3/17/14: Today’s Round-up of Child Sex Abuse in the News

LOCAL

Oroville, CA – Defense, prosecution both urge jurors to consider surveillance video

The case of an Oroville developer charged with 24 counts of child sex abuse is in the hands of a jury.  The Butte County Superior Court panel of six men and six women deliberated all afternoon in the case of Christopher Steve Carter before adjourning Friday. Jurors will resume their work Monday.  During closing arguments, both the defense and prosecution asked jurors to carefully review surveillance video that reportedly depicts Carter, now 46, engaged in sexual conduct with the then-17-year-old woman in June 2011.  Read more here:

NATIONAL

Hillsboro, OR – Mike Mallery trial: Defense witnesses say girls who allege sex abuse remained comfortable around him

The child sex abuse trial of Mike Mallery, a Pacific University vice president, will stretch into a third week on Tuesday.  Week Two wrapped up Friday in Washington County Circuit Court with the testimony of a family therapist who testified for the defense.  Mallery, 48, is charged with five counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Authorities say he had inappropriately touched two young relatives during recent years.  The defense says the allegations stem from a heated family dispute.  The trial began March 5, when the jury heard from the younger girl’s fifth-grade teacher. The teacher testified that after a health class on “good touch, bad touch,” the girl disclosed to her that Mallery had touched her inappropriately.  Read more here:

Chicago, IL – Two men sue Archdiocese over alleged abuse by priests

Two lawsuits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court Thursday against the Archdiocese of Chicago, accusing two priests of sexual abuse at parish schools.  One suit was filed by a man claiming he was molested by a priest nine or ten times between 1971 and 1973 while he was a student at Resurrection Grammar School on the city’s West Side.  The suit claims the priest inappropriately touched and fondled the boy when he was alone with him in the church rectory, often calling him into the rectory and separating him from other students under the guise of disciplining him for misbehavior.  Read more here:

Scranton – Wilkes Barre, PA – Toomey bill would tighten teacher background checks

While a “pass the trash” bill designed to prevent teachers accused of sexual misconduct from quietly resigning and moving to another district has stalled in the state House, a bill with similar intentions is being pushed on the national level by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley.  Read more here:

Hanover, NH – Dartmouth plans tougher sanctions for sex assault

Dartmouth College administrators have proposed tougher punishment for students found responsible of sexual assault, including mandatory expulsion in certain cases.  Under the proposed policy changes, a trained external expert would investigate allegations and determine responsibility for sexual assault, and a single disciplinary system would apply to undergraduates, graduate students and organizations.  Sanctions also would be strengthened: Students would be automatically expelled if found responsible for assaults involving penetration accomplished by force, threat or purposeful incapacitation or in the case of an assault involving penetration and motivated by bias. Read more here:

Bridgeport, CT – Fencing coach gets two years for sex assault

A former high school fencing coach was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a female student at Fairfield Ludlow High School last year. “I sent him a confident, happy child and he sent us back a broken child, and we may never put the pieces back together,” said the girl’s father, wiping away tears. Read more here:

Mechanicsburg, PA – CV teacher charged with institutional sexual assault

A Cumberland Valley High School teacher has been charged with institutional sexual assault for her alleged relationship with an 18-year-old student.  Emily L. Nesbit, 31, of Carlisle, was charged Friday morning with the third-degree felony count, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed said.  Freed said Nesbit and the male student engaged in sexual acts in her classroom after school hours.  Read more here:

Dade City, FL – Man arrested on child porn possession charges accused of molesting girl

A convicted sex offender is locked up yet again and this time, he admitted to molesting a 5-year-old girl.  Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputies raided the home of Clarence Dingler, 60, on Wednesday after monitoring his Internet activity for about a month.  When they executed a search warrant, they had reason to believe they would find child pornography on his computer but they had no idea they’d find the young girl and an 11-year-old boy.  “We were horrified to discover two small children in the house,” said Det. Anthony Bossone, the lead investigator from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.  Read more here:

Wagoner, OK – Man accused of molesting teenage relative

We’ve learned a Wagoner County man has been taken into custody on lewd molestation and drug counts.   A teenage relative told deputies the molestation happened last month. No word on where it might have taken place.  Read more here:

Staten Island, NY – Man Allegedly Molested Teen With Raw Meat To Remove “Evil Spirits”

A Staten Island man has been accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl with raw meat in order to remove “evil spirits” from her. Rafael Paulino, 42, was arrested on Wednesday for performing what he described as a “spiritual cleansing” inside an apartment in New Brighton. Authorities say that “he claimed he would remove the evil spirits from them, and that an evil spirit was making [the 15-year-old girl] depressed.”  Read more here:

Mobile, AL – Middle school teacher charged with sex abuse

The Mobile County Public School spokesperson Nancy Pierce confirmed a 48-year-old man accused of sex abuse is an eighth grade social studies teacher at Calloway-Smith Middle School.  Mobile Police arrested Robert Alexander Friday, March 14 for first-degree sex abuse.  Investigators said the crime involves two adult men and emphasized no juveniles were involved. They do not believe Alexander knew the victim.  Read more here:

Lancaster, PA – YWCA group offers help — and hope — for young victims of sexual assault

Mandy Kastner loves her job.  But unfortunately, she has to do it.  Kastner counsels children and teens at YWCA Lancaster’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Counseling Center. There’s enough work to keep her and four other counselors very busy.  “We come to work every day hoping that one day we don’t have to come to work,” she says.  Read more here:

Stillwater, OK – Oklahoma State still lacks sexual assault victims advocate

Oklahoma State University is moving forward with plans to retain a full-time independent advocate for sexual assault victims, university spokesman Gary Shutt said.  Read more here:

INTERNATIONAL

Pudcherry, India – Pondy teacher held for sexual abuse of two girl students

A government school teacher was arrested in Puducherry on Friday for sexually harassing two Class 12 girl students.   A complaint lodged by Child Welfare Committee chairperson Vidyaa Ramkumar said the teacher had been harassing the two students for the past two years.   Read more here:

Auckland, New Zealand – NZ teachers – 187 under investigation

There are currently 187 teachers under investigation for inappropriate behavior.  Of that number, 38 of the allegations relate to drug and alcohol abuse and 18 are for violence – anything from dragging students or hitting them to emotional abuse while the remainders are for things like dishonesty and driving offences. Read more here: