Crime

From the Justice Department: A California man was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on two felony charges and one misdemeanor related to his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related …

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: A former Cambridge pastor accused of drugging and sexually abusing a child appeared at the Story County Courthouse Monday morning for a plea hearing and sentencing. Prosecutors say Mark Benson, 69, gave a young girl medicine to make her sleep, then sexually assaulted her several times between 2009 and 2012, when she was between 10 …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: A former church youth leader in South Carolina who was arrested last year for multiple sex crimes against children has been arrested again after another victim spoke out to investigators. William Pinckney Carpenter III was arrested on Monday for criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Last year, Carpenter was arrested for multiple counts of assault with …

The Messenger reports: A planned “Drag Story Hour” at a Brooklyn library was forced to move on Saturday morning after bomb threat were called into 911. Police officers, the bomb squad, a K-9 unit and emergency medical services responded to the threat phoned in by a male caller against the Cortelyou branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The library was …

Jackson’s NBC affiliate reports: A former longtime music teacher and preacher from Rankin County has been convicted of a sex crime. District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced Thursday that Samuel Lamar Taylor, 52, was convicted of one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust. On August 23, 2022, the Richland Police Department received a call from Richland …

The Jefferson City Leader reports: Matthew Bryan Thilges, 60, of House Springs has been sentenced to seven years in prison for possession of child pornography. He also has been ordered to pay a total of $57,000 in restitution to 17 victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Thilges was sentenced Sept. 20 after pleading guilty on June 7 to receiving child …

The Austin Statesman reports: A former Round Rock pastor was sentenced to 70 months in prison and 10 years probation for an enhanced charge of possession of child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas. David Lloyd Walther, 57, was a pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock when …

Coffeyville’s KGGS reports: William Keith Dodd, the former pastor of Lewark Church of God, has been charged with two counts of rape of a minor. His first appearance in Montgomery County Court was Friday. Court documents say Dodd allegedly raped a 12 or 13 year old two times between January 1st and September 11th of this year. He was arrested …

The Associate Press reports: MGM Resorts brought to an end a 10-day computer shutdown prompted by efforts to shield from a cyberattack data including hotel reservations and credit card processing, the casino giant said Wednesday, as analysts and academics measured the effects of the event. “We are pleased that all of our hotels and casinos are operating normally,” the Las …

The Associated Press reports: Ray Epps, a onetime Donald Trump supporter who was the target of a right-wing conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack that forced him into hiding, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot. Epps, appearing remotely for a hearing in Washington’s federal courthouse, entered his plea …

Murfreesboro’s WGNS reports: An evangelist who calls the Blackman area home is facing a slew of charges that revolve around the rape of a child. Benjamin Garlick was taken into custody under a sealed indictment that was handed down by a Rutherford County Grand Jury. Prior to Garlick’s arrest, he led church services in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Arkansas, …

The Everett Herald reports: A former youth pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at his Arlington church was sentenced Tuesday to 14 months in prison. Following a brief bench trial in April, a judge found Kendal Kippen, 27, guilty of third-degree rape of a child Tuesday. In 2017 and 2018, the Stanwood man worked at Jake’s House Church, …

Bloomberg News reports: A former Republican congressman from Indiana was ordered to spend 22 months in prison for trading on inside information about mergers he learned about while working as a consultant after leaving office. Stephen Buyer, who served in Congress from 1993 to 2011, was sentenced Tuesday by US District Judge Richard Berman in New York. Buyer was found …

From the Justice Department: Jason R. Moore, 43, of Milton, Florida, was sentenced to sixty years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of “Illicit Sexual Conduct in Foreign Places.” The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Moore engaged in “Illicit Sexual Conduct in Foreign Places” from …

ABC News reports: A 78-year-old Florida man allegedly shot and killed his neighbor who was trimming trees along their property lines, authorities said. The shooting was reported around 7:13 p.m. Sunday in DeLeon Springs, about 45 miles north of Orlando, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. Brian Ford, 42, was trimming tree limbs along the fence line between two properties when …

Gothamist reports: As New York City stared down an unprecedented rise in homelessness last year, its buildings commissioner was allegedly scheming with a deep-pocketed developer to clear fire victims from a Rockaway Park emergency shelter in exchange for a discounted luxury condo nearby, Manhattan prosecutors charged Wednesday. Eric Ulrich, the former commissioner of the Department of Buildings, faces 16 counts …

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: Deputies say David Robinson, a 34-year-old youth pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Plant City, sent several text messages with sexual content to at least two juveniles between January and June 2023. In addition to his role as a youth pastor, Robinson volunteered at various Christian schools in east Hillsborough County. He is facing nine counts …

NBC News reports: Five adults and a juvenile have been charged with murder after a 70-pound woman — who had been beaten and malnourished for weeks — was discovered dead in the trunk of a vehicle this week, police in Georgia said Thursday. The victim, who was not publicly identified, is from South Korea and came to the U.S. this …

Gulfport’s Fox affiliate reports: A worship leader from Saucier has arrested on federal charges of producing child pornography. 33-year-old Tyler Selby appeared in U.S. District Court in Gulfport on Tuesday before Judge Robert Myers for an initial hearing. Selby was identified by the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom as a person who produced child porn. Selby was identified …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: A priest with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has been charged with possession of child pornography, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara, 38, of Long Beach, allegedly possessed more than 600 images of child sexual abuse material, including pictures and videos of minors under 12, officials said. Martinez-Guevara is a member …