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FL- Flier alerts to "sex offender" - but isn't true

5-11-2003 Florida:

CAPE CORAL, May 9, 2003- A Cape Coral man is trying to clear his name after bogus fliers were circulated in his neighborhood accusing him of being a child molester. For Michael Wheeler, it's a living nightmare.

Imagine what it would feel like to find out your neighbors think you're a sex offender.

"The first thought that went through my head is how could I be accused of something I think is the worst crime anybody could commit," said Wheeler.

Wheeler is living in a nightmare.

"None of the neighbors wave at us or smile at us anymore," said Wheeler.

Officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed Michael Wheeler is not a sex offender, even though dozens of fliers went to his neighbors saying he was.

Wheeler now believes the first fliers probably went out a year ago. The same time he said his neighbors started to act funny.

"The kids won't play with my son anymore," said Wheeler.

Some neighbors said they were fooled by the letter that looked legitimate

NJ- Police: ‘Sex offender’ flier possibly a prank

10-13-2005 New Jersey:

SOUTH RIVER — Police are looking for the party responsible for distributing unfounded information about a sex offender living in the borough.

Many residents on and around a section of Main Street last week were surprised to discover a letter in their mailboxes warning them of an alleged sex offender, even providing a name, address and color photo of a South River resident.

The person behind the document remains unknown, but there was no mystery in the message, accusing the resident of supposed sexual improprieties.

The letter, which reads in part, “I am an accused child molester; let’s keep this scum out of South River,” has been found to contain no validity, according to South River Detective John McKenna, who is investigating the case.

“The letter seems to be something done in very poor taste,” McKenna said. “It’s kind of bizarre. At this juncture, there doesn’t seem to be any validity to it.”

McKenna said the accused has no known criminal record.

Still, he noted, the letter has alarmed area residents, including children, who have approached the officer, also a DARE teacher in the South River school system.

“At this point, I’ve come up with nothing other than this person exists,” he added. “But other than that, that’s where it ends.”

Police could neither confirm nor deny they knew the identity of the party who created the letter.

“There’s not enough information to comment on the potential parties responsible,” McKenna said. “It’s still under investigation.”

A search on the New Jersey State Police Web site for the name of the individual accused turned up negative, listing only one person registered as a sex offender in South River.

Yesterday morning, a woman identifying herself as the mother of the person accused in the letter left a voicemail with Greater Media Newspapers, saying there is no validity to the accusations, and that her son does not even live at the listed address.

“There is nothing,” she said. “This is just somebody that is just in for revenge. But there’s not too much you can do about it.”

She might be right, as McKenna said the only laws that appear to have been broken are a local ordinance forbidding the posting of bills, and the harassment of the accused.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has been informed of the situation, he said, and defamation of character charges could be filed against those who issued the letter.

“If [the accused] elected, it’s something he could possibly capitalize on,” McKenna said. “It’s really up to him, not us.”

The detective said the moral impact brought about through the letter is far greater than any legal ramifications.

“I’m not certain if it was a prank or someone being mean to someone,” McKenna said. “Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

The event comes during a time when many towns throughout New Jersey, some in Middlesex County, are adopting ordinances forbidding registered sex offenders from living near places such as schools, bus stops and parks. South River has not introduced such an ordinance. ..News Source.. by JOHN DUNPHY, Staff Writer

IL- Flier ID's Innocent Man As Sex Offender

6-14-2007 Illinois:

GENEVA, Ill. - A flier distributed in this western suburb of Chicago calls a real estate agent a sex offender when the man actually has no criminal record, authorities said.

Charles Bowgren, 53, was visiting his father in the hospital earlier this week when he learned about the flier that identified him as a sex offender. His daughter called him after a neighbor brought over the flier, which has an apparently doctored logo of the state Department of Corrections along with his photo and home address. It was sent to Bowgren's neighbors and his co-workers at a ReMax in the nearby suburb of St. Charles.

"What more can go wrong in one day?" Bowgren said Wednesday. "Obviously, it's all a fraud."

Geneva Police Commander Joe Frega said the flier looks like a total fabrication. He said police haven't yet determined a motive.

"I would guess there was malicious intent," Frega said. "If it's a joke, it's not very funny."

Bowgren, who lives with his daughter and granddaughter, called the incident "nerve-wracking" but said his neighbors are rallying behind him.

Jodi Ladron De Guevara, a neighbor who received the flier, called it "a very cruel joke."

"I've known Chuck for four years," she said. "He's a great humanitarian. He's a great guy." ..News Source.. by RedOrbit.com

OR- Fake sex-offender flier targets innocent man, police say

7-11-2008 Oregon:
CEDAR HILLS - An apparently "official" notification saying that a predatory sex offender was moving into the Cedar Hills area was fake, a spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office said today.

The notice, which was contained in a flier that was distributed last weekend in the Cedar Hills area gave the name of man it claimed was a sex offender. In fact, the man named in the bulletin has never been arrested and isn't wanted by police.

Sgt. David Thompson, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the man, whom he declined to name, has never been arrested by any police agency in any state.

Anyone with information about the individuals behind the phony flier is asked to call Detective Chuck Anderson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2704. ..News Source.. by John Snell

CO- Flier falsely calls resident sex offender

10-18-2008 Colorado:

Puebloan, 67, goes door-to-door to clear his name, reputation with neighbors.

Reputation is a hard thing to restore.

One Puebloan is trying, however, after his neighborhood was plastered with fliers last week falsely stating he was a child sex offender.

"I was very fortunate that most of my neighbors that I talked to thought it was a bunch of crap," the 67-year-old man who preferred not to be identified said Friday. "My wife and I went door-to-door to tell people that I am not a sexual offender. I wanted to make sure that people who have children in the neighborhood knew it was a bunch of crap."

As many as 25 fliers were distributed in the victim's neighborhood between midnight Oct. 6 and 4:30 a.m. Oct. 7, according to police.

The fliers were distributed under the guise of a neighborhood watch group. It stated that the victim was charged with sexual assault on a child and stressed children's safety. "Remember there is no cure for these people," the flier said. "Help each other by watching your neighbor's children . . . Protect the Children!"

The flier also referenced a national sex offender database, but listed the wrong Web site for familywatchdog.com.

The victim's name isn't listed on the aforementioned Web site, or on any official sex offender lists, according to police. A father of two grown children, three grown stepchildren and 10 grandchildren, police found the man has no criminal history.

"If you want accurate information, you go to your local law enforcement. Some of these Web sites are not accurate or up to date," said Detective Pat Heine, a member of the police department's Neighborhood Watch program and crime prevention unit.

"If people choose to put a generic flier out about a so-called sex offender, they need to know there are libel laws. This is so destructive. It's destructive to the family, destructive to the individual, it's destructive to the neighborhood."

The victim said he's offering a reward for information about the incident. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 542-7867.

"I'm a good neighbor and I intend to stay that way," the man said. "I wish I knew what the reason behind this was."

An accurate and free list of neighborhood sex offenders may be obtained at the police record division or sheriff's office, Heine said.

They also can be accessed on the Web sites of the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo County Sheriff's Department and Colorado Bureau of Investigation. ..News Source.. by NICK BONHAM, THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

WI- Jail inmates accused of sexually assaulting inmate

10-14-2008 Wisconsin:

Two Fond du Lac County prisoners accused of sexually assaulting and attacking another prisoner in the jail have been charged.

John S. Hall Jr., 32, of 305 S. Park Ave., and Otto L. Fountain, 18, of Oshkosh, face charges of first degree sexual assault, battery by prisoners and lewd and lascivious behavior.

They are accused of sexually assaulting a convicted sex offender in the Huber Dorm of the jail in early June. Hall yelled, “There’s a toucher in the dorm” to single out the man to other prisoners, according to the report.

After the man told Fountain about his then pending case involving a 13-year-old, Fountain and Hall began to attack and sexually assault him, according to the complaint.

Preliminary hearings for both men are scheduled Oct. 17. ..News Source.. by The Reporter Staff

TX- Death-row inmate stabbed 54 times, listed as stable

11-5-1998 Texas:

Convicted capital murderer Robert James Anderson remained in serious but stable condition Wednesday after he was stabbed 54 times Tuesday by prison inmates.

Anderson was sentenced to die in 1993 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 5-year-old Audra Ann Reeves of Amarillo.

The 32-year-old death-row inmate was found bleeding in his cell in the Ellis Unit at Huntsville at 12:15 p.m., said Huntsville spokesman Larry Todd. Anderson was transported by ambulance to a prison hospital in Galveston where he remained Wednesday, Todd said.

After the attack, the Ellis Unit wing where Anderson and other death-row inmates are housed, was locked down, Todd said. The lock-down was over at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Internal investigators spoke with several suspects and are holding two suspects in solitary cells while the investigation continues, Todd said.

Twenty-three puncture wounds were counted on Anderson's left arm, 15 in his chest, 11 in the abdomen, four in his back and one in the head, Todd said.

Investigators said blood was found in the hall outside Anderson's cell, and a shank, possibly made from a fence, was found in a nearby trash can.

Reeves' body was found on June 9, 1992, in an ice chest that had been dropped in a Dumpster in Amarillo.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a motion for rehearing the case in 1996.

The court had upheld his conviction and death sentence a month earlier. ..Source.. by HOLLY PARKER, Globe-News Staff Writer