1-27-2012 California:
The decisions made by defendants on the day John Chamberlain was killed “simply defy reason,” the judge says.
SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge Friday sentenced two more of the five inmates convicted of beating another prisoner to death to 15 years to life in prison.
While family members and supporters of defendants Garret Eugene Aguilar, 29, of Anaheim and Jared Louis Petrovich, 28, of Tustin were present for the sentencing, no one from victim John Chamberlain's family was at the hearing.
Aguilar and Petrovich were among five inmates who were convicted last year in the Oct. 5, 2006, slaying of Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy Facility, a county jail.
Prosecutors said they and other inmates targeted Chamberlain because they believed he was a child molester. Chamberlain had been awaiting trial on a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography.
He was punched, kicked and stomped on and eventually lost consciousness. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The beating, which triggered several investigations, occurred about 68 feet from where one Orange County sheriff's deputy admitted he was watching "COPS" on television and was dogged by allegations – that were never proven – that deputies helped set up the attack.
"Whether a deputy sheriff was involved in instigating the incident or not, it is not an excuse for beating a guy to death," Superior Court Judge James Stotler said at the sentencing.
He called the defendants' actions "awful," asking Aguilar and Petrovich to reflect on the direction of their lives.
"There were decisions made on that day when Mr. Chamberlain was killed that simply defy reason," Stotler said.
Following the sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh said the defendants tried to shift the blame to jailhouse deputies.
"(Their attorneys were) anxious to talk about the deputies and how deputies had caused the death of Chamberlain, pointing the finger at everybody but their clients," he said. "Today the truth prevailed ... The ones that killed Chamberlain are the defendants we brought to court and the other inmates."
Last month, Miguel Guillen, 49, of Santa Ana was the first to be sentenced after an Orange County jury earlier in the year found him, Aguilar, Petrovich, Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 43, of Anaheim and Raul Villafana, 25, of Santa Ana guilty of the attack.
"Hopefully this will bring everybody closure," Petrovich's attorney Keith Davidson said after the Friday hearing.
Carlstrom and Villafana will be sentenced in February and April respectively; each faces 15 years to life in prison.
Three other inmates charged in the slaying have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a fourth is expected to do so.
Michael Stewart Garten, 26, of Santa Ana was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Christopher Teague, 35, of Long Beach and Jeremy Dezso Culmann, 28, of Corona were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Another co-defendant, Eric Charles Miller, 26, of Huntington Beach, is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Stotler, the judge, concluded the hearing by repeating to Aguilar the words he said he heard a preacher say in a movie: "'It is not what you've done in the past, it is what you are now.' End of story." ..Source.. by VIK JOLLY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Friday, January 27, 2012
Inmates get 15 years in jail-beating death
Convicted killer accused of prison murder
1-27-2012 Massachusetts:
A career criminal serving life for the murder of one woman, and awaiting trial in another killing, was charged today with last month’s slaying of fellow MCI-Norfolk inmate Richard Silva, a convicted child molester.
Christopher Fletcher, 50, formerly of Leominster, was indicted by a Norfolk grand jury for beating Silva, 64, to death on Dec. 12, as Silva was nearing the end of his incarceration on sexual abuse charges, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said.
Fletcher’s attorney declined comment. Morrissey’s spokesman, David Traub, declined to comment on what evidence prosecutors hold, including whether it includes prison security video.
An arraignment date has not been set.
Fletcher, who the Department of Correction has moved to maximum security at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, rape and kidnapping earlier this month in Worcester Superior Court for the December 1986 slaying in Sterling of Peggy Sue Calvillo, 24, a factory worker and mother of two police believed Fletcher first ran down with a car.
Fletcher is already serving life without parole for the 1995 murder of Elizabeth Salsbury of Lunenberg. When he was arrested for Salsbury’s murder, he told police he had killed before and confessed to Calvillo’s murder, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.
Salsbury’s body was found behind a car dealership in Shirley. Police said she had been stabbed repeatedly in the throat.
“I commend the correction officers, administration and investigators at the Department of Correction for their constructive partnership and hard work in this investigation, and thank the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the homicide detectives attached to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office for their continued professionalism and hard work,” Morrissey said today.
Richard Silva , 64, was serving prison time for a 2003 Suffolk Superior Court sexual abuse conviction, according to Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin. The offenses occurred in May 1989, but they were only the latest in a string of sexual abuse convictions dating back to the 1970s, according to the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board.
Silva was scheduled to be released in March after serving a nine- to 10-year stretch for a 2003 sexual abuse conviction. He’d previously been convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in 1971, 1973 and 1974. In 1991, he was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14. ..Source.. by Laurel J. Sweet
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Allen Park mother fights to protect children from sexual predators
A correction is warranted here, this lady IS NOT protecting children from SEXUAL PREDATORS with this legislation, if it becomes law. At best such a law would prevent formerly convicted sex offender parents from seeing their biological children (which I doubt a court would allow except in very special circumstances). The ONLY way to keep children safe from SEXUAL PREDATORS is to keep them close, and keep informed on newer technological devices. There are far more SEXUAL PREDATORS in society waiting to be caught. Michigan has no system -in place- to tell who is and who isn't a SEXUAL PREDATOR, wise up parents!1-26-2012 Michigan:
Amy Carns works to create Children's Protection Act in Michigan
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Amy Carns' ex-husband was arrested by undercover police officers for trying to meet an underage girl who he solicited sex from online.
Her daughter was just 15 months old at the time. Her ex-husband, a convicted sex offender, was still allowed visitation rights with his daughter.
That's when the Allen Park mother's legal battle began.
"I realized on that day that when (Child) Protective Services said my daughter would get reunited with this man, I realized that I was not just the mother to (my daughter), I was now the mother to thousands of children across the state," Carns said.
Since then, she has worked to draft new legislation she calls the Children's Protection Act. It would protect children of registered sex offenders by letting the child's non sex offender parent decide whether the other parent would be allowed visitation.
"It's not just about my little girl. It's about the thousands of other little children out there that need this law to get passed," Carns said.
Former Oakland County prosecutor Dave Gorcyca said there could be legal issues involved.
"No court anywhere, including the United States Supreme Court, will allow you to just unilaterally, because he is a sex offender, terminate a parental right," Gorcyca said. "There is going to have to be an opportunity to be heard and due process rights involved. So, I think that legislation could face some constitutional challenges."
Carns plans to introduce this legislation, along with several state lawmakers, on Feb. 7. She urges parents to contact their local lawmakers and vote yes on the Children's Protection Act. ..Source.. by ClickOnDetroit
Washington State to pay $2.35M in abuse case settlement
Again we see the failure of Parole Officers to act properly results in a new victim. Sounds like the Garrido case from California.1-26-2012 Washington:
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state will pay $2.35 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged that two state agencies failed to protect her from a sex offender who abused her when she was a child.
The Pierce County Superior Court lawsuit alleged that a paroled child rapist named Danny Dorosky Sr. was allowed to live with the victim's family, despite a Parole Board order that required intensive management and supervision because of the prior sex crime.
One of the woman's lawyers, Jason Amala, said Dorosky ingratiated himself into the victim's family and eventually moved into the home, where he abused the girl for almost three years. She was 10 when the abuse started, Amala said.
The woman also contended that the Department of Social and Health Services' Child Protective Services failed to protect her after school officials in Shelton reported the girl might be a sexual abuse victim.
Corrections spokeswoman Selena Davis confirmed the settlement and its amount late Wednesday. She said she could not immediately comment on case details.
DSHS spokesman Thomas Shapley referred inquiries to a lawyer with the state attorney general's office who did not immediately return a call.
The woman's lawyers say the abuse began in 1990. After the victim's father contacted law enforcement about the man in 1993, Mason County officials eventually arrested Dorosky. He was convicted of child molestation and rape. He died in 2004, Amala said.
In a phone interview Wednesday with The Olympian, the now 31-year-old woman said she had buried her awareness of what had happened until recently, when her own daughter turned 10.
She said she looked up Dorosky's court records and eventually hired a lawyer.
She said "it makes me sick" that state employees could have prevented what had happened to her and didn't.
The plaintiff, a state employee, added that she would appreciate an apology from the state. Beyond that, she said she hopes her lawsuit will lead to policy changes that will prevent supervision failures. ..Source.. by Seattle pi.com
Some sex offenders may get off registry
1-26-2012 Utah:
SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that could potentially help some sex offenders get off the state’s sex offender registry after five years received a favorable recommendation from the Utah House Judiciary Committee.
The measure will now move to the House.
Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, has sponsored the legislation, HB 13, which would allow sex offenders convicted of the least egregious offenses to petition the court for removal from the registry.
The measure cleared the committee by an 8-4 vote.
Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, was one of the negative votes on the measure.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, also serves on the committee but was absent for the vote. ..Source.. by Standard Examiner
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Living areas may expand for sex offenders
1-25-2012 South Dakota:
A House committee has recommended passage for a bill that will allow sex offenders on probation to live in halfway houses within community safety zones.
The bill, which passed 9-3 on Monday, expands a 2010 law that allowed sex offenders on parole to live in supervised housing within 500 feet of a school, church or park – part of an overhaul of the sex offender rules that also allowed some people to have their names removed from the registry.
House Bill 1060, which was proposed by the Unified Judicial System, would allow probationers, who have not gone to prison for their crime, the same residency rights as parolees.
“Parolees and probationers often are referred to as the same, but legally, they’re not,” said Greg Sattizahn, the legal representative for the UJS.
In Sioux Falls, there are two halfway houses and one homeless shelter within community safety zones: The Arch halfway house, the Glory House and the Union Gospel Mission.
Until the law change in 2010, sex offenders who couldn’t find a job or a home could be charged with a felony for residing at the mission. Those who needed supervision after their prison stay couldn’t be placed at one of Sioux Falls’ halfway houses.
Now, parolees can be placed in those halfway houses, but probationers cannot.
Rep. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, was not part of the legislative debate that altered the rules for sex offenders in 2010. He voted against HB 1060, saying it puts children in danger.
“We’re talking about sex offenders here. They’ve been tried, they’ve been convicted. I don’t want to be a part of any process that puts them back in the presence of children,” Nelson said.
Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, said those who’ve been released from prison have been deemed safe enough to be out in the community and ought to be allowed to live in a supervised environment if no housing option exists outside of a safety zone.
The same should hold true for probationers, he said, who the courts have deemed less dangerous than those sentenced to prison.
“In most cases, they can be trusted more than a parolee,” Abdallah said. “To say that this is being soft on sex offenders … we have a court system, we have a probation system. If we can’t rely on our courts, I don’t know what the hell we’re doing here.”
Abdallah and Rep. Shawn Tornow, R-Sioux Falls, each voted for the bill. Tornow said his support isn’t guaranteed in the full House.
He wants to know whether there are options for sex offenders that aren’t within safe zones.
“I don’t believe it’s outside the realm of reasonableness to assign them to a halfway house that’s not within a community safety zone,” Tornow said.
Fran Stenberg, executive director of the Union Gospel Mission, expects that lifting the restriction will be helpful for some of the homeless sex offenders who turn to his shelter. Stenberg said sex offenders often volunteer that information.
“It’s a small problem, but it is a problem,” Stenberg said. “It’s not anything we have to worry about, but it’s a problem for them. It’s on their shoulders (to register their address).”
The bill now moves on to the full House. ..Source.. by John Hult
Ann Arbor doctor pleads no contest in peeping case
If the mother knew this was happening, why didn't she close the blinds or put drapes over the window. While the doctor was wrong this seems to say, there is a right to stand in front of an open window and show whatever and people outside should not watch? Something is wrong here...1-25-2012 Michigan:
An Ann Arbor pediatrician accused of watching his 12-year-old neighbor change clothes pleaded no contest to a felony charge Tuesday in a deal with prosecutors.
As part of the agreement filed Monday, prosecutors said they would not to bring additional charges against Dr. Howard Weinblatt based on information "known or available" as of Tuesday. No specifics were included.
Attorneys for Weinblatt declined comment after the court hearing in 14A District Court in Pittsfield Township.
Weinblatt, 65, pleaded to one count of surveilling an unclothed person after being accused of watching the child from a bathroom window inside his Ann Arbor home in October. He is out of jail on bond.
Weinblatt, who has had his medical license since 1977, worked for IHA Child Health-Ann Arbor. He has resigned from his job, company spokeswoman Amy Middleton said Tuesday.
"We are obviously deeply distressed by this situation and the impact it has had on so many members of our community, our patients and our staff," a statement released by IHA said.
Authorities have released few details in the case and have not made the police report available. But court documents obtained by the Free Press said the girl's mother caught Weinblatt looking at her daughter as the girl changed in her bedroom.
The girl was in a position where she had "a reasonable expectation of privacy," the documents said.
"I think the statute protects the person who is being surveilled and is not really dependent upon where the person doing the surveillance is standing," Washtenaw County deputy chief assistant Prosecutor Steven Hiller said.
The mother placed an iPad against a window in her daughter's room in October and used it to record Weinblatt -- the family's pediatrician for more than a decade -- watching the girl change, a search warrant affidavit said.
The two houses are about 11 feet apart, police said.
In November, police searched Weinblatt's house on Olivia Avenue and seized four computers, an external hard drive and thumb drive, court documents showed. Authorities would not say Tuesday whether anything was found on the computers.
Weinblatt faced six charges, including four counts of surveilling an unclothed person. Two of those counts and two counts of window peeping were dropped Tuesday before the plea agreement, Hiller said.
The agreement called for dismissing another charge of surveilling an unclothed person.
Weinblatt will be sentenced March 6 and faces a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
Michigan's Bureau of Health Professions will review the case and decide whether action will be taken that affects Weinblatt's medical license, director Rae Ramsdell said. ..Source.. by Elisha Anderson
