Category Archives: Sexual Assault

Child Abuse, Child Exploitation, Child Predator, Child Sexual Abuse, Family Secrets, Physical Abuse, Sexual Assault

SANFORD FOSTER PARENT SENTENCED TO 170 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION OFFENSES

U.S. Attorneys » Middle District of Florida » News
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Middle District of Florida

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger today sentenced Justin Dwayne Johnson, Sr. (48, Sanford) to 170 years in federal prison for four counts of production of child sexual abuse material, one count of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material, and one count of possession of child sex abuse material. Johnson had pleaded guilty on July 7, 2022.

According to court documents, in January 2022, an investigation was initiated into Johnson after Child Protection Services was alerted that Johnson was secretly recording his foster children. Johnson disclosed to an acquaintance that he had cameras in his home to record the children in the nude and that he had videos of him touching the children. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized several devices belonging to Johnson. Forensic examinations of Johnson’s cellphone and other electronic devices revealed numerous images and videos of child sex abuse material. Specifically, the evidence showed that Johnson used the children under his care to produce depictions of sexually explicit conduct. Johnson’s cellphone also contained numerous visual depictions of child sex abuse material depicting young children. So far, the FBI has identified at least 18 victims that were sexually exploited by Johnson.

“Protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation is one of the highest priorities of my office,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “This defendant victimized children who were especially vulnerable because they needed the protection of the foster care system. I am proud of the outstanding work by our local and federal law enforcement partners and my office that brought this predator to justice.”

“Instead of offering a haven for foster children, this predator betrayed the children with a home of horrific abuse,” said FBI Tampa Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force is committed to identifying, locating, and recovering the innocent victims of sexual abuse and ensuring their abusers are brought to justice.

“Johnson’s crimes are particularly disturbing, in that he was in a position that is expected to provide protection and care to already vulnerable children, and he exploited that role and further victimized these young children,” said Chief Cecil Smith of the Sanford Police Department. “I hope his sentence brings some comfort to those who he has abused.”

“As you can imagine, investigations of this nature can present overwhelming challenges,” stated Seminole County Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma. “However, the dedication of our teams, their diligence, and the collaborative efforts of the law enforcement professionals assigned to this case resulted in a successful prosecution and a sentence that sends a strong message that there are severe consequences for those who prey upon and exploit the most precious members of our community.” 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Sanford Police Department and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Courtney Richardson-Jones and Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

Child Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse, Grooming, Incest, Rape, Sexual Assault

SD SENATE CANDIDATE JOEL KOSKAN ACCUSED OF GROOMING, RAPING CHILD FAMILY MEMBER

Koskan, 44, could also face counts of rape, sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 and aggravated incest-related child

.jpg photo of man wanted for incest and child sexual abuse
SD SENATE CANDIDATE ACCUSED OF GROOMING, RAPING CHILD FAMILY MEMBER

A Republican running for South Dakota state Senate was charged with felony child abuse Thursday for allegedly grooming and raping a young family member for years, according to local reports.

Joel Koskan, a third-time candidate for the state Senate, allegedly groomed and abused the young girl for at least six years starting in 2014, court documents obtained by the Mitchell Republic revealed.

Koskan, 44, could also face counts of rape, sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 and aggravated incest-related child, according to a probable cause statement the outlet cited.

The Senate hopeful began grooming the child when she was 12 years old by having her sit on his lap, kissing her and giving long hugs, according to the court docs.

The child thought the behavior was “‘normal things’ that families were supposed to do,” an investigator wrote in the document.

She realized what Koskan was doing to her was abusive at a summer camp she attended at age 14 when counselors spoke about inappropriate physical contact with adults, according to the publication.

Koskan allegedly installed a camera in her bedroom after her return from camp that he would use to constantly watch her from an app on his phone.  He also required her to straddle him without underwear, the court documents allege.

The victim said he regularly touched her inappropriately and eventually allegedly began forcing sexual intercourse after she turned 17 years old on multiple occasions in the family’s homes across the state.

Koskan controlled the child as well with location tracking, required nightly phone calls, authority over her social media accounts and jurisdiction over what she wore, the documents say.

Koskan used GPS tracking via her phone and vehicle and learned through her location that she had gone to the sheriff’s office to speak about the reported abuse, according to the documents.

“You promised you’d never do this,” Koskan texted her on May 6. “I’m begging you, you don’t want to do this.”

Other text message exchanges between the victim and the Republican appeared to confirm her story, investigators said.

Koskan was taken into custody Thursday and has an initial hearing scheduled for Nov. 7.

Since news of the alleged abuse got out, Koskan has deleted his Twitter account and made his campaign website private.

The South Dakota Democratic Party has since called for him to immediately end his campaign, the Mitchell Republic reported.

“These allegations concerning Joel Koskan are deeply disturbing, and he should immediately end his campaign,” party chairman Randy Seiler said in a statement. “While he will still appear on the ballot, the choice for the voters of District 26 couldn’t be clearer. Partisan politics aside, Joel Koskan should not be voting in the legislature on issues that affect South Dakota kids — or any issues at all.”

State Republicans also denounced any alleged abuse.

“The allegation against Joel Koskan is very serious, and the South Dakota Republican Party unequivocally opposes child abuse in all forms,” South Dakota GOP Chairman Dan Lederman said. “The South Dakota Republican Party trusts the justice system to work through the allegation.”

If convicted, Koskan can be locked behind bars for up to 10 years.

Better Laws, Child Innocence, Child Sexual Abuse, Law Enforcement, Sexual Assault, StopChildAbuse

Mistrial in Child Sexual Assault case against ex-Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland

 

.jpg photo of former Texas Rangers pitcher
Former Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland appeared in a Denton County Court on Monday to respond to charges of three counts of aggravated assault against a child

Former Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland appeared in a Denton County Court on Monday to respond to charges

DENTON, TX  –  A Denton County judge on Friday declared a mistrial in the child sexual assault case against John Wetteland, a former Texas Rangers player who is accused of molesting a boy three times more than a decade ago.

The jury told the judge three times that it was split.  At one point, the judge said she heard loud arguing coming from the deliberation room.

Wetteland, who testified in his defense during the trial last week, faced three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.  He played for the Rangers from 1997 to 2000, as well as for the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, and is in the Rangers’ Hall of Fame.

At 4:40 p.m., the jury sent its third note to the judge.  It said it was deadlocked and some jurors were “unwilling to budge.”  The jurors asked how long they were expected to deliberate.  Some were concerned about child care.

Judge Lee Ann Breading had pressed the jury to keep trying to reach a verdict.  But after questioning the jury about 5 p.m., she declared a mistrial.

Wetteland, 56, faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted.  It was unclear Friday whether prosecutors would pursue a second trial.  Defense attorneys declined to comment.

Since Tuesday, jurors in 462nd District Court heard from the accuser, Wetteland and other witnesses.

According to authorities, Wetteland sexually assaulted the child three times between 2004 and 2006, starting when the child was 4 years old.  Wetteland pleaded not guilty and said the accuser’s account of sexual abuse is a lie.

According to the accuser’s mother, he first told her in 2016 — when he was 16 — that Wetteland raped him as a child.  She said she did not report the allegation to police.  In his testimony, the accuser said he did not want to report the abuse and wanted an apology from Wetteland, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The accuser testified on Tuesday.  He said he looked up to Wetteland and wanted to please him.  The first time Wetteland sexually abused him, he said, he was confused.  The abuse impacted him deeply into his teenage years, he testified, causing incontinence, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

When the boy was 18, his mother testified, she told him to write a letter about the abuse and planned to send it to people connected with Wetteland.

On Wednesday, Argyle school district’s former chief of police read the letter to the jury. The letter, which the accuser wrote in Google Docs, detailed allegations that Wetteland sexually assaulted him in a shower.

According to prosecutor Lindsey Sheguit, the document was saved on the Argygle school Google account, and the school district’s monitoring system flagged it.  Employees discovered the letter, the school district’s chief technology officer testified Wednesday, and reported it to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

On cross examination from Derek Adame, one of Wetteland’s defense attorneys, the technology officer testified that the district could not know who wrote the letter, only that it was written on the accuser’s account.  Adame and defense attorney Caroline Simone argue the abuse allegations are not true and were possibly fabricated by a man named Chris.  Chris is not biologically related to the accuser but lived with him when the accuser was a teenager.

Three members of the Wetteland family testified that they also believe Chris instructed the accuser to write the letter, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported.  They described Chris as aggressive and jealous of Wetteland.

A grand jury indicted Wetteland, who lives in Trophy Club, in 2019. Bartonville police have said DFPS contacted the department about the case on Jan. 9, 2019.

Bullying, Child Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse, Good Parenting, Sexual Assault, Special Needs

WHEN RACE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SAFETY OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

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The Great Divide
9 takeaways from Boston’s investigation into Mission Hill School; DA reviewing

SUFFOLK COUNTY, MA  –  A blistering investigation released this week revealed institutional failures that endangered children for years at Boston’s Mission Hill K-8 School, including overlooked reports of sexual abuse and bullying.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden on Thursday said his office is reviewing the report for “any crimes or incidents where mandatory reporting of sexual assault allegations did or did not occur.”

The report spurred Superintendent Brenda Cassellius to take the extraordinary step of recommending the school’s closure at the end of the academic year in June.  The Boston School Committee will vote on the closure May 5.

“This is the stuff of nightmares,” Mayor Michelle Wu said Thursday on GBH News, pledging accountability in BPS.

Many parents have continued to defend the school.

Here are nine key takeaways from the report:

1.  The school ‘systematically failed to protect students’ from sexual abuse, investigators found

The 189-page report by the law firm Hinckley Allen was sparked by complaints from parents that Mission Hill officials were ignoring their concerns about bullying, and separately, allegations by five families that one student had repeatedly sexually abused their children.

Investigators found the school “systematically failed to protect students” from sexual abuse by neglecting to document, investigate, or address allegations.  The school’s lacking response to sexual abuse allegations went far beyond a case in which BPS in August agreed to pay a $650,000 settlement to five Mission Hill families who said their six young children were repeatedly sexually abused by the same student and administrators failed to adequately act.

Investigators blamed much of the school’s problems on a former administrator they labeled “MH Admin 3.”  That administrator’s tenure coincided with Ayla Gavins, who served as principal for 12 years until summer 2019.  She did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The report details witnesses’ accounts of the principal’s response to the case of the student identified in court records as “A.J.,” who was accused in the families’ lawsuit of inappropriately touching fellow students and digitally penetrating one from 2014 to 2016.  Gavins told parents who complained they should “pull their kids out” and that A.J. “had a right to be” there, the report says.  A staffer recalled employees also voiced concerns that the student would be criminalized because he was Black, the report says.

The investigation found Mission Hill failed to complete official incident reports for at least 20 incidents of sexual misconduct allegations against A.J. and at least another 40 incidents of sexually inappropriate behaviors involving the school’s other students from 2013 to 2021.

The report says the failure to document sexual conduct was “an intentional by-product” of Gavins’s efforts to protect students of color.

2.  A ‘persistent and well-documented bullying problem’

Investigators concluded Mission Hill had a “persistent and well-documented bullying problem” that ballooned due to the school’s “hands-off attitude” which “taught students to protect themselves by being abusive.”

Mission Hill School’s failure to implement standard disciplinary procedures led to a rise in bullying that was “largely unaddressed” by Gavins, according to the report.  Investigators wrote that Gavins often paid “lip service” to handling serious bullying incidents.

Parents told investigators that Gavins avoided giving direct answers to safety questions and accused white parents of being racist or hostile when they advocated for their child’s safety.

3.  Special education failures

The school also failed to properly provide special education services due to its philosophy that “each child is special and learns at their own pace,” investigators found, leading to students’ learning challenges going unaddressed.

The report found that students with disabilities — who make up one-third of the school — were likely failed in many ways, including the school’s practice of removing disruptive children for “what was effectively babysitting in another room.”

4.  BPS was aware of Mission Hill’s problems for years

Over the six years before the investigation, BPS received multiple complaints from parents and investigated several internally.  In 2015, BPS hired attorney Joseph Coffey to investigate allegations.  Coffey found Gavins failed to provide specialized instruction by special education teachers, allowed improper restraints of children, created a culture of intimidation, and asked staff to “misrepresent” the school’s English as a Second Language services, the report says.

From 2014 to 2017, the report says, BPS received numerous complaints reporting sexual misconduct at the school.  Coffey’s 2015 report cited concerns by a staff member who reported incidents involving A.J. in a staff meeting and recommended the student be evaluated, but Gavins allegedly refused due to concerns about Black boys being “over diagnosed” with disabilities.

In August, a parent told Cassellius that six employees in the superintendent’s office failed to act despite knowing that the school inadequately responded to reports of abuse, assaults, and bullying.

5.  Three key e-mail accounts deleted during investigation

The report suggested some school employees put their self-interests before that of children, including by using a separate e-mail server and deleting at least three key employee e-mail accounts while the school was under investigation.

6.  Cultural problems cited

Investigators said they found a “cult-like” climate at the academically struggling school, which espoused its philosophy as the unique “Mission Hill Way,” and an intolerance of dissent that ostracized employees and parents who voiced concerns.

7.  Retaliation concerns

Parents said staffers who raised concerns were fired or pressured to leave.  Several parents told investigators that the school fired an employee because the employee filed a “51A” report to the Department of Children and Families against A.J. in November 2014, which the parents felt disobeyed Gavins’s “view of keeping matters in-house,” the report says.

Although the employee reported leaving for other reasons, the employee also described being pushed out by Gavins and enduring a “pattern of hostility by [Gavins] and long-term teachers,” the report says.

8.  Academic failings

Investigators concluded that Mission Hill failed to provide rigorous academic instruction in math, writing, literacy, and science.

The school focused on literacy for marginalized students, but often didn’t recognize that students from all backgrounds struggled, investigators wrote.

9.  Gender-nonconforming students bullied

Investigators found the school fostered a culture that “allowed increased bias and discrimination” toward transgender and gender-nonconforming students.  One parent told investigators the school “allowed a culture” where transgender students were beaten up in the bathroom.  Investigators wrote they found evidence Gavins “showed an unwillingness” to address concerns raised about these students.

The Great Divide is an investigative team that explores educational inequality in Boston and statewide.  Sign up to receive our newsletter, and send ideas and tips to thegreatdivide@globe.com.

Child Abuse, Child Predator, Child Sexual Abuse, Good Parenting, Sex Offender, Sexual Assault

TN Nurse Has License Suspended Five Years

.jpg photo of TN nurse had license suspended 5 years
Tessa Proffitt, of Jonesborough, was found guilty on six counts.

Nurse convicted for sharing information
on child rape has license suspended

JOHNSON CITY, TN  –  A former Johnson City Medical Center nurse who was a sexual assault examiner has had her license suspended for five years, 18 months after she was found guilty of unlawful disclosure of confidential child sex abuse information.

Tessa Proffitt, of Jonesborough, was found guilty on six counts in November 2018 after she was discovered to have communicated with the mother of a child rape suspect about the case.  William David Blevins was convicted in the case of rape of a child who was 10 years old at the time of the offenses.

During its investigation into Blevins, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) discovered Proffitt was communicating with Alicia May, a registered nurse who is Blevins’ mother, according to a Tennessee Board of Nursing agreed order.

Proffitt, as a sexual assault nurse examiner, had performed a rape examination on Blevins’ victim and collected evidence for a rape kit.

A Washington County grand jury initially charged Proffitt with two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence in addition to the unlawful disclosure charges.

WOMAN INDICTED FOR REVEALING INFO, TAMPERING IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE

She was sentenced to 11 months 29 days probation, ordered to perform 60 hours of community service and fined $250.

During the suspension of her nursing license, Proffitt is ordered to obtain 15 hours of Tennessee Board of Nursing-approved ethics training and 15 hours regarding HIPAA/confidentiality.

She must also pay two separate $1,000 fines and take and pass the Ethics and Boundaries Assessment Exam.

Blevins, of Johnson City, was charged in November 2019 with violating the sex offender registry.

JOHNSON CITY MAN CHARGED WITH
VIOLATING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY