Teenage girl sold her seven-year-old stepsister for sex at party

By Calvin Palmer

A 15-year-old girl sold her seven-year-old stepsister for sex at a party in a high-rise apartment block in Trenton, New Jersey, on Sunday night.

The teen had sold herself for sex with party guests and then handed money to her younger sister and watched as many as seven men and boys gang-raped the child.

The elder girl has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint, terroristic threats, endangering the welfare of a child, and promoting prostitution. Her identity has not been released by Trenton police.

Capt Joseph Juniak said: “You don’t even know what to say. It’s incomprehensible.”

All those involved in the gang rape will face identical charges, Juniak said, and even those who were in the room but did not harm the girl will be charged.

“Those individuals who did not take part in the physical attack are also going to be held responsible for endangering that child,” he said.

The people who engaged in sex with the 15-year-old will also be charged for having sex with an underage girl.

Police were also trying to determine if any of the culprits were associated with a street gang or drug dealing

After the attack the young girl put her clothes back on and left the Rowan Towers apartment while her sister stayed behind. Two women found the child crying outside the apartment block and walked her home.

Police are trying to track down the participants in the sexual assault and rape.

“These individuals need to be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible,” Juniak said.

An outraged Mayor Douglas Palmer could scarcely find words to express his horror.

“As the father of a young daughter, this is one of the most abhorrent, perverted, immoral acts I’ve ever heard of,” he said. “It’s abhorrent. The police are gonna track down these people and get justice for this innocent angel.”

“I believe personally — not as the mayor — personally, there is a space reserved in hell for the perpetrators of this act and I know they’ll get there,” he said.

Police said the girls were outside in the neighborhood on Sunday afternoon when the 15-year-old ran into two young men she knew who invited her to a party at the apartment. Rather than leave the seven-year-old behind, the teen took her along.

At the party, the 15-year-old starting having sex with several of the men for money and then gave the younger girl some cash to let a group of men touch her. Juniak would not say how much money was exchanged.

The girls’ parents reported them missing late on Sunday afternoon. Police had just arrived at the home when the seven-year-old returned and told her parents what happened, Juniak said.

The child was treated at a hospital, and police said child protective services are working with the family to get her psychological help.

The apartment building where the assault took place is well-known to police, who are hired by the building to handle security at night from 5pm to 3am.

Many of the apartments are vacant. The renter of the 13-floor apartment where the party was held had not been home for quite a while, and investigators were trying to find out how the partygoers got in.

Juniak indicated that the 15-year-old previously had contact with child services, but he declined to elaborate or discuss the family’s makeup, except to say the girls “considered themselves sisters”.

[Based on reports by The Times of Trenton and Associated Press.]

Three university lacrosse team players charged with sexual assault of student

By Calvin Palmer

Three Sacred Heart University lacrosse players have been charged in connection with the sexual assault of a female student.

Nicholas Travers, 18, of Smithtown, New York; Zachari Triner, 18, of Marshfield, Massachusetts; and Timothy Sanders, 19, of Ashburn, Virginia, were all charged on Sunday with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault. Sanders was also charged with first-degree unlawful restraint.

Police say the 18-year-old female victim, from New Jersey, was having consensual sex with Sanders in a dormitory room, at the Fairfield campus, when Sanders suddenly held the girl down on the bed and called two other males to join him. The two other males took off their clothes and sexually assaulted her.

The girl screamed and struggled with her assailants, police said, and Triner and Travers fled the room. Sanders then asked the sobbing student if he could resume having intercourse with her.

Triner later told police he had entered the room naked and fled without touching the girl, while Travers denied knowing anything about the incident.

Sanders’ lawyer, Wayne Keeney, said the allegations are “grossly exaggerated”.

In a statement yesterday, Sacred Heart said: “Any student who violates Sacred Heart University’s code of conduct is subject to swift disciplinary action. We take allegations involving student safety very seriously, and it is university policy to immediately suspend accused students pending a judicial review. The safety of our students and a safe campus environment is our primary concern.”

[Based on reports by The Connecticut Post and Associated Press.]

Knox’s hatred of room mate triggered ‘an unstoppable crescendo of violence’

By Calvin Palmer

The hatred American Amanda Knox harbored for British exchange student and room mate Meredith Kercher led to “an unstoppable crescendo of violence” that resulted in the British girl’s murder, an Italian court heard today.

Chief prosecutor Giuliano Mignini summed up the prosecution’s case in a trial that has lasted almost a year.

Knox, 22, a University of Washington student, from Seattle, and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, are standing trial for the murder of 21-year-old Kercher, from Couldsen, Surrey, on the night of November 1, 2007. They both deny any wrongdoing.

Ivory Coast-born drifter Rudy Guede, 22, was convicted for his role last fall in a separate trial and sentenced to 30 years. His appeal also began this week.

Mignini argued that Knox initiated a scuffle that degenerated into a beating, sexual assault and eventual stabbing, went on to alter the crime scene to create a clumsily staged burglary and rape, then fell into a self-made trap of inconsistencies and fibs.

“The first accusers of Amanda and Raffaele were they themselves,” he said.

Mignini clearly painted Knox as the mastermind of the crime, an aggressive young woman who harbored hate for her goody-two shoes English roommate and exerted powerful influence over the other two male suspects, who were infatuated with her.

He said Knox bitterly resented the fact that Kercher had complained about her keeping a vibrator and condoms in full view in their bathroom and her habit of bringing men back to the house they shared in the medieval walled town of Perugia in Umbria.

“We don’t know what they intended to do once in the house,” he said “Perhaps there was a discussion, a fight over money or behavior that got out of control. Or perhaps after smoking hash, they decide to include Meredith in an extreme sexual game, and it was the moment for Knox to vindicate herself in a situation that bit-by-bit got more and more violent.”

Knox, dressed in her favorite red, hooded Beatles sweatshirt and jeans, grew increasingly emotional as Mignini described in detail his reconstruction of Kercher’s slaying and wept quietly twice during the course of the afternoon.

“It is Amanda who started the fight, which triggered an unstoppable crescendo of violence, and it is Amanda who plunged the knife into Meredith’s neck,” Mignini said. “It is Amanda who later covers the cadaver with a blanket — a form of pietas, of respect for the victim. An unknown male would not have any need to cover the body. As a woman, and friend, she couldn’t stand to see that nude, battered cadaver that she was responsible for.”

The three alleged killers tried to cover up the crime by smashing a window in the house with a rock in an attempt to convince investigators that the murder was committed by a lone burglar, Mignini said in his closing arguments.

The Italian police who investigated the crime scene have told the court their suspicions were aroused by the fact that glass shards lay on top of clothing lying scattered on the floor, suggesting that the window was broken after the room was ransacked, not before.

“All of this was done to channel suspicions on to a stranger,” Mr Mignini said. “The key to the mystery is in that room.”

Not only was the window visible from a nearby road, making it an odd point of entry for a burglar, but nothing in the room was stolen.

Mignini is expected to ask for lengthy prison sentences for Knox and her former lover when the court resumes. A verdict is expected in the first week of December. If convicted by a panel of two judges and six jurors, the pair could face life imprisonment.

Knox’s laywer Carlo Dalla Vedova dismissed Mignini’s closing argument.

“This was a very suggestive presentation, but this is the court of assize, so you need actual proof to condemn someone,” said Carlo Dalla Vedova.

When asked about Knox’s emotional response during Mignini’s dramatic reconstruction of the crime, Dalla Vedova said “It’s two years she has been in prison, of course it is trying for her.”

Knox’s stepfather, Chris Mellas, was present in the courtroom, but had no comment.

Co-prosecutor Manuela Comodi will present summations of the forensic evidence in court tomorrow.

[Based on reports by The Daily Telegraph and Seattle Post Intelligencer.]

British tourist shot dead in Texas bar robbery

By Calvin Palmer

Police yesterday arrested a man who allegedly shot dead a British tourist during a robbery at a bar in Texas.

Ray Carlos Cisneros, 25, of Lubbock, was taken into custody at a truck stop near Interstate 40 after a police hunt lasting nearly 19 hours.

Police allege that Cisneros shot two men at the Spotted Pony bar in Amarillo, robbed patrons and sexually assaulted a woman on Thursday evening.

He fired multiple shots, and one bullet struck the torso of British tourist Thomas George Reeve, 28. Another patron, a 48-year-old man, was shot in the hand.

Reeve died at Northwest Texas Hospital. His body was taken to Lubbock, where an autopsy was performed yesterday.

Sgt Kevin Dockery, of Amarillo’s special crimes unit, said Reeve was in the bar with two friends. They had rented a car in California and stopped in Amarillo on a trip to Florida.

Police say Cisneros took purses, wallets and money from the bar’s cash register. He forced one woman to remove some of her clothing and sexually assaulted her.

At one point, the bandana Cisneros was using to cover his face slipped down allowing patrons to recognize him as having been at the bar earlier in the evening.

Cisneros is being held in the Potter County Detention Center on a capital murder charge. His bail has been set at $1 million.

[Based on reports by the Amarillo Globe-News and Houston Chronicle.]

Greek woman claims “self-defense” in setting fire to drunken Briton’s genitals

By Calvin Palmer

A Greek woman will learn tomorrow whether the case against her for setting fire to the genitals of a drunken Briton who allegedly tried to sexual assault her in a bar will go to court.

Marina Fanouraki, 26, from the island of Crete became a hero for her actions and won further plaudits for turning herself in to the police to be put on trial for what she claimed was her “right to self-defense”.

She faces an investigating magistrate on charges of causing bodily injuries to the Briton and of endangering private property.

According to police, the incident occurred at a club in the resort of Malia, notorious for young Britons wishing to party through the night.

Stuart Feltham, 20, allegedly took down his trousers at the Electra bar and started waving his genitals at a number of girls and then “forcefully fondled” Fanouraki, asking her to take hold of his penis.

She asked him to stop harassing her and then poured Sambuca, an Italian aniseed liqueur, on his genitals, according to police.

The Briton continued with his advances, so the woman seized a lighter and set fire to the man’s alcohol-drenched genitals. He is in a private clinic, in Heraklion, being treated for second-degree burns to his testicles and penis.

Legal counsel for the woman said that at tomorrow’s hearing the court may either issue an immediate verdict or postpone for a future date, depending on reported plans by the woman’s lawyers to also take legal action against the Briton, as soon as he recovers.

[Based on a report by The Daily Telegraph.]

Female teacher suspected of sexual assault on girl pupil at private school

By Calvin Palmer

A female teacher at a private girls’ school in London has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting one of the pupils.

Parents of children at the City of London School for Girls were notified of the incident by text messages and e-mails and advised to read a letter posted by head teacher Diana Vernon on the school’s intranet.

Vernon described the matter as an “inappropriate relationship”.

Police arrested the 26-year-old teacher earlier this week after being alerted by Vernon.

In the letter to parents, Vernon states: “I am contacting you to inform you that a member of staff has been arrested following investigations, conducted by the City of London Police, into an alleged, inappropriate relationship with one of our students.

“The member of staff concerned has been put under precautionary suspension from duty, pending further enquiries.

“The school takes its responsibilities for the safeguarding of children extremely seriously; we were proactive in reporting this allegation and have since been co-operating fully with the police and other authorities.

“As always, the well being of our students is our paramount concern.”

A spokesman for the City of London Police said: “A 26-year-old woman from South London was arrested on Monday on suspicion of sexual assault on a child.

“She has since been bailed, and enquiries continue.”

The City of London School for Girls was founded in 1894 and now has around 670 pupils aged from seven to 18. It is located in the Barbican in the heart of the city and charges £13,000-a-year ($21,500).

[Based on reports by The Daily Telegraph and The Times.]

Man accused of sexually assaulting unconscious woman live on Web site

By Calvin Palmer

A Phoenix man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting his girlfriend as she lay unconscious and broadcasting the sexual assault live on the Internet.

Jonathan Hock, 20, set up the webcam built into his laptop and the sexual assault took place on February 26 at about 5:00 a.m.in the woman’s bedroom, according to a court document.

Hock had known her for less than a month and she had reportedly passed out from drinking and been unconscious for up to six hours.

The woman told Phoenix police she became aware of the assault after friends text messaged her about the video. She then found pictures on the Web site of Hock lying next to her as she was asleep and naked from the waist down.

Police issued a search warrant for the video hosting Web site’s content to try to obtain the live video of the assault. In the video, Hock reportedly made comments about him being able to commit the assault without her knowledge while he performed various sexual acts.

After viewing the five-minute video, Phoenix police arrested Hock and booked him on two counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping and one count of taking a surreptitious photo.

[Based on reports by The Arizona Republic and Associated Press.]

Wisconsin man pleads to kidnapping and sexual assault of two young men

By Calvin Palmer

A Wisconsin man faces up to 130 years in prison after pleading no contest today to the kidnapping and sexual assault of two young men whom he held captive in chains at his home.

Edward Lanphear, 47, of Wisconsin Rapids, was convicted of four felonies in the abductions of a 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old man last summer.

The paper mill worker and divorced father is due to be sentenced on July 22.

The prosecution wanted to avoid a trial and spare the victims having to testify. Neither victim was present when Lanphear entered his plea.

During a preliminary hearing, the victims testified that, after nights of drinking, they were abducted by Lanphear — one on July 4 and the other on July 8 — handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to his home where they were bound in chains and sexually assaulted.

The 22-year-old said he escaped July 8 after asking Lanphear for a cigarette and Lanphear left to buy some. The man said he used his chained feet to pull a ladder toward him, climbed it and freed the chain that had him tied to the ceiling in a garage.

He ran naked, chains dangling from his wrists and ankles, to a neighbor. The man said that when he was talking to a sheriff’s deputy at the neighbor’s home, Lanphear returned.

The 23-year-old testified that Lanphear offered him a ride as he sat on a curb July 4. The man thought Lanphear was driving him to his parents’ home but Lanphear said he was a police officer and handcuffed him.

The man said he was hit on the back of the head with a flashlight, driven to Lanphear’s home and kept in chains as Lanphear sexually assaulted him three or four times over four days.

At one point, the man testified that Lanphear told him that a string was attached to a gun and the man’s chains, and that if he tried to escape “I wouldn’t like the consequences.” He said he interpreted that to mean he would be shot.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]

DNA tests prove innocence of Texas prisoner after 23 years in jail

By Calvin Palmer

A Texas man who has spent more than two decades in prison after being convicted of sexual assault is due to be exonerated by DNA testing.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said today that post-conviction tests have proved Jerry Lee Evans is innocent.

Evans, 47, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon.

His victim picked him out of a photo lineup one year after the assault near downtown Dallas.

A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow to enter the DNA test results in court.

The New York-based Innocence Project says Dallas County has led the nation in DNA exonerations since 2000. Evans would be the county’s 21st.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]

Former Texas sheriff dies awaiting sentence for sexual assault

By Calvin Palmer

The former North Texas sheriff awaiting sentencing for coercing a woman to perform a sex act on him to avoid going to jail has died after collapsing at his home.

Bill Keating, 62, pleaded guilty to sexual assault at a federal court and was due to be sentenced in June. He faced up to 10 years in prison.

Montague County authorities say someone at his house called for an ambulance last night, saying Keating was not breathing. He subsequently died.

Chief Deputy J.T. Mitchell said an autopsy is planned but it appears Keating died of natural causes.

Keating also was indicted on state charges of having sex with female inmates at Montague County Jail and taking illegal substances into the jail. Sixteen others have been indicted.

Keating had been sheriff for only one term, from 2004 until December, when he was defeated for re-election.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]