Monday, July 27, 2009

Tony Alamo Found GUILTY!

Tony Alamo was found guilty on charges he took underage girls across state lines for sex. Arrested last September,he was found guilty in the state of Arkansas on 10 counts and will be sentenced in the next eight weeks. Tony Alamo is a notorious preacher with a long history of questionable behavior. He has led a cult like compound where he dictated how his followers lived, had sex with minors, and has even served time for tax evasion. He is known by his former followers as someone who controlled those around him and took many brides, most of them underage and some as young as eight or nine. Not only did this account for years of sexual assault and abuse among his female followers, but he was mentally and emotionally abusive to everyone within his compound. He even separated family members from each other on a regular basis. Because of lack of physical evidence, prosecutors relied on the testimonies of numerous women who were "wives" and victims of his abuse. Thankfully, those testimonies convinced a jury that Alamo had indeed broken the law. Alamo is facing up to ten years in prison for each count as well as millions in fines. If he is sentenced as he should be, Alamo will live out the rest of his days in prison. This is the kind of person who preys on others and should never set foot outside a correctional facility. Known for his erractic behavior, even in the courtroom, he is still trying to tell his "followers" what to do, and that he is "stil in charge!" during phone conversations. Let's see how well he does when he no longer gets to call the shots.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32125909/ns/us_news-crime_and_courtsfrom/ET

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Football Quarterback Accused of Rape

A 31 year old Nevada woman has come forward and filed a lawsuit in which she states that football player Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her. She was an employee at Harrah's casino at the time. Nevada officials do not intend to open a criminal investigation into these allegations. Why aren't officials looking into this? Apparently only the victim can file a criminal complaint for there to be any kind of investigation. Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers football team. He participated in a celebrity golf outing in Nevada's Lake Tahoe last July and was a guest at the casino Harrah's. She is stating that not only was she assaulted by Roethlisberger, but that she reported it to officials at Harrah's and they attempted to cover up the incident because of a personal relationship they have with the football star. The woman feared for her job and did not report the incident to the police. Records show that she received treatments last year for both depression and anxiety brought on by the incident. This last spring, she finally went to a lawyer after being told to take two weeks off of work because Roethlisberger would be coming to the casino again for the golf outing. Because she did not go to police and waited a year before filing her lawsuit, experts do not believe she will prevail. When it comes to "he said/she said" situations without witnesses and a police report, oftentimes the most that comes from it is a possible out of court settlement between the victim and the accused. Statistics show that most rapes go unreported and victims do not always come forward until much later. If you are the victim of sexual assault, you should be able to report the crime-PERIOD. The problem with this is that if you wait to do so, the physical evidence is gone. You will have a tough road ahead trying to convince others what occured. Unfortunately there is the problem with the general public and convincing them that you are not accusing their "star" for financial gain. All of this doesn't seem right, but it is the reality. High profile men with money are easy "targets" for those looking to extort money or power, but young women are easy targets for those with the money and popularity to take advantage of. In this case, we can only hope that if her claims are true she is not scared away by fancy lawyers and loud critics. That she is provided with enough legal counsel and support to follow through with her lawsuit instead of feeling the pressure to back down or settle for anything less than a conviction. A victim of sexual assault deserves to see justice served no matter how long ago the assault took place.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9838764/Criminal-probe-unlikely-in-Roethlisberger-rape-claim

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AsBw7Te8iVxotWFFwfP63OUdsLYF?slug=ap-roethlisbergerlawsuit&prov=ap&type=lgns

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Houston Man Charged with Sex Trafficking

Sometimes you don't have to physically assault a person to be charged with a sex crime. You don't have to rape or molest a person to be found guilty and have to register as a sex offender. Barry Davis is facing 10 years in prison for multiple charges. He is being accused of "sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity". This is a man who is not accused of sexually assaulting anyone, but rather forcing and manipulating underage girls to perform sexual acts. This is a man who, if found guilty, should absolutely have to register as a sex offender after serving the prison term. The young women involved are being taken advantage of by an older man who is looking to profit from their behavior. He is essentially acting as a pimp. Using others to do the dirty work for his own personal gain.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31907541/

Thursday, July 9, 2009

New Law in Vermont Takes Effect July 1

When Brooke Bennett disappeared last year, Vermont's first Amber Alert was issued. Her body was found on July 3 near her uncle's home. Brooke was last seen alive with the uncle who was trying to initiate her into a "sex ring". The uncle was a registered sex offender named Michael Jaques who was already facing charges in the assault of another minor. The state of Vermont was widely ridiculed for their laws on sexual predators. This is also the state where Judge Edward Cashman ordered a child molester to serve just 60 days in jail. He has defended that decision saying that the need for treatment in a timely manner is important. Being under such scrutiny, Vermont has finally made some changes. Whether it will be enough is yet to be determined, but at least it's a start.

Governor Jim Douglas signed the bill into effect in March of this year. The online sex offender registry in the state of Vermont will now be expanded. 1,700 offenders will be added along with updated photos and information.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31555488/from/ET/
http://scaredmonkeys.com/category/brooke-bennett/