May, 2006 News, Page 1
Preying on Predators?
Holly Hobbs
03 May 2006 12:00 am
It was around 11 p.m. when a piece of masonry larger than a softball was hurled at him. The rock missed its target and landed in the grass a few feet away. As Leonard turned his head, he caught only a glimpse of his attackers fleeing through the yard. There was no need to call the police to report the incident, he says.
“For what? Why? Who gives a crap about sex offenders,” he says. “My life has been hell because of all of this.”
Leonard isn’t his real name. The Richmond man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, is one of more than 450 metro-area sex offenders whose address, picture and criminal record are posted on Virginia’s online sex-offender registry.
Since the sex offender Web site was launched Dec. 29, 1998, Virginia ACLU Director Kent Willis says the Virginia ACLU has received calls from people complaining that they have been exposed to harassment at home and in the workplace. Since its launch, the Web site has logged more than 71 million hits.
“When you are convicted of a crime you lose some civil liberties,” McDonnell says of the registry. “That’s just one of the risks people take when they break the law.”
Leonard still calls the registry hypocritical.
“It’s a quick fix — a politician’s trick,” he says. “I think it’s good that people know who’s living in their neighborhood, but it’s hypocritically applied.”
Leonard says he’d like other criminals to get similar treatment.
“I’d like to know about the drunk driver who runs through bus stops,” he says. “If you are going to put sex offenders on there, why not put the drug offenders down the street. ... If you’re going to do it for one, you’ve got to do it for all.”
The governor’s legislation will not take effect until July. Leonard, however, says politicians have simply slapped a Band-Aid on a greater problem.
State leaders strengthen sex offender laws
ANDRA ATTEBERRY
03 May 2006 12:00 am
During the special session in early April, the Arkansas legislature strengthened sex offender laws.
State Rep. Shirley Borhauer was one of 83 representatives that cosponsored House Bill 1005, "The Child Protection Act." The bill updated and improved the current laws concerning sexual predators to protect children.
This law was written as a consequence of the rape and murder of nine-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford in Citrus County, Fla., by a sex offender, according to Borhauer.
Police track down man, real identity
Senta Scarborough
03 May 2006 12:00 am
Jason initially told police he didn't have any identification on him. Police searched him and found a Washington state identification card with his real name, Jason James Hosmer. And they found out why he wanted to keep it a secret.
A check of national police records showed Hosmer is a registered sex offender in Washington. He had failed to register in Arizona as required by law. Hosmer told officers he was employed and had lived in Mesa for two weeks in the 600 block of South Hawes Road.
Hosmer was arrested on suspicion of violating sex offender registration, identity theft, providing false information and failure to stay at the scene of an accident.
Women Admits to Having Sex with Stepson
03 May 2006
A 39-year-old Tyler woman pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child for having a sexual relationship with her teenage stepson. Carla Kay Dinger was also sentenced to 20 years in prison.
McDonald's Manager Molests Kids, Gets Promoted
02 May 2006 10:20 pm
McDonald's says keeping children safe is a top priority. But our exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation found one case that critics say speaks volumes about how much the company is really doing to protect kids.
"It wasn't the best experience. In fact, it was the worst experience."
The boys say, at their first job, they were molested.
"I wanted to have a first job where I could look back on it and actually be able to tell people what my first job was like," Adam says. "Now I just can't do that."
Abbie Sutherlin's son, Mark, was also 15 -- and working at the same McDonald's in Hillsborough, New Jersey -- when one day he broke the news.
"He told us that he had been molested by his boss," Sutherlin recalls.
"You think your child is safe. You think he's OK. And then you find out, boy were you wrong."
Their boss was 20-year-old assistant manger Joshua Diaz.
Even though McDonald's corporate fired Diaz, they then turned around and accepted him here into their management training program at the corporate headquarters.
They say they did that because that's who the local franchisee wanted.
"They've taken the position that they don't have any say over who their franchisees hire," Courtney explains.
It's the same position they've adopted about all the child molesters and other sex offenders that our investigation discovered working at other McDonald's franchises.
Advocate Calls for Boycott, Sex Offender Says McDonald's Knew
02 May 2006 6:15 pm
A nationwide boycott of McDonalds -- that's what a child safety expert wants after a NewsChannel 5 investigation. He wants it to force the company to do background checks to keep molesters away from kids who eat and work there.
Indiana Man Gets Probation In Online Sex Sting
02 May 2006 4:50 pm
In January, Burris chatted online and solicited sex from who he thought was 14-year-old girl. Police said he traveled to Fairborn to meet her.
The teenage girl turned out to be an undercover detective.
Lawmakers Hope To Crack Down On Convicts With Master Keys
02 May 2006 8:02 am
Tens of thousands of master key boxes can be opened by convicted felons in the Houston area, as well as thousands more statewide. Now, Austin is moving into action because of a recent KPRC Local 2 Troubleshooter investigation, the station reported Monday.
"(It's) very frightening. I mean, it's very frightening to think that someone could get that master key and go to where students are living, go where they're going to be in contact with children," said State Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria.
The Troubleshooters spotted a registered sex offender with a master key and saw his list of house calls. He visited eight homes in one day.
One of his stops was a west Harris County home. Robert Casados, who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child, used his key to set up a lockbox at a home where a young mother and baby were alone.
He also copied other house keys at a locksmith.
Police: Registered Sex Offender Attempts Another Attack
Marlee Ginter
02 May 2006 4:28 am
She often sobs, remembering the day she was attacked less than a week ago. "I still have bad dreams. When I dream about it I just keep hearing my apartment door shutting and then I'm locked in there with him."
24-Hour News 8 not identifying her, but she wants her story told before it happens to someone else. She lived in an apartment building off north Meridian Street where she says John Ray Whitten, a neighbor and also a convicted rapist, attacked her.
Bill requires sending sex offender list to health commissioner
Associated Press
02 May 2006 12:00 am
The Oklahoma Senate today approved a bill requiring the state's sex offender registry be sent to the state Commissioner of Health.
The measure designed to protect nursing home residents from sexual predators now goes to Governor Brad Henry for consideration.
The bill also allows the commissioner to distribute information from the registry to any nursing home or long-term care facility.
If signed by the governor, the new law will become effective July 1st.
Sex offender nabbed with 2 13-year-old girls
Jeff Dankert
02 May 2006 12:00 am
Police arrested a 22-year-old convicted sex offender Monday morning in a vehicle with two 13-year-old Winona girls.
Joseph Matthew Siwek, formerly of Albertville in Wright County, is in the Winona County jail on a probation violation warrant.
At 2:32 a.m., police stopped a vehicle with expired plates driven by a 13-year-old girl at Broadway and Kansas Street. Siwek was inside the vehicle, along with a second 13-year-old girl, Deputy Chief Tom Williams said.
Police discovered a Wright County warrant for violating probation on a felony sexual misconduct conviction, and arrested and jailed Siwek. They also arrested him on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of minors and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate his vehicle. Police cited the girls with curfew violations.
Jury finds Wal-Mart not responsible for girl fondled in store
RICK BRUNDRETT
02 May 2006 12:00 am
Wal-Mart will continue to check for convicted sex offenders working in its stores, a company spokesman said Tuesday after the retail giant was vindicated in a related Richland County, S.C., civil case.
A jury found ruled Tuesday that Wal-Mart was not negligent in hiring and retaining Bobby Devon Randall, a registered sex offender who twice fondled a 10-year-old girl in a Supercenter in 2000.
"Mr. Randall's act was indecent," Steve Morrison of Columbia, one of Wal-Mart's lawyers, said after the verdict. "It's just that it was a situation where Wal-Mart didn't do anything to cause that to happen in that store."
Randall had three prior convictions for indecent exposure when he fondled the 10-year-old at the Forest Drive store the night of Sept. 25, 2000. He pleaded guilty in 2002 to the crime and later died in prison.
The girl's lawyer, David Massey of Columbia, told jurors they should consider awarding his client more than $5 million for long-term emotional distress.
The girl's mother, who filed the lawsuit in 2001, was visibly shaken after the verdict.
"They don't care about kids," she said, fighting back tears. "We need more people to stand up for what's right."
Massey said he would appeal.
"I'm absolutely shocked," he said. "I felt we met our burden under the law."
Sex Offenders Separated in Hurricane Shelters
Heather Sorentrue
02 May 2006 12:00 am
With the start of hurricane season just weeks away state lawmakers are trying to agree on how to shelter sex offenders and predators during a storm. Some counties already have plans in place to separate sex offenders from everybody else.
Hurricane season 2004 largely prompted the debate about whether sex offenders should be separated from the general public. The dilemma recently went to the Senate, which approved a bill requiring counties to separate them, but the House has yet to take a final vote leaving a lot of questions.
"Where are sex offenders suppose to be during hurricanes? Are we suppose to live on the street?" asked Everett, a registered sex offender who doesn't want his last name revealed.
He says he understands why people want to have sex offenders in different shelters but he doesn't like the idea of jails being used, which several local counties are opting for.
Ten Sex Offenders Register During Amnesty
02 May 2006
Shreveport Police say 10 sex offenders registered during this past week`s amnesty program. If convicted offenders don`t register with the Shreveport Police Department before Friday's deadline, they will be sought and arrested for non-compliance.
Bill Calls For Private School Employee Checks
01 May 2006 1:59 pm
A bill authored by State Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins, D-Chicago, to protect private school students from past criminal and sex offenders has passed the Senate, according to a release from Collins.
Senate Bill 858 requires applicants for non-public school employment to authorize fingerprint-based criminal records checks as a condition for employment.
The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously and is now being considered in the House, mandates that any non-public elementary or secondary school wishing to attain ISBE recognition must require all applicants to authorize fingerprint-based criminal records checks as a condition of employment, the release said.
The school must also perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for each applicant, Collins said, noting that public schools are already required to perform the aforementioned checks on applicants.
“I think it's important to put our school children first when we are deciding on who to hire at any school, public or private,” Collins said.
Convicted rapist charged with impersonating cop
SHANTEE WOODARDS
01 May 2006 12:00 am
Charles Edward Parker followed a woman for nearly a mile one morning last week before flashing his police badge, saying he wanted to discuss a drug offense.
But Parker wasn't a police officer and the badge was an inmate card from the Department of Corrections. The 31-year-old woman called city police, who charged him with impersonating a police officer.
Shortly after his arrest on Tuesday, police learned that Parker is a registered sex offender who in 1986 used his yellow Ford Pinto to stalk and abduct women in Annapolis and Calvert County. He served 20 years for rape and kidnapping.
The woman he approached last week, whom The Capital is not identifying because of the nature of the incident, was shocked to learn about Parker's criminal history. Parker was calm and the woman initially worried that she might be overreacting by calling the police.
"You see someone, identify them (to police) and if you're wrong, you don't know what you can do to their lives," she said. "It was really frightening. There was nobody around, he picked a great spot. I still wasn't certain."
Ex-corrections officer gets probation for sex with boy
A.J. FLICK
01 May 2006 12:00 am
A former Juvenile Department of Corrections officer was sentenced to five years of probation as a sex offender for having sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy.
The two began their relationship after the boy was sent to Catalina Mountain School for joyriding, according to attorneys.
More problems emerging for Care Academy
Associated Press
01 May 2006
Boys in custody for sex offenses at a private juvenile center were having sex with each other while staff sometimes played video games or left for breaks, state investigative records show.
In the wake of the reports by an investigator for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Office of Investigations, the state has removed the sex offenders from the Care Academy in the central Kentucky town of Willisburg and stopped sending children there for any reason.
Fannin County convicts sex offenders
01 May 2006
The Fannin County District Attorney's Office won another victory against child sex offenders recently, marking its second of the year and fifth such conviction since September 2005.
Man faces charges for fondling girl
Mike McWilliams
01 May 2006
Terry William Embree, 43, of 2254 S. Riverside Drive No. 55, was arrested Thursday for indecent contact with a child, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine upon conviction.
Online court records show Embree received a suspended prison sentence, two years probation and a $500 fine last Thursday for an assault with intent to commit sexual abuse conviction in Iowa County.
