1-Year-Old Girl Dies After Suspected Sexual Abuse by Mother’s Boyfriend in Phoenix
Phoenix police are investigating the death of a 1-year-old girl who was abused by her mother’s boyfriend while the mother was getting one of her children medication.
According to court documents, officers were called to the home near 35th and Dunlap avenues around 8 a.m. on April 7, according to Phoenix television station KNXV.
Investigators noted numerous injuries to the child’s abdomen and what appeared to be trauma consistent with sexual abuse.
Police learned that the mother left home around 12:30 a.m. to get medication for one of her children. She left the victim, her other child, a 4-year-old boy, and her 22-year-old boyfriend, John Michael Aldana, in their bedroom.
She said when she returned, she took a shower and went to sleep. At that time, both children appeared to be sleeping.
Police documents show the mother and Aldana woke up the next morning to find the victim unresponsive.
A forensic pathologist determined the child had injuries to her brain, abdomen and anus, and the injuries were non-accidental.
When police spoke with Aldana, he admitted to kicking the child when she became fussy, but denied any sexual contact with her.
He said when he kicked the child, her head struck a door, breaking a part of the door.
Aldana is not the biological father of the victim or the victim’s 4-year-old brother, documents say.
He was arrested on a charge of child abuse with intent.
13-year-old who passed out in class had empty bottles of whiskey in backpack
UNION, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a South Carolina middle schooler who passed out in class last week had a backpack filled with nine empty mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
A report from the Union County Sheriff’s Office says a search of the 13-year-old’s bag also revealed another half-empty mini bottle and two unopened bottles, according to The State.
The report says the boy took the whisky from his unwitting grandfather and passed out an undetermined number of bottles to other Sims Middle School students.
It says he appeared to be drunk at school and was vomiting and moving unsteadily. He was hospitalized and later released.
He was arrested and charged with drunkenness and liquor law violations possession at the school. The report says he was then released into his mother’s custody.
St. Louis man accused of fatally beating wife hours after being bailed out of jail
ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – A man is accused of fatally beating his wife after being released from jail earlier in the day.
According to court documents, Samuel Lee Scott, 54, first hit his wife in January of 2019.
Court documents state Scott struck Marcia Johnson, 54, on the right side of her face, causing pain to her ear and cheekbone, on Jan. 6. After allegedly hitting his wife, Scott reportedly told her that he “might as well finish what [he] started since [she] was going to contact the police.”
Officers responded to that incident, and placed Scott as “wanted” for assault in the fourth degree.
On April 5, the circuit court issued a warrant for Scott’s arrest, calling him a danger to the public.
Scott was arrested and charged, and four days after the arrest was served with an Ex Parte Order of Protection, which prohibited him from being within 300 feet of his wife or from entering her home.
The same day he was served with the Order of Protection, Scott’s $5,000 bond was posted by the nonprofit St. Louis Bail Project and he was released from custody.
Officials with the nonprofit said the order of protection was issued after the bail was posted, and they did not know about it.
After being released, Scott allegedly went to Johnson’s home on Wisconsin and Chippewa around 7:45 p.m.
Less than four hours later, Johnson was taken to the hospital by a friend who found her in her home saw blood coming from the woman’s head and body. Court records state Johnson was unconscious, had a broken eye socket, several broken ribs and was bruised from head-to-toe.
According to investigators, preliminary findings show Johnson died from blunt force trauma on April 14, five days after the assault.
Two days after Johnson’s death, the Circuit Attorney’s Office said they had charged Scott with first-degree murder in connection with her death. Court records state that Scott admitted to striking his wife.
Following Johnson’s death and the murder charge against Scott, News 4 reached out to the nonprofit that posted his bail on April 9. Mike Milton, manager of The Bail Project’s St. Louis site, issued the following statement:
“We’re deeply saddened by this tragedy. Many of us and our close relations have lost family members to violence and we are heartbroken that this has happened to yet another member of the St. Louis community. Our deepest condolences and sympathies go to Marcia Johnson’s family. Moments like this are devastating and a symptom of St. Louis’ failure to address the underlying issues. It’s important to remember that bail didn’t cause this tragedy — Mr. Scott, a 54-year-old father of eight, was charged with a low-level misdemeanor, and if he’d just been wealthy enough to afford his bail, or bonded out by a commercial bail bond agency, he would have been free as well. We provided bail assistance based on the fact that the court had deemed him eligible for release before trial. No one could have predicted this tragedy. In times like this, we must come together for Marcia’s family and also keep sight of the injustices of incarcerating poor people before trial and the need to invest in community-based services that can support St. Louisans during times of crisis.”
The State of Missouri says they attempted to notify Johnson when Scott was released from jail. It is unclear if she ever received the message.
The Circuit Attorney’s Office later released a statement:
Domestic violence matters are especially complicated for both the legal system and for families dealing with these heartbreaking disputes. As various organizations attempt to address bail reform, we believe every case should be reviewed on its own merits rather than on broad classifications that may increase greater harm than it reduces.
In our efforts to reduce community harm, we all must keep the safety of victims and the public as our top priority for all criminal justice policies or procedures. I have scheduled a meeting with the Bail Project for later this week to review their policies and practices to help them better understand the risks to victims and witnesses when posting bail for any type of domestic violence cases or for any defendant who is a potential safety risk to an individual or to the community.
Two children played with a handgun and one was shot in the stomach, Georgia police say
A 7-year-old Georgia boy was shot in the stomach Monday as he and an 8-year-old played with a handgun police said.
The two children found a .45-caliber handgun as they were alone in an apartment, Griffin police said. The accidental shooting happened as the children mishandled the weapon, authorities said.
The 7-year-old victim was rushed to a hospital, where he was undergoing surgery, police said.
Police in Griffin, about 38 miles south of Atlanta, did not say if the two children are related.
Monday’s shooting follows another child-involved shooting in Georgia last week.
A 6-year-old girl died two days after her 4-year-old brother accidentally shot her in the head in Paulding County, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, according to the Paulding County sheriff’s office.
Man, 71, arrested on 100 counts of child rape
PINEVILLE, La. – A 71-year-old central Louisiana man has been arrested on 100 preliminary counts of first-degree rape, accused of sexually assaulting children in and around his hometown decades ago, authorities said.
Harvey Joseph Fountain, of Pineville, was arrested April 9, eight days after a now-adult accuser told authorities Fountain raped him or her when the accuser was a child, the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators gathered evidence supporting that allegation, along with accusations that Fountain raped other children, the sheriff’s office said.
The rapes are alleged to have happened from around the early 1970s until the early 1980s, and in each case, the child was under 13, Sheriff’s Lt. Stephen Phillips said.
Phillips said he cannot yet disclose how many children are alleged to have been raped. The investigation “is still ongoing, and more arrests are possible,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The rapes are alleged to have happened in places where Fountain lived and frequented in the area of Pineville, a city roughly a 115-mile drive northwest of Baton Rouge, Phillips said.
Fountain was being held Tuesday morning in the Rapides Parish Detention Center with bail set at $1 million, the county clerk’s office said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Fountain has a lawyer.
A grand jury is expected to consider the case
The first accuser had given detectives names of other possible victims. Detectives also contacted them, and gathered evidence supporting the allegations, Phillips said.
Fountain initially was held on 50 preliminary counts of first-degree rape, relating to more than one alleged victim. But by Friday, detectives identified other apparent victims while Fountain was in jail, and authorities re-arrested him on 50 more counts of first-degree rape.
Fountain hadn’t been formally charged as of early Tuesday, the county clerk of courts’ office said.
A grand jury is expected to consider the case and decide whether, and on which charges, to indict him, Phillips said.
In Louisiana, first-degree rape includes rape of children under the age of 13.
First-degree rape in that state is punishable either by death or life imprisonment. There is no statute of limitation for the charge.
NJ cop tried to meet 15-year-old girl for sex
WALDWICK, N.J. — Authorities say a New Jersey police officer who thought he was communicating online with a 15-year-old girl set up a meeting so they could have sex.
Bergen County prosecutors say Peter Tuchol Jr. was arrested Monday at his Waldwick home and charged with luring, attempted sexual assault, attempted child endangerment and three drug charges related to the possession of anabolic steroids. The arrest was made public Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Tuchol was suspended from the Ridgewood police department following his arrest. It wasn’t known Tuesday if he’s retained an attorney.
Prosecutors say an undercover detective posing as the teen started having online conversations with Tuchol last Thursday. During these conversations, they say Tuchol arranged to meet with the teen so they could have sex.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/16/prosecutors-nj-cop-tried-to-meet-15-year-old-girl-for-sex/
Baby swallows sleeping pills during stay at posh hotel with parents
A baby swallowed up to 20 sleeping pills and went into convulsions while staying with her parents at a posh Times Square hotel, police sources said Tuesday.
The 1-year-old girl ingested between 15 and 20 sleeping pills at the Night Hotel on West 47th Street around 7 p.m. Monday, sources said.
Her 36-year-old mom was reading a book in the hotel room at the time and looked up to see the girl eating the pills, they said. The baby then began having a seizure, prompting the dad, 46, to call 911, sources said.
The parents are residents of Brazil.
The first officers on the scene rushed the baby to the hospital in their police car, a police source said.
“They wanted to get the child to the hospital as soon as they could,” a source said.
The baby was in stable condition on life support at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Tuesday, sources said. Police are investigating the incident, but foul play was not suspected.
Rooms at the hotel cost around $480 a night, including taxes and fees.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/16/baby-swallows-sleeping-pills-during-stay-at-posh-hotel-with-parents/
FL Man used squirt gun to shoot neighbor with his urine and vowed to “do it again” after he was nabbed
An irate, pee-brained Florida man filled up a squirt gun with his own urine and blasted a neighbor several times as she walked her dog — and vowed to “do it again” after he was nabbed, police said.
Joel William Benjamin, 71, is facing a misdemeanor battery charge after his Saturday arrest at an apartment complex in Gulfport, where he spotted the unidentified woman walking her dog and “approached the victim and pulled out a water gun that contained his own urine,” according to an arrest report obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.
Benjamin then squirted the woman several times and later told police he would “do it again” if given the chance, according to the arrest report.
It’s unclear what sparked the urine attack, but a source close to the matter told The Smoking Gun that Benjamin may have been aggravated by fellow residents at the Seaside Villas apartment building who do not curb their dogs.
The sickening incident did not “cause bodily harm” to the woman, according to the arrest report.
Benjamin, who has been released from the Pinellas County Jail, could not be immediately reached.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/16/man-used-squirt-gun-to-shoot-neighbor-with-his-urine-cops/
Woman beat boyfriend with his prosthetic leg after he tried to break up with her
A New Orleans-area woman, who beat up her ex-boyfriend with his own prosthetic leg earlier this year because he tried to break up with her, was arrested last Wednesday, police said.
On Feb. 11, Michelle Jackson, 58, was drinking with her now ex-boyfriend when he told her he wanted to see someone else, Capt. Jason Rivarde said. The man went to sleep without incident but awoke the next morning with an injured hand and a large cut on his head that was dripping blood, The Times-Picayune reported.
Jackson, who had left before authorities arrived, allegedly told a relative she had beat the man with his prosthetic leg and thought she had killed him. The woman allegedly told police that she had stabbed him, but Rivarde said there was no evidence.
U.S. Marshals arrested Jackson in her home Wednesday, New Orleans Fox 8 reported. She was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on an aggravated battery charge without bond, the report said.
Brooklyn teacher allegedly molested 11-year-old student on field trip
The middle school teacher accused of molesting an 11-year-old East Flatbush student had sexual contact with her at least three times — including on a school bus during a field trip, a prosecutor said Tuesday at the disgraced educator’s arraignment.
Daniel Santiago stood cuffed as Assistant Brooklyn DA Wilfredo Cotto described how the 29-year-old — whose wife and infant child appeared in court with him — first grabbed the 11-year-old’s breast on a school bus, and then sat next to her and slid his hands down her pants on the return trip.
Santiago’s wife remained stone-faced as she heard Cotto tell the court how her husband later met the girl in a classroom at Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy inside PS 224, where he allegedly tried to kiss her and had her touch his penis.
During another classroom encounter, Santiago allegedly fondled the child’s buttocks and genitals over her clothing.
“There are multiple instances where the defendant asked the complainant to text pictures, and she sent photos of herself with panties and a shirt on,” Cotto said.
The prosecutor said that the inappropriate contact was only revealed when the girl’s friends started spreading rumors, and one eventually told an adult. The child at first told cops the rumors were false, but broke down and confessed after her cousin stole her cellphone and viewed the texts.
Defense attorney Michael Postiglione said his client “is well respected by his peers” and is “prepared to fight this case.”
Santiago’s wife declined comment as she left court with her mother and brother-in-law.
Judge Ellen Edwards ordered Santiago to stay away from the girl before ordering him held on $7,500 bond.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/16/brooklyn-teacher-allegedly-molested-11-year-old-student-on-field-trip/