Kanawha County West Virginia Judge James Stucky Says Man Who Stole And Sexually Assaulted Goat While Dressed In Womens Clothing And High On Bath Salts Not Criminally Responsible

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA – A judge says a West Virginia man will not be held criminally responsible for allegedly stealing, sexually assaulting and killing his neighbor’s pygmy goat while high on bath salts.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge James Stucky ruled Monday that Mark Lucas Thompson of Alum Creek is not competent for trial on the charges he faces for animal cruelty.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the decision comes after several mental evaluations. Stucky instead ordered that Thompson spend six and a half years in treatment at the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston.

Police arrested Thompson in May 2011 after neighbors found him in his room standing next to the dead goat and dressed in women’s clothing. He was indicted for animal cruelty and petit larceny.

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Miami Florida Police Officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi Arrested By Feds And Charged With Pulling Over Female Motorists To Initiate “Sexually Suggestive Conversations”

MIAMI, FLORIDA – An officer with the Miami-Dade police department was arrested by federal authorities for stopping female drivers for no other reason than to initiate “sexually suggestive conversations.”

According to the Miami Herald, 33-year-old officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi was arrested by FBI agents inside police headquarters on Wednesday.

Dwivedi had worked overnight patrolling the streets between Jackson Memorial Hospital and Key Biscayne before being assigned to desk duty in the summer of 2011 following the suspicious traffic stops, the paper noted.

The criminal complaint filed by the FBI against Dwivedi, obtained by the Herald and written by special agent Susan Funk, said he made numerous stops that lasted well beyond the necessary length of time for a routine stop. He also reportedly made these stops “without probable cause, reasonable [suspicion] or other lawful authority to conduct a stop.”

During one stop on May 27, 2011, he allegedly instructed a woman identified only as A.R. to “lower the zipper on the front of her dress down past her breasts to her mid-stomach,” an action which, according to the woman, “somewhat exposed her breasts.”

Dwivedi claimed A.R., age 19, was intoxicated at the time, and that she had not turned on her headlights, the Herald reported. A.R. allegedly disputed the claim of driving under the influence.

She was held for a reported one hour and 20 minutes before being released without a citation.

In another stop, the rogue officer reportedly pulled over a 24-year-old bartender and accused her of driving while intoxicated. When he noticed a child safety seat in the car, he told the woman, identified as M.F., that she would lose custody of her child if arrested.

The woman asked Dwivedi to administer a roadside sobriety test, but he reportedly refused to do so.

The paper learned that Dwivedi then discussed the woman’s breast enhancement surgery, and asked “if she had any photographs of her breasts.” When he saw the photographs, he asked to see the scars from the surgery.

“M.F. then lifted her shirt and showed Dwivedi the scar,” the complaint stated.

Dwivedi then allowed the woman to drive home, but insisted on following her, allegedly to ensure her safety.

A third complainant accused Dwivedi of pulling down his pants zipper during a stop.

He is being charged with depriving people of their civil rights, and was released on a $150,000 personal bond. He will be seen in court on Friday to address the matter of his defense, the paper learned.

Dwivedi will reportedly be arraigned Sept. 19.

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Maricopa Arizona Police Officer Victor Valenzuela Fired After On Duty Sex With Another Man’s Wife

MARICOPA, ARIZONA - A city of Maricopa police officer is out of a job for something he did on the job in December.

“I don’t think any officer should be able to stay on the force if they’ve been caught having an affair with somebody else’s wife while they’re on duty,” Perry Edwards said.

Back in March, Edwards showed 3TV sex texts between his wife and a city of Maricopa police officer.

Edwards suspected his wife was having sex with an officer while the cop was on duty.

Edwards’ sister, Roberta Schneider, was so disgusted she asked the police department to investigate.

“He is supposed to be serving our community, not making booty calls in the back of his car,” Schneider said.

3TV got a hold of the department’s investigative report.

Edwards got his wish.

Officer Victor Valenzuela was fired from the department in March.

“He showed remorse, he was embarrassed and he wishes to go on with life and hopes that this goes away,” said police Chief Steve Stahl.

Stahl said Valenzuela admitted to having sex with a married woman while he was working.

“It’s sad. There’s no doubt about it,” Stahl said. “I want to ensure the residents as soon as we found out about the conduct it was investigated very quickly and it was handled very quickly.”

According to the report, Valenzuela also admitted to wearing his uniform and driving his patrol car to the Edwards’ home.

Valenzuela also told the investigator the sexual encounter happened just once, for a half-hour, and afterward he signed up for a 12-step sex addiction program.

The officer didn’t have to repay the department for the half-hour spent at the Edwards’ home.

“He risked his career in this behavior and the behavior in and of itself and the penalty in and of itself of losing your career as a law enforcement officer is a pretty heavy penalty to pay,” Stahl said.

According to the state, Valenzuela’s certification is suspended until September.

As for the Edwards, they’re in the middle of divorce proceedings.

3TV tried getting in contact with Valenzuela but was unable to locate the former police officer.

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Pedophile Langlade County Wisconsin Deputy Sheriff Michael Brayton Arrested, No Longer With Department, And Charged After Sex And Sexual Activity With Children

ANTIGO, WISCONSIN — A former Langlade County sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with 22 felonies Tuesday for alleged sexual activity with teenage girls.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Michael Brayton, 25, of Gleason. A judge ordered that he have no contact with girls younger than 18 if he makes bail.

Brayton remained in custody after his court appearance and does not have a listed phone number. Online court records do not list whether he has an attorney.

The charges include four counts of sexual assault of a child under 16, two counts of child enticement and 16 counts of exposing his genitals to children.

All are linked to incidents with four girls, ages 15 to 18, the Antigo Daily Journal reported (http://bit.ly/NeUDVj ).

The 32-page complaint alleges a pattern of behavior with girls from Elcho High School and heavy use of social media including Facebook and text messaging. It alleges Brayton and the girls became friendly and their relationships escalated to trading explicit photographs and several instances of physical contact with one girl.

Veteran Kansas City Missouri Police Officer Jeffrey Holmes Arrested, Suspended, And Charged With Swapping Sex For Women’s Freedom

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – A police officer from Kansas City has been charged with corruption after being accused of having sex with two women so that he would not arrest them, according to prosecutors. One of the women involved told officers that she was working as a prostitute when she met the officer in question. The second woman involved said she had outstanding warrants and was in possession of marijuana when she met the officer,

Jeffrey Holmes. Holmes, who is 47, accepted sex from the women in exchange for not arresting them during incidents that occurred in March and April. Holmes was released on $75,000 bond Tuesday and a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during the arraignment.

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, Lisa Pelofsky, said that Holmes has been suspended without pay and he has worked for the department for 13 years.

“Police obviously are not in any way intimidated or afraid to follow up on these kinds of charges and pursue them,” Pelofsky said.

A probable cause statement filed by officers said that a woman told officers she was working as a prostitute on March 24 in a motel in Kansas City. She said a man called and said he wanted to meet her. The man on the phone was identified as Holmes, who arrived at the motel wearing a police uniform and a gun. The statement said that Holmes informed the woman she was ‘busted for prostitution’ and ordered to place her arms behind her back. The woman did not do so because she thought something was wrong. She noticed that Holmes did not have a radio on his person. Holmes then told the woman he wanted her to become a ‘snitch’ and began to ‘rub and hug’ her.

The woman claims she had sex with Holmes ‘because she wanted him to leave.’ Three weeks after the incident she reported it as rape and identified Holmes as the attacker after she saw him in a police parking lot on April 26. The phone records of Holmes show that he called the woman prior to and after the incident.

The second woman said she was at a different motel when she approached by Holmes in uniform and asked her if she was a prostitute. She told Holmes no but said he needed to see her room anyway. When they arrived at the room Holmes said they were going to have sex. When the woman asked why, Holmes said, “You don’t want to go to jail, do you?” The woman told officers she had marijuana in the room and outstanding warrants and feared she would be arrested if she did not have sex with Holmes. The woman took a photo of Holmes’ used condom and sent it to her roommate with the caption of ‘Cop DNA.’ Holmes returned to the room, flushed the condom and made the woman delete the text but not the photo from the phone. The photo was entered into the investigation by police.

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Pedophile Veteran Miramar Florida Police Officer Capt. Del Los Rios Arrested, Suspended, And Charged After Preforming “Sex Check” Exam On 15 Year Old Girl In The Backseat Of His Patrol Car

MIRAMAR, FLORIDA – A Florida Police captain was arrested Friday on charges he made a 15-year-old girl strip naked in the back seat of a car for a “sex check” to prove she wasn’t having sex, reports said.

Capt. Juan De los Rios was charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct involving a child for making the girl strip naked, show her private parts and allow him to inspect her body for bruising after finding her talking with a 19-year-old boy in the backseat of a car on Jan. 18, according to a Broward State Attorney’s Office report obtained by the Sun-Sentinel.

De los Rios, 46, faces up to 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, authorities said.

The girl and her friend were in the back of a car parked in the back of an industrial park after school when De los Rios approached them, looking through the window, according to an affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald.

“Were you having sex? What were you doing here?” The girl told police De los Rios said to her after making the two roll their window down, the affidavit said.

“No, no, no, officer no,” the affidavit said the girl told De los Rios.

De los Rios, an 18-year police veteran, then allegedly told the girl he needed to check. When asked for clarification, the officer told her he needed to “see inside” and forced her to strip naked so he could perform the exam. The girl complied out of fear, the affidavit said.

A veteran Miramar Police captain was arrested Friday after he made a teen get naked to prove that she was not having sex in the back seat of a parked car, authorities said.

Finished with his “exam,” De los Rios told the teens to go home, reports WTVJ.

The girl was initially afraid to report what happened until convinced to by her older sister, the station reported. Her parents immediately told authorities.

“She was probably so intimidated by this police officer to even think that she had to do that,” outraged Miramar resident Josie Huff WTVJ. “It’s disgusting. It’s just unbelievable.”

De los Rios turned himself in at the Broward County Main Jail after a warrant was issued for his arrest yesterday and is being held on $30,000 bail, the Miami Herald reported.

A veteran Miramar Police captain was arrested Friday after he made a teen get naked to prove that she was not having sex in the back seat of a parked car, authorities said.

Investigators told the paper they have obtained a video tape, the paper reports that its quality isn’t enough to identify those involved, but body language is consistent with the allegations.

The teens have not been identified and a department spokesperson told the paper that De los Rios has been suspended without pay “pending the outcome of the investigation.”

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Pedophile Former Cartersville Georgia Police Officer James Scott Arrested, Charged With Child Molestation And Other Offences

BARTOW COUNTY, GEORGIA – A former police officer who has career ties to Cartersville Police Department as well as the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office has turned himself in to deputies on several warrants, including child molestation, taken for his arrest.

Bartow County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Sgt. Jonathan Rogers confirmed James Scott’s surrender to deputies Monday when approximately five warrants were served against him.

Scott, according to CPD Public Information Officer Lt. Mark Camp, “worked for several departments, including the Cartersville Police Department, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department and the Kennesaw Police Department.” He served with CPD from July 1997 until September 2011.

A request for Scott’s personnel file from CPD was delayed Monday until the department’s employee who manages such files returns to the office to process the request sent by The Daily Tribune News on Monday afternoon.

Further information will be provided as it is made available.

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Court Martials For Two Air Force Training Instructors At Texas Lackland Air Base In Latest Sex Scandal – 35 Instructors Removed From Posts, Dozens Suspected, Four Accused

TEXAS – The Air Force announced Wednesday that two training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas were referred to special courts-martial in a growing sexual misconduct scandal.

Master Sgt. Jamey Crawford was accused of wrongfully conducting a sexual relationship with a basic trainee and other offenses. Allegations against Tech. Sgt. Christopher Smith included wrongfully making sexual advances toward a trainee.

Their trial dates have not yet been set.

A dozen instructors have been suspected of assaulting female recruits.

Allegations of sexual misconduct between instructors and cadets began there last summer, and the Pentagon has ordered a comprehensive strategic review of the entire Air Force training community.

The widespread criminal investigation is looking into the possibility that cases of sexual misconduct extend beyond Lackland.

Investigators are looking at four Air Force bases in two states.

Since allegations of misconduct began, 35 military instructors have been removed from their posts. Four have been accused.

Sgt. Luis Walker, one of the accused instructors, pleaded not guilty and faces court-martial. He’s charged with raping or sexually assaulting 10 recruits between October 2010 and January 2011.

The Air Force says it’s being fully transparent.

“I want the public to know what’s going on,” said Lackland’s Col. Glenn Palmer. “I don’t want the possibility of someone saying, ‘Well look – they’re trying to cover it up.’”

The investigation comes as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced wider plans to deal with the issue.

In April, he said, “We will continue to develop our strategies. We’ll continue to devote our energy and our intention to enforcing our department’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault.”

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers such as Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., want to investigate the matter further with a hearing of their own.

“Congress has known about this problem in the military for 25 years,” she said in an interview broadcast on “CBS This Morning” Wednesday. “We’ve had lots of hearings, lots of reports. But are we willing to step up and do the right thing by taking it out of the chain of command so the victims really have the freedom to report these crimes and feel that they are not going to be marginalized and labeled and then dismissed from the military?”

This could be the worst sexual misconduct scandal to hit the military since a similar case involving the Army in Aberdeen, Md., in 1996.

On Wednesday, victims of military sexual assault planned to lobby members of Congress seeking support for legislation sponsored by Speier called the Stop Act. It would take probes of military sexual assault away from commanders and put them in the hands of a separate military unit.

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Widening Sex Scandal Rocks Lackland Air Force Base In Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - From a chapel pulpit on Lackland Air Force Base, where every American airman reports for basic training, Col. Glenn Palmer delivered his first order to nearly 600 recruits seated in the pews: If you’re sexually harassed or assaulted, tell someone.

“My job is to give you a safe, effective training environment,” Palmer said firmly.

What the colonel did not mention directly in his recent address was a widening sex scandal that has rocked the base, one of the nation’s busiest military training centers. Allegations that male instructors had sex with, and in one case raped, female trainees have led to criminal charges against four men. Charges against others are possible.

The most serious accusations surround an Air Force staff sergeant scheduled to face a court-martial in July on charges that include rape and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. The other three defendants were charged with lesser crimes ranging from sexual misconduct to adultery. All of the defendants were assigned to turn raw recruits into airmen in eight weeks of basic training.

A two-star general is now investigating alongside a separate criminal probe, which military prosecutors say could sweep up more airmen. Advocates for female service members and members of Congress have started taking notice.

“It’s a pretty big scandal the Air Force is having to deal with at this point,” said Greg Jacob, a former Marine infantry officer and policy director of the Service Women’s Action Network. “It’s pretty substantial in its scope.”

Yet there are signs the Air Force still doesn’t have a handle on the full depth of the problem. Staff Sgt. Peter Vega-Maldonado pleaded guilty earlier this month to having sex with a female trainee and struck a plea deal for 90 days’ confinement. Then he acknowledged being involved with a total of 10 trainees – a number previously unknown to investigators.

On Friday, after months of embarrassing disclosures, the head of the Air Force’s training command ordered Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward to lead an independent investigation. That same day, the Air Force gave reporters rare access to Lackland’s instructional headquarters in an effort to show there was nothing to hide.

The headquarters facility is where Lackland trains the people who train recruits. Inside one small classroom, three women and two men were lectured on the importance of having a moral compass while watching a slide presentation titled “Integrity First.”

Lackland has about 475 instructors for the nearly 36,000 airmen who will graduate this year. That’s about 85 percent of what Lackland would consider a full roster of instructors, a demanding job that requires airmen to work longer hours than most for four years, at the expense of family and personal time. The Air Force recently launched a smartphone app to help recruit instructors. Topping a page of frequently asked questions is whether the divorce rate for instructors really is higher. (The Air Force says no.)

Palmer said that a slight shortage in instructors has not lowered the standards for applicants. In response to the allegations, he said instructor training is being revamped and that he was accountable for problems within the training wing.

Leaders of the instructor program, however, said the responsibility falls on the accused.

“A person sitting in that seat, they’re going to do what they’re going to do when no one is watching,” said Master Sgt. Greg Pendleton, who oversees the training. “That’s across the board. That’s just them. When we’re outside this door or outside these walls, there are individuals that have their own personal values.”

So widespread is the fallout that Lackland halted operations for an entire day in March to survey about 5,900 trainees about whether they had seen or been a victim of sexual misconduct.

It was a highly unusual move for a vast 15-square-mile base that runs with relentless efficiency. A new class of airmen graduates every Friday for 50 of the 52 weeks in the year. At first, Palmer, commander of the 737th training wing, said he wasn’t sure that halting training was even possible.

Airman Andrea Madison, a new graduate who was in basic training at the height of the investigation at Lackland, said she never felt uncomfortable with her instructors.

“They want to make sure no foul play is happening, no one is taking advantage of us,” said Madison, of Columbus, Ohio.

Last week, one commander of a Lackland training squadron caught up in the sex scandal was dismissed after the Air Force lost confidence in his leadership. Col. Polly Kenny, 2nd Air Force Staff, said the dismissal was not directly related to the sexual misconduct investigation.

Nearly three dozen instructors at Lackland have also been removed in the past year, but the Air Force will not say how many lost their jobs as a result of the investigation that began last fall, only that the majority of dismissals were unrelated.

The first sexual misconduct allegations at Lackland surfaced a year ago against Staff Sgt. Luis Walker, who is charged with 28 counts.

Walker, the only instructor who has been accused of sexually assaulting another airman, faces life in prison if convicted. His civilian attorney, Joseph Esparza, has declined to speak with reporters and did not return multiple calls for comment.

Sexual assault victims are reassigned and can apply for a “humanitarian discharge” from the military, but Lackland civilian spokeswoman Collen McGhee said she did not know whether those affected by this case had done so.

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New York City Police Officer Rosandre Burgher Arrrested, Charged After Homosexual Sex With Young Boy

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – New York Police Department officer Rosandre Burgher was arrested in upstate New York for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy, the New York Post reports.

Burgher, 26, who works in The Bronx, was arrested in the town of Wallkill on Tuesday.

“It is alleged that this officer had a relationship with a 16-year-old male, a consensual relationship. This person [the 16-year-old victim] calls directly to Internal Affairs Bureau, makes allegations,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a press conference on Friday, according to The Post.

“Internal Affairs Bureau goes and meets with Wallkill police department and works in conjunction with them and an arrest was made,” Kelly said.

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Sedgwick County Kansas Deputy Sheriff David E. Kendal Arrested And Charged With Sodomy, Unlawful Sexual Relations, Mistreatment Of Prisoners, And Sexual Battery After Gay Sex With Male Prisoners

SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS – Sedgwick County sheriff’s detectives arrested a county jail deputy Tuesday as a result of an ongoing criminal investigation of alleged sexual misconduct in the jail.

At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Robert Hinshaw announced that the deputy, David E. Kendall, 21, has been booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of unlawful sexual relations, two counts of mistreatment of a confined person and one count of sexual battery.

Previously, two attorneys representing inmates have said that they were investigating allegations that a deputy raped or sodomized two male inmates.

For now, Kendall is being held without bond in the jail medical clinic, to keep him away from the rest of the jail population. Kendall, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since October 2008, will probably be moved out of the county partly because he is familiar with the jail’s security, Hinshaw said.

The allegations – against someone working for a law enforcement agency – “tarnish all of our badges” and are embarrassing, Hinshaw said.

Later in the news conference, he said he wants the public to have confidence in the Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail.

“This whole issue is very important to the public,” he said.

Hinshaw, who is seeking re-election, acknowledged that he has heard some say that law enforcement tends to cover up for its own.

“I would respectfully disagree with that,” as far as the Sheriff’s Office is concerned, he said. In the last five years, he said, the office has fired 13 staff members accused of crimes, and that of the 13, nine were charged.

The sheriff said his view of the agency investigating one of its own is “if you’ve got a mess, you clean up your own mess.”

He noted that as part of a survey of sexual misconduct in prisons and jails, the Sheriff’s Office reported 51 incidents. Those involved staff-to-inmate or inmate-to-inmate contact for 2004 through 2011, with the exception of 2006.

Of the 51 incidents, 16 – or about one in three – involved sexual misconduct by staff. Four of the 16 incidents were found to be substantiated, four unsubstantiated and eight unfounded. Of the four substantiated cases involving staff, Hinshaw said, he knew of one in which charges were filed but wasn’t sure of the other cases.

“In a jail,” he said, “there is no such thing as consensual sex between an inmate and a staff member. It is a felony.”

Mark Schoenhofer, one of the attorneys representing the alleged victims, said after Hinshaw’s announcement of the arrest: “We’re happy that the Sheriff’s Office has taken steps on behalf of our clients to see that some justice was done. We’re happy that the arrest was made … and I’m hopeful that the DA’s (District Attorney’s) Office will follow up with charges.”

Schoenhofer said he and another attorney, Kurt Kerns, will be interested in what criminal investigators find and will continue their own investigation; Schoenhofer said they have yet to take any formal action toward possible litigation.

Hinshaw said he couldn’t discuss the evidence so far, but said his detectives are being assisted by the FBI and have conducted “a lot” of interviews of deputies, inmates and former inmates. He emphasized that the investigation is ongoing.

“We’re not anywhere close to being done,” Hinshaw said.

Sheriff’s detectives learned of an initial allegation on June 3 and of an additional allegation on Monday, Hinshaw said. One of the two inmates who is alleged to be a victim has been moved into U.S. marshal’s custody; the other remains at the jail.

Kendall remains on the payroll as the personnel process moves toward a possible firing, Hinshaw said. He said that Kendall’s rights as an employee and his rights as an accused must be upheld.

The criminal case will be presented, most likely in the next two to three days, to the District Attorney’s Office. It will decide what, if any, charges will be filed.

Speaking of the allegations, Hinshaw said, “Unfortunately, things like this do arise, not just here but in agencies across the United States.”

Asked by a reporter whether the Sheriff’s Office had made any changes in procedures as a result of the accusations against the deputy, Hinshaw said, “We already have very good procedures, protocols,” but that the office reviews practices as issues arise.

Asked how the suspected crimes could have occurred without someone knowing, Hinshaw said that although the jail has 200 cameras to monitor parts of the jail, staff members can’t see everything.

“This jail is virtually a small city,” he said. “Just like in any city … things can happen.”

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Broward County Florida Deputy Sheriff Christian Benenati Arrested, Suspended, And Charged In Prostitution Sting

POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA – What are the chances that a Broward County sheriff’s deputy would be charged with propositioning an undercover colleague for sex during a prostitution sting?

That’s what officials say happened during a countywide crime sweep Wednesday to Christian Benenati, 40, a deputy with a decade’s experience with the agency.

Benenati was off-duty that afternoon, Broward sheriff’s spokesman Jim Leljedal said.

The deputy, who works in BSO’s department of law enforcement, was charged with soliciting another person for lewdness, a misdemeanor offense.

Broward sheriff’s deputies have been busted on similar charges before.

“In the history of the Broward Sheriff’s Office? Unfortunately, this is not the first,” Leljedal said. “But it is exceedingly rare.”

Benenati offered the female undercover officer — one of 1,541 BSO deputies sworn to uphold the law who was posing as a prostitute — $20 in exchange for oral sex, according to an arrest report.

The report describes the 4:38 p.m. incident at 1201 NW 31st Ave. in Pompano Beach, and says Benenati declined to accompany the deputy to a motel, proposing that their transaction happen in his gray Nissan Altima.

Internal Affairs is investigating the arrest and Benenati is suspended with pay, pending any charges filed against him by the State Attorney’s Office, Leljedal said.

The spokesman said he could not discuss specifics about the case, including why Benenati was detained in Pompano Beach and arrested four hours later in Coral Springs at 1000 N. University Drive, which is the address of a sports bar.

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Veteran Edmonds Washington Police Officer Daniel Lavely Arrested After Sex With A Prisoner

EDMONDS, WASHINGTON – An officer with the Edmonds police force has been arrested after he allegedly had sex with a woman in his custody last month, officials said.

The officer, Daniel Lavely, 46, was arrested by Everett police Thursday morning and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a felony, following a month-long investigation.

Authorities originally launched the investigation May 9 after receiving an allegation that Lavely reportedly had sexual intercourse three days earlier with a 28-year old Seattle woman who was in his temporary custody while he was on duty.

“My understanding is that she was not free to go, but she wasn’t handcuffed in the back of the patrol car,” said Everett police spokesman Aaron Snell.

Due to the seriousness of the allegation, the officer was immediately placed on administrative leave and his law enforcement authority was suspended, said Sgt. Mike Blackburn of the Edmonds police.

The Everett Police Department investigated the allegation at the request of Edmonds police officials and determined there was probable cause to believe that criminal conduct had occurred.

“Any time that someone’s in custody with a police officer, consensual sex or any time of sex is off the table; it’s not allowed,” said Snell.

According to that investigation, Lavely initially stopped the 28-year-old Seattle woman for jaywalking on Highway 99 in Edmonds on May 6.

The woman was released shortly afterward, but she was contacted again by Lavely later that evening on an unrelated call. This time, Lavely allegedly took temporary custody of the woman, put her in his patrol car and drove her to a remote location where the two had sexual intercourse, according to the investigation.

The woman reported the incident to law enforcement a few days later.

Lavely, a 7½-year veteran of the Edmonds police force who was assigned to patrol duty, was arrested at 11:10 a.m. Thursday.

Formal criminal charges are expected to be filed by the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney.

A determination as to Lavely’s employment status with the city of Edmonds will be made after an Edmonds Police Department review of the entire investigative file.

“We will get to the bottom of this, and there will be appropriate action taken,” said Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan.

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Fired Hopewell Virginia Police Officer Bobby CoPenny Jr. Arrested After Standoff, Charged With Abducting 18 Year Old Girl

DINWIDDIE, VIRGINIA – A former Hopewell police officer was arrested after barricading himself in a home, ensuing a police standoff that lasted more than an hour Wednesday afternoon.

Bobby CoPenny Jr. was taken into police custody Wednesday after police said he barricade himself inside a home in the 5000 block of Moody Dr. around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Police said special agents with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Richmond Field Office, were attempting to serve an indictment on CoPenny Jr. when the incident occurred.

While police attempted to serve the warrant, CoPenny Jr. barricaded himself inside the home and refused to come out, according to police.

The standoff lasted approximately 90 minutes before police said CoPenny Jr. surrendered peacefully.

The indictment came after the City of Hopewell Police Department requested the Virginia State Police investigate an abduction allegation involving CoPenny Jr. The abduction occurred January 13, 2012 in the 1500 block of Piper Square Dr. and involved an 18-year-old female, according to police.

“The Hopewell Police Department immediately responded and conducted a preliminary administrative investigation when informed of this allegation on January 17, 2012 involving CoPenny,” said Chief John Keohane, City of Hopewell Police. “This is a very serious crime and will not be tolerated in our department as such actions degrade the public’s trust of its officers who are sworn to serve and protect.”

CoPenny, Jr. was terminated from his position as an officer with the Hopewell Police Department following a June 12 grand jury indictment on one felony count of abduction with the intent to defile.

Following the Wednesday standoff, CoPenny Jr. was taken to the Dinwiddie County Jail for further processing and is being held without bond pending a June 27 arraignment in the City of Hopewell Circuit Court.

There were no injuries during the incident Wednesday, and Virginia State Police continue to investigate the situation.

CoPenny had been employed with the City of Hopewell Police Department as a uniformed officer since 2003. He was suspended without pay on January 26, 2012 and terminated from employment on February 3, 2012 based upon several department policy violations regarding this incident.

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New York City Police Officer Michael Pena Found Guilty On Sex Charges After Raping Schoolteacher At Gunpoint – Will Spend At Least 75 Years To Life In Prison – More Charges Pending

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - A former police officer who grabbed a schoolteacher off the street and sexually attacked her was sentenced Monday to at least three quarters of a century in prison after being convicted of high-level sex charges, though a jury couldn’t decide whether he was guilty of rape.

After staying silent during his trial, Michael Pena apologized to the victim and said he deserved to be punished, though his lawyer later said Pena was shocked at getting the maximum: 75 years to life.

“If I could go back in time, to the day of this incident, and somehow grab myself by the shoulder … I have no explanation for what happened that day,” Pena said softly, his remarks punctuated by long silences. “I will just have that guilt for the rest of my life.”

“My life has been shattered – my sense of security, my sense of safety, any and all independence,” she said, with a supporter by her side, holding her arm. She wept after she finished speaking.

A three-year officer who was engaged to be married, Pena was wrapping up an alcohol-soaked night of trying to pick up women when he accosted the teacher on an Upper Manhattan street early one morning last August, according to trial evidence.

She testified that Pena forced her into an apartment building courtyard and raped her at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her in the face with his police service weapon.

Pena’s lawyer, Ephraim Savitt, said the officer attacked the woman but never had intercourse with her, a requirement for a rape conviction. The defense said the woman was so terrified that she was mistaken about the extent of what had happened.

A resident of the building heard the attack and called police, who learned Pena was an officer only as they arrested him. One officer said he threw Pena’s badge to the ground in disgust.

Pena “showed by his deplorable conduct that he is not one of New York’s finest,” Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers said at the sentencing. “Michael Pena is, instead, a sexual predator.”

Pena told authorities he was drunk and didn’t remember what had happened. No tests were done, so his blood-alcohol level was never established. But the judge took aim at Pena’s claim, noting that surveillance video captured Pena steadily trailing the woman, and that Pena tried to mislead witnesses and the responding officers about what was happening.

“The evidence proved conclusively that Michael Pena acted purposefully and intentionally throughout this dreadful incident,” Carruthers said.

Jurors convicted Pena in March of some of the top charges in the case, including predatory sexual assault, an offense that involves wielding a weapon during certain sex crimes. It carried the potential for life in prison.

But jurors deadlocked on rape charges. Pena is due back in court May 23 for prosecutors to say whether they plan to retry him on those charges.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. called Pena’s 75-year-to-life term “an appropriate sentence that takes the viciousness of the defendant’s crime into account.” Vance’s office had no immediate comment Monday on its plans regarding the remaining rape charges.

Meanwhile, Savitt said he was exploring a potential appeal for Pena.

Pena was fired from the police force after his arrest.

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Edmonds Washington Police Officer Daniel Lavely Arrested, Suspended, And Charged After Sex With Woman In Custody Who Jaywalked – Used Patrol Car To Drive Her To Remote Location

EDMONDS, WASHINGTON – An officer with the Edmonds police force has been arrested after he allegedly had sex with a woman in his custody last month, officials said.

The officer, Daniel Lavely, 46, was arrested by Everett police Thursday morning and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a felony, following a month-long investigation.

Authorities originally launched the investigation May 9 after receiving an allegation that Lavely reportedly had sexual intercourse three days earlier with a 28-year old Seattle woman who was in his temporary custody while he was on duty.

Due to the seriousness of the allegation the officer was immediately placed on administrative leave and his law enforcement authority was suspended, said Sgt. Mike Blackburn of the Edmonds police.

The Everett Police Department investigated the allegation at the request of Edmonds police officials and determined there was probable cause to believe that criminal conduct had occurred.

According to that investigation, Lavely initially stopped the 28-year-old Seattle woman for jaywalking on Highway 99 in Edmonds on May 6.

The woman was released shortly afterward, but she was contacted again by Lavely later that evening on an unrelated call. This time, Lavely allegedly took temporary custody of the woman, put her in his patrol car and drove her to a remote location where the two had sexual intercourse, according to the investigation.

The woman reported the incident to law enforcement a few days later.

Lavely, a 7½-year veteran of the Edmonds police force who was assigned to patrol duty, was arrested at 11:10 a.m. Thursday.

Formal criminal charges are expected to be filed by the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney.

A determination as to Lavely’s employment status with the city of Edmonds will be made after an Edmonds Police Department review of the entire investigative file.

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Gadsden County Florida Deputy Sheriff Deric Mordica Arrested And Charged With Sexual Assault On An Inmate

QUINCY, FLORIDA – Authorities with the Gadsden County sheriff’s Office says a deputy has been arrested after an alleged sexual assault.

According to Public Information Officer Ulysses Jenkins, Detention Deputy Deric Mordica surrendered to GCSO authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest. We’re told he turned himself in at the end of May.

Mordica is accused of having sex with an inmate who was being housed at the Gadsden County Jail.

“We must abide by same laws that we are sworn to enforce and will act upon any violation of such,” said Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young. “We will continue to provide professional law enforcement services to this community with the integrity that the citizens deserve.”

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Pedophile Former Charlotte County Florida Deputy Sheriff Ken Barton Charged With Child Pornography – Previously Investigated After Affairs With Children

CHARLOTTE COUNTY FLORIDA – The Charlotte County Sheriff is giving us more in sight into the arrest of a former deputy who is now behind bars. Charged with possessing child porn, Ken Barton was accused of sexual misconduct while he was on the job. Allegations came to light in 2007 when a girl came forward calling barton “Uncle Ken” and claimed that in the early 1980′s when she was 6 to 10 years old, Barton had sexually assaulted her. The investigation into that accusation subsequently led to another accusation that Barton had carried on an affair in the early ’80s with a young lady in the Explorer program in Englewood which Barton was running.

An internal affairs investigation in 2007 of then deputy Ken Barton sustained the allegations of the affair with the teen, but back then the affair was not considered a crime.

“We did not have a crime so we were actually investigating policy violations,” said Sheriff Bill Cameron.

On the original allegation, The sheriff says the department found enough evidence to file a warrant request with the State Attorney’s office, but the State Attorney’s Office says there was not enough evidence to build a case a quarter of a centery after the alleged crime. They also pointed out that the memory of the victim left quite a few gaps in her story.

As for this latest case, Sheriff Cameron was quick to point out that his agency participated with the F.B.I. in Barton’s arrest yesterday.

“The innocent images task force that is doing these investigations- i have a detective assigned to that task force,” said Cameron.

He was also quick to distance his agency from Barton pointing out that the crimes that Barton have been accused of happened five years after Barton left the agency.

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Pedophile Veteran Troy New York Police Officer Sgt. Patrick Rosney Suspended After Arrest In New York City While Seeking Sex With 14 Year Old Girl

TROY, NEW YORK - A Troy police sergeant has found himself on the other side of the law. Patrick Rosney was arrested by New York City Police. They say he entered a chat room this week and believed he was talking with a 14-year-old girl who was actually an undercover police officer.

He is accused of trying to solicit sex.

The 26-year veteran is charged with attempted dissemination of indecent material to minor and endangering the welfare of a child.

Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said the case is taking a toll on the department.

“Officers today after the arrest was made. We’ll continue to do so throughout the day at other role calls. As you can imagine, they’re angry. Certainly take into consideration sympathies for his family but we’re a strong agency, we’re an agency of character and we’ll get through this. We do expect a rough ride obviously but there’s a lot of anger,” said Chief Tedesco.

Rosney has been suspended without pay. He was taken to Queens on Friday for arraignment.

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Pedophile Butte County California Deputy Sheriff Earl Klapperich Arrested, Suspended, And Charged After Seeking Sex With A Child

BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA – A Butte County deputy has been arrested on suspicion of agreeing to meet a minor for sex after a sting conducted by the district attorney’s office.

Deputy Earl Klapperich, 27, was arrested Friday by investigators from the Butte County District attorney’s office. His arrest came after a complaint filed April 14 over the way Klapperich handled a call involving two reported runaway teens.

The complaint alleged inappropriate conduct on the part of the deputy toward the girls, one 16 years old, the other 14 years old.

The sheriff’s department brought in the district attorney’s office and an undercover operation began. The sting involved investigators posing as a 14-year-old girl.

The investigators initiated a text message conversation with Klapperich in which the deputy is alleged to have asked that the “girl” send him a nude picture of herself. Eventually, a meeting was arranged in Chico where Klapperich was taken into custody by district attorney investigators, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

Klapperich said he agreed to the meeting in order to counsel the girl in the text messages, according to the press release. He faces potential charges of arranging a meeting with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior.

The deputy has been removed from duty. An internal affairs investigation is underway.

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Pedophile Veteran Las Vegas Nevada Police Officer Garrett Vandereecken Arrested And Charged With Lewdness With A Child

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – A Las Vegas Metro police officer was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and charged with lewdness with a minor under 14.

Police said Garrett Vandereecken voluntarily surrendered and was booked at the Clark County Detention Center.

The details surrounding Vandereecken’s alleged crime were not immediately released. Detectives from Metro’s Juvenile Sexual Abuse Detail made the arrest.

Vandereecken, 43, has been a patrol officer with Metro for the past four years.

“He has been relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of both the criminal charges and the investigation, both of which remain ongoing,” a Metro spokesperson said in a release.

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Additional Secret Service Agent Misconduct Surfaces In Prostitution Scandal Investigation

WASHINGTON, DC – Amid an ongoing investigation into a prostitution scandal involving Secret Service members, new details have emerged about additional sexual misconduct allegations that have been leveled at Secret Service agents over the last five years.

In a Wednesday Senate Homeland Security hearing investigating the scandal, which rocked the agency in April after a dozen secret service officers were implicated for hiring prostitutes in Colombia, Senator Joe Lieberman, the chair of the committee, noted 64 additional allegations of misconduct over the last five years – including one complaint of non-consensual sex.

Lieberman said that most of the complaints “involved sending sexually explicit emails or sexually explicit material on a government computer,” but that three of the complaints involved charges of a relationship with a foreign national, “and one was a complaint of non-consensual sexual intercourse.”

Mark Sullivan, the head of the Secret Service, testified that the allegation of non-consensual sex had been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement, which ultimately decided not to go forward with charges. The other three incidents, he said, involved contact with foreign nationals and that all of the incidents “were investigated and the appropriate administrative action was taken on all three.” According to Sullivan, none of those three incidents involved prostitution.

Sullivan also discussed an incident in which an agent was “separated from the agency” after soliciting an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute in 2008.

In his opening remarks, Sullivan apologized for the Colombia incident and emphasized that what happened in Cartagena last month “is not representative of [the agency's] values or of the high ethical standards we demand from our nearly 7,000 employees.”

“I am deeply disappointed and I apologize for the misconduct of these employees and the distraction it has caused,” he said.

Of primary concern among the committee members was the question of whether or not there may have been a “culture” within the Secret Service that tolerated the sort of behavior in which members engaged last month — particularly after the Washington Post reported Wednesday that several implicated agents charged that was the case.

“It is hard for many people, including me, to believe that on one night in April 2012 in Cartagena, Colombia, 11 secret service agents – there to protect the president – suddenly and spontaneously did something they or other agents had never done before,” Lieberman said in his testimony.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, also seemed skeptical that the incident in Colombia was a unique case.

“The facts so far lead me to conclude that, while not at all representative of the majority of Secret Service personnel, this misconduct was almost certainly not an isolated incident,” she said in her opening statement. “The numbers [of agents] involved, as well as the participation of two senior supervisors, lead me to believe that this was not a one-time event. Rather, and it suggests an issue of culture.”

Collins later pointed to the fact that the involved agents had engaged in similar behaviors independently of each other, as well as the fact that they disguised neither their own nor the prostitutes’ identities when signing into the hotel, as evidence that similar conduct may have been tolerated by the Secret Service in the past.

“Two of the participants were supervisors — one with 22 years of service and the other with 21 — and both were married. That surely sends a message to the rank and file that this kind of activity is tolerated on the road,” she said.

Throughout his testimony, Sullivan disputed that characterization and reiterated his belief that the incident in Colombia was not reflective of the agency as a whole.

“I do not think this is indicative,” he said. “I just think that between the alcohol and, I don’t know, the environment, these individuals did some really dumb things. And I just can’t explain why.”

He also emphasized that President Obama’s security was never at risk because the agents had not yet been briefed on relevant security-related details.

“At the time the misconduct occurred, none of the individuals involved in the misconduct had received any specific protective information, sensitive security documents, firearms, radios or other security-related equipment in their hotel rooms,” he said.

Lieberman reported that the investigation had revealed “troubling” incidents but said that so far it had failed to show “a pattern of misconduct” within the agency at large. He called on whistle blowers to come forward with any additional reports of untoward behavior.

“Our initial review of our Secret Service Agency’s disciplinary records for the last five years … show some individual cases of misconduct that are troubling but are not evidence yet of a pattern of misconduct,” Lieberman said. “These records do reveal 64 instances, again over 5 years in which allegations or complaints concerning sexual misconduct were made against employees of the Secret Service.”

According to acting Inspector General Charles Edwards, who is conducting a three-part independent review of the Secret Service investigation, conclusions from the first phase of the review will be made public in July.

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Maule Guards At Alabama Tutwiler Prison For Women Abused Female Inmates For Years – At Least 20 Guards Transferred Or Fired In Past 5 Years After Sex With Inmates

WETUMPKA, ALABAMA – Male guards at an Alabama women’s prison engaged in the widespread sexual abuse of female inmates for years, a nonprofit group alleged in a formal complaint filed with the Justice Department on Tuesday.

The Equal Justice Initiative asked the Justice Department to investigate alleged incidents occurring between 2009 and 2011 at the Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. The federal agency confirmed that it received the complaint though declined further comment.

“In interviews with more than 50 women incarcerated at Tutwiler, EJI uncovered evidence of frequent and severe officer-on-inmate sexual violence,” the Montgomery-based group said in a statement.

“This troubling cycle of abuse and lack of accountability has established a widespread pattern and practice of custodial sexual misconduct,” said Bryan Stevenson, the group’s executive director.

Stevenson also blamed the Alabama Department of Corrections for under-reporting the alleged attacks, which the group says include rapes, and for responding inadequately.

The group claims that more than “20 Tutwiler employees have been transferred or terminated in the past five years for having illegal sexual contact with prisoners.”

“It’s an ongoing thing, a daily thing,” said Stefanie Hibbett, 31, a former Tutwiler inmate. “You see women raped and beaten, and nothing is ever done.”

Hibbett said she was the victim of sexual assault in November 2010. She said she told the prison’s warden about the assault, but no charges were ever filed against the prison guard she says attacked her. An Alabama judge dismissed a civil suit she filed in the case in August.

Several imprisoned women also allegedly became pregnant after being raped by guards, giving birth while in custody, the nonprofit group reported.

CNN cannot independently confirm that account. The Alabama attorney general’s office referred questions to the Alabama Department of Corrections, which did not immediately return a call for comment.

A 2007 Justice Department report found that Tutwiler maintained the highest rate of sexual assault among prisons for women and 11th overall of those evaluated across the United States.

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Pedophile Butte County California Deputy Sheriff Earl Klapperich Arrested For Seeking Sex With A Child

GRIDLEY, CALIFORNIA – District Attorney Mike Ramsey and Sheriff Jerry W. Smith announced today the arrest of Earl Klapperich, 27, for allegedly agreeing to meet with a minor for the purposes of engaging in a lewd act. Klapperich, a deputy for the Sheriff’s Office, was arrested on Friday evening, May 11, 2012, by investigators from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

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Colorado Springs Probation Officer Juy Cruz Arrested, Charged With Forcing Probationer Into Sexual Relationship

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – A former probation officer in Colorado Springs is charged with forcing a female probationer into a sexual relationship. Police say Probation Officer Guy Cruz was arrested Tuesday.

The investigation began in October 2011, when the victim reported the sexual relationship with her probation officer was not consensual.

Cruz turned himself in to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.

He was also a tennis coach at Central High School in Pueblo. 11 News reported on April 27 that he was put on administrative leave for an unknown investigation that was unrelated to the school.

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Salt Lake City Utah Police Officers In Now Disbanded Vice Unit Had Physical Contact With Prostitutes

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The detective was on his back. The prostitute was above him.

“I kissed her breasts and nipples, as there was no place for my face to go,” the undercover detective wrote in his report of a 2011 vice sting.
Photos

The Salt Lake City Civilian Review Board said there was some place else for his face to go. The review board also said the hands of some Salt Lake City police officers went places they shouldn’t.

The board found problems with how city vice detectives investigate prostitution and sexual or illegal massages. The problems were one reason that Chief Chris Burbank disbanded the vice unit earlier this year and reassigned its detectives.

In an interview Friday, Burbank said crimes traditionally investigated by the vice unit, including prostitution, human trafficking and liquor law violations, are being handled by other units. Burbank said he is considering a new organizational structure to address those crimes.

“Not that we’re getting out of vice enforcement,” Burbank said. “We’re just re-evaluating what vice will look like.”

Burbank also confirmed that some vice detectives were disciplined over the problems that were found. The sergeant over the unit received a 60-hour suspension for failure to properly train and monitor his subordinates, Burbank said. Other detectives received written reprimands or orders to undergo training on proper procedures.

One of the procedural mistakes Salt Lake City police made: Detectives in at least three cases in 2011 violated the department’s “no touch policy.”

In another case, vice detectives were investigating a massage parlor on 4500 South — outside the boundaries of Salt Lake City. Once there, the board found, detectives violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the business and its employees by conducting an improper search.

The board also found vice detectives were not booking evidence into storage in a timely manner and cited the lieutenant in charge of the vice unit for failure to properly supervise his subordinates.
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The Civilian Review Board issued its findings last month. The board is composed of citizens from across Salt Lake City who field complaints from citizens and investigate them independently of the police department. The review board report emphasized the errors appeared to have been made honestly and there was no criminal or malicious intent.

As far as touching suspects, reports from the review board indicate part of the problem was that vice detectives didn’t know which policies they were operating under. Old policies said undercover detectives could engage in some touching of suspects if they reported it afterward to their supervisors.

In May 2011, the police department amended the policy to prohibit touching. Despite the seemingly clear language, some detectives who worked undercover to catch prostitutes and illegal masseuses were confused about whether a small amount of touching was allowed and how they were supposed to prove their case in court if there had been no physical contact with the suspects.

In the Dec. 2, 2011, case of the detective who kissed the prostitute’s breasts, he argued it was not a policy violation since he had no control over her placing her breasts in his face. The review board disagreed, saying the kissing was a voluntary act on the detective’s part. The board said the detective committed “conduct unbecoming.”

On the same day the detective’s face was in the prostitute’s breasts, an undercover detective violated department policy by touching a masseuse’s vagina while she was rubbing him, the board found. The masseuse later told the review board investigator she believes the detective sexually assaulted her.

Burbank said the detective was not prosecuted in court.

“It did not rise to criminal conduct,” Burbank said.

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Pedophile Milwaukee Wisconsin Sheriff’s Sergeant Phil Wentzel Quits After Child Pornography/Molestation Arrest – Drugged, Molested, And Photographed Girls 6 To 14 – Uploaded Pictures To Internet From Home And Work

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – The Milwaukee County sheriff’s sergeant who has been accused of producing child porn resigned effective Monday, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

That immediately stops the internal investigation that the sheriff’s office had initiated last week.

“We did initiate an internal investigation, hence he resigned today,” Capt. Scott Stiff said Monday. “Effective immediately, he’s no longer employed with our agency, so there’s no need to conduct any further (investigation).”

Phil Wentzel, a former spokesman for the office, was accused in a federal complaint Thursday of taking photos of girls between 6 and 14 years old at a campsite in Campbellsport in Fond du Lac County, where he had rented a spot for his recreational vehicle since 2008.

Wentzel, 41, is accused of producing most of the child porn in April 2011, but files were created starting in May 2010, a criminal complaint states. He shared the photos in seven different photo albums through an Internet peer-to-peer file-sharing network.

Wentzel admitted to the FBI that he drugged and molested girls and took pornographic pictures of them, U.S. Attorney James Santelle said in a news release Friday. Wentzel also said he had a difficult time controlling his urges.

The complaint states he had accessed his accounts from several computers, including Milwaukee County computers in August 2011.

Arrested last week

He was arrested May 2 at the Sheriff’s Department and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

It was a search warrant in Denver that led investigators to the images.

According to the criminal complaint, Wentzel agreed to fully cooperate and give investigators the password to an encrypted hard drive they seized from his West Allis home in exchange for a tentative plea agreement and a reduced prison sentence.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said in a statement to media last week that he was “disgusted with the nature of the allegations against the deputy as they were briefed to him.” He had no further comment while the issue is under investigation.

If convicted, Wentzel is facing a minimum of 15 years in jail and a maximum of 30 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

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Veteran Utah National Guard Recruiter Arrested After Seeking Sex With Teen Via. Text Messages

RICHFIELD, UTAH – A Utah National Guard recruiter was arrested for soliciting sex from a Sevier County teen via text messages.

The Utah National Guard confirms that Richfield-based recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Wade Argyle, was arrested May 4 and booked into Sevier County Jail on suspicion of solicitation of a minor via text messages.

The UNG said that Argyle has been a full-time recruiter for seven years, and that he joined the Utah Guard in 1999.

The UNG said they were cooperating fully with authorities, and have turned over Argyle’s government-issued computer and mobile phone to investigators.

The UNG said Argyle has been placed on paid administrative leave and will have no involvement in recruiting activities and no access to Utah Guard facilities during the investigation.

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New Rules For Agents As Second Secret Service Sex Scandal Surfaces

WASHINGTON, DC – Seeking to shake the disgrace of a prostitution scandal, the Secret Service late on Friday tightened conduct rules for its agents to prohibit them from drinking excessively, visiting disreputable establishments while traveling or bringing foreigners to their hotel rooms.

The new behaviour policies apply to Secret Service agents even when they are off duty while traveling, barring them from drinking alcohol within 10 hours of working, according to a memorandum describing the changes obtained by The Associated Press. In some cases under the new rules, chaperones will accompany agents on trips. The embattled Secret Service director, Mark Sullivan, urged agents and other employees to “consider your conduct through the lens of the past several weeks.”

The Secret Service said it would conduct a training session on ethics next week.

Mr Sullivan said the rules “cannot address every situation that our employees will face as we execute our dual-missions throughout the world.” He added: “The absence of a specific, published standard of conduct covering an act or behaviour does not mean that the act is condoned, is permissible, or will not call for – and result in – corrective or disciplinary action.”

“All employees have a continuing obligation to confront expected abuses or perceived misconduct,” Mr Sullivan said.

The agency-wide changes were intended to staunch the embarrassing disclosures since April 13, when a prostitution scandal erupted in Colombia involving 12 Secret Service agents, officers and supervisors and 12 more enlisted military personnel who were there ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to a South American summit.

But the new policies announced on Friday raised questions about claims that the behaviour discovered in Cartagena was an isolated incident: Why would the Secret Service formally issue new regulations covering thousands of employees if such activities were a one-time occurrence?

“It’s too bad common sense policy has to be dictated in this manner,” said Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “New conduct rules are necessary to preventing more shenanigans from happening in the future, and whether these are the best, and most cost effective, rules to stop future misconduct remains to be seen.”

The new rules did not mention prostitutes or strip clubs, but they prohibit employees from allowing foreigners – except hotel staff or foreign law enforcement colleagues – into their hotel rooms. They also ban visits to “non-reputable” establishments, which were not defined. The State Department was expected to brief Secret Service employees on trips about areas and businesses considered off-limits to them.

During trips in which the presidential limousine and other bulletproof vehicles are transported by plane, senior-level chaperones will accompany agents and enforce conduct rules, including one from the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

In a Wonderland moment, the operator of the “Lips” strip club in San Salvador, Dan Ertel, organised a news conference late on Friday and said he didn’t know whether any Secret Service employees were among his customers. Mr Ertel said the club was the only one in the country where prostitutes don’t work. But a dancer who identified herself by her stage name, Yajaira, told the AP earlier in the day that she would have sex with customers for money after her shift ended.

“You can pay for dances, touch a little, but there’s no sex,” she said. “But if somebody wants, if they pay me enough, we can do it after I leave at 3 in the morning.”

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Republican Peter King, R-N.Y., praised the new rules as “very positive steps by the Secret Service to make clear what is expected of every agent and also makes clear what will not be tolerated.”

The Secret Service already has forced eight employees from their jobs and was seeking to revoke the security clearance of another employee, which would effectively force him to resign. Three others have been cleared of serious wrongdoing. The military was conducting its own, separate investigation but cancelled the security clearances of all 12 enlisted personnel.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured senators earlier this week that the incident in Colombia appeared to be an isolated case, saying she would be surprised if it represented a broader cultural problem. The next day, the Secret Service acknowledged it was investigating whether its employees hired strippers and prostitutes in advance of Obama’s visit last year to El Salvador. Prostitution is legal in both Colombia and El Salvador.

In a confidential message to senators on Thursday, the Secret Service said its Office of Professional Responsibility had not received complaints about officer behaviour in El Salvador but would investigate.

“Fifteen years in business, it’s the one club in this country that does not prostitute the girls,” said Mr Ertel, the owner of Lips, at his news conference. “Look, every guy that comes in there propositions the girls, and the answer is always going to be ‘no.’ Was there Secret Service in there? I have no idea.”

On Capitol Hill, early signs surfaced of eroding support for the Secret Service director. Mr Grassley said Mr Sullivan’s job could be secure if the scandal were an isolated incident. “But if it goes much deeper, you know, nothing happens or nothing’s changed in Washington if heads don’t roll,” Mr Grassley said on CBS “This Morning.”

A member of the House Homeland Security Committee, Republican Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., warned against a “knee-jerk reaction” and urged a full investigation. But he compared Mr Sullivan as the agency’s director to the captain of a foundering ship: “I’m a Navy guy,” he said. “The captain of the ship can be in his cabin sleeping and if the ship runs aground the captain of the ship is responsible. I’m not saying anybody’s head should roll here, but I expect the captain of the ship to do the right thing.”

The White House said on Friday that the president remained supportive of Mr Sullivan and confident in the capabilities of the Secret Service.

The fallout from the scandal remained raw. When an AP reporter on Friday visited the home in Maryland of Gregory Stokes, who lost his job in the agency’s first round of disciplinary action, someone in the home called police, who asked the AP to leave his property.

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Fargo North Dakota Police Officer Bret Witte, Previously Disciplined For Sex With Teen In Patrol Car, Left Patrol Car Unlocked, And Bulletproof Vest, Handcuffs, Taser Weapon, Radio, Knife, And Ammo Disappear

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA – A Fargo police officer disciplined for having sex in his police car in 2002 has now been disciplined for leaving his police car unlocked, leading to the theft of police equipment.

In the latest incident, officer Bret Witte left an unmarked police vehicle unlocked in his driveway on April 11 and someone stole several items from it, said Fargo police Lt. Joel Vettel.

The items included several pairs of handcuffs, a bulletproof vest, a handheld radio, a Taser, two loaded ammunition clips for a handgun and a knife, Vettel said. One set of handcuffs was recovered the next day in Moorhead after a man called dispatchers to say he needed help getting out of them, according to a search warrant filed in Clay County District Court.

Aware of the theft from the Fargo police car, Moorhead police questioned three people about the handcuffs, including the man who had a set of handcuffs on his right wrist, the search warrant states.

The handcuffed man told police an acquaintance pulled the cuffs out of a backpack and placed them on him.

The acquaintance told police the handcuffs belonged to the person who was wearing them and he was unsure where they came from.

A third man, brother of the man wearing the cuffs, told police the handcuffs belonged to a friend of his brother, but he would not provide the person’s name. No charges have been filed, but Fargo and Moorhead police say the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Vettel said Witte received a letter of reprimand for leaving valuable items in a car and leaving the car unlocked, something he said police often warn the public not to do.

In the 2002 incident, Witte lost 15 days without pay after admitting to supervisors he had sexual relations in his squad car with an 18-year-old woman he was dating at the time. The same woman was arrested in 2004 as part of a Fargo prostitution sting and later convicted.

Vettel confirmed Monday that Witte also was involved in an incident in which he tried to use a Taser on a driver who was leaving the scene of a traffic stop. It was determined that the use of force fell outside of department policy, Vettel said. He said Witte’s latest disciplinary action would have taken into account Witte’s past performance.

“We look at not only the situation at hand, but also the totality of his entire career and work history,” Vettel said, adding that the decision would also have been based in part on the type of discipline other officers received for similar incidents.

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Pedophile Veteran Woodland Park New Jersey Police Officer Steven Vigorito Jr. Charged With Seeking Sex With 12 Year Old Girl After Sending Her Explicit Photos Of Himself In Uniform

WOODLAND PARK, NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey police officer sent a 12-year-old girl explicit photos of himself in uniform and tried to set up a sexual encounter with her, days after meeting the girl while assisting her family in an unrelated police matter, authorities said Wednesday.

Woodland Park Police Officer Steven Vigorito Jr. pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges ranging from attempted aggravated sexual assault to luring and enticing a child. He was being held on $250,000 bail following his arrest while on duty Tuesday night. A message left after-hours for the public defender who represented him at the arraignment was not returned.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said the girl’s mother complained to the police department on Monday that the officer had made inappropriate comments to her daughter, had given her his private cellphone number and had asked her to text him. Woodlawn Park Police Chief Anthony Galietti said they immediately contacted the prosecutor’s office, whose detectives posed as the girl and started exchanging texts with Vigorito.

The texts became increasingly explicit over the course of several days, prosecutors said. Vigorito eventually texted the girl photographs in which he was exposing himself while wearing his police uniform and arranged to meet her for a sexual encounter, prosecutors alleged.

The girl was never in harm’s way, and never exchanged texts with the officer, Valdes said.

“What is so disturbing about this, is the person who was to assist the family, ends up preying on the family,” Valdes said.

The 39-year-old Vigorito has been with the police department for 12 years in Woodland Park, a small suburb about 15 miles from Manhattan. The town, known until a recent voter-approved name change as West Paterson, is a bucolic, leafy borough of neatly landscaped homes adjacent to Paterson, a grittier, more industrialized urban neighbor.

Vigorito, who is a married father of two, was arrested Tuesday night in the police station while on the night shift, according to Galietti, who said the patrolman was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

The arrest of one of the 25 officers on the force has shaken the small department, Galietti said.

“It’s very upsetting, when you have one of your own do something like this. It’s very upsetting,” he said. Galietti added that department officials had acted immediately upon receiving the family’s complaint about the officer, and had no hesitation in alerting the prosecutor’s office.

“When this came to light we went into it head-on. We didn’t care if it was one of our own,” he said. “I’m the father of five kids, and this is wrong. It’s a very inappropriate situation. Unfortunately, he (Vigorito) had a badge at the time.”

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Pedophile Veteran Long Beach California Police Officer Arrested And Charged With Child Pornography After Seeking Sex With Teen While On Duty

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA - A nine-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department has been arrested on suspicion of felony possession of child pornography after reportedly meeting a teenager while on patrol and soliciting explicit photographs of the youth through electronic messages, police said.

Noe Yanez, 40, was taken into custody Thursday evening by Long Beach police after an investigation that began earlier this month. The alleged victim had told a school resources officer about the messages and authorities were alerted. Detectives served several search warrants in the investigation of Yanez’s home and other establishments for records of the communications.

Yanez first came into contact with the minor during the course of his work as a patrolman, police said. He initially contacted the teen through text messages and subsequently solicited inappropriate photographs of the victim, according to the department. Yanez was suspended without pay Thursday pending the resolution of the criminal and administrative investigation.

Sources familiar with the investigation said detectives have not ruled out the possibility of other victims. Department investigators have obtained computer data and phone records seeking to verify the extent of the activity, the sources said.

“Not only are the actions of this officer a violation of the law, they are a violation of the community’s trust and a violation of the principles of this department,” Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. “The men and women of this department take great pride in the good work they do every day with the community, and we will not allow the actions of this one officer to compromise that relationship.” McDonnell said the investigation is ongoing, but authorities i believed an arrest was warranted at this time.

The accusation comes one year after another Long Beach officer was booked after his wife found him having sex with a minor. That detective, Erik Alvarez of Upland, subsequently resigned and was convicted of having a sexual relationship with the girl since she was 15. He received a two-year sentence in state prison.

Yanez was being held on $20,000 bail Thursday at the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. Long Beach detectives are planning to present the case to the county district attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division, which specializes in prosecuting law enforcement officials and lawyers. Long Beach police declined Friday to release a photo of the officer or give more details about the victim.

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Tipton County Deputy Sheriff Jason Cochran Suspended Amid Investigation Into Sex With A Child

COVINGTON, TENNESSEE – A Tipton County Sheriff’s Deputy is suspended and under investigation after he was accused of sexual misconduct.

Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Cochran is off the streets and on unpaid leave after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

“It’s still very much ongoing, there are still other witnesses and evidence that needs to be found and gathered,” said District Attorney General Mike Dunavant.

The sheriff’s department started an internal investigation last Monday, but Deputy Cochran has not been officially charged.

“All of the allegations regarding the contact were off duty, that is, they were not committed during the time when he was acting in his capacity as a sheriff’s deputy,” said Dunvant.

The alleged sexual contact between Deputy Cochran and the 17-year-old girl happened within the past two months.

District Attorney Mike Dunavant says if the allegations are true, Deputy Cochran will be charged with aggravated statutory rape.

If he is charged, an immediate warrant could be issued for Cochran’s arrest or the case could be presented to the Tipton County grand jury in July.

“This type of conduct will not be tolerated and is certainly not the current standard of quality employees at the Sheriff’s Office,” said Tipton County Sheriff Pancho Chumley in a press release.

“Just as in this case, even when we have not received a complaint from a victim, we become aware of any questionable conduct by any employee we will request it to be investigated. I feel this is the only way to maintain the standards the citizens of Tipton County deserve and I demand it at the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

No one at the Tipton County Sheriff’s Department would speak on camera about the investigation.

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Two Male Richmond Virginia Deputies Fired After Investigation Into Sexual Activity With Female Inmates

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – Two Richmond deputies accused of having sexual contact with female inmates have been fired.

Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. tells media outlets that he fired the male officers on Sept. 20 following an internal investigation. The results of the investigation have been given to the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Woody says the allegations involved two female inmates at the city jail. The inmates have been transferred to other facilities.

He didn’t identify the deputies.

Prosecutors say the office plans to seek indictments against the men.

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Nashville Tennessee TSA Agent Arrested, Jailed, Charged With Statutory Rape

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE – A TSA agent has been arrested in Rutherford County on charges of statutory rape.

Clifton Lyles was arrested by U.S. Marshals Tuesday night, following a grand jury indictment.

Lyles worked at Nashville International Airport.

Details about what led to his arrest were not released.

His bond was set at $10,000.

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New York Prosecutor Alisha Smith Suspended For Moonlighting As A S&M Dominatrix

NEW YORK – A lawyer for the New York State Attorney General’s Office has been suspended after the New York Post inquired about word that she was leading a double life as an S&M dominatrix.

Alisha Smith, 36, had been working as a prosecutor by day and as a paid performer for fetish events in her free time, the Post reports it learned from a source active in New York’s fetish world. The office suspended Smith after the Post inquired about her extracurricular activities.

Smith has been suspended without pay, effective immediately, pending an internal investigation, the Post quoted an unnamed spokesman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as saying.

The spokesman would not elaborate on the reason for the suspension.

An executive order in the attorney general’s office stipulates that employees must “obtain prior approval … before engaging in any outside pursuit … from which more than $1,000 will be received or is anticipated to be received,” the Post reports.

Smith has been working in securities fraud, and three years ago, then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (now the governor) praised her for her role in obtaining a $5 million settlement from Bank of America and other firms in a securities fraud case, the Post reports.

The Post approached Smith outside of her Manhattan home and she declined to comment. Her lawyer, Marshall Mintz, also would not comment.

On Aug. 5, Smith sent out a post via Twitter in which she shared her experience trying to find the best price for a fetish product, the Post reports.

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9/11 Hysteria: So-Called “Homeland Security” Officials And Police Go Way Overboard With Fighter Jets And Bomb Squads After Couple Makes Out In Airliner Bathroom

DENVER, COLORADO - Two people “making out” in a restroom on a Frontier flight from Denver to Detroit caused authorities to scramble fighter jets, bomb squads and alert FBI and police on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, ABC News reported.

On Sunday afternoon, the Transportation Security Administration was notified of “passengers allegedly behaving suspiciously onboard Frontier Airlines Flight 623,” Denver FBI spokesman Dave Joly said in a statement.

“Out of an abundance of caution,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled F-16 at 3:30 p.m. EDT to shadow the flight until it landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Joly said.

Law enforcement met the flight, which was brought to a remote area of the airport, Joly said. The plane was swept, nothing hazardous was found and the aircraft was cleared at 5:15 p.m.

The “suspicious behavior” turned out to be two people “making out” in the bathroom mid-flight, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Three passengers were taken into custody for questioning, Frontier Airlines spokesman Peter Kowalchuck said in a statement, but no arrests were made.

In another incident Sunday, a pair of fighter jets were scrambled to escort an American Airlines jet into New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after the pilot became spooked by passengers’ frequent trips to and from the restroom, ABC News reported.

The precaution turned out to be unnecessary as federal air marshals aboard American Flight 34 from Los Angeles to JFK were able to resolve the situation when the passengers complied with their instructions, police officials told ABC. The pilot then radioed that the situation was under control and the plane landed safely. Three male passengers were questioned upon arrival, but no charges were filed against them, authorities said.

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New Mexico State Police Officer Bert Lopez Fired After Sex On Hood Of Car Was Caught On Camera

NEW MEXICO – The New Mexico State Police officer who was photographed having sex on the hood of a Honda is no longer a cop.

Bert Lopez was informed late this week that the Department of Public Safety has fired him, The New Mexican has learned.

It is unclear when that decision was made as agency spokesman Sgt. Tim Johnson has declined to comment until all appeals have been exhausted.

“It is an embarrassing situation for the department, but we have to remember the rights of the employee afford him due process we must follow so we won’t be commenting further,” Johnson said.

But when asked Friday evening if Lopez was still employed with the New Mexico State Police, Johnson said, “No.”

As of Wednesday when the security surveillance photos of Lopez had gone viral, state police said Lopez was still with the department and had been on paid administrative pending an investigation.

Lopez, who could not be reached for comment, has 30 days to appeal the firing. That appeal goes to a special commission within the New Mexico State Police Department and then state District Court.

Johnson would also not comment on whether the change in Lopez’s employment status was an indication whether the officer was in fact on duty at the time of the incident in question. Police have said they are assured the sexual encounter was not in exchange for anything related to Lopez’s position as a law enforcement officer and was not criminal.

Lopez was named the 2009 District 1 Officer of the Year for state police and was awarded a “Challenge Coin” in July, an honor given to officers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Earlier this month, an employee with Santa Fe County came across surveillance photos taken from a motion-triggered security camera positioned at the front gate of the county-owned La Bajada Ranch south of Santa Fe. Two of those photos showing a uniformed officer having sex on the hood of a Honda were forwarded to Santa Fe Sheriff Robert Garcia, who identified the officer as being with New Mexico State Police. He forwarded the images to Robert Shilling, state police chief.

An internal affairs investigation was launched immediately, police have said, and Lopez was on paid leave for about three weeks. It is unclear when the photos were taken, but Garcia said he believed it was either late July or early August.

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Surveillance Photos Catch New Mexico State Police Officer Having Sex On Hood Of Car In Uniform And In Broad Daylight

NEW MEXICO – KOB Eyewitness News 4 has obtained surveillance pictures of a State Police officer having sex with a woman on the hood of a car in broad daylight.

State Police aren’t saying anything about the photos, but KOB Eyewitness News 4 is pressing for answers.

Two weeks ago KOB reported a story about an officer caught on camera having sex while in full uniform, an act shown on security camera at the Santa Fe Canyon Ranch.

KOB has blurred out the woman’s image, but you can see it’s during daylight hours and the officer is still wearing his utility belt.

The Santa Fe Sheriff’s office released the pictures to KOB after we filed a public records request. They say they also gave them to State Police over a week ago.

We got reaction from people who saw the photos.

“It’s an inappropriate use of time,” said Cate Campbell of Albuquerque.

“Inappropriate use of our tax money, I mean we pay these guys,” added Jacob Powers.

Albert Loma said if charged and found guilty, the officer should be fired.

“With that kind of judgment you don’t want him carrying a weapon,” said Loma. “I think it’s an embarrassment to the state patrol, they should be ashamed.”

Others say it hurts the reputation built by good officers.

“I expect them to be the mark. State Police should be the standard to which other police departments hold themselves to,” said a man identifying himself as Jeremy.

KOB knows the name of the officer – however, since he has not been charged with any crime, we have chosen not to release his name.

State Police will not comment about the pictures or any internal investigation against the officer, saying it is an ongoing personnel matter.

On Monday, they turned down an on camera interview, saying they need more time to gather the information we’re asking for.

So far no officer faces any charges.

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Morgan County Alabama Corrections Officer Joshua Coppinger Arrested And Charged With Sex With An Inmate

DECATUR, Alabama – A Morgan County corrections officer has been arrested after authorities believe he engaged in sexual conduct with an inmate, police said.

Joshua Coppinger, 32, was arrested on charges of sexual conduct with a person in custody and booked into the Morgan County Jail, said Sheriff Ana Franklin in a statement Thursday.

Coppinger was fired and arrested after an internal investigation, Franklin said. He has since been released on a $2,500 bond. No additional details about allegations were released.

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Brooksville Florida Police Officer Marc Davidoff Fired After Trying To Kiss Female Inmate

BROOKSVILLE, FLORIDA — A Brooksville police officer has been fired after he was accused of trying to kiss a female inmate from the Hernando County Detention Center.

In a termination letter written Monday to Officer Marc Davidoff, Brooksville police Chief George Turner alluded to “inappropriate conduct and behavior” and outlined eight department standards Davidoff had allegedly violated.

“It’s obviously conduct that’s unbecoming of a police officer. It’s bad for her and it’s bad for us,” Turner said. “There was no way he was going to continue to be employed here.”

The female inmate, who was cleaning the department as part of her duties as a trusty, went into the patrol room putting tape away between 11 and 11:45 a.m. on May 5, an internal affairs investigation showed. When she turned around, the report said, Davidoff was standing behind her; he then grabbed her by the hand, wrapped his other hand around her neck and pulled her toward him trying to kiss her.

She pushed him away and quickly left the room, the report indicated.

Soon after, she reported it to Detective Bryan Drinkard, who then informed Turner and Capt. Rick Hankins. Within hours, they placed a concealed recording device on her to wear while Davidoff transported her back to the jail.

During the drive, Davidoff asked the woman what she thought about the incident, admitted several times that he had tried to kiss her and again asked what she thought about it.

Davidoff also told the inmate he would try to help her find a job “because he has faith in her and likes her,” according to a summary of the recording. He also asked her to call him when she was released.

“It’s cops like him that give you all a bad name,” the woman later told investigators.

The department has sent its findings to the State Attorney’s Office to determine if authorities will file criminal charges against Davidoff. Davidoff, Turner said, did not deny any of the allegations when he was confronted with them.

Davidoff, who was hired before Turner became chief, had worked at the department for about six years. Turner said he had never before been accused of anything like this.

Davidoff was injured about a month before the incident and had been working in the office since then. The day of the alleged misconduct was the day before he was returning to regular duty.

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Pedophile Police Officer Wannabe Arrested In San Diego California After Telling On Himself In Application

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA — A man who applied for a job as a San Diego police officer was arrested after answers on his application raised red flags.

On his questionnaire to work for the San Diego Police Department, Robert Williams had to answer questions about crimes he might have committed.

A search warrant affidavit lists question No. 172 from Williams’ applicant questionnaire as trouble.

The question, which asked applicants if they have ever had sexual contact with a child, had a yes answer.

Question No. 175, which asked applicants if they have ever viewed, purchased, sold or subscribed to child pornography, also received a yes response.

10News learned there were two more flagged questions and responses.

Police then searched Williams’ car and apartment, confiscated computers and hard drives and arrested him.

Williams had lived at an apartment in Chula Vista for about a week. A man who answered the door told 10News, “He was a guest and he’s no longer living here. He won’t live here anymore.”

In April, Williams had moved in with a woman and her son in east San Diego.

“I did a favor and brought him in because he had nowhere to go and he gave me a sob story,” said Rory Shipp.

She said one day she turned on her computer and found a strange file after Williams left his hard drive hooked up.

“And when I opened the file, it was a little girl in blue and she was coming out of her clothes, playing with a little thing in her mouth. Oh my God, tears came out of my eyes. It was a home video,” she said.

Shipp said she kicked him out that day.

“He goes, ‘There’s nothing wrong with downloading it, Rory, nothing at all. Looking at it and downloading it, that’s okay.’ I said, ‘Are you sick?’” said Shipp.

Williams’ wife, Sunem, called 10News to read a statement from him. It said, “The San Diego Police Department has problems with the integrity of their officers because telling the truth during the hiring process brings prosecution upon those seeking employment. Mr. Williams told the truth, revealing his secrets, his thoughts, and his past. But he remains innocent of all charges they have illegally obtained. He is seeking expert counsel, pro bono.”

Williams was booked at the George Bailey Detention Facility. His bail was set at $150,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

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Trial Begins For New York City Police Officer Kenneth Moreno, Charged With 2008 On-Duty Rape Of Young Unconscious Woman – Made Fake 911 Call To Return To Victim’s Apartment

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – New York City police officer Kenneth Moreno took the stand during his own trial Monday and told jurors he didn’t have sex with an intoxicated woman who has accused him of raping her after being called to help her get home.

He did, however, admit to making a fake 911 call to police that evening to return to woman’s apartment, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported.

The officers helped the drunken woman to her apartment and then returned three times within hours. The woman said she passed out but awoke to being raped.

Somber but forthcoming, Moreno took the stand as the key defense witness:

“Did you commit rape, Officer Moreno?” asked his lawyer, Joseph Tacopina.

“No,” Moreno said frankly.

“Did you have sex with (the woman)?”

“No,” said Moreno, who has been an officer for 17 years.

As CBS 2′s Pablo Guzman reports, Moreno’s version of what took place with the woman was stunning.

“She told me to come over to the bed. I said ‘I’m good where I’m at.’ She only had a pink bra on. She came over to me and asked me if I liked her. She tried to kiss me, but I smelled the alcohol. I said ‘you don’t like me.’ She got upset. I kissed her forehead. She took my hand and put it on her stomach and turned so my hand was on her lower back. She started moving her buttocks around my groin area. It was getting crazy. This was totally unexpected,” Moreno testified.

“I kind of pushed her away. I said there’s another time for this. She looked at me. I held her on the shoulders and said we’re not doing this. She got upset.”

An issue in this trial has been whether the woman was too drunk to say no and whether the cops should have called an ambulance instead of taking her to her apartment, the place of the alleged rape.

“I asked her what was going on. The cab driver said she was drunk. She heard what he said. She said, ‘I’m not drunk. I’m just sick,’” Moreno testified.

Tacopina then asked, “Did she respond to your questions?”

Moreno answered: “Yes she did. I told her, if you can’t stand on your own [I was going to have to call an ambulance]. She said she did not want to go to the hospital. ‘Then you’re going to have to stand up.’ She got up.”

Officer Moreno tried to show that his time with the woman was friendly. But he stunned many in the courtroom when he said he tried to comfort the intoxicated, vomiting woman with, “We talked about music. I even sang to her. I sang Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer.’

“She said I want you to stay. I said you want me to stay? She said, yes, stay with me. She just wanted to be held. So I held her.”

Earlier, Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert aggressively cross-examined Moreno’s partner, NYPD officer Franklin Mata, about the alleged rape of the young, drunk, fashion executive inside her apartment in December 2008.

When asked if he could recall anything that was said between the woman and Moreno, Mata testified she told Moreno: “No, she doesn’t have a boyfriend,” and later, “I don’t want an ambulance.”

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Norton Kansas Police Officer Ryan L. Zweygardt Arrested, Charged With 2 Counts Of Rape

NORTON, KANSAS — A Norton police officer was arrested Thursday on two counts of alleged rape, according to a press release from the Norton County attorney’s office.

Ryan L. Zweygardt, 27, was scheduled to make his first appearance in Norton County District Court today. A preliminary hearing tentatively has been scheduled for May 6. Bond was set at $500,000.

County Attorney Doug Sebelius said this morning the alleged incident was reported to law enforcement April 11.

“Shortly after that, the police chief had placed (Zweygardt) on suspension,” Sebelius said.

He was unsure if Zweygardt’s status with the department had changed since his arrest. He has been with the Norton police for less than a year.

The Norton County sheriff’s department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

Sebelius said Zweygardt was not on duty when the alleged incidents occurred. They were brought to law enforcement’s attention by the victim, an adult female, and by her seeking medical attention, Sebelius said.

Zweygardt is being held in Graham County jail, due to renovations taking place in the Norton County Sheriff’s department.

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma Police Officer Maurice Martinez Arrested, Faces 36 Felony Charges For Sexually Abusing Children, Child Pornography, And Child Abuse

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA — An Oklahoma City police officer was in jail Friday night and officially charged with 36 felonies and one misdemeanor for the alleged sexual abuse of several children.

Officer Maurice Martinez has been under investigation since January, when six of his adopted children were taken into state custody. He was arrested and a search warrant executed on their home.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Martinez was abusing children as young as 12.

Investigators said the behavior went on for years, but the officer was repeatedly allowed to adopt children and bring them into his home.

Investigators said Martinez had several images if children on his iPhone and computer. They said he kept his phone locked all the time and only allowed the children to use the phone in his presence.

According to court documents, he allowed his adopted children to physically abuse each other and never notified the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

Investigators said they seized videos from his home showing children getting “pummeled by other children” and “hit over the head by Martinez.” A child said he had “food poured on him” and he was “locked outside,” police said.

Since the investigation and Martinez’s first arrest in January, police said he has accused of intimidating witnesses from cooperating with police, conspired with a teenager to break into his home and steal evidence before police could seize it and gave $400 to another victim to send him on a bus to Utah to obstruct the investigation.

Martinez was booked into jail on April 15. He is still in jail, and a bond has not been set.

Martinez is charged with 32 counts of sexual abuse of a child, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of child abuse, among other charges.

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Medford Oregon Police Officer Tyler Terrell Chase Arrested, Charged With Sexual Abuse Of A Minor

MEDFORD, OREGON – A Medford police officer has been arrested on a sexual abuse charge for reportedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

The case was investigated by the Central Point Police Department. The details were released Thursday.

Officer Tyler Terrell Chase, 23, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.

Both are misdemeanor charges.

Central Point police said the girl lives in Central Point.

“At the conclusion of our investigation, it is alleged that Tyler Chase had a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old female,” Central Point police Capt. Chuck Newell said in a news release.

Calls to Central Point police for comment were not immediately returned Thursday night.

A person commits third-degree sexual abuse when the victim does not consent to the sexual contact or the victim is incapable of consent because he or she is not 18 years old.

Chase was lodged in the Jackson County Jail Thursday on $8,000 bail.

He posted bail and was released.

According to the Medford Police Department’s weekly newsletter, Chase was hired by the department in 2009.

He previously served as a community service officer with the department and was assigned to North Medford High School as the school resource officer.

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Lancaster County Nebraska Judge Paul Merritt Threatens Rape Victim With Jail If She Won’t Testify

OMAHA, NEBRASKA -  A Nebraska judge’s unusual decision to threaten an alleged sexual assault victim with jail if she doesn’t testify could backfire and discourage other women from reporting they were raped, victim advocates said Thursday.

The 24-year-old Kansas woman is appealing the contempt order, saying that testifying about the sexual abuse she endured as a child would cause her deep humiliation. But Lancaster County District Judge Paul Merritt wrote in his ruling that the charges against her alleged attacker hinge on her testimony.

UK Judge Peter Fox Puts Child Molester Back On The Street – Pedophile Had Sex With 13 Year Old Girl And Downloaded Child Pornography

UK – A judge has been criticised for allowing a child sex pervert to walk free from court after accepting that the defendant had been ‘seduced’ by a 13-year-old.

David Barnes, 24, engaged in ‘cyber-sex’ with a 13-year-old schoolgirl and downloaded hundreds of pornographic pictures and short films – one of which showed the rape of a handcuffed five-year-old girl.

But Judge Peter Fox QC said a short prison sentence would not prevent him from reoffending.

A national victims’ group hit out saying it was ‘intellectually, ethically, morally’ wrong to lay any blame on the 13-year-old girl and described the sentencing as ‘abhorrent’.

Judge Fox admitted people would be ‘puzzled to say the least’ at his decision.

Shop worker Barnes could have been jailed up to six months, but was allowed discount on his punishment because he pleaded guilty to the charges and was of previous good character.

Barnes, of Darlington, admitted 17 specimen charges of making indecent images and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The 24-year-old was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision and 300 hours of unpaid work for the community.

He was also told by the judge that a sex offender treatment programme he was placed upon was not available to him behind bars.

 
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‘Many people must be puzzled to say the very least at the leniency of the guideline sentencing,’ the judge said.

‘I, of course, express no view. If I sent you to prison it would be for a matter of a few weeks only, hence, as I say, the puzzlement that many people would have about that.

‘The weeks you wound spend in prison would do nothing to stop you doing this again. My concern is for the future – the protection of other children.’

Guidelines suggest community sentences for inciting children to engage in sexual activity and up to six months jail for the most serious pornography.
Ruling: Judge Peter Fox admitted people would be ‘puzzled’ by his decision

Ruling: Judge Peter Fox admitted people would be ‘puzzled’ by his decision

Last night, a spokesman for the National Victims Association described it as ‘abhorrent’ that Barnes should, ‘in effect, go unpunished’.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Barnes was arrested at his family home in October 2009 following an operation carried out by Staffordshire Police.

Operation Bamboo officers were investigating chat-room conversations a 13-year-old girl from Stoke was having with a number of adult males.

When they raided Barnes’s home, they recovered computers containing 39 indecent images and movies of children – some in the most serious category.

Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said one short film was of a five-year-old girl being raped as she had her legs strapped to a bar and her wrists in handcuffs.

During the chat-room conversations, the teenager was encouraged to do intimate things while Barnes watched on a web-cam.

Kieran Rainey, mitigating, said the girl encouraged Barnes – then aged 22 – by saying she liked older people, but accepted he should have ‘disengaged’.

Mr Rainey said his client had a small circle of friends – as the son of a career army officer who moved around the country – and ‘character flaws’.

Judge Fox said it was difficult to reconcile the hard-working and highly thought-of young man written of in references with a child sex fiend.

He said: ‘I accept it has been a dreadful shock to your mother, to your father and to your grandmother and to those others who have known you.

‘And in addition (to the images), there was your perverted activities over the internet with the 13-year-old, who, I accept, appears to have seduced you.’

Teesside Crown Court heard that a woman had been arrested as a result of Melles’ allegations

Teesside Crown Court heard police recovered computers containing 39 indecent images and movies of children from Barnes’s home

Last night, the National Victims Association described as ‘incomprehensible’ the suggestion that the girl could have seduced Barnes.

Spokesman Neil Atkinson said: ‘Thirteen-year-olds have to be protected. It goes without saying, they are children.

‘Intellectually, ethically and legally, this girl – or anyone of that age – could not possibly have been on the same level as a man in his 20s.

‘The judge is right, however, when he says most people will be disturbed by an adult receiving a suspended sentence for engaging in activity such as this.

‘It is abhorrent that anyone in their 20s should, in effect, go unpunished for something that could have led to a far more serious offence.

‘Intellectually, ethically, morally and in every other way you can’t point the finger at a 13-year-old and blame her. She is no match for a 22-year-old.’

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Niles Indiana Police Officer Ivery Cross Arraigned – Charged With Sexually Assaulting Teen Inmate – Family Shows Up In Court And Causes A Scene

NILES, INDIANA — It was a tumultuous scene Thursday outside Berrien County Trial Court in Niles where supporters and family members of Ivery Cross, a Niles police officer accused of the sexual assault of a 19-year-old inmate in the holding facility at the Niles Law Enforcement Complex, gathered following Cross’s arraignment.

Mary Cross, the officer’s mother and one of the few family members who was willing to identify herself, shouted several times that her son is innocent as Mark Coulston, the Trial Court bailiff, attempted to move the angry group of roughly 40 people outside into the parking lot.

“I don’t believe it,’’ she said, apparently referring to the charges authorized Wednesday against her son, who’s black. “This is a prejudiced town and a prejudiced court.’’

Others took the media to task for their coverage of the high-profile case, yelling at cameramen and other media representatives that they’d “already lynched’’ Cross. One woman who seemed to support that position leveled criticism as well at the county’s criminal justice system, shouting that her mother had been raped several years ago and that the perpetrator had been allowed to go free.

That woman, too, refused to identify herself, as did yet another woman who had to be restrained as she shouted at TV cameramen and reporters.

In court, Cross, 25, a life-long Niles resident and a member of the city’s police department for a little more than two years, hugged family members and supporters prior to his appearance before Schofield. He was represented by R. McKinley Elliott, who told Schofield he was filling in for another attorney who had a conflict.

Neither Elliott nor Steve Pierangeli, a Berrien assistant prosecutor, asked Schofield to recuse himself based on the judge’s previous dealings with Cross in his role as a police officer. Neither did Elliott object when Pierangeli asked the judge to order Cross to turn over his uniform, weapons and other police equipment, to have no contact with the Niles schools where he had worked as an assistant football coach and to impose a curfew.

But Elliott did object when Pierangeli asked that Cross’ $25,000 bond, which he posted Saturday, be increased to $250,000. Pierangeli asked for the higher bond based on the “serious nature’’ of the charges — 1st degree criminal sexual conduct (digital penetration), three counts of 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct (contact with genitals and a buttock) and one count of misconduct of office. The 1st degree charge is punishable by a maximum of life in prison.

Despite Elliott’s objections, Schofield agreed to the $250,000 bond but said Cross could post $100,000 should he submit to home tether. One of Cross’ supporters shouted to the media in the parking lot that they’d have the money raised by this morning.

Cross is scheduled to have a pre-exam conference on Thursday. His preliminary exam is set for April 12.

Suspended by the department without pay, Cross stands accused of assaulting the teenager in a bathroom at the LEC’s holding facility on March 17. The teen had been picked up on a charge of possession of marijuana.

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Greeley Colorado Police Officer Daniel Shepherd Arrested, Charged With Sexually Assaulting Female Teen Motorist

GREELEY, COLORADO — A Greeley police officer was charged Thursday with sexual assault, accused of molesting a teen girl during a traffic stop.

Daniel Shepherd, 28, was arrested last Friday at the police department. Shepherd was charged with one felony count of sexual assault and one count of official oppression.

According to the arrest affidavit, the incident occurred on March 13 at 20th Street and 28th Avenue in Greeley.

The girl told police that she was asked to leave a party after she got drunk and started yelling at other people.

She said the officer called to the party — Shepherd — told her to go home. When she said she would wait for her sister to give her a ride, the officer walked her to her car and started the car for her, even though she was obviously drunk, according to the affidavit.

The teen said she drove a bit and then pulled over to the side of the road, thinking the officer was following her. She said she didn’t see him so she drove off again, just to be stopped by Shepherd minutes later.

Once she got out of the car and had her facing the car, the officer held her hands behind her back with one of his hands, grabbed her breasts and put his hands down the front of her pants, she said in the affidavit.

“She said she felt trapped during the patdown and felt if she wouldn’t have quickly grabbed her phone and called her sister, it would have gotten worse … She felt the officer could have raped her if she hadn’t called her sister,” detectives wrote in the affidavit.

When the officer told her she was too drunk to drive and asked, “What should we do about this?” she felt his question was a strong hint for a sexual favor.

While she was on the phone with her sister, the teen suddenly realized that the officer who had just stopped her had left.

The teen was never ticketed or cited.

When investigators first questioned Shepherd, he denied pulling her over and said that he only had contact with her at the party.

An electronic device confirmed Shepherd’s car was stationary at the alleged assault location for five minutes. Shepherd later admitted he did stop the teen but denied groping her.

Shepherd is out on $50,000 bond and due in court next month.

He has been a police officer for three years.

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