Tag: NATION/WORLD
Simone Biles says she, too, was abused by former USA team doctor
On the eve of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing for sexually abusing girls in his care, American gymnast Simone Biles has come forward to say me, too.
“I, too, am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” she said Monday afternoon in a Twitter post with the hashtag #MeToo.
“There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now that it is not my fault.”
Nassar was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics through four Olympic Games, treating young hopefuls and gold medal winners. His case illustrates the drive of the #MeToo movement to call out serial predatory behavior and the forces that enable it.
This experience ‘does not define me’
More than 140 female athletes said they were abused by the once-respected doctor, including Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney, members of the “Fierce Five” US Olympic gymnastics team that won the gold in 2012. Many said they were pressured into silence by powerful institutions, including USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body in the United States.
In response to Biles’ statement, the organization pledged “unwavering” support for Biles and others who have “courageously” come forward.
“USA Gymnastics is absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that Simone Biles or any of our athletes have been harmed by the horrific acts of Larry Nassar,” the group said. “We are our athletes’ advocates. USA Gymnastics will continue to listen to our athletes and our members in our efforts of creating a culture of empowerment with a relentless focus on athlete safety every single day.”
Biles, now 20, joined the US Olympic gymnastics team in 2016, winning the individual all-around. Though her statement did not include specific allegations against Nassar, she described experiencing abuse under the guise of “special treatment,” a recurring claim from Nassar’s victims.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abusive, especially coming from someone I was TOLD to trust,” she said Monday.
She, too, called out USA Gymnastics for its alleged role in allowing Nassar to prey on young girls for decades.
“For far too long I’ve asked myself ‘Was I too naive? Was it my fault?’ I now know the answer to those questions. No. No. It was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others.
“After hearing the brave stories of my friends and other survivors, I know that this horrific experience does not define me.”
Dozens of victims expected to speak
Nassar faces sentencing on Tuesday in Michigan state court after pleading guilty in November to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. He faces additional sentencing later this month on three counts of criminal sexual assault involving victims in a neighboring county.
He worked at Michigan State University from 1997 to 2016 as an associate professor, and he served as the gymnastics and women’s crew team physician. In his plea, Nassar admitted to sexually abusing patients under the guise of providing medically necessary treatment in instances as far back as 1998, some of which involved girls under 13.
Several days have been set aside in Nassar’s sentencing for victim impact statements. At least 88 people are expected to speak, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
At his plea hearing, Nassar apologized and compared his crimes to “a match that turned into a forest fire.”
Allegations of a culture of complicity
Biles’ teammates and others have repeatedly accused USA Gymnastics of complicity in Nassar’s abuse. In 2017, the organization said it would implement 70 policy change recommendations from an independent investigator.
In a lawsuit, Maroney said USA Gymnastics paid her to be quiet about the abuse, which she said began when she was 13.
University of Oklahoma gymnast Maggie Nichols said she and a coach reported abuse by Nassar to USA Gymnastics in 2015, a few years after Nassar began treating Nichols for a back injury. USA Gymnastics said it hired an independent investigator to look into her allegations.
Raisman said she was first treated by Nassar when she was 15. She called for a thorough investigation of a system that she said enabled a “monster” to thrive for decades by silencing victims.
On Monday, Raisman praised Biles for coming forward and vowed to stand with her.
“I know we will all get through this together,” Raisman said on Twitter.
In her statement Monday, Biles said she hoped for the kind of reckoning that would prevent serial predators from striking again.
“We need to know why this was able to take place for so long and to so many of us. We need to make sure something like this never happens again.”
via: http://pix11.com/2018/01/16/simone-biles-says-she-too-was-abused-by-former-usa-team-doctor/
Women climb through McDonald’s drive-thru window to assault manager over McNuggets that were never ordered
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Two women exited their car to climb through a drive-thru window at a McDonald’s in Indianapolis and attacked the store manager after a disagreement over chicken McNuggets, police told PIX11 sister station WTTV.
Police officers were dispatched to the Indianapolis McDonald’s on Friday around 3 a.m., the station reports.
The store manager informed police that two women drove up to the drive-thru window saying they weren’t given the chicken McNuggets that they ordered. The manager told them they didn’t order McNuggets, and he reprinted their receipt to ensure they didn’t pay for McNuggets.
The women said they would like to purchase McNuggets, to which the manager responded by informing them they would need to drive around and re-enter the drive-thru line to place the order, police said.
They became angry and began banging their fists on the window and beeping their horn, the manager told police.
The women then climbed through the drive-thru window, knocking over the cash register and a basin of tea, and they started attacking the store manager, according to police. The store manager did not suffer any major injuries.
They then exited the store by climbing back out of the drive-thru window. The women got back into the car and fled, never receiving any McNuggets.
Video of the event was turned over to police and can be seen above.
Alabama Woman Sentenced to Prison After Faking Terminal Cancer, Raising Over $260K
An Alabama woman who duped kind-hearted donors into thinking she had cancer is headed to prison, a judge ordered Wednesday.
Jennifer Flynn Cataldo was sentenced to 25 months behind bars for fraudulently raising more than $260,000 by falsely portraying herself as a terminal cancer patient from 2014 to early May 2017, according to KTLA sister station WHNT in Alabama.
Cataldo pleaded guilty in August to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud for using a false claim of terminal cancer to collect money from family and friends by using two GoFundMe accounts, Facebook, emails and text messages.
One of the GoFundMe fundraisers was titled “Mom has Terminal Cancer Disney Trip,” with the stated goal of raising $4,000 to take her young child to visit Disney before she died, according to prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town called Cataldo’s crime “reprehensible,” saying in a statement:
“For more than two years she engaged in an elaborate scheme that preyed upon the sympathy and generosity of her friends and family. Not only did she fake cancer to take their money, she used her minor child as part of her ruse and allowed the child to believe his mother was dying. She has earned every nickel of her punishment.”
Cataldo fraudulently collected a total of $264,163 in checks and cash deposited into her personal checking account, according to her guilty plea.
“Crimes like this make good people think twice before they are willing to be charitable, and Cataldo’s conduct could have a chilling effect on donations to legitimate accounts set up for people who are truly in need,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. said. “It is hard to understand how anyone could ignore the anguish that their greed- or drug-fueled lie brought to their loved ones every single day.”
A government sentencing document states that throughout Cataldo’s scheme, she was spending part of the money she obtained fraudulently to pay for 30 to 40 non-prescribed Percocet per day.
“The fact that we now know that part of the money was going to fund illegal opioids is yet more evidence of how destructive these drugs can be,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “It is imperative that we confront such criminal activities and that the offenders are stopped and punished.”
A federal judge also ordered Cataldo to pay $79,629 in restitution to her victims.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/11/08/woman-sentenced-to-prison-after-faking-terminal-cancer-raising-over-260k/
Former Louisiana Day Care Teacher Admits to Biting 2-Year-Old in the Face, Faces Cruelty Charges
A former Louisiana day care teacher is in jail after admitting that she bit one of her students, KTLA sister station WGNO in New Orleans reported.
Heather Marcotte, 28, of Covington, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony cruelty to a juvenile, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 25, the parent of a 2-year-old student at Northlake Christian School called the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office to report an incident.
The mother told deputies that when she went to pick up her son at school the previous day, she observed what appeared to a bite mark on her son’s right cheek.
The mother said an administrator at the school informed her that her son’s teacher said she left the mark on the child when her mouth accidentally hit his face and that the teacher had been terminated following the incident.
The case was turned over to detectives.
During that investigation, Marcotte admitted to biting the child after she became frustrated and agitated with the child’s behavior.
A warrant was obtained for her arrest and she was taken into custody, officials said.
She was also fired from her job at Northlake Christian, where, according to the school’s website, instructors “are all highly trained and qualified, and more importantly, they love the Lord and they love their children.”
Tuition at the Early Learning Center is $7,600 a year, according to the school’s website,
via: http://ktla.com/2017/11/03/louisiana-day-care-teacher-accused-of-biting-2-year-olds-face/
Washington Parents on the Run After 16-Year-Old Found Weighing 54 Pounds, Unable to Talk or Use Toilet
Police are asking for the public’s help tracking down a Washington state couple after authorities found a 16-year-old weighing just 54 pounds last year, according to KTLA sister station KCPQ in Seattle.
Both 45-year-old Anthony Foxworth and 42-year-old Mary Foxworth are on the run after pleading guilty to a criminal mistreatment charge in Lewis County Superior Court in October. On Wednesday, they failed to show for their sentencing hearing and a no-bail bench warrant was issued for their arrests.
When authorities found the child, he didn’t know how to read or write and hadn’t been attending school, according to KCPQ. The 16-year-old had also never been taught to use a toilet.
Law enforcement first learned of the child’s condition when the Foxworths sought medical help in January 2016, telling doctors the boy hadn’t eaten in three weeks, according to court documents. He was eventually taken to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital for treatment.
Doctors found that the boy was unable to talk and couldn’t open his mouth far enough for a throat examination. He had multiple bald spots, was unable to stand on his own, had 24 teeth needing dental work and the skeletal age of a 13-year-old, among multiple other medical issues. Doctors initially thought he was between 8 and 10 years old.
A year later, the boy has reportedly put on 93 pounds and grown 3.5 inches while in the care of a foster family.
Anthony and Mary Foxworth were last seen in Grand Mound, Washington at a gas station with their green and silver 1998 Chevrolet Suburban (WA license DP25339).
They are also associated to a black 1999 Toyota 4Runner (WA license ASK0996).
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact the Centralia Police Department detective bureau at 360-330-7614 or call 911.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/11/02/parents-sought-after-16-year-old-found-weighing-54-pounds-unable-to-talk/
9-Year-Old Florida Girl Dies After 325-Pound Cousin Sits on Her as ‘Punishment’; Woman, Parents Charged
A 9-year-old Florida girl died on Saturday after her 325-pound cousin allegedly sat on her as punishment, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
Authorities responded to a home to find the child, Dericka Lindsay, unresponsive. She was transported to a local hospital where she died.
According to the arrest report, Veronica Green Posey, 64, was called to the home by the child’s parents to discipline her “for being out of control.” She allegedly struck the child with a ruler and metal pipe before the child ran to a chair.
Posey then sat on the child for several minutes, authorities reported.
The child cried that she could not breathe and when Posey stood up, the girl was unresponsive, reports state.
The report also stated that Posey weighs about 325 pounds.
Posey was charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child.
The girl’s parents, Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith, 62, were also arrested and charged with child neglect for failing to report the abuse. Grace Smith has also been charged with cruelty toward a child.
Posey’s bond was set at $125,000, and she has been released.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/10/17/girl-9-dies-after-325-pound-cousin-sits-on-her-as-punishment/
Atlanta Mom Charged With Murder After Allegedly Putting Her 2 Young Sons in Hot Oven
Two Atlanta toddlers were found dead late Friday night and the mother of the children has been charged with murder, according to local new media
According to an arrest warrant obtained by Atlanta station WXIA and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, investigators believe the mother, 24-year-old Lamora Williams, killed the children “by placing them in an oven and turning it on.”
Officers were called out to the Oakland City West End Apartments on Friday night where two children, 1-year-old Jakarter Penn and 2-year-old Keyounte Penn, were found dead.
Police said the two little boys had obvious injuries including burn marks on their bodies, possibly from the stove.
Neighbors said police removed the stove and oven from the apartment.
A third child, 3 years old, was found alive in the apartment.
According to preliminary information, Williams said she left her three kids with her sister, and when she came home she found the two boys unresponsive. After gathering evidence and speaking with neighbors, investigators said they do not believe Williams left them with a caregiver.
Neighbors didn’t buy Williams’ story, telling Atlanta station WGCL that Williams had left the children home alone before. They held a vigil on Saturday night in honor of the two little boys.
A friend of the suspect told the Journal-Constitution that Williams had a month earlier quit her job because she couldn’t find a babysitter.
The friend said Williams called her on Friday evening, saying she “couldn’t do it anymore.”
Williams then told her friend the boys were dead.
Police are still investigating and the cause of death is unknown at this time. Williams will appear in court on Monday.
‘Hero’ 5-Year-Old Boy Saves Ohio Parents After They Overdose on Heroin
A 5-year-old boy ran for two blocks in the dark to get help after finding his parents unconscious early Thursday morning in Middletown, Ohio, police said.
The boy burst into his grandfather’s house saying, “Mom and dad’s dead, mom and dad’s dead!” his grandfather Kenny Currey told CNN affiliate WCPO.
Currey said he ran back to the house and what he found scared him to death: His stepdaughter and her partner had overdosed on heroin.
CNN is not naming the boy or his parents to protect their privacy.
Boy saved three lives
Middletown police went to the house, where they found the boy’s 3-month-old sister sitting in a car seat, crying. They later found two adults who were unconscious.
“This 5-year-old child, a hero, saved 3 lives today. How can something so awesome be so sad all at the same time?” the police department posted on Facebook. “They are supposed to be her guardians and never let anything bad happen to her.”
The father was revived after one dose of Narcan, a medication used to reverse heroin and other opiod overdoses, the police report said. The mother was given seven doses of Narcan and then transported to a hospital because she had not regained consciousness, police said. She was later revived and was taken to jail, the report said.
Ohio gripped by addiction
Ohio is one of many states battling a heroin epidemic. Last year, a photo released by police in East Liverpool, Ohio, showed two adults passed out from a heroin overdose in the front seats of a car with a 4-year-old child strapped in his car seat in the back. Earlier this year, a coroner’s office in Ohio reported it was running out of room to store bodies due to the number of deaths caused by drug overdoses.
In Middletown, police brought the 5-year-old boy and his baby sister to the station after the incident and gave the boy a badge for his bravery. WCPO says the children are now in the care of their grandmother.
The boy’s parents were arrested and charged with two counts of child endangerment and disorderly conduct, police said, but more charges could be filed.
‘I Don’t Want to Go to Jail, Mommy’: 8-Year-Old Found Steering Car for Drunken Mom, Police Say
A mother faces multiple charges after she allowed her young son to steer the car while driving down a Milwaukee freeway Thursday, authorities said.
Carrie Bernard, 37, faces one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of DUI with a minor child in the vehicle. She also faces a third charge for allegedly violating the terms of her interlock ignition device agreement.
According to a criminal complaint, around 2:30 p.m. a deputy observed a vehicle “having difficulty negotiating the curve on the ramp” to the freeway at Fond du Lac Avenue at 107th Street.
The deputy noted the vehicle was making “jerky motions” and at one point, it drove up onto the grass on the side of the ramp, before entering the freeway. Once on the freeway, the complaint says the vehicle “could not keep its lane of travel,” and the deputy, once alongside the vehicle, noticed a small child sitting on Carrie Bernard’s lap in the driver’s seat.
The complaint states “the child had both of his hands on the steering wheel, manipulating the vehicle.”
The officer pulled the car over, and, during the traffic stop, the 8-year-old child was seen jumping to the passenger seat, and putting his seat belt on, according to the complaint.
When told why she was pulled over, prosecutors say Bernard replied: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. No one was operating this vehicle except me.”
The 8-year-old child, sitting in front of a pit bull that was also in the passenger seat “began to cry,” and said, “I don’t want to go to jail, mommy.”
The complaint says Bernard then turned to her son and said: “You’re not going to jail. Just remember her face. She’s the one that did this to us,” referencing the deputy.
Prosecutors say Bernard’s speech was slurred, she moved lethargically and had pinpoint pupils. She allegedly told investigators: “I took my meds this morning, so?” When asked what type of medications she took, the complaint says Bernard replied, “I don’t think that’s important.” When she was asked to step out of the vehicle, prosecutors say Bernard refused — rolling up her window and locking the doors.
When additional squad cars arrived on scene, prosecutors say Bernard eventually exited her vehicle after a deputy threatened to break the window and forcibly remove her. Police arrested Bernard after she failed a field sobriety test and took a sample of her blood at the Milwaukee County Jail.
The complaint notes that Bernard was convicted of DUI in January and July of 2014. Her license was revoked at the time of the alleged incident on May 4th, according to DOT records.
Ex-Teacher in Texas Accused of Having Sex With 4 Students, one time was a 3-way
A former Texas kindergarten teacher is accused of having sex with four high school students, two of them at the same time, according to an arrest warrant released Monday. Heather Lee Robertson, 38, was arrested Saturday on four counts of an improper relationship, KTRE reports.
On April 20, police began investigating after receiving information about Robertson and several teenage students.
One student told police that he and Robertson started talking and “sexting” on Snapchat, the station said. Sometime after spring break, she asked him to come to her apartment to have sex, according to police — and that’s when he asked if a friend could come and join them.
Once at the apartment, they all talked for a few minutes before Robertson allegedly asked them to have sex with her.
Both students admitted to the incident.
In addition, two other students admitted to having a sexual relationship with Robertson on multiple occasions.
In an interview with investigators, Robertson said that she didn’t make the boys use protection because she couldn’t have children anymore, according to the Lufkin Daily News. She also said she wasn’t able to remember details about the encounters because she had recently started drinking heavily, the warrant stated.
On Friday, Hudson Independent School District Superintendent Mary Ann Whiteker released a statement to the paper:
“We acted immediately and began our investigation,” Whiteker said. “We pursued with the correct protocol we have to follow. I accepted the resignation (Thursday) afternoon, and it has been submitted through the appropriate legal channels. Our investigation has been finalized.”
If convicted, Robertson could face up to 20 years in prison, police said.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/04/24/ex-teacher-accused-of-having-sex-with-4-students-2-at-the-same-time/