April, 2006 News and earlier (continued)
U.S. Army Sergeant Pleads Guilty in Child Predator Case
Jim Rybicki
27 Apr 2006 6:33 pm
Sgt. Joseph J. Wunderler, 29, of Ft. Belvoir, Va., pleaded guilty today to a one count criminal information charging him with attempted enticement to engage in sexual conduct with a minor in violation of federal law. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced the pleading after Wunderler's appearance before United States District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Sentencing has been set for July 28, 2006.
According to court documents, between July 29, 2005, and August 19, 2005, Wunderler engaged in numerous sexually oriented chat sessions on the Internet with a person he believed to be a fourteen year-old girl. On August 19, 2005, Wunderler drove to a residence in Herndon, Va., where he arranged to meet the girl for a sexual encounter. At the residence, Wunderler was met by a reporter for the television program Dateline NBC who recorded an interview with the sergeant. The interview appeared on national television on Nov. 4, 2005.
"Parents and guardians need to know -- and this is yet another reminder -- that dangerous predators prowl on the Internet and prey on our children," said U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg. "We will continue to work closely with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the region to safeguard our children from dangerous Internet predators."
Keeping Kids Safe Against Sex Offenders
Stefanie Silvey
27 Apr 2006 6:31 pm
Chief Deputy Eric Williams with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department says there are places in the city that you can't find a block corner that doesn't have a registered sex offender.
Williams says there are at least 400 registered sex offenders in the county, which is an extra concern when a child is missing.
And there is reason for concern. Take Glenwood School, for instance. Within two miles of the school there are more than a hundred sex offenders.
Offender registry glitch is fixed
The Associated Press
27 Apr 2006 1:32 pm
The state attorney general's office has fixed a flaw in Ohio's online sex offender registry that omitted numerous offenders from results for one type of search, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Law gets tougher on sex offenders
PAUL MCKIBBEN
27 Apr 2006 1:18 pm
Sex offenders in Boone County and throughout Kentucky who live near schools, parks and daycare centers will have to move farther away under a new law.
Offenders will have 90 days to find new homes that are 1,000 feet away from the farthest point of the facilities' property lines. The measure takes effect sometime in July.
An estimated 10 offenders could be impacted by the new law in Boone County. The Kentucky State Police lists 61 sexual offenders for Boone County.
Political games not helping issue
27 Apr 2006 12:00 am
Louisiana lawmakers may have their heart in the right place, but they should use caution when considering the more than two-dozen bills dealing with sex offenders.
Proposed measures include a litany of changes, from longer mandatory prison sentences to the possibility of electronic monitoring for life.
Another bill would allow for the chemical or physical castration of a convicted sex offender. Given the number of murder cases that have been overturned years later, the liability the state would assume in doing this seems great.
With 30 proposed bills on the plate, lawmakers are obviously engaging in a bit of political one-upsmanship, too.
Being tough on sex offenders is a politically popular thing to do right now, and for good measure.
Sex offender escape prompts questions
Martiga Lohn
27 Apr 2006 12:00 am
Senate panel seeks answers
Regular checks of patients' rooms in a St. Peter, Minn., treatment facility apparently failed to detect tampering with a security window that allowed four sex offenders to escape, officials with the Minnesota Sex Offender Program said.
The admission came after sharp questioning from lawmakers about security lapses at the facility. While three of the offenders were caught within hours of their escape on April 15, one remained at large after 11 days.
Florida To Close Juvenile Boot Camps After Correctional Officers Beat 14 Year Old To Death
27 Apr 2006 12:00 am
Florida lawmakers agreed Wednesday to shut down the state’s juvenile boot camps after the death of a 14-year-old boy who had been kicked and punched by guards.
Under the deal, Florida’s four remaining boot camps would be replaced with a new, less militaristic program. The state would pump an additional $32.6 million into juvenile justice programs, increasing total spending to $699.5 million.
“Unfortunately it has taken the death of a young man to get to this point,” said Republican Rep. Gus Barreiro, chairman of the House Juvenile Justice Appropriations Committee.
Sex Offender Restrictions
27 Apr 2006 12:00 am
The Omaha City Council has approved an ordinance restricting where convicted sex offenders can live. It will keep high-risk offenders from living within 500 feet of schools.
The council approved the ordinance Tuesday afternoon.
The ordinance specifically targets child molesters and there was across-the-board support for the plan at Tuesday's city council meeting.
What was a cloudier issue was the matter of policing the ordinance.
Right now it's the job of the state patrol and sheriff's department but Councilman Garry Gernandt wanted it expanded to police.
Summit sex offender arrested in West Virginia
27 Apr 2006 12:00 am
One of Summit County's top 10 sex offenders has been arrested in West Virginia on a charge of failure to register.
Raymond Adams was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Mount Hope, W.Va., on Wednesday. He was arrested by marshals once before for failure to register.
Adams was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office awaiting extradition.
Bills create tougher laws for sex offenses
Maggie Thornton
26 Apr 2006 12:00 am
Gov. Tim Kaine signed legislation Monday that will greatly increase punishments for sex offenders in the Commonwealth, said a spokesperson for Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
Twelve related bills were signed into law, according to a press release issued jointly by Kaine and McDonnell's offices.
The bills implement tougher mandatory sentences and a requirement that some registered sex offenders wear electronic tracking devices. Those convicted of a first sex offense involving children under the age of 13 must be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. A second conviction will result in life in prison.
"Those who harm innocent children have no place in our society, and this legislation makes every child in Virginia safer," McDonnell said according to the press release.
Former DARE Police Officer Charged With Sexual Assault Of Teen While On Duty, Granted Bail
26 Apr 2006 12:00 am
A former Drug Awareness and Resistance Education (DARE) officer for the Nogales Police Department charged with sexual assault of a 19-year-old girl was granted $20,000 bail on Friday against the wishes of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
At his arraignment on Friday, Kimberly H. Ortiz, assistant attorney general filed a motion in Justice of the Peace Court Precinct No. 1 to hold Borbon without bail.
Ortiz asked the court “to hold the defendant without bail as the proof is evident or presumption great that (Borbon) committed a dangerous nature sexual assault on the victim while on duty as a certified police officer.”
The report said Borbon told the victim he was there to “protect and serve” her and that he would be her “guardian angel.” He then talked about how much control and power he had within the police department while he took off his belt.
Borbon allegedly grabbed the girl, forced her down and assaulted her. When she told him to stop because he was hurting her, Borbon told her to “relax,” the report said.
After the assault, the document says that Borbon cleaned himself with a blue towel, zipped up his uniform pants and told the victim not to tell anyone.
The girl later went to Tucson Medical Center to report the incident as an unwanted sexual encounter. DPS was notified and took over the investigation and recovered the towel used by Borbon.
The DNA forensic report states that the sperm on the blue towel recovered from the victim’s home matches the DNA profile obtained from Borbon.
The Attorney General’s report concludes with a recommendation that Borbon be considered dangerous to the victim and should be held without bond.
Judge Mary Helen Maley issued a decision on Friday granting the defendant $20,000 bail.
She said, “Since our system of justice is based upon the presumption of innocence, there is a presumption in favor of bail.”
Fort Bliss police officer arrested in sex case
27 Apr 2006
James Michael Delamotte, 27, was arrested Tuesday at a fast-food restaurant where he thought he would meet a girl he had chatted with online, police investigators said. He had been chatting with an undercover El Paso police officer.
More Former Detention Center Employees Turn Themselves In - Child abuse and child molestation investigation
26 Apr 2006
Investigators are still looking for one of the former Marion County Juvenile Detention Center employees accused of sexual misconduct with female detainees.
Investigators say nine employees, including Superintendent Damon Ellison, have turned themselves into police.
“What were they thinking? And then there’s a tape. I would consider that an embarrassment for Marion County and I think it’s a blow to any correctional officer. They lose credibility when things like this happen,” said Charlotte Dunlap, a visitor to the detention center.
Former Corrections Officer Charged With Importuning
Jay Warren
24 Apr 2006 10:26 pm
A former Hamilton County corrections officer and part-time Mt. Healthy police officer is charged with trying to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Police in Yellow Springs, Ohio conducting an Internet sex sting arrested Jason Etler of Colerain Township.
Former Cop Pleads Guilty To Sexual Contact With Teen Relative
24 Apr 2006 4:44 pm
Thomas Wyatt II, 32, is charged with sexual imposition, a misdemeanor. He has been ordered to pay a $250 fine and will continue counseling, NewsChannel5 reported.
Prosecutors said the 16-year veteran had sexual contact with a teenage girl who is related to him.
Amber Alert Issued for 13 Year Old New York Girl
24 Apr 2006 4:16 pm
The Ramapo Police Department and the State of New York issued the Amber Alert after the child was thrown in to a trunk of a car after a struggle.
Mara D. Downes, 13 Years Old 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. She was last was last seen wearing a Sacred Heart School Uniform consisting of burgandy sweatpants, white tee-shirt with school logo and white sneakers. She was also wearing heart shaped earrings, gold crucifix necklace, an August birthstone ring and 2 gold bracelets.
Victim was abducted by 3 black males wearing masks, a struggle took place and she was thrown into the trunk of the vehicle.
The VEHICLE has been identified as a Silver and gold 4-door sedan 1997 Toyota Camry with New York license plate number CPF8770. The Vehicle was reported stolen earlier in the month of April.
Anyone with information should call the Town of Ramapo Police Department at (866) NYS-AMBER 866-697-2623 or dial 911.
Associate pastor charged with indecent behavior
Vickie Welborn
24 Apr 2006
An associate pastor of a Mansfield church who is alleged to have inappropriately touched a teenage girl last year remains incarcerated in the DeSoto Detention Center without bond.
Former Juvenile Detention Center workers face sex misconduct charges
Steve Jefferson
24 Apr 2006
Ten people have been charged in a major shake-up at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center. One current and nine former employees are being charged with crimes, including child molesting and sexual misconduct with a minor.
Ex-police officer gets fine, suspended sentence in fondling case
24 Apr 2006
Wyatt, 36, had been found guilty March 8 of sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor. He was accused of fondling and touching an underage girl between 2001 and 2003.
Wyatt is one of several Jackson officers and employees this year who have been accused of unethical or criminal behavior.
Report: Police officer bites, batters woman
Ronald Dupont Jr.
23 Apr 2006 12:00 am
An Alachua police officer bit his girlfriend's mouth, threw a vacuum cleaner at her, punched her and then pushed her 8-year-old daughter into a wall before being arrested by Gainesville police early Sunday, according to jail reports.
Apparently, the argument started over what was going into Easter baskets, police said.
Reginald Smith, a 30-year-old Alachua police sergeant, has been charged with aggravated battery, simple battery, tampering with a victim/witness, and resisting/obstructing/opposing an officer without violence.
Smith also is charged with battery on a law enforcement officer after being handcuffed and allegedly spinning around and striking with his elbow a Gainesville police officer in the chest.
This is Smith's third domestic disturbance on record, including an early 2000 case in which High Springs police told Alachua police they would have arrested Smith if he wasn't an Alachua police officer, according to documents in Smith's city personnel file.
Smith is now on suspension with pay as the city seeks an outside law enforcement agency to conduct an internal investigation while the criminal investigation is conducted by the Gainesville Police Department, said Alachua City Manager Clovis Watson Jr.
