Lost In Lima Ohio - A true crime blog

I had mentioned the sentence of a sex offender to probation because he was short a few days back. It now seems that a petition has been started calling for the resignation of the judge, Cheyenne County District Judge Kristine Cecava. The petition drive is being conducted by Tiffany Jones, a resident of the county seat of Sidney, who said she already had about 200 signatures. [...] Attorney General Jon Bruning plans to appeal the sentence, arguing that it is too lenient. According to a transcript of the sentencing hearing, Cecava told Thompson: "So I'm sitting here thinking this guy has earned his way to prison but then I look at you and I look at your physical size. I look at your basic ability to cope with people and, quite frankly, I shake to think what might happen to you in prison because I don't think you'll do well in prison." I still can't get past the "don't think you'll do well in prison" part. Mainly because I doubt most of the peo

I worked, for a short time, in a home for the mentally disabled. If nothing else, it was a lesson in why I am lucky, and a humble reminder of those who are not as fortunate as the rest of us. No, they are not children. But many of them have the mental and emotional development of a child, and each of them has a right to be treated with respect and dignity. This is neither respect, or dignity: Each of these people was a mentally disabled ward of the District who died in the past two years after inexcusable lapses in care, the Justice Department said, urging a judge to hold the District in contempt of court for not meeting repeated promises of reform. Other mentally and physically disabled residents of group homes were beaten, berated, sexually accosted, neglected or targeted for theft, Justice lawyers said. Abuse, Deaths in D.C. Group Homes Detailed Categories: abused , assault ,

Trench at The Trenchcoat Chronicles, is holding this weeks Carnival of The True Crime Blogs XXVI Carnival of The True Crime Blogs Edition XXVI. It's sure to be a bounty of interesting links from some of the best crime bloggers around. While you are there, make sure to congratulate him on his recent mention on Time.com Categories: internet , bloggers

Man who killed sex offender will get 12.5 years Chuck E. Cheese case exposes loopholes in sex offender laws GPS technology leads to Megan's Law arrest for sex offender

Ex parte : An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In U.S. and U.K. legal doctrine it means a legal proceeding brought by one person in the absence of and without representation or notification of other parties. It is also used more loosely to refer to improper unilateral contacts with a court, arbitrator or represented party without notice to the other party or counsel for that party. A ruling made, without the presence of all parties involved. Possibly made without all the evidence presented because, after all, not all parties involved are present. This is the situation that at least one person says lead to the return of Kelsey Briggs to her mothers home, and eventually enabled someone to beat her to death. Allison Van Brunt, 25, of Meeker made the accusation about Lincoln County Associate District Judge Craig Key in a sworn statement in March. She said she worked for about six years for Shawnee attorney Gr

with all the DCS requirements when she gets out in order to get her child back," West said." West, full name Steve West- is refering to the woman in this news release : The girlfriend of a Carroll County man is expected to testify against him in a case in which both initially were charged with the rape of their 1-day-old baby girl. Jonathan Wayne Goodrum, 19, is facing a child rape charge in the March 24 incident, which police said happened before the child was taken home from the hospital. If ever there was a poster child for a woman who should not ever be allowed within a hundred miles of a child, let alone have custody of one... it would be this woman. H/T to Lisa for sending this over. Categories: , abused , predators ,

I'm sort of lost as how to start this post. Basically, there are just so many directions I want to take with it, so many areas I feel need to be discussed... and yet the words aren't rushing to me as they usually do. I guess it started today as I was reading Steve Huff's post on a ex cop who used a badge to lure and prey upon a 14 year old boy . You'd think it couldn't be any worse, until you read that this pervert has HIV. But, as much as the story it's self bothered me, it was the discussion in the comments that really hit home. One of the commenters, describing himself as a gay man, indicated the problem with the fact that pedophiles like to use the homosexual battles for equality to further their own deviant cause. I understand what he was saying. Like it or not, agree with it or not, homosexuals are not pedophiles. They are not any more likely to sexual abuse a child than a heterosexual is. Homosexuals are not the abhorrent danger to our children that some

I was visiting Beyond Frazzled when I found this post . It seems that remains where found of a small child Lockbourne, Ohio; and have now been identified as those of Emily Rimel. Please visit Beyond Frazzled for more details. Categories: predators , murders

There are times when size matters. Like when you take your kids to the Amusement park, and it turns out that the ride they've been dying to get on has a height restriction about two inches above where the top of the kid's head is. Or, when a robber runs out the door of a convenience store, and passes one of those nifty little stickers that help discern their height. Then there are times when I don't care how short or tall you are... you need to be locked up in jail. One of those times happens to be when you sexually abuse a child. Sadly, not everyone sees things that way. A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead. His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially imperiled by prison dangers. Rarely do I cuss here. I do it a lot when I'm reading the stories, even a lot when I a

Laura James of Clews is holding this weeks Carnival, and has done a delightful job of highlighting the ever heinous stories which crime bloggers have been working on this week. Please take a moment to stop over and see what's been happening . Categories: bloggers ,

Reading piled up mail from last week, I sat here wondering why it is that I have never added a category dedicated to those that we rely on the most, those that we respect, those people we entrust with the safety and wellbeing of our children everyday. It seems like at least once a week, I have a story where a school employee- usually a teacher, but not always- has thrown aside our trust and betrayed us in the worst way imaginable. They take advantage of what we as parents hold dearest to our hearts- our children. The normally happy ten year old boy, with good grades, suddenly just wasn't himself. He wasn't as happy as he had been, he'd begun to withdraw from people and his grades dropped drastically. He began getting in trouble at school... all without an sort of explanation, until a teacher at the school he attended discovered pornographic photos of the young boy on a digital camera. David Cech, Strassburg's dean of students and a former fifth-grade teacher, took semi-

I've been out of my blogging routine for the last week or so. I promise, I'll be back on track this week. Categories: Misc ,

Computer problems abound... so here's a few links till things are back up and running: Teacher charged with sexual abuse DAs unhappy with pedophile's sentence Deacon pleads guilty to sex abuse Teen girl killed in middle school stabbing Chat rooms help FBI find pedophiles Female chat names generate more threats Cascanet Pleads Guilty, Sentenced For Child Sex Abuse Man pleads guilty to 3 felony child sex charges Categories: predators ,

Sometimes, there are those stories that haunt us. It might be just the heinous nature of the crime, or the young age of a victims... and sometimes it's just all the "what could have been's" that make one tragedy stick out more than another. Usually, when it comes to finding stories- I never really find myself at a shortage. Sometimes I get cases from recent news headlines, sometimes from other bloggers, and sometimes even from you readers. And then, every great once in a while- I'll be working on something completely different, not really looking for anything new to write about... and a story just seems to find me. I say they find me... because they are normally the ones that really stick with me, that do more than just keep me awake at night, they sink in and stay with me. Ashley Howley's case was like that. I was working on a story about a missing Columbus Ohio girl, and for some reason Google sent me to the wrong missing girl story. Well, maybe not the wron

Certain places cater to our children, they sell products designed to captivate our kids, or edibles designed to take over their appetites. Due to their being marketed so intently towards our children, we have become naive to the fact that they are not really interested in our children. Let's face it, A Happy Meal isn't really all that healthy, despite the countless Ronald McDonald commercials and the outdoor playlands which tend to make us think McDonalds is all about kids. Nope, the Golden Arches are golden for a reason, and it has more to do with the bottom line then the 6 years olds running around wondering what toys is in their sack. For years, we've willingly overlooked the Unhealthy Meals and the dirty tables, because after all- it's really not THAT bad and besides, we make sure our children are fed healthy meals 99% of the time... and okay honestly- THE KIDS LOVE THE PLACE. Perhaps though, if it's not the meals that will make you second think that next visit

This is one of the sickest monsters imaginable . And there are no words to express the punishment he is deserving of. Paul Turner, 28, married the child's mother last month. Turner told investigators that while his wife was at work Monday, he became angry with the toddler for pouring water on a TV. Court documents claim Turner said he grabbed the girl and shook her violently. Then, he said he swung the victim off the ground by her ankles and dropped her on the floor. He also said he "smacked the living crap out of her." He told police that while changing her soiled diaper, a part of his body "made a mistake" and he had intercourse with the toddler. Turner said he ended the assault by kicking the child in the head, because she wouldn't wake up. Categories: , abused , assault , predators ,

The legal definition says it is the age at which someone has the legal right to agree to something, usually used to describe the age at which a minor is legally entitled to make decision on whether they engage in sexual activities or not. That being said, there are a lot of questions surrounding the rights of minors to make this choice, and around exactly what age someone can have that right, and of course- who's business it is. All good questions. And, depending on what side of the fence you are standing on, all have very different answers. As parents, I can imagine that most of us would be willing to raise the age to past full adulthood, have guidelines demanding that our children be married, have completed college, and be financially stable- before they are even allowed that first kiss. Recalling our own youthful teenage years... it's understandable to know that many of our children think they should be able to make whatever choices they want and do whatever they want, almos

I've been a little lacking in few time today, but I wanted to go ahead and get this story up, I'll be adding more to it tomorrow- when I have a bit more time. For now though: Circuit Judge Philip Kirk didn't think the fact that the defendant engaged in sex with not one, not two, not even three- but FOUR underage girls ranging from 15 to 17 was really all that bad. After all, the minors had consented to the sex. Now, I know some of you are scratching your head right now wondering just how it is that a minor who by LAW can not consent to sex, was able to do so according to the judge.... haven't figured that part out for myself yet. I will say that the girls willingly participated, in fact one even made a recording of the acts... but consent? We know the legal talk... and we know they can't consent if they are under the legal age of consent. But, let's drop that part for just a moment. Instead... we can scratch our heads at the actions the judge decided to take Rol

I'd seen this on the news tonight... and could only wonder why everyone in LE had waited until now to do something, after all I first heard about this pervert and his "religion" a few years back. But, the important this is that someone- the FBI- has decided this creep has committed enough crimes to justify placing charges against him. For those of you unaware, Warren Jeffs is a "church leader", often referred to as a "prophet" by his followers. Living in Utah has provided him with the perfect community to spread his beliefs of polygamy and child rape. From CNN : Jeffs is the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the neighboring communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. [...] Jeffs, 50, is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. He is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor. He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomp

In the upcoming weeks, some new things will be happening here. If you look to the top of the site, you'll notice the words written in red... at this very moment- that's all they are words. But, if in reading them, you are moved by the thought that they represent, and actually do something about it, they become a powerful source. We, every single one of us can do something to make this world a better place. That being said, here are some of the little things you are bound to notice: First, I'll be revisiting a case that has haunted me, in hopes that someone might be moved into action. I'll be bringing back older posts, adding new information and asking you all to do whatever you can to help in getting the word out. I know that a lot of regular readers tend to be on the quiet side... but please feel free to offer any thoughts you may have on the case, or ideas you might have. That's the best thing about blogging- getting a fresh look at someone else's thoughts on

Some crimes are just petty, some are upsetting, some are even disturbing... and then there are those that are so completely heinous- the words to describe them don't even exist. What we have here, is one of those crimes. Harding, my Canadian crime blogging colleague who runs the site T.O. Crime , brought this case to our attention, and has asked that fellow crime bloggers and non crime bloggers share it, in order to help catch the predator. The following is a clip from Harding's post , which I highly recommend you reading- as he has more photos and more details on the case. The hunt is on for another sick f***er, wanted for the sexual assault of a young girl, and the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Toronto Police, inspired by their success in tracking down the man who abused Masha , the brave young lady now before U.S. Congress asking for tougher sentences on child porn criminals, are once again using video images to track the suspect. Yesterday they released this footage. The

When the Fairmount Park security guard saw 20 year old Andrew Leon and the person he was kissing inside of a parked vehicle, the guards first thought was that the person looked too young to be out. When the guard went to further investigate the situation, he found that the person with Leon was a 13 year old girl. Leon was arrested under suspension of molestation, and it was discovered that the he had met his victim through the infamous online community- MySpace. Riverside police reported that this is the forth incident involving minors and Myspace since the beginning of the year. Leon is claiming that he believed the child to be older than she actually was. However, that isn't all Leon has to worry about, as it turns out that he went AWOL from the Army after a short stint in the Midwest. Desertion from the U.S. Armed Forces, and child molestation. His mom must be proud. I have to continue to wonder just what it is that leads parents to ignore their children's activities online.

Jackie Barron Wilson was put to death tonight in Texas. His is one of the stories that makes me firmly stand up and acknowledge that for some crimes... even the death penalty is not enough of a punishment. Wilson was condemned for the slaying of Lottie Margaret Rhodes, known by the nickname "Maggie." After breaking into her bedroom, he kidnapped Maggie from her Arlington apartment in the early morning hours of Nov. 30, 1988, then sexually assaulted the little girl before killing her. Authorities said Wilson, who lived in nearby Irving, strangled Maggie before running over her with a car. Maggie's battered body was found about five miles from her home a few hours after she was kidnapped. She was face down in a muddy ditch next to a rural road in Grand Prairie. Wilson, like so many other scumbags has adamantly denied his guilt in the case, despite overwhelming evidence. For a family, what's been stolen from them can never be returned. There nothing that can bring back

Special Congrats to fellow crime blogger, and personal favorite Home Sweet Home who has just bypassed the 10,000 visitors mark. She's only been blogging for a short amount of time... but she's one of the most passionate bloggers I read. HSH takes up the difficult task of dealing with domestic abuse cases, and is inspiring to say the very least. Click over, read a bit, and say "hi". Categories: bloggers ,

I'll be live blogging as much as the show as I can. Updates will be from the top down... as I publish them. Updates marked with *. And don't forget- JRob will be having a post mortem on the show up at a later time, so be sure to check there. * Home Sweet Home touches on an important point : These pervs seem to ignore the fact that when faced with Dateline, that means that records have been kept of all their chats, and that when they then turn around and lie on camera, it just goes to show just how stupid and cowardly they are. Not only do they lie about the chats, they lie about their purpose for being there- even after the girl tells them that she is getting ready and to come upstairs in 5 mins and they don't tell her no! Cowardly, I couldn't have said it better myself. These are the men attempting to meet your children online... Are you okay with that? Are you willing to sit back and cross your fingers that Dateline catches them before they catch your kid? Sex offende

Once, there was another Lima Ohio blogger ... and I'm happy to say- there still is. Categories: bloggers ,

Crime Scene Blog has done an excellent job of presenting this weeks Carnival of the True Crime Blogs . Take a moment to click on over and see what the True Crime'ers have been up to. Categories: bloggers ,

Carla Kay Dinger married into a premade family, and in doing so became responsible for raising and caring for a stepson. It's a common situation nowadays- and most women do an incredible job playing the role of step-mom. Dinger isn't one of those women. She admitted carrying on a sexual relationship for two years with her then-stepson, starting in 1998 when he was 14. It ended when Dinger found out she was pregnant with her stepson's child, prosecutor Jason Parrish said. What is startling, disturbing and down right angering is that Dinger was able to retained primary custody until 2004, when she and her ex-husband began sharing custody. That's right, the child produced as a result of her criminal behavior was allowed to remain in her care. Sickening. Dinger's former stepson, now 22, filed a lawsuit in 2004 against her seeking monetary damages. In the lawsuit, he said Dinger had frequently provided him with methampetamines and alcohol. The two had made plans for Ding

I've always tried to rally on the side of the victim, especially in cases where the victim has been sexually assaulted. Truth be told, stepping up and telling someone that you have been molested, and or raped is amazingly difficult. And after you have admitted it to yourself, which can be incredibly hard, and admitted it to that first person- victims often have to face the reality of retelling the assault again to complete strangers (doctors, police, juries etc.). For many, every time the assault is spoken of, they relive the events again. A friend once told me "You feel the physical pain once, you feel the emotional pain forever". Add to that pain the simple fact that some people will accuse you of lying, that even friends may not believe it, or that a jury may not give you the justice you deserve... and the experience becomes a nightmare in every way possible. I know how hard that road can be to go down... so I always try to stand on the side of the victim. That being

November seems a little far off even now, but when it arrives it'll be bringing big changes to California , or not. Democrats aren't sure how to deal with a November ballot initiative known as Jessica's Law , which would toughen California's state penalties against convicted sex offenders. I'm not sure I can be very helpful to them. I mean, my biggest defense of Jessica's Law is... well Jessica's Story . If the initiative passes, it would impose a mandatory 15-years-to-life sentence on anyone who rapes a child under 14 and is at least seven years older than the victim. The initiative would make it tougher for convicted rapists to use "good-time credits" to get out of jail early, require the use of GPS tracking systems for paroled offenders and prohibit them from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. It would toughen penalties for those who lure children over the Internet. I hope that those out there that are scratching their heads wonderin

I don't even know where to begin on this one. Perhaps it's cause of the lack of information on the case... or should I say cases. An investigation into pornographic material allegedly accessed over Jefferson County School District computers has resulted in action against 17 employees, the Denver Post reported, citing a broadcast report. The good news is that reportedly , it seems to be adult related material rather than indecent child images. The sad thing is that some of these people were children, and no doubt this will have an effect on students, parents and those working within the school district. Categories: internet ,

Brian J. Doyle the Department of Homeland Security press aide arrested for having sexually based converstations with undercover agent he believed to be a 14 year old, has waived extradition and will soon be on his way to Polk County Florida to face the charges. I'm not sure what his denfense will be.. perhaps something along the lines of "I'm sick, please give me treatment instead of jail"... cause you know that they always want the treatment after they get caught. DHS Press Aide to Appear on Sex Charges - Yahoo! News Categories: internet , predators

For Local and Ohio election results and live streaming updates, visit WIMA Lima, the Talk Station. Categories: Misc ,

On Wednesday, the second half of Dateline's "To catch a predator" the Ohio version will be airing. It'll be one of those shows no one should miss. Parents should watch in order to help adjust to the thought that sicko perverts are out there, and sicko perverts should watch it to adjust to the fact that we are after you. Well, depending on how willing the little ones are to stay in their beds, and depending on exactly how everything else goes- I am tentitively planning on live blogging the show. Which is where you come in... yep you . This is your chance to live blog with me. Starting when the show comes on, I'm taking your emails and comments and posting them. Not just in the comments- but in the posts. And discussing the show as it air, with you. My readers. What I'd really like is to have numerous bloggers live blogging it with me, where we could have a nice group chat on the show. But, that might be asking much. Anyway, if there is enough interest in the

I was all set to live blog the whole illegal alien trying to coerce their way to citizenship rally today, when I realised that I had better things to do. For instance, I was preoccupied with packing the man's lunch for work today, brewing some fresh coffee, washing the mornings dishes, doing a little laundry, taking the kids to school, filling up my gas tank, doing a little candy bar purchasing at the local convenience store down the road, putting in a few hours of work so I can make a paycheck and to help with the burden of paying my taxes, reading up on the candidates for tomorrows election, cleaning up the house a bit, checking out my favorite blogs, picking up the kids from school, stopping to get them a little after school snack, making a pit stop at the grocery store to buy a few items, coming home to cook dinner, renting a movie for me and the man, and later I'll be watching the movie while waiting for muffins to finish baking in the oven. Oh, yea, life is good. I'm

Sometimes, I don't get email. I mean, you send me email... but I don't get the email. Or I do get the email... but it's been spammed and I don't see it until I go to clean out my spam box. This last one happens a lot. Even to people that email me often. Usually, it's only those emails that contain links only, but sometimes it's those long lengthy emails too. So, this morning I was cleaning out my spam when I found a few gems in there. The first one from (dare I say it? yep... I'm going too) my * "BLOGCHILD !" Home Sweet Home, who sent this : Prosecutors say they'll be more receptive to a sentence of probation for an admitted sex offender if the father of 13 children undergoes a vasectomy. And, I HAVE to ask "Are you FREAKING joking me???" Brandon Earl Lacy, 29 sexually assaulted a 14 year old girl. Even the defense lawyer gets the problem with this ""The vasectomy deals with Brandon not fathering any more children," Rey

One of the benefits of laptop computers and wireless connections is that you can unplug yourself jump in the car and roam. Add digital cameras, photo printers and a cheap electrical converter and you easily can become a photo processing center on wheels. grabbing your gear you can head off to your children's ballgame, snap and edit a few photos and have them emailed or printed off before halftime... Of course, because we have creepy perverts using the same technology- there's always a chance that the person behind the camera has less intention of sending the photos off to you family and more of a desire to use them for their personal gratification. Police in Florida recently caught one of these sicko freaks... computer equipment included. "At the time the officer stopped him, he found that he had been viewing child porn on a laptop set-up," explained Detective Gary Boyer, Titusville Police Department. Saunders used a wireless connection to get on the Internet. He als