3/21/14: Today’s Round-up of Child Sex Abuse in the News
LOCAL
Los Angeles, CA – Third-grade student accused of sexually assaulting classmate
Authorities Wednesday were investigating allegations that a third-grade boy at a Riverside elementary school sexually assaulted another boy repeatedly since last year. The alleged abuse took place five to seven times and began when the Adams Elementary School students were in second grade, said Jacquie Paul, spokeswoman for the Riverside Unified School District. “One of the young boys apparently was coercing another young boy to perform sexual acts,” she said. Read more here:
Los Angeles, CA – Third-grade student accused of sexually assaulting classmate
UCLA police are searching for a man who sexually battered a student in Westwood outside the Palomar Hotel. The attack occurred around 9 p.m. Sunday outside the hotel at 10740 Wilshire Blvd., according to a statement from the UCLA Police Department. The female student was talking on her cellphone and walking in front of the hotel when a man approached her from behind and forcefully grabbed her, police said. The victim told authorities she turned around and saw the man running toward a newer model, silver sedan parked on Selby Avenue. Read more here:
Camarillo, CA – L.A. County welfare worker accused of molesting child in Camarillo
A Los Angeles County welfare case worker was arrested Thursday on suspicion of molesting a 7-year-old in Camarillo and two others in Los Angeles, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office reported. Luis Gonzalez, 62, of Atwater Village in Los Angeles, was arrested at home Thursday morning, officials said. Gonzalez has worked for nine years as a Los Angeles County welfare eligibility case worker — a job that includes dealing with families and having access to children, authorities said. Read more here:
NATIONAL
Des Moines, IA – Father of former youth pastor guilty of sex abuse hopes son can return to Ohio
The father of a former Des Moines youth pastor who pleaded guilty to sexual abuse hopes his son will be allowed to return to Ohio instead of going to prison. Ryan Matthew McKelvey, 27, pleaded guilty last month to one count of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or clergy after two female teenagers told police that they’d kissed and had sexual contact with McKelvey. McKelvey worked as a youth pastor at the Heritage Assembly Church and the two victims were students at the church’s unaccredited school, according to court papers. Read more here:
Brooklyn, NY – Another Brooklyn school engulfed in sex scandal
Officials at Brooklyn’s P.S. 219 mishandled an 11-year-old’s complaint of sexual abuse, a report by NYC’s Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) revealed. The investigation found that Assistant Principal Patricia Sabater and Guidance Counselor Rebecca Shaffren mismanaged a complaint made by female student who had alleged that she was sexually abused by male students. Read more here:
Brooklyn, NY – Prison guard gets jail time for sexually abusing inmate
A man who worked as both a counselor and guard at a detention center will serve time behind bars for sexually abusing a female prisoner. According to the New York Daily News, when Theodore Raines worked at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, an inmate said that she was raped by him. Raines denied her claim and argued that the sex was consensual. A second inmate then came forward and claimed that she too was sexually assaulted by the 60-year-old. A judge sentenced Raines on Wednesday to 16 months in prison. Read more here:
Fort Bragg, NC – US general spared prison in sexual misconduct case
The Army general at the center of a sexual misconduct case that put the military justice system itself on trial was spared prison Thursday and sentenced to a reprimand and a $20,000 fine – a punishment that legal experts, a women’s group and members of Congress decried as shockingly light. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, 51, immediately announced his retirement, capping a humiliating fall for the battle-tested commander once regarded as a rising star in the Army. A disciplinary board could still bust him in rank and severely reduce his pension. Read more here:
College Station, PA – Prosecutor: More Penn State officials knew for years about Sandusky abuse
Seven months before Jerry Sandusky’s arrest, investigators believed they were on the verge of a bigger bombshell: that top officials at Pennsylvania State University had for years protected a serial sex abuser who assaulted young boys on campus. In a closed-door meeting, Deputy Attorney General Frank G. Fina asked a judge to let them get years of e-mails from officials, including coach Joe Paterno and President Graham B. Spanier. “It appears possible that quite a number of people at Penn State University either knew or suspected something untoward was happening,” Fina said. Read more here:
Kensington, MD – Former Montgomery social studies teacher pleads guilty in sex-abuse case
A former Montgomery County social studies teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to sex abuse in a case centered on sexually charged e-mails and conversations he had with a 16-year-old student. Richard Shemer,(50) who taught and coached at Albert Einstein High School, faces up to five years in prison at his sentencing hearing scheduled for June. His attorney is expected to argue for no jail time in part, he said, because Shemer never touched the student. Read more here:
St. Louis, MO – New website encourages anonymous students to share assault experiences
Since the website went live Friday night, about half a dozen students have posted anonymous personal experiences with sexual assault on It Happens Here: WUSTL, an online platform for Washington University students to share stories they may not feel comfortable sharing publicly. One of the website’s co-creators, junior Haley Hill, got the idea from a friend who showed her a similar site for Northwestern University. She worked with sophomore Heather Berlin to collect resources and set up the website during spring break before officially going live at the end of last week. “The goal of the website is to provide a safe space for voices to be heard,” Berlin said. Read more here:
Mechanicsburg, PA – English teacher sexually assaults student: Arraigned-out on bail-awaiting trial
Emily Nesbit, 31, was an English teacher at the Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Pa. This likeable teacher has been accused of institutional sexual assault on an 18 year-old student who is a junior or eleventh grader. The allegations according to a news report on March 17 by CBS News states that there was not only a sexual act performed inside of her classroom but also graphic texts were sent to him as well. She sent him photos that were slightly inappropriate and messages describing her desires and yearns she had towards the student. Read more here:
Estero, FL – Former Estero teacher charged with sexual assault
An Estero High School student told deputies she had sex with a (now) former teacher. 25-year-old Domenic Frank turned himself in to Lee County deputies Tuesday night. Frank was charged with sexual assault. Read more here:
Harrisburg, PA – Guest Voice of State Sen. Judy Schwank: Protect Pa. college students from sexual assault
Some of the scariest places in the world are ones we mistake as being the safest, like college campuses. Students of all combinations of age, sex and background go to learn how to philosophize, engineer, lead, build and improve life. Their lessons challenge them as they are pushed into questions and experiences they never expect. But there are other unforeseen challenges, too, particularly for women, in being safe at a party or in a private conversation, or even on a walk across campus. The reality of sexual assault on campuses in Pennsylvania and across the country is, unfortunately, a very daunting one. Read more here:
Lynchburg, VA – Marginalizing the abused: Six ways survivors are treated as insignificant
Marginalize (verb): To treat a person as insignificant. (Oxford Dictionary) “He has worked hard to convince everyone that I am crazy.” These were the words of a woman who was speaking about a relative who had sexually abused her as a child for years. This well-known and “respected” relative has been successful in keeping her abuse disclosures ignored for many years by convincing anyone that listens that she is an irrational and troubled individual. After years of being labeled “crazy” and being ignored, this survivor became silent and even found herself struggling with whether or not the baseless label was legitimate. Do you see what happened? A person who is well liked and well-respected in the community is accused of horrific behavior that the community prefers not to believe. Read more here:
Fall River, MA – Brothers accused of molestation turn down plea deals
Two local brothers who are each facing child molestation charges have recently turned down offers of plea agreements. Richard Perry of Warren is accused of molesting three separate victims and scheduled to go on trial May 12. He was formerly a Bristol Little League umpire and coach and Kickemuit Middle School custodian. Read more here:
Markham, IL – Man Facing Sex Abuse Charges Tied To Now-Closed Lansing Daycare
A Grant Park man was charged Monday with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, in connection with incidents that happened in the early ‘90s at a south suburban daycare center; the charges from the early 90’s stem from incidents that happened at an unlicensed, in-home daycare center. Read more here:
INTERNATIONAL
Kampala, Uganda – Uganda female runners allege sex abuse
A group of top Ugandan women runners have accused a national athletics coach of systematic sexual harassment and abuse ahead of last week’s Africa Cross Country Championships, a report said Thursday. The Daily Monitor newspaper said the female runners spent a month at a training camp preparing for the competition, but were subjected to late-night visits and demands for sexual favours. “He would wake up in the middle of the night and come to our room,” an unnamed female runner was quoted as saying by the paper. “He threatened to chase us from camp if we ever said anything or turned him down. We didn’t have any female coach to run to. It was horrible. On some days, he would call one or two of us to his nearby house. If you refused to do what he wanted, he would beat you up.” Read more here:
Begorat Hill, Trinidad and Tobago – Suspected molester in line-up today
The Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (CEPEP) worker accused of molesting eight children near a primary school was interviewed by investigators yesterday. Police said the 34-year-old suspect of Begorat Hill, Mayaro, was interrogated for several hours and would appear before identification parades this morning. Investigators have also viewed footage from closed circuit television cameras in the area. Eight pupils reported that the CEPEP worker walked passed them and touched their private parts while playing at a recreation ground during the lunch break on Monday. Read more here:
Delhi, India – 2 foreign nationals molested in Delhi
Two foreign nationals, one from Mongolia and another from the USA, were allegedly molested in the national capital during the last 24 hours, police said. In the first incident, a 24-year-old woman from Mongolia was allegedly molested by a custom official here this evening in Central Delhi’s IP Estate area. In the second indent that took place yesterday, a 45-year-old American woman accused a taxi driver of molesting her in his vehicle and threatening her for her life when she resisted. Read more here: