SEXUAL ABUSE AGAINST CHILDREN

4 MEN GANG RAPE 13-YR-OLD GIRL & HAVE HER SIGN CONSENT FORM

Posted by Ms. Wanda on January 4th, 2011


What is this world coming to? Four men gang raped a 13-year-old girl and then had the nerve to make her sign a “consent form.” How disgusting is that.


A 13-year-old girl in Austin, TX was gang raped by four gang members in a horrific tale that sounds terrible enough as is. But the kicker to this sad story is the 19-year-old girl is still at large who forced the
young girl to sign a “consent form.”

This grim story begins when the 13-year-old dialed a wrong number and ended up speaking to 21-year-old Vance Harris and Bernard Small. The men convinced the young girl to meet with them and be picked up from her home. Once the girl was picked up at her home, she was sexually assaulted in the car and taken to a house and assaulted some more. But now another gang member had joined the fray. The young girl then had to have sex with Ray Harper because “this is what Bloods do.”

Another man then joined to make it four disgusting men who felt they needed rape someone’s little girl. The young girl cried and screamed until 19-year-old Rebecca Ward entered the room. But instead of offering a helping hand, she made the young girl sign a “consent form.” They then had the nerve to drop the girl off to her parents, who then mustered up the courage and promptly told her parents what took place.

The four men have been arrested. But the girl who made her sign the form is still out there

Church Members Accused Of Sex Crimes

Prosecutors: Pastor's Son, Brother-In-Law Molested Teen Members Of Church
January 11, 2011

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Prosecutors said what two men did behind the sacred walls of Greater Refuge Temple in Northwest Jacksonville is deeply disturbing.

Paul Groover and his brother-in-law Darrell Moore are charged with sex crimes against teenage members of their own church. Groover is not only the son of the church's pastor, but also the long-time custodian at the church.

According to court documents, the molestation and sexual battery had been going on for a decade, but nothing was done about it.

One victim told authorities Moore sexually assaulted her while holding a knife and then told her "not to say anything to anyone" and that "he would kill her if she told," according to the documents. In the documents, Moore is also accused of "inappropriately hugging" victims in church several times, at least once during a prayer. When pressed for details about the hugs, Moore, who worked at the church as a cameraman, told detectives, "He knew what he did was wrong," according to the documents.

Police said the abuse didn't stop there. Groover is also being charged with three counts of custodial sexual battery after police said he molested a 13-year-old boy.
Investigators said Groover admitted to having a relationship with the teen, telling them he'd had at least 20 different sexual encounters with the boy inside the
church and sent nude photos of himself to the victim.

Groover also admitted that he and the boy were almost caught once during a Bible study, but the door was locked and they stayed quiet, police said.

An arrest warrant shows that in a recorded conversation between the victim and Groover, he told the teen, "Your foolishness is going to destroy the ministry. The devil wants to destroy us all." Groover went on to say, "This foolishness must be put in the past. Get over it. Forgive. Move on," according to the warrant.

Police said Groover admitted what he did was wrong and he knew it and has repented before God. Prosecutors said it wasn't the victims who came forward in the case. They said the allegations were brought to investigators' attention by an anonymous person.

"They love their church. It's all they've ever known," assistant state attorney Jessica Villella said. "What their fears are are being made to feel like they've done something wrong and that they're at fault, and that's why we're here: to put people who are at fault in their proper places so these children don't feel that they can let that go."

Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sex Trafficker Sentenced To Life In Prison

29-Year-Old Admitted To Selling Teen Runaway For Sex

Monday, January 10, 2011

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It was an emotional few hours in a federal courtroom Monday afternoon as 29-year-old Ian Gordon was sentenced to life in prison for child sex
trafficking.Prosecutors said Gordon, of Tallahassee, admitted to selling a teen runaway for sex, a crime the judge called barbaric. He pleaded guilty in September.

According to a federal indictment, the victim, whose identity is being protected because she was just 15 at the time, ran away from The Players Championship Village, a teen rehabilitation center, in February and came into contact with Gordon. She admittedly had been using drugs at the time. According to the documents, Gordon began prostituting the girl from his Arlington apartment and multiple motels citywide for about two weeks. Prosecutors said she performed commercial sex acts at Gordon's command at least 50 times.Gordon "advised his friend that he was going to make a lot of money off (the victim)," according to a Department of Justice indictment.Detectives said they found out Gordon had been "using his cellular phone to contact potential customers and show them nude pictures of the victim. "Prosecutors said Gordon threatened the
girl and her family, saying he "had killed people in the past, and it would not bother him to kill her," according to the indictment.The girl told the court Monday that Gordon beat, bruised and raped her when she tried to leave. She was eventually able to escape and find her mother, who reported what happened to police, prosecutors said.

The victim's family members took the stand, periodically breaking out in tears. The girl's mother told the courtroom the teen was an "easygoing and a fun-loving child until she was robbed of her innocence." Then the girl took the stand, just feet away from the man she unlovingly called "her boss. "She said in a short poem, "I was raped, broken, bruised, and I never felt so used."

Before Gordon was sentenced, he chose to take the stand. "I allowed drugs to take over my life. I want to apologize and I am wrong," he said.Gordon was one of six men arrested last year in connection with the sex trafficking of the girl.

Child sex offender sentence fury

Wednesday 12th January 2011

THE mother of a girl who was sexually abused has said her attacker’s sentence has “trivialised” his crime and the anguish of her family.

Wayne McNamee, aged 20, last known to be living in St John’s, Worcester, admitted sexual enticement of a minor.

At Hereford Crown Court, he was sentenced to a two-year community order and must also sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

His victim’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “This sentence is more like counselling and therapy sessions for two years.


“It’s not even like cleaning graffiti off a bus stop. "It just belittled and trivialised what happened. It has been a nightmare.”

Her daughter – who was 12 at the time of the offences – was targeted by McNamee who, having known the family for a number of years, said his feelings changed towards the girl when she was 12.

He began sending her sexually explicit text messages, and pleaded guilty on the basis he would not have had sex with her until she was 16.

“Basically, he groomed her,” said her mother. “Naturally, she felt flattered this man was paying her attention. She thought it was good to have a boyfriend of that age.”


It was only discovered when her shocked mother stumbled upon a text and reported it to the police.


Adding to the anguish of such a discovery, it took six months for her daughter to realise the seriousness of what had happened.

“He had months to brainwash her,” her mother said. “Everything he told her would happen - that he would get into trouble - happened. She believed him for a long time and thought we were in the wrong.

“It’s an awful mixture of feelings. There’s the guilt because I did not see it before.

"He used to chat to me. He was very clever and manipulative.

“I did catch it in time because they didn’t have sex, but the anger you feel even still.

“You feel like a failure. We thought we had behaved responsibly with our children.

"We never let them roam outdoors, we gave them mobile phones so they could contact us, we always picked them up and we let them on the internet for homework.”

In the time which has elapsed between the discovery of the text and McNamee being sentenced, the family have all suffered.

The victim’s father has had two serious health problems, which will have lasting effects, while the victim herself has had problems at school, had to have counselling and visit the hospital for
stress-related illnesses.

But for her mother, it is still the horror of his crime which plays on her mind.

“Twelve is still a child - and she was my child,” she said.

McNamee is also prevented from contacting the victim by a restraining order.

GUILTY: Wayne McNamee

---

Orlando man accused of trying to have sex with '14-year-old girl'

Lake County deputies say Robert Olson made arrangements with an undercover detective posing as the uncle of a 14-year-old girl.

2:39 p.m. EST, January 13, 2011

Lake County deputy sheriffs arrested a man who they say thought he was going to have sex with a 14-year-old girl after making arrangements online with an undercover deputy, officials said.

Robert Olson, 36, of Orlando was charged Thursday with traveling to meet with a minor for sex, lewd and lascivious behavior with a minor under 16 and soliciting the parent/guardian to have sex with their child.

Sgt. Jim Vachon said Olson contacted a detective posing as the uncle of a 14-year-old girl online. They arranged a meeting location and time for Olson to have sex with the child, he said.

When Olson arrived to the location in Clermont, deputies arrested him.


Olson admitted to bringing condoms "just in case" but said he didn't think anything was actually going to happen. He also said he watches child pornography, detectives said.

Olson is being held at the Lake County Jail on $12,000 bond.

More possible victims sought in child porn case against freelance photographer

John Earl Huntt, a freelance photographer, is charged with possessing child pornography.

John Earl Huntt (Orange County Jail, Orange County Jail / January 13, 2011)

January 14 2011

Central Florida investigators are looking for potential victims in a child pornography case against an Orlando freelance photographer.

John Earl Huntt, 53, was arrested last month by members of the Orlando Innocent Images/Crimes Against Children Task Force on almost a dozen child-pornography charges.

Investigators who searched his home on Spring Vale Drive said they found pornography depicting children possibly as young as five years old, according to the FBI.

Huntt had access to children through his job as a photographer. Investigators are concerned there may be potential victims who have not been identified.

The task force asks anyone with information to call investigator Grettel Chavarria at 407-999-5588.

Juvenile justice counselor Tony Simmons shoved his hands in my pants at court, teen recalls

Friday, January 14th 2011

Tony Simmons is charged with sexually preying on three girls who were in his care.

Related News

• A predator walks
  
• Vance: Repeat offenders must pay dearly for their crimes
  
• Blaze breaks out in Manhattan courthouse, prompting evacuation
  
• Campaign questionnaire: Leslie Crocker Snyder
  
• Manhattan DA candidate Cyrus Vance: Campaign questionnaire
  
• Cy Vance for DA
  
• 
  

A troubled teen recounted in X-rated detail Thursday how a juvenile justice counselor allegedly shoved his hands in her pants at Manhattan family court.

Tony Simmons, who is charged with sexually preying on three girls who were in his care, played the movie "Meet the Browns" for the girl and offered her cookies shortly before making his move from behind, the 18-year-old girl said.

"I turned around to look at him and that's when he started kissing me," she said of her July 2008 encounter with Simmons, 47. "He asked for my number."

The $37,000-a-year Department of Juvenile Justice employee previously admitted raping a 15-year-old in a courthouse elevator and forcing a 16-year-old to give him oral sex, in addition to the sexual assault on the Bronx teen.

"He was a man with authority, a man with a badge," prosecutor Evan Krutoy said in his opening statement.

A Manhattan judge voided Simmons' earlier guilty plea, which came with the promise of no jail time, that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance blasted as "outrageously lenient."

A lawyer for Simmons said the allegations were "made up" by "out-of-control" girls.

"They were desperate to try to get out of custody," lawyer Gregory Watford said. "They said whatever it took to change their situation."

Child Porn Charges Issued Against Former Missionary

FBI Agents Raid Oviedo Home Friday Morning

January 15, 2011

OVIEDO, Fla. -- Dozens of child pornography charges have been issued against a local missionary who investigators said has worked closely with children for decades.Samuel Warlick was the target of an FBI raid in Oviedo on Friday morning. According to a criminal complaint, Warlick distributed about 40 pictures of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program over the Internet.In the 1980s, police said, Warlick's parents were missionaries in Africa and Asia. A review panel for the Presbyterian Church determined a then-6-year-old Warlick sexually abused children at a housing facility for missionary families in the Congo. Since that time, he has either worked or participated in activities with Winter Park Presbyterian Church and with a Boy Scout troop in Orlando, investigators said.Warlick's neighbors said they're stunned.

"You think little children, somebody who doesn't have control of their own lives, they can manipulate them," said neighbor Tom Randolph. "You don't want to do anything, an adult, to try to manipulate a child for your own selfish gain. " Warlick was charged with distribution and possession of child pornography.

Fed prosecutors in NY get child porn restitution

ALBANY, N.Y. — Federal prosecutors intent on stemming child pornography and helping care for its victims are increasingly going after the assets of offenders under an evolving change in Justice Department policy.

In one of the most recent cases, a former provost marshal at the U.S. Army's sprawling Fort Drum in northern New York was sentenced to almost six years in prison for possessing and sharing child pornography and will soon pay $10,000 each to two victims identified from among more than 700 images of children he had. The payments are meant to deter sharing images of exploited children and to help pay for their later psychiatric or other treatment, authorities said.

Federal prosecutors said there are thousands of cases nationally, the crime proliferating with the Internet. There are 163 open matters now in the Northern District of New York, ranging from criminal appeals to initial investigations that may become cases. "I would say in our closed inventory, there are hundreds of cases. They've been convicted, sentenced and their conviction has been affirmed on appeal," said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, deputy chief of the criminal division in the district that stretches from the mid-Hudson Valley to the Canadian border and west to Syracuse and Binghamton.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher prosecutes child porn cases almost exclusively, with another assistant at the Syracuse office assigned to help with the backlog. Federal prosecutors in three other offices are likewise busy, with ongoing federal investigations and referrals from county district attorneys.

"We're getting more and more people with hands-on offenses and more and more people trying to meet underage kids," Fletcher said.

According to the Justice Department, its project against exploitation of minors has increased prosecutions 40 percent since 2006, with 2,315 indictments filed against 2,427 defendants in 2009 and almost 9,000 charged altogether over four years. More than 3,000 victims of child pornography crimes were identified, with many rescued. Fletcher prosecuted former Fort Drum Lt. Col. Christopher Butler, 44, whose December sentence included 25 years of post-release supervision. Butler pleaded guilty to two charges: transporting child pornography in interstate and foreign commerce and possessing it. While deployed in Iraq in 2008, he sent images by Internet to an undercover agent. More than 700 were found on his home computers at Fort Drum, where he was one of the officers responsible for law enforcement.

"I could have everybody in my office doing these cases full time," Fletcher said. "There really is that much out there."

While some offenders have challenged restitution, which began almost two years ago, and courts are still sorting out how to handle it, Butler agreed to pay $10,000 to each identified victim, Fletcher said. One, now 19, was rescued from an abuser at age 11. "Her picture is all over the Internet," the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Thomas Cerio said Tuesday the payments are being processed. He said that Butler, married with children, expressed remorse at sentencing, for the victims and for letting his family and the country down. Butler also lost his pension. He wasn't producing pornography, Cerio said.

"The realization he came to is if it weren't for people looking for these types of things online there wouldn't be a market for them and hence there wouldn't be victims," Cerio said. "The fact is he had and is recovering from a sickness and is going through the treatment for it."

Fletcher also prosecuted Timothy Denis, 28, of North Syracuse, who was sentenced in November to almost 22 years in prison and lifetime supervision for possessing and receiving child pornography. Investigators said he also sent live webcam images of himself and his 5-year-old daughter. Judge David Hurd, who also sentenced Butler, left the restitution in Denis' case to be determined. In other cases around the country, judges have approved victim payments ranging from $1,000 to $200,000.

Prosecutors in North Dakota decided in September to appeal U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson's rejection of nearly $3.7 million in restitution to two victims by Robert Scheiring. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography. Authorities said they found more than 600,000 pictures and 2,400 videos.

"The main issue is taking a young child who is abused or photographed or videotaped. The videotape is passed around the Internet. How do you calculate the damage to that young child as the image is viewed?" Pericak said. "Suppose it's viewed by 100 or 1,000 or 150,000 people. Is there extra damage from each viewing?"

Prosecutors and victim advocates say that there clearly is harm done. The children grow up and wonder if the people they meet have seen the images. Some will end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in psychiatric, psychological or other treatment bills from the trauma of abuse.

"These are crime scene photos. This has nothing whatever to do with free speech. It's not pornography at all," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "This is a problem that has absolutely exploded with the advent of the Internet."

Following a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that essentially found a real child had to be harmed for these cases to be actionable, Allen said the center has worked with authorities to review 44 million child porn images and videotapes and has identified 3,365 child victims. They have also worked with Internet service providers to remove content. While federal courts have all found that child pornography victims are eligible for restitution, they have disagreed about amounts. "It will never be possible to arrest and prosecute everybody, but our hope is there will be some level of deterrence," he said.

FBI: 1,000 Images Of Child Porn On Man's Computer

Winter Park Man Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
January 16, 2011

WINTER PARK, Fla. -- A Winter Park man was arrested Thursday, accused of having more than 1,000 images of child pornography on his computer, depicting children as young as infants.

According to the FBI, Jason Powell, 29, had graphic online conversations and solicited sexual pictures from who he believed were children.

His mom, a former Orange County school teacher didn't want to give her name but she talked to Local 6 about what happened. "He's been such a good kid. We had no idea. And one thing I'm very glad of, is that he's been so open and honest with the FBI," she said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge, David Baker, set Powell's bond at $25,000. Baker said Powell will have to wear a GPS monitoring device, he can't have access to the internet, can't have unsupervised contact with minors and must continue to live at home with his parents.

Report Raises New Concern About Child Porn Suspect

January 15, 2011

OVIEDO, Fla. -- One man was arrested Friday in a child porn bust on Pecan Street in Oviedo. Investigators aren't saying much about the arrest, which is not unusual with federal cases.

The man arrested, identified Friday afternoon as 39-year-old Samuel Warlick, didn't say anything as he was escorted to a waiting unmarked cruiser and hauled off for questioning WFTV confirmed the Innocent Images National Taskforce raided the man's home on Pecan Street in Oviedo on Friday morning.

The group, made up of local and federal agents, works online undercover to stop those who prey children.

WFTV also confirmed the agents executed a federal search warrant for child porn at 7:00am. Four hours later, they brought out two computers and bags of CDs.

Once the scene was cleared, WFTV knocked on his door but got no answer. Neighbors told WFTV Warlick lives with two other people and keeps to himself. The only time they'd see him was at night when he'd walk his German shepherd.

"You know, you have instincts and I had a bad feeling about ever since I started seeing him walking around," neighbor Jim Bowden said.

Several families with small children live near the home. WFTV noticed toys and basketball nets in many driveways.

"It's really scary. I see kids playing outside all the time with their parents. It's really scary," neighbor Ashley Frye said.

In addition to the recent arrest, a report from the U.S. Presbyterian Church shows that Warlick allegedly sexually abused children. The report put together by the church's independent abuse review panel says in the 1980's when Warlick was at least 16, he fondled two younger children while he was living in a Methodist-Presbyterian hostel in Congo.

There were other occasions over a two year period where Warlick would allegedly engage in sexual conversations with children at the hostel. In one instance, Warlick even identified himself as a pedophile.

The report also identified other places where Warlick participated in activities or worked after he left the hostel. Out of the 8 locations, 3 are in Orange County: The Winter Park Presbyterian Church, a local Boy Scout troop, and the Park Lake Presbyterian Church near Colonial Drive.

Registered sex offender faces new charges

January 18, 2011 11:43 AM

A registered sex offender is accused of participating in sex acts with children.

Shannon Eugene McGaha, 33, of Gastonia, was charged Friday with two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. Arrest warrants did not include information about the age of the victim or victims or the location of the offenses.

One of the charges was brought about by Gaston County Police and the other by Gastonia Police.

McGaha, a registered sex offender, was convicted of first-degree sex offense of a child in 1996. He also faced three indecent liberties charges and an additional sex offense charge that were consolidated for judgment. He was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison, according to the North Carolina Department of Correction website.

McGaha was released from prison in 2004 and charged with failing to register as a sex offender in 2005, according to the NCDOC website. McGaha also had several in-fractions while in prison including fighting and disobeying orders, the website states.

The Gastonia man is being held in Gaston County Jail under a $1 million.

Cops: Woman Forced To Watch Daughter Being Raped

January 20, 2011

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- A 32-year-old man is accused of forcing his girlfriend to watch while he sexually assaulted her 12-year-old daughter three times.

Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies said the attack happened Wednesday morning at the mother's home. Jerome Nubin of Punta Gorda is charged with sexual battery on a 12-year-old, aggravated assault, kidnapping and domestic battery. He is being held without bond in the Charlotte County Jail.

Detectives said Nubin threatened the mother and child with a baseball bat. He also slapped and punched the mother before assaulting the child.

The sheriff's office was contacted by the child's grandfather. The grandfather says Nubin also threatened him with a bat and threw bricks, a child's scooter and a lamp at him.

Sex offender arrested at restaurant playground


Raleigh, N.C. — A registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday after he was seen in the play area of a McDonald's in Raleigh, authorities said.

Jefferson Benjamin Simmons, 52, of 3704 Hillcrest Drive in Raleigh, was at the McDonald's at 4121 Blue Ridge Road, authorities said. An arrest warrant indicates that Simmons violated the conditions of registering as a sex offender by going to the children's playground.

Simmons was convicted in Guilford County in 1996 of indecent liberties with a minor, according to state Department of Correction records. He was convicted on the same charge in Wake County in 1984, records show.

Maurice Martinez, 44, Also Faces 3 Counts Of Oral Sodomy

January 20, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City police sergeant has been arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts with a child.

Maurice Martinez, 44, could be charged with three counts of oral sodomy and two counts of lewd acts with child under 16. Authorities said he was briefly held on an $80,000 bond before making bail early Thursday.

Martinez is an 18-year veteran of the police force, currently assigned to the south side of the city as a patrol officer. He is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

The investigation into Martinez began Friday, according to Capt. Patrick Stewart. Stewart said an anonymous call was made to the Department of Human Services concerning sexual abuse of a boy under 16. The sex crime unit spent the weekend investigating the allegations before confronting and arresting Martinez.

“We investigate all crimes the same way,” said Stewart. “It doesn’t matter if the suspect is an officer or not.” Martinez has been a foster parent for 11 years.

Stewart said three adopted sons and three foster sons reside with him. Martinez also has a fourth adopted son, an 18-year-old, who lives outside the home.

“Our department is obviously working with DHS to determine if there were other foster children that have been through this home, identify who they are so we can interview them as well,” Stewart said.

Stewart said all six boys have been removed from the residence by DHS.

Ex-Officer Faces Additional Sex Charges

53-Year-Old Accused Of Having Sex With Teen Boy, Possibly Other Victims

January 21, 2011

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- More victims have come forward with allegations against a 53-year-old St. Johns County man who is facing additional charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a child, St. Johns County deputies said.

Detectives said the new victims spoke with them following the arrest of James Scharfschwerdt at his St. Augustine home last month.

Deputies said one victim spent at least one night at Scharfschwerdt's home. The victim told deputies that Scharfschwerdt supplied him with alcohol and fondled him, deputies said.

Investigators said the victim told his father about what happened last month after Scharfschwerdt was arrested on charges in a similar case. Two additional victims said Scharfschwerdt also gave them alcohol and fondled them in the past, deputies said.


Deputies said the investigation began seven months ago when a teen boy reported an incident that occurred several years ago alleging that Scharfschwerdt had sex with him.

Detectives said they learned that Scharfschwerdt was a former Vero Beach police officer in South Florida and was arrested in 1988 on similar allegations from numerous victims. He was acquitted on those charges.

Detectives said they served a search warrant at Scharfschwerdt's home in St. Johns County where they seized several items of possible evidence that will have to be analyzed.

Scharfschwerdt is still in the St. Johns County Jail on bonds totaling $1.5 million.

Missing 'U' student is suspect in child porn case







MINNEAPOLIS - University police are looking for a missing student that is a suspect in a child pornography case.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued an alert Saturday after the parents of 20-year-old Keaton Patrick Murphy expressed concern that he may be depressed and suicidal.

Murphy was last seen leaving the Hennepin County Jail on January 20^th around 7:15 p.m.

Police describe Murphy to be 5'11" and 250 lbs. with hazel eyes and sandy brown hair. The student faces felony charges in a child pornography distribution case, according to the alert. Family and friends have not had contact with Murphy since his booking and release pending formal complaint.

Police say they are not conducting a criminal investigation and are concerned for Murphy's welfare.

Anyone with knowledge of Murphy's whereabouts is asked to contact the University of Minnesota Police Department at (612) 624-COPS.

Man arrested on child-porn charges days after roommate's bust

Mark Tousignant, 37, of Kissimmee was picked up after an inspection of his home computer revealed 30 photo classified as child pornography, the Sheriff's Office said. (Osceola County Sheriff's Office / January 24, 2011)

January 24, 2011

Osceola County Sheriff's detectives arrested a Kissimmee man last week on child pornography charges, days after arresting his roommate on a sex charge. Mark Tousignant, 37, of Royal Bay Boulevard, was picked up on Wednesday after an inspection of his home computer revealed 30 photos classified as child pornography, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain.

Tousignant was charged with 30 counts of possession of a photo of a sexual performance by a child, according to Osceola County Jail records. He remains held in lieu of $30,000 bail.

Five days earlier, Tousignant's roommate, David Joseph, was charged on Jan. 14 with lewd and lascivious conduct, Lizasuain said. Joseph, 40, remains held without bail in the Osceola County Jail.

Castration defendant flees court during recess

A man accused of attempting to castrate an 11-year-old boy in 2008 walked out of a Cumberland County courtroom Monday and hasn't been seen since, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.

Lawmen are looking for Todd Louis Lanford, 36, of the 6600 block of Clinton Road in Fayetteville, said Debbie Tanna, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Lanford was accused of abusing his girlfriend's son in November 2008 when the boy was 11 years old, Tanna said. He was charged with malicious castration, first-degree sex offense, assault on a child under the age of 12, taking indecent liberties with a child, assault by strangulation and felonious child abuse inflicting serious injury, according to Tanna.

Lanford had posted bail on the charges and was living with his parents on Clinton Road while awaiting trial, Tanna said. Lanford was in court Monday, as scheduled, for a hearing and discussion of a plea agreement, Tanna said.

When court recessed to allow his lawyer and the prosecutor to discuss the plea deal, Lanford was told to return to the courtroom at a certain time, Tanna said.

Lanford didn't come back, and a warrant charging him with failing to appear in court was issued, Tanna said.

Lanford could have been sentenced to 90 years in prison, Tanna said, but the plea agreement would have reduced that to 20 years.

Local lawmen and federal marshals are looking for Lanford, who is about 6 feet tall and has brown hair and hazel eyes. Lanford has scars on the left side of his chest and on his stomach.

Anyone who has information about Lanford is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 323-1500.

Federal prison guard arrested for child porn possession


Marion County investigators found thousands of picture and video files containing obscene material on Ronnie Young's home computer and external hard drives.

Federal corrections officer Ronnie Young, 43, was arrested in Marion County on 50 counts of possessing child pornography, authorities said. (Marion County Sheriff's Office, Marion County Sheriff's Office / January 27, 2011)

5:38 p.m. EST, January 27, 2011

Marion County deputy sheriffs arrested a federal corrections officer after authorities found thousands of picture and video files containing child pornography on his computer.

Ronnie Young, 43, of Dunnellon was charged with 50 counts of possession of child pornography with intent to distribute after investigators confiscated his computer and multiple external hard drives.

Young works as a corrections officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County, officials said.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jenifer Lowe said detectives tracked internet file transfers containing the obscene materials using Young's IP address. When they learned the files originated from his computer, investigators obtained a search warrant for Young's home, Lowe said.

Young's bond was set at $500,000. He is being held at the Marion County jail.

Ponce Inlet Man Accused Of Molesting Children

William Gaddy Jailed Without Bail

January 27, 2011

PONCE INLET, Fla. -- A Ponce Inlet man was arrested Wednesday on charges of molesting two young children for more than a year.

William Gaddy, 36, surrendered to authorities.

Investigators said they opened an investigation Monday and are working with the Department of Children and Families on the case.

Gaddy is accused of sexual battery and lewd and and lascivious molestation of children under the age of 12. No bail was set.