The man's alleged activities resulted in two girls agreeing to meet with the man's "friend," an online personality police claim he assumed in order to seduce young women. The girls reportedly range in age from 12 to 15.
]]> Prosecutors say the man downloaded photographs from MySpace and other Web sources to create two fake social media profiles, on which he pretended to be 15-year-old high school dropout surfers. The man is accused of psychologically manipulating the young women by pretending to share important life events with them, such as problems with parents or the desire to run away.Police say the man also pretended that one of the surfers had died in order to garner sympathy from the girls, which he then leveraged to request sexually explicit materials.
Law enforcement officials claim that the man, while posing as the surviving surfer, would request explicit photos of the girls. He also would promise to send the girls money to run away from home if they sent him the photos or agreed to sexual interaction.
So far, the charges are only pertain to seven girls, but more than 18 other search warrants have been issued regarding other online conversations.
The man was charged this week with more than 60 counts of sexual misconduct, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a computer. He has been jailed since September, when he was arrested for traveling to the home of a 14-year-old girl to solicit sex.
Source: Washington Post: "AG says W. Pa. man, 53, posed as 'surfer' on Facebook to obtain nude pics, sex from teens," Feb. 10, 2012
]]>In the courtroom about 140 miles east of Pittsburgh, the judge also denied the prosecution's request to keep Sandusky strictly inside the four walls of his home while he's under house arrest. He's been required to stay on his property, but a teacher at a nearby elementary school complained that Sandusky, 68, was standing on his deck, watching students play outside the school.
]]> However, the judge ruled that "no evidence was presented that at any time the defendant made any effort to contact any of the children by signaling or calling to them or that he made any gestures directed toward them or that he acted in an inappropriate way whatsoever."Sandusky faces 52 counts, including allegations of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and other related charges.
He's been under house arrest since December and is scheduled to go to trial in May.
Among the judge's rulings issued on Monday was one allowing the former coach to travel to his criminal defense attorney's office to prepare for his defense. He must give at least 36 hours notice to the court before going to the office, however.
Sandusky is also to gain more information about his accusers. Prosecutors must provide the defense team with times, dates, locations and alleged victims' ages at the time of the reported incidents. However, he still does not have the names of the accusers.
Obviously, much more is to be determined in this case.
Source: Reuters: "Grandchildren allowed to visit Sandusky," Mark Shade, Feb. 13, 2012
]]>The 36-year-old man, who has been placed on house arrest in his home in Arizona, has been accused of defrauding individuals over the Internet. Officials say he has taken approximately $2 million in illegal activities.
]]> He faces a March 2 sentencing date in Pittsburgh.He was originally taken into federal custody for his alleged misdeeds in Pennsylvania, where he claimed to run a business that fixes up repossessed mobile homes and sells them back to residents in areas that have been affected by hurricanes.
Prosecutors alleged that he promised investors between 30 to 100 percent interest on their investments.
He reportedly received the investors' payments between 2003 and 2005.
Federal authorities claim that the man instead used the money for personal finances and paid back only a portion of the money owed. According to prosecutors, about $1.9 million was lost by investors.
The man later pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
His sentencing date has been delayed twice; one time because he argued that he needed time to earn income for his family.
Prosecutors now claim he ran an illegal scheme on the internet, selling websites that he reportedly didn't deliver or that didn't function.
One woman told authorities that she paid the suspect $22,000 to design a website for her business. The final product didn't work, she said.
At the moment, he's not facing any new charges over the newly surfaced allegations against him.
Source: Associated Press: "Ariz. man facing prison in Pa. scam arrested again," Joe Mandak, Jan. 31, 2012
]]>HIDTA arranged for an undercover officer to buy a shipment of marijuana from the man earlier this month. The man arrived with 11 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $40,000, and sold it to the undercover officer. Police immediately arrested the man and took possession of his vehicle, an Audi A4 Quattro.
]]> The man was taken to Chester County Prison. He faces felony drug charges and other charges in connection with the undercover buy operation. Bail was set at $50,000, which he has not been able to post. According to authorities, the man also faces pending drug and sexual misconduct charges in Missouri.Many people may assume that these kinds of cases are open-and-shut victories for the prosecution. But that is not always true. Every defendant has a number of constitutional rights, and the police must abide by certain rules when conducting arrests. We do not yet know all the individual, specific details surrounding the arrest that could make a difference to this man in the courtroom.
Felony drug trafficking is a serious crime with serious consequences. In addition to potential prison sentences, defendants may have to pay extensive fines, undergo a period of probation, and endure the effect that a felony conviction can have on their future employability. It is always wise to contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer if you have been charged with a felony drug offense.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Colo. man arrested in $40K pot sting, police say," Kathleen Brady Shea, Feb. 7, 2012.
]]>The quiet was recently broken by the arrest of a 65-year-old borough councilman for a homicide that happened 32 years ago, however.
]]> The councilman says he's innocent of the murder of the 23-year-old woman in her home, though he acknowledges he was having an affair with her shortly her death.She was found bound, strangled and half-naked in her bed back in September of 1979, authorities in the borough of 700 said.
Investigators haven't yet revealed why they recently began working on the cold case, but according to media reports, a search warrant shows that detectives secured DNA from the suspect from a disposable drinking cup he threw into the trash at a borough building.
A district attorney said state police had in storage the sheets from the bed where the woman was found, as well as ropes that were used to bind her. Investigators began to reexamine the evidence with advanced DNA technology about two years ago.
The defendant was elected to a seat on the council late last year.
People in the town say they're surprised by the allegations against a man many have known their entire lives.
The man says he's innocent of the charges and his attorney says they plan to thoroughly investigate and vigorously dispute the allegations.
This is exactly the kind of case often quickly tried in the court of public opinion. Many people assume in similar cases that if the police find DNA evidence, it indicates that the suspect is guilty of murder, when it might well indicate nothing more than that the suspect had consensual sex with the victim.
This is a case people in the area and around the nation will be watching closely.
Source: Associated Press: "Pa. town ponders councilman's arrest in old murder," Feb. 4, 2012
]]>Prosecutors and Internal Revenue Service agents say the man was arrested again while on house arrest at his home in Arizona, awaiting sentencing for a $2 million pyramid scheme. He has yet to be charged for more allegations that he asked people to invest in an Internet business, where he allegedly took money and failed to deliver final products to customers.
]]> The man will be sentences in March for previous charges in Pittsburg for claims that he took investments to refurbish hurricane damaged mobile homes. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced last July for charged of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud.This serious charge is now possibly leading to the investigation of more crimes and potential future charges. Investigators say that the man may have used his wife and mother-in-laws names for certain parts of the business, but it is unknown whether they were involved.
Because of the severity of these federal charges, and the bias presented by his guilty plea to other crimes, it is important to that he build a solid criminal defense. A Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney can help protect the rights of those accused of crimes, making sure that branches of government don't overstep their reach.
Source: York Dispatch, "Ariz. man facing prison in Pa. scam arrested again," Joe Mandak, Jan. 31, 2012
]]>In a news conference widely reported in the Pittsburgh media, prosecutors stated that they believed the roundup of individuals in the Norristown, Pennsylvania, area allegedly involved in selling marijuana and cocaine in the community could lead to a breakthrough in the continuing investigation of the killing of a man in the West End neighborhood on July of 2011, which remains unsolved.
]]> Police and prosecutors hope that information obtained in the course of the investigation that led to the arrests, or which may be obtained from the arrestees, could show a link between drug trafficking and the unexplained murder. The killing apparently took place approximately one block away from the home of a suspect accused of involvement in the drug transactions.The shooting took place at approximately 3:17 a.m. on the evening of July 11, and police who arrived on the scene found not only the 24-year-old murdered man, but also a 23-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, both of whom suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds.
The dead man had suffered multiple bullet wounds.
Despite the fact that the prosecutor's office offered a $5,000 reward in the murder case, no definite suspect has yet been identified.
The drug arrests were carried out after police followed up on confidential information about an alleged high-level cocaine seller in the West End. Prosecutors used the information as a basis for wiretapping cell phone calls to develop more leads into area drug transactions, doing so for approximately a month. Drug transactions were allegedly set up in a number of the intercepted calls.
Source: The Times Herald: "Latest drug arrests could yield clues to unsolved summer murder," Keith Phucas, Jan. 29, 2012
]]>The 26-year-old was sentenced in Allegheny County Court to 35 to 70 years in prison.
]]> Prosecutors said the families of a dozen boys allegedly abused agreed to the plea deal in order to avoid having them testify at trial.The defendant began working at the daycare facility in 2007.
According to prosecutors, he sexually abused seven boys he met at the center, as well as several others.
He's accused of fondling the boys, as well as photographing and recording them on video.
Prosecutors say he also sexually assaulted boys and forced them into sex acts.
Before he was sentenced, the defendant apologized to the families. "I truly am sorry," he said.
In an unrelated case, police in Hopewell charged a man arrested recently on allegations that he raped two women in Ross Township.
The 38-year-old was also charged in Ohio Township and charged with robbery and burglary there.
Law enforcement officials say the man raped a 50-year-old woman in Hopewell on Jan. 7. In that case, he's accused of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault, theft, robbery, criminal trespass and unlawful restraint.
He's accused of a rape that same day in Ross and another one two days later. In each case, he's accused of breaking into apartments, holding the women at gunpoint, forcing them to undress and then raping them.
In the Ohio Township case, the suspect is accused of robbing and beating a man on Jan. 10.
Law enforcement officials claim they have DNA evidence linking the man to the alleged sexual assaults.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Ex-teacher gets decades in prison for child molestations," Paula Reed Ward, Jan. 20, 2012
]]>Media outlets are also reporting charges leveled by a 14-year-old who says he was fondled a by a Ukrainian hockey coach who has worked with a number of professional and college players.
]]> The coach was arrested a couple of weeks ago, accused of fondling the boy in his Philadelphia apartment.The coach is also accused by a former player who spent a decade on the coach's Ukraine-based team.
The accuser later played for a U.S. college in Michigan and recently published a book in which he made his accusations public against his former coach.
The former player claims that every player from the team he played on for the coach in the 1980s and 1990s knows of the alleged sexual abuse.
Yet another former player told a media outlet that he was "shocked" by his former coach's arrest and said he was never abused during hiw two years on the team.
The former player who denies knowing of abuse or being abused, said he lived with the coach while he played on the team.
He said he hasn't read the accuser's book.
He said the coach is an "old-school" Soviet-style coach who used discipline to teach his players how to play the game, but that he never witnessed or experienced physical or sexual abuse.
Source: Detroit Free Press: "Former Wayne State hockey player writes book about coach accused of sex abuse," George Sipple, Jan. 27, 2012
]]>The 38-year old was arrested on suspicion of rape and robbery after police surrounded an apartment building in Ross Township. Twice this month, women in the apartment complex had their homes broken into and robbed. One woman claimed she was sexually assaulted as well.
]]> Three law enforcement agencies -- the FBI, Ross police and Pittsburgh police -- worked together to apprehend the alleged perpetrator.The FBI, which is generally not involved in local cases such as this, had another reason for being involved in the investigation and offering a $5,000 reward for information that might lead to his arrest. However, the FBI has so far refused to state its reason for involvement.
The man has been charged with a number of crimes including sexual assault and physical assault, unlawfully possessing firearms, robbery, breaking and entering, and other related charges.
There is a similar outstanding case in South Carolina and authorities are working with police there to see if the man being held here is responsible for the South Carolina crime.
The South Carolina incident reportedly bears similarities to the case here; a composite sketch a woman there helped generate resembles the Pittsburgh man's identity, police claim.
The man arrested has family ties in that area.
Media outlets report that the man complied with a request for a DNA sample, which law enforcement says links him to the scene of the alleged crimes.
In similar situations, defendants are wise to discuss the charges with a criminal defense attorney before talking with police or prosecutors.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Criminal complaint details Ross rapes after suspect arrested," Moriah Balingit, Jan. 19, 2012
]]>The woman was arrested late last year at a domestic violence shelter in Kittanning under a name other than her own. She was charged at the time with theft by deception, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft of services.
]]> Later, two counts of criminal use of a communication facility were added, but then dropped.She was also charged with a pair of counts of disorderly conduct causing physically offensive conditions to the alleged victims.
She was accused by prosecutors of using her cell phone and a computer at the shelter to contact an Idaho couple and telling them she was pregnant and ready to give up the baby to them for adoption.
However, before a hearing last week on the charges, the assistant district attorney admitted that there's no current "law to protect victims of this type of crime because no money passed hands."
The prosecutor says the Idaho couple flew to Pittsburgh believing that there would soon be a baby waiting for them to adopt.
Apparently, the woman arrested is not pregnant and has no baby to give up for adoption.
Her defense attorney points out that the woman never asked the couple for money and also didn't ask them to fly to Pittsburgh. The lawyer also pointed out that the couple was put in no physical danger by their trip.
He said she's "basically charged here because she lied."
"She lied to them (the Idaho couple), creating a fantasy," he said.
The judge said he needed to do some research on the matter before issuing a ruling.
Source: PittsburghLive.com: "Armstrong baby scam suspect awaits judge's ruling," Brigid Beatty, Jan. 19, 2012
]]>A number of critics indicated that they were not fully satisfied by the school president's answers about the school's response to the allegations.
]]> Sandusky was arrested for suspected sex abuse approximately two months ago. The former coach, who is 67 years old, is accused of having sexually abused as many as 10 boys, with the sex acts taking place over a 15-year time period.A former vice president of the university as well as its former athletic director face charges asserting that they neglected to report allegations of abuse of children to the proper authorities, and also subsequently lied when summoned before a grand jury investigating the incidents.
Sandusky has claimed that he is innocent of the charges, as have the two former school officials.
The controversy over the allegations also resulted in the firing of the school's head football coach, Joe Paterno.
At the Pittsburgh alumni meeting, the first of three such meetings to be held, the university president announced that he himself would leave his position in 2014 at the end of his current contract.
He was unable to immediately answer alumni questions about whether the school would pay for legal expenses for some or all of the accused in the pending criminal cases.
He faced criticism at the meeting for the firing of Paterno, with some calling for the university's entire board of trustees to resign over the school's handling of the case.
Source: Time: "Penn State President Offers Few Answers," Kevin Begos, Jan. 12, 2012
]]>Those arrested are accused of federal crimes involving the selling of Puerto Rican identification documents to people living in the United States.
]]> Thirteen people were arrested in Puerto Rico. Others were arrested in Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, Indiana and Georgia.They're charged with identity trafficking and face potential prison sentences of up to 15 years, if convicted.
They're accused of selling fake names, as well as state identification cards, driver's licenses, birth certificates, voter cards and Social Security cards.
According to court documents, people in Puerto Rico were collecting ID documents from Puerto Rican residents and then people in the United States would sell the documents to people living here, often undocumented immigrants.
Those here in the U.S. were purportedly selling the fake identity documents sets for between $700 and $2,500.
Prosecutors say the U.S. broker would ask a customer for half of the fee upfront, which would then be sent to Puerto Rican documents suppliers. The supplier would, in return, mail back documents that fit the customer's gender and age. At that point, the customer would pay the other half of the fee to the broker, who would pocket the cash.
Prosecutors say those buying the documents were in some cases using the fake IDs to commit financial fraud or to try to get U.S. passports.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times: "Feds: Aurora man part of massive Puerto Rican ID theft ring," Matt Hanley, Jan. 11, 2012
]]>The 62-year-old cleric arrived at his hearing in U.S. District Court for his arraignment in the custody of U.S. Marshals.
]]> The former pastor of St. John Fischer Church in Churchville was wearing arm and leg shackles.If convicted of receiving child pornography on a computer, he could serve up to 20 years in prison.
If convicted of possessing child pornography, he could serve up to a 10-year sentence.
The priest left court under house arrest wearing an electronic ankle bracelet after promising the Chief Magistrate he'd attend every court appearance, and that he'd pay $50,000 if he didn't show up.
He's not allowed access to computers and is not allowed unsupervised contact with children, according to the judge's ruling. He was indicted earlier this week by a federal grand jury for child pornography, and he was already charged in state court.
According to authorities, a female church worker witnessed the priest viewing on his computer an image of a boy between the ages of five and 10 who was naked from the waist down.
The affidavit further reports more than 5,000 images were found on the pastor's computer following subsequent police searches.
"I still don't understand the federal interest in this case," the priest's attorney said. "He was already arrested and processed by the state."
According to authorities, state charges against the pastor have been dismissed.
Allegheny County police arrested him in early December and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh placed him on administrative leave.
Source: Reuters: "Pittsburgh priest denies child pornography charges," Jan. 6, 2012
]]>The 30-year-old former teacher pleaded guilty in late summer to corruption of minors, criminal use of a communications device, unlawful restraint and indecent assault.
]]> The woman taught 10th grade English at Monessen High School.She must serve a year of house arrest while connected to an electronic monitoring device as part of her plea agreement.
For the next decade, she must also register with the state police as a sex offender under conditions of Megan's Law.
Prosecutors claimed the former educator sent sexually explicit messages to three female students between September of 2009 and the end of March of 2010.
They said her messages were about sexual matters and her attraction to a student.
One of the students allegedly told police she engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with the teacher, including kissing.
Police began investigating the woman after the mother of one of the students claimed she found on her daughter's cell phone text messages from the teacher containing sexual content.
The married woman had been employed by the Monessen school district for six years, according to media reports.
One of the girls alleged that she'd had a relationship that included physical contact with the woman in locked classrooms.
A defense attorney for the woman said the former teacher admitted to improper contact with students, but denied ever forcing sex on them.
"The charges she pleaded guilty to indicate there was no force used," the attorney told a media source.
The teacher was fired from her job and voluntarily relinquished her teaching certificate.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Former Monessen teacher sentenced in student sexting case," Rich Cholodofsky, Jan. 7, 2011
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