Milwaukee's North Side Strangler sentenced to life

Milwaukee's North Side Strangler was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms yesterday, February 24, 2011 in Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Dennis Cimpl's courtroom. Walter E. Ellis was sentenced for seven counts of 1st degree intentional homicide for the strangulation murders of seven women, must of them prostitutes. More about these crimes can be found here and here.

More than 30 friends and relatives of his many victims filled the gallery Thursday. Nine made formal statements to Cimpl, ranging from vengeful to forgiving.Tina Lewis, mother of Ouithreaun Stokes, Ellis' last known victim, asked, "What went wrong in his life that would make him kill these women?" She said she wished Wisconsin had the death penalty and hoped Ellis would wind up murdered in prison like infamous Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Zola Farrior, sister of Sheila Farrior, who was killed in 1995, called Ellis "nothing but the devil. He didn't only kill my sister, he killed my mother - she died of heartbreak after that," Farrior said.

Dominika Walton's mother, Irene Smith, was stabbed and strangled in 1992. She tearfully said she was not happy with Ellis pleading no contest, that he was still trying to avoid responsibility. "He is a straight coward," she said.

Patricia Donald spoke about her friend Deborah Harris, Ellis' first known victim, who was killed Oct. 10, 1986, whom she called a generous, loving person who had moved to the city for a better life. She said she had forgiven Ellis because she will not let him prevent her from enjoying closure.

"We're going to all be all right," Donald said. "You don't win. You don't get to destroy lives anymore."

Ellis did not speak, and his attorney, Patrick Earle, said that he would not make any statements on his client's behalf.

Former MA state senator admits to groping women, will serve 3 months jail, 5 years probation

(Original Post 6-6-08)
Senator is admitted to psych hospital Marzilli is seeking treatment after arrest

By Steve LeBlanc THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON— A state senator arrested this week on charges of attempting to grope one woman and making lewd comments to a second was admitted to a psychiatric hospital yesterday. State Sen. James J. Marzilli entered the hospital hours after saying he would not seek re-election in the fall. The decision came a day after he was arraigned in Lowell District Court on multiple charges related to the arrest. Marzilli’s lawyer confirmed that he was seeking treatment.
“Senator Marzilli was admitted into a local hospital for treatment for an undisclosed illness this afternoon,” said Marzilli’s lawyer, Terrence Kennedy. A source close to Marzilli said on condition of anonymity that Marzilli was seeking treatment at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Belmont.

Marzilli, 50, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he tried to grab a woman sexually at a park in Lowell, then fled police, and to charges he made lewd remarks to another woman. Charges against him include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault and battery and obstruction of justice. Marzilli is free on bail and due back in court July 3.

A spokesman for the Middlesex district attorney’s office said investigators were looking into other incidents possibly involving Marzilli, including one last year in Arlington and another in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood two years ago. Investigators also were looking into whether Marzilli was involved in other incidents in Lowell before his arrest.

Last month, Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr. declined to charge Marzilli after a woman claimed he had touched her inappropriately in April, saying there was insufficient evidence.

Marzilli was arrested Tuesday after a woman told police he approached her while she was sitting on a park bench and tried to grab her crotch. A second woman called authorities after seeing media coverage of Marzilli’s arrest and said Marzilli made lewd comments to her. Kennedy said his client “totally denies” the charges.

(Update 2-23-11) Marzilli was sentenced to three months in jail and probation by Judge Paul Chernoff at Lowell Superior Court yesterday. Marzilli will serve his sentence at the Billerica House of Correction. For the first year of his probation, Marzilli will serve his first year under GPS monitoring and must do 200 hours of community service. A charge of attempted indecent assault and battery was stayed for a year, meaning that if the GPS monitoring goes without any hitches, Marzilli won't have to register as a sex offender.

In the city [of Lowell, MA]on June 3, 2008, for a function at Federal Fabrics-Fibers, Marzilli approached the women both on foot and in a car over the course of four hours, making lewd remarks about their bodies. They, in return, called him a pervert and told him to spend $20 on a hooker.

Middlesex District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan said that some of the victims are afraid to go to Lowell, MA and that “At the time of his arrest, he was focused on himself, his career, his future. Maybe in time it can be a little bit about what these women lost on the streets of Lowell."

Houston man held without bond for sexually mutilating wife

A career criminal was charged with the torture of his 33 year old "wife" and held without bond. Gregory Longoria Jr, 39, was charged with aggravated assault of a family member for holding his estranged wife against her will and torturing her between noon Wednesday, February 16 and 7 AM February 17. 

The 33 year old victim left Longoria and moved back to her parents' house along with her four children to escape the abusive relationship and allegations of cheating. Wednesday, Longoria went to the victim's parnets' house and threatened her with violence if she did not bring the one year old girl she had with him. She left with him and went back to Longoria's apartment.

The victim told investigators Longoria threatened to kill her elderly, disabled parents if she didn’t comply with his demands.The victim said once they arrived at Longoria’s apartment, he told her to undress and took sexually explicit and obscene photos of her.

When he was finished with the camera, the victim told investigators Longoria tied her to the bed and beat her. She said he then used a can of hairspray and a lighter to burn her nipples and vagina. After he burned her, the victim said he ripped one of her nipples off her body.

The victim said Longoria also choked her with a belt and smothered her with a pillow, causing her to lose consciousness. Longoria kept her there from noon Wednesday until 7 a.m. Thursday, deputies said. He then dropped her and the baby off at her parents’ house.

Longoria let her go after she convinced him that she had to go to a job interview that Thursday and that they needed the money. Longoria told her to take a shower and dropped her off at her parents house. Longoria took his daughter and drove around Houston until he was stopped Thursday evening. The victim was driven to Kingwood Medical Center.

Investigators observed burns to the woman's body consistent with her description of what happened. A doctor at Kingwood Medical Center told investigators that the woman will require reconstructive surgery and will suffer permanent disfigurement as a result of the attack, court records show.

During a press conference, Longoria was likened to a mad dog by Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia. "There are rabid dogs in our society — animals. These dogs that think they can get away with dehumanizing any person, but in particular women, will be dealt with. We are proving today that we will hunt those dogs down and put them in their kennels and try to show them the same dignity that they failed to show for a fellow human being...God help me if such an animal were ever to introduce himself to my family."

While the baby was physically unharmed, Lt. Ruben Diaz of the Houston sex crimes unit said "He had the baby asleep on the couch in the next room, probably listening to her own mother's screams for help." After Longoria's arrest Thursday afternoon, Diaz said  "He didn’t even care that we picked him up. When we picked him up, he had a curt attitude. He had a smirk on his face like he didn’t care." The reason the situation lasted so long was because "She was protecting her family more so even than herself - she was tolerating the abuse."

The victim's mother told reporters "At times, I saw her she would just look teary-eyed. I would advise couples not to be quiet but be up front because that’s how a lot of women die."

The emergency protective order prohibits all contact with his victim, including indirect contact or showing up at her workplace. The same no contact conditions were imposed regarding the victim's four children and her parents. Prosecutor Donna Hawkins with the Harris County District Attorney's Office said the order "precludes the defendant from having any contact with the complainant in this case, not going by her residence and not attending her work place either." 

Longoria is charged with a first degree felony "because of three elements: he assaulted a member of his family causing serious bodily injury and utilizing a deadly weapon, which in this case is fire," according to Hawkins.

According to a family member, the victim, who was released from Kingwood Medical Center Monday,  is actually comforting her family members. "We have all been crying, when we come up to her, she just looks at us and says, ‘why are you crying? I am fine, I am strong, if I’m not crying you should not be crying...She is very hopeful about the future. She trusts a lot in God...She's not going to let this person take her down - she's way stronger than that."
 
Longoria has a history of arrests in Harris County dating back to 1989, including convictions for shooting two men, court files show.

In 2005, Longoria was charged with misdemeanor assault of a family member after he was accused of choking another woman identified as his wife with his hands, court records show. A court issued an emergency protection order, and Longoria pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 160 days in jail.

In 1992, he pleaded guilty to an attempted murder, two charges of aggravated assault and felony theft. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the aggravated assault and theft convictions and granted 10 years probation and deferred adjudication for the attempted murder conviction, court records show.

In September 1991, when Longoria was 20 years old, Bellaire police arrested him for shooting a 21-year-old man four times. Longoria was a passenger in a moving vehicle when he fired the shots, court records show. That man survived, and the incident led to Longoria's conviction for attempted murder.

A month later, Longoria was arrested again, this time for shooting a 20-year-old community college student. That victim also survived.

Longoria has not been formally arraigned yet because arraignment requires a public defender. Numerous public defenders have refused to take him on as a client due to the nature of the charges and allegetions against him. A lawyer is scheduled to be appointed later today.

Quebec man sentenced to 25 to life for luring woman he met online to death

A Quebec City man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of a woman he met over the Internet and whose body has never been found. An emotionless Alain Perreault, 48, was sentenced Friday [February 11, 2011]morning to life in prison without possibility for parole for 25 years for the death of Lyne Massicotte.

A jury came back with the guilty verdict after three days of deliberation. Perreault met Massicotte in a chat room on the Internet and arranged a date in Quebec City in July 2003. Massicotte, a single mother, travelled there from her home in Chambly, Que., and vanished after the encounter.

Despite numerous searches, Massicotte's body was never found. The jury heard that Perreault admitted on video during a police sting operation he had killed Massicotte.The operation involved a fictitious criminal organization with an undercover officer posing as a crime boss.

During his trial, Perreault denied any involvement in Massicotte's slaying.

Former British soldier sentenced to 16 to life for bombing of wife's car

A former British soldier was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for at least 16 years at Maidstone crown court Friday, February 18. 33 year old Nicholas Fabian of Vigo, Kent, England was convicted for planting a hand grenade underneath his wife Victoria's car. The hand grenade was stolen from training exercises and was rigged to go off when the victim reversed out of her driveway on March 5, 2010.

The victim suffered burns and shrapnel injuries, and was six months pregnant with her attacker's son, named Freddie. During the attack, Fabian, driving in another car with his four year old son Harry ripped off his shirt to use as a tourniquet. Police suspected Fabian from the beginning, but charges were not filed until they found the green and yellow paint that was found on the grenade and the fishing line used to booby trap the car. Fabian's official charges were attempted murder and causing an explosion with intent to endanger life.

Andrew Patience, QC castigated Fabian before formally pronouncing sentence. "What you did in causing that explosion, with the consequences which flowed from it on March 5 last year, was wicked beyond belief. You conceived a plan to rid yourself of your wife which demonstrated low cunning in its planning and preparation, and utter heartlessness and chilling ruthlessness in its execution...You are an evil man who was prepared to destroy at least one human life in order to achieve your own selfish ends. Not only are you evil but you present a danger to the general public."

Patience said that "your wife was not to know, even when you were sat together on March 4, that the plans for your life together meant nothing to you and you were practising upon her the cruelest of deceptions."

The motive behind the attack was for Fabian to rid himself of his wife and make a life with his mistress Jackie Phillips. The 33 year old Phillips told authorities Fabian promised to leave his wife for her, but Fabian himself said that he felt "lust, infatuation and obsession," but not love for Phillips. Phillips was not the only person who Fabian has had dalliances with.

Since his conviction [Thursday, February 17], it has since been revealed that as well as cheating on his wife, attempted killer Fabian had previously worked as a £50-a-time male prostitute and even starred in a gay porn movie while still a soldier in Aldershot.

Known as ‘Squaddie Nick’, he catered to the sexual needs of older men with an Army uniform fetish. One man, who had a relationship with Fabian after meeting him on a train, said: 'He came on to me strongly and we had sex in the train toilet. 'I dropped him off at his married Army quarters afterwards in my car but that night he was knocking on my door again. He was having affairs with a string of women and wanted gay sex too,' he told The Sun.

At the time [in 2004]he was living with a former partner, Louise Sands, the mother of two of his children. When asked after the trial whether she was aware of her ex’s secret double life, Miss Sands, 30, said: ‘What? Nick? Gay? My head is fried.’

He had spent ten years in The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment and during his time with them he was investigated for ‘misconduct issues’ which saw him demoted from lance corporal to private. He was also alleged to have stolen from his fellow soldiers.

After leaving the Army in 2004 he had found it difficult to adjust to civilian life and claimed he was happy when he was called up to serve as he missed ‘the thrill of being a soldier’, the court heard.

On the day of the attack in March last year Mrs Fabian had planned to take Charlie and Harry, her four-year-old son with Fabian, to get a haircut.

Afterwards all four were due to have a family meal at a Harvester restaurant.

Alastair Dickson from the Kent Crown Prosecution Service, said the affair with Phillips was not the only motive behing the attack on his wife. "Clearly not everyone who has affairs goes on to attempt to kill his wife in such a way...It has something to do with the fact that he was a fantasist and an attention-seeker but I don’t think anyone will ever know the true motive in addition to the Jackie Phillips motive behind this offence."

Dickson praised the victim for facing her attacker in open court instead of from behind a screen. "Victoria Fabian, throughout this terrible ordeal, has shown an enormous degree of bravery and strength. That's reflected in the way she gave her evidence to the court. She was brave enough to make the decision that she didn't want to give evidence from behind a screen, which was available to her. What she wanted to do was face Nicholas Fabian in court and for him to see exactly what he had done to her, and that shows remarkable bravery."

Predatory massage therapist sentenced to 11 years in prison

A Minneapolis massage therapist was ordered to serve 11 years imprisonment and be registered as a predatory sex offender on Valentines Day 2011. Lawrence Martin Valencour, 62, was convicted back in November of four counts of 4th degree criminal sexual conduct at a week long trial presided over by District Judge Thomas Poch. The assaults happened at Apple Valley, MN's A Touch Of Tranquility massage parlor, which has shut down.

In 2008, three women reported to Apple Valley police that Valencour had touched their breasts and genitals and put his genitals in their hands during massages, according to a criminal complaint. Police located three more victims through the business's owner.

The owner, who hired Valencour, base the hiring on the recommendation of a massage school she trusted. The misplaced trust cost her her business and those women their dignity.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, the prosecutor, said, "We're pleased with the lengthy prison term that was handed down today in this case. These types of crimes are extremely traumatic to the victims, whose privacy is directly invaded in a very disturbing way." Backstrom said the 11 years for the 4th degree CSC counts were the maximum prison sentence that could be handed down.

Man convicted of bathtub drowning murder of wife

Associated Press
LEBANON (OH): A man found guilty of murder in his third trial over his wife's bathtub drowning buried his face in his hands as he heard the verdict Tuesday and continued to maintain his innocence, telling the judge he loved his wife and ''would never have hurt her.''

A Warren County jury deliberated about 12 hours over two days before convicting Ryan Widmer, who was in tears as the verdict was read. Judge Neal Bronson sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison. ''Judge, I did not do this,'' Widmer said, breathing heavily. ''I don't know why this has to keep going on. I mean, my life has been ruined.''

It was the second time Widmer was found guilty. The verdict from his first trial was thrown out over juror misconduct, and his second trial ended in a hung jury. Defense attorneys didn't comment on appeal plans or return an after-hours call seeking comment.

The couple had been married for about six months when she died. Ryan Widmer told a 911 dispatcher that his wife had fallen asleep in the bathtub.

Prosecutors in this trial for the first time had asked jurors to consider the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. The judge had instructed jurors that a murder conviction meant they believed Widmer purposely killed his 24-year-old wife, Sarah, in 2008. Involuntary manslaughter would mean they agreed that he assaulted his wife and caused her death but didn't mean to kill her.

Prosecutors had argued that bruises on his wife's neck supported their contention that Widmer killed his wife at their Hamilton Township home by grabbing her and forcing her head underwater.

The defense attributed the bruising to rescue workers' efforts to revive her and said she may have suffered a medical problem before drowning. Defense attorney Jay Clark said investigators made mistakes, took shortcuts and made assumptions, and he suggested that the death of an elderly woman in a bathtub under similar circumstances wouldn't have resulted in charges.

The trial featured a new prosecution witness, who testified that Ryan Widmer confessed to her in a phone call. Jennifer Crew, 36, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, testified that Widmer told her on Oct. 26, 2009, that he killed his wife after she said she was going to leave him. Crew said Widmer was crying and so upset he could barely talk.

Crew said she had never met Widmer in person but sent him e-mail and text messages because she thought he was innocent after she saw a Dateline NBC episode about the case that aired after Widmer's first trial.

Man gets 25-50 years for shooting "girlfriend" to death

A “boyfriend” who shot a 6 months pregnant woman to death has pled guilty to second degree murder Monday, February 7, and is scheduled to serve 25-50 years in prison.

Rollon Michael Marko, a 27 year old Portage, MI man, was sentenced by Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Alexander C. Lipsey to the term for 2nd degree murder and assault on a pregnant individual causing miscarriage or stillbirth. These charges were in place of a 1st degree murder charge, which carries an automatic life without parole sentence.

Marko, who had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana on May 22, shot Courtney Delano, 19, in his apartment. She and the fetus died of the single gunshot wound to her chest and shoulder.

Marko, who’s trial was to start Tuesday on charges of open murder and assault as well as the firearms charges, faced up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Troy Delano, father of the victim, 19 year old Courtney Delano told his daughter’s murderer, “You’re going to be raped in prison everyday. I hope you enjoy it. Eff you.”

Chandra Levy's murderer convicted, sentenced to 60 years - victim's mom says no closure

(Original Post 11-23-10)
Washington (CNN) -- After more than three days of deliberations, jurors on Monday convicted Ingmar Guandique of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2001 death of Washington intern Chandra Levy.

As the verdict was read, Levy's mother, Susan, stared intently at Guandique. Several jurors wiped their eyes afterward.

Levy, a 24-year-old California native, was in Washington working as an intern for the Bureau of Prisons when she was last seen on May 1, 2001. Her skull was found over a year later, on May 22, 2002, in Washington's Rock Creek Park. But police didn't arrest Guandique until February 2009. He was then serving a 10-year sentence for attacking two other women in the park and had reportedly spoken about killing Levy.

"It's been nearly 10 years since the promise of a young life was lost in Rock Creek Park," Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters Monday afternoon. "Today's verdict does send a message for a murderer to be held accountable. It's never too late for justice to be served."

Following an 11-day trial, jurors deliberated for three days and then for another two hours Monday. They notified Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher about 11:45 a.m. that they had reached a verdict, entering the courtroom at 12:35 p.m. ET.

Speaking after their dismissal, jurors told reporters they took the time to examine each piece of evidence and consider it. "We were very careful to evaluate all the evidence, and it was a decision based on everything we had," said juror Susan Kelly, a journalist.

Guandique, 29, will face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced February 11. The jury convicted him of one count of murder with kidnapping and a second count of murder with attempted robbery.

After the verdict, Susan Levy asked reporters, "What difference does it make," and then answered her own question."You, the prosecutors, defense, the jury, the police, the public and individual citizens, as well as the media, both the written media and the visual media, we all make a difference," she said. "... It makes a difference to find the right person who is responsible for my daughter's death or for anybody else's death."

Regardless of the sentence Guandique is given, "I have a lifetime sentence of a lost limb missing from our family tree," she said. "It's painful. I live with it every day. ... There's always going to be a feeling of sadness."

Emily Grinstead told reporters that she and fellow jurors were mindful not to rush a decision. While confident they reached the right verdict, she said that "doesn't mean that I don't wish we didn't have to be here today."

"You're dealing with somebody's life," Grinstead said. "Two people's lives. I don't take that lightly."

Asked what she would say to Susan Levy, juror Linda Norton said, "I think she has to take from this what she will. We cannot bring back her daughter. ... We did the best we could with the evidence we were given."

Prosecutors argued that Guandique, a reputed member of the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha, attacked Levy while she was jogging in Washington's Rock Creek Park. After her skull was found, a search turned up other remains of Levy's, as well as clothing later identified as hers strewn down the side of a ravine. Her running shoes were unlaced, and her clothes were turned inside out. Her pants were knotted in tight restraints around her legs.

Prosecutor Amanda Haines, during her closing argument, cited what she portrayed as confessions that Guandique allegedly made to a cellmate as he served time for other attacks, as well as remarks he allegedly made to a female pen pal.

Defense attorney Santha Sonenberg emphasized the largely circumstantial nature of the case, including what prosecutors have acknowledged was a lack of DNA evidence, a lack of witnesses and only secondhand accounts of Guandique's alleged confessions.

Both the women who Guandique also attacked in the park -- including one on the same day Levy went missing -- spoke at the trial, testimony that Kelly called "powerful." He had pleaded guilty for his role in those attacks, and was set to be released in September 2010.

The disappearance of Levy drew national attention after her parents discovered a connection with Gary Condit, who was then a sitting congressman from California. Condit was never a suspect in the case, but he was questioned intensively for details about Levy's whereabouts.

He testified in the trial earlier this month, but refused to address a question about whether he had sex with Levy. An FBI forensic expert later confirmed Condit's semen had been found in underwear retrieved from Levy's apartment in the days after her parents reported her missing. "We've lost our feeling for common decency. I didn't commit any crime. I didn't do anything wrong," he said.

Condit said several times during his testimony that the media frenzy surrounding Levy's disappearance was hard to handle, including a helicopter flight over his California home while his daughter and her friends were sunbathing at the family's pool. "They reported that I had young women in bikinis at my house," he said.

Juror Grinstead pointed out that it wasn't just police that were sidetracked and focused for weeks on the wrong person. Asked who also was on the wrong track, she told reporters, "You all."

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier defended authorities' handling of the case Monday afternoon, saying it sometimes takes time to find evidence and suspects. The U.S. attorney's office in the District of Columbia recently opened a "cold case" unit, which Machen credited for leading to four convictions in the past year for murders that dated back as far as 20 years.

"It's not like it is on TV. Cases can be very complicated," said Lanier, who became chief in 2007. "You never give up, regardless of criticism, regardless of mistakes. And I think that's what happened in this case."

(Update 2-15-11) On Friday February 11, Guandique was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for the Levy slaying. Judge Gerald I. Fisher presided over the trial and its conclusion. Prosecutors asked for life without parole - the defense asked for 60 years. Guandique will serve 85% or 51 years before becoming eligible for early release.

Judge Fisaher called the Levy slaying "a truly horrible crime" and Guandique a "dangerous person...Dangerous to women, in particular. And will be a danger for some time. He's a sexual predator. Nobody else should be at the mercy of Mr. Guandique like Ms. Levy."

Fisher acknowledged that the prosecution's case "wasn't a very strong" one - and was based on circumstantial evidence. Fisher said the strongest evidence linking Guandique to Levy's death included Guandique's previous attacks on two female joggers, testimony from witnesses who placed Guandique in the park at the time Levy disappeared and the testimony of Guandique's cellmate, Armando Morales, who said Guandique admitted to him that he killed Levy in the park.

Before sentencing, the victim's mother, Susan Levy, spoke to Guandique directly. "Because of you, young man, you have caused us to live a Holocaust again...You have sentenced our entire family to days of sadness, tears and heartache. You are a hideous creature."

"How could you take my daughter's life? Did you really take her life? Look me in my eyes and tell me."

Before Fisher issued his decision, Guandique stood up, paused, wiped his eyes and addressed the Levy family. It was the first time he had spoken at length in court since being charged in 2009.

"I am sorry for what happened to your daughter," he said through an interpreter. "But I had nothing to do with it. I am innocent."

This view was the continuation of a view Guandique has held since a January 22 letter to the Washington Post. It goes, "Everything about this case was a stupid, comedic farce that the detectives and prosecutors have engaged in," Guandique wrote. "I know there are people who believe in my innocence and to those people who believe in my innocence I say you are not mistaken, because I am innocent."

On a Valentine's Day 2011 interview with anchor Chris Wragge of the CBS Early Morning Show, Susan Levy said that "I always have that 5 percent not being sure. Ninety-five percent I like to believe that the Justice Department is accurate. But there is that 5 percent...But they proved in court. It's circumstantial. Not substantial, but circumstantial evidence that he was involved."

Wragge later asked, "I know there's no sense of closure but is there any sense of peace that you can think of?" "There's no closure, that's for buildings," Susan Levy said. "You have a daughter that's tragically dead, there's never a sense of peace."

"There's 1,318,345 violent crimes committed in 2009 - one murder every three minutes, one violent crime every six seconds, one rape and assault every two minutes. 5.2 million crimes were reported 2007. On average 15,000 to 17,000 people are killed every year since 2000. That's more than what is killed, unfortunately, in Afghanistan. This is pervasive, and one of the leading psychological problems in America, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder. We live in a very violent society, and our most important resources are our children and our family, and we need to do something about this problem."

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.

Lawrence, MA police officer sent away for 10-12 years for raping mother of two on duty

A former Lawrence, MA police officer was sentenced to 10-12 years imprisonment for raping a young mother of two who was drunkenly celebrating her 24th birthday. Sentencing took place on February 3, 2011 in Newburyport District Court by Judge Richard Welch.

Kevin Sledge Sr, 48, of Salem, NH, was also ordered to stay away from the victim, her family and her friend Regina Perry, undergo sex offender treatment, register as a sex offender, and serve 5 years of probation after leaving prison. Judge Welch said that while Sledge's family said that he was a supportive father and nephew, he was "a man who committed rape and indecent assault and battery," taking advantage of a woman who "was drunk as can be." The official charges a jury convicted Sledge of were three counts of indecent assault and battery and a single rape count.

He said he was trying to help the victim, who told him she was stranded and abandoned in downtown Lawrence that night. He said she asked him for a ride home to Nashua, N.H. He told her he could drive her to the police station.

When she refused to go into the police station lobby and wait for Perry there, Sledge said he allowed the woman to wait in his car parked out back. The victim says after she was picked up by Sledge, he drove her to the police station where he was on duty. She said he returned to his car several times to rape and assault her.

Sledge, a police officer for 17 years, raped and repeatedly assaulted the woman in his personal car, a silver Jaguar he parked behind the police station on Sept. 26, 2008. Sledge was assigned to the booking room and repeatedly left his post to go to his car to rape and fondle the woman. When arrested, he was immediately suspended from the department and stripped of his paycheck once indicted.

The trial was Sledge's second trial - the first trial ended in a mistrial. Prosecutor Kate MacDougall asked for a 12-15 years sentencing, citing the "sacred trust" Sledge violated and that he used his police officer status to facilitate "disgraceful and shameful behavior." MacDougall read a victim impact statement from the victim. The statement said that the attack affected her parenting ability. Her son missed school because she was too scared to walk his to school. She eventually sucummbed to depression, and was evicted from her apartment and ended up with her children in homeless shelters. 

"Every time, I (saw) a silver car, I put my head down and my heart would pound hoping it wasn't him," "Never would I have thought trusting a police officer was gonna end in a disaster," she said. "I thought I had no chance going up against a cop, but I did it anyways."

Defense attorney John Morris asked Welch to impose a 3- to 5-year prison sentence, pointing to the many letters of support Sledge's extended family had written on his behalf to Welch. Morris read a letter in court from Kevin Sledge Jr., Sledge's 21-year-old son, who is a sophomore in college. Sledge Jr. described his father as his best friend and a person who loves him unconditionally. He also said he was disappointed by his dad's choices. "I cannot imagine what my life would be like without him. He taught me to be a hard worker ... to never quit," Sledge Jr. wrote. "I am proud to call him my dad."

Morris also said Sledge suffers from congestive heart failure, a condition he was diagnosed with in August. In addition to heart valve and blood flow problems, Sledge also has a herniated disk in his back and nerve damage that resulted from a cruiser accident he was involved in as a police officer, Morris said.

Judge Welsh told the victim, "You displayed remarkable courage when you testified...Hopefully you can build on that." Shawn Sledge, 40, the perpetrator's nephew, said "[The sentence is] somewhat harsh ... I do understand the judge's comments that he was a police officer and a protector of the law. I understand the decision he made, even though I don't think it's the right one."

Father of four sent away for life for raping woman he met on sugar daddy website

A man who lured a 22 year old woman he met on a sugar daddy website into rape was sentenced to life without parole by Orange Circuit Judge Walter Komanski Wednesday, February 9. Father of four Marcelo Augusto Alves misrepresented himself as Mark Garcia, even using a fake picture, and communicated with the 22 year old Tampa victim before arranging a meeting with her in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando outside of a multimillion dollar home March 2009.

 "He was wearing a mask and had a knife in his hand and tackled her to the ground and he raped her," said Assistant State Attorney Kelly Hicks. The mask was pantyhose over his face. Alves put a knife to the victim's throat and tackled her to the ground before raping her.  Alves was charged with, then convicted for four counts of sexual battery. His attorney argued that only one act of rape occured, but Alves was convicted on all four counts.

In the victim impact statement, read by Hicks, she said, "I trusted him as Mark and didn't think something like this could have happened...Marcelo royally screwed me up...Now I understand the term, 'sexual predator.'" "He is a monster who deserves to go away for the rest of his life," Hicks said.