Self-proclaimed prophet gets up to 87 years
for child sex abuse
It's a wonder he didn't see that coming!
By Danielle Haynes
UPI -- A Pennsylvania judge sentenced Lee Kaplan, a self-proclaimed prophet of God who molested several young girls in the same family, to 30 to 87 years in prison.
Judge Jeffrey Finley issued six prison sentences for Kaplan, one for each of the young girls he abused, to be served consecutively.
I love that word, consecutively!
A Bucks County jury found Kaplan guilty on 17 counts of child sex abuse in June. At the time of his arrest in 2016, Kaplan was found to be living with nine sisters, their mother and two more children he fathered with the oldest sister, who is now 19-years-old. Kaplan considered six of the sisters, five of whom were underage, to be his wives.
Kaplan, 52, told police that the girls' parents, Daniel Stoltzfus and Savilla Stoltzfus, "gifted" their eldest daughter to him when she was 14-years-old. Having convinced the formerly Amish Stoltzfus couple that he was their prophet, Kaplan told Daniel Stoltzfus to have all the daughters and his wife move in with him.
The parents both received prison sentences for enabling the abuse of their daughters.
Neighbors figured something to be amiss, due to the occasional sighting of the cadre of young girls in identical, homemade blue dresses, despite Kaplan's claims to be childless. A welfare check by authorities in 2016 led to Kaplan's arrest.
Kaplan didn't admit any wrongdoing in court Wednesday.
"I'm not sure what I can say to you, honestly," Kaplan told Finley. "I honestly believe no matter what I say, no matter how true it is, the weight of the media, public opinion, and politics is too great. Do what you feel is right."
St. Lucie School Board stands by firing a teacher who blew whistle on fiancé’s sexual abuse
School District taking a heartless approach and re-victimizing a victim
Andrew Atterbury
St. Lucie County School District has more than 40,400 students in 19 elementary schools, 9 K-8 campuses, four middle schools, and five high schools. The district also has four magnet schools. ANDREW ATTERBURY/TCPALM Wochit
PORT ST. LUCIE — An administrative law judge says the school district wrongly attempted to fire a teacher in 2013 after her fiancé, a high school band director, was charged with having sex with students.
The School Board on Friday, however, by a 3-2 vote, rejected the judge's recommendation to rescind the teacher's suspension and subsequent firing and to reinstate her with back pay and benefits.
Board members Troy Ingersoll, Kathryn Hensley and Debbie Hawley voted to uphold the termination of Janifer Thomas, according to Vicki Rodriguez, president of St. Lucie County Classroom Teachers Association. Donna Mills and Carol Hilson voted to reinstate Thomas, Rodriguez said.
"As far as we’re concerned, the school district is finished with this case," Hensley said Friday.
Thomas can appeal the board's decision once it is finalized at an upcoming meeting. The board's ruling against Thomas, who still is represented by the union, is incredibly unfortunate, Rodriguez said.
"I am extremely disappointed that three members of the School Board chose to victimize Janifer Thomas yet again," Rodriguez said. "She lost everything — her home, her career, her reputation and her relationship."
In September 2013, the school district fired Thomas, then a music teacher at Manatee Academy K-8 school, for failing to report child abuse and for breaking other board policies, according to court documents.
A day after receiving her termination letter, Thomas requested an administrative hearing. The board in November 2013 revoked her termination and suspended Thomas without pay, referring her case to the Division of Administrative Hearings. But a final administrative hearing wouldn't be held until February 1, 2017. She has been suspended without pay since 2013, records show.
On Oct. 18, 2012, Thomas found a video on her computer of her live-in fiancé, Dominic Madison, engaging in "sexual activities" with someone who appeared to be a student of his, according to court documents.
Soon after finding the video, Thomas called Madison, then the band director at Treasure Coast High School, to confront him, according to court documents. After their conversation, a shaken Thomas called her pastor, who wanted to ensure the "huge allegation" was accurate.
Dominic Madison, former Treasure Coast High School band director, is led into a courtroom at the St. Lucie County Courthouse on April 1, 2016, for sentencing after pleading no contest in September to charges of sexual activity with minors. Madison was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 60 years probation as a sex offender. (Photo: PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM)
Thomas asked her pastor to call authorities because she was in an emotional state, according to court documents.
Madison was arrested Oct. 19, 2012, records show. He pleaded no contest in September 2015 to five of 40 charges of sexual activity with teen girls.
On April 1, 2016, Madison was found guilty on five counts of sexual activity with a minor, according to court documents. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 60 years probation as a sex offender, records show. A civil lawsuit filed last year against Madison by one of his victims is pending, records show.
While authorities were searching for Madison in 2012, Thomas spoke to him on the phone as he was staying at a local hotel, according to court documents. She did not tell law enforcement where Madison was until seven hours later, according to court documents. Thomas did not call Madison to help him elude arrest, records show.
Thomas, in 2012 was charged with being an accessory after the fact and failure to notify law enforcement of knowledge of a suspect of child abuse.
These charges were dropped in April 2016 after Madison's conviction, according to court documents.
Thomas' discovery of the video, her immediate reporting of the abuse and her later identification of the victims led to Madison’s arrest and conviction, according to court documents.
"She sacrificed everything to help put him in jail," Rodriguez said.
Once the charges against Thomas were dropped, the state administrative hearing over her firing was allowed to resume, records show.
Darren Schwartz, an administrative law judge, on May 23 recommended the district revoke Thomas' suspension and subsequent termination. Thomas should be reinstated with back pay and benefits, he ruled. The board failed to prove Thomas violated the district rules and policies alleged as the basis for firing her, Schwartz wrote.
Still, the board has the jurisdiction “to reject in whole or in part those conclusions of law and interpretation of administrative rules in the recommended order," according to court documents.
A teacher must contact the state Department of Children & Families and call 911 when child abuse is suspected, the district wrote in response to Schwartz's recommendation.
Surely there must be some leeway when the person committing the abuse is your fiance. There is no question that she did what was right in reporting him. It's not like she was trying to hide anything or anyone. She was quite traumatized by the whole thing and deserves to have some leniency for not following precise protocols.
Arizona man charged with child sex crimes
By The Daily Courier
A Prescott Valley man who worked for the City of Prescott has been charged with child sex offenses, after a victim came forward and alleged that he had assaulted her 20 years ago, Prescott Valley Police Sgt. Jason Kaufman said.
Neil Campbell, 59, was charged with one count each of continuous sexual abuse of a minor, sexual contact with a minor, and child molestation.
The victim, now 33 years old, came to police in July, and said Campbell had committed the acts when she was between 5 and 13 years old, and lived between Tucson and Prescott Valley.
“Based on the information received, the Prescott Valley Police Department began working cooperatively with detectives from the Tucson Police Department,” Kaufman said.
Prescott Police Deputy Chief Amy Bonney said that Campbell had worked for the City of Prescott since 2003, first as an Animal Control officer and then as a Parking Enforcement officer, but has been fired.
Campbell was arrested and booked into the Camp Verde jail.
I wonder what it's like to have sexually abused a child, and, for 20 years, thinking that you got away with it? Then, all of a sudden....
Middleburgh man faces child sex charges
State Police at Cobleskill announced Friday the arrest of a Middleburgh man on various charges associated with possession of and dissemination of child pornography.
Michael G. Porter Jr., 37, was arrested after an investigation conducted by the State Police in conjunction with members of the state police Computer Crimes Unit and Homeland Security Investigations. Porter is accused of sending lewd material electronically to minors and possessing child pornography. In addition, he was charged with having sexual contact with a child younger than 11.
Porter was charged with felony promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child, first degree sexual abuse and disseminating indecent material to a minor, and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
He was arraigned in the Middleburgh Town Court and remanded to the custody of the Schoharie County Sheriff on $10,000 cash bail or $30,000 bond.
State police ask anyone who may have had inappropriate contact with Porter to contact (518) 234-3131.
Judge increases bail to $15M for California brain surgeon amid 32 new charges in child rape case
Prosecutors found video of accused abusing a 5 y/o girl and a 3 y/o boy
Caution: disturbing descriptions in this article
A Northern California brain surgeon and two nurses arrested in the spring for allegedly running a child-sex ring are facing dozens more charges following the discovery of a second video allegedly depicting even more instances of molestation. The Santa Cruz district attorney’s office announced the new charges in court on Thursday.
Dr. James Kohut and the two nurses were apprehended in May after investigators says they received video images implicating the three, who were originally charged with several child molestation counts each.
The 57-year-old married neurosurgeon was accused of plotting to impregnate women in order to give birth to children he could sexually abuse in a so-called 'taboo family lifestyle,' according to prosecutors.
Litany of charges: Dr. James Kohut, 57 (pictured in mugshot, left), on Thursday was charged with 32 new felony counts involving child sex abuse
Court documents filed Wednesday show investigators finding a second video clip depicting sexual acts with a five-year-old girl, a three-year-old boy and a 10-year-old boy, which led to 32 new charges.
A judge on Thursday set bail at $15million for each defendant, up from $6.45million for Kohut. His co-conspirators were previously being held on $500,000 bail each. Kohut, 30-year-old Emily Stephens and 43-year-old Rashel Brandon each pleaded not guilty to the new criminal counts on Thursday.
The suspected child sex abuse came to light after Brandon's husband gave police a video recording he found that investigators say showed his wife and her fellow nurse Stephens molesting children.
Kohut was the Chief of Neurology Services at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz before he was asked to leave earlier this year.
'Accomplices': Kohut was arrested in May after the husband of one of Kohut's nurses, Rashel Brandon (left), 42, allegedly found a video of her abusing a child along with another of his nurses, Emily Stephens, 29 (right)
Sources told DailyMail.com that the surgeon, whose wife is a gynecologist, had upset several staff in the unit and left following several warnings about his arrogant behavior and poor bed-side manner. Following his arrest, Kohut voluntarily suspended his California medical license.
Court filings show that he had been warned about his conduct in the past, including an incident during which he was caught downloading pornography at work.
The new evidence in the case, a GoPro video filmed between January 1 and May 9, shows Kohut and his two nurses having sex multiple times with the three-year-old and 10-year-old boys, according to court documents first cited by Santa Cruz Sentinel. The recording, made in Watsonville, California. allegedly depicts the defendants engaging in oral sex, sexual intercourse and sodomy with the children.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Moore wrote that for nearly 20 years, Kohut 'has had a fixed sexual desire to be part of multiple "taboo families" where the parents raise their children sexually. 'He has a specific desire to have sex with a mother and a daughter. He then wants to impregnate the daughter and raise the child sexually in the "taboo" family lifestyle.'
The prosecutor claimed in his court filing Kohut preferred children between ages 6 and 8, and preyed on children in California, Ohio, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada and Australia.
In one case, according to Moore, Kohut told a woman from Vermont that he had been in a relationship with a mother-of-two from Florida, whom he asked to call him 'daddy,' and whose 13-year-old child he fondled.
Kohut allegedly has been using the internet since 1997 to find women to create 'taboo families,' wrote Moore. One woman reported in 2001 that the doctor wanted to build a sexual family that would practice bestiality and incest.
The married father-of-two now faces a total of 48 felony counts, up from the initial 11, with 44 for Brandon and 43 for Stephens. All three are due back in court on March 12 for a preliminary hearing.
Deputy coroner hit with child-sex charges
JAMES HALPIN
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A deputy coroner is facing child-sex charges after being ensnared during an undercover sting operation, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Edward C. Smith, 60, of Willing Street, Tamaqua, is accused of soliciting sex online from what he thought was a 14-year-old boy. Investigators say Smith is a deputy coroner in Carbon and Schuylkill counties.
According to prosecutors, Smith contacted an undercover agent posing as a teen on a social networking site and tried to arrange a rendezvous despite the officer repeatedly identifying himself as a 14-year-old boy. After making plans to meet for the purposes of “kissing, cuddling and oral sex,” Smith told the agent to erase all of their chats, according to a police affidavit.
Agents with the office’s Child Predator Section arrested Smith on Wednesday evening after he arrived at the designated meeting location in Wilkes-Barre Twp. During questioning, Smith admitted to being the person behind the online conversation, saying he planned to have sex with the teen if they “clicked” upon meeting, according to the affidavit.
“Thanks to the hard work of the agents and prosecutors in our Child Predator Section, another predator is off our streets,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for the sexual abuse of children in Pennsylvania. Whoever the perpetrator may be — including a public official — we will investigate and charge these predators wherever we find them.”
Investigators charged Smith with felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and attempted criminal use of a communication facility. He was also hit with a misdemeanor count of attempted indecent assault.
Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz arraigned Smith on Wednesday night and ordered him jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility with bail set at $250,000. A preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 27.
Tamaqua, PA
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