Paradise News

Tag: Americas

  • Fla. mom accused of holding 14-year-old daughter's head underwater, chasing witnesses with hammer

    OSCEOLA, Fla. (TCN) — A mother faces charges after allegedly holding her teen daughter’s head underwater and attacking the witnesses who tried to stop her.

    According to a press conference held by Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, on Nov. 20, deputies responded to a home in Poinciana, where an active disturbance was taking place. Upon their arrival, authorities arrested a suspect, Kelsey Glover.

    Per Lopez, witnesses at the house said Glover’s 14-year-old daughter was unresponsive in the upstairs bathroom after the suspect had allegedly held the girl’s head underwater. The witnesses reportedly tried to intervene, but their attempts were unsuccessful. Glover allegedly attacked the witnesses and chased them with a hammer before they called 911.

    According to the sheriff’s office, deputies observed Glover trying to strike one of the witnesses with the hammer when they arrived, but they immediately apprehended her.

    The 14-year-old victim, Giselle Glover, was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. Lopez said they’re waiting on a report from the medical examiner’s office to determine her exact cause of death.

    Kelsey Glover currently faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery charges, but further charges are possible pending the investigation.

    Lopez said Glover has been “a little uncooperative” and called it a “dark day when things like this happen.”

    When asked about prior incidents in the home, Lopez alleged that Glover previously battered the child’s father, but there is no other known domestic abuse history.

    MORE:

    • Sheriff Marcos Lopez’s Remarks on Death Investigation and Perp Walk – Osceola County Sheriff’s Office

    Source

  • Judicial Watch: Homeland Security Records Confirm Extensive Government Censorship of Conservative Social Media During 2020 Election

    (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it received 274 pages of records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealing an extensive effort by government and non-government entities to monitor and censor social media posts on fraud during the 2020 election.

    The records were uncovered thanks to a Judicial Watch November 2022 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for communications between the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a division of DHS, and the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP), which was created to flag online election content for censorship and suppression (Judicial Watch Inc. vs. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:22-cv-03560 )).  

    A message on September 29, 2020, at from “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” to “Misinformation Reports” at CIS (Center for Internet Security, a CISA-funded non-profit) has the subject line: “EIP-257Case #CIS – MIS000019: CT [Connecticut] Misinformation related to absentee ballots and fraud” and states:

    Analysts at the EIP [Election Integrity Partnership] looked for cross-platform spread of this post, including in local media, but it appears contained to Facebook at this point.

    The issue has been raised with Facebook to see if additional steps can be taken on the platform.

    Included in the chain from [redacted] to “Misinformation Reports” is a reply: 

    Hey [redacted]

    The platforms may or may not take action, and they sometimes take action without notifying EIP [Election Integrity Partnership]. “Done” is a signal to other EIP analysts that no more analysis needs to be done on their end at this time.

    What we can be sure about at this stage is that Facebook have been notified, but nothing else it seems. EIP will periodically re-check the link to see if the content has been removed and will update the ticket if it has. Facebook may also be investigating the misinformation and may update the ticket itself if an action is taken. 

    A response from a person at Stanford whose name is redacted reads:

    Just wanted to add in, it seems like the links are now down. I agree that this should not have moved into Done without sending a summary to the reporting partners (you all) and I’ve talked to the team about this, we will have that for the next one! Facebook doesn’t tell us specifically when they take action sometimes so we just have to keep checking the links. I’ve asked the team to go write a summary for this incident, let us know if we can provide further help here.

     Also, on September 29, 2020, “jira@2020partnership.atlassia.net” writes to [redacted] regarding Connecticut absentee ballots:

    Thanks for flagging this. Our analysts looked into the claim – the specific post was spread through a personal network but didn’t take off further across social media platforms. We flagged the post to Facebook for removal and the link is no longer active which means it has either been taken down or made private to the individual’s Facebook. We are monitoring similar narratives in case this kind of message comes up again

    An October 1, 2020, message from a person at CIS using the “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” address responds:

    Thanks EIP. We have kept the election official updated on the steps you took. We also received confirmation from Facebook (by way of CISA) that Facebook took action on this case. 

    The records include a September 26, 2020, email from Trevor Timmons, chief information officer of the Colorado Secretary of State, to Central Cyber [redacted] @cisecurity.org, using the subject line “Reporting Twitter post with misinformation on recent Colorado mailing:”

    We’d like Twitter to review recent posts from a Denver news channel that contain misinformation about a recent mailing from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.

    [Redacted Twitter posts]

    The posts have been highlighted as containing false information by personnel from our office, other media sources, and others. At best, we’d suggest they be removed as promoting inaccurate and false information. At a minimum, we’d request they be labeled as “false.”

    Brian Scully, who was head of the Mis-, Dis-, Malinformation (MDM) branch at the National Risk Management Center at DHS, forwards this to an individual whose name and email address are redacted, commenting: “This came in from Colorado over the weekend. Twitter did not take either down.” 

    On October 1, 2020, “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” writes to someone whose name is redacted using the subject line “Fraudulent Facebook Site Hood River County, OR:”

    I’m adding Facebook to this ticket, and recommending that they take action on this page.

    We believe that this page was automatically generated after someone running for Mayor in Hood River County repeatedly tagged themselves at the “Hudson River County Elections Office”. This person uses two Facebook accounts with different names [redacted]  which is why two people have checked into this location. Their repeated check-ins triggered the creation of this page, which now exclusively features their location-–tagged posts with their commentary about local politics.

    Our understanding is that another verified page, such as the Hood River County page, could claim or request deletion for this page. However, we recommend that Facebook take immediate action on this page (and similar unofficial pages for election-related organizations), due to its potential for spreading misinformation about voting processes in Hood River County.

    On the same day “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” comments on the same string:

    Additionally, Facebook should more generally review exploitation of the “unofficial pages” feature in the context of elections. Can page creation see a lag or delay in order to prevent brigading in the final weeks of the election?

    In this case, the tagging activity began in May 2019, initially by a mayoral candidate, then by others who have turned it into an unofficial town forum. It may not always be benign.

    On October 5, 2020, a person whose name is redacted writes to Matthew Masterson [formerly with DHS and Stanford Internet Observatory], and Brian Scully of the DHS, plus numerous other redacted individuals, using the subject line “EIP-CIS Sync:”

    Hi all,

    The misinformation@cisecurity.org reporting system is now up and running, as is EIP’s inbound and outbound tip system. This call is to discuss how this process has gone so far, and to nail down the EIP <> ISAC SLA moving forward.

    On October 27, 2020, Scully writes to “misinfortation@cissecureity.org” and other redacted individuals, using the subject line “Duplicate reporting to Twitter:”

    Twitter asked if we could have reports coming through misinfo reports only be reported to them via CISA. I know the EIP is sharing some of the reports with them as well and they are trying to cut back on duplicates. Any issues with this approach? From a process standpoint it would look like – election official> [misinformationreport]s > CISA/EIP/Others > CISA sends to Twitter> rest of process is the same. 

    On October 28, 2020, someone whose name is redacted responds:

    Hello Brian, 

    Sorry for the delayed response here – took a day to settle this out on the EIP side. We are doing our best effort on the CIS reports to not duplicate notifications to Twitter when its (a) marked as Twitter being notified (assumption is everything sent with CIS #XXXXX has made it to Twitter) and (b) we have no substantial research to add to the matter. There have been a couple cases in the last week where we did not escalate CIS reports due to this, and we will continue to push on this front. Given how close we are to the election, I think this is the best option so that every report goes through CISA to the platforms, and EIP also sends over the relevant information only when we have further analysis to add which might be of help (more links, evidence of origination or coordination, etc.). We don’t want to overwhelm them, but on the day of, I think we’d kick ourselves more for not alerting than for double reporting.

    Does this sound okay? We have communicated this to our Twitter partners through our channel with them. 

    Scully responds in part: 

    I’m not sure how we’d go from double reporting to no reporting in a scenario where a report comes through CIS as CISA will always report those to Twitter, but agree more reporting is better than less.

    On November 2, 2020, Scully writes to a redacted recipient:

    Is EIP open to receiving reports from civil society groups? Was asked by our friends at Harvard. 

    A person whose name is withheld responds:

    Hey Brian,

    EIP takes tips from many civil society partners – I’m sure they’d welcome intake from Harvard. The same tip address should be fine. 

    On November 8, 2020, a message from “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” is sent to individuals whose names have been redacted, using the subject line “Antrim County, MI election results error in reporting:”

    Hello ISAC [Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a CISA-supported collaboration]– We are moving you to which Facebook, Twitter, and Google are also on. We tweeted about this claim last night (here), and continued to track the growth of this narrative through today. 

    This narrative, which started around the situation in Antrim, has now been used to throw doubts on the results in Georgia and other regions.

    On November 9, 2020, someone at CIS using “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” writes to people whose names are withheld, using the subject line: “Million MAGA March – Nov 14th – Telegram:”

    Thanks. I have spoken to [redacted] and this to make sure they are keeping the right authorities in sync.

    On November 9, 2020, “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” sends a message to individuals whose names are redacted, using the subject line “Nevada GOP claims in Twitter thread they found ballots that could have been filled out by anyone”

    Thanks, Twitter has received and is reviewing.

    A November 10, 2020, message from “jira@2020partnership.atlassian.net” to persons whose names are withheld, using the subject line ‘Million MAGA March – Nov 14th – Telegram,” includes a chart showing the number of tweets on the subject and the message:

    ISAC, please find an updated graph showing viral spread of this event on Twitter. Growth is linear and does not yet show signs of diminishing. We will continue to monitor.

    “These new, previously secret documents show that the Deep State worked full time to censor and monitor Americans in collusion with left-wing interest groups and Big Tech,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “The Trump administration should launch a criminal probe into this assault on the First Amendment civil rights of Americans.”

    In August 2023, Judicial Watch filed two FOIA lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies for communications between the agencies and Facebook and Twitter regarding the government’s involvement in content moderation and censorship on the social media platforms. 

    In June 2023, Judicial Watch sued DHS for all records of communications tied to the Election Integrity Partnership. Based on representations from the EIP (see here and here), the federal government, social media companies, the EIP, the Center for Internet Security (a non-profit organization funded partly by DHS and the Defense Department) and numerous other leftist groups communicated privately via the Jira software platform developed by Atlassian.

    In February 2023, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department Homeland Security (DHS) for records showing cooperation between the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) and social media platforms to censor and suppress free speech.

    Judicial Watch in January 2023 sued the DOJ for records of communications between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and social media sites regarding foreign influence in elections, as well as the Hunter Biden laptop story.

    In September 2022, Judicial Watch sued the Secretary of State of the State of California for having YouTube censor a Judicial Watch election integrity video.

    In May 2022, YouTube censored a Judicial Watch video about Biden corruption and election integrity issues in the 2020 election. The video, titled “Impeach? Biden Corruption Threatens National Security,” was falsely determined to be “election misinformation” and removed by YouTube, and Judicial Watch’s YouTube account was suspended for a week. The video featured an interview of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Judicial Watch continues to post its video content on its Rumble channel (https://rumble.com/vz7aof-fitton-impeach-biden-corruption-threatens-national-security.html).

    In July 2021, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which revealed that Facebook coordinated closely with the CDC to control the COVID narrative and “misinformation” and that over $3.5 million in free advertising given to the CDC by social media companies.

    In May 2021, Judicial Watch revealed documents showing that Iowa state officials pressured social media companies Twitter and Facebook to censor posts about the 2020 election. 

    In April 2021, Judicial Watch published documents revealing how California state officials pressured social media companies (Twitter, Facebook, Google (YouTube)) to censor posts about the 2020 election.

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  • Judicial Watch: After Almost 19 Years, Defense Department Produces Records on ‘Operation Able Danger’ That Could Have Prevented 9/11 Attacks

    Identifies Hundreds of Pages of Responsive Records, Claims Overwhelming Majority Remain Classified to This Day

    (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), after almost 19 years, the Department of Defense produced 62 pages of records out of hundreds of previously withheld documents regarding the U.S. intelligence program “Operation Able Danger.” The Defense Department identified hundreds of pages of responsive records but withheld them, claiming the overwhelming majority are still classified to this day.

    Able Danger was formed in 1999. It compiled publicly available information regarding al Qaeda and other targets.

    In August 2005 interviews, Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, and other experts reported that the operation identified four future September 11, 2001, hijackers as al Qaeda members in the United States well before the attacks.

    The Senate Intelligence Committee began its investigation of the program in August 2005. In September 2005, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing on Able Danger, however, members of the data-mining team were blocked from testifying.

    In December 2005, Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to Defense Department for related records, as well as information on “U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and/or counterterrorism projects and/or programs utilizing data mining software/techniques to search open-source records in the public domain.”

    The Defense Department response on August 24 from U.S. Special Operations Command identifies hundreds of pages of responsive records but claims the overwhelming majority are still classified and, over 20 years later, remain exempted from disclosure:

    [S]pecifically, Sections 1.4(a), military plans, weapon systems, or operations; 1.4(c), intelligence activities (including covert actions), intelligence sources or methods, or Cryptology; 1.4(g), vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, projects, plans, or protection services relating to the national security; and Section 1.7(e), for compilation of items of information that are individually unclassified, but may be classified if the compiled information reveals an additional association or relationship.

    The records obtained by Judicial Watch include an unredacted, declassified Top Secret/SCI record contains a 17-page listing of unclassified, open-source internet resources listing websites and URLs for topics such as terrorism news stories; Office of the Coordinator of Counterterrorism; and “Albanian Terrorism in Kosovo,” among many others. Across the bottom of page three of the lists of open-source records is a statement: “Began to understand the status of ongoing efforts!” The author of the exclamation is not identified.

    Small passages of what seem to be declassified Top Secret/SCI analytical reports (unnamed and undated) feature commentary such as:

    Arab countries in North Africa especially, Algeria, Tunisia, Morrocco, Libya, Egypt, and almost all other Arab countries have been annoyed for the high profile of Osama bin Laden first in Pakistan and later in Afghanistan especially, when he publicly claims that he trains Arab fundamentalists to overthrow most of Arab regimes in the Middle East.

    The records also cite journalist Jason Burke’s December 1998 reporting that Osama bin Laden decided to get into drug trafficking as a new weapon and approached (through intermediaries) major opium and heroin dealers, as well as major landowners in the opium-growing districts of Afghanistan, and offered to buy all of the opium they grow.

    Drug trafficking was also featured in an undated/unsourced, declassified TOP SECRET/SCI record that stated:

    In fact, heroin is the major source of income for the Taleban [sic] government that has seized power in Afghanistan. It is not the Taleban government alone; heroin is also a major source of earning for the Inter Service Intelligence ISI of Pakistan, which has been providing support and assistance for the Taleban government which has seized power in Afghanistan. The lion’s share of the funds earned through heroin smuggling is spent on intelligence service and also on subversive activities carried out by the ISI in neighboring countries.

    Another undated/unsourced excerpt states:

    Opium is traded at large bazaars in Afghanistan that are the treacherous domain of criminal syndicates. One of the more notorious is located in the town of Sangin, a three-hour drive west of the Taliban capital of Kandahar. ‘Sangin is known as a dangerous place,’ says Bernard Frahl, head of the U.N. drug-agency office in Islamabad, who visited the market town in October. “It is known for people going in and not coming out.” Of about 500 shopkeepers crowded along one main street, and two or three footpaths off it, he says, almost half sell opium.

    The records produced to Judicial Watch include the homepage of a Swedish construction firm and what appears to be a worker complaint from someone employed in Saudi Arabia.

    “It shouldn’t take two decades to decide that the American people can’t see documents about a military investigation that could have prevented 9/11. What an insult to the American people and the victims of 9/11,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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  • Calif. man with ties to neo-Nazi group sentenced for luring and killing gay Jewish classmate

    ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — A 27-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for leading his former high school classmate to believe they were meeting up for a romantic encounter and fatally stabbing him 28 times.

    The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 15 that a jury convicted Samuel Woodward of first-degree murder along with a hate crime enhancement and personal use of a knife in connection with the stabbing death of 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein. Woodward received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

    According to prosecutors, on Jan. 2, 2018, Bernstein was home for winter break in Orange County and made dinner with his family before messaging Woodward on a dating app. Bernstein arranged for Woodward to pick him up that evening near his parents’ house, and the victim left behind his glasses, keys, and wallet.

    The district attorney’s office said Woodward then fatally stabbed Bernstein and buried his body in a shallow grave in a Lake Forest park. After cleaning up, Woodward reportedly messaged a friend in the early hours of Jan. 3 and said, “Hey man, life is good.”

    Bernstein failed to show up for a dentist appointment the following day, prompting his parents to report him missing. The victim’s parents reportedly searched their son’s online activity and noticed he had last communicated with Woodward, his former classmate at Orange County School of the Arts. Woodward allegedly informed Bernstein’s parents he met with their son, but the victim went off with an unknown individual into the park.

    Bernstein’s body was found in Borrego Park approximately a week later following heavy rains.

    According to prosecutors, investigators located Bernstein’s blood on Woodward’s knife. Authorities also found blood droplets on a skull mask “that prosecutors argued Woodward wore to represent his allegiance to Atomwaffen, a Neo-Nazi and homophobic group that he traveled to Texas to train with after studying their teachings.”

    The district attorney’s office said “Woodward continued to draw pictures related to Atomwaffen and their beliefs following his arrest for Bernstein’s murder.” Investigators also located a “hate diary,” detailing “Woodward’s online activities to lure gay men and boys into believing he was ‘bi curious,’ and then unfriending them.” Woodward reportedly used multiple slurs to refer to gay men in the diary.

    According to The Associated Press, in court, many of Bernstein’s family and friends wore shirts that read “Blaze It Forward,” a phrase used for a campaign to commit acts of kindness.

    Bernstein’s mother reportedly said, “Let’s be clear: This was a hate crime. Samuel Woodward ended my son’s life because my son was Jewish and gay.” She continued, “Blaze’s memory and spirit will live on in every kind deed done in his honor.”

    Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated, “With every hateful stab of his knife, Samuel Woodward stabbed at the very heart of our entire community.”

    MORE:

    • Newport Beach Man Sentenced to Life in Prison without Possibility of Parole for Stabbing Gay Former High School Classmate to Death in 2018 Hate Crime Murder – Orange County District Attorney’s Office
    • California man sentenced to life for hate crime in the killing of a gay college student – The Associated Press

    Source

  • 'This man is a monster': Survivors speak out about alleged abuse by prominent doctor | Full Episode

    Four women in Oregon speak exclusively to “True Crime News” about their experiences with Dr. David Farley, an OB/GYN they allege sexually assaulted and touched them inappropriately during appointments. Over 200 women and minors have accused Dr. Farley of misconduct, and Katie Medley, Lisa Pratt, Nicole Snow, and Sarah Adams have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Farley in the pursuit of justice.

    Source

  • Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after killing her 2 young sons

    COLUMBIA, S.C. (TCN) — The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services reached a decision Wednesday, Nov. 20, regarding Susan Smith’s release from prison.

    The committee denied Smith’s appeal following a lengthy hearing in which Smith appeared via Zoom from prison. ABC News reports Smith will be eligible for parole hearings every two years because she served her minimum 30 years in her life sentence for killing her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex.

    Smith said at the hearing, “I know that what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it. I love Michael and Alex with all my heart.” She apologized to the first responders who found her boys still strapped into their car seats in the bottom of a lake, adding, “I wish I could take that back, I really do.”

    She said she was “just scared” and “didn’t know how to tell the people that love them that they’d never see them again.”

    Her ex-husband, David Smith, disagreed with what Smith said because the 30 years she’s spent behind bars has been “15 years per child,” which he said was “not enough.”

    David Smith continued, “She came pretty close to causing me to end my life because of the grief that she brought upon me.”

    He said he would attend her parole hearings every two years “to ensure that their death doesn’t go in vain.”

    According to ABC News, David Smith’s current wife told the board, “Michael and Alex didn’t get a chance at life. They were forced the death penalty.”

    Smith’s attorney argued she suffered from “untreated mental health” problems, including depression after she gave birth to Alex.

    WCSC-TV reports David Smith shared, “God gives us free choice, and she made free choice that night to end their life. This wasn’t a tragic mistake, wasn’t something that she didn’t mean to do. She purposely meant to end their life. I have never felt any remorse from her for it. She’s never expressed any to me. I’ve never seen it on paper.”

    Smith killed her sons in 1994 by leaving them strapped in the car and pushing the vehicle into a lake. She reported the boys missing and pleaded with the public for help, saying she had been carjacked and just wanted her boys to come home.

    Smith went to trial and was convicted of murder in 1995. A judge sentenced her to life with the possibility of parole.

    Tommy Pope, the lead prosecutor in the case at the time, told “True Crime News,” “I look at the case itself as a failure on my part because, unfortunately, she did not get the death penalty.”

    Pope said he believed Smith’s defense team did a “tremendous job. They worked the public opinion, the worked the media attention to go from Susan the monster to Susan the victim.” They said Smith was still dealing with being sexually abused as a child and had untreated mental illness. Smith was having an affair with another man, and he reportedly told her that her sons prevented them from being together.

    While behind bars, Smith had sexual relationships with guards and used drugs.

    David Smith said in an interview with Court TV, “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you stay behind bars.”

    Watch the video above for the “True Crime News” coverage on Smith’s case.

    MORE:

    • Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after killing her 2 sons – ABC News
    • Board denies parole for Susan Smith 30 years after murders of her 2 children – WCSC

    Source

  • Man who initially passed polygraph is now suspected of raping, killing teen girl more than 45 years ago

    RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — Investigators recently identified a primary suspect in the rape and death of a teen girl found dumped in a snowpack more than 45 years ago.

    According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, on Feb. 9, 1979, someone assaulted and bludgeoned 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez while she was walking from her parents’ house to her sister’s home. The following day, Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who deputies called “argumentative,” reportedly called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Station in Banning to report a possible body. Authorities subsequently found Gonzalez’s remains near Highway 243.

    Prosecutors said Williamson took a polygraph test and passed, ruling him out as a suspect. Officials worked on the case for years and uploaded a semen sample from the crime scene into the Combined DNA Index System, but the case went cold.

    In 2023, authorities working on the case submitted evidence to genetic genealogy company Othram Labs to help identify any potential leads. According to the district attorney’s office, investigators learned even though Williamson had passed the polygraph in 1979, he was never ruled out as a suspect through DNA testing.

    Williamson died in Florida in 2014, but a blood sample was collected during his autopsy, and investigators sent it to the California Department of Justice. According to prosecutors, the department of justice determined Williamson’s DNA matched the DNA from Gonzalez’s remains.

    MORE:

    • Cold Case Solved: DNA Evidence Confirms the Identity of a Rapist and Killer in a Case Dating Back to 1979 – Riverside County District Attorney’s Office
    • Riverside District Attorney’s Office Partners with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1979 Assault & Murder of Esther Gonzalez – Othram Labs

    Source

  • Maryland middle school teacher sentenced for having sex with 14-year-old student more than 20 times

    MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (TCN) — A 32-year-old former middle school teacher has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for having sexual relations with a 14-year-old student multiple times.

    According to an initial press release from the Montgomery County Department of Police, in October 2023, the victim came forward and alleged he had sex with Melissa Curtis beginning in 2015. Curtis was 22 years old at the time and worked as a teacher at Montgomery Village Middle School, where the victim attended school.

    Per WTTG-TV, prosecutors said Curtis ran an after-school program the 14-year-old victim was volunteering for, and the two were often alone together. Curtis reportedly sexually assaulted the victim for months until the end of April 2015.

    According to WTTG, Curtis gave the 14-year-old alcohol and marijuana, and they had sex more than 20 times while he was in eighth grade.

    Charging documents reviewed by WDCW-TV say the victim, who is now 22 years old, claimed Curtis touched him inappropriately at the school, performed oral sex on him, kissed him in a vehicle, and had sex with him twice in the defendant’s mother’s home. The victim also reportedly told authorities Curtis touched his penis with her feet at a movie theater and had sex with him at his residence.

    Curtis pleaded guilty in June to three counts of third-degree sex offense, and she was sentenced on Nov. 15 to 30 years in prison. WTTG reports she’ll serve the sentence with all but 12 months suspended and five years of supervised probation following her release.

    Curtis will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years and cannot have unsupervised contact with minors other than her own children.

    A spokesperson told WTTG Curtis left the school district in 2017.

    MORE:

    • Former Middle School Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse of a Student – Montgomery County Department of Police
    • Former Montgomery County teacher sentenced to 30 years for having sex with student – WTTG
    • Man says former teacher had sex with him more than 20 times while he was middle school student in Montgomery County – WDCW

    Source

  • Laken Riley case: Jose Ibarra convicted of kidnapping, killing Ga. nursing student who was out jogging

    ATHENS, Ga. (TCN) — A judge convicted a 26-year-old man of multiple charges related to the abduction and beating death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed while out on a run in February.

    Athens-Clarke County records show Jose Ibarra was found guilty on Nov. 20 of three counts of felony murder and one count each of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency phone call, tampering with evidence, and peeping Tom.

    WAGA-TV reports Ibarra’s case was a bench trial, meaning the presiding judge delivered the verdict. The judge handed him two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 27 years.

    Riley was found dead in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22. Her friend contacted police and said she became worried when Riley left for a run around the intramural fields that morning but never returned home. Investigators arrested Ibarra the next day and indicted him in May.

    According to WAGA, video showed Riley jogging on the University of Georgia campus. She reportedly texted her mother that day, “Good morning. About to go for a run if you’re free to talk.” Her mom texted her back, but Riley never responded. Her mother said in another message, “Please call me. I’m worried sick about you.”

    Surveillance video also reportedly captured Ibarra throwing a jacket away that had Riley’s DNA on it, but his attorneys argued the man on the video could have been Ibarra’s brother.

    WXIA-TV reports prosecutors claimed Ibarra went “hunting for females” the same day Riley was killed. Ibarra beat Riley with a rock, which the prosecutors said happened because she “refused to be his rape victim.” Riley sustained cuts to her head, torso, neck, left hand, and left leg, as well as a skull fracture. Investigators discovered Ibarra’s DNA under Riley’s nails.

    Prosecutors used GPS from Riley’s Garmin running watch to place her and Ibarra in the same general location around the time she died.

    MORE:

    • State of Georgia v. Jose Antonio Ibarra verdict form
    • LAKEN RILEY MURDER: Jose Ibarra found guilty, sentenced to life without parole – WAGA
    • Man sentenced to life in prison without parole for brutal killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley – WXIA
    • Nursing student who disappeared while running is found dead on University of Georgia campus, 2/23/2024 – TCN
    • Man accused of killing Ga. nursing student Laken Riley is charged with murder, 5/8/2024 – TCN

    Source

  • Ohio teen found dead under 'suspicious circumstances' days after he disappeared

    MANSFIELD, Ohio (TCN) — Police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old male who went missing earlier this month.

    According to the Mansfield Police Department, Trentin Isaac disappeared Nov. 12, and a search ensued with help from multiple law enforcement agencies and family. Authorities said they received unverified tips and rumors regarding videos and social media posts, but they had not been corroborated. Police also said they never received any actual evidence from these calls.

    In an update posted Nov. 19, Mansfield Police said Harrison County officials alerted them after finding a body in their jurisdiction. The victim was sent to the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office “because of suspicious circumstances.” Investigators positively identified the victim as Isaac, but officers did not provide further details on how he died.

    In a statement, police said, “Mansfield Police Detectives are currently working with state and local authorities as there are more questions than answers at this point. The family and the community can be assured that the division will work diligently to not only answer these questions but also bring justice to the individuals who committed this act.”

    MORE:

    • Mansfield Police Update to the Disappearance of Trentin Isaac – Mansfield Police Department
    • Mansfield Police Seek Public Assistance in Disappearance of Trentin Isaac – Mansfield Police Department

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