2/27/14: Today’s Round-up of Child Sex Abuse in the News
LOCAL
Bell, CA – LAUSD Drama Teacher Charged With Molesting 2 Male Students 15 Years Ago
A Los Angeles Unified high school drama teacher was charged Tuesday with sexually molesting two male students 15 years ago, prosecutors said. Peter Christopher Gomez, 47, is charged with 26 felony counts, including multiple counts of sexual molestation, sodomy of a person under 16 and oral copulation of a person under 16. Read more here.
NATIONAL
Harrisville, WV – Police: Ritchie County Teacher Arrested After Sexually Assaulting Student
A Ritchie County High School Teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a male student. 43-year-old David P. Weekley apparently performed sexual acts on the student in a closet at the school. Weekley also reportedly touched him inappropriately in an empty room in the same building on a different day. Read more here.
Trumbull, CT – Cop charged with sex assault on teen
More victims might come forward after a veteran Trumbull police officer was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a teenage girl he befriended at a statewide academy for high school students interested in becoming police officers. William Ruscoe, 45, a drill instructor at the Cadet Police Academy at the University of Hartford, flirted with a number of teenage girls at the weeklong camp held every year, State Police investigators said. One of the girls turned him in after she became jealous of his attentions to another girl, police said.. Read more here.
Greenville, SC – Christian University Resumes Inquiry in Handling of Sexual Abuse Reports
An investigation into Bob Jones University’s handling of sexual abuse complaints will be allowed to resume, the university and investigators said on Tuesday, after the school endured two weeks of criticism for cutting off the inquiry, without explanation, as it neared completion. Read more here.
Buena Vista, VA – 32 Charges Certified Against Former Rockbridge Pastor
Rockbridge area pastor Larry Clark was in a closed juvenile and domestic courtroom for a preliminary hearing Tuesday that resulted in 24 more charges being certified to a grand jury. The 61-year old, already facing three certified charges, faces an additional 12 counts of indecent liberties, 20 charges of carnal knowledge and two charges of cruelty to a child. Read more here.
Auburn, AL – Second man arrested for allegedly sexually abusing underage girl
On Tuesday, Auburn Police arrested Mohamed Alyami, 21, for allegedly sexually abusing a young girl inside his home on Armstrong St. in Auburn. He is charged with first degree sodomy and sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. Read more here.
Boston, MA – Unlicensed DCF-approved therapist faces teen sex assault sentence
An unlicensed DCF-approved therapist — who already served time for kicking his pregnant wife — faces up to 10 years behind bars today for sexually assaulting a “vulnerable” 13-year-old boy whose appeal for help was first brushed off by child welfare officials. Kenneth Edwards, 46, of Dorchester is set to be sentenced this morning in Suffolk Superior Court for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Read more here.
Ewing, NJ – Ex-Lehigh County middle school director accused of molesting 11-year-old boy in New Jersey
The former director of a private Lehigh County middle school has been arrested on charges he sexually assaulted a child in New Jersey, authorities say. Thomas J. Curran, 55, of Ewing, N.J., is charged with one count each of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Read more here.
Piedmont, AL – Daycare Worker charged With Abuse
A daycare worker in Etowah County is facing child abuse charges after she allegedly slammed a child’s head against a table. Karen Lynn Rowland, 41, of Piedmont, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse. Deputies said Rowland screamed and cursed at two 4-year-old children before allegedly hitting one of them in the face with a folder and then slamming the other child’s head down against the table. Authorities said the incidents were captured on video. Read more here.
Woodbridge, VA – Ex-Daycare Workers Prelim Hearing
Two former daycare workers accused of abusing the children in their care faced a judge Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. Kierra Nicole Spriggs, 24, of Woodbridge and Sarah A. Jordan, 29, also of Woodbridge, were scheduled to go on trial on misdemeanor charges of assault and battery, but News4’s Northern Virginia reporter David Culver said those charges will be put off for the moment. During the preliminary hearing, two related felony child cruelty charges were sent to the grand jury. Read more here.
INTERNATIONAL
Uttarakhand, India – Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat charged with molestation
Harak Singh Rawat, a minister in the Congress government in Uttarakhand, has been booked by Delhi Police for allegedly molesting a woman last year. Read more here.
Joshimath, India – ITBP jawan indicted for molesting 8-year-old
An Indian Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan was accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl in Joshimath on Tuesday. The incident happened in broad daylight allegedly on the premises of the girl’s school. The ITBP has ordered an inquiry into the incident and has sent the jawan into custody, senior officials said. Read more here.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Man accused of posed as policeman, molesting student in flat
Dubai: A man has been accused of impersonating a policeman and molesting a female student while attempting to settle a dispute between three women over a flat share. The 28-year-old Emirati man, A.A., was said to have beaten and molested the Libyan student, threatened her friend, a Jordanian woman, and told the Syrian landlady that he was a policeman. Read more here.