By LEVI PULKKINEN, Seattle Post Intelligencer
February 27, 2009
For nearly 40 years, admitted child molester and former day care worker Curtis Allen Rapp was safe in the silence of the world's not knowing what he had done.
He was never made to pay for his crimes until Friday, when a judge sent him to prison.
While undergoing psychological assessment in an effort to avoid prison, Rapp, 50, told therapists he'd molested at least 23 children before Seattle police arrested him in March on suspicion of molesting a 9-year-old girl at a Crown Hill child care center where he worked.
Prosecutors formally accused Rapp several days later, filing two counts of first-degree child molestation, according to court documents. The move marked the first time Rapp had been called to account for his alleged attacks since he first molested a child at age 12.
Facing King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead on Friday, Rapp and his attorney urged the judge to sentence him to intensive sex offender treatment instead of prison. Rapp had pleaded guilty to the two charges against him and been evaluated by treatment professionals, actions required to be eligible for the deferred sentence he'd requested.
Rapp apologized for the offense, offered to pray for his victim and her family and urged the judge to show leniency for his children's sake.
Craighead was not persuaded.
"I am a person who believes in rehabilitation," she told Rapp from the bench. "But I don't believe I can release you and protect the community."
Following Deputy Prosecutor Shelby Smith's request, Craighead sentenced Rapp to a 5 1/2 -year-minimum prison term. Under that sentence, Rapp will remain confined until a state board deems that he no longer threatens the community.
In the case in question, Rapp was accused of molesting a girl at Small Faces Child Development Center, where he was a teacher from 2000 until his arrest last year. According to police statements, the girl told her parents that Rapp had touched her at least three times at the center; he later admitted as much to police, saying the girl gave him permission to touch her.
Addressing the court, the girl's father argued forcefully against releasing Rapp into treatment.
"The community has put up with this crap for 20 years," he argued. "No one can convince me that any amount of treatment will fix him."
Arguing against Rapp's release, Smith noted that, though he had already admitted to nearly two-dozen assaults on children, evaluators aren't sure whether Rapp divulged the true extent of his crimes.
Rapp admitted molesting boys and girls in Washington and Texas, where he taught for 16 years before moving to Seattle.
Rapp, she said, sought out positions of authority over children.
"When he's in control of kids, he can't control himself," Smith said. "Nobody," she added, "ever said anything until now."
Smith said the King County Prosecutor's Office will pursue additional charges against Rapp should additional victims come forward.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401794_rape28.html
February 27, 2009
Vernon Gilliland gets 49 years for attack on girl, 12
The Associated Press
Feb. 27, 2009
SALINA, Kan. - A Salina County judge has handed a 49-year prison sentence to a man convicted of sodomizing a 12-year-old girl.
An attorney for Vernon Gilliland argued Thursday that people convicted of felony murder, terrorism or treason spend less than 49 years behind bars. But District Judge Daniel Hebert said "molesting a child is right up there with murder and terrorism and the other things you cited."
The 44-year-old Gilliland previously served prison time for burglary and robbery.
A jury in January convicted Gilliland of aggravated criminal sodomy. Prosecutors said the girl's mother walked in the room and thought she saw him performing oral sex on her daughter in June 2007.
A prosecutor read the court a letter from the girl in which she said she had lost her childhood and that Gilliland's actions had destroyed family relationships.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1058144.html
Feb. 27, 2009
SALINA, Kan. - A Salina County judge has handed a 49-year prison sentence to a man convicted of sodomizing a 12-year-old girl.
An attorney for Vernon Gilliland argued Thursday that people convicted of felony murder, terrorism or treason spend less than 49 years behind bars. But District Judge Daniel Hebert said "molesting a child is right up there with murder and terrorism and the other things you cited."
The 44-year-old Gilliland previously served prison time for burglary and robbery.
A jury in January convicted Gilliland of aggravated criminal sodomy. Prosecutors said the girl's mother walked in the room and thought she saw him performing oral sex on her daughter in June 2007.
A prosecutor read the court a letter from the girl in which she said she had lost her childhood and that Gilliland's actions had destroyed family relationships.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1058144.html
February 26, 2009
Carlos Llamas pleads not guilty to molestation charges
The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA
February 26, 2009
A 53-year-old man accused of repeatedly sexually molesting a 9-year-old relative and her friend in Murrieta pleaded not guilty today.
Carlos Abel Llamas, who is being held without bail because he is considered a flight risk, is charged with two counts of engaging in oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10 and four counts of lewd acts with a child under 14.
Llamas is considered a flight risk because police arrested him about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at a Temecula hotel, where he was hiding while waiting for a Greyhound to take him to Mexico, said Murrieta police Sgt. Jim Ganley.
Somebody had placed an anonymous call to Child Protective Services, Ganley said.
Llamas is accused of inappropriately touching his relative starting in 2007, when she was 7 years old, and illegally touching the child's 9-year-old friend this year.
Llamas had been living with family members in Murrieta before he was arrested, Ganley said.
"He had a van and the van broke down," which is why he was staying with the family this time, Ganley said.
Riverside Superior Court Judge Judith Clark ordered Llamas back to court March 9 for a felony settlement conference. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for March 11.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090226/NEWS0802/90226027/-1/newsfront
February 26, 2009
A 53-year-old man accused of repeatedly sexually molesting a 9-year-old relative and her friend in Murrieta pleaded not guilty today.
Carlos Abel Llamas, who is being held without bail because he is considered a flight risk, is charged with two counts of engaging in oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10 and four counts of lewd acts with a child under 14.
Llamas is considered a flight risk because police arrested him about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at a Temecula hotel, where he was hiding while waiting for a Greyhound to take him to Mexico, said Murrieta police Sgt. Jim Ganley.
Somebody had placed an anonymous call to Child Protective Services, Ganley said.
Llamas is accused of inappropriately touching his relative starting in 2007, when she was 7 years old, and illegally touching the child's 9-year-old friend this year.
Llamas had been living with family members in Murrieta before he was arrested, Ganley said.
"He had a van and the van broke down," which is why he was staying with the family this time, Ganley said.
Riverside Superior Court Judge Judith Clark ordered Llamas back to court March 9 for a felony settlement conference. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for March 11.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090226/NEWS0802/90226027/-1/newsfront
February 25, 2009
Spencer Atwood sentenced to 30 years for child molestation
By Shawn McGrath, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
February 25, 2009
ANDERSON, IN - An Anderson man was given a 30-year sentence Monday for molesting a teen girl in July.
Spencer C. Atwood, 22, pleaded guilty in January to three counts of child molestation. In an agreement with prosecutors, Madison Superior Court 1 Judge Dennis Carroll sentenced Atwood to 30 years, with 20 years in prison and the remaining 10 suspended. A fourth charge, felony contributing to the delinquency of minor, was dismissed with the agreement.
The most serious charge against Atwood carried a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years in prison.
According to a probable cause affidavit:
A 13-year-old girl told police she spent a night in July at a friend's home in south Anderson, where Atwood also lives with his wife and children.
At about 6:30 a.m. the next day, the girl and Atwood were watching a movie when he began fondling himself and asked the girl to touch him. He told her he wanted to have sex with her, and tried to kiss her.
The girl turned him down, and went to a bathroom to get away from him. Atwood followed the girl, closed the door and performed a sex act on her. Atwood's wife began knocking on the bathroom door and found him inside the room with the girl.
Atwood reportedly admitted to performing the sex act on the girl when questioned by police. He said the act was consensual.
The Herald Bulletin doesn't generally identify the victims of sex crimes.
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_056150659.html
February 25, 2009
ANDERSON, IN - An Anderson man was given a 30-year sentence Monday for molesting a teen girl in July.
Spencer C. Atwood, 22, pleaded guilty in January to three counts of child molestation. In an agreement with prosecutors, Madison Superior Court 1 Judge Dennis Carroll sentenced Atwood to 30 years, with 20 years in prison and the remaining 10 suspended. A fourth charge, felony contributing to the delinquency of minor, was dismissed with the agreement.
The most serious charge against Atwood carried a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years in prison.
According to a probable cause affidavit:
A 13-year-old girl told police she spent a night in July at a friend's home in south Anderson, where Atwood also lives with his wife and children.
At about 6:30 a.m. the next day, the girl and Atwood were watching a movie when he began fondling himself and asked the girl to touch him. He told her he wanted to have sex with her, and tried to kiss her.
The girl turned him down, and went to a bathroom to get away from him. Atwood followed the girl, closed the door and performed a sex act on her. Atwood's wife began knocking on the bathroom door and found him inside the room with the girl.
Atwood reportedly admitted to performing the sex act on the girl when questioned by police. He said the act was consensual.
The Herald Bulletin doesn't generally identify the victims of sex crimes.
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_056150659.html
February 19, 2009
Shawn Phillips charged with molesting 14-year-old girl
Panama City News Herald
February 19, 2009
FOUNTAIN, FL - A man was arrested Wednesday on charges of molesting a 14-year-old girl after authorities recovered an apology note he allegedly wrote to his victim.
Shawn Edward Phillips, 36, of 18104 Park Place, Fountain, was arrested after the Florida Department of Children and Families received information about the molestation, according to a news release from the Bay County Sheriff's Office. During the investigation, a note written by Phillips to the victim was recovered in which he apologized for the activity, the release said.
Phillips was interviewed in reference to this case, and after the interview, he was transported to the Bay County Jail, where he was charged with lewd or lascivious molestation. He went to first appearance Wednesday, and was held on $75,000 bond.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/fountain_71974___article.html/arrested_charges.html
January 14, 2009
Former teacher James Hirleman gets 10 years for molestation
By Nathan Donato-Weinstein, The Press-Tribune
January 14, 2009
AUBURN, CA - A former Roseville middle school teacher will spend 10 years behind bars after pleading no contest Wednesday to four counts of illegal sex acts with minors as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.
James A. Hirleman, who taught at Buljan Middle School, was originally charged with 14 sex counts in September 2008 for crimes involving a former student. He faced up to life in prison if the case had gone to trial.
The counts Hirleman pleaded to on Wednesday were two of lewd acts upon a child, one of oral copulation on a person under 16, and a new count of lewd acts upon a child. That one involved a second victim, also a former student, who came forward after Hirleman’s initial arrest and media reports.
Hirleman, dressed in a black suit and black sneakers, sat with his head bowed as the two victims and one victim's mother read statements to the court.
They described a man who used his authority as a teacher to ingratiate himself into the lives of vulnerable young boys, then victimized them.
Upon Judge Richard Couzens imposing a total sentence of 10 years for the counts, Hirleman was handcuffed and remanded into custody. He must also pay $10,000 in fines.
Hirleman declined to comment outside the courtroom before the proceedings. Two associates who accompanied him to the courthouse also declined to comment following the court events.
http://www.rosevillept.com/detail/103336.html
Shawn Torlif Daily Accused Of Lewd Act On Another Child
January 14, 2009
WYFF4 News
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A man who was accused of a lewd act on a child on Nov. 25 is now charged with lewd acts on another child several years before. Shawn Torlif Daily, 36, of Spartanburg, is accused of having a 9-year-old girl sit on his lap after he removed his clothing and placed a blanket on his lap.
Daily had previously been accused of molesting a girl at the YMCA in April 2006, but at that time, the girl's mother would not allow her daughter to be interviewed by police.
After the mother saw a news story about Daily being arrested in November, she talked to her daughter, and agreed to have the child interviewed by a children's advocate.
Police said at the Children's Advocacy Center, the girl made a "clear and credible disclosure" that on several occasions, Daily stripped down and had her sit on his lap after he covered himself with a thin blanket.
The alleged abuse took place at Dailey's home when the child was between 3 and 7, between Sept. 20, 2002, and Sept. 20, 2006. Daily was booked into the Spartanburg County Jail on Tuesday. He is charged with lewd act with a minor.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/18481081/detail.html
WYFF4 News
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A man who was accused of a lewd act on a child on Nov. 25 is now charged with lewd acts on another child several years before. Shawn Torlif Daily, 36, of Spartanburg, is accused of having a 9-year-old girl sit on his lap after he removed his clothing and placed a blanket on his lap.
Daily had previously been accused of molesting a girl at the YMCA in April 2006, but at that time, the girl's mother would not allow her daughter to be interviewed by police.
After the mother saw a news story about Daily being arrested in November, she talked to her daughter, and agreed to have the child interviewed by a children's advocate.
Police said at the Children's Advocacy Center, the girl made a "clear and credible disclosure" that on several occasions, Daily stripped down and had her sit on his lap after he covered himself with a thin blanket.
The alleged abuse took place at Dailey's home when the child was between 3 and 7, between Sept. 20, 2002, and Sept. 20, 2006. Daily was booked into the Spartanburg County Jail on Tuesday. He is charged with lewd act with a minor.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/18481081/detail.html
Convicted sexual predator Mitchell Brokob admits to child pornography charge
January 14, 2009
WIVB TV
BUFFALO, NY - Convicted child predator Mitchell Brokob of North Tonawanda pled guilty to a federal child pornography charge During an appearance in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. The 41-year old Niagara County man previously pled guilty in Niagara County on charges that he kidnapped, drugged, and sexually assaulted a young girl at knifepoint as she waited for her school bus in North Tonawanda last March.
The federal pornography plea carries an agreed-upon sentence of 20 years, the statutory maximum.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., said a computer recovered from Brokob's North Tonawanda residence in June of 2008 contained images of child pornography and that a forensic analysis of the computer revealed that search terms including "preteen child rape porn" and "cold steel knives" had been typed on the computer.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Convicted_sexual_predator_admits_to_child_pornography_charge_20090114
WIVB TV
BUFFALO, NY - Convicted child predator Mitchell Brokob of North Tonawanda pled guilty to a federal child pornography charge During an appearance in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. The 41-year old Niagara County man previously pled guilty in Niagara County on charges that he kidnapped, drugged, and sexually assaulted a young girl at knifepoint as she waited for her school bus in North Tonawanda last March.
The federal pornography plea carries an agreed-upon sentence of 20 years, the statutory maximum.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., said a computer recovered from Brokob's North Tonawanda residence in June of 2008 contained images of child pornography and that a forensic analysis of the computer revealed that search terms including "preteen child rape porn" and "cold steel knives" had been typed on the computer.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Convicted_sexual_predator_admits_to_child_pornography_charge_20090114
Robert Davis Found Guilty of Sexual Abuse
January 14, 2009
WSAZ News Channel 3
CATLETTSBURG, KY -- A jury found a Boyd County man guilty of sexually abusing teenage relatives. Jurors convicted 39-year-old Robert Davis of Rush on 23 counts of 3rd-degree sodomy.
The jury recommended Davis be sentenced to two years on each count to run consecutively. He will be sentenced on March 20. Davis is also required to register as a sex offender.
The jury found Davis not guilty of the most serious charges against him, 1st degree sodomy and criminal attempt to commit 1st degree sodomy. Prosecutors say the abuse began in 2002 and involved two teenage boys related to Davis.
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/37564024.html
WSAZ News Channel 3
CATLETTSBURG, KY -- A jury found a Boyd County man guilty of sexually abusing teenage relatives. Jurors convicted 39-year-old Robert Davis of Rush on 23 counts of 3rd-degree sodomy.
The jury recommended Davis be sentenced to two years on each count to run consecutively. He will be sentenced on March 20. Davis is also required to register as a sex offender.
The jury found Davis not guilty of the most serious charges against him, 1st degree sodomy and criminal attempt to commit 1st degree sodomy. Prosecutors say the abuse began in 2002 and involved two teenage boys related to Davis.
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/37564024.html
Robert Leroy Baker Pleads to Sexual Abuse Charge
January 14, 2009
KOLO TV
FALLON, Nev. (AP) - A Fallon man has pleaded no contest to charges of fondling a 10-year-old girl. Robert Leroy Baker, 59, could face one to six years in prison when sentenced March 10 by District Judge Leon Aberasturi. Probation may be an option if an evaluation determines he is a low risk to re-offend. He entered his plea Tuesday. An initial criminal complaint charged Baker with fondling the girl on three separate occasions in January 2007. Authorities say under a plea agreement, Baker, a former parks worker for the city of Fallon, will be required to register as a sex offender.
http://www.kolotv.com/news/headlines/37588104.html
KOLO TV
FALLON, Nev. (AP) - A Fallon man has pleaded no contest to charges of fondling a 10-year-old girl. Robert Leroy Baker, 59, could face one to six years in prison when sentenced March 10 by District Judge Leon Aberasturi. Probation may be an option if an evaluation determines he is a low risk to re-offend. He entered his plea Tuesday. An initial criminal complaint charged Baker with fondling the girl on three separate occasions in January 2007. Authorities say under a plea agreement, Baker, a former parks worker for the city of Fallon, will be required to register as a sex offender.
http://www.kolotv.com/news/headlines/37588104.html
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