any of Chi's civil lawsuits or criminal charges.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Voyeur sentenced to two years probation for secret videotapes of woman, girl
An Uwchlan, PA man was sentenced to two years probation for recording a nude woman and a clothed girl at his home April 1, 2011. The sentencing of David W. Geipel, 37, was for invasion of privacy and disorderly conduct, and took place in Chester County (PA) Common Pleas Court under Judge Judge Anthony Sarcione.
According to Kubacke and the police complaint filed in the case, the recordings were discovered after Geipel's wife, Michele Geipel, called a close friend last spring and told her that she had discovered a computer's external hard drive with videos on it showing the friend's pre-teen daughter wearing a bathing suit in the bathroom.
Michele Geipel also told the friend, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity, that she had also seen on the hard drive a video of a mutual friend who had been staying at the Geipels' house using the shower. The video showed her naked.
After talking to the girl's mother on April 15, Uwchlan Police Detective Phillip Owen obtained a search warrant for the Geipel's home and seized as many as 10 computers, according to Ramsay. Owen turned the electronics over to the Chester County Detective's Computer Forensics Unit, which extracted videos, including those described by Michele Geipel.
Because the girl recorded was clothed, Geipel could not be charged with a crime according to Pennsylvania law. The invasion of privacy charge referred only to the adult victim. Because invasion of privacy and disorderly conduct is a 3rd degree misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail, Geipel was able to apply for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) for first time offenders. He was turned down.
Besides two years probation, the cameras and computers used to record then store the indecent images were forfeited to the Uwchlan Police Department. Geipel was ordered to undergo psychosexual evaluations, and not to contact the grown victim, the child victim, or the child's mother.
According to Kubacke and the police complaint filed in the case, the recordings were discovered after Geipel's wife, Michele Geipel, called a close friend last spring and told her that she had discovered a computer's external hard drive with videos on it showing the friend's pre-teen daughter wearing a bathing suit in the bathroom.
Michele Geipel also told the friend, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity, that she had also seen on the hard drive a video of a mutual friend who had been staying at the Geipels' house using the shower. The video showed her naked.
After talking to the girl's mother on April 15, Uwchlan Police Detective Phillip Owen obtained a search warrant for the Geipel's home and seized as many as 10 computers, according to Ramsay. Owen turned the electronics over to the Chester County Detective's Computer Forensics Unit, which extracted videos, including those described by Michele Geipel.
Because the girl recorded was clothed, Geipel could not be charged with a crime according to Pennsylvania law. The invasion of privacy charge referred only to the adult victim. Because invasion of privacy and disorderly conduct is a 3rd degree misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail, Geipel was able to apply for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) for first time offenders. He was turned down.
Besides two years probation, the cameras and computers used to record then store the indecent images were forfeited to the Uwchlan Police Department. Geipel was ordered to undergo psychosexual evaluations, and not to contact the grown victim, the child victim, or the child's mother.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
LA's "Westside rapist" pleads guilty to seven stranglings of women - sentenced to life without parole
A former state insurance claims adjuster pleaded guilty Friday to seven sexually motivated strangulation slayings of older women decades ago across Los Angeles County.
John Floyd Thomas Jr., 74, who Los Angeles police cold case detectives said was the notorious "Westside Rapist," pleaded guilty to the murders that took place in two waves, the first in Inglewood, Lennox and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and the other in the Claremont-Pomona area a decade later.
The soft-spoken insurance claims specialist is described by the LAPD as one of the region's most prolific killers, responsible for as many as 30 slayings and about two dozen sexual assaults. But his plea in court Friday is for only seven killings.
The slayings involve Ethel Sokoloff, 68, in the Mid-Wilshire area in 1972; Elizabeth McKeown, 67, in Westchester in 1976; Cora Perry in Lennox in 1975; Maybelle Hudson, 80, Miriam McKinley, 65, and Evalyn Bunner, 56, all in 1976 in Inglewood.
The attacks appeared to stop in 1978, around the time Thomas was convicted and sentenced to state prison for the rape of a Pasadena woman. Thomas’ extensive criminal record also included serving a six-year state prison sentence, beginning in 1957, for burglary and attempted burglary. Two parole violations sent him back behind bars until 1966.
After his release in 1983, Thomas moved to Chino, which coincided with a wave of rapes and killings that began in the Pomona Valley area. Over the next six years, Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives would investigate five slayings of older women in Claremont, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
John Floyd Thomas Jr., 74, who Los Angeles police cold case detectives said was the notorious "Westside Rapist," pleaded guilty to the murders that took place in two waves, the first in Inglewood, Lennox and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and the other in the Claremont-Pomona area a decade later.
The soft-spoken insurance claims specialist is described by the LAPD as one of the region's most prolific killers, responsible for as many as 30 slayings and about two dozen sexual assaults. But his plea in court Friday is for only seven killings.
The slayings involve Ethel Sokoloff, 68, in the Mid-Wilshire area in 1972; Elizabeth McKeown, 67, in Westchester in 1976; Cora Perry in Lennox in 1975; Maybelle Hudson, 80, Miriam McKinley, 65, and Evalyn Bunner, 56, all in 1976 in Inglewood.
The attacks appeared to stop in 1978, around the time Thomas was convicted and sentenced to state prison for the rape of a Pasadena woman. Thomas’ extensive criminal record also included serving a six-year state prison sentence, beginning in 1957, for burglary and attempted burglary. Two parole violations sent him back behind bars until 1966.
After his release in 1983, Thomas moved to Chino, which coincided with a wave of rapes and killings that began in the Pomona Valley area. Over the next six years, Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives would investigate five slayings of older women in Claremont, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Adrienne Askew, 56, the last homicide with which Thomas was charged, was found strangled in 1986 in her Claremont apartment. The killings appeared to stop in 1989, the same year Thomas took a job in the state workers' compensation agency in Glendale.
The Westside Rapist faded from public memory and authorities made limited progress in the Claremont killings until late 2001, when the LAPD created the Cold Case Homicide Unit that reopened about 9,000 unsolved slayings going back to 1960, using emerging state and federal DNA databases.
In September 2004, the department's crime lab matched male DNA taken from the McKeown and Sokoloff crime scenes but were unable to match it to a suspect. Over the next five years, detectives developed 14 suspects only to rule out each of them as the attacker.
The break came in October 2008, when two officers collected DNA from Thomas while searching for the so-called Grim Sleeper serial killing suspect. Nearly two years later, LAPD Robbery-Homicide detectives arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr. in connection with 10 slayings of women in South Los Angeles after identifying him using familial DNA.
In March 2009, the California Department of Justice DNA laboratory notified detectives that Thomas' DNA matched the evidence from the Sokoloff slaying. Within days, the lab matched Thomas' DNA to four other slayings, leading to his arrest.
Thomas was born in Los Angeles. His mother died when he was 12 and he was raised by his aunt and a godmother. Thomas attended public schools, including Manual Arts High School. He also served in the military.
He briefly joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956. At Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, a superior described Thomas as often late and slovenly. He received a dishonorable discharge, according to his military records. The next year he was convicted of burglary and attempted burglary, which would land him behind bars for nearly a decade.
But it was just the start of the criminal career of the alleged "Westside Rapist," who became one of the more notorious criminals of the era, targeting victims who ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s, according to LAPD detectives.
Bella Stumbo, the late Times feature writer, wrote in December 1975 that the "serenity" of the neighborhoods where the victims lived had been “grotesquely invaded by that elusive maniac the police loosely refer to as the 'Westside rapist,' now accused of sexually assaulting at least 33 old women and murdering perhaps 10 of them." She said residents lived in "small colonies of terror."
The Westside Rapist faded from public memory and authorities made limited progress in the Claremont killings until late 2001, when the LAPD created the Cold Case Homicide Unit that reopened about 9,000 unsolved slayings going back to 1960, using emerging state and federal DNA databases.
In September 2004, the department's crime lab matched male DNA taken from the McKeown and Sokoloff crime scenes but were unable to match it to a suspect. Over the next five years, detectives developed 14 suspects only to rule out each of them as the attacker.
The break came in October 2008, when two officers collected DNA from Thomas while searching for the so-called Grim Sleeper serial killing suspect. Nearly two years later, LAPD Robbery-Homicide detectives arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr. in connection with 10 slayings of women in South Los Angeles after identifying him using familial DNA.
In March 2009, the California Department of Justice DNA laboratory notified detectives that Thomas' DNA matched the evidence from the Sokoloff slaying. Within days, the lab matched Thomas' DNA to four other slayings, leading to his arrest.
Thomas was born in Los Angeles. His mother died when he was 12 and he was raised by his aunt and a godmother. Thomas attended public schools, including Manual Arts High School. He also served in the military.
He briefly joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956. At Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, a superior described Thomas as often late and slovenly. He received a dishonorable discharge, according to his military records. The next year he was convicted of burglary and attempted burglary, which would land him behind bars for nearly a decade.
But it was just the start of the criminal career of the alleged "Westside Rapist," who became one of the more notorious criminals of the era, targeting victims who ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s, according to LAPD detectives.
Bella Stumbo, the late Times feature writer, wrote in December 1975 that the "serenity" of the neighborhoods where the victims lived had been “grotesquely invaded by that elusive maniac the police loosely refer to as the 'Westside rapist,' now accused of sexually assaulting at least 33 old women and murdering perhaps 10 of them." She said residents lived in "small colonies of terror."
Victoria, BC teens sentenced to 10 to life for rape slaying of 18 year old girl
By Louise Dickson, Postmedia News [Vancouver Sun]
Kruse Wellwood, one of two teens sentenced to life in prison for the brutal rape and murder of 18-year old Kimberly Proctor last year, is the son of a convicted murderer.
On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Johnston sentenced Wellwood, 17, and Cameron Moffat, 18, as adults and lifted the publication ban that had been protecting their identities since their arrest last June. Proctor was lured to a home, then tortured, beaten and sexually assaulted before she was killed. Her body was dumped and burned on a hiking trail in March 2010.
In eerily similar circumstances, Wellwood's father, Robert Dezwaan, is serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of 16-year-old Cherish Billy Oppenheim in Merritt. Dezwaan got her drunk, sexually assaulted her and beat her to death. He left her badly damaged body covered with rocks and debris off a deserted road -where he later took RCMP after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Dezwaan committed the crime while out on bail for a previous sexual assault.
At Monday's sentencing in a packed Victoria courtroom, Johnston ruled a youth sentence would not be long enough to hold the teens accountable for their crimes. He imposed the maximum adult sentence available for young offenders.
"It goes without saying first-degree murder with intent to kill is the most serious of offences. The circumstances of this murder as admitted by the young persons are so horrific that no words can adequately convey the inhumane cruelty these young men showed Miss Proctor," said Johnston. "They planned in advance to sexually assault and kill Miss Proctor. They chose her because they thought she would be an easy target, not necessarily because either of them had any ill will towards her."
Members of Proctor's family, including mother Lucia and father Fred, filled the front row of the courtroom. Lucia wiped away tears as Wellwood stood, hands clasped in front, with lawyer Bob Jones by his side as he was sentenced to life in prison.
Defence lawyer Steven Kelliher stood by Moffat, who appeared unemotional as he was sentenced to life in prison.
Outside court, Fred Proctor called the teens "animals" and said they deserve to die a long, slow, painful death."I don't even like to call them animals because Kim was such an animal lover," said Lucia. "To me they're just monsters and monsters are not rehabilitatable."
She lashed out at Wellwood's and Moffat's parents, saying they should have done something about their sons' risky behaviour before it escalated. "This didn't happen overnight this behaviour. You see the signs. You know when something is wrong with your child."
In October, Wellwood and Moffat pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Proctor, whose badly burned body was found under a bridge on the Galloping Goose Trail on March 19, 2010. The two admitted they lured the Grade 12 student to Wellwood's home, tied her up, gagged her, sexually assaulted her, beat her, suffocated her and mutilated her body with a knife. They then put her body in a freezer. The next day, they put it in a duffel bag and took it by bus to the Galloping Goose Trail.
Kruse Wellwood, one of two teens sentenced to life in prison for the brutal rape and murder of 18-year old Kimberly Proctor last year, is the son of a convicted murderer.
On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Johnston sentenced Wellwood, 17, and Cameron Moffat, 18, as adults and lifted the publication ban that had been protecting their identities since their arrest last June. Proctor was lured to a home, then tortured, beaten and sexually assaulted before she was killed. Her body was dumped and burned on a hiking trail in March 2010.
In eerily similar circumstances, Wellwood's father, Robert Dezwaan, is serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of 16-year-old Cherish Billy Oppenheim in Merritt. Dezwaan got her drunk, sexually assaulted her and beat her to death. He left her badly damaged body covered with rocks and debris off a deserted road -where he later took RCMP after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Dezwaan committed the crime while out on bail for a previous sexual assault.
At Monday's sentencing in a packed Victoria courtroom, Johnston ruled a youth sentence would not be long enough to hold the teens accountable for their crimes. He imposed the maximum adult sentence available for young offenders.
"It goes without saying first-degree murder with intent to kill is the most serious of offences. The circumstances of this murder as admitted by the young persons are so horrific that no words can adequately convey the inhumane cruelty these young men showed Miss Proctor," said Johnston. "They planned in advance to sexually assault and kill Miss Proctor. They chose her because they thought she would be an easy target, not necessarily because either of them had any ill will towards her."
Members of Proctor's family, including mother Lucia and father Fred, filled the front row of the courtroom. Lucia wiped away tears as Wellwood stood, hands clasped in front, with lawyer Bob Jones by his side as he was sentenced to life in prison.
Defence lawyer Steven Kelliher stood by Moffat, who appeared unemotional as he was sentenced to life in prison.
Outside court, Fred Proctor called the teens "animals" and said they deserve to die a long, slow, painful death."I don't even like to call them animals because Kim was such an animal lover," said Lucia. "To me they're just monsters and monsters are not rehabilitatable."
She lashed out at Wellwood's and Moffat's parents, saying they should have done something about their sons' risky behaviour before it escalated. "This didn't happen overnight this behaviour. You see the signs. You know when something is wrong with your child."
In October, Wellwood and Moffat pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Proctor, whose badly burned body was found under a bridge on the Galloping Goose Trail on March 19, 2010. The two admitted they lured the Grade 12 student to Wellwood's home, tied her up, gagged her, sexually assaulted her, beat her, suffocated her and mutilated her body with a knife. They then put her body in a freezer. The next day, they put it in a duffel bag and took it by bus to the Galloping Goose Trail.
Johnston also sentenced Wellwood and Moffat to five-year concurrent sentences on the charge of indignity to human remains, authorized the taking of DNA samples from the teens, and imposed a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Charges of sexual assault and unlawful confinement were stayed last week during the grim two-day sentencing hearing in which Crown prosecutor Peter Juk urged Johnston to impose adult sentences for the protection of the public.
Wellwood's father's crimes bear a striking similarity to the rape and murder of Proctor. The details of Dezwaan's offences can only be published now that the judge has lifted a publication ban on Wellwood's and Moffat's identities.
Before his murder conviction, Dezwaan had been arrested in March 2001 for sexual assault with a weapon, confinement, and robbery of a young woman in Kelowna. That followed a 1993 incident in which he was convicted of unlawful confinement and break and enter after he broke into a woman's home at night, climbed on her and tried to stuff a rag in her mouth.
A letter written by Wellwood and read in court last week, said: "As a child, I hated my father for what he had done. I felt I was less than him and now I find I have become a worse man. If you told me 10 years ago that I would commit one of the worst murders in British Columbia, I would not have believed you."
Court-ordered psychiatric and psychological reports on the teens show they are a high risk to reoffend violently and sexually. The reports also show there is little chance they can be rehabilitated.
Wellwood has been diagnosed as a sexual sadist -someone who derives sexual gratification from inflicting pain -with very strong psychopathic traits and strong indicators for necrophilia, an erotic attraction to corpses. A psychologist found he was aroused by the physical and psychological suffering of others, had rape fantasies and was interested in bondage and sexual asphyxia.
Moffat was not diagnosed as a sexual sadist but has a tendency to sexual deviance and the risk and thrill that go along with it. He has had conduct disorder problems since early childhood that involve defiant anti-social behaviour.
Charges of sexual assault and unlawful confinement were stayed last week during the grim two-day sentencing hearing in which Crown prosecutor Peter Juk urged Johnston to impose adult sentences for the protection of the public.
Wellwood's father's crimes bear a striking similarity to the rape and murder of Proctor. The details of Dezwaan's offences can only be published now that the judge has lifted a publication ban on Wellwood's and Moffat's identities.
Before his murder conviction, Dezwaan had been arrested in March 2001 for sexual assault with a weapon, confinement, and robbery of a young woman in Kelowna. That followed a 1993 incident in which he was convicted of unlawful confinement and break and enter after he broke into a woman's home at night, climbed on her and tried to stuff a rag in her mouth.
A letter written by Wellwood and read in court last week, said: "As a child, I hated my father for what he had done. I felt I was less than him and now I find I have become a worse man. If you told me 10 years ago that I would commit one of the worst murders in British Columbia, I would not have believed you."
Court-ordered psychiatric and psychological reports on the teens show they are a high risk to reoffend violently and sexually. The reports also show there is little chance they can be rehabilitated.
Wellwood has been diagnosed as a sexual sadist -someone who derives sexual gratification from inflicting pain -with very strong psychopathic traits and strong indicators for necrophilia, an erotic attraction to corpses. A psychologist found he was aroused by the physical and psychological suffering of others, had rape fantasies and was interested in bondage and sexual asphyxia.
Moffat was not diagnosed as a sexual sadist but has a tendency to sexual deviance and the risk and thrill that go along with it. He has had conduct disorder problems since early childhood that involve defiant anti-social behaviour.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
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.
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, MN man pleads guilty to forcing disabled woman to perform oral sex on city bus
A 22 year old Twin Cities man pled guilty Wednesday, March 30 to coercing a young woman with Down's Syndrome to perform oral sex on a bus last winter. Herbert Lee House, 22, of St. Paul, will be sentenced to between 5 and 5 1/2 years in prison on May 18 for a single count of 3rd degree CSC by Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan on May 18.
The charges said House was on a Route 64 bus in St. Paul about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 22 when the victim, a 19-year-old woman, got on board with a group of other vulnerable adults and their caretaker. Two teenage boys told police that the woman sat next to House, then they saw the two switch places. They saw the woman's head "bobbing up and down in the man's lap," the criminal complaint said.
Prosecutor Karrin Long got House to admit that the woman he victimized was developmentally disabled. "You know now that [the victim] is very slow and very dependent on other people?" Long asked. "Yes," House said. The sex offense was also a violation of probation for other charges. House had a criminal history involving theft, drugs, and assaults.
The charges said House was on a Route 64 bus in St. Paul about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 22 when the victim, a 19-year-old woman, got on board with a group of other vulnerable adults and their caretaker. Two teenage boys told police that the woman sat next to House, then they saw the two switch places. They saw the woman's head "bobbing up and down in the man's lap," the criminal complaint said.
Prosecutor Karrin Long got House to admit that the woman he victimized was developmentally disabled. "You know now that [the victim] is very slow and very dependent on other people?" Long asked. "Yes," House said. The sex offense was also a violation of probation for other charges. House had a criminal history involving theft, drugs, and assaults.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Britain's "Night Stalker" sentenced to life for rapes of elderly
8:00AM GMT 26 Mar 20
The Telegraph [Britain]
Delroy Grant, 53, “terrified a whole community” for 17 years by committing hundreds of offences against pensioners including rape, sexual assault and burglary. Grant singled out his victims by looking for signs they were elderly and lived alone.
Dressed in black, wearing a mask or balaclava, with gloves on his hands, he would remove entire window panes, cut telephone lines and remove light bulbs before robbing and molesting his victims in the middle of the night. Yesterday, one of his victims, known only as Miss J for legal reasons, took the witness stand and faced her attacker.
At 5ft 1ins tall, with pure white hair and wire-rimmed spectacles, dressed in a white top and blue jacket, the 85-year-old stood as her police statement was read to the court.
"It is something that I shall never forget completely. It still feels so recent. I feel a huge amount of resentment and wonder how the suspect chose me. I often think to myself 'Why me?' or 'Why any of the other victims?'. I also feel a sense of indignation and anger as I feel that I had done everything reasonable to avoid this sort of thing happening. I have found that time is not a great healer. I don't think that it has got any easier over the last year. I certainly haven't got back my peace of mind."
She then added in person that she failed to understand why Grant had struck, before thanking the judge for the opportunity to speak.
The police operation to find Grant cost an estimated £7million and was the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London. However, they had missed an opportunity to arrest him in 1999, which allowed him to strike again over 100 times more.
He was yesterday jailed for life, with a minimum of 27 years before he could be considered for parole.
Judge Peter Rook, sentencing, told Grant he remained a “very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm” and warned him he was likely to die in jail.
The judge said: “You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining precious years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge where they could have expected to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds.”
He also placed Grant on the sex offenders' register for life.
Grant's defence counsel, Courtenay Griffiths QC, admitted that he could offer no mitigation for his client other than to point out that his age meant he would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.
Mr Griffiths added: "These offences were indeed perverse and disgusting and they were also uniquely revolting."
Before the former minicab driver left Woolwich Crown Court, in south London, the judge made these remarks. "Delroy Grant. Your utter depravity knows no bounds. The 18 victims of your offending were all elderly. In respect of nine of them, not only did you break into their homes in the middle of the night, that invasion being a highly traumatic experience for them in itself, but you then proceeded to subject them to humiliating and degrading sexual attacks.
Your offending spanned a period of 17 years. Five south London boroughs were affected by your offending. Over 17 years you have terrified a whole community. As your counsel accepted, thousands of people in south London have been living in fear that they might be your next victim.
It also led to an enormous drain on police resources as the years went by and you evaded arrest. Your offending led to the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London.
This series of offences have multiple aggravating features. Your offending falls in a category of its own, way above anything envisaged in the definitive sentencing guidelines.
You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge, where they could expect to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. You chose to invade their homes when they were in bed at night.
It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds. Those who you raped or attempted to rape were all over 80. Many of your victims were in poor health.
Since in every case but one, your elderly victims lived on their own, I can only conclude that these offences were well-planned and you targeted victims. Singling out your victims must have involved considerable planning, as you chose the most vulnerable of people.
In the middle of the night, you would wake your victims who would be sleeping in their own beds by placing a gloved hand over their mouths to stop them screaming. You would shine your torch into their terrified eyes. You would search their homes and steal their money. I am not going to catalogue in detail the trail of distress, fear and misery you have left behind you.
There can be only one sentence and that is life imprisonment. I have no doubt that these offences are of such seriousness that a life sentence is appropriate to reflect the public abhorrence at your offending. You are a very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm to people. It will be a matter for the Parole Board whether you ever be released. It may be that you will never be released.
Your offending is in a league of its own. I must look at the totality of your offending. I bear in mind that you are now 53. If this was a determinate sentence, a total sentence of 54 years would be appropriate. This means the minimum term will be one of 27 years, less the time you have spent in custody. I am told that is one year and 129 days. That makes the total minimum sentence 25 years, 236 days. I stress that is the minimum term you must serve.
It will follow automatically that you will be placed on the Sexual Offences Register for life.
The Telegraph [Britain]
Delroy Grant, 53, “terrified a whole community” for 17 years by committing hundreds of offences against pensioners including rape, sexual assault and burglary. Grant singled out his victims by looking for signs they were elderly and lived alone.
Dressed in black, wearing a mask or balaclava, with gloves on his hands, he would remove entire window panes, cut telephone lines and remove light bulbs before robbing and molesting his victims in the middle of the night. Yesterday, one of his victims, known only as Miss J for legal reasons, took the witness stand and faced her attacker.
At 5ft 1ins tall, with pure white hair and wire-rimmed spectacles, dressed in a white top and blue jacket, the 85-year-old stood as her police statement was read to the court.
"It is something that I shall never forget completely. It still feels so recent. I feel a huge amount of resentment and wonder how the suspect chose me. I often think to myself 'Why me?' or 'Why any of the other victims?'. I also feel a sense of indignation and anger as I feel that I had done everything reasonable to avoid this sort of thing happening. I have found that time is not a great healer. I don't think that it has got any easier over the last year. I certainly haven't got back my peace of mind."
She then added in person that she failed to understand why Grant had struck, before thanking the judge for the opportunity to speak.
The police operation to find Grant cost an estimated £7million and was the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London. However, they had missed an opportunity to arrest him in 1999, which allowed him to strike again over 100 times more.
He was yesterday jailed for life, with a minimum of 27 years before he could be considered for parole.
Judge Peter Rook, sentencing, told Grant he remained a “very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm” and warned him he was likely to die in jail.
The judge said: “You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining precious years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge where they could have expected to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds.”
He also placed Grant on the sex offenders' register for life.
Grant's defence counsel, Courtenay Griffiths QC, admitted that he could offer no mitigation for his client other than to point out that his age meant he would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.
Mr Griffiths added: "These offences were indeed perverse and disgusting and they were also uniquely revolting."
Before the former minicab driver left Woolwich Crown Court, in south London, the judge made these remarks. "Delroy Grant. Your utter depravity knows no bounds. The 18 victims of your offending were all elderly. In respect of nine of them, not only did you break into their homes in the middle of the night, that invasion being a highly traumatic experience for them in itself, but you then proceeded to subject them to humiliating and degrading sexual attacks.
Your offending spanned a period of 17 years. Five south London boroughs were affected by your offending. Over 17 years you have terrified a whole community. As your counsel accepted, thousands of people in south London have been living in fear that they might be your next victim.
It also led to an enormous drain on police resources as the years went by and you evaded arrest. Your offending led to the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London.
This series of offences have multiple aggravating features. Your offending falls in a category of its own, way above anything envisaged in the definitive sentencing guidelines.
You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge, where they could expect to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. You chose to invade their homes when they were in bed at night.
It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds. Those who you raped or attempted to rape were all over 80. Many of your victims were in poor health.
Since in every case but one, your elderly victims lived on their own, I can only conclude that these offences were well-planned and you targeted victims. Singling out your victims must have involved considerable planning, as you chose the most vulnerable of people.
In the middle of the night, you would wake your victims who would be sleeping in their own beds by placing a gloved hand over their mouths to stop them screaming. You would shine your torch into their terrified eyes. You would search their homes and steal their money. I am not going to catalogue in detail the trail of distress, fear and misery you have left behind you.
There can be only one sentence and that is life imprisonment. I have no doubt that these offences are of such seriousness that a life sentence is appropriate to reflect the public abhorrence at your offending. You are a very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm to people. It will be a matter for the Parole Board whether you ever be released. It may be that you will never be released.
Your offending is in a league of its own. I must look at the totality of your offending. I bear in mind that you are now 53. If this was a determinate sentence, a total sentence of 54 years would be appropriate. This means the minimum term will be one of 27 years, less the time you have spent in custody. I am told that is one year and 129 days. That makes the total minimum sentence 25 years, 236 days. I stress that is the minimum term you must serve.
It will follow automatically that you will be placed on the Sexual Offences Register for life.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Former high school basketball star given 84 to 230 years in home invasion rapes
On March 10, 2011, a former basketball player was sentenced to 84-230 years imprisonment for two Philadelphia assaults. 25 year old Domenique Wilson was handed the term by Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Charles J. Cunningham III, who said he handed down the sentence to ensure "there is never a day when he is out."
Judge Cunningham continued, "This was not the case of someone who broke in an apartment and happened to find somebody there. You are a serial rapist, a serial criminal. You just got caught sooner rather than later." Wilson was convicted by a jury in November of rape, burglary, and robbery in the Philly attacks.
Wilson forced his way into an apartment on Oct. 22, 2008, on Clinton Street in Center City. He then raped and robbed a 25-year-old woman at knifepoint, and tied up, robbed, and assaulted her 29-year-old boyfriend.
Wilson was also found guilty of forcing his way into a Spruce Street apartment Dec. 19, 2008. The 24- and 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania female students testified that Wilson threatened them with a gun and knife, covered their eyes, mouths, and wrists with duct tape, and repeatedly raped one.
Both rape victims gave an impact statement, read in court. The first victim's statement said, "In one selfish, disgusting act, you destroyed every part of my life. You attacked me repeatedly in my own bedroom. I no longer have a safe place to call my own - not a single one. My fear is practically constant...With how heartless you seem to be, I don't know if you have the capacity to feel sorry for what you did. But I trust you'll have a long time ahead to think about it."
The Spruce Street victim said, "I want to say 'thank you' for all of the wonderful things I have been blessed with from this horrible act," including a closer relationship with the roommate who had to hear the rape, and a friendship with the other victims.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
