Church Youth Leader Admits to Child Porn

A man who helped his wife run a church youth club has admitted downloading more than 2,000 pornographic images of children from the internet.

Police found them on Andrew Lumber’s computer when they raided his home in Colford Close, Droitwich, on September 18, 2008.

He admitted possessing child porn when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court.

Nearly 650 of the images were at the most serious level and there were more than 40 moving images, 11 of which were rated serious, said Kerry Moreton, prosecuting.

The pictures showed children aged between six months and 16 years.

Lumber told police that he was only interested in children aged about 12. He had not distributed pictures to anyone else.

Julian Harris, defending, submitted references and said that Lumber, who had no previous convictions, lost his job when his employers heard about the case.

Muslim Sentenced for Raping/Murdering 4-Year Old Boy in Mosque

A Dubai court on Wednesday sentenced an Emirati man to death for raping and murdering a four-year-old boy in a Dubai mosque last November, in a case that has appalled the Gulf country. Dubai's Court of First Instance ruled that the crime had been premeditated, rejecting the man's defence that he had been drunk and that he had accidentally smothered the boy to stop him from screaming after raping him in the bathroom of a mosque on the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

"This horrible crime shook Emirati society and runs against all its foundations and values, especially as it occurred on the first day of the Eid holiday," prosecutor general Essam al-Hamidan said.

The man, a 30-year-old UAE citizen of Bahraini origin, received a separate, six-month jail term for consumption of alcohol.

Prosecutors had presented the court with a confession from the convicted man in which he said he had been drinking heavily before he lured the Pakistani child to the bathroom of a mosque with promises of gifts.

According to his confession, he then sexually assaulted the boy, and accidentally smothered him to death when the child cried.

The victim, four-year-old Moussa Mokhtiar, was found dead in the mosque bathroom later that same morning.

Episcopal Music Director Pleads Guilty to Forced Sex Acts with Two Girls

An Ann Arbor pianist charged with traveling to Ohio to force two underage girls to perform sex acts on him pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, David Jeremy Zobel faces between 10 years to 11 years and three months in prison when he is sentenced in April, records show.

Zobel entered the plea Jan. 8 in federal court in Dayton, court records show.

Zobel reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, but that agreement has not yet been made public.

Zobel, who was the music director at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti and a pianist with the Men’s Glee Club at the University of Michigan, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in June.

He was accused of driving the girls, ages 12 and 13, from Xenia to a parking garage about 170 miles away in Toledo, then locking the car’s doors, an FBI affidavit says.

Zobel wouldn’t let the girls out until each performed a sex act on him and let him photograph their breasts, the affidavit says.

Amish Man Convicted of Child Molestation

Two Amish people charged in a Webster County sex abuse case from last fall have been sentenced.

Johnny Schwartz received 27 years in prison. He had pled guilty to statutory sodomy and child molestation.

Fannie Schwartz, Johnny's wife, got five years probation with 100 hours of community service. She pled guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

According to prosecutors, Fannie told Amish church leaders about her husband having sexual relationships with two people under the age of 17. The abuse happened between 2000 and 2007.

Instead of notifying authorities, they shunned Schwartz. Four church leaders face misdemeanor charges for not reporting the suspected abuse.

Baptist Pastor Pleads Guilty to Medicaid Fraud

A well-respected Westfield minister known for his involvement in social service programs has pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud, authorities announced today.

Kevin Clark, 53, the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, admitted in court on Monday that he filled out and submitted a false Medicaid application on behalf of an elderly female parishioner in 2004, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

When asked to list all property sales and any money given away by the woman within the past three years, authorities said Clark failed to disclose that she had sold her house for $183,038 -- and turned the cash over to him.

In a hearing before Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim, Clark pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud and tampering with public records. He faces up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000 when sentenced on April 9.

Christian Minister Sentenced for Embezzlement

A judge has ordered a minister, described by his victim as "a wolf in minister's clothes," to serve a year in jail for embezzling more than $1,400 from Christian Life Center in Layton.

The Rev. Kyle McCarty, 39, appeared in 2nd District Court in Farmington on Monday for a sentencing hearing on a class A misdemeanor theft.

He was originally charged with a third-degree felony theft, but pleaded to the reduced charge Aug. 31. He was originally set to be sentenced Nov. 9.

His attorney, Camille Neider, said her client was prepared to pay back the money and that McCarty was willing to do community service in Ohio, where he lives now.

"We have no issues with the facts," Neider said. "He admits taking property that wasn't his and for missing the other four court dates."

Pastor Convicted of Sexual Assault

A former pastor was found guilty of one sex crime Friday, but cleared of another.

It was a mix of joy and sadness in a Woodstock courtroom late Friday evening as a Frederick Douglas Hanson, 61, learned his fate on two sexual offences.

Just after 9 p.m., he was found guilty of one count of indecent assault that occurred between Jan. 1, 1971, and Dec. 31, 1974, at or near Somerville.

He was found not guilty of a count of sexual assault that allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1988, and Dec. 31, 1990, at or near Upper Brighton and Somerville.

Baptist Minister Pleads Guilty to Molestation

In his three years as a youth minister at a small Gainesville church, Phillip Glenn Terrell won over the trust of the tight-knit congregation that treated him like family.

But by repeatedly molesting the teenage son of one of the church members, Terrell not only left the boy emotionally scarred, but hastened the demise of Emmanuel Baptist Church.

On Friday, Terrell, 38, pleaded guilty to molesting the boy, then 14, at two Forsyth County locations in 2006. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The red brick church on Atlanta Highway, where 50 or 60 parishioners gathered each Sunday at the time of Terrell’s April 2007 arrest, now sits empty.

“This whole thing was the death knell for that church,” the victim’s mother said during Friday’s plea hearing in Forsyth County Superior Court.

Baptist Sentenced for Shooting Ex-Wife

Before a judge handed him a 24-year prison sentence Thursday, Bryan Mobley made a plea for healing and forgiveness.

The Mansfield man, convicted Wednesday of charges related to his shooting his ex-wife, addressed the court in an emotional, wide-ranging speech lasting more than 10 minutes.

Mobley, 46, was found guilty of attempted aggravated murder involving a gun, aggravated burglary and firing the gun inside a home. The jury found him not guilty of kidnapping for the June 18 incident.

Apparently distraught over their divorce, Mobley forced his way into Deb Tolley's Piper Road apartment and shot her once in the abdomen. Tolley suffered life-threatening injuries at the time; doctors removed part of her small intestine and repaired her bladder and uterus.

Carole Pore, who coordinates a divorce recovery ministry at Berean Baptist Church that Mobley attended, has known him a year.

Mormon Pleads No Contest to Sexual Assault of Child

Michael Emack, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pleaded no contest to the accusation of sexual assault of a child Friday, was found guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The state, led by prosecutor Eric Nicols, presented documents during the hearing meant to show that Emack, 59, sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl and fathered a child by her in October 2004, and that he had one legal wife and three spiritual wives including the minor.

Walther had Emack agree to a “waiver of stipulation of the evidence,” saying that the evidence was accurate and could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

With that evidence admitted, Walther found Emack guilty.

Baptist Church Secretary Sentenced for $400,000 Embezzlement

A former employee of a church in western Louisiana has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for embezzling nearly $400,000.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty on Thursday sentenced 39-year-old Julia Leppo, of Lemont, Ill., to 51 months in prison and ordered her to pay $383,000 in restitution to First Baptist Church of Westlake.

Leppo worked as a financial secretary for the church. Prosecutors say she obtained unauthorized credit cards in the names of the church and a former church employee, then used the cards to charge personal expenses and withdraw cash from ATMs.

Leppo also allegedly forged checks from the church's checking account to pay credit card balances and issued checks to herself under a fictitious name.

Pastor Sentenced for Theft

The former pastor of a Newark church was sentenced to prison Friday for stealing $157,000 that he fraudulently solicited as loans from parishioners and religious associates.

Steven Parrott, 53, of Newark, former pastor of the Lighthouse Temple Church, was sentenced to three years in state prison by state Superior Court Judge Patricia Richmond LeBon in Mount Holly, according to Acting Attorney General Paula Dow.

Parrott pleaded guilty on Nov. 13 to second-degree misconduct by a corporate official. The charge was contained in a June 12, 2008 state grand jury indictment.

Parrott admitted that he stole the $157,580 from five people. He was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims. Deputy Attorney General Valerie Noto prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau.

Catholc Preist Sentenced for Child Sex Crimes

A former Roman Catholic priest was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for 18 sex-related offenses dating back more than 50 years in New Brunswick.

Levi Noel, 84, pleaded guilty in October for the sexual abuse incidents involving as many as 10 people, many of whom were children at the time, from 1958 to 1981.

Some of the charges included gross indecency, indecent assault and assault.

Christian Sentenced for Child Pornography

A federal judge this week sentenced a former substitute teacher in Colorado Springs School District 11 to about eight years in prison for his involvement in an international child pornography ring.

Kyle Gregory Speed, 53, pleaded guilty in October to one count of possession of child pornography between July 1995 to January 2009. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello sentenced him to 97 months.

The investigation began after authorities in New Zealand executed a search warrant and found that a suspect there was in contact with Speed.

A search of Speed’s Colorado Springs home in the 2500 block of Elite Terrace on Jan. 16, 2009, recovered computers with at least 600 images of child pornography, including pictures of young boys who were naked and tied up, according to court records.

Police arrested Speed that day while he was teaching at the Spring Creek Youth Services Center under a contract with District 11. At the time, district officials said Speed had been hired after a criminal background check found no prior offenses.

Under the plea agreement, Speed could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Several people, including his parents and sister wrote letters on his behalf requesting mercy.

They described him as a caring person who graduated from the University of Texas in Austin in 1979 and later obtained a law degree. They cited his work with a church gospel singing group and leading vesper services at a Colorado Springs retirement home.

Christian Sentenced for Sexual Assault

A North Aurora man went on a lengthy diatribe before being sentenced to natural life in prison today for sexually assaulting two girls he had befriended at their church.

Charles E. Granter, 64, had been found guilty in 2009 for two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, involving the girls, who were 9 and 11 when the incidents took place between 2005 and 2007.

State law mandated the life sentence, so there was little suspense in Wednesday's hearing before Kane County Judge Allen Anderson. But before being sentenced, Granter gave a 20-minute address, criticizing Anderson, the North Aurroa police, prosecutors and the alleged victims, who, according to Granter, lied about him.

According to authorities, Granter met the girls and their families through the church they all attended. Granter's wife and a half-dozen church members were in court as a show of support for Granter.

"If I needed help, he'd be the person I'd call,'' fellow church member Terry McKinney said of Granter.

Church Choirmaster Admits Molesting Girls

A teacher and church choirmaster admitted sexually molesting two young girls.

Andrew Hunter, a teacher at a south Wirral secondary school, admitted sexual offences against a 14-year-old and 15-year-old.

Hunter, choirmaster for a north Liverpool church, also pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

The 27-year-old, of Rosemary Close, Formby, was due to be sentenced for seven charges at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

Anya Horwood, prosecuting, told the court the Crown Prosecution Service would be applying for a Sexual Offenders’ Prevention Order for Hunter, who it is understood also gave organ recitals at Formby’s Methodist Church.

Baptist Minister Convicted of Wife's Murder

A former Texas minister was convicted late Wednesday of slipping his wife sleeping pills, smothering her to death with a pillow and faking her suicide note so he could be with his mistress.

Jurors deliberated more than seven hours before convicting Matt Baker, 38, of murder in his wife's 2006 death, which initially was ruled a suicide.

Baker did not testify during the seven-day trial and showed no emotion when the verdict was read, but relatives of his wife, Kari, began to cry. After the judge revoked Baker's bond, he shook his attorney's hand and said "thank you" as a sheriff's deputy took him into custody.

Shafer, the prosecutor, said during closing arguments that Baker had told a "web of lies" since his wife's death. She said Kari's upbeat e-mails about a new job just before her death contradicted Baker's story that she killed herself because she was depressed over their middle daughter's 1999 cancer death.

Shafer also urged jurors to note Baker's contradictory statements in his deposition and his interviews to "48 Hours" and "20/20."

"She was in the way of the life that he had envisioned for himself, and he was a Baptist preacher and he couldn't divorce; he'd lose his job, and he'd have trouble getting another one," Shafer told jurors.

Drug Dealing Baptist Pastor Sentenced

A former Fort Wayne pastor will spend time in a federal prison on drug charges.

A federal judge in Fort Wayne sentenced 59-year-old Curtis White III to almost 16-years in federal prison.

He had been charged with possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.

White "had" been pastor at Divine Faith Baptist Church on McCulloch Street, and had convictions in the 1990's for dealing cocaine.

When police arrested him at the Pine Haven Motel on Bluffton Road last June, he had more than 6 .5 grams of crack cocaine, plus about the same amount concealed in a body cavity.

Christian Man Sentenced for Sexual Assault

A 53-year-old Bay View man, who told provincial court Judge Henrik Tonning he feels deep shame for his repeated sex crime, will serve two years in prison.

James Lee Robichaud admitted he sexually assaulted a woman in her Saint John home and later her Big Salmon River Road home near St. Martins between Jan. 15 and Feb. 17, 2009.

"I am deeply sorry. My shame is so deep not even I can fathom it," Robichaud told the court before he was sentenced in Hampton provincial court Monday on the single charge of indictable sexual assault.

He said he needs help for his perversion and that he has apologized to his victim and her family.

The name of the victim and any information that identifies her is protected under a publication ban ordered by Tonning.

Robichaud was convicted in 2001 and handed a three-month conditional sentence at the time for sexual exploitation of a four-year-old girl.

Robichaud's pre-sentence report suggests he participate in high-intensity sexual offender programs once he reaches Springhill Institution. The report also said Robichaud is a loner who participates in daily Bible studies and regularly views religious television programs. In past relationships, the report said, Robichaud and his partners participated in "unconventional" sexual activities.

Pastor Convitced of Kidnapping, Burglary & Assault

The pastor of "Thy Kingdom Come" church in Wheaton, Minnesota has been convicted of kidnapping, burglary and assault for the beating of a man in nearby Beardsley last June. A judge in Big Stone county found Danny Barnes guilty. Barnes was accused of planning a home intrusion and in the beating of a man at a home. Sentencing in Big Stone county is set for February 3rd. In September, a 14 month-old girl died after she was hit with a baseball bat outside Barnes' church. Two men are facing charges in that case.

Convicted Pastor Sentenced for Probabtion Violation

A convicted sex offender found himself in legal trouble Sunday after police said he returned to the altar of a church where he sexually assaulted a young boy in 2005.

Edward Hughes' arrest came after police had strictly forbidden him from leading a church, coming in contact with juveniles or obtaining employment near a school, said Lt. Kim Noorbergen, police spokeswoman.

Neighbors said Mr. Hughes, 66, returned to the pulpit at Bethlehem Evangelistic Mission in East Lake sometime after the first of the year. Police have charged Mr. Hughes with two counts of violating the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry. Jail records indicated he had been released on bond by Monday afternoon.

He was accused of raping a young boy in 2005 and later pleaded guilty to sexual battery by an authority figure, Lt. Noorbergen said. The incident took place in the same building where Bethlehem Evangelistic Mission is now, police said.

Jewish Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault

The trial for a man accused of raping two York University students didn’t last long.

On Monday, the day a jury trial was scheduled to begin, Daniel Katsnelson pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm.

Katsnelson, 27, a graduate of the school’s business program, admitted that he and a friend broke in to the Vanier dorms under the pretense of helping a drunken friend.

Then, Katsnelson and Justin Connort traveled from floor to floor, hoping to “get lucky” during Frosh Week, he admitted in an agreed statement of facts.

On September 26, 2007, several first-year students woke up to the sound of men in their rooms. The pair broke in to five bedrooms in total.

“Do you want to get lucky with a couple of Jewish guys?” they asked the first victim.

Katsnelson then raped the 17-year-old girl. Afterwards, Connort assaulted her while Katsnelson took pictures.

The girl fought back and the pair left.

Both men left behind DNA at the scene. A second woman was also sexually assaulted.

Catholic Sentenced for Vandalism

A Van Wert man learned his fate Friday morning as he appeared in Putnam County Common Pleas Court.

Ryan Wells and Cody Rau appeared in Common Pleas court to be sentenced for their part in the vandalism of Continental High School back in July. Wells and Rau pleaded guilty to three different charges involving the case back in December.

Wells, 18, was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case as Rau appeared before Putnam County Pleas Court Judge Randall Basinger first. Wells' attorney, Steven Diller, presented a handful of character witnesses on behalf of his client before the sentence was handed down.

Character witnesses, including Rev. Michael Zacharias of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Van Wert appeared on the stand, along with Tonia Gamble, a vocal music teacher at Van Wert's Washington Elementary School.

Christian Sex Offender Sentenced for Probabation Violation

A convicted sex offender who was working at a summer camp in Savannah has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison.

WTOC-TV reports that a Chatham County judge on Friday sentenced Edward Spencer to 30 years in prison, 15 to serve, and revoked his probation.

Spencer was a camp counselor at the Southern Christian Leadership Council's Summer Slam 2009 summer camp. A camper's mother called police after seeing Spencer's picture on a sex offender Web site.

Spencer was convicted of molesting four boys in 1999 when he was 13. He was jailed in 2007 when his probation officer found child porn on his computer. Spencer was released in 2008 and listed as a sexually dangerous predator.

Spencer was sentenced on the predator volunteering at a prohibited location charge. His is the first conviction in Georgia for this offense.

Catholic Priest Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault

A former member of the Brothers of the Holy Cross religious order who later became a Catholic priest pleaded guilty Friday and was convicted of sexually assaulting two boys in the Elm Grove area, one in the late 1970s and the other in the early 1980s.

Prosecutor Debra L. Blasius said the state will argue that James R. Blume receive a 10-year prison term when he is sentenced March 26.

Blume, 64, was charged with two counts of sexual assault against a child. He decided to enter guilty pleas Friday rather than take the case to trial and was found guilty by Waukesha County Reserve Judge Patrick L. Snyder.

Christian Sentenced for Sex Abuse

A churchgoer has been jailed after he sexually abused a child during services.

David Wild, aged 46, was charged with nine counts of indecent assault that took place 25 years ago.

The offences took place between 1985 and 1990 at Greenhill Methodist Church in Littleborough.

Wild touched a girl inappropriately over her clothing during Sunday School activities and Christmas parties.

The assaults took place while she was sitting on his knee during services, watching cartoons from a projector in a darkened room or taking part in piggy- back rides.

Chruch Administrator Pleads Guilty to Theft

A former church administrator pleads guilty to theft for taking more than $300,000 over a seven-year period.

Diane Maddy, 48, of 3077 Sandalwood Ave., pleaded guilty to a charge of theft in Clark County Common Pleas Court.

She was accused of taking money from the Christ Chapel Church of God, 2404 Troy Road, between 2003 and 2009.

Reports say Maddy was responsible for writing checks for the church and was accused of taking almost $245,000 between 2003 and 2006.

She was also accused of taking nearly $69,000 in 2008 and 2009.

Maddy will be sentenced February 16 in Clark County Common Pleas Court.

Christian Woman/Boyfriend Sentenced for Murder of Husband

Richard Scott Harper was sentenced to life without parole on Wednesday for the murder of Thad Reynolds. He was also sentenced to 20 years for aggravated battery and five years on a weapon possession charge. Harper violently stabbed Reynolds to death at his work in the early hours of July 5, 2004. Reynolds`s wife Michelle also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for her role in her husband`s death. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with credit for time served. The sentencing on Wednesday brought to a close a case that drew national attention.

Harper pleaded guilty to the murder in October 2008 after the district attorney`s office agreed to not seek the death penalty for either him or Reynolds if he testified during Reynold`s trial.

Reynold`s has less than 15 years left on her sentence to serve.

Harper and Reynolds were having an affair and plotted to kill Michelle`s husband Thad. All three attended the same church in Rome.

The Reynold`s had four children and the Harper and his wife had three.

Pastor Convicted of Swindling Immigrants

The Ecuadorean pastor in his storefront church in Corona, Queens, promised the impossible: expedited green cards for illegal immigrants in exchange for several thousand dollars apiece, with few questions asked. And more than 100 people in the New York region, many of them Ecuadorean and desperate to remain in the country legally, took him up on his offer, handing a total of about $940,000.

But it turned out that the whole thing was a fraud.

The pastor, Gregorio Gonzalez, 57, pleaded guilty to swindling more than 100 people with his false promises, the Queens district attorney, Richard A. Brown, announced this week. Mr. Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced for second-degree grand larceny on Jan. 26 and faces a possible prison term of two to six years.

The authorities say Mr. Gonzalez will be deported after he serves his prison sentence because he, too, is an illegal immigrant.

Baptist Pastor Convicted of Sexual Battery

A Scott County pastor was convicted last week on sexual battery charges stemming from unwanted advances he made toward a female member of his church’s congregation.

Grover Bernard Lewis, 71, 14744 Nickelsville Highway, Nickelsville, was convicted in Scott County Domestic Relations Court Jan. 7 on two counts of sexual battery, a Class I misdem e a n o r.

As a result of the conviction, Lewis was sentenced to six months in jail, with all but five months and 15 days suspended. He must participate in a year of probation and pay a $500 fine.

He was also ordered to stay away from the victim.

Lewis is the pastor at Gillenwater Chapel Church, a small Baptist church located near Scott County’s Midway community.

Christian Man Sentenced for Murder of Roommate

A 26-year-old Rushville man was sentenced to 42 to 107 years in prison Tuesday for the December 2008 stabbing death of his roommate.

Joseph Hotz got 20 to 50 years for second-degree murder for killing Kenny Pfeiffer, 22, of Sebastian, Fla., 10 to 20 years for the attempted second-degree murder of another man, one to five years for making terroristic threats and 11 to 32 years on three charges of using a weapon to commit a felony. The sentences are to be served consecutively, which means he will serve 42 to 107 years in prison, according to a news release from the Nebraska Attorney General's office.

Hotz also attacked another man, who hid in a bathroom while Hotz stabbed the door, authorities said.

Hotz was represented by Jeff Pickens of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy and Dawes County Public Defender Paul Wess, who said that before the 2008 incident, Hotz was a student who wanted to become a teacher, was employed and was in a Bible study group.

Haug argued Hoyt not only killed Pfeiffer, he terrorized the other man to the degree that he is a different person now.

Christian Man Convicted of Stalking, Making Threats

A jury convicted appellant Virgil Popescu of one count of stalking, two counts of possession of a deadly weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm silencer, and possession of an assault weapon. The court sentenced Popescu to a total term of three years eight months.

Robert Pagan was a Parking Enforcement Officer for the City of San Diego and was charged with enforcing the city's parking rules. His responsibilities included ticketing parking offenders. Pagan patrolled an area in east San Diego that included Estrella Avenue and the alley behind it. The alley was the subject of numerous citizen complaints about unlawful parking. Popescu subsequently sent a "John Wayne" postcard to Pagan at Pagan's workplace, initialed by Popescu, stating Pagan was incompetent and ignorant, and that Pagan could continue issuing tickets to Popescu because he would neither move the car nor pay the ticket.

In August 2006, Popescu filed a lawsuit in federal court against Pagan and the City of San Diego. Popescu alleged Pagan had unlawfully targeted Popescu for parking tickets because Popescu had Christian bumper stickers on his car.

Christian Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

A judge has sentenced a Kingman man to a 20 year prison sentence for sexually molesting a child during a church camp near Prescott.

A lawyer representing 20-year-old defendant Patrick West-Owens asked Yavapai County Superior Court Judge William T. Kiger for leniency for his client.

Authorities say West-Owens had accompanied the child and her family as part of a church group to an event in Prescott on June 14, 2009. While the family slept, authorities said he took the girl into his bunk and coaxed her into various sex acts.

Deputy County Attorney Matthew Cochran said a doctor who examined West-Owens found the defendant has poor control of his impulses.

West-Owens pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor less than 15 years old, attempted sexual conduct with a minor and sexual abuse of a minor.

Methodist Music Director Sentenced for Sexual Misconduct

With the gallery largely filled with his supporters, the former music director at First Wayne Street United Methodist Church was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy.

Dale K. Tucker, 57, pleaded guilty in November in Allen Superior Court to sexual misconduct with a minor – admitting to giving a boy alcohol and performing sex acts on him.

In exchange for his guilty plea, seven additional charges including sexual misconduct with a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor were dismissed.

About a half-dozen witnesses testified to Tucker’s character, describing him as a person of deep Christian faith and an “honorable and loving person.”

But the boy’s parents painted quite a different picture of the former instructor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, whom they had welcomed into their family, even inviting him for Christmas.

“We were part of this fan club a year ago,” the teen’s father said. “You would feel different if it were your 15-year-old son.”

Catholic Priest Sentenced for Fondling Parishioner

The Rev. Richard Ordonez offered no apology in court today as he was given a conditional discharge for fondling a female parishioner at a Mamaroneck church.

The 38-year-old Ecuadorean cleric was sentenced in Westchester County Court two months after pleading guilty to forcible touching, a misdemeanor.

State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Cohen, a county judge when he presided over Ordonez' case, returned from Orange County Court to pronounce sentence.

As a priest, shame on you," Cohen said. "As a counselor, shame on you. As a human being, shame on you."

Ordonez, who counseled the victim from Jan. 12-23, 2004, was accused of grabbing her breasts and trying to sexually abuse her at St. Vito's Roman Catholic Church on Underhill Avenue. She fled the counseling session and avoided him, authorities said.

Police said the woman came forward in September 2008 after learning that Ordonez, who had left the area, was returning to the parish.

Under the terms of the sentence, he will not be supervised by probation and will not be registered as a sex offender. He has served more than half of his 500 hours of court-ordered community service and has a year to complete it. He must also stay away from the victim.

Parishioners from St. Vito's and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Elmsford, where Ordonez had also served as a visiting priest, were in the courtroom to support him. Ordonez had been credited with reaching out to the Hispanic immigrant population, celebrating Mass in Spanish, English and Italian.

Two Catholic Preists Sentenced for Separate Crimes

Two Catholic priests have avoided jail time, one for stealing from his parish and one for groping a female parishioner.

The Rev. Patrick Dunne was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation and 250 hours of community service for grand larceny. He had admitted taking $432,000 from Our Lady of Sorrows Church in White Plains, where he was pastor.

The judge said Dunne, who's 65, was to have no access to parish funds at his new post at another church.

At another sentencing in the same Westchester County Courthouse, the Rev. Richard Ordonez of St. Vito's Church in Mamaroneck was sentenced to 500 hours of community service. The 38-year-old had admitted inappropriately touching a woman who had come to him for marriage counseling.

Rabbi Pleads Guilty to Endangering Child

A well-known Loudonville rabbi has pleaded guilty in Albany County Court to endangering the welfare of a child.

Rabbi Yaakov Weiss appeared in Albany County Court Monday morning to enter his guilty plea, part of a deal that could get him jail time when he is sentenced March 1.

He faces no more than 60 days in jail and three years of probation.

Weiss had faced two counts of sex abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Pastor Convicted Of Embezzlement

A man who embezzled several thousand dollars during his two months as president of the Pamlico County Chamber of Commerce is set to be sentenced March 15.

David Eugene Kitchen, 37, pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charge Monday in Pamlico County Superior Court.

Just how much money Kitchen stole is in dispute between his defense attorney and assistant district attorney Laura Bell.

The state contends Kitchen took $7,286.81. Kitchen’s defense lawyer Robert McAfee disagrees with that amount. Bell and McAfee asked Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Ben Alford for a delay in sentencing in order for the two sides to determine the exact amount of money stolen.

Bell told the court that money taken by Kitchen was not used for chamber business. “The money was used to pay a traffic ticket in Pamlico County, personal items and used for his own business,” she said.

The money was taken with checks Kitchen wrote and got cash for, and unauthorized and personal charges made with the chamber credit card.

Kitchen had a ministry helping churches develop contemporary gospel music programs through performance and instruction.

Kitchen is a former pastor of Higher Ground Ministries in Barboursville, W. Va. When he arrived in Pamlico County he assumed a similar role at Church of God of Prophecy in Maribel.

Christian Funeral Home Director Sentenced for Malpractice

Former funeral home director Harold Warren Sr. was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail and five years of probation.

The settlement signed by Harold Warren Sr. and Harold Warren Jr. outlined numerous violations. According to the agreement, the Warrens did not have a refrigeration unit to store bodies, and one woman who died of hepatitis was left unembalmed and unrefrigerated for roughly 10 months.

Inspectors found unsanitary conditions, including an embalming table covered with blood and instruments that hadn’t been cleaned, according to the agreement. The Warrens also kept incomplete or incorrect records and embalmed some people without authorization, according to the agreement.

In the sentencing hearing, 13th Circuit Court Judge Gary Oxenhandler said Warren could serve the 60 days in home detention instead of jail so that he can attend church, as requested by Warren's attorney, Dan Viets.

In 2008, Warren Funeral Chapel was shut down for malpractice and unsanitary conditions. Warren, 77, and his son, Harold Warren Jr., subsequently lost their funeral directors' and embalmers' licenses, according to previous Missourian reporting.

Oxenhandler said while there were many letters submitted on behalf on Warren claiming him to be a "man of God," letters from victims were in stark contrast. He read an excerpt from a letter submitted by the mother of a victim before he handed down his decision.

"This was not a mistake; it was intentional. My daughter was in the hands of someone without a soul. He should never be allowed near a funeral home again. May God have mercy on him," Oxenhandler read.

Unification Church Member Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme

A Clifton woman who lured investors with promises to double their money within a year was sentenced Monday to 70 months in federal prison for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that left many of her clients in financial ruin.

“This was a very deliberate fraud that deprived people of their money pretty much permanently,” U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden said imposing a sentence on Marcia Sladich, 51.

Sladich, a mother of four, worked as a ticket-collector at Giants Stadium and the Izod Center, but made a killing with her Clifton-based side business, Kay Services LLC, authorities said.

Between 2004 and 2007, she raised more than $15 million from investors throughout the United States by promising to invest their money in secure, risk-free real estate ventures in the U.S. and abroad and guaranteeing them a 100 percent return within a year.

Instead, early investors were paid with funds collected from later clients, and she diverted at least $400,000 to pay her own credit card and mortgage bills and to buy real estate in Florida and Brazil for herself and her family, authorities said. She kept the money flowing in by offering investors an extra $100 a month for every new client they recruited.

Many of Sladich’s victims were fellow parishioners at the New Jerusalem Family Church on De Mott Avenue in Clifton, authorities said. The church is part of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s global network of churches which make up the Family Federation of World Peace and Unification.

During the 3 ½ hour hearing in Newark, fellow church members who had lost money in the scheme joined Sladich’s husband, Daniel, in a plea for leniency. They cited her good works in the community and their belief that she never intended to harm anyone but was duped by a mysterious partner who has disappeared.

Another group of investors, seated across the courtroom, were less forgiving. They told the judge that the fraud had left them facing bankruptcy, foreclosure, and without the means to put their children though college.

Christian Sentenced for Burglary

A judge Monday sentenced a 29-year-old Lincoln man to the same prison term he gave his brother two months earlier in connection to a break-in at a Lincoln middle school more than a year ago.

Harold E. Brown was sentenced to 20 months to four years for attempted burglary and theft by receiving stolen property.

His attorney, Jerry Fichter, said Brown was working with his church to try to turn his life around and wanted a chance on probation to prove he could. He has a young son and another on the way.

But District Court Judge Jeffre Cheuvront cited his lengthy record, which included 21 convictions for driving without a license and two prison sentences, and that the matter involved a school.

Police recovered 11 computers, worth $14,000, stolen from Irving Middle School over Thanksgiving break 2008 at the Lincoln home of his brother, 27-year-old Brian A. Brown.

He implicated his brother in the scheme. In November, Cheuvront gave him the same sentence: 20 months to four years in prison.

Christian Youth Program Director Sentenced for Sexual Assault of Girl

Mike Landy stood from the pew-like bench to greet each new person who walked through the swinging doors with a firm handshake and pat on the shoulder.

And when they left about an hour later, Mr. Landy, wearing a navy sweater, khakis and brown shoes, waved goodbye to each like this was another Sunday morning in church.

Except it was Tuesday afternoon in Buchanan County Circuit Court. And in between the familiar pleasantries, Judge Dan Kellogg sentenced Mr. Landy, 57, to at least 120 days of shock detention for committing statutory sodomy in the second-degree.

In October, Mr. Landy, the regional director for OATS Inc., pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a girl from 1996 to 1999. The victim was 13 and the defendant 43 when the relationship started, and Mr. Landy met her while working with the youth program at the New Life Bible Church.

When confronted, Mr. Landy confessed the relationship to his congregation and issued a statement to police essentially corroborating the victim’s accusations. For his sentencing Tuesday, the defendant brought with him enough support to pack the courtroom to its capacity.

Even though New Life Bible removed Mr. Landy from his position in the church upon hearing the confession, the defendant had been attending services there during the legal process.

OATS Inc. confirmed Tuesday Mr. Landy no longer is employed there but wouldn’t comment on whether that had to do with his guilty plea or any other specifics.

Baptist Bus Driver Sentenced for Drunk Driving with Busload of School Children

Allegany County Judge Thomas Brown Monday afternoon sentenced former Alfred-Almond school bus driver Martha A. Thompson to 90 days in jail for her Nov. 2 guilty plea to felony driving while intoxicated and 37 counts of third-degree reckless endangerment.

Thompson, 56, of 5 Maple Ridge, Almond, was charged by Amity-based state police May 8 with driving while intoxicated, 15 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 15 counts of second-degree reckless endangerment for allegedly driving a loaded school bus under the influence of alcohol.

Thompson was charged after the bus she was driving stopped on South Road in the town of West Almond and some of the older students opened the rear emergency door and began exiting the bus because she was driving erratically. A witness gathered the students at the scene and called 911 because she smelled alcohol on Thompson’s breath and though she was impaired.

Thompson appeared in court with her husband and the reverend of her church, Pastor Ken Chroniger of the Alfred Station Seventh Day Baptist Church.

Thompson will report for her first weekend in jail 6 p.m. Friday.

Episcopalian Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Child

Terry Lynn Davis, 36, of Kanarraville, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years to life in Utah State Prison on one count of aggravated sex abuse of a child.

Davis was initially arrested May 30, 2009 by Cedar City Police on charges of rape of a child, sexual abuse of a child and dealing in harmful material to a child, with bail set at $50,000.

Chief Deputy Iron County Attorney Troy Little said after interviewing Davis, the defendant admitted to several counts of misconduct with his 13-year-old victim.

Davis's wife and his reverend from St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Cedar City spoke at the defendant's sentencing on Tuesday in 5th District Court, and Davis apologized and said he would seek psychological help while in prison.

Pastor Convicted of Fraud

The saying that whatever a man sows he reaps, rightly captures the conviction of Pastor Michael Spring Inyang and four others whose hope of enjoying the proceeds of crime was dashed as they were made to spend Christmas and begin the new year in prison after the courts handed them various jail terms shortly before 2009 came to an end.

Inyang, the proprietor of Christian Millionaire Club is to spend the next four years behind the bar after Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court found him guilty on all 17 count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The pastor, who used the name of God to defraud hundreds of his followers began the journey into scam business in 2006, when he registered an organisation known as Christian Millionaires Club through which he persuaded victims to part with their resources with an assurance that bountiful rewards awaited them here on earth and in heaven.

Priest Pleads Guilty to Possessing/Selling Drugs

A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who operated his own church in Riverside County pleaded guilty today to possessing illegal drugs, authorities said.

Anthony Martinez Garduno, 51, a self-proclaimed Catholic bishop, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug count and four felony drug counts, including possession of the "date-rape" narcotic GHB, authorities said.

Garduno also pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

Garduno was arrested Dec. 29 after detectives determined he was selling methamphetamine and was in possession of other drugs at his Our Lady of Tepeyac Church, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

Detectives are investigating allegations that Garduno sexually assaulted underage males at the church, the department said.

Garduno was tried by the Roman Catholic Church for heresy and defrocked in 1993, said John Andrews, a spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino.

"He has no official relationship to the Roman Catholic Church," Andrews said.

Afterwards, Garduno formed his own church in Home Gardens, an unincorporated area of Riverside County.

Christian Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement

A woman accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from Iowa State University was sentenced Monday to two years of probation.

Pamela Ann Reinig was found guilty by a trial by judge based solely on the state’s evidence against her on Nov. 4. The charge she was convicted of, first-degree theft, is a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The sentence was suspended in Reinig’s case by District Court Judge William J. Pattinson, who followed the recommendation of prosecutor Denise Timmons for probation, restitution and a suspended fine.

Reinig was director of the Engineering Communications and Marketing Department at ISU from Jan. 1, 2003 to Dec. 31, 2007. Around December 2007, the ISU Department of Public Safety Police Division became aware of some issues around Reinig’s tenure at ISU. First, an employee who served under her, accused Reinig of falsifying a 2002 evaluation to conceal a promised raise.

Then, on Jan. 10, 2008, ISU police received a report from ISU’s Internal Audit division indicating some discrepancies in Reinig’s record keeping that indicated she may have personally received financial gain from work conducted by ECM employees for outside companies.

Reinig resigned in the face of the investigation, but no charges were filed until a Feb. 27, 2009 report from the Iowa Auditor’s Office, which found $92,495 in undeposited payments, improper disbursements and unsent billings for services, including $58,505 that was paid to Reinig that should have been deposited with ECM.

Reinig was working at her new job with Upper Iowa University as vice president of marketing when ISU announced it had filed charges in the case on Aug. 24, 2009. Reinig originally was charged with first-degree theft and ongoing criminal conduct, a class B felony.

Smith told Pattinson that Reinig resigned her position at Upper Iowa University in December and now works as an unpaid intern with her church.