Crimes against Children 8-27-12 Part II

Knoxville, TN
A Clinton man is behind bars after authorities say they found child pornography on his phone. Police arrested Ricci Ellis Myers, Jr., for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class C Felony. He is being held at the Knox Co. Detention Facility on $15,000 bond.

Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch explained the 22 year-old first appeared on the radar of the department's Internet Crime Against Children Task Force (ICAC) when someone told police they spotted what they thought was child pornography on Myers' phone.

Denver, CO
A Colorado pastor and a New Mexico journalist and have been indicted on child pornography charges, federal authorities say.

Richard Howard Craft, 68, of Thornton, Colo., was indicted Monday and arraigned today in federal court in Denver on charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography, the FBI said in a news release. The allegations cover July 2007 to January 2008, and December 2009.
Armed with a warrant, FBI agents searched his home Dec. 23, 2009, after a special agent in Philadelphia "accessed the Internet and connected to a publicly available peer-to-peer file sharing program. The FBI agent observed numerous files depicting child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the files were being shared from Craft's computer located at his residence."

Craft is a former interim pastor of the Family of Christ Presbyterian Church of Greeley, Colo. His apparent LinkedIn page says the congregation has 65 members and is "peace-and-justice oriented." He has been a pastor for 40 years, is writing two books and received his religious training at the Claremont School of Theology, near Los Angeles.

In New Mexico, Richard Dates, 67, of Grants, N.M., a reporter and copy editor for the Cibola Beacon, was charged Thursday with possessing child pornography. He made an initial appearance today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., and will return to court Monday for a preliminary hearing and a bail determination, the Associated Press says.
His arrest is the 46th in an investigation of men in seven countries who allegedly shared and traded photos of children engaged in sex acts.

Ft. Pierce, FL
A former St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office deputy was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography via the Internet.

If convicted, 46-year-old Cameron Dean Bates of the 5700 block of Northwest Belwood Circle in Port St. Lucie faces up to 20 years in prison, supervised release for the rest of his life and designation as a sex offender.

Bates, who was a deputy from May 1988 until resigning in June 2006, was arrested Aug. 3 on 10 counts each of possession of child pornography and compiling child pornography after sheriff's investigators executed a search warrant June 29 at his home.

Bates told investigators he "accidentally" downloaded child pornography from the Internet while downloading music files using "peer-to-peer software."

Tenerife, Spain

Child pornography operation: A police site set up to catch paedophiles is reaping rewards across Spain, including the Canary Islands.

 

In the last three months, National Police have arrested 19 people and imputed 16 others on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography on the internet. The operation was carried out thanks to the co-operation of citizens who have emailed denuncias.pornografía.infantil @ policia.es

 

The investigators used photographs and videos containing alleged abuse on children to identify culprits.

 

In the operation called “Coast”, arrests have been made in Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, Girona, Madrid, Granada, Murcia, Valencia and Tenerife. Most of the 35 suspects are single, aged between 35 and 60, computer literate and from a normal family environment.

 

Minneapolis, MN

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for involuntary manslaughter and child abuse.

Dino Dean Kane, age 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 22, 2012. He appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on August 23, 2012, and pled not guilty to the indictment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years’ in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Omaha, NE
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Isaac L. Sherman, age 71, of Macy, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha for sexual abuse of a minor. The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Sherman to the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons for a term of eight years. There is no parole in the federal system. After the completion of his prison term, Sherman will begin a term of supervised release that will continue for the remainder of his life.

In May 2011, a 12-year-old student advised a school counselor that she had been sexually abused by Sherman. When interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center, the child disclosed that the sexual abuse had occurred two years earlier when she was residing with Sherman.