Crime

Madison’s CBS affiliate reports: A Diocese of Madison pastoral associate in the DeForest parish who is accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with a teenager pleaded guilty to child enticement Monday, online court records show. Rajnal Rehmat, 31, was charged with one count of child enticement and one count of sexual assault of a child by a person who works …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Authorities investigating the killing of a Los Angeles bishop Saturday have made an arrest in the case, law enforcement sources said Monday. Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, 69, was killed Saturday afternoon in the Catholic archdiocese-owned home in Hacienda Heights where he lived alone, authorities say. One law enforcement source said O’Connell was found dead …

New York City’s CBS affiliate reports: Police say a Pride flag was intentionally set on fire outside a restaurant overnight in Manhattan. The incident is now under investigation as a potential hate crime. It happened around 1:30 a.m. Monday at Little Prince restaurant on Prince Street in SoHo. Police say the suspect pulled up, got out of a car, set …

From the Justice Department: U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023. A federal grand jury previously returned an indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A Raleigh man has been arrested and charged with sex crimes involving a 7-year-old child. Kenneth Newcomer, age 61, faces two counts of first degree sex offense with a child and three counts of indecent liberties with a child. Court documents show the date of the offense was back in August of 2007. Newcomer’s bond is …

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: Authorities say officers at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport stopped a passenger with an “assault rifle” and 163 rounds of ammunition from being carried onto a plane headed for Houston this week. According to the Transportation Security Administration, a 52-year-old man from Jefferson, La., now faces a fine that could be as high as …

Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former youth leader from Springville has admitted to sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy after police say he paid the boy thousands of dollars not to tell anyone. Kevin Sykes, 55, pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to attempted aggravated sex abuse of a child and aggravated sex abuse of a child, first-degree felonies, plus three …

Dallas’s ABC affiliate reports: More than 30 law enforcement agencies around North Texas arrested nearly 60 people in a month-long operation aimed at rescuing child victims of online sexual exploitation. The operation, Operation Janus, resulted in 80 charges against 59 people, and rescued 28 children from online sexual abuse, police said. Plano Detective Jeff Rich said some of the suspects …

The Houston Chronicle reports: Former Texas Right to Life Political Director Luke Bowen was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting he tried to meet up with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex. Bowen, 34, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor, signing a judicial confession before his sentencing on Tuesday, according to …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury convicted a Montana man of hate and firearms crimes for firing an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian, and was home at the time. After a four-day trial that began on Feb. 14, the jury found John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, guilty of hate …

Fort Worth’s CBS affiliate reports: Friday morning, at the Sherman Federal Courthouse, former Denison youth leader Chad Michael Rider was sentenced to 720 months in federal prison. District Judge Amos Mazzant gave Rider a total of 60 years for sexually exploiting children and producing child pornography, stacking two 30 year sentences on three charges. Both Rider, 48 and co-conspirator former …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: Peter Filiberto has resigned from the Palm Bay City Council. He submitted a letter saying he was resigning from his position as a council member and that the resignation will immediately be effective. He is facing charges of DUI and possession of cocaine. Police say when they attempted to pull him over, Filiberto tried to outrun …

From the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: On February 9, 2023, #teamHCSO’s Human Trafficking Section began investigating a case after a mother found disturbing content on her 16-year-old’s cell phone. Through investigative means, detectives were able to learn that Moises Escoto, 36, of Temple Terrace, had made contact with the victim two years earlier on a chat and meetup app called …

Evansville’s NBC affiliate reports: Police say an Evansville man has been arrested again for sex crimes against children. 21-year-old Joshua Leduc was arrested Wednesday night. He’s charged with child seduction and child molesting. Leduc was arrested last year after police say he molested a young child several times while he worked as a pre-school teacher at Bethel United Church of …

Northwest Missouri News reports: Daviess County authorities have charged a Hamilton woman with seven felony counts of sex crimes with a child. It is alleged that twenty-nine-year-old Anastasia Dawson engaged in illicit activity with the minor while she was the victim’s church leader. A probable cause statement issued by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office says Dawson later paid the victim …

Law & Crime reports: A 31-year-old church deacon in Florida will spend more than two decades behind bars for secretly filming young boys using the bathroom inside the church where he served and possessing “hundreds, if not thousands” of child pornography images and videos, prosecutors said. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor sentenced Jonathan High, a former deacon of …

New details on yesterday’s servant of Jesus: A Wyandotte pastor accused of abusing a child sent several sexually suggestive and inappropriate text messages to a juvenile victim, including one message about “wanting to smell her underwear,” court documents show. Fred McCoy Gammon, Jr, 42, of Miami, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with child sexual abuse. He is free …

The Macon Telegraph reports: A Macon pastor pleaded guilty Monday to child molestation and other charges related to an incident in which prosecutors said he offered a girl in her early teens — a stranger to him — a ride home from a sporting event at Stratford Academy as part of ruse to sexually assault her. Donald Eugene Williams, 33, …

Joplin’s NBC affiliate reports: A warrant was issued Monday for a Wyandotte pastor. Fred McCoy Gammon, Jr, 42, of Miami, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with child sexual abuse. A $35,000 warrant was also issued on Monday, court records show. Gammon is the pastor of Wayside Assembly of God church in Wyandotte. The church has taken down its …

The Washington Post reports: The gunman who targeted two buildings at Michigan State University on Monday night, killing three students and critically wounding five, had been previously arrested for carrying a loaded firearm without a concealed-weapons permit in 2019 but served no prison time. Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, was not affiliated with the university in any way before Monday’s shooting, …