Sunday, August 31, 2008

A church therapist hired to treat a pedophile Priest as a childl molester himself

A church therapist hired by the state's Roman Catholic diocese to treat the Rev. Edward Paquette for fondling boys in Burlington in the 1970s was himself a child molester, according to court papers on file in Massachusetts.

The therapist, the Rev. Thomas Kane of Whitinsville, Mass., engaged in sex acts with an Uxbridge, Mass., boy for nine years, beginning in 1968 and ending in 1977, a lawsuit filed by Kane's alleged victim said.

At the time of the alleged sexual abuse, Kane was executive director of the House of Affirmation in Whitinsville, where Paquette was sent to be treated in 1974 after the Vermont diocese learned he had molested two boys in Rutland.

There is no evidence that then Bishop John Marshall or church officials in Vermont and elsewhere knew of Kane's alleged sexual misconduct with the Uxbridge boy in the 1970s.

The lawsuit by Kane's alleged victim was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston in 1993 and was settled out of court two years later for $42,500. The Free Press does not identify the alleged victims of sexual assaults without their consent.

According to court papers, Kane befriended the plaintiff in the case when the person was a 9-year-old altar boy at St. Mary's Church in Uxbridge in 1968 and first molested him at Kane's vacation cottage in Upton, Mass.

Over the next nine years, Kane engaged in sex acts with the boy in Kane's car, at St. Mary's Church and at other church property in the Worcester area, sometimes after providing wine to the youth, according to the lawsuit.

Kane also once had the boy, at age 14, expose himself to other men at a site along the Charles River in Boston, the lawsuit said.

"Kane purchased a skimpy T-shirt and stretch pants," the lawsuit said. "Kane dressed plaintiff in the clothing, brought him to Charles River and had him sit on a bench with his legs apart, genitals exposed where passing men could see plaintiff's exposed genitals."

Efforts last week to reach the former Uxbridge altar boy and his lawyer were unsuccessful.

The House of Affirmation was closed in 1990, several years after Kane was removed as its executive director for alleged financial improprieties, according to news reports at the time.

Kane could not be reached for comment. He is still a priest associated with the Worcester diocese, but Ray Delisle, a diocesan spokesman, said last week he did not know where Kane was and did not know how to reach him. News reports from 2002 placed him in Guadalajara, Mexico.

"He is a priest without faculties," Delisle said. "I know that to be the case with him."
Kane and Paquette


Kane's treatment of Paquette at the House of Affirmation took place between 1974 and 1978.

It ended when Paquette's own priestly faculties were suspended by the Vermont diocese after parents of a number of altar boys at Christ the King Church in Burlington complained to Marshall that Paquette had molested their sons.

Marshall knew Paquette had previously molested boys at parishes in Indiana and Massachusetts but decided to hire him in 1972 after being convinced by an Indiana church psychiatrist that Paquette's sexual deviancy had been cured, according to church records.

Paquette's sexual abuse of altar boys is the subject of 19 lawsuits on file at Chittenden Superior Court. Four have been resolved through out-of-court settlements or via trial; 15 are pending, including the case that ended in a mistrial last week.

Diocesan documents in the Paquette cases show that Marshall relied heavily on Kane's advice when it came to deciding whether Paquette should remain a parish priest despite his conduct with altar boys.

"It is my opinion that Father Paquette should return as soon as possible to a parish setting and observe the signals of caution which we have discussed," Kane wrote to Marshall on Nov. 6, 1974. "It is also strongly recommended that Father Paquette come to see me once a month and he has agreed to this."

Kane's letter said Paquette suffered from a "moderate frustration neurosis" and that Paquette's "immature sexual behavior" was a part of the neurosis.

Paquette, in a separate letter to Marshall sent Nov. 3, 1974, said Kane had been a "tremendous help ... All is going well. I am praying that I will be alright."

Marshall wrote back to Kane on Nov. 13, 1974, that he would follow Kane's advice "as quickly as possible" and give Paquette a parish assignment.

"I would ask that you keep in mind that he has a rather extensive history," Marshall wrote. "The reason I mention that fact is that past members of the personnel board ... are aware of this problem and this, combined with a future failure, would greatly influence my prudential judgment concerning his remaining in the diocese."

Over the next 3 1/2 years, diocesan records show, Paquette wrote a series of letters to Marshall indicating he was continuing to see Kane at the House of Affirmation.

Kane did not write Marshall again until March 28, 1978, after parents at Christ the King Church began complaining to Marshall that Paquette was molesting their sons.

"Father Edward O. Paquette presented himself for an interview today and explained the recent situation," Kane wrote. "I had terminated with Father Paquette on 21 February, 1978 and at that time he stated there was no behavior in the area of the problematic. Obviously, he was not reporting the facts."

A week later, Marshall wrote back to Kane, telling Kane he was thinking of leaving Paquette at Christ the King despite the complaints and asking Kane for his opinion.

"Despite the demands of two sets of irate parents that 'something be done about this,' Father Paquette's pastor and I are determined to take the risk of leaving him in his present assignment," Marshall wrote Kane on April 4, 1978.

"Our thinking is that, knowing the awareness of others, concerning his problem, Father Paquette will have reason for 'self control," Marshall continued. "Do you agree with this thinking?"

Kane wrote back on April 10 in support of the plan.

"I do agree with your thinking," Kane wrote. "I do not believe that it is 'too risky' to leave Father Paquette in his present assignment but, of course, can make no predictions," his letter said in part.

By April 18, 1978, increased pressure from parents to do something about Paquette forced Marshall to change his mind.

"The situation had become so explosive that I had no other recourse but to ask Father Paquette to leave the parish immediately," Marshall explained in a letter to Kane.
Kane past raised at trial

Kane's alleged sexual abuse while at the House of Affirmation has not been an issue during the clergy abuse trials in Burlington.

Jerome O'Neill, who represents the alleged Paquette victims in the cases, said that's because there's no evidence anyone in Vermont -- or elsewhere -- knew anything about Kane being a possible child molester until many years later.

An aspect of Kane's past, however did come up briefly when the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a national advocate for victims of clergy abuse, testified in the clergy abuse case that ended last week in a mistrial.

"He's fraudulent," Doyle said of Kane while being questioned by diocesan attorney Tom McCormick about Kane's treatment of Paquette in the 1970s.

"He was still thought of as a legitimate health care professional," retorted McCormick before continuing on with his questioning.

Doyle, in an interview outside the courtroom, said his fraudulent remark was a reference to evidence found by a Worcester, Mass., newspaper in 2002 that Kane had never gotten the doctorate in psychology degree from University of Birmingham in England that Kane had listed on his professional resume.

The newspaper reported that it had contacted the university and was told the school had no record of Kane attending classes there or obtaining a doctoral degree.

"That doctorate stuff, it's just phony," Doyle said.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Charles Edward Smith Jr - Repeat Sex Offender - Wanted to teach girl "how to love"

A registered sex offender will spend almost a decade more behind bars after violating his probation.

Charles Edward Smith Jr., 58, of Woodsboro, is serving 10 years in the Maryland Division of Correction for offering to teach a 7-year-old girl about sex in 2007. He pleaded guilty in February to sexual solicitation of a minor.

Friday, Circuit Court Judge John H. Tisdale ordered Smith to serve an additional 81Ú2 years.

The February conviction was a violation of his probation for a May 2006 conviction for a third-degree sex offense that occurred in 2004.

The 81Ú2 years had been previously suspended. The time will be served consecutively, which means he will be in his mid-70s when he is to be released.

In October 2007, the 7-year-old's mother asked Smith to watch the child. A neighbor who knew Smith was a registered sex offender saw him take the girl from his car into his North Second Street apartment and called police.

Deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant to search Smith's residence and found notes he'd written to the girl.

Phrases in the notes included "I want you to know how to have sex," "You are ready for sex," "I can teach you," and "Don't tell anyone."

Smith's 2007 arrest came five months into a five-year period of probation for the 2006 conviction.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

James Dallas Hill - Repeat Sex Offender Attacks Jogger


A registered sex offender will spend at least 15 years in prison for attacking a female jogger in Cedar City earlier this year.

James Dallas Hill, 22, was originally charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated sexual assault, all first-degree felonies, and one class B misdemeanor for damaging/interrupting a communication device.

In an agreement in 5th District Court, Hill pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault in return for state prosecutors dropping the other charges. He received a 15-years-to-life prison sentence earlier this week and must pay a $10,000 fine and restitution, the amount of which has not yet been determined.

According to a probable cause statement, a Cedar City woman noticed Hill following her while she jogged last February. She tried to call 911, but Hill knocked her cell phone from her hand and forced her to the ground by her throat. He pulled out a knife, and she kicked and screamed until she broke free.

She ran and found another jogger to assist her.

Hill has two out-of-state convictions for forcible sexual abuse in 2002 and a Utah conviction for failure to register as a sex offender.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Friday, August 29, 2008

Jay Allen Hench - Repeat Sex Offender - Sexual Predator


A registered sex offender was arrested by state police this morning and charged with performing a sex act on an unconscious man in South Middleton Township, Cumberland County.

Police said Jay Allen Hench, 50, plied the 20-year-old man with alcohol until the man passed out. The man's mother walked in on Hench performing the sex act on her son at a home in the first block of South Spring Garden Estates around 1 a.m., troopers said.

Court records show Hench served a state prison term for a 1995 Cumberland County conviction on a charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

He is in county prison in lieu of $250,000 bail in the new case.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Kenneth Leon Mills- Repeat Sex Offender - "Uncle Santa Claus"


A convicted sex offender from Curry County has been charged with the criminal sexual penetration of a Tucumcari 9-year-old, according to a press release from the Tucumcari Police Department.

Kenneth Leon Mills, 30, was arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the charges before the Quay County Magistrate Court. Mills is being held in the Quay County Detention Center. His bail is set at $250,000.

Mills is charged with two felony counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, kidnapping and aggravated burglary.

“Mills who had absconded from Curry County and failed to register (as a sex offender) was picked up after officers responded to a reported sexual assault in South Tucumcari,” the police press release said.

Tucumcari Police Chief Roger Hatcher said a warrant for failure to register as a sex offender had been issued by Curry County and that warrant was served on Mills following his arrest in Tucumcari.

Mills has been traveling back and forth between Clovis and Tucumcari, Hatcher said.

The child’s mother said a man she knew “had entered the residence and then she said he had raped her daughter,” according to court documents.

The 9-year-old told her mother she had been taken outside to a dumpster where the attack occurred, court documents stated.

“She told her mother that he told her not to scream or say anything to her mother because he would kill her mother. ... He told her not to be scared and he called himself Uncle Santa Claus,” the documents said.

Hatcher said it’s believed Mills lifted up a window near the front door of the residence, opened the front door from the inside and then “went in and took the child outside.”

It’s not certain if Mills released the child or the child ran back into the house to her mother’s bedroom. The mother then called police, Hatcher said.

New Mexico’s sex offender registry reports MIlls was convicted of criminal sexual penetration in 1998 in Curry County. He registered as a sex offender in September 2003.

“There is no excuse for the violence this child has suffered,” Hatcher said in the news release. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family and I hope we have given them some sort of peace and security with the prompt arrest of Kenneth Mills.”


"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte



Dennis Nolan - Repeat Sex Offender He was searching for a victim

Conviction date: 7/12/1999
Attempted Sexual Abuse-1st Degree
Offender's age at conviction: 42
Victim Age: 10


A Level 3 sex offender who was quizzed by Skaneateles police after he was reported watching children in a park through binoculars has been arrested by Syracuse police.

Dennis Nolan, 51, was accused of failing to register his address with local authorities as required by law. He is being held without bail at the Onondaga County Justice Center.

Nolan was picked up on a warrant issued Aug. 19, said Sgt. Tom Connellan, speaking for Syracuse police. Nolan failed to register his address every 90 days, Connellan said.

Nolan was taken into custody Wednesday, Connellan said.

Nolan served time after a 1999 conviction for first-degree attempted sexual abuse in an incident involving a 10-year-old boy, according to the state. A Level 3 sex offender is one the court determined to be a high risk of committing another sex crime.

Neighbors of Austin Park in Skaneateles had noticed him for several days parked near the playground.

Skaneateles police talked to Nolan on Aug. 5 but could do nothing but ask him to move on, police Chief H. Lloyd Perkins said.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Michael David Williamson - Repeat Sex Offender - Hiding out, now busted for Child Porn


Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers arrested 62 year old Michael David Williamson at his home on Highway 193. According to an affidavit, Williamson possessed numerous images of children engaged in intercourse and oral sex. Officers confiscated two computers along with floppy disks and DVDS reportedly filled with the images.

82 year old Lucille Paris is Williamson neighbor. She says he lived at home with his mother, who is distraught about the charges he's facing. "We'll she said that he was on the computer a lot is all she knew" said Paris.

Records show Williamson never registered as sex offender in Georgia. In California, he's a convicted child molester and has failed to register as a sex offender since 1996.

The people who knew him tell us that's not the person they knew. Paris says the accused sexual predator would often cook home cooked meals for her.

"The boy always cooked and clean the house done everything like that for his mother. If he cooked extra and didn't eat it, he'd bring me something, you know to eat so that was very thoughtful I thought" said Paris.

Investigators believe Williamson has been living in Walker County in obscurity since 1999. Williamson is being held in the Walker County Jail. No bond has been set.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

James McKee - Repeat Sex Offender - Repeat Perversions


Authorities arrested a convicted sex offender accused of exposing himself to some Warren County canoeists.

Witnesses said 56-year-old James McKee had been riding Sunday afternoon on a bicycle trail along the Little Miami River in Oregonia when he exposed himself.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested McKee, who was charged with criminal trespassing and public indecency.

Investigators discovered McKee was an unregistered sex offender from Massachusetts, although he told deputies he now lived in Oregonia.

McKee remains in police custody on $50,000 bond.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Charles Schibilla - Repeat Sex Offender Trolling Garage Sales for Victims


A Phoenix man is behind bars, accused of sexually abusing young girls.

Nevertheless it is where he found his victims at garage sales that is really disturbing. We know of two attacks, both in central Phoenix between 7th and 16th Streets and between Van Buren and McDowell.

Phoenix police fear there could be more victims. Neighbors witnessed when police arrested the man but they had no idea what kind of trouble he was in.

Charles Schibilla is accused of fondling three girls ages 9, 11, and 13. He is also a level three registered sex offender, the highest risk to the community.

Police say Schibilla went to two different garage sales in the central Phoenix area on June 21 and August 16.

Pretending to be looking for a shirt for his daughter, the 57-year-old allegedly asked the victims to model the shirts before fondling their breasts. The victims told their parents and they called police.

Neighbors say that Schibilla had been living at his residence for about two years and now they hope he does not return.

Charles Schibilla is charged with five counts of child abuse.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Gary Glitter - Unremorseful Paedophile - Returns to a world that no longer wants him

Glitter, like many child sexual abusers, has failed to demonstrate remorse for the sexual offences he has been convicted of, and as such he remains at a "high risk" of reoffending. The implication is that if he is not sorry for what he has done, he is more likely to do it again. This is why there is a need for systems and laws that can monitor the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders and restrict their access to children.

What we thought we knew hid a monster within.
He is every parent's worst nightmare:
a strange and odd man

who has victimised children around the world.
But we didn't know then, and couldn't tell.
And it is this that makes us feel vulnerable.

The former star has three days to give police a permanent address - but they are believed to be aware of his current whereabouts.

Neither Glitter nor his solicitor would say where the 64-year-old convicted paedophile plans to live now he is reluctantly back in the UK.

He arrived home yesterday after a four-day tour of Asia, apparently trying to avoid returning to Britain.

Glitter had just been released from a Vietnamese prison after serving two years and nine months of a three year sentence for sex crimes involving two girls aged 10 and 11

He flew to Bangkok where he was due to board a flight to London, but he refused, saying he felt ill.

However, the Thai authorities would not allow him through passport control and he was eventually forced to fly on to Hong Kong.

Chinese authorities also refused him entry and he flew back to Bangkok, where Thai police and immigration officials insisted he return to Britain.

He arrived at Heathrow's Terminal 3, where he remained while his solicitor David Corker went to court on his behalf.

Mr Corker appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court, west London, where he was told that Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, had three days in which to sign the sex offenders register.

Scotland Yard had successfully applied for an order requiring Gadd to register as a sex offender - although he has 21 days to appeal.

Once on the register, Glitter must inform police if he plans to travel abroad for more than three days - and breaching the rules can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.

That he generates such strong emotions is both a function of his familiarity to us and, paradoxically, his distance from us. As suggested, his familiarity reminds the public that abusers are often popular, trusted and liked: indistinguishable from other ordinary men (and women) in our lives. This is terrifying, and this is why the public prefers to think that abusers are extraordinary – like a glam rocker: flamboyant, excessive, bizarre and uncommon. But being bizarre did not lead to Glitter's downfall (his collection of child porn was uncovered by chance by a computer repair man at PC World) and child sexual abuse is far from uncommon.

He was over the top, but not scary, not threatening. He'd been around for so long that we thought we knew him, we thought we were in on the joke. People had taken his songs into their homes and Gary Glitter into their hearts. So, when his crimes became public knowledge, his betrayal felt personal. His excess, once endearing, was now sinister. What we thought we knew hid a monster within. He is every parent's worst nightmare: a strange and odd man who has victimised children around the world. But we didn't know then, and couldn't tell. And it is this that makes us feel vulnerable.

He is the bogeyman for our times because child sexual abuse is one of the public's biggest fears. As the visible face of a largely hidden population, Glitter represents a target for all the anger and hurt that he and other (hidden) child sexual abusers invoke.

Shawn Harper - Repeat Sex Offender - Serial Child Molester - Treatment didn't work

In 1992, he was convicted of two counts of molesting little boys in Burlington. Under a plea deal he spent just 4 months in prison and got a satisfactory release from probation in 2000 after he completed sex offender treatment.


Shawn Harper, 33, was back in the Burlington court Monday accused of sexual assaults on a young boy.

"We're very, very concerned that if he's allowed back on the streets. He's gone under the radar for three years and he's back in Vermont less than a month," Chittenden Deputy Prosecutor Susan Hardin said.

Harper is no stranger to the courts and charges of molesting kids.

In 1992, he was convicted of two counts of molesting little boys in Burlington.

Under a plea deal he spent just 4 months in prison and got a satisfactory release from probation in 2000 after he completed sex offender treatment.

Under law, he was a registered sex offender required to update his address annually or within three days of moving.

But in 2005 he moved to New York and disappeared-- until last week. That's when Vermont police learned he moved back to Burlington a month ago and allegedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy while visiting family on Park Street two years ago.

Police also learned that Harper is the target of child sex abuse investigations in Utah and Arizona.

The judge wondered why no one had been looking for him for failing to register as a sex offender for at least two years.

"Regardless of whether they're here or not here you might look and say oh, he hasn't registered for two years," Judge Linda Levitt said.

"I agree and luckily we're having more sweeps and locating more people that are not registering," Hardin said.

"He went missing for lack of a better term where no one from at least the registry or state law enforcement here knew where he was residing," said Detective Tyler Kinney, of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations.

Kinney says this case underscores a major problem with the sex offender registry-- authorities are not required to check on the offender addresses to see if they actually live where they claim. So he started a sweep system last year for Chittenden County.

"Today we netted about 65 arrests and or warrants applied for. In some instances, I know some of those people have gone to other states," Kinney said.

Harper pled innocent to the two sex assault charges. He is being held without bail pending a hearing next week.

Police agencies in at least four other Vermont communities are planning sweeps to ensure sex offenders are residing where they are supposed to. But when registered sex offenders move to other states those other states are supposed to keep track of them. And it doesn't work very well-- for example, California has about 120,000 registered offenders and 30,000 have completely disappeared.

It appears that all an offender has to do is move to another state to escape scrutiny. It's because every state has different registry laws and there is no uniform method for states to share information and track offenders across state lines. But that is supposed to change next year when a new federal law goes into effect. Not only will state registries be integrated -- but more information will be available directly to the public.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Friday, August 22, 2008

Jackie E. Weeks - Repeat Sex Offender - Raped 3 women while under strict supervision

This is the kind of offender that we all have great concerns about, but he was being tightly supervised," said Scott Taylor, director of the county's Department of Community Justice.

Asked how Weeks could commit these new sex crimes while being tightly supervised,
Taylor said,

"That's the nature of some of the people we're requested to supervise. Some of them continue their behavior."


Convicted predatory sex offender Jackie E. Weeks confessed to police that he raped two women this week, one in Portland on Tuesday evening and another in Prineville on Thursday morning, saying he was frustrated with his probation officer and the many reporting and treatment requirements he faced.

The 47-year-old's statements are detailed in a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Friday.

Weeks has been under Multnomah County supervision since his release from prison in July 2007. He has been living in transitional housing at the Medford Building in Old Town -- the same location the county had planned to place serial rapist Richard Troy Gillmore in January before his victim and prosecutors sued the state to keep him behind bars.

Weeks admitted to following a 22-year-old woman from Northwest 21st Avenue and Glisan Street to her home on Northwest Northrup Street about 5 p.m. Tuesday. He entered through an unlocked front door and climbed a flight of stairs to her bedroom, where he raped her, the affidavit says.

The woman told police she didn't notice anyone following her. When she arrived home, she said, she went upstairs and sat on her bed with her computer to check her e-mail. About five minutes later, she heard someone walking up the stairs. She saw a strange man in red shorts, a white shirt, a baseball hat and sunglasses, who asked her, "Is Mike here?"

When she said no, he told her, "Let's get to it!" and pushed her back on her bed. She tried to push him away, but he leaned his forearm into her neck, pinned her down and took off her clothes, she told police.

The woman noticed a large black tribal-looking tattoo on the man's stomach -- a key description that helped investigators quickly identify a suspect.

Detective Mary Wheat sent local sexual assault probation officers a description of the attacker. Multnomah County Probation Officer Christine Jensen soon contacted the detective, telling her she was supervising Weeks, a registered sex offender who fit the description.

When the detective showed the victim photos of potential suspects, she started to cry and immediately pointed to Weeks, the affidavit says.

Wednesday night, police tried to arrest Weeks at a Southeast Portland industrial warehouse where he worked. When police arrived, he fled. He later said he had spotted an officer outside his workplace and left through a partly opened garage. He said he rode the MAX to Gresham and then hitchhiked to Prineville. He made it to Prineville, where officers say he raped another woman in her home Thursday, stole a car and then led police on a long chase before crashing the vehicle near Corbett.

Weeks is being held in lieu of $1.15 million bail. He was arraigned in court Friday on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, and three counts of first-degree burglary.

Weeks was released from prison July 13, 2007, after being convicted of two counts of first-degree rape in February 1995. He was sentenced to two consecutive 78-month sentences. Since his release, he's lived at the Medford Building, transitional housing run by nonprofit Central City Concern, and has been under county supervision.

"This is the kind of offender that we all have great concerns about, but he was being tightly supervised," said Scott Taylor, director of the county's Department of Community Justice. Asked how Weeks could commit these new sex crimes while being tightly supervised, Taylor said, "That's the nature of some of the people we're requested to supervise. Some of them continue their behavior."


"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Carlos Mendoza - Repeat Sex Offender - Molested 5 year old in Church Restroom


The congregation of a Roman Catholic church in Farmer's Branch is reeling from the revelation that a sexual predator assaulted two or their youngest members - eight years apart.

According to police a five-year old girl at Mary Immaculate Church became a victim during Sunday mass on August 3.

After an official investigation, Carlos Mendoza was arrested. The 57-year-old is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Church pastor Rev. Michael Forge says Mendoza sexually assaulted the girl in the bathroom... while communion was taking place in the sanctuary.

"It's a contrast between good and evil – it simply is," Father Forge explained. "When you think about what he did and how he did it, it's very much a dark image, a satanic image."

Church officials say Mendoza was not a member of the church, but some members recall having seen him at the church before.

Delia Davila saved the sex offender notification she received about Mendoza a few months ago. The woman, who lives two houses away from the address listed for Mendoza, says she has known his family for years.

According to Davila, Mendoza stays at a house with his brother. "I don't ever see his car," she explained. "I only see him when he's out there doing the yard."

After the alleged assault at Mary Immaculate Church, a Farmer's Branch investigator remembered a similar case at the same church from eight years ago. He contacted that victim, who is now 16-years-old, and she identified Mendoza as her attacker.

Mendoza became a registered sex offender after Garland police arrested him in 2003 for grabbing a little girl in the bathroom of a Mervyn's store. That little girl got away and workers at the store got the license plate of the suspect – it traced back to Mendoza. In that case Mendoza was charged with detaining a person under the age of 17 and was given probation.

Mendoza, who is in jail on $100,000 bond, faces two counts aggravated sexual assault.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Arthur Meuse - Repeat Sex Offender - Perving in a Park

Previous Conviction
  • Conviction date: 9/12/1985
  • Sodomy-1st Degree
  • Offender's age at conviction: 42
  • Victim Age: 6


A Level 3 sex offender dressed in a bikini top was arrested after he allegedly exposed himself to passing joggers on a local bike path, police said today.

Arthur Meuse, 64, of 45 Grandview Ave. in Mount Vernon, was charged with public lewdness, a misdemeanor, Westchester County police spokesman Kieran O'Leary said.

He was arrested about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday by plaintclothes officers who allegedly saw him pop out of the woods and flash joggers on the Bronx River Parkway path.

Meuse is registered as a top-level sex offender in connection with a sex crime in White Plains.

According to the state sex offender registry, he was convicted in 1985 of first-degree sodomy and sentenced to four to 12 years in state prison. The site lists the victim as female, age 6 and 7. It's unclear whether this refers to one or two girls.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Richard Dillard - Repeat Sex Offender - Habitual Pervert

“He is a continuing menace to young children
because he cannot control his behavior.”


A registered sex offender was sent to state prison yesterday for the sexual assault of several young girls in the township.

Richard Dillard, 41, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Superior Court Judge James J. Morley. In May, the township man pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

“This is a tragic and troubling case,” the judge said “He is a continuing menace to young children because he cannot control his behavior.”

Dillard was charged in 2006 with the sexual assault of five young girls from 1996 to 2000. They ranged in age from 3 to 9, authorities said.

Police launched an investigation after the girls told their mothers of the assaults. Dillard had befriended the girls' families and lived with them when the assaults took place, authorities said.

Morley said Dillard has a history of similar offenses involving children. In 2002, he was required to register with the state as a sex offender after a conviction for endangering the welfare of a child.

He was classified as a Tier 2 offender, meaning he had a moderate
likelihood of committing another offense.

Dillard must now serve 8 years before being eligible for parole. He will serve his time at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a state prison that offers treatment for sex offenders.

When he is paroled, he will again have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and will be under community supervision for life.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Gary Samuel Cochran - Repeat Sex Offender - Busted for producing child pornography

An eight-month multiagency investigation targeting the use of peer-to-peer networks to exchange graphic images and videos of child pornography ended with 55 charged, including men from several cities in Orange County.

Seven arrests were made Tuesday morning by federal and local agencies. All of the defendants – which include a law enforcement officer, attorneys and men with earlier convictions related to child pornography – are charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said.



Federal authorities said one of the most serious cases involves defendant Gary Samuel Cochran, 50, of Huntington Beach, who is accused of possessing and producing his own child pornography, including pictures he is alleged to have taken of a young girl.

Cochran has been convicted in state court of child molestation and possession of obscene materials depicting minors engaged in sex acts. Because of his record, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if convicted of possessing child pornography, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in prison if convicted of producing child pornography. If convicted of committing these offenses while a registered sex offender, Cochran would receive an additional 10 years in prison.

"There is perhaps nothing more reprehensible than an act in exploitation of children – those members of our society who, because of their age and inexperience, are especially vulnerable to manipulation and deceit," said Salvador Hernandez, assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, in a statement.

"America's children are its most cherished and valuable resource. The FBI will continue to do all that it can to protect them from those that would rob them of their innocence."

The 55 suspects charged in the investigation lived in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

In addition to possession of child pornography, some of the defendants are charged with additional offenses, such as production of child pornography and committing crimes while registered sex offenders.

Also charged was Eric David Lacey, a 48-year-old man who was living above a child day care facility in Hollywood while being sought in a child pornography case out of North Dakota, which was featured on "America's Most Wanted," and Evan Craig Stephens, 36, an Upland man who is a registered sex offender after being previously convicted of child molestation.

The investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, marks the first time law enforcement has conducted a coordinated sweep broadly targeting peer-to-peer users who share child pornography.

The agencies used sophisticated computer programs to track down computers on which child pornography was being stored and made available to others via peer-to-peer networks like Limewire.

"As criminals exploit technology to commit their crimes – whether it be identity theft, money laundering, distribution of child pornography, or any other criminal conduct – law enforcement will quickly react to develop equally sophisticated means to track down their wrongdoing," said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien.

Robert Schoch, special agent in charge for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations in Los Angeles, agreed. "We will do everything in our power and use every tool at our disposal to keep our children safe – whether they are around the block or around the world," he said.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Robert Thorton

Previous Conviction:
  • INDECENT SOLICITATION OF A CHILD
  • Offender's age at conviction: 32
  • Victim Age: 14


A Millbrook man, who has been in custody since mid-April, was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after being convicted of possession of child pornography.

Robert Thorton, 39, of the 0-99 block of North Hudson Street, a registered sex offender, was charged after an investigation by the Kendall County sheriff's office found multiple images of child pornography on his computer.

In a search of his home, Kendall sheriff's investigators seized computers, hard drives and other computer equipment. Prosecutors said they found hundreds of other photographs and video clips showing minor children engaged in sex acts with other minor children or adults.

Kendall State's Attorney Eric Weis said some of the photographs containing minor children have been identified from a nationwide law enforcement database. Weis said many of these images are seen over and over again in different law enforcement investigations and help police and prosecutors identify the age of the minor children which would ultimately need to be proved in court.

"Without knowing where these offenders obtain these graphic, disturbing images, we are fortunate to have a nationwide law enforcement database, where investigators can check images against the database material and verify that the child in the photograph or video is a minor," Weis said.

"Without such a database, our effort to prove an unknown individual was a child could be much more difficult."

Weis said there was no evidence that any of the minor children were local residents. Thorton will be required to serve one year of mandatory supervised release after his five-year sentence.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Barton Jason Lewis Bagnes -Repeat Sex Offender - The Case of the Diaper Fetish

Previous Convictions:
  • Conviction date: 7/14/2000
  • LEWDNESS INVOLVING A CHILD
  • Conviction date: 6/22/1999
  • LEWDNESS INVOLVING A CHILD


A registered sex offender, well-known to law enforcers and his neighbors as "Diaper Boy" because of the undergarments he wears, was arrested Thursday after allegedly exposing his diaper to children.

Barton Jason Lewis Bagnes, 31, was arrested for investigation of three counts of lewdness involving a child.

This came just one week after Bagnes was charged in 3rd District Court with 11 misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child. Although the charges were filed Aug. 8, that alleged incident happened in October 2007.

The sheriff's office is frustrated with the time it took for charges from the 2007 incident, noting that if the case had been filed earlier, it may have prevented the latest allegations.

"Our concern is his behavior could escalate. We're concerned that he needs some significant amount of time behind bars and possibly some treatment program to prevent this behavior. But if nothing else, it will keep him away from children," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Jaroscak.

In Thursday's incident, Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputies received a call of an adult "exposing his diaper" to children at East Millcreek Recreation Center, 2230 E. Evergreen Ave. (3435 South).

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Rodney Elmore Joseph - Repeat Sex Offender - Rapist/Murderer


Baltimore police have charged a 38-year-old registered sex offender with first-degree murder and rape in the February 2000 strangulation of a 19-year-old woman inside her Cherry Hill home, according to charging documents.

Rodney Elmore Joseph is accused of killing Chontrell Sample, who lived in the 2300 block of Round Road. Genetic material recovered from the woman's body matched a DNA sample taken from Joseph after a 2004 rape conviction, authorities said.


Joseph has been in the city jail since January, after being arrested for failing to change his address in the state sex offender database. His most recent residences include an apartment in Catonsville, an apartment in Edgewood and a public housing complex in Northeast Baltimore, according to court records.

He is being held without bail in the Sample case.

On Feb. 12, 2000, police found Sample inside her locked apartment, her hands tied behind her back and her ankles bound, according to charging documents. Police submitted evidence from her body to the state DNA database. On Feb. 23, 2007, Maryland State Police told city police that the evidence had matched Joseph's DNA profile.

Asked about the 18-month gap between the database hit and Joseph's arrest, police spokesman Sterling Clifford said police "needed to gather more evidence."

Joseph's criminal record shows a 20-year history of rape allegations.

In 1987, he was charged in District Court with several counts of rape and sexual abuse. He was 17 at the time. There is no Baltimore Circuit Court record of that case; it is possible that it was moved to juvenile court, where records are private.

In 2003, he was again charged with rape, this time accused of sexually assaulting a relative with severe mental disabilities, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in January 2004 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with all but five suspended.

Assistant State's Attorney Katherine Moxley said she struck the plea deal, with the family's approval, to protect the victim from the ordeal of testifying at a trial. Joseph was released from prison in September 2006. Although he initially registered as a sex offender, he failed to submit updated information to the registry.

In a violation-of-probation hearing Tuesday, Judge John C. Themelis revoked Joseph's probation and sentenced him to serve the 15 years he had previously suspended. No mention was made of the new allegations. The next day, police served Joseph with an arrest warrant in the Sample case.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Monday, August 18, 2008

Jerry Buck Inman - Repeat Sex Offender Facing Death Penalty


Jerry Buck Inman is scheduled to appear in Pickens County court tomorrow morning in a hearing that his defense team has earlier indicated could be an opportunity for the registered sex offender to plead guilty in the killing of Clemson University student Tiffany Souers.

Still, the exact nature of tomorrow's hearing is unclear because a court order has barred virtually anyone surrounding the case from speaking publicly about it.

Inman's lead attorney, Jim Bannister, said during his last court appearance three weeks ago that a hearing should be scheduled so that the 37-year-old Tennessee man could "formally tender" his guilty plea in the May 2006 killing.

Inman is charged with murder, criminal sexual misconduct and kidnapping after Souers was found strangled and sexually assaulted in her off-campus apartment.

According to Inman's case file, several small motions are pending before Circuit Judge Ned Miller, including a request filed by Inman that he be named co-counsel in his case.

Another filing shows that Inman's lawyers have indicated that they will not try to pursue any claim that Inman is mentally retarded, which would make it more difficult to execute him if he were found guilty and sentenced to death.

Last September, Inman's defense team asked Miller to allow Inman to plead guilty to the crime but have a jury decide whether he should be executed as it would do if it had heard the guilt-phase of a trial. Miller denied the request, citing state law mandates that a judge impose a sentence after a guilty plea.

The request for a jury trial was petitioned all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

Inman, a registered sex offender, is charged with raping a woman in Tennessee and attempted rape of another woman in Alabama , charges that his defense attorneys have sought to have excluded as part of the Souers trial. Inman also is charged with trying to make a prison knife out of a radio to stab Pickens County Detention Center officers holding him in solitary confinement.


"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Troy Lee Smith, III - Repeat Sex Offender - Loses control at the park

"It wasn't like the child was left alone," he said.
"This child had his parents there."



A registered sex offender who police say attacked a 4-year-old boy and then undressed in front of the boy's shocked parents is in the Arlington Jail and could be returned to prison.

Troy Lee Smith III, 41, of Arlington was arrested on a charge of indecency with a child by contact, possession of a controlled substance and traffic warrants.

Mr. Smith was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth for a medical evaluation and then transferred to the Arlington Jail, where he is being held on a $15,000 bond.

Police said Mr. Smith grabbed the boy in the groin area about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday while the child was playing catch with his father at Vandergriff Park.

"The father came to the rescue of the child, knocked the suspect down, getting the child away from him," said Lt. Blake Miller, a spokesman for Arlington police. "The parents were within arms distance of the child when he was grabbed."

Mr. Smith then disrobed, stood naked in the park and challenged the boy and his father to a fight, Lt. Miller said.

When police arrived, Mr. Smith refused to obey their verbal commands and officers shocked him with a Taser and took him into custody.

In 2006, Mr. Smith was sentenced in Travis County to six months in prison following his conviction of attempted indecency with a child by sexual contact. He completed his sentence in 2006. He moved to Arlington and registered with the city as a sex offender, as he is required to do through 2016.

Mr. Smith was also in compliance with two spot checks conducted this year by detectives, Lt. Miller said. However, he was not on parole and did not face any other restrictions.

News of Mr. Smith's behavior and arrest raised concern Thursday around the Arlington neighborhood near Vandergriff Park. The park, which features baseball fields, a pool, tennis courts and picnic areas, is one of the city's most popular spots for families.

"I can't believe anybody would do anything like that with the parents there," said Holly Wyant, 38, of Arlington. "The guy is a sex offender, so he should not be allowed at the park."

She is vowing to keep a closer watch on her three young children who visited Vandergriff Park on Thursday because they like the swimming pool.

"Kids are trapped inside these days because you have to protect them from all the people out there who are unsafe," Ms. Wyant said.

City Council member Robert Rivera's District 3 seat includes the park, as well as the 76014 ZIP code where Mr. Smith lives. The ZIP code is home to 38 registered sex offenders.

Mr. Smith's home on Shenandoah Drive is less than a mile from four elementary schools, but officials said his residence did not violate any restrictions about where sex offenders can live.

Nevertheless Mr. Rivera, who grew up near Vandergriff Park and often played there as a youngster, said that he would ask the city's legal staff to review the ordinances regarding registered sex offenders and the places they can visit.

"We need to ensure the safety of everyone in Arlington," Mr. Rivera said, adding that he was shocked when he learned of Wednesday's brazen assault. "This situation is unfortunate.

"It wasn't like the child was left alone," he said. "This child had his parents there."


"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Wallace Bowman Jr - Repeat Sex Offender Charged with Murder


Mindy Daffern was a familiar face to many in the close-knit community of Scotland, and friends saw her when they stopped by The Grocery Store.

Family meant everything to her, and she was close to her children and grandchildren.

The violence that ended her life has shaken the small community and has left many questions about why it happened.

“We don’t really know why,” Archer County Sheriff Ed Daniels said.

There are no words to describe how bad it is, he said.

Daffern disappeared from The Grocery Store near the intersection of U.S. 281 and F.M. 172 Friday afternoon. Images from the store’s security camera show a man aiming a gun at her face before she turns to the register. Another clip, taken a few seconds later, shows him ushering her out of the store, the weapon pointed at her back. They left in a black Ford Explorer.

Investigators said they found Wallace Bowman Jr., 30, of Bowie at a motel in Bowie Saturday morning, but Daffern was not with him. Crews concentrated for much of the day on an area in Archer County where he said she had left the vehicle.

The suspect later told a Texas Ranger that remains found Saturday in Montague County were hers, Daniels said. The man told the Ranger where he had left her and admitted he killed her, the sheriff said.

Bowman is now charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping, and will be charged this week with capital murder, Daniels said. Bond on the two charges he currently faces totals $3 million. Bowman is being held in the Jack County Jail.

Bowman has had run-ins with the law before. He is a registered sex offender, according to Texas Department of Public Safety records.

The 1997 aggravated sexual assault of a child conviction involved a girl who was 12 when the incident occurred, the records show. Bowman received seven years in prison for the crime.

The DPS site shows pictures of Bowman from 2004, and another from this year.

Bowman, whose record reveals that he received deferred adjudication for burglary in 1996, was also convicted of failure to comply with sex offender registration and served prison time related to that, according to a search of his criminal history.

He is required to register on an annual basis. The DPS site shows that he registered with the Texas Department of Corrections in November 2007 and with the Bowie Police Department on Aug. 12, just a few days before he was arrested in connection with the robbery and abduction of Daffern.

The investigation into the case in Scotland has brought together agencies from Archer County, the state of Texas, Wichita Falls, Montague County and Clay County.

The violence came as a shock and has been unsettling for people who have always felt safe in the rural Archer County town of just a few hundred residents.

“Even though it’s a small, remote county, things do happen,” Daniels said. “It’s not just the big cities. It’s everywhere.”

The world is a different place today than it used to be, he said, and these aren’t times when people should feel safe leaving their doors unlocked. Smaller communities might see less crime because they have smaller populations, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen, he said.

“We’re not immune from the violence, as much as we’d like to think we are,” he said.

Daniels said the question of why this happened still does not have an answer, and he also did not provide details about what happened to Daffern.

Daffern was a fixture at the small store, and her presence didn’t go unnoticed. In 2003, a Texas Department of Transportation district engineer included her in a letter to the editor. The letter thanked Scotland residents for the support and help they provided as emergency crews spent hours working at the scene of a major accident there.

“Then Mindy Daffern, owner of The Grocery Store, sent down some soft drinks and chips,” the letter stated, describing her contribution to the emergency workers.

Friday, as investigators worked inside the area blocked off by yellow crime scene tape, the store’s neon “Open” sign was dark.

Authorities held out hope in the hours Daffern was missing that she would be found safe. Daniels stressed she needed to be with her family, and they needed her. On Friday, he held a family portrait, showing a smiling Daffern surrounded by family.

The news that came Saturday was heartbreaking for the entire community.

The investigation has been a difficult one for Daniels, who knows Daffern and her family and considers them good friends.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Detecting False Denials

In a study which could have a profound effect on child sexual abuse evaulations, researchers from UC Davis report that adults are easily fooled when a child denies that an actual event took place, but do somewhat better at detecting when a child makes up information about something that never happened.
"The findings suggest that adults are better at detecting false reports than they are at detecting false denials," Goodman said. "While accurately detecting false reports protects innocent people from false allegations, the failure to detect false denials could mean that adults fail to protect children who falsely deny actual victimization."
The research was presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Psychology Association in Boston.

"The large number of children coming into contact with the legal system - mostly as a result of abuse cases - has motivated intense scientific effort to understand children's true and false reports," said UCD psychology professor and study author Gail S. Goodman.

"The seriousness of abuse charges and the frequency with which children's testimony provides central prosecutorial evidence makes children's eyewitness memory abilities important considerations. Arguably even more important, however, are adults' abilities to evaluate children's reports."

In an effort to determine if adults can discern children's true reports from false ones, Goodman and her co-investigators asked more than 100 adults to view videotapes of 3- and 5-year-olds being interviewed about "true" and "false" events.

For true events, the children either accurately confirmed that the event had occurred or inaccurately denied that it had happened.

For "false" events - ones that the children had not experienced - they either truthfully denied having experienced them or falsely reported that they had occurred.

Afterward, the adults were asked to evaluate each child's veracity.

The adults were relatively good at detecting accounts of events that never happened. But the adults were apt to mistakenly believe children's denials of actual events.

"The findings suggest that adults are better at detecting false reports than they are at detecting false denials," Goodman said. "While accurately detecting false reports protects innocent people from false allegations, the failure to detect false denials could mean that adults fail to protect children who falsely deny actual victimization."

Goodman's co-authors include Donna Shestowsky, acting professor of law at UCD, and doctoral students Stephanie Block, Jennifer Schaaf and Daisy Segovia.

Goodman was among the first researchers to undertake academic study of children's eyewitness accounts. She is the author of three books and more than 170 scientific articles in the field; some have been cited in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. She is the 2008 recipient of the American Psychological Association's Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contributions to Developmental Psychology.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Kyle Lee Hammond - Repeat Sex Offender - Taking up-skirt photos

A convicted sex offender is back in jail after being accused of trying to take up-skirt photos of two 17-year-old girls on a Metro bus, P-I reporter Levi Pulkkinen reports.

According to police, Kyle Lee Hammond, 20, approached the teens Aug. 1 at a bus stop at Second Avenue and Seneca Street in downtown Seattle. The teens later told officers that Hammond slid under a bus shelter bench to peer up the skirt of one of them.

Hammond followed when the teens boarded a bus to Sea-Tac Airport He sat across from the girls, asking them which high school they went to as he apparently took photos with his cell phone, police said.

As the bus reached Sea-Tac, the teens fled into the terminal and phoned police. According to police report, both teens, crying and frightened that Hammond would return, gave Port of Seattle officers a description of the man harassing them.

Officers arrested Hammond nearby after a short chase. Searching his backpack, they found several printouts of nude, pre-teen girls as well as paperwork showing he'd been incarcerated in North Dakota after being convicted of sex crimes.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

James Young III - Internet Predator - Also had Child Porn


A Farwell man, arrested in Marshall in June for allegedly enticing a child to have sex, was ordered Tuesday to stand trial.

James Young III, 34, was arrested June 15 —Fathers Day — when he arrived at a Marshall McDonald's expecting to meet a 13-year-old girl, according to Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies.

During testimony in district court Tuesday, a witness from Perverted Justice testified she exchanged sexually explicit messages with Young, who used the name Fredold_2000. The woman, Nancy Popham of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, testified she pretended to be a 13-year-old girl from Marshall with an online name of Kylieblue.

Perverted Justice is a Web site that trains people to search for Internet sexual predators and works with police to catch them. She used Marshall because of past cases investigated by Perverted Justice working with the sheriff department, prosecutors said.

Popham testified that Young suggested a meeting so he could spend the night with the girl in a hotel room, shower and have oral sex.

"If it was possible not to get in trouble would you think about having sex with me," Popham said Young wrote her on May 24.

She said Young also sent three pictures of himself, including one of him naked with an erection.

Popham, pretending to be the young girl, agreed to meet Young at the restaurant but when he walked to the counter after smiling at a teenage girl who was inside with deputies as a decoy, Detective Guy Picketts said he walked up and said, "Jim, Calhoun County Sheriff Department. You are under arrest. Put your hands on the counter and don't get stupid."

During an interview after his arrest, Young told Picketts he had child porn on his computer and prosecutors played a small portion of a video for Judge Marvin Ratner.

After the testimony, Assistant Prosecutor David Heiss asked to change the charges from enticing a child for immoral purposes to possession of child sexually abusive material, use of a computer to possess the material and attempted third-degree criminal sexual abuse. The judge granted the motion.

Defense Attorney Ken Marks argued there is no way to determine the age of the people depicted in the video seized from the computer and that his client did nothing to attempt to have sex with the young girl in the restaurant.

"He just showed up at a McDonald's," Marks said.

Ratner disagreed.

"He appeared at a McDonald's with the intent to meet someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl," the judge said, "and start a chain of events which would end in a sexual act."

If convicted on all charges Young faces up to seven years in prison. He remains in the county jail.

Donald Edward Young - Repeat Sex Offender - Habitual Child Molester

Police continued the investigation and on Tuesday charged Young with first-degree statutory sex offense, indecent liberties with a child and crimes against nature. The three charges were all related to crimes the suspect committed this year against a 5-year-old boy who lives in the Old Fayetteville Road area, near Young's residence, Keel said. The boy is not related to the suspect, the detective added.
Leland police have arrested and charged a 64-year-old man with both failing to register as a sex offender and committing sex crimes against a 5-year-old boy.

Donald Edward Young was required by law to have registered as a sex offender in the state within 10 days of being released from the N.C. Department of Correction, where he served seven years on embezzlement charges, said Leland police Detective John Keel. But after he was released in January 2006, he moved to Southport without letting authorities know that he had previously been convicted of sex crimes against children in Massachusetts and become a registered sex offender in that state, Keel said.

About a year and a half ago, Young moved to Leland, and his latest address was in the 300 block of Old Fayetteville Road, the police detective said. A police investigation revealed Young's failure to register as a sex offender, and he was arrested on that felony charge on Aug. 5, Keel said.

Police continued the investigation and on Tuesday charged Young with first-degree statutory sex offense, indecent liberties with a child and crimes against nature. The three charges were all related to crimes the suspect committed this year against a 5-year-old boy who lives in the Old Fayetteville Road area, near Young's residence, Keel said. The boy is not related to the suspect, the detective added.

Young is disabled and did not have a job, said Keel. The suspect's first court appearance on the new felony charges is set for Friday morning at the Brunswick County courthouse, and he's being held at the county jail with bond set at $280,000.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Mother arrested for leaving children with Repeat Sex Offender


A Panola County, Texas, woman has been arrested on charges she left two children in the care of a convicted sex offender. The boys, ages 2 and 3, were molested, authorities said.

The man has also been arrested.

"We have a woman that already knew that he had been arrested for sex crimes," Panola County Sheriff Jack Ellett said in explaining the arrest of Whitney Williams, 19, on charges of endangering a child.

Panola investigators said Williams left the 2- and 3-year-olds with her uncle, Kevin Deon Williams of Carthage.

Kevin Williams molested the boys while babysitting them one day earlier this month, Ellett said.

He is also accused of indecency with another child for inappropriately touching a 9-year-old boy on another day, Ellett said. That little boy had also been left in Williams' care, Ellett said.

All three children have been placed in foster care.

Whitney Williams is jailed on a $400,000 bond. Kevin Williams is jailed under $1.5 million bond.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Darius Gonzales - Repeat Sex Offender - Blows his Second Chance

Gonzales asked the court for "mercy and compassion"

"I do realize that I do deserve some time in prison.
I look forward to putting this all behind me someday"

Public Defender Ruth Wheeler,
noted Gonzales stayed out of legal trouble for 10 years
before the two attacks that occurred on the same day.



An unregistered sex offender accused of raping one woman at gunpoint and attempting to kidnap another hours earlier was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison last week after pleading guilty to the crimes.

Farmington resident Darius Gonzales, 28, was given the maximum sentence by District Judge John Dean.

Gonzales pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping, third-degree criminal sexual penetration, third-degree assault with intent to commit a violent felony, possession of a firearm by a felon and failure to register as a sex offender.

Gonzales also admitted to prior felony convictions, including two counts of rape, aggravated burglary, residential burglary and intimidation of a witness, which all took place in 1997.

"I normally look at life from the point that people make mistakes and go on," the judge said while sentencing the man. "When you make the same mistakes twice, I think the rules change ... You get your chances and then you blow them."

According to police, Gonzales attempted to lure into his van a woman exiting the East Main Street Wal-Mart around 3:45 a.m. Oct. 24, threatening that he had a gun.

After refusing to get in the van, that victim was able to escape and report the incident to Wal-Mart security.

"He advised he knew she was scared and was going to take her in the van but did not know where he was going to take her and what he was going to do with her," arrest documents state.

Less than eight hours later, Gonzales raped a different woman in a Culpepper Lane home where he did housework.

The victim said she was lured to the house with drugs. Gonzales later pulled a handgun, duct-taped her hands, eyes and mouth, and raped her, the woman told police.

Gonzales admitted the crimes, but denied having a gun in either attack. Police found a gun in his possession when he was arrested later that day.

"We were happy with (the sentence) because he's kind of a scary guy, just based on his behavior," Deputy District Attorney Lisa Kuykendall said. The District Attorney's Office requested the maximum sentence in the case.

Gonzales asked the court for "mercy and compassion," before being sentenced.

"I do realize that I do deserve some time in prison. I look forward to putting this all behind me someday and becoming a productive member of society," Gonzales said.

Public Defender Ruth Wheeler, representing the man, noted Gonzales stayed out of legal trouble for 10 years before the two attacks that occurred on the same day. Wheeler requested the man be sentenced to nine years in prison and a closely monitored probation to determine whether he is capable of improving himself.

Wheeler did not return calls for comment.

Prior to the plea, the case was scheduled to have two separate jury trials set to begin Thursday.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Timothy Vacher - Repeat Sex Offender - Child Predator captured by Target Security Camera

Previous Convictions:
  • OPEN AND GROSS LEWDNESS AND LASCIVIOUS BEHAVIOR Conviction Date=12/26/1995
  • INDECENT ASSAULT AND BATTERY ON CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE Conviction Date=2/9/1998


A Level 3 sex offender, convicted of indecently grabbing a 6-year-old girl a dozen years ago at the Emerald Square mall, is scheduled to appear in court today, allegedly for leering at children at the Target store.

Timothy Vacher, 39, of 31 Sumner St., North Attleboro, was scheduled to appear before a judge in New Bedford Superior Court to determine whether a hearing should be held to determine whether the new accusations constitute a violation of his probation.

Detective Lt. David Dawes said police received two separate complaints from two mothers last week about Vacher's alleged behavior in the shoe department at Target off Route 1. Police contacted probation officials and obtained a warrant for Vacher's arrest last Friday.

"He was using the same M.O. that he used 10 years ago at Filene's," Dawes said of the allegations against Vacher.

Vacher was sent to prison for following a girl inside the Filene's store at the mall in November 1996. He took the girl behind a display and bent down to her feet before store security, who had noticed him on video surveillance cameras, pounced on him. He was convicted in February 1998 of indecent assault and battery and had a previous conviction for open and gross behavior in 1995, according to the state's Sex Offender Registry Board.

The state considers Level 3 sex offenders the most dangerous because they are believed to commit sex crimes again.

Dawes said Vacher did not touch the two children at Target, but made the parents very nervous and uncomfortable as he stared at them. "One of the mothers was so concerned she actually pulled her 10-year-old daughter away," Dawes said.

Detectives Michael Elliott and Daniel Arrighi investigated and obtained the Target security video. The detectives and the women who reported the incident to police identified Vacher from the video, Dawes said.

"I had concerns that I felt had to be brought before the attention of the court," Dawes said.

Vacher was arrested without incident last Friday and was being held in jail pending his appearance in court today, Dawes said.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

Jose Angel Pamblanco Morales - Repeat Sex Offender - Grabs girl at Disney World


A registered sex offender was arrested on suspicion of grabbing an 11-year-old girl's buttocks at Downtown Disney.

Jose Angel Pamblanco Morales, 24, of Orlando, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of lewd or lascivious molestation.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, a complaint about the incident was filed, and a man matching the description of the suspect was located in front of the BET Soundstage Club at Pleasure Island.

The girl positively identified Morales, and he was arrested.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte