Sunday, July 31, 2005
Defrocked molesters fall below the radar
From the Philadephia Inquirer:
At a time of heightened national concern about the need to track sex offenders, the Catholic Church in America has begun cutting loose dozens - perhaps hundreds - of priests who have molested children.
The church had already suspended the clerics after finding the child-abuse allegations against them to be credible. Now, as it defrocks them, expelling them from the priesthood, the men are quietly reentering civilian life with only the barest notice to the public, and no ongoing oversight by the church.
Nor is law enforcement certain to be watching them.
In most instances, the statute of limitations in their cases expired years ago. This means they face no prospect of prosecution for past sex offenses.
"As a citizen, I would be concerned and would want to know if such an individual was living on my block," said Capt. John Darby, head of the Philadelphia police Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.
But only convicted sex offenders' names appear on "Megan's Law" public registries checkable by neighbors, Darby said - and few of the defrocked priests were ever charged or convicted.
The church sex-abuse scandal, and the "zero tolerance" policy that the bishops enacted in response, has led thus far to nine defrockings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and one in the Camden Diocese. Observers say hundreds more U.S. priests await decisions by the Vatican.
To critics, the church is washing its hands of a problem it helped create by failing to alert police to the abuse reports years ago, when they were first received.
"If, indeed, a person is a true predator, the institutional church still has an obligation to maintain some vigilance over him," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, an early whistleblower on priest abuse, and now a prominent advocate for victims.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Abounding Grace School's owners to answer charges
Via General J.C. Christian...
Punishment turned into abuse, boys say
LEXINGTON, N.C. - When he started the Abounding Grace School for Boys in 1995, Stan Mitchell knew little about running a boarding school, but he knew a lot about troubled boys.
After all, he had been one.
With only their religious faith and a strict code of discipline, Mitchell and his wife, Lee, opened the school 10 years ago. They say they wanted to give boys a safe place to learn new ways.
But some of the boys tell a different story: They say the couple subjected them to a level of punishment that crossed the line to physical abuse.
The school stopped enrolling students a year ago after the Davidson County Department of Social Services charged the Mitchells with child abuse and removed all but one of the boys, who was 18 and chose to stay.
They say they are innocent, but they've closed the school for good. On Monday, the Mitchells are scheduled to be arraigned in Davidson County Superior Court on charges of felony child abuse inflicting serious injury.
The parents of their accusers want to make sure they will never again run such a school.
"This is a place I thought they were going to give him love," said Bridgit Wingert, who sent her son, Rex Blevins, to Abounding Grace. "Bottom line is that we don't want the Mitchells to ever be able to take care of children again."
Drawn to troubled youth
Though they have only a limited education - Stan Mitchell has a GED and Lee Mitchell didn't finish high school - they say they felt a calling to educate troubled youth. Stan Mitchell says he wanted them to avoid making some of the mistakes he had made.
His criminal record includes several driving offenses and charges of drug possession and breaking-and-entering. He once spent a year in jail.
"I was a hellion," said Stan Mitchell, 44. "I can't tell you how many times I had been to jail as a teenager. But God saved me and turned me around, and I wanted to save the youth from the mess I had to go through as a kid."
Within a year of the school's opening, nine students were enrolled and the Mitchells built a house in Caswell County and moved there.
The boys followed a highly structured routine that included an enforced period of silence each morning. They were required to go to church and do chores and schoolwork. They ate meals together and worked on a buddy system. Breaking the rules brought swats - or "licks" - with a paddle.
When the school moved from Yanceyville to Lexington in 2000, to be affiliated with Believer's Baptist Church, the Mitchells registered Abounding Grace as a boarding school with the Division of Non-Public Education. The school was free until 2002, when they began charging $400 a month for the 18-month program; church donations also helped pay the school's bills. Most of the boys came to the school at age 14 or 15; none stayed long enough to finish high school there. About 100 have attended Abounding Grace since it started as a home school in Greensboro...
A code of conduct made it clear that for each violation of the rules, a boy could get up to five licks with a paddle. Corporal punishment is legal in North Carolina schools, but the law leaves it up to the administrator to decide what is reasonable, Helder said.
Everyone - the boys, their parents and the Mitchells - was required to sign off on the rules.
But how far did the school go in enforcing the rules? Documents from Caswell and Davidson counties show that complaints were made about conditions at Abounding Grace years before the current allegations of abuse were made.
According to letters from both counties' social-service departments to Helder's division, Caswell County investigated four reports about the school between April 1997 and February 1999. Three reports of neglect were unsubstantiated, and the other investigation "did not reveal any information to suggest that the boys are used for labor, inappropriately disciplined, 'afraid of you' or not being home schooled within the appropriate guidelines," according to letters from Caswell County to the Mitchells...
County social workers didn't contact the school again until July 21, 2004, when they came to investigate reports of abuse that led to the current charges.
This time, the reports came from the parents of two boys who hadn't returned to school after summer vacation.
The Mitchells later learned that the parents called social services with allegations that the boys had been beaten with boat paddles and subjected to long periods of solitary confinement. They also said that boys were sometimes forced to eat their own vomit after becoming sick at the school.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Center of the storm
Reno’s former bishop is not accused in any sexual abuse case, but he has been named as a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits. What did he know about the activities of the priests around him?
Reno, Nevada - Reno Catholic leader Bishop Phillip Straling, who retired unexpectedly last month, is a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits in Southern California filed against priests accused of molesting children. In some cases, he is accused of negligence for failing to stop the abuse.
And prosecutors last week seized records from Straling’s former diocese in San Bernardino looking for information on the religious leader’s former aide, Jesus Dominguez, who recently disappeared after being charged with 58 counts of sexual assault.
The lawsuits and lawyers say Straling, while a priest in San Diego and bishop of San Bernardino, might have known that the accused priests were having sex with children but did nothing to stop them. Many believe he played a part in shuffling abusive priests to new parishes where they had access to and sometimes continued to molest children.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Sexual abuse allegations, cases hint at Spokane's shameful side
Disturbing connections emerge
Three decades ago, while Spokane reveled in its changing skyline and the limelight of hosting a World's Fair, the city frequently was described as a great place to raise a family.
But beneath the surface lurked a dark secret – actually several of them.
Young boys – some from troubled backgrounds and others from prominent families – were being sexually abused by a group of men who were supposed to be role models and authority figures. Growing evidence suggests that people who knew about the abuse did nothing to stop it or report it.
Two attorneys who represent several alleged victims from the era believe there was a pedophile ring operating in Spokane.
Others blame a culture of secrecy, denial and ignorance for allowing revered, male-dominated institutions like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office to ignore abusers in their midst.
"The people and institutions who helped keep these secrets are almost as guilty as the perpetrators," said Seattle attorney Tim Kosnoff, who represents two of at least four men who allege they were passed around among abusers...
For most of the community, the first inkling of a systemic child abuse problem didn't come to light until 2002 when the Spokane Catholic Diocese was sued over the actions of the Rev. Patrick O'Donnell and at least a half-dozen other priests accused of molesting boys.
In many ways, the crisis in Spokane mirrored clergy sex-abuse scandals in Boston, Los Angeles and elsewhere. But the magnitude of the scandal here would eventually force the Spokane diocese to seek U.S. bankruptcy protection in December 2004 – one of only two dioceses and one arch-diocese in the country to do so.
To date, at least 60 victims are seeking a total of $76 million from the Spokane diocese.
But some of the abuse appears to have gone far beyond the Catholic church.
News reports about O'Donnell triggered a number of phone calls and letters to The Spokesman-Review in 2002. There were reports that some of O'Donnell's victims also were abused by George E. Robey Jr., a Spokane insurance executive and Boy Scout leader who killed himself in April 1982.
In 2003, the newspaper launched an investigation into Robey's suicide and the suicide eight months earlier of another Boy Scout leader, David Hahn.
Hahn was a Spokane County sheriff's deputy who killed himself in August 1981 after being accused of sexually abusing boys.
At the time of his death, Hahn was the assistant scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 345, which was headed by his friend and fellow deputy Jim West, who is now Spokane's mayor.
Stories about Hahn eventually led to a newspaper investigation of West. On May 5, The Spokesman-Review reported the allegations of two men who claimed they were molested as boys in the 1970s by West and Hahn.
West has denied the allegations and said he was unaware of anyone abusing boys at that time.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Authorities abetted diocese in hiding sexual-abuse cases
While I was way, Atrios picked up the slack, including pointing us to this article:
Police, courts let accused priests avoid punishment
By JOE MAHR and MITCH WEISS
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
For Sgt. John Connors, it was an urgent request from one of Toledo's most powerful priests.
The veteran police detective was summoned by the Rev. John "Archie" Thomas to Central Catholic High School before classes to talk about a deep secret brewing behind the walls of the diocese headquarters.
Church leaders feared a popular priest known for helping wayward youths - the Rev. Dennis Gray - was raping and molesting boys at the cleric's cottage, and Father Thomas, superintendent of diocesan schools, wanted the officer's advice on what to do.
"He said, 'We've got a problem,' " Mr. Connors recalled of the meeting nearly two decades ago.
The officer said he told the priest to keep Father Gray away from kids, and that was it.
Case closed.
The longtime detective did not file a police report, nor did he initiate an investigation into the man later accused of abusing more than a dozen boys.
Instead, Father Gray eventually would be allowed to quietly leave the priesthood and go on - with no criminal record - to become a probation officer and a public school administrator, with access to hundreds of youngsters.
Sergeant Connors was following an unwritten rule passed down from predecessors for decades.
Over the past 50 years, those sworn to enforce the law and protect children repeatedly have aided and abetted the diocese in covering up sexual abuse by priests, a three-month investigation by The Blade shows.
Beyond past revelations that the diocese quietly moved pedophile priests from parish to parish, The Blade investigation shows that at least once a decade - and often more - priests suspected of rape and molestation have been allowed by local authorities to escape the law.
In a review of thousands of court and diocese documents and interviews with dozens of police officers, judges, prosecutors, victims, and advocates, the investigation found:
- In five cases, police officers refused to arrest or investigate priests suspected of sexually abusing children. One longtime Toledo police chief pressured subordinates not to arrest priests.
- In three cases that did result in formal investigations, authorities blocked the release of the case files to the public. Unlike convicted sex offenders, those priests could now pass background checks and have access to children without ever divulging their pasts.
- In one case that did make it to sentencing, a judge agreed to a jail term for a priest far lighter than commonly given to other pedophiles convicted of similar crimes.
- And in three cases, police and child-welfare caseworkers delayed or dismissed investigations of suspected pedophiles who were priests.
In understanding what has become the biggest scandal to engulf the American Catholic church in generations, victims' advocates say one issue left unexposed is the role of civil authorities in helping to minimize or hide the criminal actions of pedophiles who wore priestly collars.
While the sexual abuse crisis continues to unfold across the country, the deeper issue of police protection is now emerging, particularly in places with deeply rooted Catholic populations and where church members reached some of the most powerful positions in those communities.
(The article continues at link, and has much more detail in sidebar.)
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Weekly church-related crime update, July 24- 30, 2005
|Wink and prayer in N.J.
Majikthise points us to this story:
Hoboken, N.J. - Scores of faithful Christians converged on Hoboken, N.J., yesterday to get a firsthand glimpse of a plaster statue of Jesus that enraptured witnesses say opened one of its eyes.
"It's an absolute miracle," said Peggy Dyer, 41, a traffic attendant, as she gazed into the 2-foot statue's brilliantly blue right eye.
"That's a sign: Something's getting ready to happen."
Geisha Lopez, 13, stood before the statue hoping for a special kind of blessing. She suffers from kidney disease.
"I was praying to stop the war, stop the bombings and for my health," she said. "I now have faith that God is going to cure me."
True believers started coming to the scene outside a Jackson St. housing project two days ago after Julio Dones began telling people that one of the eyes suddenly opened as he was cleaning the "sleeping" statue.
"I looked up, and saw the eye was open and light blue, like the sky," said Dones, 52, who is partially blind himself and goes by the nickname Sly.
"God wants the people to know he's present," the unemployed man said, adding that he found the statue in a Jersey City garbage bin a year ago.
A carnival atmosphere surrounded the winking Jesus yesterday. Onlookers young and old - many of whom had seen the statue previously when both of its eyes were closed - wondered aloud how something like this could happen. And how it might change their lives.
"I'm going to start going to church from now on because since I've seen this yesterday, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind," said Tanya Vega, 27, a Hoboken masseuse.
Anthony Purvis, 11, silently stared at the statue for about 90 seconds and then turned to four of his boisterous friends and said, "If the other one pops open, I'm going to run. I'm out of here."
Not everyone who gathered around the statue was convinced that its supposed awakening was an act of God.
"It's just a sculpture," said Wanda Aldea, 14, shaking her head. "I think somebody just scraped its eyelid off."
Lawyers say abuse case could crack Joliet Diocese
Chicago - The Diocese of Joliet is urging a DuPage County judge to seal the personnel file of a former Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse, setting up a legal battle to force church officials to name both victims and other priests with similar charges.
A Glen Ellyn man in his late 40s identified only as “John Doe” is embroiled in a civil lawsuit against Edward Stefanich. Doe accuses the defrocked priest of repeatedly sexually abusing him between 1969 and 1970. Doe was a 12-year-old student at Christ the King Elementary School in Lombard at the time. Stefanich, now in his late 60s, served six months in jail on a separate aggravated criminal sexual assault charge in 1987, committed while he was a priest.
Doe’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, said the diocese has been bulletproof until his client’s case He said church officials shook off at least half a dozen similar accusations in the last decade because the alleged abuse traced back beyond the statute of limitations for such charges.
“The Diocese of Joliet has yet to be held legally accountable, and this is the first case where any survivor may get a chance to make his sordid story known,” Anderson said. “The bishop and his officials have hid behind statute. Now the wall of deception and deceit has begun to crack.”
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Vatican defrocks priest convicted in Massachusetts
BOSTON - The Vatican has defrocked the priest who was the first in Massachusetts convicted of sexual abuse more than two decades ago, the Boston Archdiocese said Friday.
In 1984, Eugene O'Sullivan was sentenced to probation after he admitted sodomizing a 13-year-old altar boy. A condition of his sentence was that he not be allowed to work with children.
But O'Sullivan was later assigned to four New Jersey parishes. He was recalled to Boston in 1992 after church officials learned of another allegation against him dating to his time in Massachusetts.
The Vatican's action to defrock O'Sullivan means he may no longer function as a priest in any capacity, except absolution to the dying.
A second priest, Paul E. McDonald, accused of abusing boys, also was defrocked.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Former jail guard sentenced to four years in jail
CHICAGO - A former Cook County jail guard has been sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to delivering drugs to prison inmates.
A Cook County judge sentenced 34-year-old Michael Long Junior and ordered him to pay about two-thousand dollars in fees. Long pleaded guilty to delivering controlled substances to a penal institution.
According to court documents, nine other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea agreement.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Friday, July 29, 2005
Maui deacon charged with rape
WAILUKU, Maui - A Maui Catholic church deacon has been charged with 62 counts of sexual assault against a boy, an accusation that stunned the tiny rural parish where a bake sale is usually the big news of the month.
James Ronald Gonsalves, 68, deacon of St. Ann Church in Waihee, pleaded not guilty yesterday to the charges, which include 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree attempted sexual assault.
Police said the crimes occurred between June 2002 and last month, starting when the boy was 12. They said some of the assaults occurred in the church.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Memphis Minister Charged with Sexual Battery
Memphis - It was in the parking lot of the Germantown Waffle House where a woman says a Memphis minister was counseling her for marriage problems. She alleges he suggested hypnotizing her to help her cope.
According to the police report: the minister then told her "She would obey his every command like it was... God talking to her." But what she claims next wasn't very God-like. She says the minister unzipped his pants and coaxed her to touch him innappropriately. The minister charged with sexual battery is Charles Howard.
The story does not ring true for those at Howard's church. Bo Grace is the senior pastor at Broadmoor Baptist. Grace says, "I talked with Charles before he was arrested and I am convinced without question that he is innocent . I have absolutely no reason to believe and have never had any reason to believe that he could ever be guilty of charges such as what has been filed against him."
Pastor Grace says Charles Howard has worked at his church for about a year. He explains, "We, before he ever came, did a very thorough background search and so forth and his entire career. His entire life seems to be squeaky clean. I believe that in the end it will be shown to continue to be that way."
We tried to talk to minister Howard, but as we were pulling up to his home... he and his family... Were pulling out. We asked, "Do you all have any comment?" But when the van sped away... we took that as a 'No'.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Police: Mom beats son over room-cleaning
Thanks to Alex for the heads-up!
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A woman who had been drinking and unhappy with the way her son cleaned his bedroom allegedly punched the boy in the head and attacked him with an extension cord and an ashtray, police said.
Kimberly Basinger, 34, of Evansville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with child neglect resulting in injury and public intoxication. Her son, whose age was not released, suffered bruises near his right eye, an abrasion on the back of one leg and had some bumps on his head, according to police.
The confrontation began when Basinger checked her son's bedroom that she asked him to clean earlier Tuesday evening, which he did, the report said.
But Basinger was not pleased with his effort and yelled at the boy. According to the report, she punched him and knocked him to the floor.
She grabbed an extension cord and whipped it at his legs. She also beat him with an ashtray, the report said.
The boy pushed his mother away and ran to a neighbor's house, the report said.
Neighbors Worry About Church Pastored By Man With Molestation Conviction
ECLECTIC, Ala. -- Neighbors and law enforcement officers in rural Elmore County are upset after learning that a man convicted of molesting a boy in Georgia two decades ago is pastor of a church on the shores of Lake Martin.
61-year-old Clarence Holinshed of Ashland was convicted in Georgia of aggravated child molestation and sodomy. The information comes from the Alabama Department of Public Safety Web site. He is registered as a sex offender in Clay County.
Holinshed said he isn't trying to hide anything. He said he was ordained 47 years ago, and served as minister for seven years at a church on the Tallapoosa County side of Lake Martin.
He is now a minister at the God's Will, God's Way Church in Elmore County. Services began in May with about 50 people and he said everyone in the church knows about his past.
Sheriff Bill Franklin said his office has tried repeatedly to contact Holinshed but has not reached him.
District Attorney Randall Houston said there is nothing in the law to prevent a sex offender from leading a church that doesn't have a school or day-care center.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Denton constable faces sex charges
Via Atrios...
Denton County, Texas - A Denton County constable drove to a Colorado restaurant on Thursday and called a woman he met through the Internet to let her know he had arrived, according to court papers.
Instead of Marsha showing up with her 8-year-old daughter for a sexual encounter, he met her colleagues – Cañon City, Colo., police officers.
Larry Dale Floyd, a 62-year-old constable from The Colony, was arrested on suspicion of soliciting to have sex with a child and was charged with seven related crimes, Cañon City police said.
Mr. Floyd was being held at the Fremont County Detention Center in southern Colorado on $100,000 cash-only bail. He could not be reached for comment.
Texas and Colorado investigators are looking into Mr. Floyd's life for evidence of other encounters with children, said Dave Bodycomb, a Cañon City police records clerk.
"They have suspicion he's done that," Mr. Bodycomb said.
Investigators would not comment further, but court papers detail sexually explicit conversations with an undercover officer dating to June 2.
Charges against Mr. Floyd include conspiracy and criminal intent to commit sexual assault on a child, pandering of a child, inducement of child prostitution, trafficking in children, criminal solicitation, solicitation for child prostitution and enticement of a child.
A person using the screen name freevacation_formoms contacted Marsha – the undercover officer's alias – through an online instant messaging service, according to the statement of probable cause released by the clerk's office of the Fremont County Combined Court.
The person identified himself as Rick from Oklahoma. He described himself as a "very real older male, clean, safe, discreet" with "a motor home so will travel," according to the document.
Rick asked about Marsha's 8-year-old daughter, Melissa. He "told me that he had no limits, none at all, other than moms rule," the officer wrote in the court document.
The officer's name was redacted in the court papers.
Rick told Marsha about explicit sexual acts he wanted to perform with her and her daughter, according to the document.
"He also told me that he had traveled two times before so far for this same thing," the officer wrote. "Rick told me that he was looking for one mom into this that he could visit and take on vacation several times a year."
Child photos
The next day, Rick asked to speak with Melissa on the phone. "He said that she needed to chat with uncle Rick," the officer wrote.
It's unclear whether that phone call took place.
Marsha sent Rick childhood photos of a female police officer. They traded several more instant messages, phone calls and e-mails until June 29, when Rick said he planned to visit Cañon City on July 28.
In one phone conversation, Rick asked whether Marsha knew any other children. Marsha replied that she had a friend with a 16-month-old boy and 3-year-old girl.
"He wanted us to be able to have my friend's two children for the weekend so we could be sexually active with them also," the officer wrote in the probable cause statement.
"He mentioned a few times that they were the age that they wouldn't talk and tell and asked if I thought they would," the officer wrote. "I told that him they wouldn't."
On Thursday, the man called Marsha to say he had arrived at a Denny's restaurant in Cañon City and was waiting for them.
And the police were waiting for him.
Mr. Floyd has been a Denton County constable since 1993. A Republican, Mr. Floyd was unopposed in his most recent re-election in November.
"My promise to the people was to have a high level of visibility and to serve the citizens in a professional manner," Mr. Floyd wrote on the Web site for his Constable's Office.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Pastor Charged With Embezzling $800,000 From Parish
New York - A 67-year-old Manhattan pastor has been indicted on charges of grand larceny, tax evasion, and falsifying business records for allegedly embezzling over $800,000 from his parish.
For eight years, from 1996 to 2004, Monsignor John Woolsey was the pastor and secretary-treasurer of St. John the Martyr Parish, which is located at 250 East 72nd Street in Manhattan, prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
During that time, Woolsey allegedly stole $836,744.58 from the parish by funneling at least $820,800 from parish accounts into his personal bank accounts, including $47,000 in funds bequeathed to the parish. In addition, Woolsey also allegedly used the parish's checking account to pay for $15,944.58 worth of personal charges to his credit card.
The investigation revealed that the defendant used stolen funds in a variety of ways, including the purchase of fancy watches (Rolex, Breitling, Omega, and Breguet), clothes from department stores such as Macy's and Bloomingdale's, restaurants such as Petaluma and Lenox Room, domestic and international travel to locations such as Vermont, Florida and Spain, and to buy golf equipment and pay for country club expenses, prosecutor’s said.
The investigation further revealed that as secretary-treasurer of the parish corporation and as pastor of the church, Woolsey maintained control over the financial books. The defendant covered his thefts by failing to disclose a number of bank accounts in required financial reports to the Archdiocese of New York, falsifying check registers by making false entries on check stubs for items that were personal purchases, and keeping the church finances secret from parishioners.
Prosecutors said his activities came to light when a complaint from the executor of one parishioner's estate about large transfers from the parishioner to the pastor led to an investigation by the Archdiocese. After reviewing parish financial records showing large numbers of unexplained withdrawals from parish accounts, the Archdiocese referred the case to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
A lawsuit continues between Woolsey and the executor.
Woolsey was arrested Tuesday after surrendering to detectives from the NYPD District Attorney's Office Squad. He is charged with grand larceny in the second degree, a C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; grand larceny in the third degree, a D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison; four counts of filing a false personal tax return with Intent to evade tax, four counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, and six counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, all E felonies punishable by up to four years in prison.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
On the road....
I'll be traveling for most of July, and I'm not sure how much or how often I'll be able to post. I'll make a special effort to keep on top of the church-related crime posts, though.
Since you're here, what do you think? Is this blog worth the effort? What would you like to see more of? Less of? Love letters and hate mail are equally welcome via the comments. Thanks,
Tim
Ex-CIW prison guard sentenced for sex act
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A former lieutenant from the California Institution for Women state prison was sentenced on Thursday to 270 days in county jail for having sexual contact with an inmate.
Jasper Ayala will serve his jail time on weekends.
Ayala pleaded no contest in May to two felony charges in exchange for the sentence he received Thursday from Judge Gerard Brown in West Valley Superior Court.
Authorities say Ayala coerced the female inmate to perform a sex act inside the Chino prison in April 2002. The woman gave DNA evidence from the encounter to investigators.
Ayala has since retired.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Alive and Thriving in the Midwest: Brawling in Cages
Joe G. points us to this NY Times article:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D., July 23 - When they rewind the video of the fight in the cage, all the blood will spray back into Gervis Fool Bull's nose, all the screams will be sucked into the collective chest of the sweating crowd, and the fist will snap back toward the big truck driver from Iowa who threw it, a man with a mohawk haircut who grew up fighting his twin brother in the neighborhood junkyard.
But to find where this punch between strangers really began, the rewinding would have to go back almost three weeks, to the Fourth of July in the lakeside tourist town of Okoboji, Iowa, where the twin brothers were prowling around, drinking, not liking tourists.
"My goal that night was to beat up the biggest tourist I could find," said Nate Hawn, 20.
He picked a marine, he said, and beat him in the crowded streets. A stranger approached, and the Hawns wondered if he wanted some, too.
The man said that he worked with a promoter of cage fighting and that the guys should come to Sioux Falls in a few weeks. "He said, 'You guys are exactly what we're looking for,' " the brother with the mohawk, Ryan Hawn, recalled.
The brothers arrived on Saturday at "The Cage," a no-holds-barred night of one-on-one fights between men shut inside an outdoor chain-link cage here at the W. H. Lyon Fairgrounds. In a sport known by practically interchangeable names - extreme fighting, no-holds-barred fighting, cage fighting - fighters can use boxing, kickboxing, martial arts or wrestling moves, or any combination. Opponents have called it "human cockfighting," a brutish pseudo-sport.
New York banned cage fighting in 1997, two years after Brooklyn's district attorney threatened assault charges if a scheduled fight went off. Athletic commissions in Pennsylvania, Ohio and several other states have refused to sanction the fights. Indian casinos have continued to allow the matches, while most fans have relied on watching pay-per-view channels with Ultimate Fighting Championship battles and DVD's with titles like "Cage Rage 8: Knights of the Octagon."
But in Sioux Falls and other small cities and towns of the Great Plains - Fargo, N.D.; Rochester, Minn.; Marshfield, Wis.; Sioux City and Des Moines - cage fighting is making a comeback, drawing hundreds, even thousands of spectators to fairgrounds, small arenas and, most disturbingly to city officials, the parking lots of bars.
Fla. Abortion Foe Jailed in Molestation
MILTON, Fla. -- An activist with ties to anti-abortion violence has been jailed after losing an appeal of his conviction and 18-year prison sentence for molesting a teenager at the home for troubled girls he operated.
Sheriff's deputies took John Burt, 67, into custody Wednesday. A three-judge panel of a state appeals court on Friday unanimously upheld his conviction on five counts of lewd or lascivious molestation or conduct with a child under 16.
Defense lawyer Nicole Ferry said Burt will appeal further.
Burt has been a key figure in anti-abortion protests and violence in nearby Pensacola. He had associated with Michael Griffin, now serving a life sentence for fatally shooting an abortion doctor in 1993, and Paul Hill, executed in 2003 for the shooting deaths of another doctor and clinic escort in 1994.
Burt was convicted last year of molesting a 15-year-old resident at Our Father's House, which he and his wife operated near Milton.
His appeal objected to Circuit Judge Ron Swanson's decision to let the victim, now 18, testify from Northern Ireland on a satellite television link, arguing that deprived him of being able to face his accuser.
The victim testified Burt improperly touched her and wrote a note propositioning her.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Ex-Kern County sheriff's sergeant sentenced in molestation case
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A former Kern County sheriff's sergeant who pleaded no contest to molesting three girls has been sentenced to 16 years in prison
Michael Allen Lackey got the maximum sentence yesterday after pleading no contest to numerous counts that included continuous sexual abuse of a child and lewd acts with a child.
The 23-year veteran of the sheriff's department was accused of repeatedly molesting three girls under the age of 10 who called him "Grandpa Mike."
Pastor faces child molestation charges
FOWLER, Ind. (AP) -- The pastor of a north-central Indiana church faces child molestation charges for allegedly fondling an 8-year-old girl earlier this month at his home in Fowler.
Thirty-four-year-old Kirk Zimmerman of the Fowler Christian Church has not yet been arrested on the charges out of Benton County. The alleged molestation took place in Zimmerman’s Fowler home between July 4th and July 8th.
A Benton Circuit Court judge who regularly attends Zimmerman’s church has removed himself from the case. A Newton County judge will instead handle the case.
Authorities say the investigation began when child services officials in Benton County were contacted after the alleged victim was treated at a hospital for a minor injury.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Police Identify Woman Found In Parking Lot
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Police are asking for help locating the family of a woman who was found dead in a car this week, News 5 reported.
Kathryn Starr, 65, was found in the driver's seat of a car at the Wal-Mart on Colerain Avenue Wednesday.
Officials said Starr had been living in the vehicle.
Her last known home was on Sutter Avenue in Cincinnati. She was described as a white woman, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighing 180 pounds. She had brown eyes and gray hair.
See also our collection of cultural-defining Wal-Mart moments.
Prison guard sentenced in murder-for-hire plot
Bristol County, Rhode Island - A former Bristol County prison guard who handed $2,000 to an former-inmate-turned-informant inside a Lincoln Continental in Providence with the plan that he would kill the mother of the guard's son has been sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison, authorities have announced.
Robert A. Ramos, 44, of 121 Sherman St., South Dartmouth, pleaded guilty on Jan. 11 to charges in the indictment. He was sentenced Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge William G. Young in Boston, the office of U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in a statement. After the prison term, Ramos will be on three years of supervised release.
Ramos, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, wanted the woman killed so that he would no longer have to pay child support.
Ramos, a correctional officer with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department for 13 years, was arrested as he finished a work shift in December 2003. The day before, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Lisa Cline, Ramos, with his 3-year-old son in the back seat of the car, made the payment to the person he thought would kill the woman described as "female X" in the indictment.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Local Preacher Arrested Again
Greenville, N.C. - Investigators now say some of those images were taken inside his own church. The Pitt County Sheriff's Department arrested Leon Harris, pastor of Rose Hill Free Will Baptist Church today. You may recall Surf City Police arrested him two weeks ago for taking pictures of women on the beach. Authorities also confiscated tapes from his truck then. In fact, those video tapes landed him in jail again today. Delano Wilson, Head Deacon of the church says it's sad that this is happening. The Pitt County Sheriff's Department tells Nine On Your Side they've identified 10 victims. Deacon Wilson confirms six of the victims are adults, four are children. And police say all the video was taken inside the church. Harris turned himself into police this morning. He got out on a $30,000 bond this afternoon. Police say they could file more charges. Harris was relieved from his duties at the church about a week ago. The deacon says any more decisions will be left up to the congregation.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Smart's accused kidnapper ruled incompetent
Sydney reminds us about the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case:
(CNN) -- The man accused of kidnapping Salt Lake City, Utah, teenager Elizabeth Smart three years ago was found mentally incompetent to stand trial Tuesday.
District Judge Judith Atherton ruled that Brian David Mitchell, 51, was suffering from a delusional disorder based on his religious beliefs, leaving him unable to make decisions in his best interest and assist his defense.
The judge ordered Mitchell confined for mental "treatment intended to restore the defendant to competency."
The decision means that Mitchell, who calls himself "Emmanuel," will not be tried on six felony charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary unless his condition improves.
His wife and alleged accomplice, Wanda Eileen Barzee, 59, was charged with the same six felony counts but was found incompetent to stand trial in January 2004.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Minister Arrested For Alleged Sexual Assault
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Penn. (KYW) The director of a ministry in Montgomery County was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Police say that Michael Wolfe, a 30-year-old minister, was arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault, and other related charges.
Officials say Wolfe was arrested after an investigation of a reported sexual assault involving a 19-year-old female. Police say Wolfe confessed to having a sexual relationship with his alleged victim since she was 16-years-old...
Wolfe is the ministry director of Cutting Edge Ministries located in Telford, P.A. He has lived in Souderton with his wife and three children for the past year.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Opening Statements in Priest Molestation Trial
Madison, Wisc. - Opening statements begin Tuesday in the case against a former priest accused of molesting a boy more than 15 years ago.
Donald Buzanowski is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child. He's accused of fondling a ten-year-old while a counselor at a church in Green Bay back in 1988.
The now 27-year-old victim initially went to police in 1990, but prosecutors opted not to file charges, citing a lack of evidence.
After the former priest wrote a letter to a friend admitting to molesting more than a dozen boys, prosecutors decided to go ahead with the case.
A judge later ruled that letter inadmissible.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Former Bethany Pastor Sentenced In Molestation Case
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A former Bethany child pastor was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for molesting children in his church.
Ryan Martin Wonderly, 27, was the youth minister at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene. Oklahoma County prosecutors said Wonderly inappropriately touched five girls, ages 7 to 11, between 1997 and 2000.
Wonderly left the church in February 2003. He must serve 85 percent of his 35-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Former pastor faces another rape charge
RAPID CITY, S. Dak. - Glenn Ford, the former Rapid City youth pastor who was sentenced to prison on March 1 for raping a 13-year-old girl, was in 7th Circuit Court on Monday, facing another rape charge.
The new allegation stems from the same time period when Ford's other crimes occurred and involves another 13-year-old girl, according to Lara Roetzel, chief deputy state's attorney for Pennington County.
Roetzel said the girl making the recent allegation came forward after Ford's sentencing was reported in the newspaper.
Ford, 40, is charged with second-degree rape or, in the alternative, third-degree rape. He was arraigned on the new charge July 11 and pleaded not guilty.
In the previous case, Ford was indicted on two counts of third-degree rape and one count of sexual contact with a child under 16 after two adolescent girls from his church, Victory Chapel on La Crosse Street, reported that he sexually assaulted them. One of the girls told investigators that Ford had sex with her in the basement of the church.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Weekly church-related crime update, July 17 - 23, 2005
|Church defrauded by pastor tries to heal
Queens, N.Y. - The discovery of a church credit card by someone filling in for the administrative assistant became the first clue of something amiss at Morning Star Missionary Baptist in Queens.
Morning Star would come to find it had eight unauthorized credit card and bank accounts -- and nearly $500,000 had been stolen from its coffers from 1996 through 2003, prosecutors say.
But what devastated the Jamaica congregation even more was finding out who allegedly did it: Its retired pastor, the Rev. Charles Betts Sr., its administrative assistant and her husband...
Morning Star -- which grew from 200 members when Betts took over as pastor in 1971 to about 3,000 when he retired in 2003 -- is among the 20 percent of churches nationwide that has lost money to people entrusted to protect church finances, experts say.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Judge widens church assets case to all parishioners
This, says Jan, "is an interesting tactic that could help awaken Catholics to their own moral responsibilities. Just maybe, if the suits get personal, Catholics will begin to take a harder look at their own support for denial."
Portland, Oregon -- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris agreed Friday to expand the Portland Archdiocese bankruptcy case to include every Roman Catholic parishioner and contributor in Western Oregon -- more than 389,000 people.
About 80,000 Catholic households will soon get the news in the mail that they are defendants in the property dispute between more than 200 sex abuse plaintiffs and the Archdiocese of Portland.
None of the parishioners or contributors will be personally liable for paying claims if they lose the case. But they could see their parish assets sold or put up as collateral for loans to pay settlements.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Body found in car at Wal-Mart
ARLINGTON, Texas - Police are investigating the death of a man whose decomposed body was found Thursday night inside a car at a south Arlington Wal-mart parking lot.
A Wal-mart security guard called 911 just before midnight to report a foul smell coming from a 2003 white Nissan Maxima that had been parked at the store for at least two days, police said. When officers opened the car trunk, they found a man's body.
The man was identified as Ramon Robledo, 32, of Fort Worth. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office is still working to determine how Robledo died.
The man's wife told Arlington police she had last seen her husband on Sunday.
See also our collection of cultural-defining Wal-Mart moments.
Preacher pleads guilty in fake-passport case
Houston - A televangelist regarded as one of the most influential ministers in El Salvador pleaded guilty Thursday to faking a passport for a girl he falsely claimed as his daughter.
Edgar Lopez Bertrand, 65, pleaded guilty in a Houston federal court after reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of time served if a background check finds no criminal convictions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Davis said.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner scheduled Lopez Bertrand's sentencing for Aug. 11. He will have served about three months in the federal detention center by then.
Hittner questioned the leniency of the plea agreement, considering Lopez Bertrand's admission of guilt to a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant Public Defender Peter Bray told the judge that Lopez Bertrand had tried to adopt the girl, and a Salvadoran lawyer had supplied the paperwork, including a birth certificate. Bray said Lopez Bertrand suspected that the birth certificate was forged but used it anyway. The judge cut off Bray's explanation, and Bray declined to elaborate after the hearing.
Heidi Pasichow, assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, said Lopez Bertrand never claimed to have been tricked into using the fake birth certificate.
"I don't think there are any mitigating circumstances," she said about the crime.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Sunday School Teacher Convicted of Smuggling Virus From Saudi Arabi
BANGOR, Maine — Four former executives of a Winslow biotechnology firm were sentenced Thursday to a year in federal prison and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines for intentionally misleading customers and government regulators. The prosecutor said the punishments should send a warning to other business people engaged in fraud.
The former Maine Biological Laboratories executives participated in various schemes that broke numerous federal laws.
The company makes vaccines for poultry diseases. Its employees, acting with the knowledge of the executives, regularly changed labels on shipments, doctored invoices and took other steps that violated numerous regulations.
The most notorious incident involved the smuggling of a potentially hazardous chicken influenza virus from Saudi Arabia so the company could create a vaccine for a farm there...
The four executives pleaded guilty to a series of charges related to the mislabeling as well as to their actions regarding the international smuggling of the virus. On Thursday, the second day of a two-day hearing, Woodcock imposed the following sentences:
n Former President John H. Donahoe of Flowery Branch, Ga., 364 days in prison, a $30,000 fine and two years of probation.
n Former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marjorie Evans of Belgrade Lakes, one year and one day in prison, a $10,000 fine and three years of probation.
n Former Chief Financial Officer Dennis Guerrette of Brunswick, one year and one day in prison, a $10,000 fine and two years of probation.
n Former Vice President of Production Thomas Swieczkowski of Vassalboro, one year and one day in prison, a $5,000 fine and three years of probation...
Guerrette, a Sunday school teacher, Boy Scout leader and father of six, told Woodcock tearfully that he regretted not having the courage to "stand up, leave the company and quit my job." After he pleaded guilty, he was forced to leave his job at a Portland nonprofit and now works for a small accounting firm.
Thanks to YH for the tip!
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
NC Minister Charged With Secretly Videotaping Woman
Greenville, NC -- A Baptist minister in Winterville has been charged with secret videotaping after a woman complained that he filmed her with a camera attached to his metal detector.
Surf city police charged 54-year-old Leon E- Harris of Ayden after an officer broke up an argument between the man and a woman on the beach. The woman accused the man of videotaping her and had grabbed his tape.
Harris is free on bond. He's the pastor of Rose Hill Free Will Baptist Church in Winterville.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Racist Flyers Left On Cars In Wal-Mart Parking Lot
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Wal-Mart executives plan to review surveillance video, hoping it will show who left hateful flyers on people's car.
The flyers were left on dozens of cars in the parking lot of the MetroWest Wal-Mart on Kirkman Road. The flyer used the ‘n-word’ and read, "Ever feel like you're in a n----- infested country when shopping at Wal-Mart in MetroWest? Face it. N------ have no social skills at all."
The note went on for several more paragraphs with that theme.
Wal-Mart issued a statement saying it is disgusted and it will do what it can to make sure it never happens again.
Police do not consider it a hate crime because the leaflets were left on random cars. So, instead, it's classified as a suspicious incident.
See also our collection of cultural-defining Wal-Mart moments.
Hancock jail guard dismissed
HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. - Allegations this week by a former corrections officer and a lawsuit filed recently in federal court both claim inmates were beaten and abused by prison guards at the Hancock County jail.
Ugina Lauga, a former guard at the jail, told the Sun Herald she once watched other guards beat a 71-year-old man, and can no longer watch in silence.
Lauga said she reported the abuse to county investigators Monday and was fired from her jail duties Wednesday morning.
Jail officials said she was fired for falsifying information on her job application, including whether she had a high school diploma or GED. Lauga admitted she has neither.
"I kind of figured I would get fired after I said something to the investigators, but someone needed to do something," she said. "A lot of people are being brutalized there; I've seen it with my own eyes."
Lauga said she witnessed 80 to 100 beatings of inmates in the seven months she worked at the jail.
A federal lawsuit and a "notice of claim" have been filed in the past month by a Gulfport law firm on behalf of inmates who claim they were abused by prison guards.
Attorney George Healy filed suit last month on behalf of former inmate Valerie Moran claiming guards used the county's inadequate supervision of the jail to "initiate sexual relations with female inmates" in exchange for "cigarettes or illegal drugs."
Although Lauga did not witness the alleged sexual abuse, she said other guards brutally punished Moran shortly after the suit made headlines.
"After it came out in the paper, they kept Valerie in the hole for three or four days straight, handcuffed and shackled most of the time," Lauga said. "I finally had to give her a shower."
Lauga said the guards have an unwritten set of rules on how to carry out the abuse.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Day care director charged with molestation
GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The former director of a church-run day care center has been charged with molesting 10 children, some of them during what investigators say was a twisted game of "Truth or Dare."
Joshua Palin, the 25-year-old son of the church's pastor, was originally charged in June with molesting two girls, 12 and 13. The new charges were added Monday after authorities interviewed children who had attended two Kid's Palace day care centers near Jacksonville.
The centers were operated by Faith Ministries. Both are now closed.
Authorities said that over a year, Palin used games of "Truth or Dare" to "dare" children ages 5 to 14 to fondle him or each other or to perform oral sex on each other.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Jail guard facing drug charges
DOVER, Delaware — A Strafford County corrections officer was arrested Tuesday by federal authorities after they say he accepted delivery of 100 Oxycodone tablets from undercover agents to smuggle to a jail inmate.
John Teves, 28, of Sanbornville, was arraigned at U.S. District Court in Concord and released without bail as he awaits an indictment and trial.
Teves faces a charge of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, a charge that could bring up to 20 years in prison in the federal court system.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Bernie Ebbers: Corrupt CEO, Sunday School Teacher
YH sends along this biographical sketch of Bernie Ebbers, the WorldCom CEO recently found guilty of security fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. His criminal life was matched by his religious zeal:
Ebbers regularly taught Sunday School and attended the morning Worship
service with his family. His Christian faith was overt, and he often
started corporate meetings with prayer.
"Which is interesting," notes YH, "considering the words of another well know CEO:
I believe in God and I believe in free markets -- Kenneth Lay."
Ayden preacher arrested
SURF CITY, N.C. - A Pitt County preacher was arrested Saturday after a woman reported that he was allegedly videotaping her child on the beach in Surf City.
The woman called Surf City police and when officers apprehended the Rev. Leon Earl Harris, 54, of Ayden, they allegedly discovered additional videotapes and recording devices in his car, said Chief Michael Halstead of the Surf City Police Department.
"He was secretly videotaping people on the beach," Halstead said.
Officers took Harris' video camera and when they searched his car, they found other video tapes, Halstead said.
"Upon viewing the tapes, we realized it was all done in Pitt County," said Halstead who didn't reveal what was on the tapes.
Surf City police charged Harris with possession of pornographic images, which is a felony, and turned him over to the Pitt County Sheriff's Department.
Harris was put in Pitt County Jail under $5,000 bond on Sunday, which he paid and was released, said Lee Moore, chief of investigations at the Pitt County Sheriff's Department.
Harris, who is a preacher at a Free Will Baptist church in Pitt County, has still not been charged with anything in Pitt County, but the Pitt County Sheriff's Department is still investigating him, Moore said.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Ex-Valley priest arrested in Italy
Phoenix - A former Phoenix priest, accused of child molestations dating back to 1979, was arrested Saturday in Rome by Italian police.
Joseph J. Henn, 56, was under house arrest at the headquarters of his Salvatorian order near St. Peter’s Square, according to his attorney speaking to News24.com, an international news service. The attorney said it would be up to an Italian court to work out extradition of Henn.
Henn, who served St. Mark’s Catholic Parish, 400 N. 30th St., from 1978 to 1982, was indicted in July 2003 in Maricopa County as part of a major investigation of child sexual abuse by priests going back to the 1970s. He is accused of molesting three boys, ages 11, 13 and 15, from June 1979 to June 1981. At the time, former Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley said he believed Henn was in Rome...
The Salvatorians — The Society of the Divine Savior — are one of several Catholic religious orders in Rome accused of sheltering American priests wanted in sexual misconduct cases. Henn was among seven priests identified in Rome last September in a Dallas Morning News report.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Report details alleged sexual assault by officer
San Antonio - A police officer accused of raping a 22-year-old woman forced himself on her in the back seat of his cruiser despite her pleas, according to the woman's account of the incident...
The woman gave the following account in the police report:
She left a West Side bar with a group of friends when it closed at 2 a.m. Saturday. She got into a fight with the group and started walking home alone, as cars honked at her.
The police officer then pulled up and asked her if she was a prostitute, the report stated.
"No," the woman replied, and the officer offered her a ride to give her relief from the honking and catcalls, the report stated.
She got into the back seat, but shortly into the ride, the officer cleared the front seat and asked her to move up.
The woman alleged that the officer "unsnapped" his gun, but did not threaten her with it. He then instructed her back into the back seat.
According to the report, the woman claims that the officer had sex with her at an undisclosed location as she repeatedly said no.
The woman said the officer dropped her off in the street with a business card and a dollar bill.
Attorney for Stockton church abuse victims reflects on settlement
Sacramento Bee reporter Jennifer Garza has written a profile of attorney Joseph George.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Marietta pastor faces sex charges
Marietta, Georgia - The pastor of a venerable Marietta church has been charged with molesting a young girl.
Tommy Ray Holbrook Sr., pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, is charged with two counts each of child molestation and statutory rape, according to court papers. Holbrook, 59, was being held without bond Monday in the Cobb County Jail, said jail spokeswoman Nancy Bodiford.
On at least two occasions, police say, Holbrook had sex with a girl less than 16 years old.
The incidents allegedly occurred in April at the church and in May at a nearby house, according to an arrest warrant.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Jury: Man who prayed with victims guilty of molestation
Savannah, Georgia - After about seven total hours of deliberations, a Chatham County jury on Monday convicted a self-styled minister of child molestation, sexual battery and related charges.
Prosecutors have said James Simpson would often pray and read scriptures to the four girls he abused from 1997 to 2003.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Weekly church-related crime update, July 10 - 16, 2005
|Cop Charged in Murder-For-Hire Plot
CHICAGO (AP) -- An officer on the police force for 14 years has been charged with arranging a murder in a scheme to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy.
Officer Edward Leak Jr. was ordered held without bail after being charged Thursday with first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder for hire in the shooting death of Fred Hamilton, said Cook County state's attorney spokesman Tom Stanton.
Hamilton, 35, a driver for a South Side funeral home owned by Leak's family, was shot nine times when he stopped to change a flat tire in February 2004.
Prosecutors say Leak hired two men to ambush Hamilton as part of a scheme to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy he had taken out on Hamilton.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Former Scout leader denies sexual abuse charges
LITTLE VALLEY, New York — James Molyneaux faced his accusers in court Thursday, the first day of his trial on sexual abuse charges.
Molyneaux, 62, of 155 S. Main St., Portville, is on trial for first-degree sodomy, second-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sexual abuse.
State Police say Molyneaux molested two boys, an 11-year-old in 2000 in the village of Portville and a 13-year-old in 1997 in Franklinville. Molyneaux denied the charges on the stand Thursday, saying he never had sexual contact with either boy.
Molyneaux is a retired Portville Central School Teacher and a former Boy Scout leader. He said he knew both boys from school and scouting.
More than 30 members of First Baptist Church of Olean, Molyneaux’s church, sat behind the defense table in support of him Thursday.
Ted Norton, a member of the congregation, said they don’t believe he committed the crimes he’s charged with.
“We believe it has to be some sort of a frame up,” Mr. Norton said of the charges. “He has told us pretty definitively that he did not do this.”
Mr. Norton said he sings with Molyneaux in the church choir and has known him for 12 years...
Local pastor is arrested on rape, child-sex charges
Porterville, Cal. - A local pastor was arrested Tuesday after two girls reported he sexually violated them over a period of four years.
Rev. Santos Teixeira, 43, of Lindsay, remained behind bars Friday evening on a no-bail hold, Tulare County Jail officials reported.
Teixeira, jail officials said, was booked on 20 counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18 and at least three counts of rape...
On Tuesday, police were notified of the case after two girls - only identified as being under the age of 18 - claimed Teixeira touched them inappropriately and had sexual intercourse with them over a four-year period.
That same day, Teixeira was arrested, Standridge said.
According to a phone recording for the Iglesia Del Nazareno, located in the 600 block of North Indiana Street, Teixeira is a pastor there.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Officer Arraigned, Bonds Out
Madill, Oklahoma - A Madill policeman was arraigned on felony charges of drug possession Friday afternoon, one day after state agents caught him on tape buying methamphetamines from an undercover informant.
Officer Mike J. Stephenson was on duty at the time and agents suspect he used the drugs after the buy.
T-ball coach allegedly paid to have boy hurt
PITTSBURGH - A T-ball coach allegedly paid one of his players $25 to hurt an 8-year-old mentally disabled teammate so he wouldn’t have to put the boy in the game, police said Friday.
Mark R. Downs Jr., 27, of Dunbar, is accused of offering one of his players the money to hit the boy in the head with a baseball, police said. Witnesses told police Downs didn’t want the boy to play in the game because of his disability.
Police said the boy was hit in the head and in the groin with a baseball just before a game, and didn’t play, police said.
County jail conditions condemned in report
Houston - A lack of guards has led to dangerous conditions in the Harris County Jail, where inmates are packed into cramped quarters, risking disease and violence among Texas' largest county jail population, says a state report.
Noting that almost 1,300 inmates are sleeping on mattresses on the floors while large sections of the jail sit empty because of a guard shortage, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has decertified Harris County's lockup for the second year in a row.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Friday, July 15, 2005
Adoption Agency Rejects Catholic Parents
Per Atrios...
JACKSON, Miss. -- A Christian adoption agency that receives money from Choose Life license plate fees said it does not place children with Roman Catholic couples because their religion conflicts with the agency's "Statement of Faith."
Bethany Christian Services stated the policy in a letter to a Jackson couple this month, and another Mississippi couple said they were rejected for the same reason last year.
"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany's state director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to not accept applications from Catholics was an effort to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time, money and emotional energy."
Jail guard held in 2 sex assaults
TOMS RIVER, New Jersey — A veteran Ocean County corrections officer — charged and acquitted 10 years ago of sexually assaulting an estranged girlfriend — was arrested Wednesday night and charged with sexually assaulting two female prisoners at the county jail.
Richard O. Peterson Jr., 49, was arrested at his Woodland Road home in Lacey's Forked River section and charged with two counts each of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and official misconduct, Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said in a prepared statement.
In the 1995 case, the jury deadlocked on some of the charges, and Peterson was given a one-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to violating a restraining order, a disorderly persons offense, according to court records. He was suspended without pay at his indictment in March 1995 but later reinstated.
The new charges relate to allegations by two inmates, ages 49 and 42, Kelaher said.
Executive Assistant Prosecutor Robert A. Gasser said the older victim brought an allegation of sexual assault to the attention of jail personnel within the past few days, launching an investigation by internal affairs staff at the jail and investigators with the prosecutor's sex crimes unit.
The alleged victim told authorities she had heard of previous sexual assaults by Peterson against another female inmate, Gasser said. Investigators were able to corroborate the allegations by matching records of who was working at the specific locations and at the dates and times the victims said the assaults took place, Gasser said. He added he did not know of any witnesses.
Complaints signed against Peterson allege that he sexually assaulted and molested one woman between May 1 and May 31 and the second woman on Tuesday. Peterson's bail was set at $200,000, with no option to gain release by posting 10 percent of that amount.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Church music director pleads guilty to having child pornography
Trenton, New Jersey - A former church music director pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton yesterday to one count of possessing child pornography.
Philip Maue, 58, of Spring Lake, N.J., could face a maximum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 29.
Maue admitted in court that he had more than three images on his home computer depicting minors under the age of 12 in sexually explicit poses. Maue, once the musical director at Christ United Methodist Church in Lakewood, was indicted in May.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Camp Photographer Faces Child Pornography Charges
Camp Young Judaea is, according to its web site, "a place that's safe, fun and supportive, a place where they can celebrate their Jewish heritage in a positive, meaningful way..." While the charges (which are disputed) are serious, it's good to see a camp director responding to the situation in a responsible manner.
MILFORD, N.H. -- A photographer for a local youth camp faces four counts of child pornography after the camp's director allegedly found suspicious photos on his camera.
Marshall Zidel, 59, of Somerville, Mass., was taking photographs of Camp Young Judaea. Director Ken Kornreich told police that he noticed other photos on the camera, including two of a 15-year-old girl's head copied onto the naked body of a young woman.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Police sergeant faces child pornography charges
Brownsville, Texas — A retired Brownsville police sergeant has until Aug. 10 to turn himself in on charges of downloading child por-nography on a city-owned computer while on duty.
Santiago Salinas, 48, was indicted on child pornography charges by a state grand jury on June 22, court records show. The 21-year veteran of the Brownsville Police Department retired in January amid accusations of inappropriate computer use.
Two states seek polygamous sect leader
PHOENIX, July 14 (UPI) -- Two Western states are circulating wanted posters offering a $10,000 reward for the indicted leader of a polygamous sect.
Attorneys General Terry Goddard of Arizona and Mark Shurtleff of Utah posted the reward after neither state could find Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints.
Jeffs was indicted last month on charges that he arranged for one of his followers to marry a 16-year-old girl and that man illegally had sex with her.
"It seems as if he has gone effectively underground," Goddard told the Arizona Capitol Thursday. "We're determined to leave no stone unturned."
Jeffs, 49, is believed to have fled the church's base in the twin communities of Colorado City, Ariz. and Hilldale, Utah. There have been reports that Jeffs is possibly at the group's new compound in El Dorado, Texas,
The FLDS promotes polygamy, which is banned by Arizona's constitution.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Trial Begins for Pastor Charged With Child Molestation
Savannah, Georgia - The trial has begun in Chatham County for a 69-year-old pastor accused of molesting 4 girls. James Simpson is charged with 19 counts of child molestation and sexual acts. The prosecution says while he was an associate pastor at Saint Luke's Baptist Church, he encouraged the 4 girls to go to church and sing in the choir. Police say he molested the girls from 1997 until 2003.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
NYC jails to stop forced gynecological tests
NEW YORK - Tens of thousands of female jail inmates were told to submit to gynecological exams or be sent to medical isolation, under a policy that the city is now dropping, according to lawyers and court documents.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Dad Boxed With 3-Year-Old, Didn't Want Him to "Be Gay"
That Bible study sure did come in handy...
TAMPA - Even though the boy would shake and wet himself, his father, Ronnie Paris Jr., would box with the 3-year-old, slapping him in the head until he cried because he didn't want his son to grow up to be ``a sissy,'' the boy's mother testified Monday.
Others corroborated Nysheerah Paris' testimony as the prosecution built its case during the first day of the capital murder trial of Ronnie Paris Jr., 21, accused of abusing 3-year- old Ronnie Paris until the boy slipped into a coma Jan. 22.
He died six days later with swelling on both sides of his brain.
``He was trying to teach him how to fight,'' said Shanita Powell, Nysheerah Paris' sister. ``He was concerned that the child might be gay.''
Even Sheldon Bostic, who was Ronnie Paris Jr.'s Bible- study friend, said he warned the father several times not to play so rough with his son.
``He really did what other fathers do - slap box,'' Bostic said. ``He always said he didn't want his son growing up to be pushed around.''
``Did Ronnie use a term for that?'' asked Jalal Harb, an assistant state attorney.
``He didn't want him to be a sissy,'' Bostic said.
Two sentenced for church embezzlement
PAW PAW, Michigan -- Even while chastising one of two people accused of embezzling from Victory Baptist Church in Decatur, a church official offered forgiveness.
Church treasurer Don Craig Monday told Larry Eugene Prince, 52, that actions by him and his accomplice -- the pastor's wife -- had "slandered" the name of the church and its officers...
Both Prince and co-defendant Amy Jomarie Hester, 30, both of Watervliet, received identical sentences of 11 days in jail, with credit for one day served, a $50 fine and $175 in costs...
Hester is married to Kevin Hester, pastor of the small country church at 106 Mills St. They are divorcing, according to court records.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Hearing set for priest accused of abuse
Boston - In a rare case of a clergyman facing criminal charges for alleged sexual misconduct that occurred decades ago, a priest who served a Norton parish is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to charges that he raped and molested a local girl beginning when she was 9 years old.
Bristol County prosecutors allege that the Rev. Donald Bowen raped the girl over a seven-year period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he was stationed at St. Mary's Parish.
Under the statute of limitations for rape cases, prosecutors would have ordinarily been barred from bringing charges when the victim came forward to authorities in the late 1990s, but Bowen froze the clock by moving to Bolivia to pursue missionary work in 1972. Bowen, 67, left active ministry and returned to Massachusetts in 2002 after learning that charges had been filed against him.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Minister receives 16 years in sex case
Hanover County, Virginia - A judge ordered a former Hanover County sheriff's office chaplain and deputy yesterday to serve 16 years in prison for sex offenses involving three girls younger than 15.
Gary Alan Rinehults, 61, pleaded guilty in April in Hanover Circuit Court to felony charges of forcible rape, forcible sodomy, animate-object sexual penetration and aggravated sexual battery of a girl.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of felony aggravated sexual battery of a second girl and misdemeanor sexual battery of a third girl. The charges involving all three girls stemmed from incidents in Hanover...
Rinehults, an ordained minister, served as a volunteer chaplain for the Hanover Sheriff's Office before becoming a deputy in June 1999. He worked there until Dec. 18, 2002...
Hanover Commonwealth's Attorney Kirby Porter asked for a life sentence for at least one of the charges. The defense argued for a lesser sentence, citing Rinehults' work with his church, love for his family and desire to be rehabilitated.
"He was given the midpoint-range sentence of the guidelines. This is an example of why I say the guidelines are low," Porter said after the hearing. "The guidelines do not take into account the multiple number of incidents, the devastating effect this has had on three young girls or the fact that two of the three girls were previously sexually abused" by others.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
King County Jail Guard Accused Of Domestic Violence
TACOMA, Wash. -- A King County Jail guard accused of trying to choke his wife at their Lakewood home was jailed in Tacoma on a charge of attempted domestic violence assault.
Jon Hines, 41, is accused of choking his wife Monday night until she was unconscious.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Jailer admits to misconduct with two inmates
Dakota County, Minn. - A Dakota County jail guard who said she was coerced into sending love letters to an inmate pleaded guilty Wednesday to misconduct with two inmates whom she worked with in a jail Bible study.
Authorities began investigating Jami L. Losh, 28, of Hastings, about two weeks ago when a letter to an inmate was found in his cell. She was charged and pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of misconduct of a public employee.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Kennedy Rebukes Santorum for Comments
Although Rick Santorum wants to blame "Liberalism" for clergy sex-abuse, regular readers of Bobo's World know that the true center of church perversity isn't Boston, but the American Heartland. Pointing at abuse among only Catholic clergy misses the huge chunk of Middle America that goes to the various evangelical churches (and the thousands of molestation charges against their respective spiritual leaders), but even if we limit our consideration to Catholics, we find that more politically conservative areas of the country tend to have higher rates of priest abuse than the liberal coasts; Chuck points us to this Washington Post article, which examines some of the issues involved:
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) led a phalanx of Massachusetts politicians yesterday in demanding that the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, apologize for blaming the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal on "liberalism" in Boston.
In an indignant, unusually personal speech on the Senate floor, Kennedy said that "Boston-bashing might be in vogue with some Republicans, but Rick Santorum's statements are beyond the pale."
Other Massachusetts Democrats quickly piled on. Rep. Edward J. Markey said Santorum should apologize for maligning "the courageous Boston parishioners who finally stood up to decades of an international Catholic Church coverup."
Sen. John F. Kerry said the families of Massachusetts soldiers who have died in Iraq "know more about the mainstream American values of Massachusetts than Rick Santorum ever will."
Rep. Barney Frank called Santorum a "jerk."
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, said Santorum's remarks were "unfortunate" but stopped short of asking for an apology.
What drew the concentrated ire of the Bay State's congressional delegation was Santorum's decision this week to repeat his three-year-old comment that liberalism was at the root of the scandal over child sex abuse in the church.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture," Santorum wrote in a July 12, 2002 article for the Web site Catholic Online. "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Since Santorum wrote those words, the scandal has spread from Boston to almost every diocese in the country, has forced three bishops to declare bankruptcy and has cost the church close to $1 billion. In a study for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice reported last year that 4,392 priests had been accused since 1950 of abusing more than 10,600 children.
Asked by the Boston Globe this week whether he stood by his remark, Santorum said he did. "I was just saying that there's an attitude that is very open to sexual freedom that is more predominant" in Boston, the Globe quoted him as saying Tuesday.
Santorum, who has been touted as a candidate for president in 2008 but faces a tough reelection campaign next year, recently published a conservative manifesto titled "It Takes a Family" that criticizes liberal politicians.
A spokesman for Santorum, Robert Traynham, said yesterday that "It's unfortunate that the senior senator from Massachusetts, in consort with the extreme left, has chosen to take three-year-old comments out of context and politicize them on the Senate floor."
Asked to explain the proper context for Santorum's comments, Traynham said that "what the senator was talking about was the whole sexual revolution in the 1960s and '70s, and how that unfortunately created a culture where these unfortunate sex abuse scandals occurred."
The abuse, Traynham said, "was particularly worse in Boston and the reason why, according to the senator, is because of some of the social institutions that call Boston home. When you take a look at Harvard University and some of the other universities in Boston, I think it's an open secret that there is a liberal bias, unfortunately."
In his floor speech, Kennedy noted that more than a dozen current U.S. senators were educated in Boston, including Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who went to Harvard Medical School. He said that child sex abuse "happens in every state of this great nation -- red states and blue states, in the North and in the South, in big cities and small."
Santorum's remarks rekindled a debate over the underlying causes of the scandal. Conservative Catholics point to seminaries that, they say, opened to gays and tolerated sexual experimentation from the 1960s to the early 1980s. Many liberals in the church blame celibacy, which, they contend, makes the priesthood a magnet for men who have psychosexual problems.
Based on statistics publicly reported by many of the country's 195 dioceses, the Boston-based lay activist group BishopAccountability.org has calculated that the highest percentage of abusive priests from 1950 to 2003 was in the diocese of Covington, Ky. Boston was among the 10 worst dioceses, but several other cities commonly regarded as liberal culturally and politically had relatively low rates of abuse. Just 1.6 percent of San Francisco's priests have been accused of abuse, for example, compared to more than 4 percent nationwide.
"The reason we know so much about Boston is that Boston is the diocese where the most church documents have been released," said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the group.
Priest charged with sex crimes
Cincinnati - A grand jury indicted a Cincinnati priest Wednesday on charges of sexually abusing a boy in his church office several times from 1995 to 1997.
The Rev. Raymond Larger, who was then pastor of St. James parish in White Oak, faces charges of rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition. He could be sentenced to more than 30 years in prison if he is convicted.
Larger, 54, was sentenced to a year of probation in 2003 after a conviction for soliciting sex from a male police officer in a Dayton park. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati allowed him to return to work at the archdiocese's office downtown last year.
The archdiocese suspended him after the indictment Wednesday, but Larger released a statement denying the charges...
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the archdiocese reported the allegation to authorities after it was brought to the tribunal. He would not discuss evidence in the case, but the indictment describes six different allegations of abuse between 1995 and 1997.
Deters said the abuse occurred at Larger's office at a time when the boy's mother was dying of cancer. The boy would have been 11 years old in 1995.
Larger is the 15th priest from the archdiocese to be disciplined for misconduct since 2001.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Youth minister charged with child molestation
Kansas CityA youth minister for a south Kansas City church was charged today with sexually assaulting a church member’s underage daughter.
Phillip Boleyn, 25, of Raymore, was charged with four counts of statutory rape, three counts of child molestation and two counts of statutory sodomy. Authorities allege the relationship spanned from January 2003 to May 2005.
Boleyn was a youth minister with Christian Life Church, 7005 E. 102nd St. Officials at the church could not be reached for comment.
According to court documents, the victim told Kansas City police that Boleyn began kissing and fondling her when she was in her early teens. Over the next two years or so, the contact progressed to oral sex and then vaginal sex.
The victim told police that they had sex at her house, in his office, in the crawl space at church and in the women’s restroom, the documents said.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Wal-Mart worker gets 40 years for attempted murder
Sioux Falls, SD - A Sioux Falls man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for trying to murder a co-worker by hitting and dragging him with his car in a store parking lot.
Alemu Tadele Berhanu, 45, received 25 years for first-degree attempted murder and 15 years for two counts of aggravated assault.
See also our collection of cultural-defining Wal-Mart moments.
Middlesex officials admit investigating priest abuse claim
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey -- The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Tuesday it investigated a sexual abuse claim made against a North Plainfield priest but did not prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired.
The Diocese of Metuchen announced over the weekend it has removed the Rev. John Casey, 47, as pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield, while it looks into the allegations. The accusation involves a charge made by a minor from a time 18 years ago, when Casey was parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle parish in New Brunswick.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Ex-jail guard sentenced
Uptown, PA - A former Allegheny County Jail guard was sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 28 years in prison for having sex with four female inmates under his supervision.
"You told each of these women they were different, that they were special, that if you were their boyfriend you'd take care of them," Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel told LeShawn Walker. "And then you abused them, not only physically, but you abused them mentally."
McDaniel sentenced Walker, 33, of Duquesne, to four consecutive prison terms of 2 1/2 to 7 years for his convictions on four counts of institutional sexual assault. It is the harshest sentence handed out thus far in cases stemming from the sex-for-favors scandal at the Uptown lockup.
"It's terrible to be glad about someone going to prison, but I am happy. I feel a lot better," said a 32-year-old former inmate who was assaulted by Walker.
Another former jail guard, Charles Richard Miller, 34, of Industry, Beaver County, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of institutional sexual assault yesterday and was sentenced by McDaniel to three years' probation as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Of the 13 male guards arrested after last year's county grand jury investigations at the jail, five still await trial. Walker was convicted, two were acquitted, and five have pleaded guilty.
A jury in May convicted Walker of the four charges for having sex with inmates over a five-year period. The jury acquitted Walker of three other counts, and deadlocked on charges of institutional sexual assault and rape of an eighth inmate.
One of the victims Walker was convicted of assaulting told McDaniel she is still harassed by Walker's former co-workers in the jail, where she is known as a "snitch."
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review does not identify the victims of sexual assault.
The 32-year-old victim, who was released from jail in February, said she feels vindicated by the convictions and sentencing.
"I don't feel as small or belittled as I did," she said. "It's good to see something happen to him."
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Former prison guard pleads to assault charge
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A former Maryland prison guard whose child molestation trial ended in a hung jury last year pleaded no contest Monday in Franklin County Court to two counts of indecent assault.
David S. Ardinger, 39, formerly of Hagerstown and Mercersburg, Pa., will be sentenced at a later date, but the plea agreement calls for a jail sentence of 11 1/2 to 23 months, Assistant District Attorney Angela Krom said. Ardinger would also be on probation for eight years, she said.
Krom said Ardinger has served two years and four months in prison and would be paroled at the time of his sentencing. That does not mean, however, that he would be released from incarceration because he also is serving a sentence for similar crimes in Maryland, she said.
Ardinger, who had been a guard at the Maryland Correctional Institution, was tried in Franklin County in March 2004 on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault and indecent assault. According to court documents, Ardinger allegedly had sexual contact with an 11-year-old boy in the summer of 2000, although he was not charged until February 2002.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Youth pastor arrested on molest report
REDWOOD CITY, CA — A Redwood City youth pastor is suspected of molesting two local boys and at least two other victims outside the county's jurisdiction, authorities said Tuesday.
Christopher Fouts, 26, of Redwood City, was arrested at his home on Friday, after someone reported the molestation of one of the teens, triggering an investigation by child protective services, said Redwood City Police Detective Jeff Price.
Fouts was arrested on suspicion of five felony counts of molestation. He has since been released on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 10.
Authorities believe Fouts met two of his alleged victims, ages 13 and 14, while he was working as the director of youth ministries at Peninsula Covenant Church.
Fouts was fired on June 26, immediately after church officials learned he was being investigated, said John Seybert, director of operations for the church. He had been with the church for three years.
Price said Fouts admitted to being involved with the boys and was very forthcoming with information, leading him to believe there are no other outstanding victims. The molestations are alleged to have taken place off church property. "I brought him in for an interview, and he was pretty straightforward," Price said.
San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said the alleged crimes occurred between January and June during church activities. Guidotti said authorities know of five victims altogether but that the law does not allow prosecutors to file charges in the other cases because they occurred outside the county.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Evangelist Indicted Over Taxes
SAN DIEGO — A federal grand jury Tuesday indicted evangelist Morris Cerullo on three counts of filing false income tax returns by allegedly failing to report more than $550,000 in income.
Cerullo, president of San Diego-based Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, is charged with filing false individual returns for 1998, 1999 and 2000.
"All who partake in this country's benefits have a responsibility to pay their taxes," U.S. Atty. Carol Lam said. "There are no self-bestowed exemptions."
Cerullo, who is in his 70s, uses television and the Internet to spread his religious message and seek donations. According to his website, he will lead a crusade this week at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, followed by one at the Anaheim Convention Center next month.
At his rallies, Cerullo, who began as a preacher from Charlotte, N.C., has said people can be cured of medical problems through prayer. He bought the Inspiration Network in the 1980s from Jim Bakker when the latter was caught in a financial scandal that sent him to prison.
His official biography says he was the fifth child in a Jewish family but converted to Christianity at 14. Part of his ministry has been to persuade Jews to switch religions. He once owned the landmark El Cortez Hotel in downtown San Diego.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Police officer fired after indecent exposure conviction
MARLBORO, Mass. - A Marlboro police officer who was convicted of exposing himself to two girls has been fired from the force.
Mayor Dennis Hunt dismissed Frank Masciarelli following a recommendation from the city solicitor, who presided over a four-hour disciplinary hearing.
Masciarelli was convicted in May of indecent exposure and open and gross lewdness. The charges resulted from separate incidents in 2001 and 2003. He was accused of exposing himself outside his Northboro home and making obscene gestures or comments to girls as they walked to a bus stop.
Church worker accused of abuse
Oklahoma City - Police are investigating claims an employee of a northeast Oklahoma City church and day-care center sexually abused at least seven children.
The children's grandmother reported the abuse to police Saturday after several of the children told her the man had touched them on several occasions. The seven children, ranging from 7 to 15 years old, told police the man had exposed himself in front of them several times and touched them inappropriately, according to a police report.
Police refused to release the name of the church or the suspect. Sgt. Charles Phillips said the man works for the church but will not be allowed to have contact with children until police conclude their investigation.
Two of the children lived with their grandmother in the 2100 block of NE 15, while the other five visited there frequently or stayed at the church day care, according to the report.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Jail Guard Sentenced To Prison
AZTEC, N.Mex. — A judge has sentenced a former San Juan County juvenile jail guard to 12 years in prison after the man pleaded guilty to solicitation of first-degree murder and other charges.
David Nicholson's attorney, Cosme Ripol, asked the judge not to send Nicholson to jail because it would be a death sentence.
"It's not hyperbole; it's a reality,'' Ripol told state District Judge John Dean during Monday's sentencing hearing. He said gangs probably would try to kill Nicholson, but that if the gangs don't get him, he probably will kill himself because he suffers from depression.
But Harry Veenstra of the state Probation and Parole Office argued that prison was the only solution because of the nature of the crimes by someone who held a position of authority.
Nicholson, 29, pleaded guilty to several other felonies, including bribery of a witness and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
He admitted encouraging juvenile inmates to retaliate against rival gang members and instructing them how to strike back.
According to court documents, Nicholson became the leader of one gang and set up ambushes against a rival gang, with rivals beaten in their cells or in the showers.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Prison guard fired over heroin dealing charges
GREENSBURG, Pa. - A woman was fired as a county prison guard after her arrest on heroin-dealing charges.
Cindy S. Chapman, 47, of West Newton, was arrested June 3 by state drug agents. She had been on indefinite suspension from the county prison following her arrest and was fired Monday by the Westmoreland County Prison Board.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Church murder trial begins
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - The man accused of fatally shooting an unfaithful Upland church deacon more than a decade ago went on trial for murder on Tuesday.
During opening statements to jurors, a prosecutor said Scott Frederic Harrison shot 44-year-old Phillip Perry in 1992 at the request of a close friend, who plotted the killing after learning his wife and the deacon were having an affair.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Editor of youth publishing group arrested on sex charges
FRANKLIN, Mass. -- An editor for the publishing company that puts out the venerable Weekly Reader newspaper for schoolchildren was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor on the Internet.
Noel Neff, 46, of Norwalk, Conn., was arrested Saturday in the parking lot of the Franklin Village Mall, where he'd arranged to meet and have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy named Chris.
It was actually undercover FBI agent David George, a member of the Cyber Crimes Squad of the FBI's Boston office. The two had arranged the meeting following a series of instant message conversations spanning more than two months, according to an affidavit filed by George.
Neff is charged with crossing state lines to solicit sex from a minor, a federal crime. He was released on $25,000 unsecured bond after an appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Weekly Reader Corp., based in Stamford, Conn., publishes several magazines and periodicals for students, including Teen Newsweek, Current Events, Current Health and Career World.
Thanks to cyberguide for the tip.
Ky. Republican Party Chairman Indicted
FRANKFORT, Ky. - A grand jury indicted Kentucky's Republican Party chairman and two state officials Monday on charges alleging they conspired to violate state personnel laws.
The allegations revolve around the state's Merit System jobs and whether a few Republican officials conspired to hire and fire employees based on their political views. Merit System rules prohibit such actions.
All three men indicted Monday have close ties to Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
Basil Turbyfill is in charge of filling political positions for Fletcher, and Bob Wilson is part of the governor's Personnel Cabinet. GOP Chairman Darrell Brock was director of local government in Fletcher's office before he took the party job this year.
Fletcher's name has appeared in e-mails presented to the grand jury, but he has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Thanks to Julius for the tip.
8 sect members face underage sex charges
KINGMAN, Ariz., July 12 (UPI) -- Eight men living in an Arizona polygamist sect responded to indictments and turned themselves in to face sexual misconduct charges involving minors.
The men are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a multiple-marriage sect which has no connection to the mainstream Mormon church. Its members have resided for decades in an isolated area near the Arizona-Utah line in an attempt to avoid law officers in both states, the Arizona Republic said Tuesday.
Among those arrested Monday was former police officer Rodney Holm, who gained national attention two years ago after being convicted of marrying his third wife, who was 16 at the time. Holm, 38, served a year in county jail in Utah, and also is married to the girl's older sister.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Cop guilty of sex with 13-year-old, but gets zero jail time and doesn't have to register as a sexual offender
Lufkin, Texas - Wayne Rowe was arrested, charged, and indicted for sexual assault of a child, but that's not the charge he plead to. Instead, Rowe plead no contest to injury to a child. The new charge means Rowe does not have to register as a sex offender for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Ranger Pete Maskunas said, "The child had endured enough problems and enough mental anguish of having to just go through it the first time, that if they could come to another agreement, they would go ahead and plead it out to prevent her from having to testify."
Even though the case against Rowe didn't go to trial, authorities had strong evidence against him, and they were more than ready to prove it in court.
"This is not a case where Wayne Rowe plead out to something because we did not think we could make the case on him. We could make the case on him, we had the case made. The DNA evidence was strong."
Rowe won't do any hard time, but he didn't get off easy. A Trinity County judge sentenced Rowe to 10 years straight probation.
Maskunas said, "The 10 years probation that he received is considered a final condition and is a sentence, so that at any time during that 10 years, if he commits another offense or violates his probation, he can be sentenced to 10 years in prison."
Under the plea agreement, Rowe surrendered his peace officer's license, which means he'll never be a peace officer again in the State of Texas. Rowe also agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and perform 240 hours of community service as part of his sentence.
He'd been a patrol lieutenant with the Trinity County Sheriff's Office for less than a year.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
State cop charged with misconduct
ILLINOIS -- An Illinois state trooper was indicted Friday on 16 counts of official misconduct and other offenses after allegedly making two young couples undress during separate incidents.
Jeremy M. Dozier, 31, of Beach Park also was indicted Friday in the Rolling Meadows courthouse on two counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, two counts of intimidation and two counts of bribery.
Dozier initially was charged last month with four counts of official misconduct after he allegedly ordered a couple on June 16 to strip and urinate during a traffic stop on Interstate Highway 94 near Northbrook. The couple, a 22-year-old Wauconda man and an 18-year-old Vernon Hills woman, managed to drive away and call 911.
On June 23, Dozier was charged with another count of official misconduct in an incident first reported to police in April.
In that case, a teenage girl and her boyfriend told authorities they were in a parked car in Gurnee when a police officer confronted them. The officer told them to go to a nearby construction area and run around unclothed, promising not to call their parents if they complied, authorities said.
Thanks to Joseph L. for the heads-up!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Weekly church-related crime update, July 3- July 9
|Former Cop Admits Role In Child Porn Ring
SAN DIEGO -- A former San Diego police officer has pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor counts of child pornography as part of an international Internet child pornography ring being investigated by federal authorities.
Brett Kenneth Hensley pleaded guilty to one felony count of using a minor to make child pornography and three misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography, authorities announced Thursday.
Hensley, 36, is one of 27 people in San Diego and Imperial counties arrested as part of the child porn ring, including members of the military, a priest, a school administrator and a teacher.
More than 1,200 people have been arrested worldwide as part of the operation.
Former priest faces new molestation allegation
Kansas City, MO - An area man filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that former priest Thomas Reardon sexually abused him as a minor — the seventh such lawsuit against Reardon since early 2004.
The man, identified only as John Doe 47, said Reardon molested him in 1980 when he was 16 in the rectory of St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Kansas City, North.
The suit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, also contends that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph knew of Reardon’s improprieties with children as early as 1969, covered up his activities, and in 1989 found pornography in his quarters at St. Regis Catholic Church. Reardon stopped functioning as a priest that year and resigned in 1990, the diocese said.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Local Pastor Arrested On Child Porn Charges
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The lead pastor of a First Coast Church is under arrest, accused of downloading child pornography on the church's computer.
Friday afternoon, JSO vice made a surprise visit to Eric Young's Northside home.
Young, 58, is the lead pastor of Ft. Caroline United Methodist Church...
Lt. Gwynes says all kinds of porn were on there, but the basis for the arrest was a video of child porn.
According to the police report, it was a young girl. The video's name was, "Three year old gets raped..."
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
LAPD officer in youth program arrested for alleged molestation
LOS ANGELES - A 36-year-old officer assigned to the Police Department's youth program was arrested for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old boy, authorities said Friday.
George Stan was arrested Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport while returning from a vacation, and was taken to Simi Valley, where the molestation allegedly occurred, a police statement said.
Stan was arraigned Friday in Ventura County court and pleaded innocent to 10 felony counts of oral copulation with a minor under age 16 and one felony count of sending harmful matter to a minor over the Internet, said Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold. Bail was set at $1 million. Stan was represented by the public defender's office.
Stan had been assigned to the Devonshire station since 1991 and had been working with the department's Explorer program for youth for about a year. It was unclear whether the alleged victim was a member of the program, but police believe there may be other victims.
School principal and minister arrested on molestation charges
LA MESA, CA - An elementary school principal and minister was arrested Friday on suspicion of repeatedly molesting an underage male relative over several months, authorities said.
Dennis M. McKeown, 41, was taken into custody shortly before 10 a.m. as he was leaving his home on Baltimore Drive in La Mesa on his way to work, according to La Mesa police Lt. Allen White.
McKeown, head administrator for King/Chavez Academy of Excellence Charter School in San Diego, allegedly engaged in sex acts with the boy during family visits to the suspect's house in late 2002 and early 2003, White said.
The child reported the alleged crimes to his mother, who contacted authorities last month.
McKeown, who is a minister with Universal Life Church, was booked into county jail on suspicion of 20 counts of child molestation, White said.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Deputy, ex-lawmaker lead police on chase
COOPERSTOWN, N.D. - A sheriff’s deputy and a former lawmaker reached speeds of nearly 100 mph while trying flee from law enforcement officers, and both admitted they had been drinking, authorities said.
Complaints of poor care at jail continue
DallasInmates who enter the Dallas County Jail with physical or medical problems risk losing more than their freedom, say inmates, family members and health-care advocates.
Bruce McDonald got into a fight in the county jail, and his left eye was hurt. He says delays caused the need for surgery. One inmate said he lost sight in one eye because of poor care in jail. And a recent lawsuit filed by the family of an inmate who died in custody contends he was denied medications for serious health ailments including congestive heart failure.
Five months after county commissioners received a scathing report on medical care at the jail, inmates with serious physical illnesses still wait weeks to see a doctor or receive proper care, according to accounts by inmates and their families, staff members and health-care advocates.
And many mentally ill inmates continue to languish for a week or more without receiving the medications that keep them stable, they say.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Friday, July 08, 2005
Accused priest was teaching in N.J.
Philadelphia - A Catholic priest who is named in a child sexual abuse lawsuit quit teaching ethics Tuesday at Gloucester County College.
The Rev. David Sicoli's decision to step down was made a few hours after the Bucks County Courier Times, a sister paper of The Intelligencer, informed the New Jersey school about the lawsuit.
Sicoli, the former assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception BVM Church in Bristol Township, taught ethics part time at the college in Sewell. He taught one class in the spring and had been scheduled to teach another this fall, school supervisor Carol Kebles said.
"We had no idea," she said of the lawsuit...
Sicoli left as pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in South Philadelphia on July 1, 2004, before news of the lawsuit was publicized. He has been on "restricted" ministry duties since, the archdiocese said.
Three men from Bucks County sued the priest and the Philadelphia archdiocese last year. The men alleged Sicoli had molested them and supplied them with alcohol during sleepovers at his Sea Isle City beach house and at a location in Wildwood between 1979 and 1983. The lawsuit also claimed the archdiocese covered up the abuse.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Pastor accused of rape dies in Kansas
LOUISBURG, Kan. -- A former United Methodist pastor at the center of a recent trial in Springfield died on Wednesday. The Rev. David Finestead, 61, battled cancer while leading First Baptist Church of Louisburg, of which he was senior pastor.
A former choir director at Campbell United Methodist Church in Springfield won a $6 million judgment against the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church after a trial in Greene County Circuit Court this spring. Teresa Norris said Finestead raped her in March 1998 while he was pastor at Campbell UMC.
Norris charged conference leaders with failing to properly address sexual harassment allegations against Finestead before the rape. The conference is appealing the jury’s $6 million award to Norris and her husband.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
High court to hear priest abuse case
UTICA, NY - The state's highest court reversed its earlier decision and ruled this week it would hear arguments regarding allegations a Catholic priest sexually abused a youth in Utica more than 30 years ago.
In late 2003, a state Supreme Court judge dismissed a $150 million civil lawsuit against the Rev. James Quinn, ruling too many years had passed to pursue allegations the priest sexually abused John Zumpano while he was a youth during the 1960s.
On Wednesday, the state Court of Appeals decided it will review the dismissal to determine if it should be upheld or reversed...
In May 2003, Zumpano, now in his 50s, accused Quinn of sexually abusing him repeatedly in the mid-to-late 1960s when the priest served at St. Agnes Church in East Utica and as area director for the Catholic Youth Organization.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Mater Dei, Ex-Teacher Sued in Alleged Abuse
Los Angeles - A former student at Mater Dei in Santa Ana has sued the Roman Catholic high school and her former driver education teacher, saying he molested her for two years in the mid-1990s, starting when she was 16...
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, charges that Mater Dei and the Bishop of Orange "engaged in a pattern and practice of hiring sexual abusers as faculty and staff administration" at Mater Dei. It says that since 1976 the high school has hired at least 10 people who sexually abused students.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Fort Bragg Soldier Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A Fort Bragg soldier was arrested Thursday on charges of child pornography.
Army Spec. Justin Glasgow was charged with seven counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said Army Spec. Justin Henry Glasgow, 23, of Bingham Drive in Fayetteville, was charged with seven counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Detectives confiscated a computer disk with photographs and video of children participating in sexual acts with adult males, as well as photographs of minors in provocative poses, the sheriff's office said.
Glasgow, who is assigned to Army’s 82nd Aviation Brigade, was released under a $70,000 unsecured bond from the County Detention Center Thursday afternoon.
Pregnant woman sues Eufaula
EUFAULA, OK - A woman who claims to have been raped in early December by a visitor to Eufaula Police Officer Orlando Crabtree's house has filed a $125,000 tort claim against Eufaula.
Whitney Bloxham's claim states that although Crabtree was off duty, the city is liable because he failed to intervene. Bloxham alleges she is now pregnant as a result of the assault. The $125,000 she is seeking is the full amount the law allows in such a claim against a city.
Woman says officer pressed her for sex
Dallas - A 20-year-old woman has accused a Dallas police officer of having sex with her in his squad car early Wednesday.
The woman, Shawnta Anthony, said the officer had pressured her to have sex after he falsely accused her of selling drugs.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Texas County sheriff's deputy arrested, fired
GUYMON, OK - A Texas County sheriff's deputy is being held in the Beaver County jail on a complaint of sexual exploitation of a child, District Attorney Mike Boring said Tuesday.
James Mark Bishop, 32, was arrested Friday after state investigators found sexually explicit photographs of an 8-year-old girl on an Internet site. Investigators later determined Bishop took the photographs, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
Church union fights to keep contract
HARLINGEN, Texas - Members of what is thought to be the first workers' union in a Roman Catholic church say church leaders are trying to break the labor contract and undermine the union...
There are now only three unionized churches, with membership down from about 50 to about 30. Flores, speaking for the workers, said the Rev. Louis Brum, the newest pastor at Holy Spirit Parish in McAllen, hasn't met with them to begin healing and offered raises to maintenance workers who quit the union.
Jewish group sues evangelist
Huffman evangelist K.A. Paul, who recently headed a controversial mission to help tsunami victims, is being sued for more than $9 million by a Jewish group in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit alleges that Paul's Global Peace Initiative, a humanitarian aid organization, had agreed to fly the group to Poland for the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation, then to Tel Aviv for vacation. But when the 92 travelers, members of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on June 18, the lawsuit contends, Global Peace Initiative officials advised them they could either remain in Poland, fly to Syria or cancel the trip.
Faced with such "unrealistic and unreasonable alternatives," the lawsuit said, the travelers opted to stay at home.
Their lawsuit alleges "the defendants intended to use the plaintiff's money to repair and refurbish their aircraft so as to carry out their so-called peace mission to such hostile countries as Syria, Libya, Iran and Sudan and find some pretext to cause plaintiff to cancel its trip."
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Man Shot, Killed At Fayetteville Wal-Mart Parking Lot
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A man was shot and killed late Tuesday night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Fayetteville.
Authorities said at around 11 p.m. Tuesday, 30-year-old Roger Handon, an employee at the Raeford Road store, was stocking shelves inside when 27-year-old Johnathon Seymore came inside to purchase some snacks.
According to investigators, both men got into an argument and went outside. Authorities said Seymore went to his car, got a handgun and shot Handon in the chest. Handon reportedly ran back toward the store entrance before he collapsed.
See also our collection of cultural-defining Wal-Mart moments.
Police brutality allegations, north and south
In Detroit:
Facing a $300 million deficit, Detroit has paid out almost $45 million over the past three years in jury awards or settlements of lawsuits stemming from police misconduct.
More than half of that amount has been paid out in cases involving officers with histories of past lawsuits, a City Council analysis found.
The last such study, conducted in 2000, pegged the city's bill for the previous three years at $32 million. Officials warned then that the increasingly big payouts were harming the city's fiscal health.
The current deficit has forced the layoffs of hundreds of city workers, including police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
The analysis of police misconduct cases presented to the council between 1987 and 2004 found the city paid out more than $188 million over that 18-year period. Besides jury awards, the payouts covered settlements including pretrial agreements, mediations and arbitrations.
Suits involving officers named in more than one case accounted for more than $111 million, or about 60 percent of the settlement payouts since 1987.
In Galveston:
The Galveston Police Department has again asked the attorney general to say it is exempt from releasing records concerning claims of police brutality.
The department last week argued that all 54 complaints it’s received over the past five years should be kept secret...
IRS investigating televangelist's operation, report says
DALLAS — The Internal Revenue Service is looking into the operations and finances of televangelist Benny Hinn's organization, according to a published report.
The IRS wouldn't discuss the case, but a representative for Benny Hinn Ministries confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that the inquiry is under way, characterizing it as routine.
Critics have argued that Hinn improperly profits from a ministry that hasn't met the IRS definition of a church for years. The ministry is estimated to raise more than $100 million a year...
Hinn ministry responses to IRS questions and a purported salary list for ministry officials are among documents that Trinity members said they salvaged from trash bins outside Hinn-related offices.
The salary document lists Hinn as CEO and his annual earnings as $1.325 million.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Former Police Chief Arraigned On 23-Count Indictment
WAPAKONETA, Ohio -- The former police chief in Wapakoneta, Dave Harrison, pleaded not guilty to 23 criminal charges, including child pornography on Tuesday.
Of the 23 charges against him, 15 of them are for illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. Also, among the 23-count indictment against Harrison is unauthorized use of property, theft in office, criminal trespass, tampering with evidence and pandering obscenity.
Ex-Officer Gets Life Sentence for Death of MU Student
Again, he's an "ex-officer" ("former officer" in article) only because he was arrested...
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A former Columbia police officer was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole in the 2004 death of a University of Missouri-Columbia student with whom he had an affair.
Steven Rios, 28, also received a consecutive sentence of 10 years on a count of armed criminal action for the throat-slashing death of Jesse Valencia, 23. A Clay County jury, brought to Boone County because of intense media coverage of the case in Columbia, convicted Rios of first-degree murder in May...
Prosecutors said Rios, a married father, killed Valencia to keep him from revealing their relationship. Rios acknowledged lying about the affair but said he was with co-workers when Valencia died.
Key evidence included DNA recovered from under Valencia's fingernails and hair found on his chest, both of which matched Rios.
Church still healing from deadly love triangle
ROME, Georgia — The Reynolds and Harper families still sit in their regular seats at Hollywood Baptist Church. But a year after a love triangle led to the death of a deacon and the jailing of two parishioners, the church is still healing.
It was last July 5 when church deacon Thad John Glenn Reynolds was found stabbed to death at the Frito-Lay distribution center where he worked. The grieving congregation organized a memorial service for Reynolds and set up an education fund for his four daughters.
Three days later, the deacon’s wife and an assistant pastor were charged in the killing. Police said Michelle Sullins Reynolds and Richard Scott Harper conspired to kill Thad Reynolds in a deadly love triangle. Harper was accused of ambushing Thad Reynolds and stabbing him 19 times; police said Michelle Reynolds helped plot the crime.
The accused couple are awaiting trial in Floyd County.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Molestation settlement OK'd
Victims of Covington Diocese might receive no more than $40 million
...Potter's ruling in Boone Circuit Court allows the diocese and the plaintiff's attorneys to begin advertising the proposed settlement within two weeks.
The blitz, including announcements in USA Today, will ask anyone who has ever been abused by a Covington Diocese priest or employee to send in a confidential form.
Anyone choosing to submit a claim must return the form by Nov. 10.
Potter said the form will give attorneys an idea of how many people are eligible to submit claims to the compensation fund.
Until the Lexington Diocese was created in 1988, the Covington Diocese covered 57 counties across the eastern half of Kentucky. It now comprises 46 parishes in the state's 14 northern counties.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Prison system accused of poor medical care
The Colorado Department of Corrections denied proper care to two inmates who now have end-stage cancer, their families charge, at the same time the prison system's medical staff decreased because of state budget cuts.
By ignoring the inmates' pain, officials turned their prison terms into death sentences, say the families.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Corruption in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A federal grand jury is meeting this week in connection with an investigation involving a businessman and employees of the state's largest utility.
The FBI is investigating whether the businessman -- Jim Newton of Oklahoma City -- treated Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company workers to casino stays and expensive gifts as kickbacks in an alleged phony billing scheme.
SAPD officer is charged with rape
San Antonio, Texas - A 16-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department was charged Tuesday with aggravated sexual assault after DNA evidence linked him to the rape of a 22-year-old last month.
Dean Gutierrez, 45, was arrested in the June 10 incident about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday...
The alleged assault victim is a self-described transsexual who lives as a woman but has not had sexual reassignment surgery.
Although the San Antonio Express-News normally doesn't identify alleged victims of sexual assault, the complainant agreed to provide a given name, Gabriel Bernal, but prefers to be called Starlight...
According to a police affidavit, Gutierrez was on duty when he stopped his patrol car near Starlight at a bus stop at South Laredo and Zarzamora streets about 10:30 p.m.
Starlight was wearing female attire and waiting to catch a bus when Gutierrez stopped, according to Ortiz.
Gutierrez asked Starlight's identity and whether there were any outstanding warrants, according to the affidavit. Starlight said yes, for a traffic ticket.
A report made to the police by Starlight said the officer asked for Starlight's given name and said, "You better not lie to me or I'll take you to jail."
Gutierrez reportedly checked Starlight's name in a computer database and confirmed the warrant. Too scared to run, Starlight agreed to get into Gutierrez's patrol car.
Gutierrez allegedly threatened to send Starlight to jail if the complainant disobeyed the officer's order to sit in the patrol car's front seat.
The officer then drove through a produce warehouse area in the 700 block of Hazel Street near train tracks, where the assault took place, the affidavit stated.
The police report, which refers to the alleged victim as male, detailed how the officer ordered him out of the patrol car and then told him to place his hands on the vehicle's back right window while the officer searched him for weapons.
The officer then forced Starlight to perform a sex act, the report continued. He reportedly punched Starlight on the right side of the face and then pulled him up off of his feet.
As Starlight turned around, the report stated, the officer hit him with his baton on the left foot, pulled his hair and then sexually assaulted him.
The officer dropped off the complainant a short distance away and drove off very slowly, the report stated.
Starlight immediately called EMS and later went to police headquarters. After viewing a lineup for three seconds, Starlight pointed to Gutierrez and declared, "That's him," according to the affidavit.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Diocese validates abuse allegations against nine dead priests
PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine's Roman Catholic diocese Sunday validated child sexual abuse allegations against nine of 21 dead priests, saying they likely would be removed from ministry under today's standards if they were still alive.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Mobile Animal Abuse Charges
Mobile, Alabama - A nine-year-old boy is facing felony animal abuse charges after allegedly beating a dog, cutting its legs off and setting it on fire.
More accusations of Scout camp pedophiles emerge
The scope of this story is so wide it merits posting the entire article:
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) - Molestation allegations continue to emerge against Boy Scout officials who worked under the current Grand Teton Council leadership.
An investigation by the Post Register newspaper found allegations against at least three men who worked with eastern Idaho Boy Scouts in the 1980s and 1990s.
Two of the men have already been convicted of their crimes. Camp Little Lemhi counselor and staff supervisor Brad Stowell was arrested in 1997 and confessed to molesting dozen of boys, many of them scouts. Though court documents in his case were sealed, the Post Register fought the matter in court and they were released to the public earlier this year.
Former Camp Little Lemhi counselor Jeff Hardin was convicted of lewd conduct for molesting in 1991 a Chubbuck boy he first got to know at the Boy Scout camp. Records of that case were also unsealed in May.
Now, a new sworn statement filed Friday in Bannock County court alleges that another camp counselor raped a 15-year-old Eagle Scout in 1983.
The statement, filed by former Boy Scout Jeff Bird in support of a lawsuit brought by younger Scouts against the Grand Teton Council, alleges that counselor Dennis Empey mutilated animals, showed off his firearms and then raped Bird at the Island Park Scout Camp.
The newspaper made repeated efforts for more than a month to reach Empey by phone and e-mail, but Empey did not respond to the paper's requests for comment.
Bird, who contacted the newspaper to share his story, said he twice reported the rape - the first time within days of the incident to then-Island Park Scout Camp director Kim Hansen, the second time a decade later to a Mormon church official.
Hansen, who now holds the top job in the Grand Teton Council, was less than supportive, Bird said.
''I was still quite scared, shaky and was tearing up as I spoke to him. I told him that when Dennis and I were alone, Dennis had me stay in his tent. I told him that Dennis had touched me in a bad way,'' Bird said. ''Kim Hansen was very stern with me and told me that he appreciated my 'efforts as a staffer' and would really like to hire me again next year, but part of the decision about who to hire would be made on how well I could get along with others at the camp.
''To my knowledge, Kim Hansen did not notify the Scouting organizations or the sheriff's office about what had happened to me,'' Bird said.
Hansen refused to comment on those allegations.
Bird stopped scouting, and about a decade later revealed the alleged abuse to the Mormon official, who is currently serving an overseas mission and could not be reached - reportedly put Bird in contact with a Utah detective who was investigating another allegation against Empey.
But the Provo, Utah detective, Dave Bolda, does not remember hearing from Bird.
In May 1991, Empey was arrested in Utah for allegedly molesting children. In those cases, Empey was accused of flashing a gun before sodomizing his victims. He pleaded guilty to three felonies - two counts of forcible sodomy on a child and one count of sexual abuse of a child.
Empey was sentenced to probation on Oct. 8, 1991, and two years later moved back home to eastern Idaho.
But despite his conviction, Empey was apparently able to continue working for the Scouts.
A search of the Grand Teton Council Web site revealed a photo of a mountain canyon bearing a ''Dennis Empey 2002'' copyright mark.
When asked why a convicted pedophile was supplying material to the Grand Teton Council, Hansen wrote in a May 13 letter: ''In recent years, Dennis Empey donated graphic designs to the council. All materials were sent by either electronic means or mail. He has not been in our office and has not had any volunteer positions.''
Hansen's boss, Grand Teton Executive Council President David Smith, said June 9 that the council had paid Empey for the supplies he used to make pictures and designs. Smith also said the council had just severed its business relationship with Empey, and that the man did not have any contact with children.
Jeff Bird mentioned Empey's Web work in the court papers he filed Friday.
''When I found out that Empey was still alive and still employed by the Scouts, I was terrified not only for my own personal safety, but for all the hundreds of boys who attend Scout camp in the Grand Teton Council each year,'' he said in a sworn statement.
Empey is not registered as a sex offender in Idaho or Utah.
Bird's statement was made in support of a lawsuit brought against the Grand Teton Council by other scouts.
So far, the council has settled two lawsuits brought by Scouts molested by former camp counselor Brad Stowell. Parties to the lawsuits aren't allowed to say how much the Grand Teton Council paid.
Grand Teton Council executive Kim Hansen has maintained that that Scout leaders couldn't have done anything to stop Stowell because the counselor was too slick. Court records have indicated, however, that the council was warned several times about Stowell's behavior.
Monday, July 04, 2005
"They have guns..."
Investigation to switch focus in Yukon police sex scandal
YUKON, Oklahoma - If not for happenstance, the Yukon Police Department probably would be fully staffed and a 24-year-old woman still would be keeping secrets.
The woman, a former Conoco store clerk, is at the center of a police sex scandal that already has led to one suspension and four lost jobs. Yukon's mayor said the investigation is about to shift focus to what police supervisors knew -- and when.
Phong Dang Nguyen, 34, quit the police department in early June. Officials said he admitted he had sexual contact with the clerk.
David R. Darter, 45, and Darrel J. Williams, 33, resigned Wednesday. Darter's attorney, Irven Box, said his client committed no crimes but left his job for the good of the city. Williams said he didn't want to subject his family to more conflict.
Chad Mayberry, 29, was fired Thursday, City Manager Jim Crosby said.
Mayberry's attorney, Loren Gibson, said his client was given the choice of resigning or being fired -- and he refused to resign. Gibson said Mayberry plans to seek reinstatement and back pay through arbitration proceedings.
Sgt. Buddy Guth, 44, received a two-week, unpaid suspension Friday. He was put on probation for a year and will not receive pay increases.
The men were accused of on-duty sexual misconduct with the clerk, who claims she was afraid to refuse their advances.
"They have guns," the clerk told The Oklahoman. "They can do whatever they want. They know the law; they can get around the law. They could kill me and put me somewhere, and nobody would know."
More details at link.
Investigation into death at federal prison
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ A federal judge has canceled an order that would've required a high-ranking Justice Department official to testify about records relating to the death of an inmate in Oklahoma.
The judge had set a July 13th date for the chief of the department's public integrity section to explain under oath a delay in deciding which documents can be released.
Yesterday, the judge rescinded the order. However, he warned the reprieve is temporary and that the government will have to produce documents relating to the 1995 death of Kenneth Trentadue.
Trentadue was being held in a federal prison in Oklahoma when guards found him dead and hanging from a noose made of torn bedsheets. Investigators say he committed suicide.
His brother -- Salt Lake City lawyer Jesse Trentadue -- believes authorities mistakenly suspected his brother was part of a gang that robbed banks to finance attacks on the government, possibly including the Oklahoma City bombing.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Corruption in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An unfinished 2002 audit of Oklahoma's purchase card system uncovered numerous problems, including missing records, violations of state purchasing laws and unauthorized spending.
A 2003 executive summary of the audit obtained by The Oklahoman shows problems were identified at 19 of the 20 agencies using the cards at the time the review was started by the Department of Central Services.
At one of those 20 agencies, the Tourism and Recreation Department, an employee was charged recently with spending her card on more than $20,000 in personal expenses, including a cake and flowers for a co-worker's wedding.
Problems found in the 2002 audit included employees getting cash back when paying for items with purchase cards and cardholders spending above the $2,500 transaction limit, a violation of state purchasing laws.
Lawsuit claims St. Johns pastor ignored molestation allegations
Portland, Oregon - A Portland couple is suing First Baptist Church of St. Johns, claiming the pastor ignored allegations that a church member molested their two daughters and two other girls, told the couple not to tell anyone about the allegations, then told the congregation during a Sunday service that the couple were evil.
Darla and Francois Pilon filed the lawsuit June 22 in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The suit alleges the pastor, Daniel Pulliam, intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them. The suit also alleges negligence and that Pulliam dissolved the church and transferred its assets after the Pilons made a claim against the church. The suit asks for $750,000 each for Darla and Francois Pilon, who worked at the church as a part-time secretary and custodian, respectively...
The victims are girls who range in age from 11 to 17. The lawsuit alleged they were sexually abused on church property by a church member. The allegations are being investigated by police, according to a Multnomah County prosecutor.
Earlier this year, the civil rights division of the state Bureau of Labor and Industries concluded that Pulliam fired Francois Pilon because he had reported illegal activity. The agency found that Pilon was discriminated against because he was a whistleblower.
Thanks to Jan for the heads up!
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Weekly church-related crime update, June 24 - July 2, 2005
See the complete and never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Return to Bobo's World homepage.
Minister charged with theft
SEARCY, Arkansas - A Searcy church leader charged with stealing funds from an HIV prevention and testing grant he oversaw is scheduled to stand trial August 1.
The Reverend Lamar Wright, 52, of Searcy, was indicted June 8 for allegedly stealing funds intended to provide HIV services on behalf of an administrator at the Arkansas Department of Health, according to the indictment which was filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Child molester sentenced to needlework
EDINBURG, Texas — Knitting lap blankets for the wheelchair-bound is part of a plea agreement for a man who pleaded no contest to charges of molesting a 7-year-old girl.
On Wednesday in Judge Rose Guerra Reyna’s 206th state District Court Robert Wayne Thompson, 46, pleaded no contest to aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by contact.
Because Thompson has a history of heart problems, the judge allowed him to knit afghans for 320 hours of community service. Each 40-by-40-inch afghan will count as six hours of community service. Thompson told the judge he could make two afghans a day...
Thompson will also serve five years’ parole and has to register as a sex offender for life. He also cannot come within 1,000 feet of any place where children commonly play and has to take sex offender counseling.
Thompson served five years in Virginia for a sexual assault in the 1980s, according to court records.
In December 2004, a grand jury indicted Thompson on six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and eight counts of indecency with a child. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed 12 counts of the indictment.
Jury finds for victim in cop rape-and-cover up
Prospect Park, New Jersey - A jury awarded $315,000 to a North Haledon woman who sued Prospect Park and a former police officer who molested her.
Richard C. Haman, 36, the former Prospect Park police officer, must pay $185,500 to the woman, as well as an additional $50,000 in punitive damages...
"The jury found that there was a blue wall of silence," Terry Bottinelli, the woman's lawyer, said Friday. "Officers knew back to 1995 what was going on and remained silent. No one wanted to be a 'rat' ... and instead we're left with several victims."
In July 2001 the North Haledon woman, then 18, came forward with allegations that Haman had raped her at a Haledon apartment while he was off duty.
The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation and found other girls who said Haman had molested them.
Haman was suspended without pay after the charges were filed in January 2002. He resigned several months later.
Haman, a former Wayne resident who now lives in Ocean County, had been the police union local's president and once ran the borough's junior police academy - designed to build trust between children and police officers.
Haman pleaded guilty in August 2002 to downgraded charges of criminal sexual contact and official misconduct. Originally he was charged with crimes that could have put him behind bars for 10 years, but a plea deal lowered the degree of the sex crime.
He was sentenced to four years of probation and 100 hours of community service and is barred from any type of public employment in the future.
He admitted that on several occasions he had sex with a 16-year-old girlfriend in his police car while on duty, and admitted to groping the North Haledon woman against her will...
Church molestation suspect dies in custody
Bringing together both our church-related crime and Where did they learn that? threads....
EVERETT, Wash. - A convicted sex offender who allegedly used the Mormon church he attended to lure boys, died Saturday while on suicide watch in the Snohomish County Jail, officials reported.
Correction officers responded around 4 a.m. to a single cell in the jail's special custody unit, where David Herget, 62, of Mountlake Terrace had been held since Friday.
An officer was checking on Herget's safety every 30 minutes, said Jim Harms, the jail's public information officer.
Paramedics arrived about 30 minutes after an officer found Herget and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him, Harms said. The cause of Herget's death is under investigation pending an autopsy by the Snohomish County medical examiner.
Herget was the first man to die in jail custody since 2003, Harms said. "It's extremely unusual," he said.
Herget's family members declined to comment.
Mountlake Terrace police arrested Herget on Friday on suspicion of sex crimes involving boys he met at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mountlake Terrace. Officers also searched his house Friday in the 5800 block of 225th Place SW.
"We did recover quite a bit of evidence," Assistant Police Chief Pete Caw said.
Caw declined to comment on the items.
Herget faced 18 charges of sex crimes, including six counts of child rape, six counts of child molestation, three counts of sexual exploitation of minors, and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, Harms said.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
State Won't Retry Priest in Molestation Case
The state has decided not to retry a defrocked Baltimore priest who won a reversal of his conviction in the molestation of a boy who later shot him, saying the priest probably would avoid prison time even if he were found guilty again.
Maurice Blackwell, 58, was convicted in February of abusing Dontee Stokes, a former altar boy who shot Blackwell in 2002, nearly a decade after the alleged abuse. Two months later, the conviction was thrown out by a judge who agreed with defense arguments that jurors shouldn't have heard prosecution witnesses testify about other alleged victims.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Probation for child-molesting cop
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Advocates of sexually abused children said they were outraged a former Midlands police officer was sentenced to probation after he admitted to performing sex acts on two teenage boys more than 20 years ago.
Thomas Edgar "Sonny" Clark, 63, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but Circuit Judge John Breeden suspended the sentence to five years probation.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Jail guard charged with smuggling heroin
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A guard at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility at Las Cruces has been accused of trying to smuggle heroin to an inmate.
Dennis Duran, 33, of Dona Ana is charged with attempting to bring contraband onto prison grounds and conspiracy to bring contraband onto prison grounds.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Church abuse claims settled in bankruptcy court
Tuscon, Ariz. - Most of the 103 claims for compensation from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson stemming from allegations of sexual abuse by priests have been resolved.
Twenty-five claims were dismissed yesterday by the federal bankruptcy judge assigned to the case since the diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection Sept. 20, 2004.
Judge James Marlar also approved settlements yesterday of $15,000 each in 20 claims considered credible but too old to be considered under the statute of limitations.
Thirty claimants in 28 cases agreed earlier this month to settle, at an estimated value of about $10 million. Some of those claimants expect to receive at least $600,000 each.
Three other claims with validity are still being negotiated.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Nashville Man Says He Was Abused By Priest 44 Years Ago
Nashville, Tenn. - David Brown claims that when he attended Nashville's Father Ryan High School in the 1960’s, he was sexually abused by a catholic priest who taught there.
Brown, who now works as a lawyer in Memphis, said he was a 15 year-old sophomore at Father Ryan when his biology teacher, Father Paul Fredrick Haas, raped him at Camp Marymount in middle Tennessee.
"And what's he saying to me as he's doing it? ‘You know this is a sin, but God knows my needs, and besides I love you.’ How sick can that be?” Brown said. David Brown told his story to the media Friday in front of the Catholic Diocese building in Nashville.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Ohio televangelist has plenty of influence, but he wants more
The Chicago Tribune today publishes a profile of televagelist Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio:
...Buoyed by the emergence of values voters in the 2004 election and fueled by righteous fury at the nation's courts over the issues of abortion and gay marriage, Parsley, 48, has been whipping America's evangelical churches into a froth.
For almost a year now, he has crisscrossed the country on a "Silent No More" tour, granting interviews to national news publications and giving notice that he intends to be a major player in state and national politics in the coming years.
Parsley's political platform is the Center for Moral Clarity, a nonprofit formed last summer.
The center is closely aligned with the Ohio Restoration Project, an effort that seeks to organize 1,000 Ohio "Patriot Pastors" who will recruit a network of values voters to become today's "Minute Men."
Project activities are scheduled up to the 2006 election, including statewide pastor policy briefings, "Ohio for Jesus" radio spots featuring Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, voter-registration drives and an "Ohio for Jesus" rally in 2006.
If Parsley's declaration that he will be silent no more sounds incongruous coming from a man who already heads a $40 million-a-year ministry accessible worldwide via 1,400 TV stations and cable affiliates, Parsley has a ready answer.
For too long, he says, the secular left has intimidated Christians. Ministers also have surrendered their First Amendment right to engage in partisan politics, he says, relegating their churches to the status of "social clubs."
Parsley's call to action bristles with the metaphors of war. In his writings, he casts himself as a gladiator for God, advancing on "the very hordes of hell in our society."
Parsley's critics contend that his political assault comes perilously close to jeopardizing his church's tax-exempt status because he has done everything but use his pulpit to endorse Blackwell for governor in 2006.
Blackwell wrote one of the four blurbs for Parsley's new best-selling book, "Silent No More." In January, Parsley and his mother, Ellen, donated the maximum $2,500 each to Blackwell's campaign. The pastor also has taken Blackwell around the state on his Silent No More tour, introducing him as Ohio's "6-foot, 4-inch man of steel."...
Interviews and public records show that Parsley is a study in contrasts. He opposes abortion but supports the death penalty.
He decries the nation's incivility and obsession with sex, but defended the conduct of his father when the senior Parsley was accused of sexually harassing his sister-in-law and punching out a house painter in a bill dispute. He claims he has cured cancer with prayer, but he has been unable to cure his son of a form of autism known as Asperger syndrome.
Parsley, who dropped out of Circleville Bible College during his second year, also urges members of his church and the millions who have watched his Breakthrough ministry on TV to tithe at least 10 percent--regardless of their financial status--telling them that God will return the money.
He has preached this prosperity gospel while accumulating vast personal wealth, including a $1 million, five-bedroom, 5 1/2-bath house with a swimming pool; a $63,000 Cadillac and a $68,000 Lexus LX470 for himself and his wife, Joni; and a $5,000 Polaris all-terrain vehicle.
Parsley shares a gated 21-acre compound with his mom and dad--church officials Ellen and James Parsley--who live in a $940,000 home.
Parsley's undisclosed salary and royalties from books, CDs and collectibles such as $15 "Born 2 Raze Hell" T-shirts allow him to pursue recreational passions, such as hunting.
Parsley also has a permit to carry a concealed weapon--obtained, he said, because he received death threats.
Asked about his lavish lifestyle, Parsley says he wants "to create a culture where people enjoy the prosperity that God's given us."
He addressed the question more directly in his book "God's Answer to Insufficient Funds."
"Everybody believed in prosperity until the secular press got upset about it," he wrote."... Don't ever be ashamed of the blessing of God on you. Just throw your head back and say: `Bless me, God. Bless me until I can't stand it.'"
And cs, a commenter at Eschaton, sends us this photo of none other than Ann Coulter addressing the congregation at World Harvest Church.
Former police officer guilty in child molestation case
OSSIPEE, N.H. -- A former Wolfeboro police officer has been convicted on 93 counts of sexually assaulting a boy nearly 20 years ago and now heads to trial for similar charges involving a second boy.
Dealing Drugs is "God's Work"
Bartlesville, Oklahoma - A Bartlesville man has been sentenced to a 10-year suspended sentence for unlawful possession of controlled drug with intent to distribute and a $150 fine for another charge of possession of paraphernalia.
According to reports from the original arrest, the defendant, Jon Todd Brotherton, 29, told arresting officers that he was just doing "God's work."
Brotherton also told reportedly told officers that all the proceeds from his sales were going to charities...
According to the Community Sentence-Supervision/Intervention Report that was ordered in the case, Brotherton made further assertions concerning God's role in his drug dealing.
"Then I heard a voice in my head say 'sell marijuana and give the money to the Concern Center,'" he is quoted as saying. "I questioned whether this voice was God or not. I thought it might have been Satan or a demon. So I cast lots just as they did when they chose the twelfth disciple, and I prayed, 'God if this is you, when I flip this pen let it land north and if you want me to do it let it land south.' I flipped the pen and it landed north. So I went to sell it to a few of my friends on a regular basis over a few month period, and I donated over time approximately 85 (percent) of the money I made off the marijuana."
Friday, July 01, 2005
Former jail guard acquitted of charges
But five others are guilty:
An Allegheny County judge Thursday acquitted a former county jail guard of charges that he sexually assaulted a female inmate in 2002.
Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel said the woman's testimony was too inconsistent to believe that Robert Virgili, 37, of Sarver, Butler County, had any sexual encounters with her. Defense attorney Charles Porter said he was not sure if Virgili would try to get his job back.
Virgili, who declined to comment on the verdict, was one of 13 male guards arrested last year in the sex-for-favors scandal probed by a county grand jury. One other former guard has been acquitted, one was convicted by a jury and four have pleaded guilty.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Prison guard pleads guilty to drug trafficking
BOSTON - A former Suffolk County prison guard pleads guilty to smuggling drugs to inmates.
Prosecutors say Paul Davis of Boston faces 20 years in federal prison.
The former officer at South Bay House of Correction in Boston pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with bringing small quantities of heroin, cocaine, OxyContin and marijuana to inmates.
Authorities say the inmates used and sold the drugs. They say Davis operated with three separate groups inside the prison and their associates outside between March 2002 and March 2003.
See our complete collection of bad behavior at the hands of prison and jail guards: Where did they learn that?
Diocese must give records
Chicago - A Kane County judge on Thursday ordered the Catholic Diocese of Rockford to turn over medical and mental health records of a former Geneva priest serving an 8-year prison term for sexual abuse charges as well some of its files on other priests alleged to have had inappropriate contact with children.
Judge Keith Brown ruled that more than 100 pages of documents belonging to former priest Mark A. Campobello must be released for judicial inspection as part of a civil suit alleging negligence on the part of the diocese and Bishop Thomas Doran.
Campobello, 39, pleaded guilty in May 2004 to sexually abusing two adolescent girls while he was a priest in residence at Geneva's St. Peter Parish and School and a teacher at Aurora Central Catholic High School. He was first arrested by Geneva police in October 2001.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
DA says diocese won't be charged
Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill announced Monday that he will not bring charges against local Catholic leaders over their handling of sexual misconduct allegations...
The district attorney's office is continuing its prosecution of the Rev. Matthew Bagert, a Grand Prairie priest whose February arrest on child pornography charges helped trigger the broader investigation...
Father Bagert, 36, is free on bail and has been suspended from ministry. He was arrested in February after the associate pastor he supervised saw images of naked boys – described by authorities as being as young as 4 – on Father Bagert's church computer.
The associate pastor notified diocesan leaders, who alerted Grand Prairie police. A supervisor of that investigation has described the diocese as cooperative.
Shortly after the arrest, a Rockwall priest resigned from his church after some parishioners accused him of protecting a lay aide who was serving probation for indecent exposure.
The priest, the Rev. William "Bill" Richard, had previously worked at a Catholic high school in Dallas, where he was accused in a lawsuit of sexually harassing boys. He denied wrongdoing, and the accusations weren't reported until this year.
The harassment allegations, combined with Father Bagert's arrest, led the district attorney to say he was suspicious of the diocese's 2002 claim that it had no one in ministry with "any indication of violations of state laws relating to minors."
Father Bagert and the Rev. Ramon Alvarez, head priest at Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, helped lead a petition drive supporting Bishop Grahmann in 2003 after lay people criticized the bishop's management of abuse cases and urged him to quit.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Boy's ranch, molestation and Spokane's Mayor
Why isn't this getting more press?
West, Hahn could have taken boys from ranch, official says
An official for Morning Star Boys' Ranch conceded last week that Jim West and a fellow sheriff's deputy who killed himself amid allegations of child molestation could have removed boys in the 1970s for outings without registering their names in ranch log books.
Last month, ranch director Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner cited the log books when he vigorously denied that West and David Hahn, who were close friends, took boys from the ranch on outings in the 1970s. The log books showed no evidence that West and Hahn, both Spokane County sheriff's deputies, visited the ranch in the 1970s, Weitensteiner said at the time.
The ranch refused a request by The Spokesman-Review to examine the log books.
But in an interview with the newspaper last week, assistant Morning Star director Dan Kuhlmann acknowledged that visitors were not required to sign the spiral log books to remove boys who lived at the state-licensed facility. If West and Hahn visited, it may not have appeared in the books, Kuhlmann said.
Questions about Morning Star began to surface in May after the newspaper published allegations by two men who accused West of molesting them in the 1970s, when they were minors. Neither of the alleged victims was a resident at Morning Star. The day after the stories appeared in The Spokesman-Review, 54-year-old West, Spokane's mayor, resigned from Morning Star's board of directors.
Dick Walters, Hahn's brother-in-law, said Hahn told him that he and West took at least one boy from Morning Star to a baseball game in Spokane. Walters said he has no evidence that sexual abuse occurred. But he said he is now convinced that Hahn, who committed suicide in August 1981, was a pedophile.
West released a statement Friday through his attorney, Bill Etter.
"This statement wasn't true the first time (Walters) said it six weeks ago, when he also told a news station he wasn't sure his recollection was accurate," West said. "It isn't true now, I deny it and the Morning Star records support me."
Walters stood by his account to the newspaper and said last week he believes his recollection is accurate. He said he told a ranch spokeswoman that there could have been other ranches that the deputies visited, in addition to Morning Star. He said he never contradicted himself in the television interview, and the ranch spokeswoman misconstrued his comments.
Walters said that in the winter of 1978, Hahn delivered Christmas presents to Morning Star. Walters said he witnessed Hahn driving down the road to the ranch in his sheriff's patrol car.
"I remember watching him in my rearview mirror," Walters said. "I know he went there."
During a press conference in May, Weitensteiner denied Hahn ever visited the ranch in the 1970s, and said he did not meet West until 1993, shortly before West was appointed to the ranch's board of directors. Assistant director Kuhlmann, who joined the ranch in 1974, said he did not personally recall the deputies visiting Morning Star.
Hahn was under investigation for allegedly molesting two boys when he shot himself. As previously reported in the newspaper, Robert Galliher has alleged that both Hahn and West molested him. West has denied he abused Galliher.
Marine charged with possessing child pornography
Tampa, Fla. - A Marine assigned to U.S. Central Command headquarters was charged with possessing child pornography, after he took two personal computers containing the images to a retailer for repairs, police said.
Sgt. Cody Lee Liberty, 24, was arrested Thursday at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin said.
He was released from a Hillsborough County jail on $27,500 bail.
Liberty, a geographical intelligence specialist, joined the Marines in 1999 and has been assigned to Central Command since June 2004, a spokesman, Air Force Capt. Chris Karns, said.
Police said Liberty took two laptop computers to a CompUSA store for repairs in September.
A technician found pictures showing "obviously young children engaged in sexual acts" while working on one of the hard drives, Durkin said.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators found more explicit material saved to the hard drive, Durkin said.
Police could not identify the children in the photos, which had been downloaded from the Internet, Durkin said.
According to police, Liberty told investigators he viewed the pornography but did not save the images to the hard drive.
Ex NJ Police Chief Sentenced In Sex Ring
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - A former Chatham Township police chief has been sentenced to five years probation for scheming to set up a prostitution business.
Fifty-six-year-old Thomas Ramsey, who retired from the force in 1998, pleaded guilty in May.
He told a judge yesterday that he was remorseful and had been battling bipolar disorder and alcohol addiction.
Ramsey admitted that he met with a convicted prostitute in April 2004 and offered to be her partner in a massage parlor or nail salon that would be a front for a prostitution ring.
Diocese settles with Sacramento clergy sex abuse victims
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two Roman Catholic dioceses have agreed to pay more than $42 million to settle 41 clergy sex abuse claims, 16 involving a priest in Tacoma, Wash., who continues to deny any wrongdoing.
The Diocese of Sacramento agreed Wednesday to pay $35 million to 33 victims "two minutes" before a jury trial was set to begin in one of the cases, lawyer Larry Drivon of Stockton said at a news conference in front of the Sacramento Superior Courthouse. The settlement resolves all pending abuse lawsuits against the diocese.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that the diocese has finally found its pastoral side the morning of the trial," Drivon said.
Also Wednesday, the Diocese of Santa Rosa announced it will pay $7.3 million to eight plaintiffs. The settlement is in addition to a $3.15 million agreement reached last month with Roberta Saum, now 44, who claimed former priest Donald Kimball sexually abused her for several years starting when she was 15.
The settlements are "an acknowledgment that what happened to us was really horrible," Saum said at the news conference.
Settlement talks to resolve the lone case still pending in Santa Rosa are continuing, said Dan Galvin, a lawyer for the diocese.
The Sacramento plaintiffs, including 16 who claimed they were abused by the Rev. Mario Blanco, will receive payments ranging from $400,000 to $4.2 million, Drivon said. The agreement settles all pending sex abuse lawsuits against the Sacramento diocese.
Blanco, 76, lives in a nursing home and is in poor health after recently experiencing his seventh stroke, The News Tribune of Tacoma reported Thursday.
Blanco, originally from Costa Rica, was dismissed from the Sacramento Diocese after being accused of misconduct and has worked as an independent traditionalist priest in Tacoma since 1980.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Police Arrest Milwaukee County Sheriff's Deputy
Milwaukee police Tuesday arrested a 30-year-old Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy.
Todd Dominski faces charges of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, sexual exploitation of a child and soliciting a child for prostitution
There is a special unit of the Milwaukee Police Department dedicated to rooting-out people trying to prey on children on the Internet.
Posing as a 14-year-old girl, the unit set up a meeting with a man near Copernicus Park on Milwaukee's south side. Police said Dominski was planning to have sex with the girl, who turned-out to be fictional.
When Dominski showed-up, he was arrested.
WISN 12 News learned that Dominski was assigned to the Milwaukee County Juvenile Detention Center.
Pastor charged in weapons case
RIVERSIDE, CA - A Moreno Valley Baptist minister pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he kept unregistered assault weapons and a grenade launcher at his Riverside home.
Mark David Turner, founder and pastor of Foothill Baptist Church on Box Springs Road, is charged with 11 counts of illegally possessing assault weapons and one count of illegally possessing an explosive device -- the grenade launcher...
Turner was arrested June 2 at his home in the 1300 block of Lockerton Lane in Riverside, a short drive from his church.
A regional task force from the state attorney general's office took him into custody after agents executed a search warrant and seized eight assault rifles and three assault pistols from Turner's home.
One of the rifles, a civilian version of the M-16 issued to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was equipped with a 37mm grenade launcher, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Mayman.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
Preacher guilty in drug money laundering scheme
HATTIESBURG, Mississippi — Charles Walker, founder of the International Checker Hall of Fame in Petal, has pleaded guilty to laundering money from the sale and distribution of illegal drugs...
Walker's arrest came as part of a probe — known as Operation Skymaster — into Walker's American Protective Life Insurance office in Petal, according to court records.
According to an affidavit in the case filed in January, Walker met with an undercover agent in Hattiesburg where he agreed to create a paper trail that would show the agent worked as a consultant in one of the "paper companies" operated by Walker.
"For example, the (undercover) agent would give Walker cash represented to be illegally obtained drug smuggling proceeds and Walker would turn the money through his own accounts and pay the agent with the original money," according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also stated that Walker wrote checks to the undercover agent from the following accounts:
$7,000 from the International Christian Church, which Walker, a lay preacher, had founded.
$8,000 from a joint account held with his wife, Deloris.
$20,000 from the International Checker Hall of Fame.
Walker, who founded the International Checkers Hall of Fame in 1979, has resigned his association with the museum and as president of the World Checker Draught Federation.
See also, the never-ending chronicle of church-related crime.
2 More Yukon Officers Resign Amid Sex Allegations
(Background here.)
YUKON, Okla. -- Two more Yukon police officers are resigning in the midst of allegations that officers had sex with a convenience store clerk while on duty.
Cpl. David Darter and Officer Darrel Williams are resigning, but both deny having sex with the clerk.
Cpl. Phong Nguyen resigned earlier this month after admitting he had sex with the clerk while he was on duty.
The clerk has said she had sex with five Yukon officers who were on duty at the time and said she had sex with two other officers when they were off-duty.
City Manager Jim Crosby said disciplinary action is expected against two more officers and Crosby said he would investigate what police supervisors knew and why nothing was done to stop the sexual contact.
More on Texas Crime lab
Background on crime lab corruption, and follow-up:
The Houston crime lab struggled with inadequate resources and support for at least 15 years as employees failed proficiency tests, botched analyses and taught themselves scientific technique by reading books at home, an independent investigator reported Thursday.
