AA Member Convicted of Sexual Battery Of College Student He Met at Alcoholics Anonymous

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Kevin J. Koelemij, a legal and political gadfly and former massage therapist, was found guilty today of sexually assaulting a young man he befriended at a substance abuse meeting and took into his confidence.

A Leon County jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for 20 minutes, said Assistant State Attorney Lorena Vollrath-Bueno. Koelemij, who had been out on bail for more than three years, was sent to the Leon County Detention Center where he awaits sentencing, set for July 11.  NA Daytona Meetings Port Orange Florida

Koelemij, the son of a late prominent local developer and a one-time city commission aide, faces up to 30 years for the first-degree felony count of sexual battery when a victim is physically helpless. Holly Hill AA Meetings Sunrise Park

“There was not a huge dispute as to the facts,” Vollrath-Bueno said. “The issue came down to consent. Based on the facts we had the evidence that showed that the victim did not consent to what happened.” Dangerous AA and NA Daytona Meetings continue

Koelemij’s attorney, Don Pumphrey, did not return a call for comment.

Koelemij and the 20-year-old man met at an AA meeting. At the time, the victim was an out-of-state college student struggling to stay sober, Vollrath-Bueno said.

“Kevin Koelemij is a well-known person in the A.A. community, and had supported him in recovery, and (the man) confided in him,” Vollrath-Bueno said.

Over the course of six to nine months, their relationship grew and the victim “built up a level of trust with Mr. Koelemij,” she said.

On the night of Feb. 28, 2015, he went over to Koelemij’s house after an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to talk, according to the probable cause affidavit.

They talked for awhile and at about 2 a.m. Koelemij offered to give him a massage. The man said he fell asleep around 3:45 a.m. and awoke to what “felt like someone was performing oral sex” on him, according to the probable cause affidavit. He looked down and saw Koelemij’s face down in his groin and asked what was going on.

After discussing the incident with friends the victim decided to report it to the police.

Following an interview with Koelemij, and learning of other similar allegations, he was charged and arrested in March 2015.

The victim is once again clean and sober and doing well in his life, Vollrath-Bueno said. “He just finished a special course in the military,” she said. She didn’t give the branch of the military or the state where he was stationed in order to continue to protect his identity.

She said the victim would be attending the sentencing hearing via Skype.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/07/03/tallahassee-man-convicted-sexual-assault-during-massage/756199002/

The 13th Step Sexual Predators in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous Sub Culture

Jaroslava Mendez with a photo of her daughter, Karla Brada, who was killed by her fiance while both were in Alcoholics Anonymous. Mendez has kept Karla’s bedroom as a memorial to her. Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Jaroslava Mendez with a photo of her daughter, Karla Brada, who was killed by her fiance while both were in Alcoholics Anonymous. Mendez has kept Karla’s bedroom as a memorial to her. Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

‘The 13th step’: Alcoholics Anonymous wrestles with subculture of sexual predators

 By  | tsaavedra@scng.com | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED:  | UPDATED: 

Abram Tuvov had been sober so long that Alcoholics Anonymous members in Palm Springs just assumed he was a good guy.

One female AA member who was new in town felt comfortable enough to go on an afternoon bicycle ride with him, even stopping at his house for waffles. The November 2014 outing ended with Tuvov, 72, raping the woman so viciously that she played dead until it was over.

Tuvov, who lives minutes away from the woman, was convicted, but is out on $150,000 bail while awaiting sentencing.

Abram Tuvov, Eric Allen Earle, William Beliveau and Lance Glock, from left. (Photos Courtesy Palm Springs PD, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Megan's Law file)
Abram Tuvov, Eric Allen Earle, William Beliveau and Lance Glock, from left. (Photos Courtesy Palm Springs PD, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Megan’s Law file)

Sexual predation among AA groups is so common that it is known in many circles as the 13th step of the famed 12-step program. Victims, former officials and some members say the culture of the organization — unregulated and loosely organized — puts vulnerable alcoholics at risk to predatory leaders whose only credential is their longtime sobriety.

And while many members are in Alcoholics Anonymous of their own volition, some criminal offenders are there as part of their court sentences. Unless they volunteer it, other members of the group don’t know their criminal history.

“It’s a bad set-up,” said the 48-year-old rape victim, who remains sober. “It’s a predator’s party.”

Tuvov was found guilty last year of rape, oral copulation by force, penetration with a foreign object and sexual battery. Neither he nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.

A representative for Alcoholics Anonymous’ General Service Office in New York stressed that each local group in the fellowship operates independently. However, top leaders in the United States and Canada have developed guidelines and reading material that acknowledge the dangers and advise members to be watchful. Leaders also warn that wrongdoers cannot hide behind the cloak of anonymity.

The fellowship even created a “safety card” that reads, in part: “We request that members and others refrain from any behavior which might compromise another person’s safety.”

But it is up to each group to decide what to do with the card.

“G.S.O. often shares the experience that has been shared with us to help AA groups study and decide how they will apply AA principles to their daily lives — to reach an informed group conscience — as every AA group gets to do,” said the representative, who requested anonymity.

Former directors and victims advocates insist the Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Board can do more to protect local members.

“Each group is autonomous. That’s … an excuse not to use the power the board has to stop abusive behavior,” said James Branscome, a former board director. “There are groups in AA where you could call it a meat market. You have older guys hitting on newcomer women. Some groups are hijacked by gurus, and AA will claim they have no power to do anything about it.”

And the attacks keep stacking up:

• In Santa Clarita, an AA member killed his 31-year-old fiancee, whom he met through the group, in 2011. Eric Allen Earle is now serving 26 years to life at R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

• In Ventura County, two women were sexually assaulted by an AA leader who gained their trust and then gave them booze. William Beliveau is behind bars serving a 10-year sentence at Chino state prison.

• In Covina, an AA member and owner of a sober living home had to shut down his facility after his history of arrests for indecent exposure, sexual battery and unlawful touching came to light in 2012. Lance Paul Glock is listed in Megan’s Law as an offender in violation of parole.

‘Feeding grounds for predators’

Monica Richardson, who spent 36 years in Alcoholics Anonymous, produced the 2015 documentary, “The 13th Step,” tracking such sexual assaults across the world.

“How has this been tolerated?” Richardson said. “These (AA) meetings have become the feeding grounds for predators. It’s all over the world.”

Richardson and others are pushing for Alcoholics Anonymous to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment and force leaders to undergo anti-harassment training. They also want the fellowship to create separate meetings for people under 21 years old and discourage courts and related services from dispatching criminal offenders.

According to the AA Worldwide website, there are 2 million members in 180 countries practicing the 12 steps toward self-reliance and inner faith.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 4.5 percent of U.S. men are alcoholics, with women at 2.5 percent.

Richardson said most alcoholics are downtrodden and accustomed to being scolded by family members, bosses and parents. Already yearning for acceptance, they get “love-bombed” at the meetings, she said.

“People come very, very lonely. Then they get hugged and love-bombed and told, ‘I love you, I love you,’’’ Richardson said. “A lot of them don’t have the assertiveness to say, ‘No’ (after that.)”

Meanwhile, those with the most years of sobriety are considered “elders,” with almost instant credibility, she said.

In an internal letter to the AA General Service Board in 2008, former board member Paul Cleary offered his concern that minors in Alcoholics Anonymous are especially endangered.

“Of course, alcoholics are not exempt from the problems of society, and this includes child sexual abuse. Alcoholics are not well-known for their even-keeled relationships, their well-defined boundaries or their maturity in sexual situations,” said the document obtained by the Southern California News Group. “It is not surprising that these problems continue into the sobriety period of some AA members. For all we know, the rate of child sexual abuse in AA may be higher than that of other organizations that are specifically set up to address the concerns of youth.”

The letter led to few, if any, changes.

“We’ve got murderers sitting next to movie stars. Everybody is thrown into the crucible because we all got the same problem,” said one former board member who requested anonymity. “For people to think, ‘You are not drinking, therefore, you are fine,’ is naive and inaccurate.”

‘Everybody knew she was in danger’

Eric Allen Earle had attended the program for 20 years, both voluntarily and at times as part of his court sentences, for such things as assault and domestic violence, according to news accounts. It was at an AA meeting in Santa Clarita that he met future fiancée Karla Brada, who had her own condo, a good job at a medical firm and an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Earle pursued and eventually moved in with Brada. Then the beatings began. Earle punched Brada in the face and tried to drown her in the kitchen sink in August 2011, said Brada’s mother, Jaroslava Mendez, 72, of Sylmar.

Earle was arrested and jailed. Brada was ready to leave him there, but AA leaders besieged her to bail him out, Mendez said. The leaders even drove her to the jail to pay the bond.

Three weeks later, Earle again choked and beat Brada, this time to death.

“Everybody knew he had beaten her (the first time), everybody knew she was in danger. Nobody did anything,” Mendez said. “I mean, HELLO!”

The grieving mother tried unsuccessfully to sue Alcoholics Anonymous for wrongful death. Still, Mendez keeps trying to get out the message:

“It‘s very dangerous in AA.”

The mentor

William Beliveau was a go-to guy at AA meetings in Thousand Oaks. Beliveau taught lessons on the AA “big book” — the unofficial bible of Alcoholics Anonymous — and handed out sobriety coins at meetings. He was steeped in the culture.

And, according to prosecutors, he sponsored alcoholic women with an eye toward mentoring them into bed.

On one occasion, Beliveau showed up for a date with a bottle of booze under his arm. On another, he started the evening by purchasing an alcoholic drink for his date, another AA member.

Beliveau never imbibed himself, said Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.

“His whole notion of being a sponsor was a ruse,” Nasarenko said. “He knew first-hand how vulnerable these women were.”

Nasarenko continued: “He was someone who was looked up to and gained the trust and confidence of certain women. At the meetings he appeared to have some recognition.”

Beliveau was convicted in July 2017 of raping one woman who was intoxicated and another who was unconscious. Both were in their 50s and pressed charges using their first names only, Susan and Heidi.

Nasarenko said Beliveau put his victims up in hotels under the pretense of sponsoring them.

In addition to the two rapes, Beliveau was suspected of assaulting two other AA members, again plying them with alcohol.

“It became clear to the government, this was part of a pattern, something the defendant did with multiple women,” Nasarenko said. “He was somebody who would take advantage.”

Megan’s Law

Lance Paul Glock, owner of a Covina sober living home and AA member, wasn’t afraid to fight City Hall. Glock sued Covina for trying to regulate his Johnson Sober Living Home in 2011.

Glock had to drop the litigation and close the facility, according to his former lawyer, Lou Fazzi, after his criminal history caught up with him in 2012.

In a two-day period, Glock, then 51, was arrested for allegedly sexually touching a woman in a discount store and again hauled away the next day for child annoyance in a Covina business, according to news accounts.

It wasn’t Glock’s first arrests. According to court records, Glock had been charged with six sex crimes — including indecent exposure — and two counts of vandalism since 1988.

His friend, Shane, who requested to be identified by only his first name in keeping with the tenets of AA, said Glock is not a rarity at group meetings.

“The people that come in are not poster children. We get all kinds of people,” said Shane, 70, who has spent most of his life in Alcoholics Anonymous. “It’s men on women, women on men, sick people on sick people. The only requirement is you have to desire to stop drinking.”

‘You’re not broken’

It seemed there was an extra requirement for the woman raped by Tuvov — don’t go to police.

Moments after the rape, the woman said, she went to her sponsor of three years, who advised her against reporting the attack to authorities or going to the hospital.

“She said, ‘You were not violently raped, you’re not broken,’ ” remembers the woman. ” ‘If you talk about this, you’re going to get a reputation in AA and everybody will hate you.’ “

The woman said her female sponsor advised her to work on her inner self and pray because she was a sinner. AA Daytona Beach Meetings are dangerous!

“I knew in my heart that what she was telling me was crazy. I knew it wasn’t the best advice,” the woman said. Holly Hill NA Daytona meetings are dangerous!

She called a rape hotline, which advised her to put her clothes in a sealed bag, preserving the DNA that Tuvov had left behind.

She said she didn’t report the rape to police until nearly a month later and the case file lingered for more months before the DNA was processed. While the investigation was slow going, the repercussions were immediate, she recalls.

Female members cornered her in bathrooms or hallways and told her to stop talking about the attack at meetings, because she was scaring off newcomers.

“They said I was ruining people’s chance to get sober. Rape was an outside issue,” the woman said. Sunrise Park Holly Hill Florida AA and NA Meetings are dangerous!

“There’s a lot of bad things that go on in the hush-hush.”

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/25/alcoholics-anonymous-wrestles-with-subculture-of-sexual-predators/

AA Member Convicted of Sexually Assaulting Women He Met at Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings

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Newbury Park man convicted of sexually preying on women in AA

, Marjorie.Hernandez@vcstar.com 805-437-0263

July 27, 2017

A jury found a Newbury Park man guilty of sexually assaulting two women he met through Alcoholics Anonymous programs.

After about a two-week trial in Ventura County Superior Court, jurors on Thursday voted unanimously and found William Beliveau, 64, guilty of one felony count of sexual penetration of an adult woman while she was intoxicated, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.  Daytona AA and NA Meetings in Sunrise Park.

Jurors also found Beliveau guilty of one felony count of sexual penetration of an adult woman while she was asleep or unconscious. The Newbury Park man could face a maximum of 10 years in state prison when he returns to court for sentencing on Aug. 24, Nasarenko said. Holly Hill Florida Daytona AA Meetings are dangerous!

The prosecutor said Beliveau befriended the two victims, both in their 50s, at Alcoholics Anonymous programs in Malibu and the Conejo Valley.

“The defendant took advantage of women who were struggling with the disease of alcoholism and used their vulnerability to commit crimes of sexual assault,” Nasarenko said.

 Thousand Oaks police arrested Beliveau on June 25, 2016, after responding to a report of a sexual assault in the 1300 block of Newbury Road.

The woman told police she was staying at a hotel with Beliveau when he assaulted her. The woman was examined by a forensics assault nurse, and DNA was later found on the woman’s body that matched Beliveau’s DNA, Nasarenko said.

During the trial, a second victim testified she had relapsed and was in a heavily intoxicated state sometime in December 2015.

“She remembers waking up in her Thousand Oaks house to the defendant penetrating her,” Nasarenko said. “She remembers going to bed with clothes on, but she woke up nude and the defendant was between her legs. … He was nude, as well.”

Nasarenko said Beliveau was an engineer for a sign company and had a 1980 aggravated assault conviction in Pennsylvania.

Beliveau also will have to register as a sexual offender once he is sentenced in August, Nasarenko said.

http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2017/07/28/newbury-park-man-found-guilty-sexual-assault/518641001/

12 Step Member Charged with Child Porn with Teen He Met At 12 Step Meeting, Also Charged With The Murder Of Woman Stabbing Her 100 Times

 Accused murderer pleads not guilty to child porn charges

Longtime AA Member That Lead Meetings for Years Gets Life Sentence for 9th DWI

Donald Middleton, 56, of Houston was sentenced by a Montgomery County judge on June 6, 2016 to life in prison for a DWI conviction stemming from an incident on Memorial Day 2015. It was the man?s ninth DWI conviction, and he won?t be eligible for parole for 30 years. Middleton registered a blood alcohol content of more than twice the legal limit after his vehicle struck a car driven by a teenager, who was not injured. The judge found Middleton had used his vehicle as a deadly weapon. Photo: Norm Gomlak / handout

Donald Middleton, 56, of Houston was sentenced by a Montgomery County judge on June 6, 2016 to life in prison for a DWI conviction stemming from an incident on Memorial Day 2015. It was the man’s ninth DWI conviction, and he won’t be eligible for parole for 30 years. Middleton registered a blood alcohol content of more than twice the legal limit after his vehicle struck a car driven by a teenager, who was not injured. The judge found Middleton had used his vehicle as a deadly weapon.

Repeat DWI offender gets life sentence for 9th conviction

56-year-old not eligible for parole from state prison until he’s 86

A Houston man’s ninth DWI conviction has landed him a life sentence with no possibility of parole until he is 86, Montgomery County prosecutors said Wednesday.

Donald Middleton, 56, was driving with a valid license about 9 p.m. on Memorial Day 2015 when he made a left turn into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Justin Fowles said. Under state law, a DWI conviction can get a driver’s license suspended but not permanently revoked.
At the time, Middleton was on parole from a 13-year prison sentence he received in 2009 following a DWI conviction. This time, because the judge found Middleton used his vehicle as a deadly weapon, he will not be eligible for parole for 30 years.

Middleton turned left onto Fostoria Road from Four Pines Road, near Texas 59 and about 5 miles south of Cleveland. Prosecutors said surveillance video from a convenience store showed him turning into the left lane and striking a red truck driven by 16-year-old Joshua Hayden, whose father is Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable Rowdy Hayden. The teen was not injured. Daytona Beach AA and NA Meetings are dangerous!

After the crash, Middleton ran into the convenience store, audio and video surveillance shows.

“Hide me,” he told the clerk repeatedly. He then entered a neighboring home with the same request, Fowles said.

With a search warrant under the district attorney’s “No Refusal” program, the responding officer tested Middleton’s blood alcohol content. According to the district attorney’s office, it was 0.184 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Fowles said jury selection was set to begin last month when Middleton conferred with his attorney, Bill Cheadle, and agreed to plead guilty to the felony DWI charge.

“The bottom line is, he was trying to take responsibility, finally, after nine times,” the attorney said.

During the sentencing hearings, Middleton took the stand and told District Judge Kathleen Hamilton that his drinking began as a freshman in high school after years of being picked on by classmates, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter. Middleton showed no remorse for the crash, the website reported.

On Monday, Hamilton sentenced Middleton to life in state prison. Cheadle said Wednesday that an appeal is in the works.

Cheadle said a ninth DWI offense points to a broken system.

“We’re not dealing with the root of the problem,” he said. “We need a system where this person is not allowed to drive ever again, not just by being in jail, but by getting state-sponsored rehabilitation or an interlock system.”

Fowles and Cheadle both said Middleton twice had been sent to Alcoholics Anonymous while out of prison and had received counseling in prison. But Cheadle said alternatives remained.

“We’re in an age of technology where we can prevent somebody from driving,” he said, adding that Middleton had been sober for six years before the most recent incident. In fact, Cheadle said Middleton, who worked an at auto service center, had been leading AA meetings and had met his girlfriend there.

Fowles said a life sentence was the appropriate response for a ninth DWI, which is rare but not unprecedented in Montgomery County. In February 2015, a Montgomery County jury gave two life sentences to 64-year-old Bobby Gene Martin of Houston, after his 10th DWI conviction.

“To me there was no question that we needed to do everything that we could to ensure he wouldn’t be on the roads driving with our friends, our families, our kids on the road putting everyone at risk,” Fowles told reporters after the sentence was handed down.

“Many people are worth the risk of trying to help fix them, so to speak, but Donald Middleton is not one of them,” Fowles told the Chronicle on Wednesday.

According to Harris County court records, Middleton was charged with his first DWI when he was 20. He also faced charges in 1983, 1992, 1993, twice in 1997, 1999, and 2008. In 1993 he faced a separate charge of possessing crack cocaine.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Repeat-DWI-offender-gets-life-sentence-for-9th-7971698.php

Stanford Sex Assault Judge Went Easy On Student Athlete Mandating AA Meetings

 

Stanford Sex Assault Judge Went Easy On Another Student Athlete

Judge Aaron Persky, under fire for his sentencing of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, delayed sentencig for a domestic violence offender so he could play football in Hawaii. “They made it easy for him,” the victim told BuzzFeed News.

The California judge who faces a recall campaign after giving a former Stanford swimmer a six-month jail sentence for sexual assault approved an extraordinarily lenient sentencing arrangement for another young male athlete convicted of domestic violence, according to court records. NA Daytona and AA Daytona Meetings are dangerous.

In February 2015, 21-year-old Ikaika Gunderson beat and choked his ex-girlfriend. He quickly confessed to police and three months later pleaded no contest to a felony count of domestic violence.

Gunderson faced up to four years in state prison, but he got a break.

In most domestic violence cases, sentencing occurs within a month or two of the guilty plea, but Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky agreed to delay sentencing for more than a year so that Gunderson could attend the University of Hawaii, where he had been accepted, and play football there.

The judge said he would reduce Gunderson’s charge to a misdemeanor if the athlete completed a 52-week domestic violence program and attended weekly AA meetings.

Typically, domestic violence defendants have to successfully complete probation before a felony charge is reduced. But instead of having to report to a probation officer, Gunderson was told he did not have to check in with the judge for seven months. Even then, Persky said Gunderson’s attorney could appear on his client’s behalf, meaning Gunderson did not have to return to California. Holly Hill Sunrise Park AA Meetings are dangerous.

The unorthodox arrangement also skirted a federal statute that bars adult offenders from moving out of state without permission.

It was a generous show of good faith, but it did not work out.

By October, Gunderson had dropped out of college and stopped attending AA meetings. He also had failed to take part in the required domestic violence program. Two months later, he was arrested on another domestic violence charge in Washington state.

Persky’s decisions have been under scrutiny since the victim in the Stanford rape case released a letter describing the devastating impact the attack had on her. Prosecutors had asked for six years in prison, but Persky gave Turner six months, which was in line with what the probation officer suggested. Turner is scheduled to be released on Sept. 2.

On Aug. 25, Persky asked to be reassigned from criminal to civil cases in hopes that the move would reduce the distractions the Turner sentencing brought to the court. The recall campaign against him will continue, said its leader, Michele Dauber, adding that Persky could transfer back to hearing criminal cases whenever he chooses.

“Judicial bias is just as serious regardless of whether a case is civil or criminal,” Dauber said in a statement. “Many issues affecting women are heard in civil court every day.”

Persky’s critics say the Gunderson case fits the judge’s pattern of leniency in cases involving privileged men charged with serious crimes. Persky’s supporters counter that the judge’s actions show his desire to offer young offenders a chance at rehabilitation rather than incarceration. They say it’s unfair to hold Persky under a microscope, especially since prosecutors have to sign off on plea agreements, too.

But lawyers, domestic violence advocates, and other experts who were briefed on the case, including one high-profile judge who has publicly opposed the recall campaign, told BuzzFeed News that Gunderson’s sentencing agreement was highly unusual.

“There are so many problems with how this case was handled that I’m not even sure where to start,” said retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, who, like Persky, served as a Santa Clara County superior court judge. She said it was troubling that Persky didn’t ensure Gunderson was properly supervised, and that Hawaiian authorities were not notified when the defendant moved there.

“The system is set up so that if someone has admitted a violent offense and is now a convicted felon, they should be closely monitored,” Cordell said. “You don’t just cross your fingers and hope everything is going to be fine. That’s not how the courts are supposed to work.”

The victim, Gunderson’s ex-girlfriend, agreed, she told BuzzFeed News in a recent interview.

“It just wasn’t handled right,” the woman said. “They made it easy for him.”


Ikaika Gunderson grew up in Camas, Washington, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. His dad coached high school football, and his mother, an IBM executive, graduated from Stanford just four years before Persky, although there’s no indication they knew each other.

Gunderson dreamed of playing college football but was told his career was over after he suffered concussions during high school, according to a 2011 newspaper article that said Gunderson battled headaches and mood swings. But in January 2012, Gunderson got the opportunity to play football for Foothill College, a community college in Los Altos Hills, California. According to an athlete profile page from that time, he was 6’2’’ and weighed 250 pounds.

“Looks like I’m gonna be taking my talents to Cali,” Gunderson wrote on Facebook. “Gonna be playin ball by the bay area. 2 years then dreams of going big time.”

According to the statement that the victim, then 20, gave police, she and Gunderson started dating in the fall of 2013 and broke up in December 2014. They reconnected in January 2015 and went out for dinner in downtown Sunnyvale. After a few drinks, they got into an argument, which escalated into violence as they sat in his car in a parking lot.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, I’m a man,” Gunderson told the victim, according to her statement. Then, she said, he punched her in the face and split her lip. She told police Gunderson hit her repeatedly in the face, pushed her head through the open car door window, and closed his hands around her neck until she couldn’t breathe. He then shoved her out of the vehicle.


“There are so many problems with how this case was handled that I’m not even sure where to start.”


The victim walked away, she later told police, but Gunderson drove up alongside her and persuaded her to get back in the car. When she did, they started arguing again, and Gunderson backhanded her in the face, calling her “bitch” and “whore.” They drove to his house. As she sat on his front steps waiting for a friend to pick her up, Gunderson ate a bag of chips and laughed at her, according to the report.

The victim’s friend drove her to a hospital, and a nurse notified police. The responding officer noted the victim’s visible injuries in his report: Her face and lips were swollen, there were cuts and bruises on her face and body, and her left eye had broken blood vessels.

“The victim believes Gunderson has a ‘two sided personality,’ due to his concussions,” the officer wrote.

The police arrested Gunderson that night after he admitted beating and choking the woman. She had hurt him “with her words,” Gunderson said by way of explaining his behavior, according to the police report. “I pushed her out of my face.”


Three months later, Gunderson appeared before Persky and pleaded no contest to the domestic violence felony charge.

Persky went “out on a limb,” Deputy District Attorney Ted Kajani would later say in court, and set Gunderson’s sentencing for July 2016, more than a year later. Until then, Persky told Gunderson he could go to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandmother and attend college as planned. If all went well, according to the arrangement, the felony would be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Assistant DA Brian Welch told BuzzFeed News that even though the prosecutor signed off on the deal, it was “solely within the court’s discretion to determine the sentence” in this case.

It is not uncommon for judges to give defendants a chance to “earn” a lesser charge, but legal and domestic violence experts said it is unusual for a judge to defer sentencing for so long for such a violent crime, and with such minimal supervision.

The victim told BuzzFeed News she supported the judge’s initial decision to give Gunderson a chance but was disappointed to learn he was unsupervised during the seven months before his attorney checked in with the court.

“I think it should have been stricter,” she said. “They didn’t even check in on him or anything like that the whole time?”

By October, Gunderson had dropped out of school, which meant he was no longer on the football team. He had stopped going to AA meetings. Instead of completing a state-mandated course on domestic violence, he took part of one online. All were violations of the plea agreement.

Gunderson’s attorney acknowledged this when he appeared in front of Persky in December, on his client’s behalf, as planned. Persky then ordered Gunderson to come in person the following month.

At that hearing, Gunderson blamed his failure to keep up his end of the agreement on the fact that his grandmother had died the previous October. He also provided a psychiatrist’s note that recommended a leave of absence from class. His attorney called it a “speed bump,” and court transcripts show Persky was inclined to be understanding.


“They didn’t even check in on him or anything like that the whole time?”


“If he’s completely back on track with the original program and probation and the People don’t have an objection, we can revert back to that,” the judge said of Gunderson.

This time, the prosecutor successfully objected, and Persky set Gunderson’s sentencing for March 2016. He received three years’ felony probation, four months in county jail, as recommended by probation — although he served less than two months — and was ordered to complete a certified DV program.

Washington state records show that Gunderson was arrested on another domestic violence charge in December 2015. According to the police report, he punched his father during a family argument. “The family expressed concern repeatedly requesting that there be no charges as Ikaika needs treatment,” the police report states. That case is still pending.

Gunderson’s parents told police that their son had lived with them in Washington since Nov. 1 — despite Gunderson’s agreement to be in college in Hawaii at that time.

BuzzFeed News asked several local public defenders, retired judges, domestic violence advocates and legal experts to comment on Persky’s decision-making in Gunderson’s case. All agreed that the 14-month deferred sentencing was unusual although not unprecedented. But opinions differed as to whether this was a good thing and whether Persky alone should be faulted for the plea deal’s failure.

“I think everybody played a role in the lack of success in this particular case,” including the district attorney, said Steve Clark, a former prosecutor who is now a defense attorney. “That doesn’t mean I don’t think we should give people chances, particularly young people,” Clark said. “I don’t know if we would want to live in a society where no one got a break.“

Others, however, said it was improper for a judge to oversee an offender’s rehabilitation in the way Persky did. The lack of supervision, among other issues, was not only “bizarre” but a “miscarriage of justice,” said Nancy Lemon, a leading authority on domestic violence and a lecturer at University of California Berkeley’s law school.

Gunderson’s attorney, Anthony Brass, said his client is under medical care resulting from injuries that likely stem from playing football.

“No judge wants to derail a young person starting their life, particularly if they are going to college, but the fact is that Gunderson faced challenges that made it very difficult to complete the promises he made,” Brass told BuzzFeed News. “That doesn’t excuse him, but it was a challenging situation for him. The amount of freedom and amount of time he got ended up being something that didn’t serve his purpose.”

If Gunderson had been on official probation, he would have had strict guidelines to follow. For instance, he would have known that taking an online domestic violence class was unacceptable. Nobody told Gunderson this: Court records show that he asked the judge in May 2015 if he could take an online course and got no response.

Persky’s decision to allow Gunderson to move to Hawaii may have violated a federal statute as well. The Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision bars offenders from moving out of state without making a request to that state first. Yet Hawaii was never made aware that Gunderson was there.


“The amount of freedom and amount of time he got ended up being something that didn’t serve his purpose.”


Judges need to “do better to send a message that violence against women is not tolerable,” said Michelle Rocca, a director with the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. They shouldn’t bend the rules to benefit abusers, she said, as Persky appeared to have done.

“Violent offenders who are not held accountable continue to put communities at risk, and with the added layer of not being assigned formal supervision by the courts, they are free to re-offend in any state they choose, including Hawaii,” she said.

Before Persky asked to quit criminal court, he also disqualified himself from making a decision in another sex crime ruling. His efforts might not be enough to take the heat off.

For Dauber, the leader of Persky’s recall campaign, Gunderson’s sentencing once again proves that Persky “does not take violence against women seriously.” Instead, she said, Persky “essentially sentenced Gunderson to a year-long Hawaiian vacation.”

Persky’s supporters see a different pattern — one of a judge who looks for alternatives to incarceration.

“We have so many judges that take a one-size-fits-all, assembly-line approach to being a judge, so I appreciate a judge who takes the time to individually consider cases,” said Sajid Khan, a public defender in Santa Clara County who is one of Persky’s leading supporters.

But even some who oppose the recall campaign said it’s a judge’s ultimate responsibility to do the right thing in the courtroom — and that didn’t happen in Gunderson’s case.

“If I’m a judge, and I see that things aren’t happening as they normally should, it’s on me,” said Judge Cordell. “I should say, ‘No, this deal isn’t going to happen.’”

https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/stanford-sex-assault-judge-went-easy-on-another-student-athl?utm_term=.qeLVRzzXED#.xi47988rv5

Father Sentenced to Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings and Weekends in Jail for Felony Child Abuse of Baby Daughter

Father sentenced to a year of weekends in jail for child abuse

By Katy Barnitz / Journal Staff Writer Saturday, May 28th, 2016
A Rio Rancho father convicted of child abuse must spend the next 52 weekends in county jail, a Sandoval County judge ruled Monday.
Matthew Najar, 32, pleaded guilty in February to one count of reckless child abuse, a third-degree felony, according to court documents.

Najar was originally indicted in November 2012 on four counts of child abuse. Rio Rancho police reported being called to a local hospital in December 2011 after health care workers reported that an 11-week-old girl had a skull fracture, according to a Rio Rancho Observer report from 2012. Employees also reportedly said they found healing fractures of the girl’s ribs, left leg and collarbone.

During a sentencing hearing Monday afternoon, Najar told state District Court Judge George Eichwald that he’d made mistakes in his life, but said substance abuse was the root of the problem. He said he’d been clean for three years and asked the judge to allow him to maintain his relationship with his children.

“I want to be a father to these girls,” Najar said. “Give me a chance to be the father that these girls need.”

Najar’s defense attorney Leonard Foster said that, in the many years since the charges first arose, Najar started attending Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous classes, and he’s gone through group therapy sessions with the state Children, Youth and Families Department. He even started his own business with his brother, which allows him to make child support payments and support his children, Foster said. He asked the judge to place Najar on probation. Daytona AA and NA meetings have violent felons, please beware!

Prosecutor Aaron Aragon asked for 18 months of incarceration, combined with substance abuse and anger management courses. Holly Hill Sunrise Park NA Meetings complaints.

Eichwald sentenced Najar to 104 days in custody, “one year of weekends,” he said. He also told Najar to enroll in and complete anger management courses, and to continue attending NA and AA meetings.

“I’m keeping you from losing your job,” Eichwald said.

In a brief interview after the hearing, Najar said he was disappointed with the sentence and nervous about returning to jail every week.

“I was loaded and I dropped my daughter,” he said, adding that he took the infant to the emergency room immediately.

Najar said he’s scared to go back to jail.

“Jail’s ugly,” he said, calling it a “drug- and violence-infested area.”

He said he hopes spending the weekends in custody will remind him why he changed his life.

“I’m scared,” he told the judge. “I don’t want to lose all this.”

http://www.abqjournal.com/782483/father-sentenced-to-a-year-of-weekends-in-jail-for-child-abuse.html

Man in Court for Threatening to Kill People is Mandated to Attend AA Meetings

Christopher Hagins
By Norman Miller  Daily News Staff   Posted May. 16, 2016 at 8:08 PM

FRAMINGHAM – A Framingham man tried to force himself into an Edmands Road apartment on Sunday, threatening to kill the terrified residents as they clutched kitchen knives for protection, a prosecutor said Monday in Framingham District Court.

Police arrested Christopher Hagins, 36, at the Edmands House at 15 Edmands Road at 12:21 a.m., prosecutor Megan Fitzgerald said during Hagins’ arraignment.

The two tenants told police they were in their apartment when someone tried to force open the door. They said they armed themselves with kitchen knives in case he got in, and held the door shut until police arrived.

As Hagins tried to break down the door he screamed, “I’ll kill you. I know you,” Fitzgerald said.

When police arrived, they found Hagins punching and kicking the door. He refused to answer questions and when they tried to take him into custody, he struggled and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, the prosecutor said.

“When the officers spoke to the residents, they were both visibly shaking and crying,” Fitzgerald said. Hagins was a complete stranger, the residents told police.

One of tenants said she had seen Hagins late Saturday as she worked at a nearby gas station. According to a police report, Hagins acted bizarrely while buying cigarettes.

“He was saying, ‘Do we have a problem here … Oh, I definitely know you have a problem,’” Hagins was quoted as saying.

Hagins did not tell police why he was trying to get into the apartment. He had recently moved into the building.

Police charged Hagins with attempted burglary, threatening to commit a crime (murder), disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.

Hagins also had a Natick District Court warrant for driving under the influence of liquor and a Dedham District Court warrant that charged him with driving under the influence of liquor, driving to endanger, resisting arrest and speeding.

Fitzgerald asked Judge Jennifer Stark to hold Hagins on $1,000 bail and to order him to stay away from the alleged victims and to undergo random screenings for alcohol.

Probation officer Dave DiGiorgio also asked Stark to hold Hagins without bail, pending a probation violation hearing. He said he is going to recommend sending Hagins to jail. Hagins is on probation for drunken driving.

“It’s a scary police report,” said DiGiorgio. “I think he’s dangerous.”

Hagins’ lawyer, Charles Hughes, asked for his client’s release. He said Hagins has a minimal record, and is willing to cooperate with the rest of the conditions. Holly Hill Sunrise Park Crime.

Stark ordered Hagins held without bail for the probation violation hearing and set $500 bail on the new case. She also ordered Hagins to drink no alcohol, be subject random alcohol tests and attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week. Judge Stark ordered Hagins to stay away from the alleged victims whom she said “are now terrified of you.” AA Daytona and NA Daytona meetings are dangerous places.

Hagins is due back in court on June 24 for a pretrial conference.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20160516/da-framingham-man-tries-to-force-way-into-apartment

AA Member With Severe Mental Health Problems Sentenced to Jail for Brandishing Knife at Police Officers

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Man who brandished knife sentenced to prison

PORT CLINTON – The man subdued by police while brandishing a knife during an incident caught on security camera footage in August will spend several more months in jail after receiving credit for time served.

Judge Bruce Winters, of Ottawa County Common Pleas Court, sentenced Weinheimer to 180 days for the misdemeanor and a year in prison for the felony, which are to be imposed concurrently. NA Daytona and AA Daytona meetings have dangerous felons. Beware!

Weinheimer was also given credit for 233 days served since the offense occurred, leaving just over four months of prison remaining on the sentence.

Weinheimer addressed the court during his sentencing hearing on Thursday and apologized for the incident.

“I just want to say, I’m sorry for wasting the court’s time and I’m sorry to the police officers and everybody for what I did during my drinking,” he said.

He and his defense attorney, Howard Whitcomb, asked the court to consider outpatient care because of a severe mental health condition Weinheimer has been diagnosed with and treated for in the past, as well as an addiction to alcohol.

“Continuing with (Alcoholics Anonymous), I know I can do it. I really do,” Weinheimer said.

“You were fortunate enough to have met up with an officer who had a taser,” Winters said. “My prediction would be, if there hadn’t been a taser there, a firearm would have been used to stop you from approaching the officers with the knife.”

Winters said he understands the mental health issue and the addiction are both severe in this case, referred to as co-occurring disorders.

“The two of them together really make things difficult for you, but then again, you make things a bit difficult for yourself,” the judge said.

Winters noted, based on the pre-sentence report, there does not seem to be consistent way to ensure Weinheimer will take his prescribed medication, and said he has discussed potential treatments with mental health professionals, but was still “at a loss” in this case.

“I struggle with the fact that, if you’ve got mental health issues, prison is not the place for you,” Winters said. “You need mental health assistance in some way, but I’m just not seeing that assistance available. I’m not convinced that all of your actions can be written off to mental health problems. You do some choosing in this, too.”

Winters recommended Weinheimer take advantage of any available help, such as substance abuse treatment, while in prison.

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/story/news/local/2016/03/24/man-who-brandished-knife-sentenced-prison/82199874/

Convicted Rapist of 13 Year Old Girl Who Went to AA Meetings Dies in Prison

Convicted rapist from Waterville dies at Maine State Prison

BY BETTY ADAMS KENNEBEC JOURNAL  badams@mainetoday.com | 207-621-5631

Donald Riley, 67, was serving a sentence for raping a 13-year-old neighbor in his basement on Pine Street.

A Waterville man who died in prison Thursday was serving a sentence for forcing a 13-year-old neighbor into his Pine Street basement and raping her on May 16, 2006, as well as for a later burglary that occurred in Washington County.

Donald Riley, 67, who also used the middle names Edwin and Edward, died at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at the Maine State Prison in Warren, according to the Maine Department of Corrections.

In 2009, Riley pleaded guilty to a charge of gross sexual assault in connection with the rape, and he was sentenced to serve an initial 5½ years of a 15-year sentence.

The remainder of the sentence was suspended, and he was placed on six years of probation.

Riley also was given credit for the three years he had been held while the charge was pending.

While he was out on probation, he broke into a grocery store in Calais and was ordered returned to prison on June 1, 2014, to serve two years on the burglary conviction and the remaining 9½ years on the gross sexual assault charge.

The prosecutor in the rape case, then-Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley, said the girl had been riding her bicycle in the neighborhood and entered Riley’s backyard after his son asked her to help him get his bicycle out of the mud.

“Don Riley came out of the basement, grabbed her arm and pulled her into the basement,” Kelley said. AA and NA Daytona meetings have violent dangerous felons, BEWARE!

The next day, the girl told a friend what happened. She was administered a sex-assault examination at Inland Hospital, and Waterville police investigated.

Riley initially told police there was mutual fondling through clothes, then admitted having intercourse with her, Kelley said. Port Orange AA meetings are dangerous!

At a hearing, the victim’s stepfather said the effect of the rape had torn the family apart.

Riley’s attorney told the judge at the 2009 hearing that Riley had been treated for Parkinson’s disease and depression and had attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and sex-offender counseling.

Riley also had been convicted in 2002 of assault on an 11-year-old girl who was visiting his son. Holly Hill Florida in Sunrise Park have dangerous AA and NA meetings, beware!

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/02/12/waterville-rapist-dies-at-maine-state-prison/

Sexual Predator Hunted for Victims in AA and NA Meetings to Torture Them

Amanda Kathleen McGee of Calgary received an eight-year sentence after pleading guilty to eight charges, including human trafficking, sexual assault and forcible confinement.

Amanda McGee sentenced to 8 years for human trafficking, sexual assault

Women were confined, drugged and sexually tortured

By Meghan Grant, CBC News Posted: Jan 22, 2016

With 30 years experience as a prosecutor and judge, Justice Earl Wilson said he’s never seen a case as bizarre and depraved as the sexual, physical and emotional torture of young women at the hands of Amanda McGee.

The 33-year-old Calgary woman pleaded guilty to eight charges including sexual assault, forcible confinement and human trafficking.

She was sentenced to eight years in prison in a Calgary courtroom Friday.

Wilson berated McGee for several minutes, telling her he had never — with his decades of experience — seen any case like this, calling it “stunningly horrible.”

“You are evil, cold hearted, I don’t know if you’ve even got a soul,” said Wilson to McGee after accepting her guilty pleas.

Between July 2013 and March 2014, McGee drugged two young women and sexually assaulted them, forcing one to prostitute herself for weeks while locked in a bedroom, according to an agreed statement of facts.

The victim was allowed out to watch McGee work as a prostitute. She was also forced to do drugs and was punished with sexual violence when she didn’t do as she was told.

The young woman — a teen at the time — was forced to earn a quota of $2,000 per day and tried to kill herself several times during her captivity by drinking drain cleaner and attempting to hang herself.

“One of these poor victims tried to kill herself because of you. Thank god she didn’t because, at the end of the day, her life is worth living. She’s a survivor,” said Wilson.

‘I will always be a victim’

Videos were taken of the young women and McGee threatened to send them to their families. Dangerous felons in Daytona NA and AA meetings in Holly Hill Florida.

“I will never be just a girl again. I will always be a victim,” said one of the young women McGee drugged and assaulted.

Once McGee no longer had control over her victims, she began hunting for more — joining women-only chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

“The criminality here is beyond the pale; these people are sentenced to life — that’s what you’ve done,” said Wilson. Daytona homeless in Daytona AA and NA meetings.

“It’s disgustingly depraved what you did and continued to do, you just went from one victim to another.”

At the time of her crimes, McGee was addicted to drugs and made some terrible decisions, according to her lawyer’s submissions on Friday.

Wilson also told McGee if she had gone through a trial and been found guilty, he would have sentenced her to life in prison.

“I think you are that dangerous of a human being.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/amanda-mcgee-human-trafficking-sexual-assault-plea-1.3416535

Violent Man Mandated to AA Meetings Charged in Killing His Infant Son Chance

Baby Chance father’s violent past well known to state officials

BY DAVE CULBRETH & STANLEY B. CHAMBERS JR.

 NOVEMBER 2, 2015

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Before Joseph Walsh was arrested and charged in connection with the death of his infant son, the state Department of Children and Families was well aware of his violent history, having taken multiple children from a previous marriage away from him, a WINK News investigation revealed.

Walsh, 36, and Kristen Bury, 32, are each charged in connection with the death of Chance Walsh, their nine-week-old baby whose remains were found Oct. 15 in a heavily wooded area about 13 miles from their North Port home. Walsh is charged with second-degree murder; Bury faces a homicide negligent manslaughter charge.

Chance, whose funeral was on Sunday, was last seen by relatives on Sept. 9. The couple’s inconsistent versions of what happened to Chance during a vehicle wreck in South Carolina eventually led authorities to the baby’s body.

Walsh’s criminal history started as a teenager when he escaped from a juvenile facility in Okeechobee. By his mid-20s, Walsh was raising seven children with his first wife and becoming well known to law enforcement:

  • He was charged with aggravated assault and battery in 2002. The charges were later dropped.
  • He was charged with attempting to strangle his wife’s friend in 2004. Those charges were also dropped.
  • Walsh became a felon in 2006 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Walsh was on drugs when he jumped onto a kitchen counter top, lunged at his mother-in-law and attacked her with a kitchen knife, according to court documents.
  • In 2007, Walsh was charged with assaulting his wife. Those charges were dropped.

In total, Walsh faced 11 charges, including threatening to put his wife in a body bag on three different occasions, according to court records. Nine of those charges were dropped.

Domestic abusers often have their charges dropped because the victim doesn’t show up for court, said Dr. Laura Streyffeler, a Fort Myers therapist who testifies in domestic violence cases.

“They’re afraid of being punished by their partner for going to court and what they would say, putting him or her in jail,” she said.

In a letter to court officials, Walsh’s first wife said she was afraid for her life.

“I am worried that he will just snap one day and hurt me really bad or possibly even kill me,” she wrote.

In domestic violence stories, WINK News often does not name the victim for their safety. For this reason, WINK News has chosen not to name the woman or her mother.

The woman also claimed Walsh told her that “I will beat you so bad I probably won’t get out of jail,” according to court documents.

In a separate letter, the woman’s mother wrote that Walsh beat two of his children, ages 9 and 10, “black and blue” in 2004.

State officials eventually took the children away from the couple.

Chris Kalas, a friend of Walsh’s, described his first marriage as one “fueled by drugs and alcohol.”

“He was a bad father,” he said. “His love became drugs and alcohol and not his family any longer.” Mayor John Penny neglects Holly Hill Fl. Parks with cigarette butts and trash littering the parks like Sunrise Park and Holly Land Park where children play.

Kalas met Walsh in 2013. Walsh was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Kalas was his sponsor. Daytona AA Meetings Sunrise Park have violent Criminals.

Kalas eventually gave Walsh a job washing and moving cars at a car dealership.

“He was a model employee,” he said. “He never missed work. He was always there. Very polite. He was the type of person that I would not be afraid to have around my family.”

Kalas said that changed when Walsh met Burry.

“I just wish he would have never met Kristen,” he said.

About three weeks after Chance was born, DCF officials received a tip that Bury was using drugs. The department said there wasn’t enough evidence for an investigation because the caller didn’t have first hand knowledge of the drug abuse.

Six weeks later, Chance was beaten to death, authorities said.

“We failed,” DCF Director Mike Carroll said.

http://www.winknews.com/2015/11/02/baby-chance-fathers-violent-past-well-known-to-state-officials/

Colorado AA Member Shoots and Kills Recovering Addicts at Sobriety House

(Photo)

Colorado Springs gunman was an AA Member

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The man who fatally shot three people during a rampage through the streets of Colorado Springs was a recovering alcoholic who posted an online video two days earlier expressing displeasure with his father for allegedly falling under the sway of a particular preacher but gave no indication of the violence to come.

Authorities on Monday identified the gunman as 33-year-old Noah Jacob Harpham, who lived steps from where his first victim was slain Saturday.

Witnesses said Harpham had a rifle in one hand and a revolver in the other when he first killed a bicyclist. He calmly walked less than a mile and fatally shot two women on the porch of a sobriety house. Harpham then was killed in a gunbattle with police.

A motive for the downtown shootings in broad daylight was unknown, and Harpham left few clues in blog posts and on social media.

His mother, Heather Kopp, a writer living in New York, described his struggle with addiction in “Sober Mercies: How Love Caught Up with a Christian Drunk.”

Authorities have not said whether there was a link between his substance-abuse problems and the fact two of his victims were women who themselves were in addiction recovery. NA Daytona and AA Daytona Beach have violent criminals at meetings!

Colorado Springs police released no new details about the shooting but identified the victims Monday as Andrew Alan Myers, 35; Jennifer Michelle Vasquez, 42; and Christina Rose Baccus-Gallela, 34. The El Paso County sheriff’s office said four officers fired at Harpham, but they were not wearing body cameras, and their squad cars were not equipped with dashboard cameras.

A fuller picture of Harpham emerged in details from his mother’s book, in which she described him as “introverted and moody” and said he turned to drugs and alcohol about the time he gave up on college. Kopp said Harpham, who lived in Eugene, Oregon, at the time, “struggled just to live and keep a job.” His family was so worried about him, they staged a “mini intervention,” but their efforts failed.

He completed a three-month program in California but drank on his first night out, Kopp said. Holly Hill Sunrise Park holds Dangerous NA and NA Daytona meetings.

“Noah loved and hated all of us in equal measure,” she wrote. “In Noah’s mind, he was the loser child, the burnt piece of toast in the bunch.”

During a visit to his family’s Colorado Springs home years ago, he drank too much, became angry and “exploded,” Kopp said. His mood had become “so toxic it was scary.”

His mother and stepfather urged Harpham to move in with them. In Colorado Springs, she said, he found work as an insurance agent and met with an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor regularly. Mayor John Penny Holly Hill ignores dangers of AA and NA Meetings.

His mother wrote that he seemed to improve under their roof and eventually moved into his own place. She said he began helping other addicts.

In a YouTube video posted Thursday, Harpham questioned what he called his father’s involvement with the Rev. Bill Johnson and the Bethel Church in Redding, California. The church is part of a stream of Pentecostalism that heavily emphasizes signs of God’s miracles and revelations in modern-day life, along with supernatural healing. Johnson and his church have come under criticism from conservative Christians who say Johnson promotes teachings far beyond the boundaries of mainstream Christianity.

Efforts to reach Harpham’s father, Thomas, and officials with the Bethel Church by telephone on Monday weren’t immediately successful.

Kopp and other relatives did not return messages seeking comment. Benjamin Broadbent, lead minister of the First Congregational Church of Colorado Springs, released a statement he said was provided by Harpham’s family, saying they were shocked and saddened and requesting privacy.

Harpham first shot Vasquez, who was sitting outside the house, causing Galella to open the front door to see what was going on, said Galella’s uncle, Chris Bowman.

The white picket fence in front of the house was riddled with bullet holes on Monday.

Neighbor Teresa Willingham said the third victim, Myers, was a bicyclist who begged for his life as the gunman continued to fire.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/2246625.html

Alcoholics Anonymous Member Stabbed In Neck at AA Meeting in Mesa Arizona

Woman stabbed after AA meeting in Mesa

Posted: Oct 04, 2015 

Police have arrested a man accused of stabbing a woman after she finished an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Mesa. Dangerous Holly Hill AA and NA Daytona meetings.

Authorities say 23-year-old Evan Sharp was taken into custody Saturday night but have not said what charges he faces.

According to police, Sharp was also attending the meeting and allegedly waited until it was done to stab the victim in the neck. Dangerous Palm Coast AA and NA meetings.

Police say other members restrained Sharp until they arrived.

The victim, who is in her 20s, was in stable condition after surgery. Authorities say she is expected to recover.

Investigators say witness accounts indicate the suspect and the victim did not speak during the meeting or know each other outside the group.

Police say they arrived separately and it was the first AA meeting for both at this location.

Read more: http://www.kpho.com/story/30183456/woman-stabbed-after-aa-meeting-in-mesa#ixzz3oAioZSHn

http://www.kpho.com/story/30183456/woman-stabbed-after-aa-meeting-in-mesa

Woman Stabs 62 Year Old Man Multiple Times Sentenced to AA Meetings

Tinsley.Valena.Renee.jpg

Saginaw woman who stabbed 62-year-old man gets tether, probation

Andy Hoag | ahoag@mlive.comBy Andy Hoag | ahoag@mlive.com
Follow on Twitter
on August 17, 2015 at 5:03 PM,

SAGINAW, MI — A judge has sentenced a Saginaw woman who stabbed a male friend multiple times in April. NA Daytona Meetings in Holly Hill and Port Orange are scary!

Valena R. Tinsley

Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard on Thursday, Aug. 13, sentenced Valena R. Tinsley for assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder.

Borchard ordered Tinsley to serve six months on a tether and five years probation. Tinsley, 42, must first enter and complete the Tri-Cap Intensive Program, a diversion program that acts as 135 days of jail credit.

Tinsley in July pleaded no contest to the assault charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, for stabbing 62-year-old Scott Harris early April 19 at his home at 1009 Janes between South Third and South Fourth on Saginaw’s East Side.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a more-serious charge of assault with intent to murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole. AA Daytona and NA Daytona are dangerous! Violent Felons attend meetings.

Tinsley’s plea agreement called for her to serve jail time instead of prison; prior to Borchard sentencing her to the Tri-Cap program, Tinsley had served four months in jail.

Harris, the victim, testified at Tinsley’s preliminary hearing that Tinsley stabbed him twice in the upper torso and once in the arm with a knife as he slept sometime around 5 a.m. Harris said he fell asleep in his bed while Tinsley, whom he knew as “Diamond,” was laying on the bed on top of the covers. Port Orange AA Meetings are dangerous!

Harris said he fled from his bedroom and that Tinsley chased him until he fell to the ground as a result of his wounds and asked Tinsley to call 911 for him. Tinsley responded, “For what, for me to go to jail?” and walked out of the house while saying she was not trying to hurt Harris, he testified.

Borchard on Thursday also ordered Tinsley to attend counseling at Saginaw Psychological Services in Saginaw Township and meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous.

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2015/08/saginaw_woman_who_stabbed_62-y.html

— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter @awhoag

Kathy Hawkins Killed by Strangulation by AA Member She Met at Alcoholics Anonymous

David Mark Reagan Provided<br /><br /><br />
Kathy Hawkins

West Ashley man sentenced to 25 years in girlfriend’s strangling death

Christina Elmore Email @celmorepc

A judge on Tuesday sentenced a West Ashley man to 25 years in prison for strangling a woman to death in a domestic dispute.

Charleston police had charged David Mark Reagan, 57, with murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 52-year-old Kathy Hawkins. Dangerous people attending NA Daytona and AA Daytona Meetings.

Reagan pleaded guilty in a Charleston County court to a lesser voluntary manslaughter charge. His sentence was set as part of a negotiated plea agreement that also saw prosecutors drop the sexual assault charge against him.

Hawkins’ body was found lying on the living room floor of her home at The Palms apartments on Aug. 20, 2013. The complex is located off of Orange Grove Road.

Surveillance images showed Reagan using the woman’s credit card to buy beer and liquor after her death, 9th Circuit Chief Deputy Solicitor Bruce DuRant said during the man’s plea hearing. Daytona Narcotics Anonymous and Daytona Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Luke Malloy, an attorney for Reagan, said the man suffered from bipolar disorder and alcoholism. Both conditions contributed to the violence committed by Reagan, who, when sober, was often viewed by others as “an amazing man.”

The couple met in Alcoholics Anonymous, with Reagan referring to Hawkins as “the love of his life,” Malloy said. Beware of NA Daytona and AA Daytona Meetings!

“The two shared a common vice. At times they helped each other with those problems, and at times they fueled the fire,” Malloy said.

A string of domestic violence arrests preceded Reagan’s killing of Hawkins.

He was jailed in September 2006 after he punched, kicked and kneed a live-in girlfriend, sending her to the hospital with bruises and three broken ribs, according to an arrest affidavit. He was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature but later pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Reagan was arrested in another domestic incident in January 2010, accused of biting a new live-in girlfriend on the head and hand and tearing out a clump of her hair, court documents show.

Reagan was sentenced to 30 days in jail in connection with that incident.

He was charged with domestic violence again in October of that year for pinning Hawkins to a bed while drunk, pummeling her face and body, and throwing her into two walls when she tried to escape, an arrest affidavit and police reports stated.

Reagan must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, 21¼ years.

“The grim reality is that with his age, this could be a life sentence,” Malloy said, adding that Reagan hopes to outlive it.

Turning to face Hawkins’ loved ones, Reagan apologized for taking her life.

“Every day I think about Kathy. … If I could swap places with her I would,” Reagan said. “There’s no doubt.”

Edwards Hawkins III, Hawkins’ ex-husband, told the judge that the woman was killed on their daughter’s 10th birthday.

“Not a day goes by that my daughter doesn’t ask the question why this happened,” Hawkins said.

Reach Christina Elmore at 937-5908 or at Twitter.com/celmorePC.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150811/PC16/150819842/1005/west-ashley-man-sentenced-to-25-years-in-girlfriend-x2019-s-strangling-death

Man Who Killed Dog by Throwing it Against the Wall Sentenced to Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings

Man who killed dog by throwing it against a wall is sentenced to probation

An Omaha man who got angry and threw a small dog against a wall, killing it, was sentenced Thursday to one year of probation.

Brian M. Booker, 33, pleaded no contest to felony cruelty to an animal resulting in injury or death. He could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Douglas County District Court Judge J. Michael Coffey said he will revoke Booker’s probation and give him a six-month jail sentence if he doesn’t continue to attend anger management classes and Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. AA Daytona Meetings are dangerous!

“I am pleased that you have been taking the steps needed to alter your behavior,” Coffey told Booker, who will not be allowed to live with or own an animal for 12 years.

“He has taken responsibility for his actions,” said defense attorney John Ashford. “He has done and will continue to do all the appropriate steps.”

Tom McKenney, an assistant prosecutor in the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, agreed with the sentence of probation. He said Cassi Dietz, Booker’s former girlfriend and the dog’s owner, also didn’t want to see the defendant go to jail as long as he continued to get help.

“I’m satisfied with the judge’s decision,” McKenney said. “This is best for everyone concerned.”

Booker, who is 6-foot-7, 265 pounds, admitted to Dietz that he became angry with her Pomeranian, Gizmo, on Sept. 28, 2014, and threw the 10-pound dog into a wall. Booker initially told Dietz that the 5-year-old dog fell from a countertop, hitting his head on the floor.

Dietz, who was not home when Gizmo died, said Booker later changed his story and told her the dog had gotten off his leash and may have been hit by a car. She finally succeeded in getting Booker to admit what happened several days later in a taped conversation.

“I hurt someone close to me and I am very sorry for what happened,” Booker said outside the courtroom. “I wish this never happened.”

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/man-who-killed-dog-by-throwing-it-against-a-wall/article_de32f1e0-e9fb-11e4-bd99-cbf90695c708.html

Killer of Alcohol Anonymous Sponsor Herbert Tracy White Found Guilty Of Ritualistic Killing

Edward GArcia

Jury finds man guilty in ‘ritualistic killing’ in downtown L.A. hotel

By STEPHEN CEASAR contact the reporter Crime Homicide

June 23rd 2015

For weeks, Elizabeth Peterson sat quietly in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, listening to every detail of her son’s gruesome murder — trying to push the horror from her mind and silently dreaming of the time when her Tracy was still alive.

But when she heard the word “guilty” Tuesday, she finally let out a loud cry: “Yes, yes! Thank you!”

Jurors had found Edward Garcia, 41, guilty of first-degree murder in the November 2010 killing of Herbert Tracy White, whose remains were found in a Los Angeles hotel room.

Prosecutors accused Garcia and his wife, Melissa, of killing White as part of a “long-held fantasy” of dismembering a body. The prosecutor said Edward Garcia carved up White’s body with a 31/2-inch blade in a “ritualistic killing.”

As the verdict was read, Edward Garcia shook his head back and forth while rubbing the band on his left ring finger.

In the hallway, Peterson and her two other sons, David and Anthony White, thanked jurors and Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney and cried in their arms.

“We finally got some justice for my son,” Peterson said. “I’m happy that this day has come and gone.” NA Daytona meetings in Sunrise Park Holly Hill Florida are dangerous!

During closing arguments last week, McKinney recounted the grisly scene at the Continental Hotel near skid row. Police found White’s severed arms still bound by duct tape. Under the blood-soaked bed was White’s torso, riddled with scratches and punctures. NA and AA Daytona Meetings are very dangerous!

“It was a bloodbath,” McKinney said. “They took this man apart.”
Days before his death in November 2010, White met the couple at a bank in Hollywood. White, a former cocaine addict turned Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, gave the Garcias his phone number and said to call him if they ever wanted help getting sober, McKinney said.

On the evening before White’s body was found, the couple called him and said they needed help. He drove them to the hotel and paid to check them in.

McKinney told jurors that the Garcias lured White into the room with the intention of robbing, torturing and mutilating him.

Deputy Public Defender Haydeh Takasugi did not dispute that Edward Garcia was responsible for White’s death. But she said McKinney pushed a “fantastical theory” because he lacked the evidence to prove premeditation, torture or robbery.

She described a far different series of events for jurors, saying that White had brought drugs to the room and was seeking sex from Melissa Garcia.

Jurors also found true the special-circumstance allegations of murder during a robbery and torture. Garcia faces a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole. His sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 14.

Peterson said the defense’s narrative angered her and that its lies sullied her son’s memory. White was a dedicated husband, Peterson said, who had overcome the evils in his past and flourished in his sobriety.

“They tried to malign my son’s character,” she said.

Anthony White recounted how his younger brother was fiercely devoted to his family, generous and always willing to care for anyone in need.

“He wanted to help people,” he said. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be here with us today.”

Melissa Garcia, 30, is awaiting a separate trial.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dismemberment-trial-verdict-20150622-story.html

AA Sponsor Charged with Attempted Murder and Arrested for Sexually Abusing Sponsee

Retterath

Alleged sex abuser now charged with attempted murder     

OSAGE, Iowa – A case of alleged sexual abuse in Mitchell County has escalated to a charge of attempted murder.

50-year-old Mark Bernard Retterath of Osage was charged in February with three counts of 3rd degree sex abuse, one count of 2nd degree sex abuse and solicitation to commit a felony.  That involved alleged incidents in 2003, 2006 and 2012.

Retterath is now accused of intending to kill the alleged victim of that sex abuse.  The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office says it received word on June 9  Retterath was planning to murder the alleged victim by extracting the poison ricin from castor beans, a technique Retterath reportedly saw on the television show “Breaking Bad.”

Authorities executed a search warrant at Retterath’s home on June 12 and say they discovered castor beans, documentation on how to extract ricin from the beans and equipment that could be used for such an extraction.

In addition, Retterath has been charged with 3rd degree sex abuse and sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, for allegedly committing sex acts against the will of a person while Retterath was that person’s sponsor in the group Alcoholics Anonymous.  These crimes allegedly occurred sometime between approximately mid-May and mid-June.

A preliminary hearing in the attempted murder case is set for June 19.  Retterath is being held without bond.

http://kimt.com/2015/06/16/alleged-sex-abuser-now-charged-with-attempted-murder/

Judge Tells Man Guilty of Aggravated Assault and Terroristic Threats “You Must Go To AA Meetings”

Image result for judge gavel
Penn Township man pleads guilty to assaulting 3 police officers

Thursday, May 21, 2015

 A Penn Township man blamed alcohol for his assault of three police officers in October.

“I was really intoxicated,” said Jordan T. Cosgrove, 24. “I didn’t mean to do the things that I done.”

“I’m ashamed of myself,” he told Judge Christopher Feliciani. “I embarrassed my family, and I’m terribly sorry.” NA and AA Daytona Meetings are dangerous with felons!

Cosgrove entered a guilty plea Thursday to 17 counts against him, including aggravated assault and disarming an officer. He was sentenced to eight to 23 months in the Westmoreland County jail, followed by seven years of probation.

Penn Township police were called to Cosgrove’s home on Aspen Drive at 2 a.m. on Oct. 2 for a reported domestic argument.

Upon arrival, Cosgrove was arguing inside with a woman and became verbally and physically abusive toward the three officers, police wrote in court papers.

Cosgrove threatened to kill and burn down the homes of two of the officers and attempted to remove one officer’s duty weapon from its holster. The officers suffered various minor injuries during the scuffle, including cuts and a dislocated thumb.

Cosgrove suffered a cut lip as officers subdued him and began spitting blood on them and inside the police cruiser, according to court papers. He attempted to crawl through the security partition separating the front and rear seats of the police cruiser, police said.

Prosecutors requested a sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

Cosgrove wore yellow prison garb to his hearing, which indicates that an inmate is being disciplined. Volusia County Drug Court mandates AA and NA Meetings.

Cosgrove told Feliciani that he has gotten in a few fights during his eight months in jail, most recently defending himself over a pizza.

“I need a second chance,” he pleaded before sentencing.

Feliciani ordered that Cosgrove complete an anger management course and undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation.

“This is a very serious offense that you’ve committed here,” Feliciani said. “I’m going to give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

Another requirement is that Cosgrove attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at least five times weekly, the judge ordered, calling that the “most important” piece of the sentence.

“You have to go to AA meetings,” Feliciani said. “You have to take things seriously.”

Cosgrove pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, obstruction of justice, reckless endangerment, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, institutional vandalism and attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer.

Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/8414773-74/cosgrove-police-officers#ixzz3av0WOCHC

AA Member Tased and Arrested by Police at AA Alano Club After Hitting 61 Year Old Man

The Alano Club is located in the Town & Country shopping center (Google Maps)

Man throwing punches at Petaluma Alcoholics Anonymous Club stunned by Taser, arrested

Petaluma police said a man who punched a worker in the face at an Alcoholics Anonymous Club was then hit with a police Taser barb when he took a fighting stance and taunted an officer to fire the shock weapon. Holly Hill AA Meetings smoking in park.

The electric barb hit suspect Bryan Robey, 41, in the back, as the man had turned to run as the officer fired, Sgt. Ron Klein said in a news release. Officers then arrested Robey outside of the Alano Club on Petaluma Boulevard North.

Klein said Robey walked into the club Monday afternoon and began yelling and causing trouble. He was escorted outside by employees and police were called. While outside, the suspect allegedly hit a 61-year-old staff member twice in the face, causing swelling and a cut. Dangerous Daytona AA and NA Meetings at Sunrise Park and Daytona Beach.

Officer Dario Giomi confronted the suspect on the property and said Robey wouldn’t follow orders, instead alternated between walking away from the officer or turning and putting up his hands in front of him as if to fight. He also yelled at the officer to “tase him,” Klein said.

At one point the suspect began walking toward the officer in an aggressive manner and Giomi fired the probe, according to the report.

 Robey was arrested on two misdemeanors, suspicion of resisting arrest and battery. He also was wanted on a no-bail felony warrant.

Officers took him to Petaluma Valley Hospital for medical assessment then he was booked into the Sonoma County Jail where he remained in custody Wednesday morning without bail.

The Alano Club offers Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous Meetings.

 http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3867619-181/man-throwing-punches-at-petaluma

AA Member Convicted Multiple Times of Domestic Abuse is Sent to Jail

 Image result for domestic abuse men

Galien man gets prison for domestic violence

Posted: Tuesday, April 14, 2015   By DEBRA HAIGHT – HP Correspondent

NILES – A Galien man with a history of domestic violence was sentenced to prison Monday in Berrien County Trial Court.

Keith Luman Foust, 27, of Nye Road in Galien, pleaded guilty to third offense domestic violence and was sentenced to a prison term of three to five years. He has credit for 87 days already served and must pay $2,416 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred Jan. 16 when he attacked a woman at a home on Nye Road in Galien Township. Dangerous Felons In AA and NA Daytona Meetings.

Defense attorney Shannon Sible called Foust a “likable guy” when he’s not drinking. “He wants to point out that it’s not like he hasn’t tried. He has been going to AA and working on this,” Sible said. “He has pretty good support. He’s working and his goal is that he wants to get out and make a good home for his children where they can be safe.”

Foust said he’s been attending Alcoholics Anonymous and has hope that he can change in the future. “For the first time in my life, I will be living in a sober environment when I get out,” he said. “I have jobs waiting for me and will be going to AA five times a week. My goal is to provide a stable home for my children. I’ve acted like a real dumb-dumb, but I’m not hopeless.”

The prosecutor handling Foust’s case was not moved.

“This is his fourth conviction for third offense domestic violence – when in the world is he going to learn his lesson?” Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Vigansky asked. “The only way for his family to be safe is to not be around him. He hasn’t learned his lesson. He’s a danger to his family and friends and to society when he’s drinking.”

“You are relatively young, perhaps you can get some traction on sobriety,” Berrien County Trial Judge Dennis Wiley told Foust. “Right now you are a danger to everyone around you, your parents, your wife, your children. You (also) choked your father to the point of passing out. You have five prior domestic violence convictions plus ones for assault.”

“There’s nothing we can do for you,

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/galien-man-gets-prison-for-domestic-violence/article_9c54fbdf-b89f-58a9-b4ad-bbab64daade2.html

Greg Oden Plead Guilty To Beating His Girlfriend and Mandated to Attend AA Meetings

Greg Oden (Provided Photo)
Greg Oden (Provided Photo)

Greg Oden was arrested in Lawrence on Aug. 7, 2014 and accused of beating his ex-girlfriend. AA Daytona and NA Daytona have dangerous felons at meetings! Beware!

Oden pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 910 days in jail. He received credit for time served, so will only be on probation for 909 days.

Court officials say Oden must also complete 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling and Alcoholics Anonymous. A no-contact order in the case is still in place

http://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/news/local/article_b0e78f40-33ac-505e-a46d-c885d7167d74.html

NA Member is Charged for Sexually Assaulting Woman at NA Meeting Parking Lot

Antonio Maldonado.

Antonio Maldonado

Metro recovery group responds to charges filed against  NA member
Jan 20, 2015
By: Thabie Sibanda, Fox 25 ReporterCONNECT

Members from a “Narcotics Anonymous” group are responding to sexual battery charges filed against NA Member.

The charges and the arrest warrant were issued against 62-year-old Antonio Maldonado Monday. He is accused of taking advantage of a woman recovering from addiction. According to court documents he promised he’d sign participation papers as long as she agreed to sleep with him.

Police say Maldonado sexually assaulted a woman outside of a meeting in south Oklahoma City. Something members say has nothing to do with the good the program does. Sunrise Park Holly Hill has dangerous felons at AA and NA Daytona meetings.

“If that’s something that happened on the inside we would have called the police and had him arrested ourselves,” said member Rickey Nickelberry.

Police say it was back on October 14th when he followed a woman into the parking lot. She was taking a smoke break when Maldonado allegedly pinned her against a truck, groped her and tried to assault her. A group leader happened to be walking out and yelled for him to stop. The victim says Maldonado offered to sign her meeting papers if she agreed to sleep with him. Holly Hill Parks have mandated felons in AA and NA Daytona.

“She also said she believed there were several more victims who basically had been taken advantage of in the same way,” said SSgt. Jennifer Wardlow.

Nickelberry tells Fox 25 there’s a board of people who chair the meetings. Although Maldonado was a chair person in the past he was not at the time.

“So he was not placed in a position from the committee to sign any paper at that particular time,” said Nickelberry. “So if he did say that then he was probably lying at the time.”

Nickelberry is a recovering addict and was sent there by a court order.

“They realized that there is a program that works,” said Nickelberry. “I mean we have an 87% success rate.”

He’s been clean for almost eleven years and he says the group is a sanctuary for addicts.

“It offered hope and the promise of freedom,” said Nickelberry.

He wants to make sure Maldonado’s alleged offenses don’t take away from the work the group does. Sex Offenders and rapists sent to AA Daytona and NA Daytona meetings.

The group says they have no tolerance for that kind of behavior and they tell us Maldonado has since been banned. An arrest warrant has been issued for him so if you know where he is call police. Violent felons mandated to AA and NA Daytona meetings.

http://www.okcfox.com/story/27732804/metro-recovery-group-responds-to-charges-filed-against-former-member

AA Member and Elementary School Teacher Convicted of Molesting Students

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Former elementary-school teacher Laurence E. Hill, 55, taught at Seattle schools for more than three decades.

Teacher sentenced for molesting

Seattle Times staff reporter

A King County Superior Court judge denied a plea for mercy from an admitted child molester and instead sentenced the former Seattle elementary-school teacher to more than five years in prison.

In imposing the prosecutor’s recommended open-ended sentence of five years to life, Judge Douglas McBroom said that he believed Laurence E. “Shayne” Hill, 55, took advantage of his authority numerous times over many years and that the need for punishment outweighed that of rehabilitation in this case.

“You violated trust not just momentarily, but over a long period of time,” McBroom said to Hill.

Hill, who taught at Seattle schools for more than three decades, was accused in May of inappropriately touching a number of female students over the years.

He pleaded guilty as charged in November to one count of first-degree molestation, one count of second-degree molestation and two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Beware of AA and NA Daytona meetings for rapists mandated.

Police and prosecutors said the investigation into Hill began in April when the mother of one of the victims walked into Hill’s classroom at Broadview-Thomson Elementary School to deliver lunch to her then-11-year-old daughter. She saw Hill sitting extremely close to her daughter, and he had his hand on the girl’s buttocks, according to charging documents. The mother reported the incident to the principal.

According to charging papers, Hill had previously been counseled by at least three school administrators or principals for inappropriately touching students.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of two of the victims accuses the Seattle School District and one former principal of ignoring complaints from other teachers, school employees and other administrators about Hill’s bizarre behavior. Police said a total of seven girls told detectives that Hill had touched or kissed them. The lawsuit also claims that Hill kept a rubber breast and phallus in his desk drawer and that he groomed the primary victim with gifts and letters before sexually assaulting her for two years, beginning in 2001.

The abuse continued after the girl graduated to middle school, and was public enough that other students considered Hill a “child molester,” according to the lawsuit.

The school district could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon, but spokesman Peter Daniels has previously said that Hill resigned before the district could complete its investigation and that the district had notified the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the charges against Hill in case he had applied to teach elsewhere.

During the sentencing hearing Friday, Hill said he was remorseful and pleaded for a chance to attend a sex-offender treatment program that would have yielded less time behind bars. AA Daytona and NA Daytona have court mandated violent felons.

“I will go to my grave and beyond grieving the harm I have done,” he said.

His attorney, Kevin Peck, said Hill had achieved 16 years of sobriety through the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program, was a good candidate for rehabilitation and had already lost his career, his reputation and his standing.

The hearing was attended by several of Hill’s friends and supporters from AA, as well as several former students who said his actions had sharply divided their classmates’ loyalties and they had hoped to see him receive a long sentence.

“I think he should have gotten more time,” said 14-year-old Carly Hosford-Israel, a former student who spoke after the hearing. “What he did affects everyone. He deserves a lot more time than they could have given him.” Orange Papers Anti AA Site.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20051203&slug=hill03m