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Interview with: |
Donalda Shepardson
Founder / President CSH |
Click play button to listen to the interview. (15min.) |
KRTM 88.9
FM |
Program: |
"Community Insight" |
Host: |
Kelly Thomas |
Air Date: |
02/24/07 Sat. |
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Child Sexual Abuse CASES: Coaches
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The purpose of these articles, is to show the importance of Creating Safer Havens. Our intent in sharing these cases is to bring an awareness of the 'Secret Sins' that are going on around us daily. These are only a few of the many thousands of cases occurring within the church and places where children are supposed to be kept safe. Let's not be fooled into thinking these types of acts are limited to churches and after school programs. In this fast-paced world we live in, these 'Secret Sins' are happening everywhere. As you will see below, children are being violated by pastors, therapists, music directors, volunteer workers, school teachers, coaches, and sadly, the list goes on. Our hopes at Creating Safer Havens is that the seriousness of this problem will no longer be overlooked, and the importance of protecting our children will become top priority.
| ** The following synopses are for illustrative purposes. ** |
Coaches Cases |
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Washington - 2/5/2013
Ex-swim coach Rick Curl pleads guilty to child sex abuse |
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Rick Curl, 63, the former elite swim coach of the Curl Burke Swim Club in the Washington DC area, has formally plead guilty in a Fairfax, Virginia court today. This follows-through on a consent-to-plea agreement entered in January. Curl’s former students include world-record breakers and Olympic gold medalists
He has plead guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor after Kelley Currin alleged that she was abused by Curl as young as 13 by Curl in the 1980's.
Curl will be sentenced on May 23rd, and can receive a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Curl is out on bond until the sentencing.
The plea eliminates what was likely to be a long and drawn-out trial that would try to call and sift-through evidence that was decades old. In the late 80's, Currin’s family signed a non-disclosure agreement with Curl, where Currin’s family received $150,000 in exchange for not pressing charges on any allegations of sexual abuse or speaking publicly about it. |
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OH, New Lebanon - 2/4/2013
Former Ohio coach charged with child sex abuse |
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A New Lebanon girls softball coach has been indicted on charges of rape and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Thomas Zimpfer, 43, is accused of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a teenage girl starting more than seven years ago when she was 13 years old. The victim is now an adult.
The allegations surfaced late last year and a grand jury indicted Zimpfer on Friday. He was arrested Saturday morning at the Englewood Indoor Soccer complex on Wenger Road.
Jackson County Police Chief Jon Schade said the victim is not someone that Zimpfer coached on any athletic team.
“The allegation had nothing to do with any kind of athletic program,” Schade said.
Shannon Bemis, secretary for New Lebanon Youth Athletics Inc., said Zimpfer coached 3rd and 4th grade girls softball for the organization from 2008 to 2012, but is not a coach currently. He was not coaching at the soccer complex at the time of his arrest. Schade said he was reportedly watching one of his children play soccer at the time. |
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MD, Seat Pleasant - 1/14/2013
Former Riverdale Baptist soccer coach convicted of child sex abuse |
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A Seat Pleasant man could get more than 100 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing a girl on the soccer team he once coached.
Charles Vasser of Seat Pleasant was found guilty Jan. 7 of five counts of child sexual abuse, each of which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Daneeka Cotton gave the verdict in the bench trial, meaning the case was decided by a judge instead of a jury.
From October 2008 until July 2009, Vasser sexually abused a teenage girl from Riverdale Baptist School, a private school in Upper Marlboro, according to the statement from the state’s attorney office. Vasser, 35, had been the coach of the then-15-year-old girl’s soccer team when the sexual acts began, according to John Erzen, a spokesman for the county’s state’s attorney office. Over a 10-month time frame, Vasser had multiple sexual interactions that varied from sexual intercourse to kissing with the victim, according to a statement from the state’s attorney office.
“This would also occur in his vehicle, at different locations, after practice on the way to drop her off at her residence,” according to police charging documents.
Police arrested Vasser on June 7, after the girl came forward and told police of the abuse, Erzen said. |
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MN, Bemidji - 12/10/2012
Longtime teacher and coach accused of sexual abuse |
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More has been learned about an investigation into a high-profile coach and teacher accused of sexually abusing multiple children.
It was a case brought to officials two years ago, but nothing was ever done. Now things are once again being investigated in Bemidji, Minnesota.
It was at Central Elementary school in Bemidji, Minnesota where the allegations of abuse took place.
On March 7, 2011, John Wangberg's school computer and camera were confiscated by the Bemidji police department, and upon examination the devices were found to contain 12 images which might be categorized as child erotica, yet Wangberg was never charged.
Now more victims have come forward. One victim told a mental health worker on December 3, 2012, that Mr. Wangberg had her in his office and she had taken her shirt off. The victim never released the information until now because she did not want to get in trouble.
It was these statements which allowed the police to conduct a search warrant on Wangberg’s house. Police say the investigation has been given to the County Attorney, and it is up to them to determine if charges will be filed. |
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W. VA, Fairmont - 12/4/2012
Former coach, Amanda Barker, charged with sexual abuse, arrested for second time by State Police |
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Amanda Jo Barker, former freshman cheerleading coach at North Marion High School, was arrested for the second time by West Virginia State Police on three counts of sexual abuse by a person in trust of a child and one count of soliciting a minor via computer.
A 17-year-old male student told police that he and his family were close friends with Barker and her husband. The student said he had stayed at their home at least 10-15 times to “play video games and/or watch TV.”
He told police that Barker allegedly masturbated him by touching his penis on two occasions in her home and performing oral sex on him on one other occasion. He said he may have been around 16 at the time and the incidents happened in the winter to spring of 2012.
He also told police that the initial victim in the case (for which Barker was arrested in October) was in another room of the house the same night the oral sex was performed.
Also a 16-year-old male student told police that Barker would constantly send him text messages asking him to come to her house. She allegedly asked to meet him in the parking lot of a local grocery store, where he got into her car and she performed oral sex on him. She had his cell number because he was involved with soccer, and her husband was a soccer coach.
Also police talked with a third male student who said he “was aware of the accused sending nude pictures of herself” to one of the previous victims via cellphone.
According to state code, cellphones and other digital media devices fall under the definition of a computer.
If found guilty, Barker faces a prison sentence of 10-20 years, a fine of $500 to $5,000, or both, for each count of sexual abuse.
Soliciting a minor via computer carries a possible sentence of a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of two to 10 years, or both.
On Oct. 23, Barker was arrested in a case involving a third male student. The incidents allegedly had taken place at Barker’s house in Mannington during the winter last school year.
He said he was at her house “all the time” because he is good friends with her husband, who was his soccer coach, and that his family is good friends with the Barkers.
Individuals with any information on this case are asked to contact Sgt. Adam Scott with the Crimes Against Children Unit at 304-367-2701. |
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CO, Douglas County - 11/15/2012
Ex-Highlands Ranch teacher and coach charged with thirty child sex assault counts |
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According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Richard Johnson is a former eighth grade teacher at Rocky Heights Middle School, as well as a onetime basketball coach at Rock Canyon High School; both facilities are in Highlands Ranch.
After months of investigation, detectives filed a case with the 18th Judicial District DA's office suggesting thirty charges against Johnson, including multiple counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, sexual exploitation of a child and enticement of a child.
At this point, the DCSO references only one victim -- a former student. But reps stress that the investigation is continuing. As such, no additional details are being released right now.
Johnson turned himself in to authorities and is currently free on a $50,000 bond. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to phone Detective Dea Aragon at 303-814-7131. |
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OR, Medford - 11/14/2012
Oregon gymnastics coach accused of filming students
undressing |
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A southern Oregon gymnastic coach accused of filming his students in changing rooms without their knowledge had been the subject of previous sexual abuse allegations.
54-year-old Jeffrey Scott Bettman was sued over allegations of sexual abuse in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 2000, where he was a coach for more than 20 years for the Santa Barbara Spirals, a youth gymnastics team once run by the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Bettman was arrested earlier this month in Oregon. He was arraigned last week on 10 counts each of first- and second-degree encouraging of child sex abuse. He was ordered to stay away from minors and from gymnastics facilities in Grants Pass and Medford.
A representative from the university regents says The California case went to trial and was dismissed. |
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Ontario, Burlington - 11/8/2012
Figure Skating Coach faces sex assault charges |
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A former Toronto-area figure skating coach has been charged in a child sex abuse investigation.
Halton police Sgt. Dave Cross says a man sexually assaulted three girls while teaching them to skate in Burlington, west of Toronto, between 2007 and 2011.
The girls' ages are not being released.
Forty-eight-year-old Michael Richards, of Burlington, faces two counts each of sexual assault and assault, as well as one charge of sexual exploitation.
Cross says Richards was arrested Wednesday night and is due in court Dec. 5.
Investigators suspect there could be additional victims and are asking them to contact them at 905-634-1831, ext. 8970. |
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PA, State College - 10/29/2012
Sugar Ray Leonard At Penn State Conference: I'm The Sex Abuse Poster Child |
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Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard recounted his own sexual abuse by coaches he trusted, telling a Penn State audience on Monday he hoped to encourage other victims to report abuse to police.
Leonard spoke at a sold-out conference on child sex abuse hosted by Penn State weeks after former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, 68, was sentenced to prison for 30 to 60 years for sexually assaulting 10 boys he befriended through his charity for at-risk youth.
Leonard, 56, who retired after winning world boxing titles in five different weight classes, said as a youth he was sexually assaulted by men he trusted as his boxing coaches.
_Trust is a very sacred thing, especially for young people, kids, or a young boxer, so I trusted these people, these individuals who impacted my life,_ said Leonard said. _They told me everything I wanted to hear, and more._
The former champion said he used drugs and alcohol to _numb_ his shame of being a victim of child sexual abuse. _I beat myself up for years,_ said Leonard.
Now Leonard said he wants to step into the spotlight as a leader in the fight against child sex abuse in the hopes it will help other victims find the courage to report crimes to police.
Since Sandusky's sentencing, The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, or RAINN, says the volume of calls to its sexual assault hotline has increased 47 percent. |
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PA, Bellefonte - 10/9/2012 - Update
Jerry Sandusky gets 30 to 60 years for child sex abuse |
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Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison Tuesday for abusing 10 boys he met over 15 years through his charity for troubled children.
Sandusky, who was defensive coordinator and for many years the presumed heir-apparent to legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, could have faced as long as 400 years for his convictions on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. But McKean County Common Pleas Court Judge John Cleland, who was brought in to hear the trial after all of Centre County's judges recused themselves, told Sandusky that at age 68, he would be in prison "for the rest of your life."
"The crime is not only what you did to their bodies but to their psyches and their souls and the assault to the well-being of the larger community in which we all live," Cleland said.
Sandusky's lead attorney, Joe Amendola, told reporters outside court that he would file an appeal within 10 days, saying he had not had enough time to prepare an adequate defense.
Four of Sandusky's victims and the mother of a fifth addressed the court, some of them speaking tearfully to Sandusky directly. They told of how they had looked up at Sandusky as a mentor, only to have him betray their trust.
"You were the person in my life who was supposed to be a role model, teach honor, respect and accountability, and instead you did terrible things that screwed up my life," said one of the victims, who isn't being identified. |
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SC, Columbia - 9/28/2012
SC high school coach charged in sex abuse case |
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A coach at a Chesterfield County high school sexually abused two middle school students in Oconee County more than a decade ago, authorities said.
Richard Gardner III, 39, was arrested and charged with 11 counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and 13 counts of lewd act on a minor.
An investigation began earlier this month when deputies received a report that Gardner may have abused students while working as a teacher at Walhalla Middle School and a wrestling coach at Walhalla High School. The abuse occurred both at his home and at school between 1998 and 2003, authorities said.
Deputies said they identified two victims, ages 12 and 14, but have evidence that shows more children may have been abused. |
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NY, Rockford - 9/25/2012
Harlem Middle School teacher faces 10 sexual abuse charges |
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A Harlem Middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave in the wake of 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse of a child.
Darcee Baney, 27, of Loves Park worked for the district for five years as a science teacher and as a girls’ seventh-grade basketball coach.
The alleged offenses occurred between Nov. 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, but were not reported to authorities until early August. Because they occurred in Rockford, the case was investigated by the Rockford Police Department.
At the time, the victim was 17 years old and Baney was varsity basketball coach at Belvidere High School.
“I thought she was great,” said Alyssa Reeverts, a senior on the 2008-09 Belvidere team. “She was young and she was great with us as players. I didn’t feel any awkwardness or that she was trying anything. She kept it very professional whenever I was around her.”
Baney has been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 5, said Harlem School District Superintendent Julie M. Morris, who was with Bruscato at the news conference.
Harlem Middle School students are encouraged to contact their principals if they have any concerns. Parents who have questions can call Morris, 815-654-4588. |
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9/20/2012 - Sandusky to be sentenced Oct. 9 in sex abuse case |
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There's little doubt former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky faces a long prison sentence. In a few weeks, he'll find out just how long.
A judge announced Monday he will sentence Sandusky on Oct. 9, nearly four months after Sandusky was convicted in the child molestation scandal that brought shame to Penn State.
Sandusky was convicted in June of 45 counts of sex abuse involving 10 boys. Prosecutors said some of the assaults took place on the Penn State campus.
The 68-year-old Sandusky, given his age and the serious nature of the crimes, is likely to receive a sentence that will keep him in prison for life. He is jailed pending sentencing and maintains his innocence.
» Please click here to read the full article....
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TX, Garland - 9/13/2012
Garland soccer coach faces child abuse charge |
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Garland police have arrested a youth soccer coach accused of sexually abusing one of his players.
Police arrested Bernardo Mondragon-Guzman on Tuesday and charged him with continuous sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.
When police asked the 10-year-old victim if he knew why he was being questioned, he said “because his coach rapes him," according to the arrest affidavit.
The report goes on to say that Mondragon-Guzman would tell the boy's mother that he was taking her son to the store but would take him to Jack in the Box and then to his Garland house, where he had sex with him.
The victim told police it happened "four or five times." He was also able to provide a detailed description of the inside of his coach's house and car, both locations where the alleged assaults took place.
Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said Mondragon-Guzman allegedly abused the 10-year-old boy for the past two years.
Police said Mondragon-Guzman coached children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old through the Garland Soccer Assocation.
Harn said Mondragon-Guzman had been coaching for the past five years. The department is still investigating how he starting coaching for the soccer league.
Investigators said they believe there may be unreported offenses.
Mondragon-Guzman has also been placed on an immigration hold, which means federal agents have reason to believe he is in the country illegally.
Police are asking parents who may be concerned over their child's relationship with Mondragon-Guzman to contact Detective Galvan at 972-205-2082. |
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AK, Little Rock - 8/28/2012
Youth baseball coach indicted in sexual-abuse case |
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A former youth baseball coach in Texarkana has been indicted on accusations he took a minor across state lines with the intention of engaging in sexual activity, authorities said Tuesday.
Richard Roberts, 61, is to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant at U.S. District Court in Texarkana.
Roberts was a baseball coach for different teams with players ranging from 9 to 14 years old between 1986 and 1994. Authorities allege in the indictment that he transported an underage boy across state lines "with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with the minor" between 1988 and 1989, according to a statement issued Tuesday.
Roberts faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Authorities say Roberts was a baseball coach for 9- to 11-year-old boys on a team sponsored by Dox Sporting Goods from 1986 to 1989; for 11- to 14-year-old boys on a team sponsored by Pepsi from 1989 to 1991; and for a team of 9- to 14-year-old boys for the Texarkana, Arkansas All Star Tournament youth baseball team from 1986 to 1994.
Attorney Conner Eldridge said he could not say whether the victim was a member of any of those teams. |
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NY, Queens - 8/23/2012
Ex-Little League Coach Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse |
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New York City prosecutors say a former Little League coach pleaded guilty to sexually abusing boys on his baseball team and videotaping some of the acts.
David Hartshorn pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal sexual acts. He admitted assaulting three boys — two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old — and taping two others engaging in sex acts. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says Hartshorn took advantage of his role as a coach and manipulated the boys.
Prosecutors say one of the boys told his mother, who notified police. Hartshorn was arrested in February 2011.
He faces 18 years in prison at his sentencing on Sept. 28. A message left with his attorney seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
The 54-year-old Hartshorn was once named "Rochdale Village Little League Coach of the Year." |
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FLA, Jacksonville - 8/8/2012
Former Duval teacher gets 60 years for sexually abusing student |
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A former Duval County teacher facing sex battery and molestation charges in separate case was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing one of his students in another case.
Robert Bryan Luke, 37, was a teacher and coach at Lake Shore Middle School when the State Attorney’s Office said he abused a boy younger than 16 over an 18-month stretch during 2006 and 2007. He was convicted in May of two counts of sexual battery.
When charged in April 2011, Luke had already been jailed for about a year in an unrelated sexual abuse case. In that case, he faces two more sexual battery charges on a victim younger than 18 and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. |
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7/15/2012 - Update NY - Brooklyn prep school accused of covering up football coach's sexual abuse of young boys |
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Brooklyn prep school has been accused of covering up a former footbal coach's sexual abuse of young boys in a case that shockingly mirrors the Penn State scandal.
Phil Foglietta, who is now dead, has been accused of raping and assaulting students for more than 20 years at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, New York.
A Lawyer representing the 12 victims argues that the abuse could have been prevented had the school not buried the football coach's abuse in a bid to protect its reputation
and athletic program
» Please click here to read the full article....
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7/12/2012
Update Report finds Penn State president, Paterno concealed facts about Sandusky sex abuse |
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Penn State released the findings of an internal investigation by former FBI Director Louie Freeh, which revealed how much top University officials knew about Jerry Sandusky's behavior and the failure of them to do anything about it. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports.
» Please click here to read the full article.... |
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6/30/2012
NH, Concord - Coach Sexually Abused Boys |
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A 19-page complaint filed in court against a baseball coach from Manchester alleges a pattern of targeting, isolating, and sexually assaulting young boys that he was living with or coaching in Concord between the mid-1980s and 2000s.
Concord Police arrested Robert A. Joubert, 58, on June 28, and charged him with multiple counts of sexual assault based on an investigation that started earlier this year.
» Please click here to read the full article....
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6/23/2012
Sandusky faces life in prison after conviction on 45 charges |
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BELLEFONTE, Pa. – Shortly after he arrived at the courthouse here to learn the verdict of a jury weighing the 48 child sex abuse charges lodged against him, Jerry Sandusky's attorney said he attempted to prepare his client for the almost certain prospect that he would not be going home.
Attorney Joe Amendola said he told the former Penn State University assistant football coach, while the two waited to be ushered into a packed courtroom late Friday night, that it was "more than likely'' that the 68-year-old defendant — once celebrated for his collegiate football coaching prowess and nationally acclaimed for his role in founding a charity for troubled children — would be convicted on at least some of the criminal counts.
Despite those warnings, Sandusky's face appeared to turn blank as a cascade of guilty verdicts — 45 in all — were read by the jury foreman, standing only a few yards away.
» Please click here to read the full article....
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PA, Bellefonte - 6/5/2012
Former Penn State coach's sex abuse trial starts |
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(Reuters) The child sex abuse trial of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky began on Tuesday with jury selection in a case that shook the university and its football program and focused attention on sexual predation in the United States.
Sandusky, a retired assistant coach, faces 52 counts of molesting 10 boys over a 15-year period. Prosecutors allege Sandusky, 68, met the boys through a charity he founded and some of the assaults occurred at Penn State facilities.
Picking a jury from a pool of about 200 candidates is expected to take at least a week.
» Please click here to read full article...
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NC, Raleigh - 6/6/2012
Former Sampson County teacher pleads guilty to distribution of child pornography |
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A former Sampson County school teacher pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
According to a news release, law enforcement officers who were investigating online trafficking of child pornography last year discovered that someone in Roseboro was sharing images depicting the sexual abuse of young boys.
After seeing the same person offer these images on multiple occasions, the news release says, investigators traced the source of the images to Paul Stephen Pearsall's home.
Pearsall, 31, worked as a middle school teacher and coach in Newton Grove.
A search warrant was executed at Pearsall's home and his computer equipment was taken in October. Investigators found hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, the news release says.
Pearsall faces up to 20 years imprisonment at sentencing.
He was arrested during Operation Spyglass, a law enforcement effort that led to the arrest of 24 suspects. |
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N.J., Montville - 6/3/2012
Two More Students Accuse Ex-Teacher of Sex Abuse |
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Two more students have recently come forward, accusing their former William Mason School first-grade teacher of sexual assault, according to affidavits on file with the Morris County Court.
Jason Fennes, 37, of Bloomfield, who has been jailed since March, now faces additional charges for an alleged sexual relationship with a Butler High School track athlete he coached in the mid-'90s and for allegedly sexually assaulting two William Mason first-grade students during the 2006-07 school year.
Fennes worked in the Montville School District from September 1998 until he resigned in June 2010, was originally arrested on March 8 on charges of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. An investigation revealed Fennes allegedly sexually abused a girl in his first-grade class in 2005.
Anyone with information regarding Fennes should contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes Unit at 973-285-6200 or the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Stopper Program at 973-COPCALL. |
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NY, Canadaigua - 5/29/2012
Coach’s sexual abuse case waived to Grand Jury |
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A preliminary hearing was waived for the man accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy.
Leslie Hoke is accused of volunteering as a youth coach and firefighter for the purpose of meeting young boys.
A Grand Jury will hear the case against Hoke.
Police have asked youth organizations across Western New York if Hoke volunteered for them. Police believe there may be as many as 15 victims across Ontario, Seneca, and Steuben Counties.
The Ontario County D.A. said he plans to upgrade the charge to predatory sexual assault of a child. |
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NM, Las Cruces - 5/22/2012
Former Las Cruces coach arrested on federal child porn charges |
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A former Picacho Middle School basketball coach is now facing federal charges for allegedly possessing hundreds of pornographic pictures and videos of children on computer hard drives.
On Tuesday, federal authorities arrested Erik B. Khan, 32, who was already in state custody after having been arrested by Las Cruces police on May 9. Khan was a former counselor for juvenile sex offenders in Mesa, Ariz.,
Khan told authorities he became addicted to viewing child porn at least 10 years ago while counseling juvenile sex offenders. He claimed that he had not been sexually active with any children he counseled, but said some had made sexual advances toward him, according to court documents.
If convicted of either distribution or receipt of child pornography, Khan faces five to 20 years in federal prison, and an additional 10 years if convicted of possession of child pornography. Khan will be appointed an attorney after his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday.
The Las Cruces Public School District immediately fired Khan from his paid coaching job at Picacho Middle School, where he first began volunteering as a basketball coach in 2006. He was also recently volunteering as a coach at Mayfield High School.
Khan also was an active volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Las Cruces, according to the federal criminal complaint.
Court records indicate Khan had only been previously charged with two motor vehicle offenses. An LCPS background check had not found anything to indicate a problem with hiring Khan, LCPS spokeswoman Jo Galván said.
Investigators said they tracked a computer IP address to Khan's residence in Las Cruces. LCPD detectives obtained a search warrant, which they executed on May 9, according to court documents. Authorities said Khan, after being read his Miranda rights, allegedly admitted to downloading child porn from his computer onto external storage drives. Khan allegedly said he had an addiction to child porn involving children between 8 to 12 years of age.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Sinha as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. |
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SC, Charleston - 4/11/2012
Former coach sentenced to 30 years for raping boy |
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A former Charleston recreation department coach was sentenced to 30 years for raping one of his players who was 7 to 8 years old at the time.
Keith Gadsden was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor for molesting one of his former basketball team players between 1985 and 1987.
"Both the victim and Detective Melvin Magwood of the City of Charleston Police Department brought us strong evidence," Wilson said."Delayed reporting cases are among the toughest we have but their resolve to get the truth out made this verdict possible."
In court, the victim testified that Gadsden asked him if he wanted to be a starter on the basketball team. The victim thought Gadsden was taking him to the gym to practice basketball, but instead he had the child take his pants off and lay on the floor of the bathroom while he sexually assaulted him.
As an adult, the victim returned to the City of Charleston Recreation Department as an employee. The victim finally came forward in 2009 after he realized that Gadsden had returned to work at the recreation department as well, and that the victim's step-son was hanging out with Gadsden.
Once the victim came forward to law enforcement, Detective Magwood arranged for the victim to confront and record Gadsden about the past sexual abuse. In the recording which was played for the jury, Gadsden asks the victim not to put him in jail for something he did 30 years ago and that he doesn't "deal" like that anymore because he has a girlfriend, a wife and babies."
The victim described how the sexual assault had taken a toll on his life and that he still had nightmares about it. The victim's mother testified that her son quit basketball as a child and became withdrawn, but he would never tell her what happened.
"It took a great deal of courage for the victim to come forward with the secret he had held so long. It was clear from the beginning how what happened to him as a child had profoundly affected his life in ways the victim wasn't even aware," Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said. |
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MN, Minneapolis - 4/9/2012
Child molester, former Minneapolis police chief, teacher, coach, lawyer and camp counselor gets 18 years in prison |
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Beginning at age 12, the boy silently endured three years of sexual abuse at the hands of family friend Bill "Jake" Jacobs. When he finally came forward, he had to wait more than two years as Jacobs' case moved through the courts.
Now 17, he stood with eyes fixed on his tormenter one last time as two sheriff's deputies led Jacobs through a door out of the Minneapolis courtroom.
Jacobs - a former teacher, coach, lawyer and police chief who prosecutors said spent 50 years abusing dozens of young boys - was sentenced Monday, April 9, to 18 years in prison.
It was the maximum sentence he could've received after he pleaded guilty last month to three counts of criminal sexual conduct and three counts of possession of child porn.
Jacobs, 68, will be among the oldest inmates in state prison. As of Monday, only 81 of the 9,300 people in state lockups were 68 or older. He must serve at least 12 years before he's released, and he'll spend the rest of his life under court supervision as a registered sex offender.
Jacobs had lived in Deephaven but spent his last few months of freedom at his cabin on the shores of Lake Superior north of Lutsen. He had a career teaching and coaching at posh private schools, working as a police officer and later police chief, earning a law degree and then becoming an instructor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
The end of that career started Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010, when the young man told his mother that Jacobs had been sexually abusing him since a 2007 camping trip. Jacobs, a trusted family friend, often took the boy on outings.
Five days after the youth confided to his mother, Jacobs was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual abuse.
Suspecting other victims, Hennepin County officials released a "wanted" poster with photos of Jacobs from 1965, 1980, 1995 and 2010, and asked victims or parents to call.
More than 20 people came forward to claim Jacobs had abused them. The earliest case was 1962, when he was a 19-year-old camp counselor and student at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.
Court filings show that over the years some people around Jacobs suspected him of molesting young boys but did little to stop him. YMCA camp officials and administrators of at least three private schools dealt privately with accusations against the man; none went to police. |
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CA, Cupertino - 3/27/2012
Youth Soccer Coach Faces 12 Counts, Including Child Pornography |
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The ongoing investigation of the tech engineer and youth soccer coach arrested March 21 and charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl, may take a few weeks to unfold, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Emanuele Fabrizio, 36, a PayPal engineer and coach for West Valley Youth Soccer League, was arrested at his Sunnyvale apartment Wednesday morning and arraigned on March 23 on 12 counts, among them sexual abuse of a minor, lewd acts on a child, distribution of lewd material and a charge of possession of child pornography related to the 13-year-old he is accused of having sex with.
Acting on a March 13 tip from the girl’s father who was concerned about the relationship that developed with Fabrizio, an Italian native, police moved on what was “suspicious” information found by the father, Sunnyvale Capt. David Verbrugge said.
Fabrizio’s bail was set at $1.5 million, based on the accumulative amounts of the charges filed against him.
West Valley Youth Soccer League serves youth in the communities of Cupertino, West San Jose, Campbell, Saratoga, and Los Gatos. Fabrizio also gave private soccer coaching sessions outside of his work with WVYSL. Police are still working to determine if there are other victims.
Anyone with more information related to the case is asked to call Detective Michael Mendoza at (408) 730-7130. Anyone wishing to leave an anonymous tip may do so via email at SVTIP@tipnow.org. |
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CO, Colorado Springs - 3/20/2012
Former Colo. Springs Cop Faces 200 Counts Of
Child Sexual Assault, Exploitation
- Update of
12/28/2011 article |
| |
The trial for Joshua Carrier, a 31-year-old former
Colorado Springs police officer and volunteer
wrestling coach at Horace Mann Middle School who is
accused of molesting 22 boys and faces 207 counts of
child exploitation, child sexual assault and possessing
child pornography, began on Monday.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the jury
watched video of the ex-cop performing physical
examinations on boys in his office, some of whom he
touched on the genitals, recorded with a web camera.
The defense argued that Carrier was simply performing his
duties as wrestling coach, checking for skin diseases, like
ringworm, that wrestlers are prone to become infected by.
Carrier's trial is on-going and is expected to last one
month.
In May of 2011, Carrier was arrested for buying child
pornography and then re-arrested a week later on suspicion
of sexually assaulting several children. Before his arrest,
Carrier was already the subject of an internal affairs
review for showing his gun at a middle school sporting
event (Carrier had been employed as a school resource
officer and wrestling coach at Horace Mann Middle
School in Colorado Springs prior to allegations of sex
assault).
It was reported that Carrier had several assignments that
placed him in situations with youth including a school
resource officer at Horace Mann Elementary where he
also served has wrestling coach, a coach for the Police
Athletic League, and as an advisor to youth in the
Explorer Scout Program.
Carrier worked for the Colorado Springs Police
Department for seven years before he resigned in June
2011 amidst the assault and child pornography allegations.
If convicted of the charges, Carrier faces life in prison. |
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SC, Charleston - 3/7/2012
Former Coach and Teacher facing more than a century in prison for child molestation |
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Louis "Skip" ReVille became one of the Lowcountry's most prolific molesters Tuesday as his tally of alleged victims rose to 22 amid a sweeping round of indictments that could land him in prison for more than 100 years.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announced that a grand jury had indicted the former coach and teacher on 22 counts of molesting and/or showing pornographic material to 15 young boys in Charleston County.
Additional indictments against ReVille are expected in the next month in connection with six more victims in Dorchester County and another molested boy in Berkeley County, Wilson said.
Some of the Dorchester victims are former students of Pinewood Preparatory School, where ReVille taught from 2002 to 2006, she said.
» Please click here to read the full article.... |
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Ex-NHL star Theo Fleury describes horror of sexual abuse
By QMI Agency |
| |
Graham James, the former junior hockey coach and convicted sex offender, is appearing before a judge in Winnipeg for a sentencing hearing Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in December to assaulting former Flames Theo Fleury and another male while
coaching in the 1980s and 90s.
Fleury held a press conference in Vancouver Wednesday morning to read from a complete and unedited copy of his victim impact statement.
» Please click here to read the full article.... |
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PA, Erie - 2/13/2012
Ex-Pa. teacher gets prison for child porn cache |
| |
Former teacher and youth soccer coach, David Rinke II, 40, warned by northwestern Pennsylvania school officials about
taking pictures of students' groin areas during athletic events will spend nearly 20 years in prison for collecting and trading more
than 57,000 images of child pornography.
Rinke taught 10th-grade science at the Northwest Pennsylvania
Collegiate Academy, a magnet school in the Erie School
District, before he was arrested in February 2011.
Rinke was arrested by the FBI after an undercover agent in Arizona
found images from a computer account traced to Rinke.
Public Defender Patton argued that Rinke deserved some credit for
his work in the community, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian
Trabold argued that Rinke grossly abused his trust as a teacher
and did the other community work merely to put him in closer
proximity to children.
"When a teacher, who should be nurturing and protecting children,
entertains himself with child rape movies, it strikes at the very
heart of the educational system," Trabold wrote. "A man who
amused himself by watching defenseless kids be raped and
humiliated and then traded that filth with others, surely was not
trying to make Erie a better place to live." |
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IN, LaPorte - 2/9/2012
Charges stand against LaPorte school officials in sex
abuse case |
| |
A judge upheld charges against two LaPorte school district
employees charged with failing to report sexual crimes of a
volleyball coach against a player.
Robert Ashcraft, a former LaPorte High School junior varsity
assistant volleyball coach, is serving a 21-year prison sentence on
convictions of felony sexual misconduct.
Ashcraft and the girl met when she was 14, and in 2007 when she
was 15, the two began having sex in a situation that lasted for more
than a year.
LaPorte Superior Court 3 Judge Jennifer Koethe denied motions to
dismiss charges Tuesday against athletic director Ed Gilliland
and head volleyball coach Mary Beth Lebo.
In denying the motion to dismiss charges, Koethe ruled the
allegations of concealment by Lebo and Gilliland and the claim
that prosecutors failed to act with due diligence must be proved at
trial.
Koethe also ruled that whether Gilliland and Lebo had sufficient
reason to report the girl was being abused or neglected is
something that "a jury would be required to decide." |
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AZ, Surprise - 1/6/2012
Teacher accused of abusing child |
| |
Marcos Cantu, a former math teacher and high school wrestling
coach, has been charged with one count of sexual abuse and one
count of attempted child molestation. He is to go to trial this
month.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office accuses the 39-year-old
teacher in Surprise of molesting a young girl. Sheriff’s deputies
arrested Cantu last January. Cantu worked for four years at Valley
Vista High School.
A news release from the Sheriff’s Office said Cantu fondled the
victim while he was driving her home from her school.
Cantu previously worked as a teacher at Peoria and Sunrise
Mountain high schools, according to the Sheriff’s Office. |
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AZ, Surprise - 1/6/2012
Trial set for former umpire |
| |
Edward Lee Hartley, a 67-year-old former high school softball
umpire from Surprise, was indicted on 15 counts stemming from
allegations that he sexually abused runaway girls he picked up at a Phoenix bus stop in August. He was arrested at his Surprise
home in September.
Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s
Office, said the charges include kidnapping, sexual conduct with
a minor, molestation, prostitution with a minor and public sexual
indecency. Hartley is to go to trial in February.
Authorities had said Hartley’s criminal history dates to 1973
and includes six sex-crime violations, including rape. They
believe he has records in New York, Texas, Kentucky and
Alabama.
News of Hartley’s arrest and background stunned high school
sports officials, parents and state lawmakers.
State Rep. Jack Harper, whose district covers parts of the Deer
Valley and Dysart school districts, threatened Arizona
Interscholastic Association officials with a subpeona if they did not
turn over records of all of the games Hartley officiated. They did
in November and Harper made the information public through an
e-mail. The AIA is the governing body of high school sports in the
state.
The case also prompted sports officials to toughen their
background screening. Starting in July, all officials will be
required to submit fingerprints, which will be compared with
those in an FBI sex-offenders database. School districts already
require fingerprinting of teachers. |
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N.Y., Dannemora - 12/16/2011
Prison Inmate claims Coach Fine had Molested him |
| |
A 56-year-old New York prison inmate says former Syracuse
University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine began
molesting him more than 40 years ago and continued to have
sexual contact with hin into adulthood.
Floyd Van Hooser told the Associated Press during a prison
interview that Fine began sexually abusing him when Van Hooser
was 14 years old.
Van Hooser is the fourth man to accuse Fine of sexual abuse. He
initially made his allegations to the Post Standard of Syracuse.
Fine was fired Nov. 27 after three men said he molested them when
they were boys. Fine has denied wrongdoing and has not been
charged. A federal investigation is ongoing. |
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Indiana, Highland - 12/14/2011
Indiana Teacher Accused of Molesting
Special Education Students |
| |
An Indiana teacher is facing six felony charges after allegedly
having relationships with three female students, two of which were
enrolled in special education classes.
Samuel Fies, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple
counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, child molestation,
criminal confinement, child solicitation and attempted child
seduction, the Associated Press reports. Fies allegedly developed
a relationship with a female student at Highland High School,
where he was most recently employed as a teacher, in 2009, when
the girl was in seventh grade and under age 14.
According to the affidavit, Fies made the girl sit at the front of
his seventh-grade social studies classroom and often found
excuses to rub up against her, the Indiana Post-Tribune reports.
Fies is accused of molesting her on at least two occasions, one of
which occurred while she was locked in an athletic office. Fies
served as a coach of the track and cross country team before he
was fired in late November on the grounds of misconduct.
Fies reportedly contacted a second student, 13, through a MySpace
account and text messages, asking her to do sexually explicit things
and send him photos, the Northwest Indiana Times reports. The
student told police after a phone conversation that the man she met
online sounded like her social studies teacher.
The third alleged victim, a 17-year-old student at Highland High
School with emotional and learning disabilities, reported that she
met a man on a dating site who asked her sexually-charged
questions under a screen name police traced to Fies, according to
the Times.
Fies faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence, the Post-Tribune
reports. He is awaiting trial in Lake County Jail. |
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TN, Memphis -12/10/2011
Accused of Sexual Abuse, Ex-AAU Leader
Said to Keep Bags of Boys Underwear
|
| |
The ex-leader of the AAU accused of molesting young boys years
ago is said to have snuck into the rooms of former underage
basketball players at night to fondle them.He is also accused of
keeping bags of boys' underwear with names and dates on them.
The Memphis police are investigating the claims and the ex-AAU
leader has left his job, citing health concerns.
"The Memphis Police Department takes allegations of child sexual
abuse very seriously," Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong
said, according to CBS News. "Although this case has its
challenges due to the amount of time that has passed, it will be
thoroughly examined; and if the investigation reveals the law was
violated, the person responsible will be held accountable."
A report from ESPN said two men have accused former AAU
president and CEO Robert "Bobby" Dodd of molesting them as
children. The men said they approached Dodd independently about
the matter after the Penn State scandal broke in November
involving former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky. Since that time,
allegations have also surfaced that former assistant Syracuse coach
Bernie Fine molested children, including a team ball boy.
Among the allegations against Dodd:
--Dodd kept hundreds of photos of other players clothed backsides
and crotches in filing cabinets.
--Dodd had bags filled with pairs of teenage boys' underwear and
kept names and dates on them.
--Dodd kept samples of boys' hair.
--West said Dodd once tried to pay him $1,000 to let him perform
oral sex while the player was blindfolded and bound.
--The unidentified player believes Dodd abused him while passed
out after serving him alcohol and a drug to make him unconscious.
West said he contacted the AAU via email on Nov. 9 alleging that
Dodd was a pedophile by that nobody followed up, according to
ESPN.
The AAU said late Friday it is investigating the claims that date
from the 1980s. One of the former players who claims abuse is
43-year-old Ralph West, who told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that
he was sexually assaulted in Memphis in 1984. West reportedly
now lives in Miami. Another unidentified man also claims that he
was abused by Dodd. He spoke with ESPN "on the condition of
anonymity," according to The Associated Press, explaining that he
called Dodd on Nov. 11. He said Dodd apologized for the abuse.
The two men allege that the abuse from Dodd occurred between
the ages of 12 and 16. They were basketball players for
Memphis-based AAU teams headed by Dodd at the time. The men
allege Dodd "fondled them and masturbated in front of them while
they were in their teens. Neither man reported the abuse to the
police," according to The New York Daily News.
ESPN reported that West accuses Dodd of fondling him, and said
Dodd tried to fondle him or masturbated in front of him at Dodd's
home in Memphis, the AAU Junior Olympics in South Bend, Ind.,
and tournaments in Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee, according
to the AP. ESPN said West alleges that Dodd abused him or tried
to abuse him roughly six times between 1983 and 1985 by
sneaking into his room "in the middle of the night and you don't
hear anything ... and he's trying to reach his hand in your
underwear, basically."
Dodd led the AAU, or Amateur Athletic Union, since 1992 but
reportedly retired just recently, on Nov. 29. An ESPN reporter
contacted Dodd's assistant, who sent an email saying that Dodd has
cancer and had recently retired for health reasons, ESPN said. But
Dodd's departure was apparently abrupt, as other AAU officials
contacted seemed unaware that Dodd has left the organization.
"That's the first I've heard of any of it," national chairwoman for
the AAU athletics executive committee Robin Brown-Beamon told
ESPN regarding the allegations.
Acting AAU president Louis Stout said in a statement released late
Friday that Dodd has colon cancer and is permanently out of his
former position as the organization's president and executive
director.
"The AAU has recently been made aware of some serious
allegations about President Robert W. 'Bobby' Dodd, dating back
several decades," the statement said. "The AAU has opened an
independent investigation into these matters and also has contacted
local law enforcement in Memphis, where the activities allegedly
occurred. We will actively cooperate with any and all authorities
to determine the facts and the truth." |
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Winnipeg, Manitoba - 12/7/2011
Ex-Hockey Coach Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault
|
| |
Former junior hockey coach and convicted sex offender Graham
James has pleaded guilty to sexual assaults involving two of his
former players, including NHL star Theoren Fleury. The move
marks another chapter in what has become one of Canadian
hockey's darkest stories.
James entered the plea in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday via
video link from Montreal. The disgraced coach was originally
facing nine charges of sexual assault involving three players
spanning 1979 to 1994, but only pleaded guilty to charges
involving two. The names of the two other players are protected
under a court-ordered publication ban.
James, who has been out on bail for almost a year and living in
Montreal, will appear in Winnipeg in February to be sentenced.
He has already served a 3 1/2-year prison sentence for abusing
other former players he coached, including former NHL player
Sheldon Kennedy.
The most recent charges came after Fleury published an
autobiography in which he described the abuse he suffered.
In the book "Playing With Fire" the former Calgary Flames star
told of how James recruited him at 13 to play in Winnipeg and then
in Moose Jaw. He said James would visit and abuse him on the
road — fondling him or performing oral sex. James obtained
Fleury's silence by threatening the youngster's dream of one
day playing in the NHL.
Fleury detailed how James took him and Kennedy to Disneyland,
where he said James would take turns molesting them in motel
rooms. James pleaded guilty to the charges involving Kennedy in
1997, but Fleury stayed silent until 2009.
The agreed statement of facts read out in the Winnipeg courtroom
by Crown Colleen McDuff said James's abuse of Fleury started in
September 1983 and lasted until August 1985. The statement said
the encounters began with James fondling Fleury while he slept
and escalated to the coach performing oral sex. The statement
indicated it was much the same with the second victim. Those
attacks took place between 1989 and 1994.
At a news conference in Calgary, Fleury criticized the justice
system for how it handled the James case. "Graham James pled
guilty years ago, and then he was granted a pardon, after he was
found in Mexico and brought back to Canada on these charges," he
said. "He was given bail ... this is what the mighty Canadian justice
system allowed a previously convicted child rapist to do."
Fleury said a convicted pedophile like James doesn't change.
"I believe what people show me — he showed me he was and is a
rapist. There is no changing a monster like that."
He criticized the fact James remains on bail and suggested he
should serve a lengthy sentence. "It took me 27 years to get
comfortable in my own skin," Fleury said. "To me, that's a pretty
decent sentence."
Both Kennedy and Fleury spiraled downward as adults despite
their professional success on the ice. They were both divorced, and
both abused drugs and alcohol. Fleury said the sexual abuse in his
teen years transformed him from a confused young man into an
angry, self-loathing boozer who blew millions on cards, drugs and
lap dancers.
Both have become outspoken advocates for abuse victims.
Fleury said he has no plans to attend James' sentencing. "I would
rather be in a room full of survivors and victims." |
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PA, State College - 12/7/2011
Ex-Penn State Coach Arrested On New Abuse Charges
- UPDATE of 11/10/2011 article |
| |
Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested and arraigned
Wednesday on new sex abuse charges brought by two new
accusers, the state attorney general's office said. The charges were
brought after new accusers were questioned by a grand jury
following Sandusky's arrest last month. One alleged victim claims
he was assaulted after meeting Sandusky in 1997 and the other
claims he was assaulted in 2004.
Sandusky was already charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse
involving eight young boys over a 15-year span. He has denied
being a pedophile and has vowed to fight the case. In interviews
with NBC and The New York Times, he has said he showered and
horsed around with boys but never sexually abused them.
Like some of the other victims, the two new ones, dubbed Victims
9 and 10 by prosecutors, allegedly met Sandusky through The
Second Mile charity, which he founded in 1977.
"As in many of the other cases identified to date, the contact with
Sandusky allegedly fit a pattern of 'grooming' victims," Attorney
General Linda Kelly said in a statement. "Beginning with outings
to football games and gifts; they later included physical contact
that escalated to sexual assaults."
One of the new alleged victims, dubbed Victim 9 by prosecutors,
claims he was first assaulted in 2004, and the other, called Victim
10, told the grand jury he was assaulted after being referred to
Second Mile in 1997. The ninth accuser, currently 18, was 11 or
12 when he first met Sandusky in 2004. Sandusky took him to Penn
State football games and gave him gifts and money, and later
sexually assaulted him during overnight stays in a basement
bedroom in Sandusky's home, the grand jury said.
The accuser said that Sandusky forced the boy to perform oral sex
and attempted on at least 16 occasions to anally penetrate him,
sometimes successfully. "The victim testified that on at least one
occasion he screamed for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was
upstairs, but no one ever came to help him," the grand jury report
said.
The 10th accuser told the grand jury he was referred to The Second
Mile in 1997, when he was 10 and experiencing problems at home.
He also attended Penn State games, spent time at Sandusky's
house, and was subjected to "wrestling sessions" in the basement
of the home that led to Sandusky performing oral sex on the boy,
authorities said. The accuser also detailed incidents at a pool on the
Penn State campus, and a time when Sandusky allegedly exposed
himself in a car and requested oral sex from the boy.
He was arrested by state police and agents of the Attorney
General's Office, and had a preliminary arraignment before Senior
Magisterial District Judge Robert E. Scott of Westmoreland
County. A preliminary hearing on the charges is set for Tuesday,
the same day his previous case is set for a hearing.
Sandusky had been charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse
involving eight young boys over a 15-year span. |
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New York, Brooklyn - 12/6/2011
Brooklyn's Poly Prep Covered Up Football Coach's
Sex Abuse: Lawsuit |
| |
In a federal lawsuit, nine men say they were abused by former
football coach Phil Foglietta from 1966 until the early 1980s.
Brooklyn’s Poly Prep Country Day School is coming under fire for
its alleged four-decade cover-up of “prolonged and horrific sexual
abuse of many of its sons” by its late iconic football coach, Phil
Foglietta.
In a federal lawsuit, nine men say they were abused by Foglietta
from 1966 until the early 1980s, the Daily News reports. The suit
alleges Poly Prep received complaints about Foglietta shortly
after he was hired, but did not take action against him because
of his coaching success and fundraising prowess for the highly
respected 157-year-old school.
Foglietta might have abused dozens or even hundreds of boys,
according to the suit, but top school officials allegedly ignored
complaints or threatened to discipline or expel students who
reported they were abused.
The plaintiffs are seeking at least $20 million each in
compensatory and punitive damages. One of them is David
Hiltbrand, 57, who told the News about an episode in the coaches’
locker room shower when he said Foglietta rubbed his shoulders
and put his hand between his legs. Hiltbrand jumped away and into
scalding water, then saw the coach groping other boys, he said.
“It was so terrifying,” Hiltbrand told the paper. “It made me feel
like I had done something wrong. I come from a Roman Catholic
family and I just knew I was going to hell.”
Foglietta was Poly Prep’s football coach and a physical
education instructor for students between 5th and 12th grades
from 1966 until 1991. The school did not renew his contract. He
died in 1998. The lawsuit was filed two years ago. School lawyers
have filed to dismiss it.
“It would not be appropriate to comment upon specific allegations
now pending in a federal court,” Headmaster David Harman said
in a statement to the News. “The school believes that a lawsuit
seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages based on conduct
that took place largely in the 1960s and 1970s is not actionable.”
Herman is a defendant in the suit, along with former headmaster
William M. Williams, the school, and various members of its board
of trustees.
The case echoes the recent coaching abuse scandals at Penn
State and Syracuse University, but Poly Prep officials rejected
such comparisons, according to the News.
The iconic coach is not mentioned on the school’s website. |
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Tennessee, Chattanooga - 12/5/2011
Alleged Molestation Victims Speak out about their
molestation experience by former teacher and coach |
| |
On the heels of two well-publicized national cases of child
sexual abuse by coaches, some local men who say they were
victims of alleged abuse by a coach are speaking out.
The men told NewsChannel 9 the abuse started while they were at
Ooltewah Middle School in the 1980's. They're grown now and
speaking out, hoping their story will help others find the courage
to come forward as well.
"It's something that we dealt with in 6, 7, and 8 grade. Again, it's
something that's come out with Syracuse and Penn State," Andy
Ellington, who says he was molested, told us.
In fact, Ellington denied the abuse at first too. "I didn't want people
to know. I definitely didn't want anyone to know at Ooltewah. I
didn't want my mother to know. My mother was a single mom. My
father died when I was 7. So this was something I did not want her
to have to deal with," he said.
He says he was just 11 years old the first time anything happened
and says he lost count of how many times he was allegedly
molested by Stan Evans, a former teacher and coach at
Ooltewah Middle School. Evans was close with many of his
athletes and Ellington says he and others frequently spent the night
at his home.
"The majority of the time, the real, if you were to call it fondling
and things like that, was always off school premises. But I can't
even imagine how many conduct unbecoming on school premises
there were," Ellington said, recalling those difficult memories.
Michael Mercer says he's one of Evan's victims, too. He didn't want
to speak on camera but explained to WGOW today, how the abuse
started with Evans rubbing his shoulders.
"So then it goes from rubbing the shoulders, to a kiss on the
forehead. Then it goes from a kiss on the forehead, to lets see how
fast you can get undressed. Then lets pop your naked bottom,"
Mercer said.
Mercer and Ellington, along with two other men, filed a
lawsuit against Evans in 1999 claiming they were molested on
multiple occasions. However, the statute of limitations was up
and Evans abruptly resigned from OMS and moved to Florida.
Since then, they've been trying to heal and both hope their story
can spare other kids the same experience.
"I do hope that the Hamilton County Board of Education will have
an opportunity to have some kind of a standard operation
procedure in place, to where if they do have these issues, it'll be
taken care of without being swept under the rug. I can assure you
in '98 it was," Ellington said. Ellington says he feels like he's
healed from this mostly thanks to family and his church.
But he says, even with that, he still doesn't have closure with
Coach Evans and he hopes hearing his story will help someone
who's been through a similar situation. We tried to contact Evans
to get his side of the story, but were unable to find any contact
information for him. |
 |
New York, Syracuse - 11/18/2011
Assistant Coach Bernie Fine Under investigation
for Child Sexual Abuse |
| |
Longtime Syracuse University assistant coach Bernie Fine is the
subject of a police investigation into allegations that he molested
a team ball boy for more than a dozen years, starting in the
mid-1980s, according to an ESPN report. The alleged victim,
Bobby Davis, told ESPN that Fine began molesting him in 1983
just before Davis entered seventh grade. According to the report,
Davis says the abuse happened at Fine’s home, Syracuse basketball
facilities and on road trips, including the 1987 Final Four. Davis
spent six years as Syracuse’s ball boy. Fine is in his 35th season as
a Syracuse assistant to Jim Boeheim. He has been placed on
administrative leave.
Davis, now 39, says the abuse continued until he was 27 and
reported the abuse to Syracuse police in 2003, but detectives told
him the statute of limitations had expired and they would not
investigate. ESPN investigated the story in 2003, but decided not
to run the story because Davis was the only person willing to talk.
The Syracuse Post-Standard also investigated the allegations in
2003. The news is emerging now because another alleged victim
says he was sexually abused by Fine and is coming forward now
because of news coverage of the Jerry Sandusky sexual-abuse
scandal at Penn State, according to ESPN’s story.
According to the New York Penal Code, there is no statute of
limitations “for prosecuting first-degree rape, first-degree criminal
sexual act, or first-degree course of sexual conduct against a
child,” but the statute of limitations “for other sexual offenses
committed against a child under age 18 is five years after the
victim reaches age 18, or the offense is reported to a law
enforcement agency or statewide central register of child abuse and
maltreatment, whichever is earlier.”
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim released a statement in support
of Fine: ''This matter was fully investigated by the University in
2005 and it was determined that the allegations were unfounded.
I have known Bernie Fine for more than 40 years. I have never
seen or witnessed anything to suggest that he would [have] been
involved in any of the activities alleged. Had I seen or suspected
anything, I would have taken action. Bernie has my full support.''
In a statement by Syracuse University: “We understand that the
Syracuse City Police has now reopened the case, and Syracuse
University will cooperate fully. We are steadfastly committed to
ensuring that SU remains a safe place for every student”. |
 |
PA, Harrisburg - 11/10/2011
Paterno and President Fired in Penn State
Child Sexual Abuse Scandal
- UPDATE of 11/9/2011 article |
| |
Famed U.S. college football coach Joe Paterno and Grahm Spanier,
the president of Penn State University, were fired on Wed. in
fallout from a child-abuse scandal and cover-up involving a former
assistant coach and school officials. The move by the university’s
board of trustees thwarted an attempt by Paterno, 84 and one of the
most iconic names in American sports, to leave the team on his
own terms. It triggered protests on campus from students.
Penn State, its football program and Paterno were thrown into
turmoil on Saturday when charges were filed against long-time
assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky, 67, is accused of
sexually abusing at least eight boys over more than a decade.
Assistant Coach, Mike McQueary, had reported to Paterno seeing
Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the Penn State
showers. Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a
vice-president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified Spanier.
Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the
incident to authorities. Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda
Kelly has not ruled out charges against Spanier. Paterno is not a
target of the criminal investigation, but the state police
commissioner called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in
“moral responsibility”.
Effective immediately, Doctor (Graham) Spanier is no longer
president of the university," John Surma, vice chairman of trustees,
told a news conference. "Joe Paterno is no longer the head football
coach, effective immediately. These decisions were made after
careful deliberations," said Surma. "We don't yet know all the facts
and there are many details that are yet to be worked out." The
trustees will appoint a committee to investigate the
“circumstances” that resulted in the indictment of Sandusky and of
Curley and Schultz. The committee will be appointed Friday at the
board’s regular meeting, which Gov. Tom Corbett said he plans to
attend, and will examine “what failures occurred and who is
responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure that similar
mistakes aren’t made in the future”.
In Washington, the U.S. Department of Education said it has
launched an investigation into the conduct at Penn State, which
must disclose criminal offenses committed on campus each year.
"If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible
tragedy for those young boys," Education Secretary Arne Duncan
said in a statement. "If it turns out that some people at the school
knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it
even worse." |
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Pennsylvania, Harrisburg - 11/9/2011
Penn State Coach Paterno to Retire Amid Scandal
- UPDATE of 11/7/2011 article |
| |
Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno says he’s retiring
at the end of this season, this in the wake of a child abuse scandal
involving his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Paterno has been questioned about how he acted when a graduate
assistant, Mike McQueary, reported the incident to him in 2002.
Paterno notified Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice
president Gary Schultz. Curley and Schultz have since been
charged with failing to report the incident to the authorities.
Paterno hasn't been accused of legal wrongdoing. But he has been
assailed, in what the state police commissioner called a lapse of
"moral responsibility," for not doing more to stop Sandusky, whose
lawyer says he is innocent.
The coach defended his decision to take the news to the athletic
director. Paterno said it was obvious that the graduate student,
since identified as McQueary, was "distraught," but said he was
not told about the "very specific actions" in the grand jury report.
After Paterno reported the incident to Curley, Sandusky was told
to stay away from the school, but critics say the coach should have
done more — try to identify and help the victim, for example, or
alert authorities.
"Here we are again," John Salveson, former president of the
Pennsylvania chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests, said earlier this week. "When an institution discovers abuse
of a kid, their first reaction was to protect the reputation of the
institution and the perpetrator." |
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PA, Harrisburg - 11/7/2011
Sex Abuse Scandal at Penn State Widens |
| |
Two Penn State officials surrendered Monday on charges that they
failed to report suspected child-sexual abuse by a former coach and
committed perjury in their related grand jury testimony. Senior
Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley both
stepped down from their posts late Sunday, one day after the
charges were announced. The pair are accused of failing to alert
police to complaints that former assistant football coach Jerry
Sandusky had sexually abused eight boys over a 15-year period.
They are also charged with lying to a state grand jury investigating
the former defensive coordinator.
“Schultz, 62, and Curley, 57, are innocent and will seek to have the
charges dismissed”, their lawyers said. Curley's lawyer called the
case weak, while Schultz's lawyer said the men did what they were
supposed to do by informing their superiors of the accusations.
Earlier Monday, investigators encouraged anyone who would
accuse Sandusky of sexual assault to step forward and talk to
police. A graduate assistant coach, Mike McQuery, had reported
witnessing an assault by Sandusky on a young boy, in 2002.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly specifically asked that
the child reportedly assaulted by Sandusky call detectives about the
2002 encounter.
When asked if it was possible that there were more victims, she
said: "When you look at the totality of the circumstances and the
number of victims that we have, I don't think it would be beyond
the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exist here."
Kelly also said the university's longtime football coach, Joe
Paterno, is not a target of the investigation into how the school
handled the accusations. "But somebody has to question about
what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being
that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child,"
Noonan said. "I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone.
Not whether you're a football coach or a university president or the
guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility
to call us."
Paterno has called the criminal charges shocking and troubling.
"If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of
professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims
and their families," he said in a statement Sunday. |
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California, San Marcos - 2/2/2011
San Marcos Skating Coach Arrested for Child Porn |
| |
Mark Mandina, 41, a figure skating coach, was in custody,
accused of videotaping a 12-year-old girl taking a shower
at his San Marcos home in 2007. He was arrested Friday in a small
city outside Boston after the San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept.
issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of possessing child
pornography. Local authorities began investigating Mandina in
2008 after a family member of the alleged victim found the
videotape and reported it, according to the San Diego Union
Tribune. Mandina and the girl’s father had been friends for years.
Mandina coached students at various ice skating rinks in
San Diego County. The newspaper did not report whether the
alleged victim was one of Mandina’s students. He is expected
to be returned to San Diego County, where he will be arraigned
in Vista Superior Court. |
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California, San Diego - 8/13/2010
Wrestling coach gets jail and probation in sex case
- UPDATE of 1/8/10 article |
| |
Ryan Paul Carnell, 29, of Rancho Bernardo, a former wrestling coach, was placed on probation for five years
and ordered to spend a year and half in jail. He also was
ordered to register as a sex offender for life. He pleaded
guilty April 30 to committing a lewd act on a child more than
10 years younger than himself. In a separate case he pleaded
no contest to sending a photo of his genitals to a minor.
The judge noted that Carnell would be sent to prison if he
violates the terms of probation. |
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California, San Diego - 8/5/2010
Girls volleyball coach faces molestation charges |
| |
Xia Wei Li, 29, a volleyball coach, who has worked at
La Jolla county Day School, was booked into county jail
on suspicion of various child molestation counts, involving
a 12-year-old girl at a camp last month, including lewd and
lascivious acts, oral copulation and sexual penetration
with a foreign object. Sources said DNA evidence links him to
the girl's clothing.
Police said Li coached for the Epic Volleyball Club in Poway
from 2006 through 2008 and the Coast Volleyball Club in
San Diego from 2008 through this year. |
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California, San Diego - 5/6/2010
Former Volleyball Coach sentenced
on sex charges
- UPDATE of 1/18/10 article |
| |
Dominic C. Scarfe, 32, a former volleyball
coach at Madison High School in Clairemont,
admitted he had sexual relations with a 17-year-old
female student, and was ordered to serve a year in
county jail and placed on probation for five years.
Scarfe pleaded guilty last month to unlawful sex with
a minor, oral copulation of a minor and a misdemeanor
count of possessing child pornography. Authorities
said he had a cell phone video of himself and the
victim engaging in a sex act. He was ordered to
register as a sex offender for life, noting that registration
was mandatory because he possessed sexual images
of someone under 18. The judge said probation was
appropriate given Scarfe’s lack of a previous criminal
record and his remorse. She also noted that he underwent
a psychological evaluation that determined he was not
a pedophile. |
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California, San Diego - 5/1/10
Ex-coach pleads guilty to lewd act on a child
- UPDATE of 1/8/10 article |
| |
Ryan Paul Carnell, 29, a former volunteer
wresting coach at Westview High School
in Rancho Penasquitos, pleaded guilty to a
charge of committing a lewd and lascivious
act on a child who was more than 10 years
younger than he. Carnell has a separate case
in which he pleaded no contest to sending
harmful matter, a photo of his genitals, to a minor.
He faces a maximum total sentence of 3 years
and 8 months in prison on both cases. |
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California, San Jose - 4/10/10
Oak Harbor Swim Coach Convicted of Rape
- UPDATE of 9/15/09 article |
| |
Andrew King, 61, is a serial child molester who used his position
as a swim coach to molest at least a dozen young girls, allegedly
including one Oak Harbor girl, over his 30-year career. He was
sentenced to 40 years in prison, earlier this year, in a California
courtroom after pleading no contest last fall to 20 child molestation
charges. |
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Olympic Governing Body Under Fire - 4/9/10
36 Coaches Banned for life because of
Sexual Misconduct with Teens |
| |
In a sex abuse scandal that some victims compare to what
happened in the Catholic Church, at least 36 swimming
coaches have been banned for life by the USA Swimming
organization, over the last 10 years, because of sexual
misconduct with teenagers they coached. One coach, Brian
Hindson of Kokomo, IN, secretly taped teenage girls he coached
in two high school pool locker rooms. He was sentenced in 2008
to 33 years in federal prison. In some cases, the swimming
coaches found to have been sexual predators were able to move
from town to town, one step ahead of police and victims and
their parents. |
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California, San Diego - 1/28/2010
Former Volleyball Coach denies
having sex with student |
| |
Dominic C. Scarfe, 32, a former volleyball
coach at Madison High School in Clairemont,
pleaded not guilty to nine felony counts related
to having sex with one of his students and one count
of possession of obscene material. If convicted, he
could be sent to prison for up to 27 years. |
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California, San Diego - 1/10/10
Coach’s arraignment canceled
- UPDATE of 1/8/10 article |
| |
The arraignment of Robin M. Alarcon, the
35-year-old girl's soccer coach at Del Norte
High School, was canceled yesterday while the
District Attorney's office reviews the case further.
Alarcon is accused of sending "very inappropriate"
text messages to one of his students. |
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California, San Diego - 1/8/10
Wrestling Coach charged with sex crimes |
| |
In December a former volunteer wrestling coach at Westview High School in Rancho Penasquitos,
Ryan Paul Carnell, was accused of molesting a
student. Separately, he is also accused of providing
pornography and marijuana to a teenage student at
the school. |
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California, San Diego - 1/8/10
Coach charged with sex crimes |
| |
Robin Alarcon, 35, who coached the girls
freshman soccer team at Del North High School,
was arrested for sending "very inappropriate" text
messages to a female student. Alarcon was also
a coach on other campuses, as well. He is also
a girl's club soccer coach for a team in Rancho
Penasquitos. He had cleared all background
checks. He is the latest Poway Unified School
District high school coach to be accused of improper
behavior. |
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California, San Jose 9/15/09
42-Year Sentence Sought for Coach |
| |
Former swim coach, Andrew King, 61, plead
no contest to child molestation charges. King had
been a head coach at San Jose Aquatics and a number
of swim clubs in the area over the past 40 years. Since
King was arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of
molesting a 14-yr. old girl, investigators say they
found 12 others who said they had been molested by
the coach. King remains in Santa Clara County Jail on
$3 million bail. Santa Clara County DA said that in
pushing for the full 42-yr. sentence for King, he hopes
to schedule a sentencing hearing before the winter
holidays. |
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California-Logan Heights-6/23/2006
Man gets 135 years to life for molesting 2 |
| |
John Gutierrez Rodriguez Jr., 44, a volunteer baseball and bowling coach was sentenced to 135 years to life in prison. Rodriguez is being charged with molesting two boys in the late 1990’s. |
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California, Santee - 3/4/2003
Volunteer Wrestling Coach Faces
Molest Charges |
| |
Authorities are trying to determine how a
fugitive accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl
was able to land a position as volunteer
wrestling coach at Santa High School.
Nicholas Martinez, 22, was arrested in New
York in spring 2001 after a 12-year-old
Lake County, California girl told authorities
that he molested her. He was brought back
to California, but was allowed to return to
New York to be discharged from the Army.
That was in Jan. 2002. He never came back
and authorities were looking for him for a year.
After his picture and story were shown on America’s Most Wanted, he eventually turned
himself in. |
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California, Ventura - 1/6/2003
Coach Pleads Guilty in Child Porn Case |
| |
A former diving coach, who was arrested as part
of a massive federal investigation targeting online
obscenity, has pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds
of images of child pornography. William G. Douglas,
45, ran Dive Thousand Oaks, a private youth diving
club. He was one of five Ventura County coaches
or teachers charged last year with sex crimes against
children. |
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California-Santa Ana-9/28/2002
Soccer coach gets prison for sex with girl |
| |
Henry Sosa, 42, was sentenced to state prison for having sex with a 15-year-old female soccer player. Sosa was a soccer coach for the club team "surf". The incident took place at a hotel in Irvine, California. Sosa had bought alcohol and got the young soccer player extremely intoxicated, before having sex with her in the hotel. Sosa pleaded guilty to six counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child and was sentenced to 52 months behind bars. |
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California-San Diego-3/26/2002
Youth Coach is Portrayed as Molester |
| |
Ernest Brooks, 41, is accused of molesting four youth from a San Diego baseball league. Brooks would have large sleepover parties, in which he would have children sleep in his bed with him. Four boys who range in age from 11 to 15, will testify that Brooks fondled them in bed. |
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California-El Cajon-1/12/2002
Coach gets year for sex abuse |
| |
Randolph Dimacali, 37, was the founder of the San Diego shores water polo club in 1992. Dimacali would bring teenage boys, who he coached to his home in Clairemont, give them alcohol and marijuana while molesting them. Dimacali was sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation. |
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California-San Diego-1/12/2002
Former Little League coach faces trial
for molestation charges |
| |
Ernest Brooks, 40, faces eight counts of molesting four boys he met at the Adams Avenue Recreation Center Park in San Diego. They have all testified that Brooks, their little league coach fondled them during sleepovers at his Chula Vista residence. |
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Massachusetts-Salem-7/10/2001
Man Pleads to 75 Sex-abuse Charges |
| |
Christopher Reardon, 29, a former youth leader and YMCA swim coach in Massachusetts is facing 130 counts of child molestation involving 29 children. |
Categories of Child Sexual Abuse Cases (click on
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