Kris Ingram - Repeat Sex Offender - Assaults clerk

A local gas station clerk got quite a scare Sunday afternoon, when police said a convicted sex offender assaulted her.

Steubenville police said inside the Speedway on 3rd Street, 56-year-old Kris Ingram grabbed the clerk's wrist and hit her in the face.

He took off on foot, and officers arrested him on 7th St.

They said he's wanted in Cuyahoga County for a probation violation for failure to register as a sex offender.

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

Operation Twisted Traveler

"Boarding a plane to a foreign land is no protection," Morton said. "If you molest children overseas and we find out, we will investigate you and we will seek to bring you back here to face justice. The arm of the law is long, it’s determined, and it’s looking for you."


Three Americans "tourists" are on their way home from Cambodia Monday after being arrested in an ongoing federal sex tourism investigation.

The arrests are part of “Operation Twisted Traveler,” an effort by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and prosecute American sex tourists in Cambodia.

The suspects — Jack Sporich, 74, Erik Peeters, 41, and Ronald "John" Boyajian, 59 — are all convicted child sex offenders who have served time in U.S. prisons.

After their release, investigators say, the three headed to the most destitute neighborhoods in Cambodia, itself one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, where it is believed they once again sexually assaulted young boys and girls.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton stressed that Operation Twisted Traveler is still very much ongoing.

"Boarding a plane to a foreign land is no protection," Morton said. "If you molest children overseas and we find out, we will investigate you and we will seek to bring you back here to face justice. The arm of the law is long, it’s determined, and it’s looking for you."

Peeters bought a 13-year-old Cambodian boy from his parents for $2 and a bag of rice, and raped him five times, a federal affidavit alleges.

Investigators say the 41-year-old from Norwalk, Calif., thought he could get away with his crime by escaping to Cambodia, the capital of the billion-dollar sex tourism trade in Southeast Asia, where he is one of thousands of Western pedophiles who travel there to prey on children.

But local police and U.S. investigators had him under surveillance.

Now, he and two other California pedophiles are returning to Los Angeles on a jet departing from Tokyo.

Another of the men onboard was Jack Sporich, a 74-year-old that police call the ‘Pied Piper of Pedophiles.” He spent nine years in a California prison for molesting as many as 500 boys during camping trips.
After his release from Atascadero State Hospital, where he refused treatment, records show he traveled to Southeast Asia at least eight times, where sources say he rode his motor scooter through the poorest neighborhoods of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, dropping a trail of American dollar bills to lure young boys back to his home where they were allegedly sexually assaulted.

The final passenger, 59 year-old Ronald Boyajian, was convicted of 18 counts of sexual intercourse with minors in 1995 in Menlo Park, Calif. He was caught molesting a 10 year-old Vietnamese girl in an area called Kilo 11, a haven of child brothels 11 kilometers outside Phnom Penh.

“Cambodia in particular has been known for some time as a pedophile haven because there’s been a broken justice, no rule of law, and actually no laws on the books that would have been enforceable against these types of activities until recently,” said Jeff Blom, an investigator with International Justice Mission.

“We need to change the fear equation, make pedophiles fear going to jail.”

Cambodian police say other victims were believed to be given $5 or $10 after each sexual act and the children were photographed naked. Mothers of two of the abused boys lived on the street and sold their boys for up to $100 because, they said, “they needed the money.”

Investigators say all three sex offenders lived in or just outside the capital city of Phnom Penh while on their multiple trips to the Asian region in the last few years.

In the U.S. the men face charges under the Protect Act — a 2003 law that provides life terms for child sex offenders with prior convictions, a much longer sentence than offenders would get abroad.

Investigators say the men are part of a thriving billion-dollar sex tourism business. After a crackdown in Thailand on child sex, the industry has moved primarily to Cambodia where pedophiles molest Vietnamese girls and Cambodian boys with little risk of being caught.

ICE hopes the arrests, done in conjunction with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, Cambodian police and two anti-child trafficking organizations, International Justice Mission and the human rights organization Action Pour Les Enfants, will send a message that police are watching. Since 2003, ICE has arrested 70 international sex offenders under the Child Protect Act.

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

Gary Sylvester Melton - Repeat Sex Offender - Attempts to rape woman

A registered sex offender has been charged with beating and trying to rape a woman early Sunday in High Point.

The victim, a 36-year-old woman, told police she was walking home from a party and was being escorted by a man she had just met. As the two neared the city's parks and recreation maintenance facility at 1301 Brentwood St., the man started beating the woman and threatening to kill her, according to a news release.

During the assault, a parks and recreation employee drove up and interrupted the attack. The employee found the victim and called for help about 5 a.m.

Police later arrested Gary Sylvester Melton, 46, and charged him with first-degree kidnapping, assault by strangulation, attempted first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sexual offense and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflicting serious injury. He was held in the Guilford County Jail in High Point on more than $1 million bond.

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

James Earl Melvin Jr - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets 60 years in prison

A repeat sex offender was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison after admitting he molested an 11-year-old girl in Carpentersville.

James Earl Melvin Jr., 32, pleaded guilty to attempted predatory criminal sexual assault and was sentenced in a negotiated plea accepted by Kane County Circuit Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon. He must serve at least 30 years.

Prosecutors said Melvin inappropriately touched the victim, who was a girl he knew, while they sat at his residence Feb. 28 in Carpentersville's Fox View Apartments. Afterward, he ran outside and flagged down a police officer to whom he confessed.

Melvin, a registered sex offender, was previously convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault in Cook County in 1998 and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

When he contacted police about his latest offense, Melvin said he needed to report the incident to his probation officer in Rockford, police said.

With six months of credit for time already served, Melvin will be about 62 before he can be eligible for release.

In addition, he must stay registered as a sex offender for life and can't have unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18.

Authorities initially identified Melvin as a Rockford resident, but said Friday that he lived in Carpentersville.

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

Boyd Mark Anderson - Repeat Sex Offender - Internet Predator

A registered sex offender from Sioux Falls is the latest to be arrested by an undercover police officer posing as an underage girl.

Boyd Mark Anderson, 29, of 111 E. Seventh St. was indicted Wednesday for soliciting a minor for sex and failing to provide an Internet screen name to police.

According to an affidavit by Minnehaha County sheriff’s deputy Derek Kuchenreuther, the detective chatted online and exchanged text messages with Anderson over the course of five hours on June 26. Told he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl, Anderson allegedly made plans to meet the undercover detective for sex.

When he was 17, Anderson was adjudicated in Michigan for sex crimes involving several girls between 10 and 15 years old, records show.

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

Richard Wedmore - Repeat Sex Offender - Calmly exposing himself in the library

"This individual has a history of this so he needs to be rehabilitated a little more, I think," Officer Dumas said.


Milford Police say they found a man wearing women's lace underwear in a public library.

Walking into Milford Superior Court, 46-year-old Richard Wedmore was fully clothed. This is unlike the day before when he walked through the entrance of the Milford public library. It was just before noon and it was crowded.

"We do try to be very, very careful but because it is a public building and because so many people walk through our doors everyday, we have no way of knowing who everybody is," said Milford Library Director Jean Tsang.

Tsang was in the back when her staff ran in to alert her.

"He was upstairs and he was in the financial area of the reference department," said Tsang.

A library patron had already called police.

"The officer went into the library and found Mr. Wedmore in an area of the library seated where there were several children around," said Officer Vaughn Dumas of the Milford Police Department. "He was wearing a t-shirt and women's panties that weren't capable of concealing his genitalia and a pair of work boots."

He was quickly escorted out and arrested. Wedmore is now facing indecent exposure charges as well as risk of injury and breach of peace.

He is also a registered sex offender for a previous 2nd degree sexual assault. In fact, he's been arrested 14 times in the past, is currently homeless and unemployed.

There are underlying mental problems, as well, police say.

"He indicated that he borrowed the underwear from his wife however we've determined that he's not married at this time," said Officer Dumas.

Wedmore had not been in the children's section of the library but there were at least three kids nearby though he never talked to or touched any of the children. Still, it's an unusual and unsettling situation.

"It's creepy, it's disheartening," Tsang said. "It's upsetting but we just hope it doesn't effect people coming in to use us."

"This individual has a history of this so he needs to be rehabilitated a little more, I think," Officer Dumas said.

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

Robert Lee Benefield - Repeat Sex Offender - Out of control again

A convicted sex offender is back in jail, charged with sexually assaulting a Richmond County high school student while she was walking to class.

Richmond County Board of Education Police say the 16-year-old was on Lumpkin Road walking to Butler High School this morning when she saw the suspect following her in his work vehicle. Officers say he was taking pictures of the girl while masturbating and driving. The girl also told police the suspect asked her repeatedly if she wanted a ride.

A short time later RCBOE police arrested Robert Lee Benefield, 43, a man they say is "a known sexual predator", at his job on Goshen Industrial Boulevard. Benefield is a registered sex offender in Richmond County, convicted of rape in Jefferson County in 1993.

RCBOE Police say the girl ran inside her school, Butler High, for help.

Lt. Richard Roundtree with the BOE Police praised another mother who saw the incident unfolding, got Benefield's tag information, then followed the girl into the school to report it to a public safety officer. Lt. Roundtree says that BOE officer tracked Benefield down at his job, and arrested him, then brought back to the school and identified by the victim.

"This is a favorable outcome because this person was taken into custody," Lt. Roundtree said. "He was a known sexual offender, known sexual predator, and (he was taken into custody) before he was able to hurt any of our children."

But Lt. Roundtree still sending out a strong warning. "It's a wake up call," he said. "We want parents to be diligent also and make the children aware this is an issue (while they're in school and traveling to and from school)."

Benefield's rap sheet goes back to the early 90's convicted of rape, forgery, and drug charges.

"I hope he don't ever see daylight no more, because if he get out, he's going to do it again," said Oliver.

Richmond County Sheriff's Office sex crimes investigators charged Benefield with indecent exposure.

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

Allentown woman admits letting sex offender live with her daughter

An Allentown woman who allowed a convicted sex offender to live in her house with her and her 11-year-old daughter has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of ''conduct relating to sex offenders.''

Maryann Rivera, 45, of 719 Washington St. entered the pleas on Tuesday before Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt, according to the district attorney's office. Rivera, who is free on bail, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6.

According to Assistant District Attorney Anna-Kristie Morffi:

Rivera was charged March 20 with withholding information from authorities or not notifying law enforcement agencies that convicted sex offender Wayne David Rothermel, 42, was not complying with parole requirements to not have contact with children. Rivera also was charged with harboring a sex offender. Both counts are third-degree felonies, which carry maximum sentences of seven years in prison.

Allentown police started an investigation after receiving a report that a Megan's Law offender was living in the Washington Street house. When police questioned Rivera at the home, she said she did not know Rothermel.

She consented to a search and police found Rothermel in an unlit attic.

Rothermel had been convicted of indecent assault in 1996 and, under Megan's Law, was required to register his address with state police.

Rothermel had been released from prison in November 2008. Rivera told police that she and Rothermel started a relationship and she knew he was a registered sex offender. Rivera allowed Rothermel to live in her house with her daughter and Rivera's two adult brothers from December 2008 to February, Morffi said.

Rivera's daughter is in foster care, according to Morffi. Rothermel is in Lehigh County Prison awaiting a hearing for allegedly violating his state parole by not registering his address.

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

John Albert Kleinpeter - Repeat Sex Offender - Stalking freak

A 51-year-old Murrieta man charged with taking surreptitious photos up women's skirts as they shopped at local stores is a pastor at a Lake Elsinore church and a registered sex offender, authorities said.

Hall said that Kleinpeter, who also uses the name John Andrews, identified himself as a pastor at Generations Community Church.


An Oct. 7 court date is set for a registered sex offender accused of peeking up women's skirts at department stores in Temecula and Murrieta, a district attorney's spokesman said today.

John Albert Kleinpeter, 51, was arrested Friday at his Murrieta home by Riverside County's multi-agency Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force, according to John Hall of the District Attorney's Office.

Kleinpeter's arrest followed an investigation into a series of incidents at department stores, in which witnesses allegedly saw him looking up skirts and sometimes using a mirror or taking photographs with a cell phone camera.

Authorities did not say when the incidents allegedly occurred.

Investigators who served a search warrant at Kleinpeter's home seized a laptop computer, a cell phone and other items, according to Hall.

Kleinpeter is a registered sex offender who has been convicted of assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy or oral copulation, according to court records.

He was booked on suspicion of using a concealed camera to secretly photograph another person for sexual desires and remains out of custody pending his October arraignment date at the Southwest Justice Center.

Anyone with information about the department store incidents or the suspect was asked to call Investigator Matt Remmers of the SAFE task force at (951) 696-3499.

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

Paul Stockfold - Repeat Sex Offender stalked kids at beach

An incident involving a registered sex offender with a history in Warren lead to the Aug. 18 arrest and something Attorney General Patrick Lynch said "spotlights the wisdom of Rhode Island’s existing law regarding violations of probation."

According to DEM Police and Narragansett Police, Paul Stockfold, 42, now a Cranston resident, allegedly approached a 13-year-old girl and her 12-year-old friend who were walking along the water’s edge of Scarborough Beach and then asked them if they would take his bathing suit off. When they said no, the man asked if they would take their bathing suits off. They said no and ran back toward the 13-year-old’s mother, who promptly called the police. The girls later identified the man, who turned out to be Mr. Stockford, as he was being questioned by DEM Police on the beach.

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Washington County Superior Court Judge Edwin J. Gale ordered Mr. Stockford held without bail pending an Aug. 26 determination of attorney conference and a Sept. 2 violation hearing.

Mr. Stockford has been charged with at least three sexual offenses in Massachusetts since 1993. He also was charged with failing to properly register as a sex offender when he moved to Warren from Pawtucket in 2007.

Mr. Stockford was arrested by Warren police in August 2007 after police in Seekonk said he exposed himself to a six-year-old girl at a Lowe’s home improvement store in that town. At the time, Warren police didn’t know he was a sex offender, and didn’t know he was living in Warren until being alerted by Seekonk police.

At the time, Seekonk police got involved after employees at the Lowe’s superstore on Route 6 called to report a man who had exposed himself to a young girl in the store’s lighting section and employees jotted down his license plate number. Seekonk then issued a warrant for Mr. Stockford’s arrest on a charge of felony open and gross lewdness, subsequent offense, since he been arrested on the same charge earlier.

Under state law, all convicted sex offenders in Rhode Island must register with the police departments in the towns in which they live. According to Warren Police Sgt. Roy Borges, Mr. Stockford was previously registered as an offender in Pawtucket but failed to notify Warren police. All offenders are classified by the state as having a low, moderate or high risk of re-offending and are assigned a risk level 1, 2, or 3 based on their perceived threat and the severity of the crime.

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

Timothy Primrose - Hole-Dweller gets 5 years

A Virginia judge handed down a five-year prison term to a convicted sex offender found living in a hole next to an elementary school.

Timothy Primrose, 63, was sentenced this week for violating his probation after it was discovered he had made a home for himself in a blanket-covered hole less than 100 yards from the Virginia Beach school.

The school happened to be the one attended by the sentencing judge's own grandchildren.

The Virginian-Pilot said Primrose did time for a sexual assault on a child in the 1990s and bounced around as a transient in Georgia and Arizona before winding up back in Virginia.

There was no indication Primrose had ever accosted any of the students near his makeshift shelter.

Leonardo Devinci Kyles - Repeat Sex Offender - BUSTED

The convicted sex offender accused of sexual battery on a teenaged girl had been living in Indian River County at least two months without registering his address, according to records.

Leonardo D. Kyles, 44, failed to register when he moved to Indian River in early June, according to his arrest affidavits. When Kyles did register on Aug. 2, he gave the Sheriff’s Office an address other than the one where he actually lived, the affidavits said.

Kyles was booked into the Indian River County Jail Aug. 13 for the registration charges. Tuesday, detectives charged him and another man with a sexual battery that occurred Aug. 1, the day before Kyles registered, records showed.

In 1996, Kyles was convicted of lewd and lascivious assault on a child less than 16 years old in Broward County, according to the Department of Corrections. He served a 6 1/2-year prison sentence.

As a sexual offender, Kyles was required to register with the Sheriff’s Office within 48 hours of his arrival in Indian River and provide a list of potential addresses where he might stay overnight, records said. Instead, the Sheriff’s Office determined Kyles didn’t register for two months and provided them with his sister’s home in the 8200 block of 103rd Avenue as his address, even though he didn’t stay there, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Detectives spoke to Kyles’ sister, who told them she runs a licensed day-care center at her home and had no intention of letting her brother stay there. She also told detectives she was unaware he had listed her address for the registration.

Instead, Kyles had been staying at his girlfriend’s home in the 8800 block of 105th Court, Vero Beach, the Sheriff’s Office said. When detectives went to the home on Aug. 13, the woman stalled them at the front door while Kyles attempted to escape through the back door. They caught him and took him to jail.

The home is also where Kyles and Carlton Hudson, 28, sexually battered an intoxicated 17-year-old girl on Aug. 1, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Kyles was being held Wednesday in lieu of $160,000 bail, while Hudson’s bail was $75,000.

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

Michael Jacques - Repeat Sex Offender - Feds seeking the death penalty

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday they'll seek the death penalty for a convicted sex offender charged with luring his 12-year-old niece to his home with the promise of a pool party before molesting and strangling her.

Michael Jacques is accused of kidnapping and intentionally killing seventh-grader Brooke Bennett, whose body was found buried in a shallow grave near his home in July 2008 a week after she went missing.

Prosecutor say Jacques, 43, had drugged Brooke before killing her and disposing of her body in Randolph, the small town where he lived just south of Montpelier and about a five-minute drive from her home in Braintree.

The documents filed Tuesday list five findings that prosecutors contend make Jacques eligible for the death penalty under federal law and 19 aggravating factors, including that he killed Brooke after "substantial planning and premeditation."

The decision to seek the death penalty was made Aug. 14 by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, prosecutors said. On Tuesday the required notice of intent to seek the death penalty was filed in federal court in Burlington.

Vermont U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin, who took office last week, declined further comment.

Brooke's father, Jim Bennett, said Tuesday the family was told about the decision to seek the death penalty before it was released.

Jacques pleaded not guilty last fall to a variety of charges, including kidnapping with death resulting. His attorneys did not return telephone calls seeking comment Tuesday.

Vermont does not have a state death penalty, but Jacques is being charged under federal law. If the case goes to trial it would be the third capital case tried in federal court in Vermont in the last decade.

When Brooke disappeared in June 2008, investigators thought she had been abducted by someone she met online. But investigators said they soon determined that Jacques had created the cyberspace trail to throw them off.

Jacques' indictment, handed down last October, alleges he used a 14-year-old girl to lure Brooke to his home by getting her to believe she would be a guest at a pool party there. The indictment and supporting affidavits make it clear prosecutors believe the 14-year-old left the home and Jacques drugged, sexually assaulted and then strangled Brooke.

The 14-year-old told police she believed Brooke was destined for a child sex club the teen had been in since she was 9.

Brooke was found buried about a mile from Jacques' house. Her death prompted the Vermont Legislature to revamp the state's sex offender laws.

Jacques had been sentenced in 1993 to six to 20 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a teenager he supervised at a Rutland restaurant, court records show. He completed the state's sex offender treatment program in 2000 and was released from probation in 2006.

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

James Ramaglia - Repeat Sex Offender - Wife also charged for letting him do it!

James Ramaglia served four-and-a-half years in prison for molesting his other two kids.


A convicted sex offender was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail after being charged with sexually abusing his mentally challenged adopted son over the last three years.

James Ramaglia, of Attleboro, was arraigned in Attleboro District Court on Monday. He was charged with four counts of rape of a minor.

His wife, Linda, was arrested on Monday on a charge of reckless endangerment of a child, for knowing about the alleged abuse and not reporting it. She’s scheduled to be arraigned later Monday afternoon.

The adopted son is 19 years old. Police said James Ramaglia began sexually abusing him when he was 16.

According to police, James Ramaglia performed numerous sexual acts on his adopted son, forced his son to perform sexual acts on him, and forced him to view pornography.

At one point, the adopted son told police his father told him he was having sex with him “because my wife can’t satisfy me.“

The adopted son’s brother, Nathan, alerted police after the adopted son told him that their father was sexually molesting him.

“He told me my father was sexually molesting him,“ Nathan Ramaglia said.

The adopted son’s biological mother said she can’t understand how her son ended up in the home of a convicted child molester on probation.

“I trusted these people to watch over my children and they betrayed my trust. I’m glad justice is being served. My son does not deserve this,“ Theresa Maks said.

The Massachusetts Department of Children, Youth and Families declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.

James Ramaglia served four-and-a-half years in prison for molesting his other two kids.

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

Vernon Gray - Repeat Sex Offender - Exposed himself

A convicted sex offender is arrested in San Luis Obispo after police say he exposed himself to a woman.

The 57-year-old victim told police a man exposed himself to her near the intersection of Dalidio and Madonna roads.

Police spotted the suspect a short time later, driving a white Ford Aerostar van. He has been identified as 26-year-old Vernon Gray, a registered sex offender from San Luis Obispo.

Gray was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and probation violation. He was booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail without bail.

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

Steven D. Liggon - Repeat Sex Offender - Traps boy in bathroom

A 9-year-old boy told police that a man prevented him from leaving the bathroom at a Fairfax County sporting goods store Saturday afternoon, and then tried to engage him in inappropriate activity. Fairfax police investigated and on Sunday arrested a 47-year-old Alexandria man and charged him with abduction with intent to defile and indecent liberties.

The incident occurred in the Dick's Sporting Goods store at 5714 Columbia Pike in the Baileys Crossroads area. The boy told his father he needed to use the restroom about 1 p.m., and police said a surveillance camera recorded a man entering the bathroom shortly after the boy. The boy emerged, told his father of the encounter and described the man.

Police said the boy was not touched or injured in the bathroom. The next day, police arrested Steven D. Liggon, 47, at his apartment in the 5000 block of Seminary Road. State records show Liggon is a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to abduction and sexual battery in 1989 and received a 25-year prison sentence. It could not be determined yesterday when Liggon was released from prison, but he would have been eligible for parole.

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

David Hohsfield - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets a wrist slap

David Hohsfield, 53, faced a possible 51-year prison sentence on charges of attempted kidnapping, child luring and violating the provisions of Megan's Law, which he violated for the sixth time in February.

Under a plea agreement reached recently, he pleaded guilty only to the least serious charge against him, child endangerment, admitting he made a comment about a 15-year-old girl's buttocks while he was fully aware she was a minor. In exchange, the other charges were dropped. As a result, he faces a maximum of five years behind bars.

That's outrageous. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office should have vigorously pursued each charge against him, with the goal of keeping him behind bars for good.

Hohsfield, classified as a high-risk offender by the state Sex Offender Registry, was accused of trying to lure a 15-year-old girl into his car outside a Wawa store in Toms River in January 2008. The circumstances surrounding his Megan's Law violation convictions are similar enough to make your skin crawl. Each time, he approached young women and teenage girls about modeling, sometimes attempting to lure them into his car. His first conviction was in 1998, when he was sent to prison for sexually assaulting a minor he enticed by talking to her about a modeling career.

At Hohsfield's sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled, the judge should make certain Hohsfield serves every day of the five-year maximum term. Upon his release, Hohsfield should receive lifetime electronic monitoring. His repeated violations of the law show his utter disdain for it. When he eventually sees the outside of prison walls, law enforcement should be ready to watch his every move.

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

Dennis Ryan - Repeat Sex Offender - Perving on the Highway

Police accused a registered sex offender from Hanson of exposing himself to two women as they drove on the highway Wednesday night.

Dennis Ryan, 35, of 477 Indian Head St., Hanson, was arrested on a single charge of open and gross lewdness shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Capt. John Rogers said two women riding south on Route 3 in a sport utility vehicle saw Ryan masturbating in another, smaller, southbound vehicle on the highway.

Rogers said Ryan drove his sedan at the same speed at the women and looked at them as he touched himself.

Ryan is a Level 3 Sex Offender with a history of four open and gross lewdness offenses on his record.
The state Sex Offender Registry Board considers Level 3 offenders the most likely to re-offend.

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

Phillip Parson - Repeat Sex Offender - Exposes 14 year old girl to HIV

A Georgetown County man has been arrested and charged with having an sexual relationship with a 14 year old.

30-year-old Phillip Parson is a registered sex offender in Andrews.

He's charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor, lewd act on a minor, and exposing another to HIV.

Police say Parson had been an acquaintance of the victim for over a year and a half.

They say in the past several months, illegal sexual acts took place.

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

Gregory Winston Durant - Repeat Sex Offender - Sexual Battery

Osceola County Sheriff's detectives arrested Gregory Winston Durant, 44, and charged him with sexual battery on a child, ages 12 to16, and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct.

The investigation began when deputies took a report from the 12 year old victim's mother. The victim told detectives a family member, identified as Durant, made her try on underclothing while in front of him. She also told detectives Durant attempted to inappropriately touch her on several occasions.

Durant is a registered sex offender who served time in state prison for a 2001 lewd and lascivious child under 12 conviction. He was booked into the Osceola County Jail with no bond.

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

Charles Judson Holbrook - Repeat Sex Offender - Compulsive Child Predator

A convicted sex offender is working to reach a plea agreement with Kent County prosecutors after appearing in court Wednesday on charges of photographing naked girls.

Charles Judson Holbrook, 72, waived his probable cause hearing in Wyoming District Court in order to preserve a tentative plea agreement.

He is charged with two 20-year felonies for allegedly creating child sexually abusive material, and the lesser charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of child sexually abusive material and accosting children for immoral purposes.

Wyoming Police said they found photos of a 14-year-old girl and another unidentified girl, posing naked, in Holbrook's possession. Police said the girls who were photographed lived near the suspect's Longstreet Avenue SW home and the background in some of the photos appeared to match the interior of Holbrook's home.

If he pleads guilty to child sexually abusive commercial activity, possession of firearms by a felon and accosting children for immoral purposes, Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Kevin Bramble said the state would dismiss a second count of abusive commercial activity and two counts of possession of child sexually abusive material.

If convicted on the plea deal, Holbook still faces 20 years behind bars.

The elderly Holbrook, breathing heavily, at first wanted to have his probable-cause hearing run; there was at least one of the alleged victims waiting to testify. But Judge Pablo Cortez suggested that Holbrook think carefully before making a decision and Bramble, anxious to avoid putting the girl through the trauma of testifying, laid out what Holbrook faced to the judge.

"I can all but guarantee you -- and more importantly, guarantee the defendant -- if he runs the preliminary exam, there will be other charges," said Bramble, pointing out that he would not issue further similar charges if Holbrook waived the exam.

Bramble said investigators were waiting for school to begin so other girls in the pictures could be identified.

After taking a break to talk to his attorney, Joseph Smigel Jr., Holbrook agreed to waive the hearing. He still can reject the plea deal at a later date in Kent County Circuit Court.

Police began investigating earlier this month after Child Protective Services reported photographs being taken of children. Detectives and staff at the Children's Assessment Center in Grand Rapids interviewed alleged victims, which led to a search warrant at the suspect's house.

Police removed photos, computers, handguns and a long-gun that led prosecutors to file charges. State police were examining Holbrook's computers.

Bramble said Wednesday police found evidence that after he was banned from being on school grounds, Holbrook set up a telephoto camera and took shots of students at Rogers High School from the nearby parking lot of the former Studio 28.

Bramble said that even as a search warrant was used to search Holbrook's home, he was at Pinery Park photographing girls playing softball.

The retired railroad worker was accused in 2000 of taking nude photos of as many as 40 girls -- pre-teens and teenagers -- over the previous 30 years. In that case, he pleaded guilty to charges that he took nude photographs of girls he befriended as a longtime sports fan and booster club volunteer at Wyoming and Godfrey Lee schools, and had sex with a 15-year-old girl.

He was sentenced to one year in jail.

Cortez on Wednesday refused to lower Holbrook's $500,000 bond, saying the man represented a potential threat to the public and his behavior shows he may have impulses that he is unable to control.

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

Sean Garrison - Repeat Sex Offender - Sexting young girls

Convicted sex offender Sean Garrison was arrested Tuesday morning at the community corrections facility he was living at after authorities discovered he was "sexting" with girls as young as 14.

Garrison is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail.

"Sexting" is texting sexually explicit information and pictures using cell phones.

Early Tuesday, investigators with the Jefferson County District Attorney's office received a tip Garrison had obtained a cell phone and was using it to communicate with young girls. He kept the phone at his place of work.

Investigators put Garrison on a facility hold at his community corrections home while they obtained his phone. On the phone they found sexually explicit photographs and texts from girls on the phone. He was taken into custody at 10 a.m.

Garrison was placed into community corrections after he violated the terms of his probation from his original sentence on July 6, 2006 of 20 years to life on Sex Offender Intensive Supervised Probation. According to court paperwork, Garrison was sent to community corrections after failing to maintain a permanent residence or job, failing to submit to drug testing and failing to complete sex offender treatment sessions.

He was supposed to meet those requirements as part of his conviction to sexual exploitation of a child. In that case investigators caught Garrison trying to meet who he thought was an under-aged girl he had met online. They also found child pornography on his computer.

Garrison is being held on charges he once again violated the terms of his probation. He is not allowed to have contact with children under the age of 18 nor have a cell phone or computer.

Authorities believe Garrison met girls most recently on the social networking site MocoSpace. The sight is known for social networking on cell phones.

On Garrison's MocoSpace page he goes by the name "captnjack" and describes himself as 17. Garrison has 165 friends on the page that was created on July 29, 2009, and all but two of those friends are young women.

Garrison's last posting was on the same day he was arrested.

One of the girls listed as a friend of Garrison's claims to be 14. Another girl has an icon picture of two roses next to her name that says "going steady," says she is 16 and from Colorado.

Authorities with the Jefferson County District Attorney's office say they cannot comment on the ongoing investigation.

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

Kraig Smith - Repeat Sex Offender - Stalking at campground

A convicted sex offender has been arrested in South Lake Tahoe after he went into a women's restroom at a campground and peered through a crack in a shower stall door, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's department.

Deputies arrested 54-year-old Kraig Smith of Sunnyvale this weekend. Deputies first learned of Smith from a South Lake Tahoe campground host who noticed Smith attempting to contact underage girls at the campground.

Deputies learned Smith was a registered sex offender. They then started watching Smith and set-up a sting. That's when they saw Smith go into the women's restroom and peer into the shower stall.

Smith was charged with Disorderly Conduct and booked into the South Lake Tahoe jail on $100,000 bail.

Investigators also believe Smith may have visited other campgrounds in the area and he could have had contact with other young girls. Deputies say Smith drove a white Toyota Tundra pick up truck with a camper shell. He also had a small Chihuahua that deputies believe he used as a lure to talk to young girl's.

Anyone with information about Smith is asked to call the El Dorado Sheriff's department through Secret Witness at 530-544-6767 or directly to Sheriff's Detective Matt Harwood at 530-573-3015.

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

Robert Hardigree - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets 2 Life sentences plus 860 years

Robert Hardigree was convicted Wednesday on one count of rape, one count of child molestation, one count of aggravated child molestation and 42 counts of sexual exploitation of children. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole plus 860 years.

Hardigree, 36, of Monroe, had a previous conviction of child molestation in 1992 in Barrow County.

“The sentence handed down to Robert Hardigree reflects just how heinous these crimes were,” Monroe police Chief Keith Glass said. “I am very proud of the work done on this case by our Criminal Investigative Division. Sergeant Alicia Martin, who works the vast majority of these cases, did an excellent job as she has with other crimes that have occurred against children and women within the city of Monroe. These cases take a toll on all involved.”

Hardigree was arrested Aug. 15, 2008, after a joint investigation of the Monroe Police Department and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The rape, aggravated child molestation and child molestation charges were for an incident involving a 10-year-old girl. The 42 counts of sexual exploitation of children were for videos and images of child pornography found on Hardigree’s computer.

Jury selection began Monday and testimony and witnesses for the prosecution took the stand Tuesday. The defense called no witnesses, and Hardigree chose not to take the stand in the trial. The jury of four women and eight men deliberated for more than a hour before rendering a verdict.

Before the jury heard the closing arguments, Brett Mizeruk, Hardigree’s appointed counsel, asked for the charges to be dismissed because the state failed to reach the burden of proof that Hardigree knowingly had those images on his computer. Mizeruk also argued taking the statements of the victim on their own merits was not enough.

Eric Crawford, assistant district attorney for Walton County, countered with evidence presented during the trial Hardigree admitted to the GBI he had child pornography on his computer and he took pictures of himself with the minor in sexually explicit positions.

Judge Horace Johnson denied the motions to dismiss.

During closing arguments, Mizeruk continued his argument the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt Hardigree had done anything. The defense attorney raised questions about the testimony of Rose Hardigree, the wife, who is also facing charges, who lied to officers and through a guilty conscience offered her assistance to investigators. He also argued GBI officials could not conclusively prove who was on the keyboard when the child pornography files were downloaded.

“It is very easy to make a leap to say he is guilty,” Mizeruk said. “My client is presumed not to have done anything.”

In his closing argument, Crawford presented “the evidence that links this child rapist to the incident.”

Crawford talked about the e-mail address used by Hardigree that was reported to law enforcement, initiating the investigation. He also brought up the pictures taken by the defendant, the images on the computer as well as the intentional searches for child pornography on in Internet.

“The most damaging evidence is he admitted to the GBI he had child pornography on his computer and to please wipe it off and leave the computer with him,” Crawford said.

Due to state laws, Hardigree was given life without parole on the rape and aggravated child molestation because of his prior conviction. Judge Johnson agreed to impose the maximum sentence for the remaining charges — 20 years for the child molestation charge and each of the sexual exploitation of a child.

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

David Bernard Eichacker - Repeat Sex Offender - Molested 5 year old

Wake County sheriff's deputies charged a convicted sex offender Wednesday with the rape and molestation of a 5-year-old child, authorities say.

Deputies arrested David Bernard Eichacker, 32, at his Wendell home and charged him with one felony count each of statutory rape by an adult, statutory sex offense by an adult and attempted statutory sex offense by an adult, Phyllis Stephens, a sheriff's spokeswoman, said this afternoon.

Eichacker is being held at the Wake County jail under a $3 million bond, a jail spokeswoman said.

Eichacker will make his first court appearance at 2 p.m. today.

Sheriff's investigators have accused Eichacker of raping and molesting the 5-year-old between February and May. The sheriff's office began its investigation June 9 after being notified by Wake County Child Protective Services, Stephens said.

Eichacker was sentenced to two years probation on July 29, 2008, in Wake County after he was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor.

Court records indicate that Eichacker was originally charged on May 23, 2008, with felony statutory rape of a child older than 6 years old. He was convicted three months later in Wake County Superior Court of the lesser offense.

In addition to probation, Eichacker was also required to register with the state sex offense registry, pay court costs and pay a fine of $426, state records show.

Eichacker could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if he is convicted of statutory rape, according to state statutes.

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

Marcus Berry - Repeat Sex Offender - Kidnapped and Molested 2 year old

Lewd Or Indecent Proposals/Acts To Child -1986
Lewd Molestation -1993




Tulsa Police arrest a convicted child molester. He was charged on Friday with molesting another little girl. The two year old who was kidnapped from her grandmother's yard. If Marcus Berry, Senior, is convicted of the crime, it will be the third time he's been sent to prison for molesting a young girl.

Some people wonder why, after the first two, he was out of prison at all.

Research by The News On 6 shows there were three opportunities that would've meant Berry was behind bars on Wednesday night, instead of finding a new victim.

First, his 30 year prison sentence in 1993 should have kept him in prison until the year 2023, but he was released three years ago, after serving less than half his time.

Second, two years ago, Berry went to trial because he didn't register as a sex offender, but a jury found him innocent and set him free.

Third, last year, he was charged with living too close to a school, but he was given a suspended sentence rather than prison time.

Two Tulsa Police officers on patrol deserve the credit for Marcus Berry's Wednesday night arrest. They spotted a truck in a field and decided to check on it. Inside, they found Berry and a two-year-old girl, both partially clothed. As the officers were arresting him, they learned the girl had been kidnapped. And then, they learned Marcus Berry, Senior, was a two time convicted child molester.

The last piece of information really bothered officers.

"It really makes you angry and frustrated because the system failed this little girl," said Tulsa Police Sgt. John Adams.

Berry received a 30 year sentence for breaking into a Tulsa home in 1993 and molesting an eight-year- old girl who was asleep. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says he was released after 13 years because prisoners are allowed to earn credits, up to 44 days credit for every 30 they serve.

Berry had already spent five years in prison for a 1986 case when he molested a 13-year-old girl.

During the past three years that he has been out of prison, Berry has been back in court twice. Tulsa Police realized he wasn't registered, filed the case and the DA took it to trial. But, Berry claimed he was homeless so, the jury found him not guilty.

A year later, police realized he was living too close to Booker T. Washington High School, so another case was sent to the DA who filed charges. Once again, Berry claimed homelessness.

The appeals court had ruled that was a legitimate defense, so rather than risk another jury setting Berry free, the Tulsa County District Attorney went for a conviction and two years probation.

"We thought that was better than going to jury trial and receiving another not guilty based on the homelessness defense and the public gets some protection," said Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris.

Now, police are frustrated. The district attorney is frustrated. And, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections says it's just following the law. None of that helps a two-year-old girl and her family.

If Berry is convicted this time, he could be sentenced to life.

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

Richard Coverdale - Internet Predator - Also had Child Porn

A British man has been sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison after burglars found images of child pornography on his stolen laptop and turned it over to the police.

Richard Coverdale was convicted of downloading pictures of child abuse as well as exposing himself to an unsuspecting teenage girl over the internet while posing as a 14-year-old boy, according to Gazettelive.com.

Police started investigating the 24-year-old convicted arsonist after burglars discovered the images on a laptop they stole from Coverdale's house in August 2008 and contacted police, the Web site reported.

According to prosecutors, the officers found 13 illegal photos and 65 illegal videos on the computer and uncovered online conversations between Coverdale and a 14-year-old girl, during which Coverdale pretended to be a fictitious 14-year-old boy named Danny, Gazettelive.com reported.

The last of those conversations, which took place days before the burglary, showed Coverdale invited the girl to watch "Danny" on a webcam, then filmed himself performing a sex act, the site reported.

Coverdale was sent to a juvenile detention for four years in 2003 for setting fired to five properties in one night — some with people inside.

In addition to his new sentence, Coverdale has been banned for life from working with children and is schedule to receive a sexual offences prevention order this week, the site reported.

Michael Sanchez - Repeat Sex Offender - Molested 5 year old

A registered sex offender has been arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl while the child slept next to her mother.

Police said on Friday that 38-year-old Michael Sanchez was being held in the Bexar County Jail on $100,000 bail. A jail official on Saturday said she could not confirm whether Sanchez was still there or if he had an attorney.

The girl's mother told police that she allowed Sanchez to spend the night on June 20 because he was intoxicated. She said he slept in her bed with the child next to them.

The arrest warrant affidavit said the girl woke her mother during the night to tell her that Sanchez had assaulted her.

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

John Jackey Worman - "Psychopath" Sentenced to 120 years

Worman has told prison doctors he feels no remorse for sexually "anointing" his female victims.

"I am totally at peace with everything I have done," he said.

A seldom-employed psychopath was sentenced Wednesday to spend the rest of his life in prison for making a huge cache of child pornography that shows him sexually assaulting a dozen children, including infants at a girlfriend's in-home day care.

The FBI found John Jackey Worman with more than 1 million images and 11,000 videos of child pornography when they arrested him in suburban Philadelphia in 2007. Worman made girls in his care perform sex acts for school lunch money.

"I cannot know ... what was going through your head while you were molesting my daughter. Was it a big joke as I pulled away each day?" the mother of one of the abused infants asked Worman during testimony Wednesday. He stared blankly ahead.

Worman has told prison doctors he feels no remorse for sexually "anointing" his female victims.

"I am totally at peace with everything I have done," he said, according to U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel, who sentenced him to 120 years in prison.

A teenager who had been abused for several years ultimately tipped off authorities, after watching an episode of "Law & Order" about child sexual abuse. She only then realized it had been wrong, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella said.

That led to last year's trial, when jurors, who sometimes asked for breaks from viewing the evidence, convicted Worman of 56 child-pornography counts.

The sentencing judge described Worman, 42, of Colwyn, as a psychopath who sponged off women and sadistically coerced his young victims.

Remarkably, the judge found, Worman has no mental-health diagnosis or childhood trauma that would help explain his crimes. Psychiatric tests conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons revealed only that he is a pedophile with an anti-social personality disorder.

Worman described his childhood as a good one in which he was free to do as he liked. He told the medical staff he started using alcohol and marijuana at age 11, and dropped out of 10th grade.

He lived in his mother's basement in Colwyn through his 40s, sometimes with a girlfriend's three children — the woman herself never moved in. He also rigged hidden cameras at the home of another girlfriend, baby sitter Concetta Jackson.

Jackson, 46, of Collingdale is in prison awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to one child-pornography count. Prosecutors say she procured some of the victims for Worman.

Ex-girlfriend Dorothy Prawdzik of Drexel Hill, who went to trial, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for undressing and posing young girls for Worman. Prawdzik, 45, also held the camera while he tried to rape an infant and participated with Worman in a three-way sexual encounter with a 10-year-old girl.

The mother who tried to get answers from Worman in court describes herself now as a tortured, overprotective parent. Her daughter does not remember the abuse — but the woman can't forget it.

The Associated Press is not identifying her to protect her daughter's identity, and is not identifying other sexual-abuse victims in the case.

Worman declined to make a statement Wednesday. His court-appointed lawyer argued against a life term, comparing it to "putting down" an animal.

"A sentence that basically says we're putting you down does not recognize whatever degree of humanity exists in Mr. Worman," lawyer Mark Cedrone said.

Stengel nonetheless said he sought to craft a life term.

The victim who first disclosed the abuse to police is now a 21-year-old wife and expectant mother. After the hearing, she was congratulated for how she came to earn her childhood nickname, "Mouthy."

"That was the best nickname for (me)," she said as she hugged an FBI agent who worked the case. "I'm just happy that it's all over."

Victor Stevens - Repeat Sex Offender - Stabbed by new victim

A registered sex offender is in the hospital with a stab wound to the chest after police said a teenage girl stabbed him in self-defense.

Police received a call of a bloody man walking along Mount Victory Road outside Powhatan Point around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, but the responding officer found nothing.

According to police, moments later a 16-year-old girl and her mother came to the Powhatan Point Police Department to report a rape.

Sgt. Tom DeVaul of the Belmont County Sheriff's Department said Victor Stevens, 42, of Powhatan Point, crawled through the girl's bedroom window when she was sleeping, threatened her with a knife and began to sexually assault her.

Police said a K-9 unit tracked Stevens' scent and located him at his home nearby.

"We made entry and discovered him hiding in the bedroom underneath the mattress and he had a stab wound to the chest," said DeVaul.

Stevens faces charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated rape.

Police said Stevens previously sexually assaulted a handicapped girl in 2007.

When he's released from the hospital, deputies said he will be transferred to the Belmont County Jail.

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

Reynaldo Alonzo - Repeat Sex Offender - Arrested for luring boy

A man suspected of attempting to abduct a child in Santa Ynez last week was arrested Tuesday in Fresno and is a registered sex offender.

According to the California Registered Sex Offender website, Reynaldo Alonzo, 41, is registered in Fresno for committing a lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14 years old.

The Santa Barbara Sherriff’s Department first began investigating Alonzo when Anjie Park reported a man had tried to lure her 14-year-old son into his van Aug. 3 at the Roundup Market in Santa Ynez.

With the help of Chumash Casino investigators, Sheriff’s Department investigators were able to identify Alonzo and drove to Fresno where they arrested him, Lt. Mark Liddi said. Alonzo was arrested for alleged child annoying and booked into the Santa Maria Jail Aug. 11, and the case information has been submitted to the district attorney’s office for review.

“That doesn’t mean the D.A. won’t opt to charge him with other crimes,” Liddi said. “There’s always the possibility they’ll charge him with attempting a lewd act with a child, but that’s up to them.”

Since Alonzo is a registered sex offender, Liddi said, this offense would be considered a felony. Though the man lived in Fresno, Liddi said authorities don’t know why he was in the Valley.

According to an email Anjie Park distributed throughout the Valley, her son was waiting at the Roundup Market when Alonzo approached him. Alonzo allegedly initiated conversation by commenting on the boy’s Found Ministries cap, allegedly saying he’d been praying for a new friend and wanted to pray with the boy.

“I can’t think of a more clever way to gain the trust of a young guy than to present a van ride as a ministry opportunity,” Park said in the email.

Alonzo allegedly told the boy they could watch movies in his van for five hours until Alonzo had to return to the casino. When the boy said he refused, Alonzo allegedly offered him a brand new iPhone if he got in the van.

The suspect then allegedly grabbed the boy around the middle, but the boy ran away to a nearby restaurant and contacted his mother. The mother reported Alonzo circled the block looking for the boy.

Samuel Tate, Jr. - Repeat Sex Offender - Grabs woman at the Park

Police in Cayce have arrested a registered sex offender they say assaulted a woman Monday night on the RiverWalk.

The woman was jogging along the Cayce Riverwalk at 8:30 a.m. when someone pushed her down from behind and began dragging her into the woods.

The man ran away after the woman kicked him in the groin a few times and passers-by heard the commotion.

Officers Tuesday night arrested 40-year-old Samuel Tate, Jr. and charged him with assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct first degree and transported him to the Orangeburg County jail.

Tate, also known as Samuel T. Porterfield, is a registered sex offender from St. Matthews in Orangeburg County.

Investigators say many concerned citizens provided information about Tate and his moped to authorities. Officers were able to communicate with Tate's parole officer, and they say they found that the man had violated his parole.

Parole officers and the victim were able to identify Tate as the attacker in the incident, according to investigators.

Tate faces 30 years in prison if he is convicted of his current charges.

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

Stephen Scott Mitchell - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets 37 years

A repeat sex offender was convicted Wednesday of molesting a woman in the stairwell of a Town Center parking garage and ordered to serve 37 years in prison.

Stephen Scott Mitchell, 45, has been jailed without bond since his arrest Nov. 6, 2007, when an officer found him sleeping in his car near the Oceanfront and noticed he matched the description of the woman's attacker a day earlier. Mitchell's criminal record included convictions on more than six counts of sexual battery.

On the witness stand Wednesday, Mitchell admitted he has a history of sexually assaulting women.

"I don't know why I do those things," he said, detailing how he followed the woman into the parking garage stairwell.

He said he moved behind her as she ascended the steps, slipped his hand under her skirt, groped her for a few seconds and then ran away.

His victim testified he grabbed her from behind, kept one hand over her mouth and molested her for close to a minute.

Jurors took 15 minutes to find Mitchell guilty of abduction and third or subsequent offense of sexual battery. They deliberated an additional 50 minutes before deciding he should spend 37 years in prison and pay a $100,000 fine.

Mitchell waived his right to a pre-sentence report, and Circuit Judge A. Joseph Canada Jr. immediately imposed the jury's recommendation.

The sentence means Mitchell likely will spend the rest of his life in prison. Last year, he was convicted and sentenced in Chesapeake to serve 10 years in prison on unrelated sexual battery and malicious wounding charges.

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

Jon Michael Layer - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets 4 Consecutive Life Sentences

It took just over an hour Friday for a seven-man, five-woman jury to find Jon Michael Layer,43, guilty of all four charges of aggravated sexual assault against a young girl.

It took less than 30 minutes for that same jury to condemn him to four sentences of life in prison.

Before the jury deliberated sentencing, the state brought into evidence a 1987 charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile that Layer faced when he inappropriately touched a 6-year-old girl in Louisiana in 1986.

Layer’s attorney, Tom Allensworth, suggested rehabilitation for his client and as small a sentence as possible, saying Layer has learned a lot from the experience.

Prosecutor Ben Hoover told the jury Layer deserved the maximum and urged jurors not show him any mercy.

“He didn’t show any mercy on (the victim) when he was molesting her over and over again,” he said. “He’s a repeat sex offender and you need to consider that in your deliberations.”

Less than 30 minutes after the jury retired to determine punishment, they returned with four life sentences. Eighty Ninth District Judge Mark Price said he felt the jury’s judgment was appropriate and made the sentences consecutive, meaning they must be served one after the other, rather than all at the same time.

Attorneys said Layer would not be eligible for parole for 120 years.

“You all arrived at the right verdict,” Price said to jurors. And to Layer: “You’ve destroyed a life, destroyed a family...you may take him away.”

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

Robert Arredondo - Repeat Sex Offender - Gets 60 years

A judge today ordered that a 59-year-old convicted sex offender from Georgetown serve 120 years in prison.

A jury had convicted Robert Arredondo this week on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and recommended 60-year sentences for each, which Judge Burt Carnes imposed. Arredondo will not be eligible for parole for 60 years.

Two 10-year-old girls were visiting Arredondo in August 2008 when he sexually assaulted them on different days, according to a statement from the Williamson County district attorney’s office.

Arredondo told both girls not to tell anyone and told one of the girls that he would go to jail and her grandmother would die if she told anyone, the statement said.

The girls told their mother and a grandmother about the abuse in October 2008, the statement said. The girls were taken to the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center for interviews that were played during the trial, according to the statement.

During the punishment phase of the trial, the jury learned that Arredondo had previously sexually abused two other family members, the statement said.

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

Johnny Ray Lopez - Repeat Sex Offender - Enabled by Wife

A convicted sex offender is accused of sexually abusing a disabled woman for several years.

Johnny Ray Lopez, 44, has been charged with sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor and failure to register as a sex offender. First-degree sexual assault alone is punishable by up to 99 years in prison.

The alleged abuse came to light in May when a woman became suspicious that Lopez had fondled her 6-year-old daughter at a barbecue.

Lopez’s wife was initially uncooperative in the investigation, only telling investigators that he “needs to go to jail,” according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

The disabled woman told Alaska State Troopers that Lopez began assaulting her in 2002, and that the abuse continued several times per month for years, according to the complaint.

When Lopez was confronted about the allegations in a taped conversation, he allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting the woman on two occasions and apologized. He denied that anything improper had occurred with the 6-year-old girl.

The case still is under investigation, and more charges could be forwarded to the district attorney’s office, according to troopers.

In 2001, Lopez pleaded guilty to the 1998 sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 42 months in jail and three years probation, according to court records.

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