Charges certified in harassment case

Why are they withdrawing the charge of misusing the registry? OK, the perpetrator admits to the police he got the FSOs name from the registry, but then, in court, the police say they have no knowledge of that fact! How about getting the right officer on the stand, the one who admitted what he heard in the police station. No wonder they have so few of this type of registry misuse convictions. Something smells here.

12-7-2010 Virginia:

HOPEWELL A Hopewell man testified yesterday that he feared for his life when four men in an SUV chased him on his mo-ped, eventually striking it, after harassing and cursing him because he is a convicted sex offender.

Rudolph H. Ellis said he felt lucky to be alive after the suspects’ 2000 Lincoln Navigator struck his mo-ped on Hill Avenue near Atlantic Street after they pursued him from a convenience store into a nearby residential area.

“I knew he was going to hit me because the truck was right up on top of me,” Ellis testified in Hopewell General District Court, referring to Daniel R. Narron, 19, of Hopewell, who was driving the SUV.

After hearing that and other evidence during a two-hour preliminary hearing, retired Judge Kenneth W. Nye certified charges of attempted murder and attempted malicious wounding by mob to a Hopewell Circuit Court grand jury.

Earlier, co-defendants Damon J. Silvestro, 20, of Colonial Heights; Eric B. Harris, 25, of Hopewell; and Thomas W. McCall, 21, also of Hopewell, waived their preliminary hearings on similar charges and Nye certified them.

Boise Police Officers Taser Man on Buttocks, Threaten to Rape Him With Taser, and Then Claim No Fault in Modest Settlement

2-15-2010 Idaho:

We previously followed the case of Gerald Amidon, who sued the Boise police department for allegedly threatening to sodomize him with a taser and using excessive force in his arrest, including tasering him on the buttocks. He has now settled for only $150,000 and, despite a highly disturbing tape of the incident, the police department is able to claim no fault as part of the settlement.

While against policy, the police insisted that the officer (who also threatened to shock his genitalia) merely failed to follow guidelines — the name of the officer has not been released despite the release of the audio tape below. The officer actually states on the tape that he had already sodomized Amidon with the taser when he threatened to deliver a second shock first to his anus and then to his genitalia.

Amidon stated that on February 14th he did not realize that the men forcing their way into his apartment were officers. He tried to block the door — resulting in three officers throwing him to the ground. After tasering him, the officer threatened to sodomize the man and deliver an anal shocking with his taser.

Here is the exchange:

Officer #3: Do you feel this?

Complainant: Yes, sir.

Officer #3: Do you feel that? That’s my -

Complainant: Okay

Officer #3: -Taser up your ass.

Complainant: Okay

Officer #3: So don’t move.

Complainant: I’m trying not to. I can’t breathe.
…
Officer #3: Now do you feel this in your balls?

Complainant: I do, sir. I’m not going to move. I’m not gonna move.

Officer #3 Now I’m gonna tase your balls if you move again.

A minute later, this exchange occurred:

Officer #3: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your asshole now. Are you going to fight with me?

Complainant: No, not at all, sir.

A supervisor later erased an audio recording of an interview with the man at the jail and did not write a report on the use of force in the arrest. While the officers have been “disciplined,” they were not removed from the force.

Boise Community Ombudsman Pierce Murphy found that the actions of the officer were not illegal but found abuse, here. You have an officer who says that he just sodomized a suspect and threatened to torture him. That is not unlawful in Boise?

In the internal investigation , here. Murphy found that there was no threat at the time of the incident:

“At the time that he was Tased on the buttocks, the Complainant was handcuffed and lying face-down on the floor. Officer #1 was holding the Complainant’s head and upper torso down with a knee across his shoulders. Officer #4 was positioned near the Complainant’s waist preparing to search the Complainant, and Officer #3 was situated near the Complainant’s legs and feet … Based on what he observed, Officer #2 saw no need to assist Officer #1, Officer #3, and Officer #4 in controlling the Complainant. According to Officer #1, the Complainant “mellowed out” after being handcuffed.”

He filed a complaint detailing the abuse and asked for $500,000 in punitive damages

Here is the original complaint: Amidon_TortClaim

The reported settlement of $150,000 seems a bit low given the egregious conduct and lack of admission of fault. Of course, we are not the “boots on the ground” in the case and the legal team was probably discounting for the avoidance of trial costs and appeals. However, given the response of the Police Department, I was hoping to see a more punitive element to the liability to guarantee a greater deterrent effect. If it was not for this tape, this case would never have seen the light of day.

It was the result of mediation with the judge in the federal court. It also contained a reported confidentiality agreement barring public comment. ..Source..

Sex offender reports vandalism

12-13-2012 New York

BATH — A registered sex offender reported on Sunday that someone keyed his vehicle while it was parked in the Water Street parking lot, police said Monday.

Lt. Stanley Cielinski said the man believes that whoever committed the crime knows who he is. The man said he has no ongoing feud with anyone, Cielinski said.

The man reported the crime at 9:58 a.m. Sunday. The key marks extended around the entire vehicle, including the head lights and grill, Cielinski said.

The keying of a vehicle to that extent is unusual, the lieutenant said. ..Source..

Case highlights challenges of keeping child molesters safe in prison

5-10-2010 Maryland:

A Montgomery County judge shaved 14 years off a child molester's prison sentence Friday, a ruling that followed the same judge cutting almost 16 years off another molester's sentence in 2008.

In shortening the latest sentence, Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson called Jason Lay a different person than he was five years ago, when he was convicted of making a 4-year-old girl perform sexual acts inside a townhouse in Germantown and sentenced to 30 years.

"I find your remorse to be genuine," Johnson told Lay, 26, who wore a blue state Division of Correction shirt and little expression on his face.

The new sentence, 16 years, is retroactive to 2005. Lay will be eligible for parole in 2013.

His case reflects the challenge of keeping child molesters safe in prison. Other inmates -- even those who give little thought to robbing or killing people -- often take a moral stand against child molesters, if only because they have children themselves.

Inmate assault brings year behind bars

8-25-2010 Virginia:

Assaulting a convicted child sex offender at the jail will cost inmate Denver J. Owens a year behind bars, a judge ruled Tuesday in Frederick County District Court.

No matter what happens in three other criminal cases against Owens, Judge W. Milnor Roberts ordered the 20-year-old Frederick man's yearlong punishment for attacking inmate Jonathan M. Bonita run consecutive to any other sentence Owens may get.

Owens faces burglary, assault and violation of probation charges at three hearings in September and October.

On Tuesday, Owens pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in the attack of Bonita on June 24 at the jail, but he declined to offer a statement before sentence was imposed.

Standing beside Assistant State's Attorney Michael J. Moore, Bonita, 19, said a few words, however. The Frederick man told Roberts he was tired of being harassed by other inmates.

Vicious, feared attack leaves Pa. inmate comatose

8-29-2010 Pennsylvania:

SCRANTON, Pa. – If his diary and witness accounts are to be believed, Nicholas Pinto endured months of physical, sexual and mental abuse in prison. Guards roughed him up, made him stand naked in a cold cell for hours at a time, and taunted him relentlessly. A fellow inmate raped him night after night, beat him when he resisted, and stole his possessions.

And no one, he claimed, did a thing about it.

"The overall treatment I have received from both the prison and (the prison's) medical providers (is) unconstitutional, insufficient, cruel, inhumane and shamefully unacceptable," Pinto wrote in April.

He feared for his life, yet the officials responsible for his safety appear to have ignored his pleas for help — nor did they heed a warning from the prison chaplain that Pinto was in grave danger.

An accused child pornographer, he was at the bottom of the prison hierarchy. So what came next was perhaps inevitable.

The 29-year-old former Connecticut man was heading back to his cell block from a recreation area when he was ambushed by an inmate with a history of violence who was supposed to be locked down — but wasn't. The inmate knocked him to the floor and stomped on his head at least 15 times "with all his might," according to a police report. Pinto's face was shattered, and he suffered brain injuries that left him comatose.

After the attack, his assailant had enough time to return to his cell and use a rag to wipe evidence from his black sneakers, police said.

No place for vigilante justice

1-25-2010 Florida:

VIGILANTE justice, in whatever form it takes, should never be condoned.

The actions of one – or several – people in the hinterland town of Beerwah over the past couple of days should be condemned by everyone living in the area.

The flyers distributed around the town, pinpointing the name and address of a man charged with a child sex offense, were rightfully quickly taken down by police.

However, no matter how fast they were removed, there will be some people who did not know the man’s name who now do and they know an address he sometimes frequents as well.

What must be remembered is that this man has not been proven guilty.

He is still to have his day in court, has yet to enter a plea and, as our laws dictate, is innocent until found otherwise.

Those who produced the flyers and were involved in their distribution are the ones who are guilty in this instance.

The angry Beerwah residents would do well to take notice of the words of Hetty Johnson, from the child sexual abuse victims organisation Bravehearts.

“By naming the person, they are actually doing him a favour,” she told the Daily.

“The man can argue that he wouldn’t be able to get a fair trial.

“It could ruin the whole investigation.”

Sensible and cool heads are needed in this case. ..Source.. by Sunshone Coast Daily.com

Sex offender assaulted, bullet shatters car

2-12-2010 Connecticut:

A 37-year-old registered sex offender was assaulted and robbed Thursday morning, six hours after a bullet shattered his back windshield while he was driving south on South Main Street, police said.

Officers have not yet determined if the two incidents are related or just coincidental because parked cars were also hit by gunfire in the area of South Main Street where the victim's back window was shot out, according to Sgt. Lisa Cotto, a spokeswoman for the Norwalk Police Department.

The victim contacted police shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday to report that the back window of his car had been shattered while he was driving near the intersection of South Main and Grove streets, police said.

He said he heard a bang, then noticed the broken car glass, but he did not see the perpetrator in the incident, according to police.

Officers conducted further investigation in the area where the victim's car was reportedly struck and found two bullet holes in a red Dodge Neon that was parked at 147 South Main St., police said. Evidence was recovered from the scene, and officers made contact with the Neon's owner, but she was sleeping when the incident occurred, police said.

Police said they also found a Ford Taurus that was parked in the area where the gunfire occurred had a bullet hole in it. Officers are still attempting to contact the owner of the Taurus.

The man whose back window was damaged by gunfire called police Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. to report that he had been robbed by a group of approximately eight males, police said.

He told police he had parked his car near Colonial Village, a housing complex that is close to his home, and the males started punching and harassing him. He said the men called him a rapist, a sex offender and various expletives while they were assaulting him, according to police.

The victim said he believed one of the males had a gun, police said. The suspects took his wallet, which contained a small amount of money and personal items, police said.

He told police that he has noticed people following him to work for the past week or so. The victim, who was convicted of sexual assault in 2001, also said he heard a woman's voice in the background while he was being assaulted. He believes the female that he heard in the background may be the victim of the sexual assault, police said.

Police are investigating both incidents. ..Source.. STEVE KOBAK

Robbery suspect admits to assaulting sex offenders in Grover Beach

4-28-2010 California:

A man shot and wounded by a Grover Beach police officer last Friday morning may have been involved in a self-styled vigilante spree, targeting convicted sex offenders posted on the Megan’s Law website.

Police believe David Jordan Griffin, 24, who was arrested for allegedly robbing the Kautz Chevron station on Grand Avenue on Friday with a machete, may be linked to other crimes earlier in the week.

On Thursday, April 22, two separate incidents occurred within a half hour of each other in Grover Beach.

A young man, matching Griffin’s description, first attempted to confront the occupant of a residence on Longbranch Ave. He knocked on a door and asked for a man by name.

The occupant of the home, a registered sex offender, explained that the man he was asking for did not live at the residence. Griffin began to walk away while allegedly reading a printed list from the Megan’s Law website.

He quickly came back and began kicking the door, calling the victim explicit swear words and a sex offender.

While the door was damaged, the victim was not injured.

A half hour later, a second victim walked into a burglary in progress on N. 16th Street. Griffin hit the victim, who was using his right arm to block the blow, in the forearm with a hammer and also kicked and punched him.

Both victims in the case positively identified Griffin.

Grover Beach Police believe Griffin was selecting his victims by going down the list of sex offenders posted on the California Megan’s Law website.

“We don’t have a complete motive as to why, except for the obvious financial gain,” said Grover Beach Chief of Police Jim Copsey. “We are just happy he is in custody.”

Griffin was shot Friday morning by Grover Beach Police Lt. John Peters, a 15-year police veteran. Five shots were fired; one hit Griffin in the leg.

Following his arrest, Griffin allegedly made numerous statements that he hated sex offenders and admitted he had attempted to burglarized the two homes and had beat up the victim. Detectives later found stolen property in Griffin’s house.

Additional charges will be filed against Griffin including assault, trespassing, vandalism, burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon. ..Source.. CalCoastNews.com

Paper's Error Caused Threats, Couple Says

5-20-2010 Oklahoma:

OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) - A couple says they were threatened and automatic weapons were fired near their house after a newspaper incorrectly listed their address as the home of a sex offender. The couple sued the Guthrie News Reader and its corporate parent in Oklahoma County Court.

Roy Nelson and Susan Ryan say they've heard automatic gunfire and people have driven by and shouted at them after the News Reader incorrectly listed a registered sex offender as living at their home.

The plaintiffs have lived on a rural dirt road 7 miles off the main highway for more than 10 years. They say traffic in front of their house was heavier than normal in the 36 hours after the erroneous story was published.

Ryan says she spoke with the newspaper's managing editor on June 15, 2009, the day after it printed the list. She said the newspaper admitted the mistake and she requested that it print "a conspicuous correction of their mistake and that it be made in the Sunday edition."

But the newspaper ran a "non-conspicuous correction in the obituaries section" of a Wednesday edition, and refused to print the correction in the Sunday paper, the plaintiffs say. And they say the paper left the incorrect report on its Web site.

They say the false report has caused them to fear for their safety.

"Because of the extreme emotional distress, anxiety, fear and physical sickness the wrongful accusation has caused both Roy Nelson and Susan Ryan, they continue to see a doctor and counselor to help them cope with the wrongful accusations that have poisoned their reputation in the community," the complaint states.

They seek damages for negligence and libel, from the News Reader and Newspaper Holdings Inc. They are represented by Thomas Ryan. ..Source.. by CourtHouseNews

2 Bellingham men charged for stabbing sex offender

6-28-2010 Washington:

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Two men have been charged in Bellingham for allegedly stabbing a convicted sex offender.

The Bellingham Herald reports that 28-year-old Henry K. Redlightning faces a second-degree assault charge in connection with the stabbing of 21-year-old Christopher Wade in his chest, back and lung on June 21.

Twenty-seven-year-old Zachariah Depoppe faces a complicity to assault charge for allegedly providing the knife used, throwing it in a river and driving Redlightning away.

Court documents say Redlightning was angry at Wade because Wade would not admit what his offense was.

Wade is expected to recover. ..Source.. by KREM.com

Man Beaten By Woman On Street

This man must closely resemble someone on the registry and well known in the area.

9-29-2010 California:

Accusations Of Being A Pedophile Spark Attack

OILDALE, Calif. -- A woman is in custody after, police said, she allegedly attacked a man and accused him of being a pedophile.

Nicole Antonucci resisted arrest and had to be stunned with a Taser and pepper sprayed by deputies, according to sheriff's officials.

Police said Buddy Graham was beaten and bruised during the assault that left his shirt torn and nerves rattled. Graham said he was falsely accused.

The incident happened Monday afternoon in the 200 block of North Chester Avenue. The victim said this was not the first time he has been assaulted on the streets.

Witnesses said Antonucci called Graham a pedophile and other witnesses said that Antonucci is a "nut case" who is on drugs.

Graham had contacted 23 ABC recently because he said he was attacked at Riverview Park weeks ago for the same type of accusation by a different woman.

"I was walking down the street and she came up to me and asked me for a lighter. Then she turned around and said, 'You S.O.B,' and started hitting me," said Graham.

Riverside man charged with harassing sex offender

10-7-2010 New York:

A Riverside man’s anger with a registered sex offender living and working at an area motel has landed him in Southampton Town Justice Court, where he faces second-degree harassment charges after he allegedly confronted the sex offender outside a local deli this summer.

The violation charge stems from a July 31 incident involving the two men—Kevin Zorn of Riverside and Ralph Blasi, a Level 3 sex offender now living and working at the Budget Host East End in Riverside—outside of Marta’s Deli near the hamlet’s traffic circle.

According to a complaint filed with the State Police by Mr. Blasi shortly after the incident, Mr. Zorn allegedly bumped his chest against Mr. Blasi, spit on him and cursed at him.

“I said ‘Drop the candy and let the little girls go,’” said Mr. Zorn, recalling the words he told Mr. Blasi outside the deli that day.

Mr. Zorn said this week that he worked with Mr. Blasi in the landscaping business for several months and, at the time, knew him as “Ralph Smith.” He said Mr. Blasi started working at the motel in the spring and, sometime after that, learned that Mr. Smith was actually Mr. Blasi, a Level 3 sex offender—a designation given to offenders with the highest likelihood of reoffending. Mr. Blasi was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in 2009 and served a year in prison, according to state records.

Transient severely beaten after false accusation of rape

10-12-2010 Florida:

PANAMA CITY BEACH – A man was beaten bloody and senseless by an unknown group of people after someone falsely accused him of raping an intoxicated woman outside a bar early Sunday morning.

About 12:44 a.m. Sunday, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office was called to Newby’s Too, 4103 Thomas Drive, in reference to a sexual battery, according to an incident report. However, the woman who was identified as the victim said she had not been raped, and a man the crowd had detained as the perpetrator was in serious condition from a severe beating.

A deputy said the 41-year-old transient had been beaten so badly that his eyes were swollen shut and he couldn’t see. He was in and out of consciousness and could not tell authorities his name. Several people were holding rags on the man’s head to soak up blood.

While EMS treated the man, deputies spoke to the supposed victim and others present. The woman said she did not have sex with anyone; she had gone to the parking lot to lie down in a van that belonged to her boyfriend’s buddy. She was hot, so she took off her pants, she said. She saw several people taking the injured man from the van, but she didn’t know what happened.

The woman’s boyfriend said he had sent her to his friend’s van because she was intoxicated, according to the report. He wanted her to sleep it off. Later, he sent his buddy to check on her, and that’s when he found out the other man had been beaten up for supposedly raping the woman.

The man who owns the van told a deputy he had gone outside to check on the woman and saw a man on top of her. He believed the man was in the process of raping her. The report said the man “notified several people, unknown to him” of the attack, and the man was caught and “taken away.” He said he was not aware someone had beaten the alleged attacker until later.

A witness told deputies that he was in the parking lot and saw the supposed perpetrator running through the lot. He heard someone say the man had just raped a girl, so he tackled the man. Several others came over and took the man aside, and he did not see what happened next, he said.

The injured man was taken to Gulf Coast Medical Center for treatment. He had several head injuries, the report said. His eyes were swollen shut, his nose was swollen and bleeding, and he appeared to have blood coming from his eyes. He was coughing up blood.

When he regained consciousness, he told a deputy that he didn’t know how he got in the van or how he got to Newby’s; he denied having sex with anyone. He said he thought he was climbing in the van to get a ride to the beach; the deputy pointed out that he was already at the beach.

The man said he drank a fifth of whisky and two cases of beer that night.

He didn’t know any of the people who had beaten him and couldn’t identify them.

The case is still under investigation. ..Source..

Man accused of beating neighbor (RSO) found guilty on all charges

10-9-2010 Maryland:

William Bryan Bolton Jr. was convicted of first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and endangerment while intoxic

A Boonsboro man accused of beating his neighbor with a club in 2009 was found guilty on all charges Thursday at the end of a bench trial before Washington County Circuit Court Judge John H. McDowell.

William Bryan Bolton Jr., 50, of 8613 Sharpsburg Pike, was convicted of first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and endangerment while intoxicated, according to court records. The first-degree assault conviction carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

McDowell ordered a presentence report prepared. Bolton could face up to 25 years in prison on the first-degree assault conviction.

Shortly before 10 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2009, Washington County Sheriff’s Department deputies went to the home of John Vincent Miller Sr. for a report of an assault.

“It was around Halloween time and he really looked like a scarecrow,” Deputy 1st Class Tom Routzahn testified about seeing Miller sitting on his porch. Miller was bleeding from a large cut over his eye and “his ear was about cut in half.”

Gas leak at sex offender's home 'suspicious,' fire officials say

7-16-2010 Ohio:

MIDDLETOWN — Fire investigators are saying a natural gas leak that occurred today, July 16, at a home on Queen Avenue looks “suspicious.”

Police and firefighters evacuated residents from a Middletown neighborhood for the second time in two days after a natural gas leak was reported about 9 a.m. at _____.

When police and firefighters entered the home to investigate, they found all the doors locked, candles lit, the TV on and the home’s furnace looked as if it had been tampered with, Middletown Deputy Fire Chief Tom Snively said.

“It is suspicious and we’ve turned it over to the police department to investigate,” Snively said.

Middletown police Lt. Rodney Muterspaw said police are trying to determine if any criminal activity is involved. He said there are no suspects at this time.

“We’re going to try to determine where the leak came from and to see how it came about,” Muterspaw said. “It was a pretty strong leak.”

Police were able to pinpoint the home on Queen Avenue because its gas meter outside was running. Muterspaw said when he arrived on the scene the odor of gas was so strong, he could smell it two streets away.

“It could have been a major disaster,” Muterspaw said.

Firefighters and Duke Energy employees have shut off gas to the house, and have ventilated the area. Residents were allowed to return to their homes around 10 a.m.

No one was inside the Queen Avenue home when police responded to the initial call. According to the Butler County Sheriff’s Department website, ______, a 49-year-old registered sex offender, lives at the residence.

Daniel Richardson, a neighbor who lives at ___, confirmed that information, saying he and others in the neighborhood received notices when English moved in more than five years ago.

Richardson said ___ pretty much kept to himself and that no one in the neighborhood “really knows him very well.” He said the home where the leak occurred had recently been remodeled after being gutted by a fire last summer.

Some curious and anxious neighbors stood on their porches as authorities continue to investigate. It is unclear how many residents were evacuated this morning, however the entire block of Queen Avenue was evacuated in all directions.

About 10 fire officials, three police officers and two Duke Energy representatives remain on the scene. ..Source.. Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer

Accused rapist beaten in revenge

5-23-2010 Washington:

Two men were arrested early Sunday morning after they attacked another man who was accused of raping the wife of one of the assailants.

Issaquah police were called to the 400 block of NE Birch Street around 2 a.m. on the report of a rape. When they arrived, they found a 31-year-old Kirkland man unconscious and bleeding from cuts on his head. He was quickly taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of his injuries.

Officers learned that the injured man was the suspect in the reported rape. He had been attacked by the woman's husband, a 31-year-old Renton man, and his friend, a 30-year-old Issaquah man, who were at the home when the reported rape occurred.

The two attackers were arrested, taken to the King County Jail and booked for first degree assault. The condition of the Kirkland man is not known. Issaquah police say that the rape suspect and the victim were acquaintances and thus believe that no break-in took place. ..Source.. by KOMO-TV STAFF

Cops: Sexual predator tortured with blow torch

5-23-2010 Florida:

Tyler Weisman is considered a crime victim, but getting tortured and robbed while looking for a hooker late Thursday may land him in prison, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Weisman, a 54-year-old registered sexual predator, was beaten about 9:30 p.m. when he was lured into a house on Orlando's west side "with promises of prostitution," according to Orlando police reports.

Convicted last year of molesting an 11-year-old girl in Seminole County, Weisman spent a year in jail and received 20 years of probation, records show.

But on Thursday night, police reports state, the former computer salesman turned down a crack-smoking prostitute's advances but remained at the house on Springdale Road when an ex-convict offered to get him "a younger girl."

The offer turned out to be a ruse.

Albert Brooks, who has served three sentences in state prison, thought his potential client was an undercover police officer, reports stated. He left the room and then returned with an aerosol can and cigarette lighter. Brooks "sprayed the contents of the can while holding a lighter to the fumes creating a sort of flame thrower" and burned the side of Weisman's face to force him to admit he was a cop, reports state.

Weisman managed to escape after getting beaten on the head, being robbed of $75 and losing his hearing aids and eyeglasses, reports stated.

Unable to tell police the exact address of the attack, Weisman led officers back to the house by describing a "Jesus" sign displayed in front of the building, reports state. Weisman, who could not be reached, was treated for his injuries at Florida Hospital South, reports stated.

No charges have been filed against Weisman, but he is now under investigation by state probation and parole officials. Notified of the incident Friday afternoon, state Probation and Parole Regional Director Barbara Scala in Orlando said the agency will conduct an in-depth review of Weisman's behavior to determine if he violated probation and warrants being sent to prison.

Scala noted that Weisman's probation requires him to wear a GPS monitor, which will show if he violated his 10 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew. Other conditions include not associating with criminals or visiting place where intoxicants and illegal drugs are used.

Brooks, who was accused of torturing Weisman, was arrested on charges of false imprisonment, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and robbery with a weapon. He remains held in the Orange County Jail in lieu of $20,600 bail. ..Source.. Henry Pierson Curtis, Orlando Sentinel

Low-Risk Sex Offender Harassed

2-15-2010 Nebraska:

"This is just more than any person can take" A man says his neighbors have turned on him after Nebraska's state law changed. The new law requires information about all sex offenders to be made public online, not just those considered high-risk to re-offend.

A man says his neighbors have turned on him after Nebraska's state law changed. The new law requires information about all sex offenders to be made public online, not just those considered high-risk to re-offend.

Has he ever thought about suicide? “Yes, several times and I'll honest, if it wasn't for my supportive family I wouldn't be talking to you right now. This is just more than any person can take."

From the darkness of a shadow, it's easier for Jeff to talk about his past. He'll own up to a time when he traded porn with other men, but he denies that a handful of images containing child pornography found in his possession in 1997 were images he ever wanted.

“Somebody sent me some garbage. That doesn't mean I wanted the garbage. I had the garbage, yes.”

Jeff's past includes two convictions for possessing child porn, both of which he says stem from the same time in the early 1990s. Last year, he says he successfully completed 10 years of probation and doctors consider him a low risk to re-offend.

All of that is a distant memory and that's how Jeff hoped it would stay. “I completely turned my life around and now this law comes out to destroy me.”

A change in Nebraska law January 4th put Jeff's face on a Web site and it didn't take long for neighbors to notice. “I have a friendly neighbor in the neighborhood and she calls me up and says people are passing your picture around the neighborhood.”

That was just the beginning. In the 45 days since the law has changed, Jeff has come home and found threatening notes taped to his front door. The message was move or suffer.

“A couple of other ones were really vulgar, talking about what people would like to do to me, removing body parts.”

His teenage children have also found them. “There's my picture off the Internet with a message that's too vulgar to say on TV of what this person wants to do to me because I'm a pedophile in their mind and it's taped to my son's truck."

His situation sums up arguments on both sides of the debate. Some say exposing people like Jeff makes neighborhoods safer. Jeff says the law just makes it difficult to find the most dangerous and he is not one of them.

Jeff has notified the police. He does not know who made the threats and so at this point no charges have been filed. It's illegal to retaliate against individuals on the registry, their family members or employers. The law is very clear about that. Vandalism or threats are illegal and will be prosecuted. ..Source.. Justin Joseph

Vigilantism Emerges In Search For Waldo Rapist

2-25-2010 Missouri:

5 Women Attacked In 5 Months In Waldo Area

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man who purportedly matched the description of the Waldo rapist was tracked by a vigilant citizen Wednesday night.

Police said a citizen spotted the man and followed his car into Kansas City, Kan.

The man being followed stopped in front of a house near Ninth Street and Cleveland Avenue, went inside the house and came back out with a gun. He then fired a few shots at the person who'd been following him.

No one was injured.

The shooter ran away, but police later tracked him down. He was taken into custody for firing the gun.

Police said the man is not the Waldo rapist.

Police urge residents not to risk danger or to take matters into their own hands, but to call them instead.

The attacker is described as a black man, about 6 feet tall and 250 pounds. He's in his 30s, is bald and has acne scarring on his face. He has a deep, smooth voice and bad breath. He may also smell of exhaust fumes.

Five women have been attacked in the last five months.

The most recent happened early Monday morning. Authorities said they were called to the 300 block of East 69th Terrace at about 3 a.m.

Investigators said that the victim was a 33-year-old woman. Police said the attacker entered the woman's house through an unlocked window.

Previous attacks happened were reported at 9:50 p.m. on Jan. 23 in the 8300 block of Mercier Street, and another at 12:30 a.m. Jan. 24 in the 10 block of East Porte Cimi Pas.

Investigators believe the same man is responsible for two sexual assaults last fall. Those occurred on Sept. 29, 2009, in the 7500 block of Summit and on Oct. 11, 2009, in the 100 block of East 78th Terrace. ..Source.. by KMBC.com