42yr-old teacher marries her under-aged student to avoid rape charges

An ex-high school teacher who was found guilty of statutory rape following her sex escapades with an under-aged student in North Carolina has been set free. Reason: she divorced her husband while the trial was still in progress and queitly married the student.
Perhaps the best wedding gift she received was from prosecutors who dropped their case against the newlywed.

Leah Gayle Shipman, 42, faced several charges, including statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a student , from her 2009 arrest, that led to her ouster from Brunswick County Academy, according to WECT.

But the case dissolved, because she married Johnnie Ison in 2011, according to WBTV.

Under North Carolina law, a husband doesn't have to testify against his wife, WGN said. Without Ison's sworn testimony, the prosecution doesn't have a case.

Her affair with Ison allegedly began in 2009 when he was 15 years old.

If she'd been found guilty, Shipman faced up to 15 years in prison.

Shipman's 19-year marriage ended in early 2011, according to WSOC.

Six days after the divorce papers were signed she wed Ison. His mother gave written permission for the nuptials, because he was still a minor at the time, the Associated Press said.

The marriage became publicized now, because Shipman pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of resisting arrest last month, the Wilmington Star-News reported.
Culled from HUFF POST

Egyptian court jails woman and her 7 children for converting to Christianity

A woman and her seven children have been sentenced to 15 years in prison by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity.
Human rights advocates say the nation's Islamist government is bad news for Christians in the North African country.

A criminal court in the central Egyptian city of Beni Suef meted out the shocking sentence last week, according to the Arabic-language Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm. Nadia Mohamed Ali, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam when she married Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab Mustafa, a Muslim, 23 years ago. He later died, and his widow planned to convert her family back to Christianity in order to obtain an inheritance from her family. She sought the help of others in the registration office to process new identity cards between 2004 and 2006. When the conversion came to light under the new regime, Nadia, her children and even the clerks who processed the identity cards were all sentenced to prison.

Samuel Tadros, a research fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, said conversions like Nadia's have been common in the past, but said Egypt's new Sharia-based constitution "is a real disaster in terms of religion freedom.”
"The cases will increase in the future," Tadros said. "It will be much harder for people to return to Christianity."

President Mohamed Morsi, who was elected last June and succeeded the secular reign of Hosni Mubarak, who is now in prison, pushed the new constitution through last year.

Tadros said the constitution limits the practice of Christianity because “religious freedom has to be understood within the boundaries of Sharia.” He added that the constitution prescribes that the highest Sunni authority should be referred to as an interpreter of the religion clause contained in the constitution.

Opponents of the constitution, including Coptic Christians and secular and liberal groups, protested at the time against passage of the document because of the mix of Islamic-based Sharia law and politics. Roughly 10 percent of Egyptians are Coptic Christians.

A government spokeswoman told FoxNews.com she would determine “who is responsible for this and covers this issue in Beni Suef,“ a city of 200,000 located about 75 miles south of Cairo. She did not offer further comment.

The case is the latest example of the increasingly dire plight of the nation's roughly 7 million Christians, say human rights advocates.

"Now that Sharia law has become an integral part of Egypt's new constitution, Christians in that country are at greater risk than ever," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice. "This is another tragic case that underscores the growing problem of religious intolerance in the Muslim world. To impose a prison sentence for a family because of their Christian faith sadly reveals the true agenda of this new government: Egypt has no respect for international law or religious liberty.”

Morsi has been under fire for failing to take action against rising violence inflicted on Egypt’s Christians. In August, the roughly 100-family Christian community in Dahshour was forced to flee after Muslim neighbors launched attacks against the Christians’ homes and property. Morsi said the expulsion and violence was “ blown out of proportion.” Radical Salafi preachers -- who have formed alliances with Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood -- called for Muslims to shun Christians during Christmas.

Sekulow urged U.S. diplomatic intervention in Egypt to promote religious freedom. Morsi is scheduled to meet with President Obama, possibly in March.

”The U.S. State Department must play more of a role in discouraging this kind of persecution," Sekulow said. "The U.S. should not be an idle bystander. The U.S. provides more than $1 billion to Egypt each year. The State Department should speak out forcefully against this kind of religious persecution in Egypt.”

Culled from FOX NEWS

Police arrests Church of England Vicar for 'voyeurism'

A married vicar has been suspended from his job after he was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism.

The Rev Richard Lee, 48, has been on police bail since the summer while officers investigate the case.

Police yesterday refused to reveal details of the claims against him.

Mr Lee is the Church of England vicar for two Somerset village churches near Weston-super-Mare, St Augustine’s in Locking and St Mary’s in Hutton, where his 47-year-old wife, the Rev Anne Lee, also works.
He is also the co-ordinator of a local music group called WWJD.

The couple – who met while studying to be vicars and have two children – moved from their previous parish in Kent five years ago.

Yesterday members of his previous congregation expressed shock at his arrest.

A female parishioner at All Saints Church in Hempstead, Kent, said: ‘Richard was really popular here. He got on with everyone.

'I’m pretty shocked to hear [of his arrest].’

Last night it was not clear whether or not Mrs Lee is still officiating at services while her husband is on police bail.

The vicar, who grew up in Fowey, Cornwall, is according to a social networking site profile, interested in ‘anything to do with railways’, sailing, reading, walking, the theatre, cinema and listening to and playing music.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Bath and Wells said: ‘We can confirm that the Rev Richard Lee was arrested in July 2012.’

Culled from THE TELEGRAPH

Google to relocate headquarters to King's Cross

Technology giant Google is to move its UK headquarters following a £1bn property deal.

It has bought a 2.4 acre site at King's Cross in north London and plans to build a seven and 11 storey complex.

The US company will move staff from its two London offices in Victoria and Holborn to the new location when it is completed in 2016.

Google's Matt Brittin said the move was "good news for Google, London and the UK".

It will be located in the King's Cross Central development, which sits on a former fish, coal and grain goods yard and spans 67 acres.

The redeveloped site will eventually contain homes, offices and shops.

Google has traditionally leased its overseas offices but in the past two years has purchased premises in Paris, Dublin, and now London.

Mr Brittin, vice president for northern and central Europe, said: "This is a big investment by Google. We're committing further to the UK, where computing and the web were invented."

Construction on the site will begin towards the end of this year.
Culled from BBC

Man jailed for having sex with neighbour's dog

Building superintendent Kujtim Nicaj, 44, was sentenced Tuesday to 6 and a half years in prison and 7 years probation for sneaking into a tenant's apartment and having sex with the man's dog, the Journal News reported.

Alan Kachalsky of Rye, New York, lived alone with his 1-year-old Labrador retriever, Gunner, but would frequently come home to find signs that another person had been in the apartment. Kachalsky would notice that someone had opened a window or closed the blinds, but none of his possessions were ever missing.

Kachalsky set up three cameras to catch the intruder, and wound up with footage of Nicaj entering the apartment, getting naked and engaging in sex acts with Gunner.

Kachalsky told the Journal News that on the video, the Labrador, who is usually friendly and energetic, "just sat on the couch. He did not get up."

Kachalsky brought the video to law enforcement in February 2012, and Nicaj was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony and sexual misconduct according to New Rochelle Patch.

He was also fired from his position as building superintendent and was given a week to vacate the premises.

Nicaj pleaded guilty in October. In addition to serving prison time, he must register as a sex offender and not interact with Kachalsky.

“Taking advantage of a helpless animal is an act of depravity which has often been a predictor of violence against humans," District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in court, according to CBS New York.

Westchester County Judge Barry Warhit noted, "This case was unusual to say the least."
Culled from HUFF POST

Customs officials find 18 human heads at Chicago airport

Customs officials made the shocking discovery of 18 severed human heads at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Monday.

As of Tuesday morning, investigators were checking to ensure the human heads with skin still on—and wrapped in plastic—were less sinister than they seem, reports the Sun-Times.

According to the Tribune, the embalmed heads came from a research facility in Rome on a Lufthansa Airlines flight about a week before Christmas but a "paperwork snafu" snagged the shipment; the final destination of the three coolers was not clearly marked.

Brian Bell, a Chicago-based spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the discovery body parts, which "at first blush" appeared to be for medical purposes, is not entirely uncommon.

"Everybody here is ‘Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads’ and everybody thinks that it’s unheard of,” Bell said according to CBS Chicago. “It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We’ve seen it at various ports in the nation.”

Bell went on to say shipping body parts for medical purposes is perfectly legal—with the right documentation.

A Fox Chicago broadcast reports the heads were initially handed over the Cook County Medical Examiner to ensure they didn't belong to victims of a crime.
ads not by this site

The remaining head-scratcher: where are the heads going? The Tribune reports officials saying the recipient of the shipment has not yet come forward.
Culled from HUFF POST

Man who asked for death penalty set to be electrocuted by US government

Robert Gleason Jr. will walks into Virginia's death chamber on Wednesday night. This will mark the end of a twisted quest to speed his own death.

Gleason says it's not because he wants to die, but rather because he knows he will kill again if he's not executed. He was already serving life in prison when he killed his cellmate then vowed to continue killing unless he was put to death. When the system wasn't moving fast enough, he strangled another inmate and warned that the body count would rise if they didn't heed his warnings. Gleason waived his appeals, and he remains in a legal battle with his former attorneys as they file last-minute appeals to try to save his life against his wishes.

"Why prolong it? The end result's gonna be the same," Gleason said in his thick Boston accent in one of numerous interviews from death row he's given to The Associated Press over three years. "The death part don't bother me. This has been a long time coming. It's called karma."

Gleason is scheduled to die at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. Condemned Virginia inmates can choose between lethal injection and electrocution, and Gleason is the first inmate to choose electrocution since 2010.

The unusual choice follows a series of other shocking moves.

Deputies had to use a stun gun on him during a violent outburst in court in 2008 before he pleaded guilty to a shooting death that sent him to prison for life. Despite there being little evidence against him, Gleason admitted to shooting Mike Jamerson, whose son was cooperating in a federal investigation into a methamphetamine ring that Gleason was involved in.

A year later he got so frustrated when prison officials wouldn't move his new, mentally disturbed cellmate, 63-year-old Harvey Watson Jr., that Gleason hogtied, beat and strangled the older man. Gleason remained in the cell with Watson's lifeless body for more than 15 hours before officers discovered the crime.

"Someone needs to stop it. The only way to stop me is put me on death row," he told AP at the time, repeating his threats in court on numerous occasions.

While awaiting sentencing at a highly secure prison in the mountains that is reserved for the state's worst inmates, Gleason strangled 26-year-old Aaron Cooper through the wire fencing that separated their individual cages on the recreation yard.

Gleason claims he's killed others -- perhaps dozens more -- but he has refused to provide details. He claims he's different from the other men on Virginia's death row for one important reason: he only kills criminals.

Watson was serving life for killing one man and injuring two others. Cooper was a carjacker with gang ties.

"I ain't saying I'm a better person for killing criminals, but I've never killed innocent people," Gleason said. "I killed people that's in the same lifestyle as me, and they know, hey, these things can happen."

Gleason says he only requested death in order to keep a promise to a loved one that he wouldn't kill again. He said doing so will allow him to teach his children, including two young sons, what can happen if they follow in his footsteps.

"I wasn't there as a father and I'm hoping that I can do one last good thing," he said. "Hopefully, this is a good thing."

Cooper's mother, Kim Strickland, put aside her religious beliefs in opposition to the death penalty when Gleason sent her Bible verses that preached an eye for an eye before his sentencing. She testified that he deserved to die for killing her son. She is suing the prison system over the death.

"May God have mercy on his soul," Strickland told AP. "I've been praying and will continue to pray that his family can heal from this ordeal."

Gleason, 42, was born in Lowell, Mass., a proud Yankee who still signs his letters "Bobby from Boston." After going to art school in North Carolina, Gleason became an award-winning tattoo artist in shops up and down the East Coast. He settled down for a while outside of Richmond, owned a tattoo shop and embraced religion. He later said he was feigning interest in religion to benefit his tattoo business.

In court papers, attorneys detail his "profoundly disturbed and traumatic life" marked by abuse as a child and depression and other mental health problems as an adult. Gleason starting drinking alcohol as a teen and later abused cocaine, meth and steroids, among other drugs. His long criminal record dates back to armed robberies as a teen. He looked up to an older brother who died in a Massachusetts prison during a botched escape attempt.

Attorneys who continue trying to intervene on his behalf claim Gleason is severely disturbed. They argue his competency has deteriorated over the year he's been in isolation on death row, and that he suffers from extreme paranoia, delusional thinking, severe anxiety and other mental afflictions that leave him with "a nearly overwhelming urge to end his own life."
"...his mental illness is causing him to be suicidal, and he is enlisting the government's help to end his life," attorney Jon Sheldon wrote in court documents asking a federal appeals court to require a new competency evaluation. Two other evaluations deemed Gleason capable of making his own decisions.

While those closest to Gleason acknowledge he's had a troubled life, they also describe a man who dressed up as a big, purple dinosaur for his young son's birthday and comforted him when he was scared of the costume, who organized a motorcycle run to raise money for a child with cancer and who is fiercely protective and supportive of those he loved.

"It's a shame," one friend told attorneys of Gleason's death sentence, according to court papers, "because there's a lot of goodness in him."'

But there's no mistaking Gleason's dark side.

Prison and jail officials have intercepted letters and calls in which he either discussed killing or directly threatened judges, attorneys, jurors and mental health experts tied to his criminal cases. He told investigators that killing was "like tying a shoe" or "going to the fridge to get a beer."

Those on both sides of the death penalty debate have seized on Gleason's case to prove their point.

Death penalty supporters say that keeping Gleason alive puts others at risk. Opponents of capital punishment argue that the prospect of being executed gave him incentive to kill Watson and Cooper.

Gleason agrees with death penalty opponents on at least one point: that it's likely individuals feel immense pain during a lethal injection. That's partly why he chose electrocution.

The other reason: He just can't imagine going out lying down.

"I can't do that," he said. "I'd rather be sitting up."
Culled from FOX NEWS

Saudi Arabia beheads Sri Lankan girl accused of murder

Saudi Arabia has beheaded a Sri Lankan domestic worker for killing a baby in her care in 2005 in a case that has been widely condemned by rights groups.

The maid, Rizana Nafeek, had denied killing the four-month-old boy.

Her supporters say she was only 17 at the time of the killing. They say her execution is a breach of international child rights.

The Sri Lankan government condemned the execution, which it said took place despite numerous clemency pleas.

The Saudi interior ministry said on Wednesday that Ms Nafeek was executed for smothering the infant after an argument with the child's mother in the town of al-Dwadmi.

Rizana Nafeek's father Sulthan and her mother Rafeena The parents of Ms Nafeek had repeatedly appealed to King Abdullah to pardon her


Translation problems

The Sri Lankan parliament held a minute's silence on Wednesday in honour of Ms Nafeek.

News of the execution came on the same day that the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that laws were needed "urgently" to give greater protection to domestic workers.

The ILO report estimates that only about 10% of all domestic workers - about 5.3 million people - are covered by labour laws to the same degree as other workers.

In Sri Lanka itself, the execution has rekindled debate about the safety of expatriate workers in the Middle East and about the poverty which drives people including Ms Nafeek to seek work abroad.

In a statement, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said that President Rajapakse and the government deplored the execution "despite all efforts at the highest level of the government and the outcry of the people locally and internationally".

A Sri Lankan opposition MP who campaigns for Sri Lankan workers abroad, Ranjan Ramanayake, described the Saudi government as "dictators" who would never execute Europeans or Americans, only Asians and Africans.

The MP also said the government in Colombo had done little to ensure Rizana Nafeek's legal rights - a claim denied by Sri Lankan government officials.

The parents of Ms Nafeek had repeatedly appealed to King Abdullah to pardon her. Her
father is currently in hospital, officials say, and her mother is too distressed to
talk about the execution.
Rizana Nafeek's passport Correspondents say that it appears that employment agents falsified Rizana Nafeek's age so that she could work in Saudi Arabia

Ms Nafeek was convicted in 2007 of murdering four-month-old baby Naif al-Quthaibi, whom she was caring for in 2005.

She said that an initial confession was made under duress and without linguistic assistance. Supporters say that she also had no access to lawyers before her conviction.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have criticised the Saudi authorities for their handling of the case, as have campaigners in Sri Lanka, who argue that there were also serious translation problems at the time she confessed to the crime.

They argue that her reported execution breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which Saudi Arabia has ratified.

"Saudi Arabia is one of just three countries that executes people for crimes they committed as children," said senior HRW women's rights researcher Nisha Varia,

"Rizana Nafeek is yet another victim of the deep flaws in Saudi Arabia's judicial system."

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Sri Lanka visited Ms Nafeek's home village in 2010, where he saw a school register and a birth certificate confirming her date of birth.

Our correspondent says that if the documents are genuine, she was a minor when the alleged offence was committed. It also appears that employment agents falsified her age in order for her to get work in Saudi Arabia.
Culled from BBC

How BBC presenter raped 34 under-aged girls, assaulted 180 others

Jimmy Savile

Children as young as eight were abused by Jimmy Savile, a report detailing 50 years of allegations has revealed.

The joint Metropolitan Police and NSPCC report added Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds to the list of places where the former TV presenter abused children.

Some 214 crimes were recorded across 28 police force areas, including 34 of rape or penetration, the report said.

One victim, Deborah Cogger, was abused by Savile when she was aged 14 at Duncroft, an approved school for girls in Staines, Surrey, in 1974.

Deborah Cogger


She said the publication of the report had helped her: "Just to be able to finally be believed - it's not even telling the story - it's being believed.

"I think it's given a lot of people closure, not just the Savile case, abuse in general. Now it's being spoken about, it's been brought to the fore, and for a lot of historical cases it's helped a lot of people."

Police said it was a "compelling picture of widespread sexual abuse by a predatory sex offender".

The Department of Health said the report showed the need to "learn lessons from his crimes".

Revelations that Savile had sexually abused children prompted hundreds of other victims to come forward, including those who said they were attacked on BBC premises.

The former BBC presenter and Radio 1 DJ died aged 84 in October 2011, a year before the allegations emerged in an ITV documentary.

Historical abuse

Friday's report, Giving Victims a Voice, set out what Scotland Yard and the NSPCC have discovered about Savile since they launched the inquiry - Operation Yewtree - three months ago.

The 30-page document expanded on allegations that Savile was a prolific sex offender whose abuse took place at a number of institutions identified by victims.

Its findings included:

Savile offended at 13 hospitals, including Great Ormond Street in London, and one offence was recorded at Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds in 1977
His youngest victim was an eight-year-old boy, and the oldest was 47
The earliest allegation is from 1955 in Manchester and the last in 2009
Offences were carried out at the BBC between 1965 and 2006 - including at the last Top of the Pops recording
Peak offending took place between 1966 and 1976
Some 73% of victims were under 18
Most of those abused were aged 13 to 16
There is "no clear evidence" he operated in paedophile ring, although "whether he was part of an informal network" is still being investigated

The report also revealed 16 offences were committed at Leeds General Infirmary between 1965-1995 and 22 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital between 1965-88.

And one offence was committed at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric prison, St James Leeds Hospital, High Royds Psychiatric Hospital, Dewsbury Hospital, Wycombe General, Great Ormond Street in 1971, Ashworth Hospital, Exeter Hospital, Portsmouth Royal Hospital, St Catherine's Birkenhead, and Saxondale Mental Health.

The Crown Prosecution Service also published a review of a decision in 2009 not to charge Savile with sexual offences in relation to four complaints made to police in Surrey and Sussex.

It found there was "nothing to suggest" the decisions were "consciously influenced by any improper motive on the part of either the police or prosecutors".

However, it said further action might have been possible had "police and prosecutors taken a different approach", adding the CPS prosecutor "did not probe... or seek to build a prosecution".

If those coming forward had "been told that she was not the only woman to have complained, they would probably have been prepared to give evidence".

Director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer apologised on behalf of the CPS. He said the report represented a "watershed moment" and pledged to enhance information sharing and provide prosecutors with additional training for the future.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "This report highlights the shocking scale of offending by Jimmy Savile over five decades and shows the need to learn lessons from his crimes.

"When these allegations first came to light the department and relevant trusts started work to investigate these issues, and we expect any new NHS organisations named today to do the same.

"Findings from all trust investigations will feed into the report Kate Lampard will write for the secretary of state on any lessons for the whole system in relation to safeguarding and access."

'Cathartic process'

Liz Dux, from Slater and Gordon Solicitors, who is representing many of the victims, said the police inquiry had given them "validity" as many had been able to give their statement for the first time, and had "been believed".

"This has been a very cathartic process for them. Now that the report is out they hope that they can move on to the inquiries, hope that the inquiries are dealt with as swiftly as possible, and that the civil claims will be concluded and that they can get on with the rest of their lives."

The allegations prompted a series of investigations, including three at the BBC and another by the Department of Health into his role at Broadmoor hospital.


A report by former Sky News chief Nick Pollard into the the dropping of a BBC Newsnight investigation into Savile said the decision was "flawed" and plunged the corporation into "chaos and confusion".

Operation Yewtree has three strands - claims against Savile, claims against Savile and others, and claims against others.

Speaking to BBC News, Childline founder Esther Rantzen said: "What worries me is, did various organisations - be they hospitals, or the BBC, or other broadcasters - turn a blind eye, turn a deaf ear, in order to protect their product, which was Jimmy Savile the broadcaster?"

Savile was a BBC Radio 1 DJ as well as a presenter of Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It on the BBC, and was knighted in 1990.

Culled from BBC

Porn plays on Swedish TV4 National News for 10 minutes (VIDEO)

While a TV news anchor reported a segment on Syria to a national audience Monday, porn mistakenly aired in the background for a full 10 minutes, English-language outlet The Local reports.

TV4 management eventually pulled the plug, explaining that the station is owned by a company that also broadcasts adult films on other channels. A computer mixup likely led to the steamy footage playing. TV4 editor Andreas Haglind said the station would do its best to ensure something like this would not happen again, The Local reports.

The newscaster was halfway through the broadcast when the explicit action popped up on a monitor behind her.

"I thought I was mistaken, but it soon became pretty clear when I saw how they moved," one viewer told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the Daily Mail notes.

One YouTube viewer clearly entertained by the mixup commented to the effect of: "What's news doing on my porn?"

According to the station, TV4 is "easily the most-watched TV channel in Sweden among the main target group." Given recent events, we have a feeling those numbers might grow even more.
Culled from HUFF POST

Murder suicide: Woman, kills son, wounds daughter, before Killing herself

Sandra Palmer

Greensboro, N.C., police are investigating a grisly murder-suicide in which a mother shot her children, killing her teenage son, before turning the gun on herself.

Monday night following a domestic dispute.

Maurice Edmond - the victim

Palmer appears to have pepper-sprayed her boyfriend, Maurice Eugene Edmonds, incapacitating him, before shooting her daughter, Danielle Imani Jameison, 18, and son Maurice Edmonds II, 14, with a handgun.

Edmonds the elder was shot trying to take the gun away from Palmer, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. He then ran from the house for help and collapsed outside.

Palmer went into another room and shot herself with a second gun after the first gun jammed, Greensboro police chief Ken Miller said in a news conference Tuesday night.

"It defies explanation why somebody would do what was done in this case," Miller said.

Jameison and the elder Edmonds were taken to an area hospital and are now recovering. Maurice Edmonds II, the son of Palmer and the elder Edmonds, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to WFMY, the family had no history of disputes, and police are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

Rich Thomae, principal of the middle school Maurice Edmonds II attended, called the young man a "rising star" and described him as a three-sport athlete and an honor roll student.
Culled from HUFF POST

Man allegedly kills, dismembers victim before throwing arms to witnesses

-

Paul R. Potter

A northeast Missouri man accused of killing a man, dismembering the body and setting fires to conceal the crime, hurled the victim's arms at witnesses shortly before he was arrested, police said.

Paul R. Potter, 49, of Kirksville, was charged Monday in Adair County with second

degree murder, arson and tampering with a motor vehicle and is being held on $1 million bond. Kevin Locke, the public defender assigned to represent Potter, did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

Authorities are not releasing the victim's name until relatives have been notified, the Adair County prosecutor's office said.

Police officers responding to a call of a vehicle fire Sunday arrived at a public housing development in Kirksville and saw Potter "throw two objects, later identified as human arms, towards the witnesses," according to a probable cause statement.

Potter was taken into custody "and blood evidence was later collected from his hands," the statement said.

Fires had been set in two apartments. Officers and firefighters found a dismembered body with additional wounds to the face and sternum in one of the apartments. Both apartments were both strewn with blood.

Potter had taken "substantial steps to conceal the crime and divert attention away from the crime," the police statement said.

Two vehicles also had been set on fire and police said they found several knives inside and around one of the apartments.

Witnesses told police that Potter had been involved in a nearby disturbance earlier that day.
Culled from HUFF POST

Court jails landlord for having sex with tenant in lieu of rent

John Tatton

A landlord who forced a teenage girl to "pay" for her rent with sexual favours has been jailed for four years.

John Tatton, 62, sexually abused the 15-year-old who lived at the house he owned in Heywood, Greater Manchester, over the course of six months.

At Bolton Crown Court he was convicted of five offences of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual assault.

Police said his victim was also abused by men convicted of running a child sexual exploitation ring in Rochdale.

The group of nine men, from Rochdale and Oldham, exploited girls as young as 13 and were given sentences ranging from four to 19 years at Liverpool Crown Court last May.

Tatton, formerly of Rochdale but now of Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed after a five-day trial and also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Greater Manchester Police said the teenager had become friends with a group of girls who had chaotic lifestyles involving alcohol, drugs and eventual sexual exploitation.

She moved into the house in Heywood with a number of these girls, and that is when Tatton told her she could not live rent-free and must pay for her stay with sexual favours.

Police said she had been reluctant but was coerced by Tatton.

Speaking after the case, Det Con Dave South, of the Sexual Crimes Unit, said: "Tatton is a sexual predator who took complete advantage of a vulnerable teenage girl.

"He subjected her to a campaign of abuse over a six-month period, during which she was forced to submit to him to 'pay' for her rent.

"Tatton is clearly a danger to young people and I hope today's sentence provides a level of reassurance to his victim."
Culled from BBC

20 prisoners escape from Sagamu prisons in Nigeria

An early morning jail break in Sagamu, Ogun state on friday led to the escape of 20 inmates of the prison. During the melee that trailed the jailbreak, many of the inmates as well as prison officials were seriously injured. Many inmates were killed during the jailbreak which caught the authorities unaware.

During the revolt, many dangerous weapons including missiles were freely used prompting the authorities to draft in members of the armed squad to quel the riot. A large hole was dug on the prison wall through which they escaped after a stimulated revolt by the prisoners. As a result of the development, many of the prison officials who were suspected to have connived with some inmates were already being interrogated by the police.

The Controller General of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Mr. Zakari Ohinoyi Ibrahim, who confirmed the jailbreak after an unscheduled visit, told journalists that four of the runaway prisoners had been re-arrested and brought back to the prison. He also disclosed that an investigation team had been constituted to ascertain the remote causes of the jailbreak.

His words: “The essence of the visit is a follow-up to the seriousness we attach to the issue of security because security is one of our major mandates in the prisons and this administration has said it over and over again that we would not tolerate any breach of security, especially when it points at any form of negligence. “If it goes beyond administrative negligence with criminality, we’ll bring in the police and other sister agencies responsible so that we prove that we’ll not tolerate any lack of commitment to job, especially the one that touches on security.

“So, we have some issues here and that’s why I’m here. The issue is that there have been some escapes here. So, I came personally and even before coming I’ve sent a high-powered team here and I’m following up to ensure that the right thing is done and that any staff found culpable would face the full wrath of the law which will include dismissal and prosecution. “What I can tell you now, because full investigation is on, is we have about 20 escapees and some of them have been arrested now and full investigation is on.

About four of them have been arrested. But what you must just go with now is that any staff that is found culpable would be dealt with accordingly.” He refused to confirm casualty figure, saying: “Don’t worry, I’ve told you investigation is on and you should also know that when there is an incident like this, there should be full investigation. Investigations are on. I’ve addressed the staff and I’ve told them we would not give room for half commitment. “The commitment has to be full, total and even with the situation we have in the country now, we would not want anybody who would unnecessarily want to embarrass us because if you are not ready, you move. There is no choice.

You either remain and go by the law and work hard with full commitment. We are fully committed to this job and we want to work as a team but if you want to distract us or bring things that would embarrass us, we’ll tell you to go. But it will be better for those who don’t want to stay to go than for us to push them out because we are serious. Security is not something that we’ll play with at all.” According to him, the launched investigations would assist the authorities to determine a lot of things.

“External influence? Investigations would prove that. In terms of the structure, you can see the wall is solid and on top we have fence wire. Everything is okay but we are talking about the human beings now, the human factor and I’m telling you that if investigation indicts any person that has not done his job the way he’s supposed to do it, it can lead to dismissal and even prosecution and the person may change uniform”, he stated.
Culled from SUN

Saudi Air force Sgt. jailed in the US for child rape

Mazen Alotaibi


A sergeant in Saudi Arabia's air force was jailed in Las Vegas on charges that he pulled a boy into a hotel room and sexually assaulted him the morning of Sin City's big New Year's Eve fireworks extravaganza.

Mazen Alotaibi, 23, faces charges including kidnapping, sexual assault with a minor and felony coercion that could get him decades in state prison, according to police and charging documents obtained Friday.

The boy, who is younger than 14, told police the man forced him into a room at the Circus Circus hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and raped him. Police arrested Alotaibi after being called to the hotel before 9:30 a.m. Dec. 31.

"There was a kidnapping and sexual assault with force," Las Vegas police Lt. Dan McGrath said. "The victim said he was forced into the room and sexually assaulted. We have a strong case based on the evidence."

The boy, who lives out of state, was staying at the hotel with his family, McGrath said. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment and evidence collection and released later to family members. His name was not made public.

McGrath said Alotaibi produced a Saudi Arabian military identification and said he was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland near San Antonio, Texas. U.S. federal authorities and Saudi military officials were notified, the police lieutenant said.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland spokesman Brent Boller told The Associated Press that records showed Alotaibi is currently stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. Boller said he could not immediately verify if Alotaibi had been at Lackland, but noted that international military students attend a Defense Language Institute English Language Center on the base to improve their English-language skills.

Alotaibi's lawyer, Don Chairez of Newport Beach, Calif., said Friday he had been in contact with U.S. military authorities at both air force bases and with the Saudi government. He said Alotaibi had come to Las Vegas for the New Year's celebration and will plead not guilty.

Alotaibi also is charged with burglary, which in Nevada can stem from a person entering a building with intent to commit a felony.

The alleged attack took place on the sixth floor of a 15-story hotel tower. Circus Circus has a total of 3,767 guest rooms in three towers and five three-story motor lodge-style buildings dubbed Circus Circus Manor.

The arrest was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It cited a police report saying the boy was 13.

Alotaibi was being held without bail at the Clark County jail pending an evidence hearing Jan. 17.
Culled from HUFF POST

Man bags 15yrs in jail for infecting lover with HIV

Jimmy Billingsley


A Texas man who had unprotected sex multiple times with a woman, despite knowing that he carried HIV, received a 15-year prison sentence for infecting her with the disease.

Jimmy Billingsley, 42, a former youth football coach learned in 2008 that he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. Yet he didn't warn the woman who contracted HIV or any of his other sexual partners, according to his testimony, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

“This defendant’s intentional non-disclosure to numerous sex partners was egregious, dangerous, willful and malicious,” said Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Joshua Ross. "He truly is a snake in the grass. His sentence brings some justice to his known victim and provides a measure of protection for so many others.”

Billingsley met the woman in 2009 via her son, who played on the team he coached. They had sex several times and in late 2010, a routine health check revealed she had HIV, CBS' Dallas-Forth Worth station reported.

Immediately, she called police and said that Billingsley was the only man she'd been intimate with.

The woman said that Billingsley persuaded her to have unprotected sex.

"He would say, 'You'll be okay. I won't get you pregnant. I don't have anything. You don't have anything to worry about,'" she told WFAA.

She now takes a daily cocktail of medication to fight the disease. Her attitude was bleak when she received the news from the blood test.

"I just cried," she said. "I'm not going to live for a long time is what I thought."

State District Judge Robb Catalano imposed the sentence on Dec. 31, choosing from punishments that ranged from probation to 20 years behind bars.
Culled from HUFF POST

Cold claims 107 lives in Northern India

15 more persons lost their lives due to persistent cold wave conditions in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll in the state this winter to 107.


Officials said four people died in Muzaffarnagar, three in Mathura, two each in Agra, Bulandshahr, Etah and one each in Barabanki and Mirzapur.


Maximum temperatures were below normal by 4 to 10 degrees in some parts of western UP, Met office sources here, adding that weather was mainly dry over the state.


Night temperatures were markedly below normal in Moradabad, Agra and Meerut divisions, appreciably below normal in Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Bareilly divisions and below normal in Kanpur division.


Lowest minimum temperature in the state was 0.6 degrees celsius recorded at Muzaffarnagar.


Sources said weather would be mainly dry over the state. Fog or dense fog would occur over many parts of west UP and may extend over east UP.


Ground frost would occur in isolated parts of West UP during next two nights, they said, adding that very dense fog (visibility 50 M or less) would occur over some parts of west UP during next 48 hours.
Culled from TIME OF INDIA

Son kills dad, sets body ablaze after domestic quarrel

Baron Von Duke Vercruysse


A Florida man got into an argument with his father about cleaning his room, then murdered him, deputies tell Fox 13.

Pasco County deputies say Baron Von Duke Vercruysse, 23, fatally struck his father, 52-year-old Rene Vercruysse over the head at some point on New Year's Eve, ABC reported. Officials found the body after responding to a fire at the Vercruysse home at around 10:20 p.m.

Investigators believe that after killing his father, Baron Von Duke Vercruysse poured gasoline on the body and set it ablaze inside the master bedroom. According to Fox 13, firefighters were able to contain the flames to the bedroom.

A preliminary autopsy determined that the elder Vercruysse died of homicidal violence, not injuries sustained in the fire, according to Bay News 9.

Deputies claim Vercruysse admitted to the slaying. He's been charged with first-degree murder and arson.

According to his Facebook page, Baron Von Duke Vercruysse recently became a father.

"I'm going to be a daddy in the next few hours I'm so excited yayyyy," reads a post made in April. Facebook friend Justine Liddick commented, "i know you will make an amazing dad!"
Culled from HUFF POST

American pilot catches thief at his home during fly-by

Haines


Pilot David Zehntner was flying his personal plane from North Carolina to his Florida home when he decided to fly over his house and saw something unusual.

“He observed a silver truck with white camper in his driveway and lowered his altitude to get a closer look,” the Charlotte County Sheriff’s office said in a news release. “He saw a man looking into the windows of his home then attach his red trailer and pull out of his driveway.”

Zehntner called the police and then began following the thief in his plane.

The runaway trailer was located by authorities who stopped the robber at a traffic stop. Gary Robert Haines, 59, of Stafford, Va., was arrested and charged with grand theft, police said. By then, Zehntner had landed his plane and came to the scene to get his trailer back.

Police found a loaded rifle and bullets inside of Haines’ pickup truck, the report said.

Haines was taken to Charlotte County jail and released on Monday on $2,500 bond. Authorities are still investigating the theft and the weapons that were found in the pickup.

Zehntner did not respond to request for comment.
Culled fro ABC NEWS

Ivory Coast declares 3 day mourning for victims of Houphouet-Boigny stadium stampede

Three days of mourning have been declared in Ivory Coast following a New Year's Eve stampede that killed at least 61 people in Abidjan.

Hundreds of people leaving a fireworks event at a stadium in the Plateau district were jammed into a tiny street in the early hours of Tuesday: many were crushed; others suffocated.

An investigation is under way. Many victims were said to be 15 or younger.

President Alassane Ouattara described the deaths as a national tragedy.

Different theories are emerging as to what caused the stampede after the fireworks display ended in the 65,000-capacity Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium.
'Trampled with our children'

Some say a group of youths brandishing knives was snatching people's mobile phones, causing panic among the large crowd, says the BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy.

But others say security forces acted ineptly as they tried to control the many thousands walking through the city centre - triggering the stampede which has left many more people injured, some critically.Desperate parents went to the city morgue, hospital and stadium to search for their children, AP news agency reports.

They included Mamadou Sanogo, who was looking for his nine-year-old son, Sayed, it adds.

"I have just seen all the bodies, but I cannot find my son. I don't know what to do," a tearful Mr Sanogo said.

A market vendor injured in the incident, Sanata Zoure, told Reuters news agency that revellers going home after watching the fireworks display were stopped by police near the stadium.

"We were walking with our children and we came upon barricades, and people started falling into each other. We were trampled with our children," she is quoted as saying.

Mr Ouattara visited some of the wounded who were taken to two hospitals in the country's main city and promised that the costs of their medical treatment would be covered by the government.

The fireworks event had been organised to celebrate the end of the conflict triggered by former President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to recognise Mr Ouattara's victory in 2010 elections.

Mr Gbagbo is now facing trial on war crimes charge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The night before the tragedy, the stadium, named after Ivory Coast's founding president, hosted a concert by US performer Chris Brown.

In 2009, 19 football fans died during a crush at the same stadium before a World Cup qualifier against Malawi.

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Culled from BBC