Sacto 9-1-1

Davis police are searching for a prowler who exposed himself to a resident earlier this week.

Officers were dispatched about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to the 1500 block of H St. regarding a prowler. A 22-year-old woman told police that she was in her apartment when she heard a knocking sound on her wall. When she approached her window, she saw a man looking into her bedroom while exposing himself, according to a Police Department news release.

The woman said the man appeared to be of Hispanic or Middle Eastern descent, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with brown eyes, unshaven with a thin mustache, and a shaved head. She said he was wearing a black "hoodie" style sweatshirt and blue jeans.

A former private school principal who has been charged with six felony counts of child molestation pleaded not guilty today.

Robert Benson Adams, 61, who used to run the Creative Frontiers school in Citrus Heights, entered his plea on his eighth court appearance since his arrest last September.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge John P. Winn scheduled Adams' preliminary hearing for Aug. 17.

Adams is accused in the felony counts of molesting girls at the school who were under the age of 14. He faces a seventh, misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Frank William Rackley of two counts of rape and other charges in the sexual attacks of two prostitutes, including a 17-year-old girl the DA's office had arrested to ensure her appearance in court.

Attorney Lisa M. Franco, who represented the juvenile victim-witness, said the girl who never wanted to testify but did anyway has "already started moving on with her life." Now in foster care, the girl is enrolled in school, going to the gym and thinking about going to college, according to Franco.

"She's a strong girl and she's recovering from this," Franco said. The ordeal of the girl's arrest and incarceration for 27 days to make sure she showed up in court -- and ultimately to testify, even though she did not have to -- "is definitely something that has caused her to get to a better place," Franco said.

In her trial testimony, the girl, whose name is being withheld by The Bee because she is a sexual assault victim, said she was working as a prostitute last July 22 when she got into Rackley's car on a Watt Avenue stroll. She said they never discussed money. She said when Rackley tore into her, she told him to stop. She testified that Rackley responded by saying, "Shut up..., or I'll slap you."

Deputy District Alan Van Stralen said, "I thought she did fantastic" on the witness stand.

One juror interviewed after the verdict told reporters that the panel was able to get past the lies the girl told police when they first questioned her. The juror also said a few other members of the panel also had concerns about the fact she was working as a prostitute at the time of her rape. But he said they still were able to focus on her courtroom testimony and find it credible.

"When it came down to the actual charges, we believed what she said," said the juror, William Anderson, 70.

Assistant Public Defender Ricahrd Berson said he was disappointed in the verdict.

"I continue to believe that Mr. Rackley was not guilty," he said.

Judge Greta Curtis Fall scheduled Rackley's sentencing for June 22.

Convicted rape-murderer Sylvester Griffin was sentenced today to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the Dec. 21, 2009, sex killing of Alice Lynn Murphy in her Folsom senior-living apartment.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Greta Curtis Fall called the asphyxiation murder of the 64-year-old victim "depraved" and "unconscionable." Griffin, 43, said in a probation report that he had been in a relationship with Murphy and that somebody else killed her. The judge said in court that Griffin is a "serious danger" to society.

A friend found Murphy's body in the bedroom of her apartment on Creekside Drive in Folsom. Griffin, a medical transport driver with a long criminal record out of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, had a client who lived in the same complex. He left California for South Carolina a month after the killing and was later arrested there.

A sketch was released by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department on Wednesday of a man who pulled a woman into a wooded area and threatened to sexually assault her after her car had broken down.

The woman was parked on Verner Avenue near Greenback Lane about 8 p.m. May 7 when she was approached by a man who initially offered to help her. When she turned down assistance, he pulled her a short distance into a wooded area.

Once there, the man, who had a large knife in a sheath at his side, exposed himself and said he intended to sexually assault her. Luckily, the attack was interrupted by the arrival of the victim's friend, which caused the attacker to flee.

A search was conducted but the man was not found.

He was described as a black man about 40 years old, approximately 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 220 pounds. He had short, curly hair and a full beard.

He was described as wearing a dirty, white t-shirt and camouflage pants.

Anyone who recognizes the man depicted in the sketch is asked to call the Sheriff's Sex Assault Bureau, (916) 874-5070.

A Butte County deputy has been arrested on suspicion of agreeing to meet a minor for sex after a sting conducted by the district attorney's office.

Deputy Earl Klapperich, 27, was arrested Friday by investigators from the Butte County District attorney's office. His arrest came after a complaint filed April 14 over the way Klapperich handled a call involving two reported runaway teens.

The complaint alleged inappropriate conduct on the part of the deputy toward the girls, one 16 years old, the other 14 years old.

The sheriff's department brought in the district attorney's office and an undercover operation began. The sting involved investigators posing as a 14-year-old girl.

A Chico man is headed to prison for possessing and receiving child pornography.

Joshua Vazquez, 30, was sentenced today in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to eight years and four months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Vazquez pleaded guilty in July 2011.

According to court documents, in March 2006, agents from the San Antonio Cyber Crimes Unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations identified an Internet user making child pornography available to other users via a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. While using the network, an undercover agent downloaded 24 images of child pornography from this user, who was later determined to be Vazquez.

A campus supervisor at Valley High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in sex with a minor.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reported that Sean Darnell Davis (pictured), 42, was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail late Monday evening. He is accused of engaging in multiple unlawful sex acts with a minor.

He was released from jail this afternoon on his own recognizance, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Sheriff's officials said Davis is believed to have maintained an ongoing sexual relationship with the female victim from the beginning of the school year in August 2011 until February of this year, when the victim was 17 years old.

Sheriff's deputies continue to look for a man who last night attacked a woman near Interstate 80 and Greenback Lane.

The woman, who had car trouble, was waiting at her vehicle at Greenback Lane and Verner Avenue for help to arrive about 8 p.m. Monday. She was approached by a black man in his 40s with a beard and wearing a white shirt, according to a Sacramento County Sheriff's spokesman.

After a few words were exchanged, he grabbed her and roughly walked the woman into a nearby field where several homeless camps are located. Once in the field, he tried to take off her clothes.

Just then, a friend and her husband arrived to help her with the car. Hearing the sound of her voice, they came to her aid.

The attacker fled to a nearby cemetery and could not be found by her friend and husband -- or by later arriving deputies.

Davis police are looking for a man in connection with a sexual battery incident that occurred early Sunday.

A 23-year-old Davis woman was walking north on L Street in the area of Eighth Street about 1 a.m. when a man she did not know approached her from behind and put his arm around her waist. The woman pulled away and ran to the other side of the street. But the man again approached her and placed his hand up her skirt, according to a Police Department news release.

The woman was able to get away from the man, who then fled on a bicycle north on L Street.

Several members of a Sacramento family have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges in a child sex-trafficking case.

Tynisha Marie Hornbuckle, 22, Tamrell Rena Hornbuckle, 26, Cherrelle Elizabeth Hornbuckle, 25, Latrelle Alicia Hornbuckle, 24, and Tammy Rena Brown, 45, pleaded guilty to various counts related to their involvement in the prostitution of underage girls in the Sacramento area, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Tynisha Marie Hornbuckle and Tamrell Rena Hornbuckle pleaded guilty today in Sacramento to sex trafficking of children, and Cherrelle Elizabeth Hornbuckle pleaded guilty to participating in a sex trafficking venture. Latrelle Alicia Hornbuckle pleaded guilty Tuesday to tampering with a witness, and Tammy Rena Brown pleaded guilty April 25 to concealing a felony.

A Yolo County jury Tuesday found a West Sacramento man guilty of 47 counts of child molestation.

Michael Martinez also was convicted of five counts of possessing matter depicting sexual acts with a minor, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

The West Sacramento Police Department began investigating the case after receiving a report that Martinez was sexually abusing the child. With assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police officers searched Martinez's home. They reported that an analysis of Martinez's cell phone revealed 20 videos showing him engaging in sexual acts with the victim.

The 17-year-old girl who was held in custody as a material witness for not appearing in court to testify against a man accused of raping her took the witness stand today to say she was working as a prostitute the night of the alleged attack.

But the girl insisted in Sacramento Superior Court that she never gave the man she identified as Frank William Rackley Sr. consent to have sexual intercourse with her and that he forced the sex on her even after she told him to stop.

"I asked the man to please, not do this," the girl testified. "I was crying at first, and then I said, 'Please don't do this,' and he said, "Shut up, bitch, or I'll slap you.'"

She said she had no discussion with the man about what acts she would perform. She also testified that there was no discussion about money.

Asked by Deputy District Attorney Alan Van Stralen if she consented to the sexual intercourse, the girl replied, "No."

A 70-year-old Sacramento man was convicted today on child pornography and sex tourism charges.

A federal jury in Sacramento found James E. Johnston guilty of conspiring to produce child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, possession of child pornography and traveling in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. The verdict came after a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.

According to testimony presented at trial, in February 2006, Johnston used his credit card to purchase a 20-day subscription to a website offering images and videos of child pornography to its customers. The website informed customers that its content was illegal. If contacted by law enforcement, they were instructed to say that their credit card had been stolen. Authorities said Johnston offered this defense during the trial.

A Sacramento County jury has convicted a 38-year-old man of multiple counts of child molestation involving a young victim who is deaf and has a learning disability.

Robert Ruiz was a friend of the victim's family. The girl's parents trusted Ruiz because he and his family, including Ruiz's children, were also deaf, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. Officials said the victim was a friend of Ruiz's children and frequently spent the night at his home.

Ruiz molested the young girl over a period of four years before she reported the abuse to school personnel, officials said.

Ruiz is to be sentenced June 1 in Sacramento Superior Court.

A Linda man has been booked into Yuba County jail on suspicion of sexual assault after allegedly assaulting a woman for three days.

Tyrone L. Dyson, 38, of Linda was arrested by Yuba County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday on several charges including suspicion of rape and false imprisonment.

Deputies were called Saturday morning by a woman who lived with Dyson after she was able to get out of their home in east Linda.

A Sacramento man was arrested Wednesday on pimping and human trafficking charges after beating and strangling a prostitute at a South San Francisco motel, police said.

The suspect, Marshaun Spencer Jourdan, allegedly questioned the woman's loyalty to him before attacking her Tuesday at a motel on Airport Boulevard.

Read the San Mateo Times story here.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury announced today that it failed to reach verdicts on any of the 21 counts in the child molestation trial of former Sierra Oaks Elementary School teacher Shane Adair Vicars.

Judge Michael A. Savage, who two days ago ordered the panel to continue its deliberations after it had reported to him that it was deadlocked, then declared a mistrial.

Savage denied a motion by Vicars' lawyer, Shannon Baker, to reduce the defendant's $750,000 bail.

The California Victim Compensation Program on Wednesday will be collecting donations of denim clothing to benefit victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

The "Denim Day" campaign aims to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault, according to a news release from CalVCP.

The denim theme came from female legislators in Italy who began wearing denim to protest a Supreme Court decision there in 1998 that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans, the release states. The court argued the victim "must have necessarily helped her attacker remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual."

"Wearing jeans on Denim Day has become an international symbol of protest against destructive attitudes about sexual assault," the release states.

CalVCP staff members will be collecting donations of denim clothing from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at 400 R Street. Donations will go to the Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE) thrift store on Arden Way.

Placer County sheriff's officials are continuing DNA screening in an effort to identify the person who impregnated a severely mentally and physically disabled woman living at a Penryn care home.

The 34-year-old woman was discovered in December to be about six months pregnant after undergoing an ultrasound test and has since given birth. The woman is mentally disabled, legally blind and unable to feed or care for herself.

Placer County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Mark Reed said investigators have been collecting DNA samples from men the woman is believed to have had contact with in an effort to find a match with the baby's DNA.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Sylvester Griffin for the December 2009 asphyxiation murder and rape of Alice Lynn Murphy in her senior-living apartment in Folsom.

Judge Greta Curtis Fall scheduled the sentencing on Griffin, 43, for May 18. He is facing a life term with no chance of parole for the special-circumstance murder conviction.

Murphy, 64, was a long-time Sacramento area resident who spent 30 years in real estate. A friend of hers who was visiting for the holidays found her body the morning of Dec. 21, 2009.

Members of fraternities and sororities at UC Davis have signed a pledge this year designed to curb out-of-control drinking on Picnic Day this Saturday.

Among the points in the 10-point covenant signed by 51 of 75 Greek organizations are pledges not to serve alcohol before noon and refraining from drinking games.

"The covenant demonstrates that we are doing our part," said Matt Chemin, president of the Interfraternity Council.

Picnic Day typically draws 75,000 people. The on-campus open house, now in its 98th year, is a wholesome event featuring a parade, music, educational exhibits, animal events and sport.

A 17-year-old alleged rape victim who has been held on a material witness warrant since March 23 was ordered released today by a Sacramento judge.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence G. Brown again apologized to the girl who sat and smiled at the attorneys' table today in contrast to the tears she sobbed in her last court appearance a week ago Friday.

Brown ordered that the girl be equipped with a global position system device to ensure that she appears at the scheduled April 23 trial for accused rapist Frank William Rackley Sr., 37.

By Denny Walsh

Cornelius Taylor, pastor of the Whole Life Revival Center in Sacramento, has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for sexually assaulting a minor, District Attorney Jan Scully announced Friday.

A jury in February found Taylor guilty on eight counts of sexual assault on a troubled teenager with no family support who looked upon Taylor and his congregation as a refuge. At 16, she accepted an invitation from Taylor and his wife to live with them. The pastor demanded sex after the teen moved in, and his attacks continued several times a week, even after she turned 18.

A Sacramento man has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges.

Phillip J. Colwell, 52, entered the pleas today in federal court in Sacramento, admitting to producing child pornography, transmitting obscene matter to a minor and using a cell phone to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.

According to court documents, in October 2011, Colwell engaged in a series of cell phone text conversations with a 14-year-old Sacramento boy. He sent the boy sexually explicit images and sought to engage the youth in sexual conduct.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, the Catholic priest accused of molesting girl when he worked at parishes in Woodland and Redding, entered a not guilty plea today in Sacramento Superior Court.

Judge John P. Winn then scheduled Ojeda's preliminary hearing for June 8. The hearing will determine whether Ojeda, 32, will stand trial on the seven molestation counts.

The complaint against Ojeda charges that he molested the girl, who was under the age of 14 at the time of all of the allegations, three times in Sacramento County and four times in Shasta County.

The alleged incidents occurred between June 29, 2007, and Aug. 30, 2009, while Ojeda was working at the Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland and at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Redding.l

Folsom resident Matthew Mark Battersby today pleaded guilty in federal court in Sacramento to receiving child pornography.

According to court documents, in September 2011, law enforcement agents identified a computer at Battersby's address offering files of child pornography through an Internet file-sharing service. They searched Battersby's residence and found that his computer contained approximately 15 image files and 179 video files of child pornography, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Battersby, 44, is to be sentenced June 26 by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department with agents from federal, state and local agencies.

Sacramento police are investigating the sexual assault and robbery of a woman in a midtown alley last night.

Police said that at about 9:30 p.m. a woman was walking in a drugstore parking lot at 17th and J streets when she was grabbed by a tall man and brought to an alley. She was then sexually assaulted and robbed of her purse.

The attacker was described as a black man with a muscular build, about 6 feet 6 inches tall, in his mid-40s, wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and dark shoes.

He fled on a red bicycle.

Sacramento police arrested a man after they were called to a downtown Starbucks on Monday when an employee reported a customer was viewing child pornography on his laptop computer.

Police said that it was also reported that offending images on the laptop screen were visible to other patrons, according to a police activity log.

When officers responded to the coffeehouse near the train station at Fifth and I streets they discovered that the patron, Louis Mendonsa, 49, was a sex offender registrant, police said.

Officers did not observe child pornography on Mendonsa's laptop screen. The computer was seized and Mendonsa was arrested.

He was arrested on suspicion of violating parole.

A Sacramento man was sentenced today in federal court to 15 years in prison for distributing child pornography.

Eric John Guanco, 42, was sentenced in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. Guanco will be subject to 10 years of supervised release following his time in prison.

According to court documents, on Oct. 21, 2010, an undercover FBI agent signed onto a peer-to-peer file-sharing program. Using a undercover screen name, the agent observed that Guanco was logged into the network. The undercover agent proceeded to browse the shared directories belonging to Guanco and observed that this user had password-protected files.

A 31-year-old man has been convicted by a Sacramento County jury of 10 counts of child molestation, according to a news release from the District Attorney's office.

Omar Valdivia, 31, faces a sentence of 146 years to life in prison for the conviction, the release states.

Valdivia was accused of assaulting two young girls - the daughters of his girlfriend, Sacramento police said - over a six-year period.

Police said the girls were 9 or 10 years old when the abuse began.

Valdivia is scheduled to be sentenced May 2 by the Honorable Judge Eugene Balonon.

A Marysville man was sentenced today in federal court to three years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Kenneth W. Sandstrom, 52, received his sentence, which includes 10 years of supervision after release from prison, from District Judge William B. Shubb in Sacramento. Sandstrom had two computers, an external hard drive and several CDs and DVDs with about 3,000 images of child pornography he collected from 2000 to 2011, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Among the images, according to the federal prosecutor, were depictions of rape and sadism.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, an effort managed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, comprising officers from federal, state and local agencies.

Modesto police announced today that they have arrested former Enochs High School teacher Christopher James Hooker (booking photo at left) on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor.

Hooker had resigned his job and moved in with an 18-year-old student, Jordan Powers, in a case that brought widespread media attention to Modesto in February. The two have denied dating when the student was a minor.

Police arrested Hooker on one count of oral copulation with a minor in a case that is unrelated to the Jordan Powers case.

A Yolo County jury has convicted a Dunnigan man of kidnapping and engaging in sex with a 13-year-old El Dorado Hills girl.

Jason Stephen Sigur, 36, was convicted of 41 counts of kidnapping, sex with a child younger than 14, communicating with a minor for the purpose of committing a sex act, and burglary, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Sigur met the 13-year-old girl on an Internet chat room in August 2010. He immediately began visiting the girl in person at her El Dorado Hills home, sneaking in through a bedroom window while the victim's mother slept in another room, officials said.

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating reports of a man exposing himself to women in east Sacramento.

At 5:55 a.m. Feb. 24, a woman was jogging in the area of 32nd Street and Folsom Boulevard when she was confronted by a man wearing only a long shirt. The man lifted his shirt, exposing his genitals, according to a Police Department news release.

At 7:45 a.m. Feb. 27, a motorist was stopped in her vehicle at 38th and H streets when the suspect crossed the street in front of her, turned and lifted his shirt, exposing himself.

A San Joaquin County man today pleaded guilty in federal court in Sacramento to receiving child pornography.

According to court documents, in August and September 2011, Sacramento law enforcement agents observed a computer belonging to Terry Alan Snider, 65, of French Camp, offering files of child pornography through an Internet file-sharing service. On Aug. 26, officers downloaded child pornography from him.

A search of Snider's home found a computer with approximately 350 video files and 190 image files of child pornography, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Among the files were videos showing the sexual molestation of toddler-age and prepubescent boys and girls.

A prosecutor said today that six boys who were students at Sierra Oaks Elementary School will testify that former teacher Shane Adair Vicars molested them.

In her opening statements in the trial that got under way today in Sacramento Superior Court, Deputy District Attorney Shauna Franklin described the victims as "six little boys who loved and admired their teacher and their friend, Shane Vicars."

Vicars, 27, is charged with 22 counts of child molestation.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested today on suspicion of sexually molesting a 7-year-old boy in a park in the Glen Elder neighborhood.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Andrew Pettit said the 7-year-old was in Sim Park, 6207 Logan St., with his family, but was playing some distance away when the incident occurred about 5 p.m.

He told his parents what happened and they called police.

Pettit said video from surveillance cameras at the community center in the park did not show the incident but showed the victim and the teenager walking together.

Pettit said an officer familiar with the neighborhood knew that there was a group home down the street. Police went to the home and found the suspect.

The teenager was taken into custody, and Pettit said he will be booked into juvenile hall.

A Sacramento man was arrested Monday on suspicion of sharing and receiving child pornography.

A federal grand jury last week returned a one-count indictment against Darren L. Brown, 47. According to the indictment, from September to October 2011, Brown traded images via the Internet that depicted the sexual exploitation of children.

He was arraigned Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan. Brown pleaded not guilty and was released on a $25,000 bond with restrictions on his access to computers and children, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. His next court appearance is scheduled April 23 before U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A former forensic pathologist described in court today the injuries a 64-year-old woman suffered three years ago when she was raped and murdered in her senior-living apartment in Folsom.

Alice Lynn Murphy (pictured) died of "homicidal asphyxia," Dr. Elizabeth Albers testified, either from being smothered with her pillow or other bedding, or possibly from a chest compression. Murphy sustained two broken ribs in the fatal attack, as well as substantial bruising on her face, head, arms, legs, abdomen and on her side, Albers told a Sacramento Superior Court jury.

Albers testified in the second day of trial for Sylvester Griffin, 43, who is accused of murder, rape and burglary in the killing of Murphy, a one-time Sacramento County real estate agent. Murphy's body was found Dec. 21, 2009, in her residence at the Creekview Manor apartments in the 1700 block of Creekside Drive, near Mercy Hospital, in Folsom. Albers said Murphy could have been dead for as long as 36 hours.

A Woodland man was sentenced today in Sacramento to six years and three months in prison for possessing child pornography.

Kenneth Albert Webb, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. He also is subject to 10 years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Webb's laptop computer was found to contain 50 video files and 21 pictures depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, some of whom were younger than 12 years old. Some of the images were produced in Germany and France, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Yolo County Sheriff's Department and Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

A personal trainer and kickboxing instructor at an Arden-Arcade business faces sexual assault charges after he allegedly had sex with a teenaged student, according to authorities.

Detectives suspect there might be other victims as well, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

On Wednesday, deputies arrested 35-year-old Fernando Santos of Sacramento, pictured at left, on suspicion of oral copulation and unlawful sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl, Ramos said.

Santos was released from the Sacramento County Main Jail today after posting bail, Ramos said.

Santos allegedly assaulted the girl on several occasions between April 2011 and January of this year, Ramos said. The girl ultimately came forward with the allegations.

Because of Santos' occupation and his contact with numerous students, detectives suspect there could be other victims. Anyone who believes they are a victim or who has information about inappropriate conduct by Santos is asked to call Detective Kelly Clark at (916) 874-5070.

A 72-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning, accused of lewd conduct in a Sierra Community College restroom.

About 11:15 a.m., Rocklin police youth services officers assigned full-time to the campus were notified that a man was using a mirror to look at another person while using the public restroom inside the college library, according to a Rocklin Police Department news release. The victim reported that while using the restroom, he saw a person in the stall next to him use a mirror to look at him.

Officers arrested Donald Jackson of Rocklin, who is not a student at the college. He was booked into Placer County Jail on suspicion of engaging in a lewd act in public; loitering in or around a public toilet for the purpose of engaging in or soliciting a lewd, lascivious or unlawful act; and using an instrument to view a person with the intent to invade the person's privacy.

Anyone with information regarding this or related incidents is asked to call the Rocklin Police Department at (916) 625-5400.

Bobby Joe Mask was sentenced to 207 years to life in prison Friday after having been convicted of multiple counts of child sexual assault, the Sacramento District Attorney's office announced.

Mask was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old victim over a three-year period.

Trial testimony included witnesses who said Mask also molested them when they were 13 years old.

Prosecutors praised the courage of the victim who reported the crime and testified.

Justin Graham, 30, of Lincoln pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sacramento to sharing child pornography over the Internet.

Graham was arrested Jan. 20, 2011, by the FBI after an undercover investigation into online distribution of child pornography over a file sharing network, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Graham is to be sentenced March 25 by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice.

A Sacramento man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for possession of child pornography.

Sean Howard, 35, pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced Monday in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. His imprisonment is to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release.

According to court documents, in February 2011, law enforcement agents with the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force downloaded 10 files of child pornography from Howard's computer. A federal search warrant was executed on March 28, 2011, and investigators found 46 images and five videos of child pornography had been downloaded on Howard's computer between Jan. 26 and March 22, 2011. The images and videos showed minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Rio Linda Baptist Church Pastor Tommy Gene Daniels was sentenced to 158 years to life in prison today for molesting five little girls in a respite and child-care operation his family ran out of his Citrus Heights home.

In handing down the term to the 49-year-old Daniels, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Trena H. Burger-Plavan told the pastor he "took advantage of his position of trust and confidence with very young victims."

Daniels, exhibiting facial grimaces throughout the sentencing hearing, made no comment. He has continued to maintain his innocence. His attorney, Michael L. Chastaine, filed a motion for a new trial that the judge rejected. Chastaine said afterwards he intends to appeal the Dec. 8 verdict handed down by the Sacramento jury.

The five victims in the case were between the ages of 5 and 13 when Daniels touched them inappropriately while they were in his family's care in his Wapiti Place residence. The molestations took place in his house between December 2002 and August 2007.

One of Daniels' victims, who is now 12, began to read her victim's impact statement in the courtroom. She said the molestation "changed me forever." When the girl began to cry, her mother finished the statement where the young victim said she is "terrified of the dark" and has a recurring vision of a "blurred face with a creepy smile" where Daniels' "points at me as if to say, 'I'm coming for you.'"

"I've tried to forget what happened, but I have not been able to and probably will never be able to," the girl's statement said.

Photo caption: Tommy Lee Daniels listens as he is sentenced for the conviction of molesting five girls in his Citrus Heights home between 2003 and 2005 Sacramento, Calif. Photo by Jose Luis Villegas / jvillegas@sacbee.com

A Sacramento County jury today convicted Timothy Lowder, 44, of child molestation.

On Christmas evening 2008, Lowder was alone with the victim watching television. While they were alone, he molested the victim twice, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. Authorities said he had been previously convicted of molesting a relative.

Lowder is scheduled for sentencing April 6.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives have arrested a 56-year-old Placer County man after he allegedly exposed himself to two young girls in separate incidents, according to authorities.

Jerry Caldwell, pictured at left and again below left, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of indecent exposure and child annoyance, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

The first incident allegedly occurred Feb. 1 at a Wal-Mart in Sacramento County, Ramos said. Caldwell approached a 8-year-old girl and exposed himself to her. He left the store unidentified, Ramos said.

It allegedly happened again on Feb. 3, when Caldwell approached a 5-year-old girl inside a Thriftown USA store in Sacramento County and exposed himself to her, Ramos said. Caldwell again left the store before being identified.

Upon further investigation, detectives identified Caldwell as the suspect, Ramos said, and the victims later positively identified him. He was arrested this afternoon in Placer County.

Detectives believe there could be more victims. Authorities ask that anyone who recognizes Caldwell and believes they had inappropriate contact with him call sheriff's Detective John Linke at (916) 874-5191.

A man with prior convictions relating to sex abuse crimes was sentenced today to 34 years in prison for child sexual assault.

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury last month convicted Phil Douglas Reese, 47, of five counts of child sexual assault, including the allegation that he used force and duress to commit the crimes, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley.

Authorities said Reese was considered a good friend of the victim's family. The molestation began in 2002-03, when the girl was in first grade, and continued through her seventh-grade year.

A Sacramento man, already in jail on state charges, was indicted today on federal child exploitation charges.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned a a three-count indictment charging Phillip J. Colwell, 52, with producing child pornography, transmitting obscene matter to a minor and using a cell phone to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents filed in both state and federal court, Colwell in October 2011 allegedly engaged in a series of cell phone text conversations with a 14-year-old Sacramento boy, to whom he sent sexually explicit images and with whom he sought to engage in sexual conduct. Court documents also allege that Colwell encouraged the youth to produce sexually explicit images of himself to send to Colwell.

A man with ties to Northern California who authorities say was America's most wanted child molester has been arrested in Canada.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Sacramento has been working on the case of Steven Dyer for the last 4 years. He was convicted in absentia by a jury in 2002 on 13 counts of sexual conduct with a minor in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Dyer failed to show up for a court appearance in January 2002 and an arrest warrant was issued. Dyer was suspected of living a lavish lifestyle outside the United States, according to a press release from the marshals service.

A man who murdered a woman in Rancho Cordova during a sexual assault last year was sentenced today to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Demetrius Shaffer, 33, also was sentenced to seven additional 15-to-life terms by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard for another sexual attack on a second female victim.

"Mr. Shaffer has lived a predatory, perverted life," Gilliard said from the bench in sentencing Shaffer. "For that, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars."

Jurors last month convicted Shaffer for the sex killing of Rajneet Kor Singh, 37 (pictured). According to testimony at trial, he had met up with her in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2011, and the two of them then went to the Rancho's Club Casino on Folsom Boulevard.

Singh's body was discovered the same day about a block from the casino.

Sacramento police today arrested a county juvenile dependency court referee on suspicion of trying to get two women he thought were underage girls to strip for an adult magazine.

Sacramento Juvenile Dependency Court Referee Daniel Madden Horton, 47, was booked into the downtown jail at 5:05 p.m. today. No charges had been filed on him as of today, but a criminal complaint is likely to be filed as soon as Thursday, according to documents obtained by The Bee.

Horton was in the process of being booked late this afternoon and was unavailable for comment. District Attorney's officials also declined comment. He has resigned from his job in the Juvenile Dependency Court, according to courts spokeswoman Ginger Sylvester.

In a case summary Sacramento police presented to the District Attorney's Office, detectives are asking prosecutors to charge Horton on three misdemeanor counts.

A 65-year-old Sacramento man was arrested today on child pornography charges.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned a one-count indictment Thursday charging Robert M. Schaefer with distribution of child pornography.

According to the indictment, between 2008 and 2009, Schaefer used the Internet to distribute images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He allegedly uploaded to various file-sharing websites thousands of images of children being exploited, including children younger than 10 years old. He also is accused of surfing the Internet looking for people seeking particular types of photos, which he then shared from his extensive collection.

Belden Morgan, a former teacher and coach at Colfax High School, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of child sex abuse, Placer County sheriff's officials reported.

Morgan, 70, of Auburn, was arrested after an investigation into allegations of ongoing abuse several years ago.

He is held at Placer County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

Morgan was a teacher at the school from 1998 to 2003 and a snowboard coach from 2003 to March 2011, said Eric Vereyken, human resources director for the Placer Union High School District.

Sheriff's officials are not releasing details, and it has not been disclosed when the alleged incidents took place or whether they involved students at the high school.

PHOTO CAPTION: Beldon Morgan

Local pastor Cornelius Taylor was convicted Thursday on eight counts of sexual assault on a minor, the Sacramento County District Attorney's office reported.

A troubled teen with no family support was befriended by Taylor at his church.

She moved in with the pastor and his wife when she was 16 years old, the district attorney's office reported.

In what could be a watershed moment in the Davis "sweethearts" murder trial, a judge today denied a motion by defense lawyers to delay the case to mid-June.

Jury selection is currently scheduled to begin on March 19 for defendant Richard Hirschfield, who is accused in the Dec. 20, 1980, stabbing deaths of UC Davis students John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves.

Defense attorneys Linda Parisi and Ken Schaller asked Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet to move the case back to give them more time to nail down a commitment from a mitigation expert they intend to hire if the Hirschfield case proceeds to the death penalty phase.

A Catholic priest accused of child molestation again did not enter a plea at his Sacramento Superior Court arraignment today.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda made his fifth court appearance since his Nov. 30 arrest on seven counts of molesting the same girl under the age of 14 in Woodland and Redding.

Ojeda, 32, is free on $700,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 9.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

An Esparto youth soccer coach and foster parent pleaded not guilty this morning in Yolo Superior Court to 48 felonies and six misdemeanor counts of molesting or endangering two children over a period of more than four years.

Cristan Rooms, 29, is being held in lieu of $12 million bail in the Yolo County Jail. A court commissioner earlier set bail at $250,000 for each felony count.

Prosecutor Rob Gorman said he expects to file additional charges - and to disclose additonal victims - when the parties to return to court March 13.

"I will have disclosed all of the victims (by then)," Gorman told Judge Timothy Fall.

A judge today ruled that portions of a suicide note written by Richard Hirschfield's dead brother can be used against the defendant who is accused in the 1980 sex murders of UC Davis sweethearts Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins.

"I was there," the defendant's brother, Joseph Hirschfield, wrote in a note he authored before killing himself in 2002, the day after Sacramento sheriff's homicide detectives questioned him the Gonsalves and Riggins case.

Sacramento prosecutors hope Joseph Hirschfield's admission, combined with other evidence that he lived close by where the victims bodies were found in the Lake Natoma area, will help convince jurors his brother also was at the scene of the killings. The D.A.'s office claims that DNA from a semen stain retrieved from a blanket in Riggins' van matches Richard Hirschfield.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet also sought to introduce portions of the suicide note where Joseph Hirschfield claimed his brother killed the teen-aged college couple. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet excluded that portion of the note from trial.

Hirschfield's lawyers sought to exclude the entirety of the note on grounds it is inadmissable hearsay. The judge ruled that the selected portions of the note qualified to be shown to the jury as exceptions to the hearsay rule.

Defense attorney LInda Parisi said she and her co-counsel, Assistant Public Defender Ken Schaller, may appeal Sweet's ruling. It is not expected that such an appeal would further delay the trial now scheduled for March 19.

A California Highway Patrol officer has been arrested on suspicion of child molestation involving acts that allegedly occurred more than a decade ago.

Justin Morejohn, 31, turned himself in Thursday morning after a warrant was issued for his arrest, said Lt. Paul Doroshov of the Davis Police Department.

Doroshov said Davis police in August began an investigation into allegations against Morejohn and submitted a report to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office. Morejohn was subsequently arrested on suspicion of 10 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14. Bail was set at $1 million.

A Sacramento jury today convicted Demetrius Shaffer of murder in last year's sex killing of Rajneet Kor Singh.

The Superior Court panel also found Shaffer guilty on seven other counts of sexual assault on a second victim in an attack that took place on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard scheduled the sentencing on the 32-year-old defendant for Feb. 16.

Jurors began deliberations today in the rape-murder trial of Demetrius Shaffer who is charged in the New Year's Day 2011 strangulation death of Rajneet Kor Singh in Rancho Cordova.

Shaffer, 33, also is charged with seven additional sexual assault charges on a second victim.

Deputy District Attorney Thienvu Ho told a Sacramento Superior Court jury that Shaffer raped and killed Singh when she refused his sexual advances after he had given her methamphetamines and gambling money. Her body was found about a block away from the Rancho's Club Casino on Mills Park Drive and Folsom Boulevard.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Nelson said a jealous boyfriend killed the 37-year-old victim.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Sacramento home Monday morning has been arrested.

Aaron Suggs (pictured), 29, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of burglary and multiple sexual assault crimes, and is being held without bail.

Sacramento police officers were called to a home on E Street at 8:46 a.m. Monday. The victim told police that she had gotten out of the shower and found that the back door of her home was open. When she went to close the door, a man grabbed her, then sexually assaulted the woman and ransacked her home before leaving with several of her possessions.

An Elk Grove man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking in child pornography.

Bradley Alan Dayley, 40, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia for producing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Daley also was ordered to serve at 10-year term of supervised release after he completes his time in custody.

The federal sentence is in addition to a more than 60-year state sentence.

The varsity baseball coach at Union Mine High School in El Dorado County was arrested Thursday, accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

Lt. Bryan Golmitz, spokesman for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department, said David Robert Freeman (pictured), 38, was arrested by sheriff's detectives as a result of information received in December. Freeman was booked on suspicion of engaging in sex with a minor and oral copulation. He was released on $175,000 bail.

Golmitz said the victim is a female juvenile. Because detectives are still investigating the allegations, Golmitz said he could not discuss details of the case. Once the investigation is completed, he said, it will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office.

By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com

A deputy district attorney told a Sacramento Superior Court judge Thursday that the Rev. Uriel Ojeda, a Catholic priest jailed on sex abuse charges, has admitted to repeatedly molesting a teenaged parishioner.

Arguing that Ojeda's bail should remain high, Deputy DA Allison Dunham said that, based on the charges, the priest is a threat to the community and a flight risk. She said Ojeda, 32, who served at parishes in Woodland and Redding before his arrest last month, admitted to an investigator for the Sacramento Catholic Diocese that he repeatedly abused a teenaged girl, kissing her on the lips, rubbing her breasts and other inappropriate touching.

Ojeda's lawyer, Jesse Ortiz, disputed the prosecutor's account, and told Judge Marjorie Koller that the diocese is punishing Ojeda because they dislike him.

The psychologist who faces criminal charges after she allegedly faked her sexual assault and robbery - and then falsely reported the crimes to Sacramento police - has been fired from the prison system, according to a spokeswoman.

Laurie Ann Martinez's last day with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was Dec. 22, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said today. She said she could not discuss the reasons for the termination because of personnel privacy issues.

However, Martinez's termination came within a week of an announcement by the California Board of Psychology that Martinez's license was suspended in the wake of The Bee's report that she had been arrested and charged with felony criminal conspiracy in connection with the alleged false police report.

A 46-year-old woman was tied up and sexually assaulted in her Arden-Arcade apartment Monday night, according to authorities.

The woman said her assailant, whom she did not know, confronted her at gunpoint, bound her ankles and wrists and assaulted her before fleeing the Fair Oaks Boulevard apartment sometime in the afternoon, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The woman struggled to get free for hours but couldn't, Ramos said. About 10 p.m., a security guard making the rounds at the complex heard her cries for help and untied her, Ramos said.

A 52-year-old Rocklin man has been arrested on child pornography charges.

A federal grand jury last week returned a four-count indictment charging Barry C. Steiber with sharing, receipt and possession of child pornography, according to a Department of Justice news release.

According to the indictment, in 2008 and 2009 Steiber amassed a collection of images depicting the sexual exploitation of children and traded those images with other people over the Internet. Court documents indicate that a computer recovered from his home in 2009 contained thousands of images of child pornography.

By Cynthia Hubert

chubert@sacbee.com

A Sacramento judge today sentenced a man convicted of animal abuse to 10 years in state prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender over strong objections from his defense lawyer.

It may represent the first time that "Jessica's Law" has been applied in a case involving sexual abuse of an animal, a county prosecutor said. The man's defense lawyer indicated she will appeal.

A Superior Court jury convicted Robert DeShields, a parolee and chronic methamphetamine user, of felony animal cruelty in the sexual abuse of a Chihuhahua mix named Shadow.

A 23-year-old man Sacramento man was arrested today on suspicion of offenses involving child pornography.

Eric Montane-Darab was indicted last week by a federal grand jury and the indictment was unsealed today. The indictment of three other Sacramento-area men for child pornography offenses was announced Monday by the federal Department of Justice.

Montane-Darab was charged with distribution of obscene matter to a minor, receipt of child pornography, and coercion and enticement of a minor, according to a Department of Justice news release.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The vice principal of a Fairfield elementary school was sentenced to eight years in state prison today on his conviction for molesting two juvenile male relatives in his North Highlands home.

Christopher Vargas, 39, had served at Cleo Gordon Elementary School in the Fairfield school district.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Roland L. Candee imposed the term on Vargas despite a recantation by one of the victims at today's sentencing that his molestation ever took place.

The woman accused of helping her friend fake a home-invasion robbery and a sexual assault has been arrested.

Nicole Snyder, 33, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Dec. 12 and released later that day on $5,000 bail. She was arraigned Monday on two counts of felony criminal conspiracy.

Snyder is accused of assisting Laurie Martinez, a supervising psychologist with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, stage a crime in Martinez's Norgard Court home in April so Martinez could convince her husband to move to another neighborhood, authorities allege.

A Woodland man has been convicted of molesting the 6-year-old daughter of a couple with whom he was sharing a home.

After a four-day trial, a Yolo County jury deliberated a half-day before finding Efrain Amed Vasquez Martinez, 29, guilty Friday of four of six charges of child molestation that occurred in two separate incidents.

About 4 a.m. on April 24, one of Vasquez's housemates awoke to sounds in the home that raised suspicion, and she sent her husband to investigate. The husband opened the door to the children's bedroom, where he found a 4-year-old boy asleep and the 6-year-old girl pulling the covers over her, as Vasquez, wearing only his underwear, attempted to hide in the closet, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

A bail review motion scheduled for today on a Catholic priest accused of child molestation was put off until Jan. 5 amid suggestions he may be a flight risk.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 32, who served in parishes in Woodland and Redding, is accused in seven counts of molesting a girl under the age of 14. The criminal complaint filed against him said the acts took place between June 28, 2007, and Aug. 30, 2009.

Ojeda's attorney, Jesse Ortiz, asked for the delay in order to obtain his client's personnel records from the Sacramento archdiocese.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

Yolo County sheriff's deputies have arrested a youth soccer coach and foster parent in Esparto on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy whom he coached.

Yolo County child welfare officials removed a six-year-old foster child in his custody, authorities said.

Cristan James Rooms, 29, of Esparto, was arrested Monday and is being held on $2.75 million bail at the Monroe Detention Center in Woodland, the sheriff's department reported in a news release Wednesday.

He was booked on a charges of lewd and lacivious acts with a minor using force or fear, five counts of continuous sexual assault of a child, and child endangerment, according to the news release.

The charges stem from his alleged assault of 14-year-old boy to whom he acted as a mentor and soccer and bowling coach, it said.

Rooms is a coach with Vacaville Youth Soccer League and Soccer Nation in Vacaville, authorities said.

He is also a foster parent licensed by the state Department of Social Services, they said.

Detectives are continuing their investigation and ask anyone with information to call Detective Jennifer Davis at (530) 668-5215.

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

An El Dorado County man who fled while being investigated for allegedly raping a 14-year-old in 1998 was arrested today in New Jersey.

Pasquale Patrick Senatore, 45, has been on the run since 2002, when investigators attempted to question him about allegations he forcibly raped a girl repeatedly over a three-month period.

Over the past few years, the U.S. Marshals Service and El Dorado County Sheriffs teamed to try to locate Senatore. He was located today in New Jersey when officers spotted him getting into a van.

Senatore was taken into custody without incident, according to the U.S. Marshal's office. He will be extradited back to El Dorado County, where he faces charges of forcible lewd acts on a child.

The FBI today awarded its Director's Community Leadership award to Sacramento's Women Escaping a Violent Environment, Inc.

The annual award recognizes the achievement of an individual or organization for commitment to violence education and prevention in the community, according to a press release from the Bureau's office in Sacramento.

Herb Brown, Special Agent in Charge of Sacramento's field office, presented the award to WEAVE executive director Beth Hassett this morning. She will receive an engraved award during a public ceremony in March from Director Robert Mueller at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to the release.

WEAVE believes that all women, men and children deserve to feel safe in their homes and community," Hassett said in a statement. "In these difficult times we have to be more innovative, more enthusiastic and more committed to making sure that the most vulnerable among us are taken care of."

The Sacramento non-profit provides crisis intervention and prevention services to victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking and sexual assault.

-- Bee Staff

The prison psychologist accused of faking a rape and robbery at her Northgate home is still working for the prison system, a corrections spokeswoman confirmed today.

Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said that Laurie Ann Martinez's superiors do not have the final reports needed to decide whether to put her on "administrative time off."

Martinez, 36, has been charged with two counts of felony criminal conspiracy in connection with a false police report she made April 10. Sacramento police and prosecutors allege that, with the help of friend Nicole April Syder, Martinez injured herself and hid personal belongings before calling police to report she had been raped and robbed.

A judge today denied a motion by defense attorneys in the Davis "sweethearts" murder case to have the trial moved out of Sacramento County.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet said that the defense's own expert said in a declaration that there hasn't been enough publicity in the case to prejudice potential jurors.

The judge delayed issuing a ruling on a motion by prosecutors to bring into the trial a suicide letter written by defendant Richard Hirschfield's brother.

By Andy Furillo

afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Rio LInda First Baptist Church pastor Tommy Gene Daniels of molesting five girls in his Citrus Heights home.

The jury found Daniels, 49, guilty on 11 of the 12 counts filed against him.

"I'm happy for the girls," said Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Macy. "I thought there was definitely evidence there" supporting the verdicts, she said.

Judge Trene H. Burger-Plavan scheduled Daniels' sentencing for Jan. 13. Macy said Daniels is facing a life term.

Defense attorney Michael L. Chastaine said he was disappointed with the verdict and that he plans to appeal.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A bail review hearing on a popular Catholic priest accused of child molestation was rescheduled today for Dec. 19.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda's attorney, Jesse Ortiz, asked for the continuance so that he could review additional reports in the case.

Ojeda, 32, is accused on seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with an underage girl. She was 14 when the contact began, authorities said. The offenses took place over the next two years, according to investigators.

A Citrus Heights man has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for possession of child pornography.

Nicholas Van Brocklin Trahan, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. Trahan pleaded guilty to the charge in April.

According to the plea agreement, during August and September 2008, and in January 2009, law enforcement agents observed Trahan's computer offering child pornography for download through a common file-sharing network. Based on this information, a federal search warrant was obtained for Trahan's residence and executed Feb. 11, 2009.

A Catholic priest beloved by churchgoers in Woodland was arraigned this afternoon in Sacramento on seven counts of child molestation.

PHOTO GALLERY: Priest's supporters at arraignment

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, who was assigned to a church in Woodland before being transferred to Redding, did not enter a plea in the brief proceeding in Sacramento Superior Court. He spoke only to confirm his name, and to confirm that he knew the identity of his accuser, whose name has been sealed.

About a dozen supporters showed up on Ojeda's behalf. They could be heard whimpering quietly as Ojeda entered the locked cell in the courtroom.

A prosecutor told a Sacramento Superior Court jury today that a pastor accused of 12 counts of child molestation turned his Citrus Heights home "into a house of horror for five little girls" and that "it's time to put a stop to that."

"It's time to hold this defendant responsible," Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Macy said in her closing argument in the trial of Rio Linda First Baptist Church pastor Tommy Gene Daniels. "It's time for you to find him guilty."

Defense attorney Michael L. Chastaine countered in his closing argument that his client is innocent of all the charges.

"Tom Daniels is an innocent man who sits in the worst chair in the entire planet, accused of something he didn't do," Chastaine said.

At the conclusion of the closing arguments, Judge Trena H. Burger-Plavan sent the jury out to begin its deliberations.

A former boys basketball coach will be going to prison for more than four years after he was convicted of molesting six victims, according to authorities.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller sentenced Melvin Flemings, 22, today to four years and four months in prison, according to the District Attorney's office.

Last month, Flemings, who was a walk-on boys basketball coach at El Camino High School until earlier this year, pleaded no contest to six felony counts of using minors to prepare sexually explicit photographs and videos.

Flemings met his victims while coaching at El Camino High and with the Sacramento-area Amateur Athletic Union league, with which he is no longer affiliated, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department previously told The Bee.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento judge today declared a 58-year-old man about to go on trial for murder as incompetent to assist in his own defense and scheduled a hearing for next month to determine the defendant's placement options.

Robert Lee Blockton had been charged with murder in the Nov. 3, 1980, stabbing death of Charles Redmond, 22, described by authorites as a transvestite prostitute. A night watchman initially identified Blockton as walking away from the scene of the stabbing but testified "I don't know" at a preliminary hearing to pick out the defendant again, court records said. Charges were then dismissed on Blockton due to insufficient evidence, according to his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sue Karlton.

The adopted daughter of Tommy Gene Daniels reluctantly testified today that her father had disappeared down a hallway for 15 to 20 minutes on the afternoon the pastor was accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl in his Citrus Heights home.

Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Macy got the 22-year-old witness to admit on cross-examination that she told police Daniels had slipped out of the living room of his home for that time period on the afternoon that prosecutors charge he molested the girl.

Daniels' daughter testified she believes the statement she gave to police a month after the alleged July 5, 2005, molestation was inaccurate.

"I believe it was five to 10 minutes," the woman who was 15 years old at the time of the alleged molestation told a Sacramento Superior Court jury on Tuesday. "He said he was going to the bathroom...Now that I'm older I remember things better."

Macy continued to confront the woman with the report written by Citrus Heights police after her August 2005 interview, which prompted the witness finally to say, "It could have been 15 to 20 minutes."

The time frame is crucial to corroborating the previous trial testimony of the alleged victim, who is now 12. The girl testified on the first day of trial that she had been sleeping in a rear bedroom off the hallway when she was molested and that the intruder whom she identified as Daniels came in and molested her twice.

Daniels testified last week that he did open the door to the bedroom but only to let a cat inside.

The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda, Daniels, 49, is accused on 12 counts of of molesting five girls in his home on Wapiti Place in Citrus Heights between 2003 and 2005. His attorney, Michael L. Chastaine, is expected to conclude his defense as early as Tuesday.

A California State University, Sacramento, student reported to police Tuesday that she was the victim of sexual battery while she was in the campus library the day before, according to authorities.

The victim said she was in the University Library when she was approached by an unknown man who asked to draw her about 4:15 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from campus police.

As he was drawing her, he touched the victim's buttocks and leg several times, police said. The victim felt uncomfortable and left. She reported the incident to police the next day.

The suspect was described to police as a black man in his late 20s or early 30s, about 6 feet tall, weighing about 150 pounds and with short, black, twisted hair. He had an African accent and was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, black jacket and cream-colored pants.

Police are pursuing leads and have a possible suspect identified. However, they are asking that anyone with information about this incident call police at (916) 278-6851.

By Andy Furillo

afurillo@sacbee.com

A pastor accused of child molestation took the witness stand in his own defense and denied that he ever sexually abused any kids.

"No, absolutely not," Tommy Gene Daniels replied when asked by his attorney if any of the allegations are true that five children lodged against him in Sacramento Superior Court over the past two weeks.

Daniels, 49, the pastor of the Rio Linda First Baptist Church, testified only 10 minutes under direct questioning from defense lawyer Michael L. Chastaine.

The defense lawyer asked for details on one girl's story, a 12-year-old who testified that she was molested July 5, 2005, while she slept in a bedroom in the Daniels home in Citrus Heights were she had been in day care. The girl testified she fell asleep on the living room floor, was carried to a bedroom and that a man she identified in court as Daniels came in and touched her vagina.

The wife of the Rio Linda pastor accused of child molestation told a Sacramento Superior Court jury today that she believes her husband is innocent.

Brenda Daniels testified that if she thought her husband Tom had molested any children, "I'd take the kids out of the house and I'd call police, because it's not OK."

Tom Daniels, 49, is facing 12 counts involving five children in incidents that prosecutors say took place in 2003 to 2005 in a day care/foster care home his wife ran in Citrus Heights.

Under questioning from defense attorney Michael L. Chastaine, Brenda Daniels said one of the alleged victims reported an accusation about her husband to her. Daniels, a "mandatory reporter" who is required to forward such allegations to police, said she didn't because "I didn't believe her."

When Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Macy pressed Daniels on her failure to report the allegations, the witness said, "I've known Tom since I was 13-years-old. He never showed any signs of being a molester."

The trial recessed at the noon break until Tuesday. Brenda Daniels is scheduled to resume her testimony then.

The prosecution completed its case today against a Baptist pastor accused of child molestation by calling an expert witness who cited studies that he said undermined some publicly held "distortions" of child sexual abuse.

Anthony J. Urquiza, director of the UC Davis Medical Center's CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center for abused and neglected children, said it is common for children to keep their victimization secret. He said they also feel helpless about their molestation and entrapped by it. He testified it is not uncommon for them to delay reporting sexual molestation or maybe even retract their allegations after they make them.

Urquiza testified in the case of Tommy Gene Daniels, 49, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Rio LInda. Five girls have testified in the trial that they were molested by Daniels while receiving foster care and day care services in his Citrus Heights home.

On cross-examination by defense attorney Michael L. Chastaine, Urquiza said it also is extremely rare for children to fabricate allegations of sexual abuse. He said studies have shown that only 1 percent to 6 percent of child sexual abuse allegations made to law enforcement turn out to be false.

Chastaine began his case today by calling a girl who lived in the Daniels home nine years ago. She said nothing sexually inappropriate ever happened to her there. The girl's mother also testified on Daniels' behalf, saying her daughter benefited from her stay in the home.

Daniels will testify in his own defense, Chastaine said in an interview.

A man who provided private music instruction to children in the Sacramento area has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

Robert Michael Broadfoot (pictured), 29, was taken into custody this morning by detectives assigned to the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

In August, Broadfoot was identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Miami as someone who had received child pornography over the internet, according a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department news release.

The Sacramento Police Department has arrested a 52-year-old man after receiving a complaint that he sent sexually explicit emails to a 14-year-old.

Phillip Colwell (pictured) is accused of unlawful communication with a minor, communicating with a child for the purposes of sexual contact and possession of child pornography.

Police received the complaint Oct. 17 from the child's parents and determined that Colwell knew of the child's age, according to a Police Department news release.

Posing as the 14-year-old, detectives continued contact with Colwell and set up a meeting with him. Officers and detectives followed him as he arrived at the meeting location under the pretense of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old.

Colwell was taken into custody without incident. Officers found computer files with multiple images of child pornography in his possession, according to the news release.

Police believe there may be additional victims and urge anyone with information to call the Sexual Assaults Unit at (916) 808-0584 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357, or text a tip to 274637. Enter SACTIP followed by the Tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

A 12-year-old girl testified today that Rio Linda Baptist preacher Tommy Gene Daniels molested her six years ago at his Citrus Heights home that also served as his wife's day care center.

The girl said she was taking a nap in a bedroom at the Daniels' residence when "Tom...tried to wake me up by touching me inappropriately."

She is one of five victims prosecutors intend to bring to the stand in the trial against Daniels, 49, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A Sacramento County jury convicted a 45-year-old man today of forcible oral copulation, rape sodomy and kidnapping to commit rape, according to the District Attorney's office.

Jurors also found true allegations of kidnapping and attacks against multiple victims by Charles Wayne Dempsey, the DA's office said in a news release.

Already convicted of raping four women in Texas, Dempsey then raped two women in Sacramento County in September 2000, the release states. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and the DA's Crime Lab were able to make a connection to the Texas rapes through DNA and identified Dempsey as the suspect.

Dempsey is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2. He faces up to 175 years to life in prison.

Folsom police have released a sketch of a man suspected of sexual battery near a Folsom apartment complex in September.

The afternoon of Sept. 1, a teenaged girl was walking on a bike trail behind a Blue Ravine Road apartment complex when an unknown man approached her, tried to engage her in conversation and then grabbed her breast, said Folsom police Sgt. Jason Browning.

The girl ran to Folsom Middle School, where she asked for help, Browning said. School officials then contacted police.

A 31-year-old man was arrested Sunday night after he allegedly exposed himself to a woman in the Pocket neighborhood that morning, according to Sacramento police.

The victim was walking in the 7300 block of L'Arbre Way about 9:15 a.m. Sunday when a man exposed himself to her, police reported. The man pulled up his pants, and then ran at the victim, tackling her and climbing on top of her, police said.

The victim screamed and the suspect ran away. Police later identified the suspect as 31-year-old Bradley Gray and arrested him at his residence in the 700 block of 7th Avenue, police reported. Inside the suspect's residence, police also located firearms.

The victim did not know her alleged attacker, according to police.

Officers booked Gray into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape; violation of probation; false imprisonment; possession of ammunition by a prohibited person; possession of concentrated cannabis; possession of a hypodermic needle and syringe; and possession of marijuana, according to jail booking records.

He is being held in lieu of $160,000 bail.

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

A Roseville man who fled while on trial for rape was arrested Friday in New York City by the FBI.

Patrick Gregory Baccari, 32, was out on $50,000 bail when he went on the run for 13 days beginning Oct. 17. The Placer County District Attorney's Office was prosecuting Baccari for rape, as well as burglary and assault with the intent to commit rape.

The trial continued while Baccari was on the run with a warrant issued for his arrest. He was convicted of four felony charges Oct. 19.

Baccari will be extradited to Placer County to be sentenced Nov. 4 for the four felony counts, as well as additional charges for failing to appear during his trial.

Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916)326-5521. Follow her on Twitter @MelodyGutierrez.

A former youth soccer coach in Elk Grove was sentenced to 4 years and 4 months in prison.

Arthur Temblador, 36, pleaded guilty to four felony charges involving sexual misconduct.

A preliminary hearing got under way today in the February 2010 killing of Rebecca Renee Layson in Citrus Heights' Van Maren Park.

Prosecutors have charged Anton Adolph Johnson Jr., now 20, and Tyler Shawn Espinoza, 19, with murder and sexual assault in the death of the 17-year-old girl.

Layson's family identified Espinoza in the days after the killing as the girl's boyfriend.

The former vice principal of a Fairfield elementary school has been convicted of molesting two boys in Sacramento County.

Jurors returned their verdicts Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court againt Christopher Vargas, 39, who had been an administrator at Cleo Gordon Elementary School in Fairfield.

Judge Roland L. Candee scheduled Vargas' sentencing for Nov. 15.
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Sacramento State police are investigating the rape of a female student by an acquaintance last week, according to a police news release issued today.

The assault allegedly took place about 2 p.m. Oct. 13 in a residence hall room on the California State University, Sacramento campus, the news release states.

The incident was reported to university police about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the release.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

A rare sexual assault in Lassen Volcanic National Park led to the arrest Friday of a Red Bluff man, park officials said.

The assault took place earlier this year at a time officials are not releasing at the request of investigators, said John Roth, chief park ranger for Lassen.

At that time, a child under age 12 was allegedly molested by a person she knew.

Her mother reported it to police when the family returned to Red Bluff, about 50 miles from the park, Roth said.

Police contacted the National Park Service which investigated the incident.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento on Thursday indicted Vernon Lee Williamson, 61, on two felony counts of sexual assault.

Williamson was arrested Friday at his Red Bluff home and jailed in Sacramento.

The event is unusual for the park, officials said.

"The park has no record of sexual assaults, of any kind, for at least the past 15 years," said Lassen Superintendent Darlene M. Koontz, in a prepared statement.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

A Rancho Cordova man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for child pornography.

Benjamin Cameron Halpain, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to five years and 10 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for receiving and sharing child pornography. Halpain pleaded guilty to the charge on July 28, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, between September 2009 and March 2010, detectives with the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified a computer at Halpain's residence offering files of child pornography for download through a file-sharing network. When law enforcement agents searched Halpain's home on April 26, 2010, they found computers in his bedroom containing about 900 files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including 234 video files, according to the release.

The case resulted from an investigation by the federally and state-funded task force, which is managed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department with members from federal, state and local agencies. The task force investigates online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement and sex trafficking.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Accused molest suspect Robert B. Adams made a brief appearance in court this morning on charges that he abused students at the Citrus Heights school he once ran.

The matter was rescheduled for Nov. 4.

A Sacramento police "hot spot" study has revealed that highly visible focusing on an area by officers reduces crime.

The 90-day study was conducted in East Sacramento and downtown beginning Feb. 8. Police identified 42 hot spots where high amounts of calls for service -- often involving violent crime -- were reported.

Roseville police have released a man initially suspected of trying to lure a child into his vehicle Thursday afternoon.

At 5:04 p.m., officers responded Thursday to Catherine Gates Elementary School on Trehowell Drive regarding a report that a man had tried to lure a child into his white van.

Week 2 of the manslaughter trail against Michael Jackson's doctor begins today with an alumnus of UC Davis at centerstage.

One of two prosecutors who have presented the case against Dr. Conrad Murray is David Walgren, a graduate of the University of California, Davis King Hall School of Law.

Associated Press coverage: Michael Jackson manslaughter trial enters 2nd week

Photo gallery: Conrad Murray on trial in Michael Jackson death

A Sacramento man has been sentenced to three years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Anthony Gordon Pollo, 23, pleaded guilty July 11 and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. His prison term is to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

According to court documents, law enforcement officials identified computers at Pollo's residence offering known files of child pornography through a file-sharing network. A search warrant was executed April 20, and detectives did not find a computer. At first, Pollo said that he had thrown out his hard drive but later admitted that the hard drive was at a local repair shop, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

The parents of one of the victims of the 1980 "Davis sweetheart" killings asked a judge today to not grant defendant Richard Hirschfield another delay in his Sacramento Superior Court trial.

"As we are getting older, this is something that is in our life every day," said Kate Riggins, 76. "We feel very strongly we need to keep to the date and at least get things underway so justice can be done."

Her son, John Riggins, and his girlfriend and fellow UC Davis student Sabrina Gonsalves, both 18, were last seen the night of Dec. 20, 1980. Their slain bodies were found two days later in a ravine near Lake Natoma.

Liquor-related arrests were up, drug arrests were down and assaults pretty much held steady last year on UC Davis property compared to the previous year, according a press release from the university.

The annual statistics were prepared for the federal Clery Act.

"UC Davis is a relatively safe campus, but no community of our size is crime-free," said campus Police Chief Annette Spicuzza.

Comparisons between 2010 and 2009:

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard has filed a claim against the U.S. government over failings by federal parole agents to detect her presence in the home of sex offender Phillip Garrido from 1991 through 1999, according to her publicist.

Dugard, kidnapped by Garrido in 1991 when she was 11, already has won a $20 million settlement from the state for failings by California parole agents who supervised Garrido from 1999 until she was discovered alive two years ago and freed.

Now, her publicist says she has filed a claim seeking payment for the period during which federal parole agents were supposed to be supervising Garrido at his Antioch-area home.

The Sacramento County district attorney announced today that a Sacramento-area man was convicted of child molestation.

Cortez Sullivan, 42, molested a 5-year-old whose family were acquaintances of Sullivan at a family gathering in January 2010.

Sullivan's sentencing will be held on Oct. 28.

A Sacramento man was arrested on suspicion of masturbating in public at a food area at the Market Square next to Arden Fair Mall.

Police said Steve Youmans, 39, appeared to be using a newspaper to cover himself while masturbating on Friday about 5:30 p.m.

Sacramento police said that he also appeared to be looking at a table occupied by four juveniles. The suspect was detained by security and eventually turned over to Sacramento police.

An Auburn man has been arrested after an adult relative reported to police that he sexually abused her as a child.

The woman, who used to live in Auburn, contacted Auburn police Tuesday and told them that she had been abused over several years by Robert Lynch, 55.

The abuse allegedly occurred over a five-year period, from 2004 to 2009, when the woman was a minor, said Detective Adam Cline. The woman told police that Lynch committed sexually lewd acts with her and had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions.

An Elk Grove man has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and to possessing sexually explicit images of minors that he received via the Internet.

According to court documents, the case against Bradley Dayley, 40, began in 2009 when authorities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children advised Elk Grove police that they had obtained images of a girl 10 to 12 years of age who they believed was being sexually molested in or around Elk Grove. The images had been transmitted via the Internet and intercepted in Europe. In the background of one of the images was a garbage can that featured the seal of the city of Elk Grove.

Through extensive investigation, Elk Grove police identified the girl, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

A woman was sexually assaulted Thursday evening by a man who picked her up in a van, according to authorities.

The 39-year-old woman was walking in the area of Orange Grove and Watt avenues when she was approached by a man in his 30s driving a van, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The woman voluntarily got into the van, but when she later tried to leave, the man would not let her, Ramos said. He drove her to the 1300 block of Silica Avenue, sexually assaulted her and then left her there, Ramos said.

Police said an intoxicated man exposed himself at a North Highlands elementary school this morning before going to a high school where he fought with a teen.

The 21-year-old man was arrested, but police declined to identify him until he was booked into Sacramento County Jail.

The first incident began about 8:15 a.m. at F.C. Joyce School, 6050 Watt Ave., where the man argued with a teacher outside in a hall. Police said he was told to leave.

sstanton@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights police say they have identified seven different victims allegedly molested by Creative Frontiers School Principal Robert B. Adams over a 15-year span that ended as recently as June, and arrested him this morning on six felony counts and one misdemeanor.

Adams, 60, was arrested at his Folsom home at 7:10 a.m., Chief Christopher Boyd announced this morning, but Adams immediately complained of a "medical problem" and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police would not discuss the nature of the health issue, but parents were posting on the school's Facebook page that he had suffered a heart attack.

A 51-year-old man has been convicted of molesting a young relative, and the jury heard evidence that the youngster was the second generation he had victimized.

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury convicted Louis Jaurique on four counts of child molestation.

Jaurique molested a young female relative when she was between the ages of 6 and 9 years old, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. The jury also heard evidence that Jaurique had molested the victim's mother when she was a child.

Jaurique is to be sentenced Sept. 22 by Judge Emily E. Vasquez.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of home invasion and sexual assault in Natomas.

Sacramento police responded to a home on Kokomo Drive about 2 a.m. Aug. 21 where a man entered a home through an unlocked door and robbed a victim at gunpoint. During the robbery, the man also sexually assaulted a woman.

Police were aware of two previous home invasion robberies in the Natomas area and believed they were connected to the Kokomo Drive break-in. Police tied Keith Wright, 31, to at least one of the two previous home invasions.

He almost escaped deputies, but they caught up with him. Now, the criminal justice system has, too.

Gary Livers, an Orangevale man accused of molesting a friend's daughter beginning when she was 10 years old, was convicted by a jury today on 10 counts of child molestation, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's office.

The 46-year-old Livers is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes Oct. 14.

A former youth soccer coach in Elk Grove has pleaded guilty to four felony charges involving sexual misconduct, Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully announced Thursday in a news release.

Arthur Temblador, 36, a former coach for the Elk Grove Everton Football Club, engaged in sexual misconduct with one of his players from the summer of 2010 through the spring of 2011, when the victim was between age 15 and 16, according to the district attorney's office release.

The misconduct occurred in four different counties, the release states.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A former youth basketball coach now stands accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with at least seven of his former wards, and authorities say they fear there could be more victims.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives arrested 22-year-old Melvin Flemings in Februrary on suspicion of misconduct with one victim, and the case has been evolving since, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

Today, as Flemings appeared in court on the initial three charges, deputies arrested him again, adding charges stemming from alleged sexual contact with six more victims, Ramos said.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted today the 56-year-old child molester accused ot trying to "groom" new victims within a week of his release from prison last year.

It took the panel less than a day to reach its verdict on Robert Precobb, who was accused on one count of annoying or molesting a minor and four more counts of furnishing marijuana to minors.

Precobb was ordered freed last year from his 15-to-life prison sentence on a 1988 child molestation conviction. The release resulted from a California Supreme Court decision that changed the law on whether certain predicate offenses could be used to trigger the life term.

Judge Greta Curtis Fall scheduled Precobb's sentencing for Sept. 23. He is facing five 25-to-life terms.

A Yolo County jury has convicted a West Sacramento man of 36 counts of child molestation.

Nang Sam, 27, was found guilty last week of molesting the young victim over a six-year period, a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release states.

The victim testified at trial that beginning in 2003, when she was 7 years old, and ending in 2008, Sam repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Trial got under way today for a convicted child molester who was arrested less than three weeks after he was released from prison last year on a judge's order.

Robert Winston Precobb, 56, is charged with one count of annoying or molesting a minor and five more counts of furnishing marijuana to minors.

Precobb had spent more than 20 years in prison on a child molestation conviction before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras ordered him released in February 2010. Lueras ruled that a 2006 California Supreme Court decision invalidated Precobb's 15-to-life term. The judge then resentenced him to time he had already served.

A North Natomas woman was robbed at gunpoint and sexually assaulted in her home about 2 a.m. today, and Sacramento police are investigating whether the crime is related to two other home invasions in recent weeks.

In this morning's invasion in the 4800 block of Kokomo Drive, a few blocks north of Arco Arena, police say the suspect apparently entered the home through an unlocked door and robbed the woman at gunpoint. Sometime during the robbery, she was also sexually assaulted, said department spokeswoman Officer Laura Peck.

The suspect was described as a black man in his 20's, 6-feet tall, weighing 200 lbs and wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and baggy blue jeans.

Yuba City police report that they have arrested a River Valley High School teacher on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child 17 or younger.

Police were notified by the Yuba City Unified School District that a current teacher and former female River Valley High student may have engaged in an inappropriate relationship, according to a Police Department news release.

An investigation by detectives resulted in the arrest of Manual Sandoval Barajas, 30. The high school's website lists him as a math teacher.

Police said the incident that prompted the investigation took place at the high school before the beginning of the new school year.

A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty in Sacramento County Superior Court to molesting two minors multiple times beginning when they were 9 and 16 years old, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

District Attorney Jan Scully announced Wednesday that Bradley Dayley, 40, pleaded guilty to multiple charges of molestation, according to the release. Under the plea agreement, Dayley will be sentenced to 60 years and 8 months to life in prison, the release states.

Sentencing is scheduled at 9 a.m. Sept. 23 in Dept. 19 of Sacramento Superior Court.

A 38-year-old Roseville man has been arrested on suspicion of committing sexual acts on customers while working as a tattoo artist.

Placer County District Attorney's investigators and Roseville Police detectives served an arrest warrant Monday on Zechariah Carr (pictured) at his Roseville home.

Carr was arraigned Wednesday in Placer County Superior Court on charges of committing sexual acts upon at least two customers at tattoo studios where he was employed. He has worked at numerous tattoo studios in Placer and Sacramento counties, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office news release.

Sacramento police are investigating the attempted sexual assault of a woman in her 80s at a downtown residential complex this afternoon, a police department spokesman said.

Officers responded around 2:10 p.m., to the complex near 5th and I streets, which houses residents 55 and older, said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

They determined the victim had been entering her apartment from an indoor hallway when a male suspect approached her from behind and attempted to sexually assault her, Leong said.

A 57-year-old South Lake Tahoe man has been arrested on a variety of charges, including possession of an obscene photo, according to police.

Jim Zamosky (photo right) was booked into El Dorado County Jail on charges of supplying marijuana to a minor, being a felon in possession of a firearm and posession of obscene matter, police said.

Six Sacramento residents, including five members of single family, have been charged in federal court with sex trafficking of minors.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento on Thursday returned a 13-count indictment charging Tynisha Marie Hornbuckle, 22, Tamrell Rena Hornbuckle, 25, Latrelle Alicia Hornbuckle, 23, Cherrelle Elizabeth Hornbuckle, 24, Tammy Rena Brown, 43, and Jacquelin Lanoise Radisha Wade, 24, with conspiring to commit sex trafficking of minors by force, fraud or coercion. Various other charges include sex trafficking of minors, tampering with witnesses and making false statements relating to their sex trafficking of minors.

The Hornbuckles are sisters, and Brown is their mother, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. All were arrested today.

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury has found a convicted child molester guilty of molesting three other youngsters.

Alejandro Carrillo, 42, previously was convicted of child molestation in 1991, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

In 2001, he moved in with a new girlfriend and her there daughters, ages 7, 9 and 11. The girlfriend did not know about Carrillo's previous conviction and allowed him to watch her daughters while she was at work.

Sacramento police are asking for the community's help in identifying a man suspected of sexually grabbing an 83-year-old woman in midtown in April, according to a Sacramento Police Department news release.

The alleged grabbing occurred in the early afternoon on a light-rail train near 22nd and R streets, police reported. Police allege the suspect thrust his groin area toward the victim numerous times and grabbed her buttocks before she was able to get away and call for help, according to the release.

A public briefing regarding a two-day sex-offender sweep will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Yolo County District Attorney's Office, 301 Second St., Woodland.

District Attorney Jeff Reisig, along with other county, local and state law enforcement officials, will discuss the results of "Operation Vigilance," a compliance and enforcement check of Yolo County's registered sex offenders.

During the past two days, 130 law enforcement officers from agencies in Yolo County - as well as the FBI, California Highway Patrol and State Parole - conducted sex offender compliance checks in Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento, Winters, Capay, Esparto and Dunnigan, according to a District Attorney's Office news release. Officials said 436 registered sex offenders live in Yolo County. Most were convicted of rape, child molestation or possession of child pornography.

The Vallejo Police Department has arrested a special education teacher on suspicion of raping a developmentally disabled student aide.

Jerry Johnson, 57, of Elk Grove, is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old at Loma Vista Elementary School on campus and during school hours. The assault occurred during the latter part of February, said a department spokesman. Police do not know if the incident was isolated or if Johnson committed other assaults.

Johnson was arrested in Elk Grove yesterday around 5:30 p.m. with the assistance of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury has found a 40-year-old man guilty of committing sex acts with a child, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office announced Friday in a news release.

Mahend Vikash was found guilty of 13 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and one count of attempted lewd and lascivious act by force on a child under 14, according to the release.

By Max Ehrenfreund
mehrenfreund@sacbee.com

Kenneth Tice, 70, of Davis, was sentenced today in the sexual assault of a 21-year-old foreign exchange student at UC Davis.

Tice, who had been homeless at times, met the victim last fall at a homeless shelter where she was volunteering. They developed a friendship and remained in touch after the shelter closed in March.

The two met for dinner on April 5 near Tice's Davis motel. Tice invited the victim to his hotel room after dinner and assaulted her once they were inside.

Tice later sent several emails to the victim apologizing for the assault.

Yolo County Superior Court Judge Stephen L. Mock sentenced Tice to two years and eight months in prison. Tice had been convicted on May 24 of sexual battery and false imprsionment with force and violence.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

The last time Nancy Garrido will ever see her husband likely came at 9:26 a.m. Thursday, as she was being escorted out of a Placerville courtroom and headed off to begin her 36-year prison sentence.

"Love you," she mouthed to Phillip Garrido, who sat shackled in the courtroom jury box waiting for the judge to hand down his sentence of 431 years to life.

She had asked for a final, private meeting with him after they were sentenced, but El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister was having none of it.

UC Davis police police have arrested a student as a suspect in two sexual assaults on the campus last night.

Robert Schaerges, 26, was booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of sexual battery, false imprisonment and assaulting a police officer.

Campus police said that two sexual assaults took place on a bicycle path near the ARC Pavilion about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The attacker also assaulted a police officer before running off.

A 30-year-old Roseville man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the kidnap and rape of a 24-year-old woman.

Justin Lee Mitchell was sentenced May 13 in Auburn by Placer County Superior Court Judge Marc S. Curry.

Mitchell pleaded guilty March 30 to kidnapping and rape with a foreign object, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office news release.

A man who pleaded guilty last month to the 1981 first-degree murder of a blind, deaf 88-year-old Sacramento woman has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Leroy Veal, 60, pleaded guilty to the murder of Pauline Colombatto and was sentenced by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Savage. Veal also admitted to three special circumstance allegations that the crime occurred during the commission of burglary, attempted robbery and rape.

In exchange for a plea to these offenses and a waiver of appellate rights, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office agreed not to pursue the death penalty, but instead have Veal sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, according to a news release.

Sacramento police returned to Discovery Park last night looking for clues to help find a man who raped a woman on Wednesday in a Discovery Park public restroom.

"We had officers out there for two reasons: to re-canvass some people who may have been out there the night before and to provide extra security," said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

However, police have nothing new on the attack.

UC Davis officials announced today that Whole Earth Festival's DJ Stage will be shut down beginning next year, citing the campus Police department's investigations of three violent crimes, including the reported rape of a 16-year-old girl, in and around the music venue last weekend.

Police also are investigating reports of two other incidents, a sexual battery and a beating, in the DJ Stage area, which was set up west of Wellman Hall, away from the Quad where most of the festival took place.

"We are sending message that people cannot come to our campus and behave this way," Fred Wood, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a written statement. "It can't continue and it won't be tolerated. We need to create a safe environment for everyone at this university.

Sacramento police are asking for help in finding a man who raped a woman last night in a Discovery Park public restroom.

The woman was at the park for a company barbeque when she was attacked about 8 p.m. Wednesday. She walked into the restroom at the park near the Garden Highway and Truxel Road when she was grabbed and sexually attacked, police said.

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in identifying her attacker, only described as someone wearing dark pants and dark shoes.

A Woodland man will serve 24 years in state prison for child molestation and possessing child pornography.

Jack Stearns, 49, today pleaded no contest to eight counts of child molestation and one count of possession of child pornography and agreed to the prison term, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

During summer 2002, Stearns began molesting a 10-year-old girl at his home, and continued to molest her until summer 2007, officials said. In February, Stearns again sexually assaulted the victim, who is now an adult.

Sacramento police have released a composite drawing of a man they say robbed and sexually assaulted a hotel clerk.

Police said that at 4:45 a.m. Friday a man came to a hotel in the 2800 block of Gateway Oaks Drive, ostensibly to rent a room. The man pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money before leading her into a back room and sexually assaulting her, police said.

He fled on foot.

The suspect is described as a black man, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a solid build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a black thermal shirt and black pants with a red and yellow design on the rear pocket, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357 or text to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information

Tipsters may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

Woodland police have arrested a suspect in the alleged drugging and attempted sexual assault of a homeless man.

Police reported detectives contacted a homeless Woodland man on April 8 who said he was given a beverage laced with something that rendered him unconscious. He was then taken to an "obscure" area in the 100 block of West Court Street where the victim told police he was possibly a victim of an attempted sexual assault.

After an investigation, police arrested another homeless Woodland man, 58-year-old Robert Talley, as a suspect. Talley was booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of torture, attempted forced sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment.

Auburn police have arrested a 20-year-old homeless man on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl while she was intoxicated and possibly unconscious.

Patrol officers investigating the attack that allegedly occurred Saturday, located the suspect, Taylour Francis Jordan, left, at a camp in Auburn, where he was living, according to a police department news release. He was arrested and booked at the Placer County jail, where he is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Police said he is accused of rape with the victim unconscious of the nature of the act and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger than he is.

By Bee Staff

Two people have been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Sacramento's Wood Park 11 years ago, thanks to DNA evidence.

Alonzo Hamilton and Hollie Garrett, both now 28, are scheduled to be sentenced April 29, according to Jan Scully, Sacramento County district attorney.

A news release from Scully gives this chain of events:

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A 34-year-old man has been sentenced in Sacramento Superior Court to six years plus 40 years to life for the sexual assaults of two women in Sacramento in 2009.

Domingo Garcia Vargas was sentenced Friday by Judge Delbert Oros after being convicted Feb. 24 of rape, false imprisonment and infliction of great bodily injury in the two assaults, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

The first assault occurred Jan. 25, 2009, in the area of 19th and K streets, when Vargas grabbed a woman, threw her to the ground, punched her in the face multiple times, raped her and fled, according to the release. The victim later submitted to a sexual assault examination, in which Vargas' DNA profile was found.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man who kidnapped and assaulted four women, in some cases telling them he was a police officer, has been sentenced to 315 years to life in prison.

Albert Povadora, 35, was convicted in January of 17 counts including rape, sodomy, kidnapping and firearms offenses. He was sentenced Friday by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Trena Burger-Plavan to 315 years to life plus 17 years, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Officials say Povadora approached a woman on May 31, 2008, on Martin Luther King Boulevard. He approached her from behind with a firearm and forced her into a nearby alley, where he sexually assaulted her. Her rape trauma examination in the hospital produced a DNA sample from her attacker.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A West Sacramento man has been convicted of 62 counts of sex acts with a relative, beginning when the victim was 12 years old.

A Yolo County jury reached the verdict March 10, and Wednesday the trial court found true the allegations that Bennie Dale Moses, 44, had previously been convicted of 12 separate offenses under the state's "three strikes" law. The law allows judges to increase sentences.

Moses forced the victim to engage in sexual acts with him beginning in 2000 and the abuse continued until July 11, 2009, when the victim confided in a friend that she had been sexually abused for nine years, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 43-year-old man has been convicted by a Sacramento Superior Court jury of sexual acts with a child who had been placed in his care.

The jury found Ronald Meza guilty on all counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 years of age, sex acts with a child 10 years old or younger and false imprisonment.

The 9-year-old victim was a relative. Because the victim's parents preferred that a family member watch their daughter rather than send her to a daycare provider, they asked Meza to watch her when she came home from school, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

By Cathy Locke

clocke@sacbee.com

Sacramento Superior Court juries have convicted a man of raping his girlfriend's roommate and another man of sexually assaulting a young relative, according to the District Attorney's Office.

A DA's news release gave these accounts:

Alexander Bigby, 23, was convicted of forcibly raping a young woman who was Bigby's girlfriend's roommate.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Davis police say a Sacramento area man is a suspect in the rape of a 21-year-old woman in February.

Leonardo Avalos, 28, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and other sexual charges on Thursday, police said.

Police said that the woman Avalos at a bar in downtown Davis on Feb. 5. She had been out at the bar with her friends and shared a few drinks with Avalos, police said.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury has convicted a 34-year-old man of rape, false imprisonment and infliction of great bodily injury in the sexual assaults of two women in 2009.

The first assault occurred Jan. 24, 2009, in the area of 19th and K streets in Sacramento, when Domingo Garcia Vargas grabbed a woman, threw her to the ground, punched her in the face multiple times, raped her, then fled, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. The victim suffered a fractured bone under her eye, bruising and swelling to her face and mouth, and a painful abrasion and bump on the back of her head, among other injuries.

The woman submitted to a sexual assault examination, in which Vargas' DNA profile was found.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Lamont Lee Rhinehart of the July 2007 murder of his child's mother, prosecutors said.

Jurors also found that Rhinehart, 37, stabbed and killed Avery Marie Polk, 27, during the commission of a rape.

The special circumstance allegation of the sex killing qualifies Rhinehart for a life term in prison with no chance of parole.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Shane Wilson (left) of Pollock Pines has received the maximum sentence of 400 years to life in prison after being convicted of two counts of kidnapping, six counts of rape and 10 other sexual assault-related charges.

Wilson, 38, was convicted in December by a Sacramento Superior Court jury and was sentenced today by Judge Maryanne Gilliard.

In October 2008, Wilson picked up his first victim while she sat at a bus stop on Stockton Boulevard. He drove her to a dark area near Power Inn Road and beat her.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento County Sheriff's sexual assault detectives arrested a 22-year-old former basketball coach on suspicion of sex crimes against a young boy.

Authorities said Melvin Flemings, who was previously employed as a basketball coach at El Camino High School, was expected to be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges of child molestation and meeting with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd behavior.

By Marjie Lundstrom
mlundstrom@sacbee.com

A Baptist pastor whose Citrus Heights home brimmed with foster children and other needy kids, allegedly molested girls as young as 5 or 6 while they were in his care, according to testimony today in Sacramento Superior Court.

A judge is set to decide whether Tommy Gene Daniels, 48, will stand trial on six felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts and engaging in "substantial sexual conduct" with a child under 14.

Daniels, who remains in jail after his bail was upped to $6 million, is pastor of First Baptist Church of Rio Linda, where he is listed on the church's website as senior pastor. His preliminary hearing drew a handful of spectators who gathered in the hallway and prayed during a court recess.

Daniels was arrested in December and has pleaded not guilty.

Call The Bee's Marjie Lundstrom, (916) 321-1055.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

Sacramento sheriff's detectives have arrested a suspect in a home-invasion sexual assault that occurred Jan 10.

In a statement, the sheriff's department said a 50-year-old woman woke to find a man sexually assaulting at her home in Rancho Cordova.

Investigators said the suspect entered the house through a window, assaulted the woman, and left through the front door.

They released a composite sketch of the suspect and asked for the public's help.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Sacramento County Sheriff's detectives are seeking a man who broke-in and sexually assaulted a 50-year-old woman near Vehicle Drive in Rancho Cordova.

In the early morning hours Monday, a man entered the woman's apartment through an unsecured window, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. Once inside, he woke the sleeping woman and sexually assaulted her. He then left through the front door.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic or light-skinned black man, in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a medium, muscular build. He had short, dark hair, shaved on the sides and slightly longer on top.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The pastor of the Rio Linda Baptist Church is being held in Sacramento County Main Jail on $6 million bail, charged with multiple counts of sexual child molestation.

Citrus Heights Police announced late Thursday that Tom Gene Daniels, 48, was arrested Dec. 9. Lt. Ray Bechler said police had postponed publicizing the arrest while they continued their investigation into the case.

The District Attorney's Office's increased Daniels' bail from $1 million to $6 million earlier this month because Daniels was considered a flight risk, Bechler said.

Daniels has been employed as a foster parent and day care provider, and currently is the head pastor at the Rio Linda Baptist Church.

Bechler said the charges against Daniels involve incidents that allegedly occurred between June 2004 and June 2007. Citrus Heights Police investigated an initial complaint in 2008 but were unable to come up with enough evidence for the DA to file charges, he said. In recent months, another victim came forward. The district attorney filed charges Dec. 9, and Daniels was arrested the same day.

Court documents show that he was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, but it was continued to Jan. 20.

Police ask anyone with information regarding Daniels to contact Bechler at the Citrus Heights Police Department, (916) 727-5500.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Yolo County jury today convicted a West Sacramento man of double kidnapping for rape.

Theodore Wooten, 21, was found guilty of sexual assault, kidnapping and other violent felony charges for attacks on two women in May.

Wooten forced his way into a West Sacramento motel May 1 and tried to rape a woman who is mentally ill, and often homeless and living on the streets, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. When she resisted the attack, Wooten savagely beat her, officials said.

Wooten escaped, and on May 27, he attacked another woman. In this instance, he forced the victim off the street and behind a business in the early morning hours, officials said. A concerned citizen called 911, and West Sacramento police officers caught Wooten in the act of sexually assaulting the woman.

Yolo County Superior Court Judge Stephen L. Mock is scheduled to sentence Wooten on Jan. 14.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Officials at California State University, Sacramento reported another sexual assault took place in a campus dorm late Thursday or early Friday - the seventh since the school year started in September.

Unlike the recent rash of stranger assaults on the campus, the latest assault involved acquaintances and was fueled by alcohol, according to university officials.

The assault took place in the American River Courtyard residence hall and was reported late Friday, said Kim Nava, a spokeswoman for CSUS.

Investigation continues on the crime, a suspect has been identified and an arrest is expected soon, university officials said.

Students have been encouraged to report assaults and the university is trying to be transparent about what's going on to break down reluctance to address the issue, Nava said.

"There may be more of a level of comfort" with reporting assaults, she said.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Shane Wilson of Pollock Pines of two counts of kidnapping, six counts of rape and 10 other sexual assault-related charges, the district attorney's office announced today.

District Attorney Jan Scully said Wilson picked up his first victim in October 2008 while she sat at a bus stop on Stockton Boulevard and drove her to a dark area near Power Inn Road where he beat her, shackled her, placed her in his car trunk and then drove her to his house, where the sexual assaults occurred.

A second victim was picked up in February 2009 while she was walking to the store. The district attorney said drove her also to an area off Power Inn Road, attacked her, handcuffed her, taped her hands, feet and mount and placed her in a large metal toolbox in the back of his truck. He drove her also to his house where he sexually assaulted her, according to prosecutors.

Authorities said crucial DNA evidence tied Wilson to both victims.

"This defendant preyed on the most vulnerable of victims," Deputy District Attorney Keith Hill said in a prepared statement. "The successful prosecution of this case has stopped a serial rapist from committing future crimes."

Sentencing is set for Feb. 10.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating an alleged attack Wednesday morning on a 17-year-old Natomas Charter School student.

Department spokesman Officer Konrad von Shoech said the department received the sexual assault report from school officials about 12:20 p.m.

The girl told authorities she was verbally attacked and inappropriately touched by four men in their 20s and 30s while walking to school at about 9:30 a.m. or 9:45 a.m. Von Shoech said the alleged attack happened at a park across from the school, which is on Blackrock Drive near Del Paso Road. A map of the area shows Cottonwood Park being the closest to the school.

The girl said she continued walking, and the men followed her on foot and inside the car. She described the car as a white four-door sedan with a black stripe on the side.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A sixth student has reported being sexually assaulted on the California State University, Sacramento campus since the school year began, according to authorities.

The assault, not reported to campus police until Nov. 22, occurred about 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, said police Detective Scott Christian.

A woman was walking to her vehicle in Parking Structure I when a man approached her, touched her chest through her clothing and fled when she pepper sprayed his face, Christian said.

Another female student had previously reported being assaulted in the same parking garage about 7 p.m. that day. However, Christian said police do not believe the incidents are related, nor do they think the two assaults are related to four others reported on campus since September.

In the most recent case, the victim described her attacker as a white man about 30 years old with a thin build, spiked blonde hair and light brown eyes, wearing a white short-sleeve shirt, according to police. A composite sketch of the suspect (left) has been released.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call campus police at (916) 278-6851. Callers can remain anonymous.

Police do not have any new information on the earlier assaults, which involved:

- A female student who said she was assaulted as she was studying on a bench near Capistrano Hall the afternoon of Sept. 13. She told police a man sat down and tried to hug her, and in doing so, "very briefly groped her" through her clothes.

- A female student who said she was raped by an acquaintance at the American River Courtyard residence hall Oct. 18. Police arrested an 18-year-old student; however, the Sacramento District Attorney's office declined to move forward with charges.

- A female student who said she was kidnapped by three men in a van and sexually assaulted in the Sacramento State Residence Hall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 21. The victim described the van as dark-colored, possibly red, with a driver's side sliding door, according to police. She also described the man who pulled her inside as Hispanic, 19 to 20 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a slender build, buzz cut and brown eyes. She could not provide a description of the other two men in the van, police said.

- A female student who said she was groped by a passing man as she was walking near the library about noon Nov. 8.

In the earlier Nov. 15 assault reported to police, a woman said she was walking to her car in Parking Structure I when a man grabbed her from behind and assaulted her.

Cal The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are beefing up patrols in the Colonial Village neighborhood after an armed man ordered three women to expose themselves in that area Monday night.

The unknown man also attempted to rob those women, along with a fourth victim, though police suspect he possibly took property in only one incident, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

Detectives also are looking into whether a fifth case, from earlier this month, is connected, Leong said. (See link below to Sacramento Police Department map.)

Monday night's attacks began about 6:30 p.m., when a woman getting out of her car near Quonset Drive and 25th Avenue was approached by a man armed with a gun, Leong said. The man tried to rob the victim, but he fled when she activated her car alarm.

About a half-hour later, another female victim was walking in the area when she, too, was approached by a man with a gun, Leong said. He tried to rob her, but she did not have any property with her.

The man then ordered the woman to expose herself, Leong said, and she complied. The man then fled.

Thirty minutes later, in the area of Fruitridge Road and Wilkinson Street, a woman getting out of her car was approached by an armed man, Leong said. He rifled through her property, though it's unclear whether he took anything, Leong said.

He then demanded that the victim expose herself. She complied, then screamed as a car approached, scaring off the robber, Leong said.

In the final incident, about 7:40 p.m., a woman was walking into an apartment complex parking lot when she was approached by a man with a gun.

He demanded that she expose herself, Leong said, but fled before she complied, possibly because a nearby resident came outside.

According to police, victims described the man in all four cases as a thin, black man in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet tall, wearing a ski mask, a black hooded sweatshirt or jacket and dark jeans. All four victims saw the man armed with a gun.

Leong said detectives believe the same man is responsible for all four attacks. He does not appear to be targeting any particular group of victims, Leong said: The victims range in age from 30s to 60s and are different ethnicities.

Detectives also are investigating whether the same man assaulted a woman Nov. 13 in the area of 76th Street and 25th Avenue, Leong said.

In that case, a woman was walking about 9:30 p.m. when she was approached by a man on a bicycle who indicated he had a gun, though none was seen, Leong said. The man demanded that the victim expose herself, and then sexually assaulted her before fleeing.

Leong declined to be more specific about the nature of the assault.

That victim described her assailant as a black man in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, and wearing dark clothing.

The nature and frequency of the incidents has police "very concerned," Leong said. The department has increased the number of patrol officers in the area, and have assigned multiple detectives to the case, he said.

"Within an hour, (the man) commits four different crimes and in each case it seems to escalate," the spokesman said. "We put out this (information) right away because we believe the people in the community need to know about this."

Detectives also hope that residents in the area will be vigilant and call in any suspicious or unusual activity to the department's non-emergency line, (916) 264-5471.

Police are reminding residents to be aware of their surroundings, particularly when parking or getting out of the car. If there is anyone suspicious in the area, drive away and call police.

They also recommend walking in well-lit and well-traveled areas and, when possible, not alone.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter "SACTIP" followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Map of Crime Locations.pdf

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Campus police from California State University, Sacramento, are investigating a report of a sexual assault Monday evening.

Police said the alleged incident occurred on the top floor of the parking structure between the baseball and softball fields about 7 p.m. as the student was entering her vehicle.

The student did not see the suspect and was unable to provide a physical description to department investigators, according to a news release.

This is the fourth reported sexual assault attack on campus in recent months. Last month, a female student reported being pulled into a van and sexually assaulted in the Residence Hall parking lot.

During that same week, another student reported being raped by an acquaintance in the American River Courtyard residence hall. Prosecutors never filed charges in the case.

On Sept. 13, an assailant touched a female student "on an intimate part of her body" while she was studying near Capistrano Hall.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sacramento State Police Department Dispatch Center at (916) 278-6851. Callers may remain anonymous.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A judge today ordered a Sacramento workers compensation doctor to stand trial for three counts of rape and 38 sexual assault-related charges over his interactions with five patients who came to him after they had been hurt on the job.

Scott Dodd Anderson, 61, remained free on $750,000 bail pending his return to court for an additional arraignment on Nov. 30.

"We have a very powerful pattern of conduct," Sacramento Superior Court Judge Peter Mering said, following the one-day preliminary hearing.

Mering said that the five women all went to authorities independent of each other, even though two of them reported Anderson's conduct to investigators after news stories had already broken that he'd been arrested.

"Did these five women conspire? I find that extremely unlikely," Mering said.

Anderson's lawyer questioned the credibility of the five alleged victims in the case, but Mering said the "unlikelihood" of their getting together provided to him the "test" of their credibility.

The judge's order came after two Sacramento sheriff's officials related the stories from the five women who told them they were sexually assaulted during their examinations by Anderson.

One of the women told a sheriff's deputy that she was raped when she saw Anderson for an on-the-job back injury.

All of the alleged assaults took place in Anderson's office at U.S. Healthworks on at 9261 Folsom Boulevard, according to sheriff's Detective Brad Jones and Deputy Juan Hidalgo, who testified about their conversations with the women.

Anderson's license has since been suspended by the California Medical Board. He is no longer working at U.S. Healthworks, a spokesman for the firm said today.

Hidalgo testified that he provided a Spanish-to-English translation for the woman who is named as the victim in the three rape counts contained in the complaint against Anderson.

The woman said in her interview with authorities that Anderson told her to unbutton her pants, then forced her underwear down and bent her over a chair, Hidalgo said.

She told investigators "he grabbed her by the hair, rolled it up, pushed her against a bed and chair" and raped her, according to the deputy's testimony.

The alleged rape took place on the woman's fourth visit to Anderson. She said he touched her inappropriately on her three previous visits with him, which are also the subject of some of the allegations in the criminal complaint.

Anderson's attorney had just begun his cross examination of Deputy Hidalgo when the preliminary hearing broke for the lunch break.

All of the other women also told investigators they continued to see Anderson after he touched and fondled them, the sheriff's officials testified.

One of the women said she continued to see Anderson because she felt "he had control over her workers' compensation case," Jones testified.

Another said she was a recovering addict with a criminal record and that Anderson said he'd ruin her life if she told anybody what happened, according to Jones' testimony.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man accused of putting a knife to his girlfriend's neck and raping her in front of her 2-year-old child has been convicted by a Sacramento Superior Court jury.

Vernon Medler, 20, today was found guilty of two counts of rape, domestic violence, criminal threats, false imprisonment and child endangerment.

Medler and the victim were boyfriend and girlfriend, and got into and argument after Medler found a Valentine's day card that was sent to the victim by an ex-boyfriend, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Believing that the relationship was going to end, Medler raped the victim while her family was in the home, telling her that if she screamed he would kill her and her family, officials said. The victim did not immediately tell her family about the rape because she feared for her safety and theirs.

Less than 24 hours after the first rape, Medler raped the victim a second time, putting a knife to her neck and saying he would kill her. These acts were committed in front of her child.

After the second incident, the victim told her mother about the rapes and law enforcement officials were notified.

"Rape is an illegal under any circumstance, even if a victim is in a relationship with the attacker at the time of the crime," Deputy District Attorney Carlton Davis said in a written statement. "I commend this victim for not remaining silent and thank the district attorney victim advocates for their hard work in these cases."

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

In the strongest possible terms, Nancy Garrido's attorney is arguing against release of grand jury transcripts involving the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard, saying they contain such "evil" that his client could never get a fair trial if they are made public.

Stephen Tapson, arguing against an effort by The Bee and other media organizations to force release of documents that have been sealed in the case, filed papers in El Dorado Superior Court saying he and Nancy Garrido oppose the release of any sealed documents.

The issue is scheduled to be argued in a court hearing in Placerville on Thursday, and Tapson left no doubts in his court declaration that the case against Nancy and Phillip Garrido could be severely damaged by release of transcripts from a grand jury session held in secret in September.

"I have received calls from Australia; Rome, Italy, and London, England, from people who have seen my visage on television," Tapson wrote. "I have examined hundreds of transcripts that vividly describe murder, rape, pillage, but nowhere in my experience have I seen a transcript that describes evil, as is contained in the grand jury transcript in People v. Garrido.

"I believe that any person who reads the grand jury transcript in this case would be adversely affected to the point they would be agreeing to the guilt of the defendant prior to the trial beginning."

Dugard was 11 when she was kidnapped in 1991 from outside her home near South Lake Tahoe. Authorities say the Garridos pulled her into a car and spirited her away to their Antioch-area home, where she was held captive for 18 years in sheds and tents in their backyard and forced to bear two daughters to Phillip Garrido, who was on parole at the time of the abduction for kidnap and rape.

She was found alive in August 2009 and the Garridos have been in custody in the El Dorado County Jail since then awaiting trial.

Both have pleaded not guilty to rape, kidnap and other charges that could send them to prison for life.

But, after a year of legal wrangling, prosecutors secretly convened a grand jury to issue new charges in the case, a move that allowed Dugard to testify privately and not face questioning from defense attorneys before the case goes to trial.

By Cathy Locke

clocke@sacbee.com

U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner has announced that an indictment was unsealed charging three men with offenses involving sex trafficking of minors.

A federal grand jury on Oct. 27 returned the indictment against Paul "Yoshi" Moore, 49, and Kevin "Ket" Hawkins, 45, both of Sacramento, and Timothy Lee, 44, formerly of Sacramento, Wagner said in a news release.

The indictment was sealed until federal agents arrested Hawkins and Moore on Tuesday morning. Lee is in custody in New Mexico, facing federal charges of sex trafficking of minors in Colorado, the release states.

The indictment alleges that Moore produced sexually explicit images of three minors in 2006. He also is accused of recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting and maintaining the three minors, identified as T.T., T.B. and A.B., knowing that they were under 18 years of age and would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act, the release states.

Moore also is charged with possession of matter containing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct on Feb. 22, 2007, the release states.

Kevin Hawkins was charged with aiding and abetting the production of sexually explicit images of the minor A.B. and with aiding and abetting the sex trafficking of A.B., according to Wagner.

Timothy Lee was charged with aiding and abetting production of sexually explicit images of the minor T.T. and with sex trafficking of T.T., the release states.

Hawkins was arraigned on the indictment Tuesday and detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. Moore is to be arraigned today.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County District Attorney's office has decided not to charge an 18-year-old student from California State University, Sacramento, with sexual assault.

A complaint was never filed against Jonathan Lee, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said.

"The decision was based on the insufficiency of the evidence," a news release from the office stated.

Campus police arrested Lee early last week for allegedly raping a fellow student on campus. A university spokeswoman said the female student reported to police last Monday that she had been raped by an acquaintance that same evening in the American River Courtyard residence hall.

Meanwhile, campus police are investigating the kidnapping and sexual assault of another female student last week. The victim was assaulted in the Residence Hall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

The student had left her vehicle and was walking toward the residence halls when she was approached by three men in a van. One of them pulled her into the van. She was taken to the south side of the parking lot and sexually assaulted.

Police has released a composite sketch of one of the suspects.

The victim described the man who pulled her into the van as Latino, about 19 to 20 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, slender build, with a buzz haircut and brown eyes.

She described the van as a dark-colored minivan, possibly red, with a driver's side sliding door.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Sacramento State Police Department Dispatch Center at (916) 278-6851. Callers may remain anonymous.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Campus police from California State University, Sacramento, said Friday they are investigating the kidnapping and sexual assault of a female student.

Police said the student was assaulted in the Residence Hall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

The student had got out of her vehicle and was walking toward the residence halls when she was approached by three men in a van. One of the men pulled her into the van. She was taken to the south side of the parking lot, where she was sexually assaulted.

Police said the victim was later treated and released from an area medical center.

She described the van as a dark-colored minivan, possibly red, with a driver's side sliding door. She described the man who pulled her into the van as Latino, about 19 to 20 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, slender build, with a buzz haircut and brown eyes. The police do not have a description of the driver or the other man.

Campus spokesman Detective Scott Christian said it's not clear if the suspects have any affiliations to the university.

This is the third reported sexual assault attack on campus in the past two months. On Sept. 13, an assailant touched a female student "on an intimate part of her body" while she was studying near Capistrano Hall.

Earlier this week, a female student reported being raped by an acquaintance in the American River Courtyard residence hall.

University spokeswoman Kim Nava said Friday that prosecutors have decided to drop charges against Jonathan Lee, 18, who was arrested on suspicion of rape.

"We are seeing these as unrelated incidents," said Lori Varlotta, the university's vice president for student affairs. University officials have not received reports from students being anxious because of the recent sexual assault incidents, Varlotta said.

"Sacramento State has a very comprehensive approach to dealing with sex assault," Varlotta said, outlining the various workshops and training provided to students and student leaders in avoiding and dealing with sexual assault cases.

She said the university is one of the few in the California State University system that has a certified rape counselor available round the clock.

In response to the latest incident, officials said they have increased uniformed patrols on campus, particularly the Residence Hall area.

Christian declined to divulge specifics of the security increase, saying that they could compromise police operations.

Officials are also encouraging students to use the Hornet Night Shuttle, which will escort students to and from their vehicles.

The numbers to call from dusk to 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday are (916) 278-7260 on a cell phone or 8-7260 from any on-campus phone. The numbers to call after hours are (916) 278-6851 or 8-6851.

Students are also encouraged to walk to and from classes in pairs or small groups, especially when it's dark, and to immediately report any suspicious people, vehicles, or activity to the campus police at (916) 278-6851.

More than 80 emergency phones are also accessible to students throughout campus, officials said. Students are immediately connected to a dispatcher when they pick up the emergency phones.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Campus police at California State University, Sacramento, have arrested an 18-year-old student accused of raping a fellow student on campus.

University spokeswoman Kim Nava said the female student reported to police on Monday evening that she was raped by an acquaintance that same evening in the American River Courtyard residence hall.

Police arrested Jonathan Lee, who was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail early Tuesday on a felony rape charge, according to online jail records.

He is being held on a $150,000 bail and scheduled for a court appearance Thursday.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

Roseville police have arrested a parolee-at-large who broke into a sleeping Roseville woman's house and got into her bed, a police spokesman said.

Anteus Magee, 28, was booked into the Placer County jail on charges of burglary, sexual assault, failure to register as a sex offender and parole violation.

A Roseville woman who had hosted a party earlier in the evening woke up early Saturday morning and realized that there was a man in her bed, said Roseville police spokesman Cal Walstad.

The man left the house and was found later in a nearby neighborhood by police who had set up a perimeter around the original call, Walstad said. Magee was seen trying to leave the area, Walstad said.

Magee was arrested at 4:33 a.m., two hours after the attack, Walstad said.

He is being held at the Placer County jail without bail.

Call The Bee's Matt Kawahara, (916) 321-1015.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A federal grand jury has indicted three Sacramento residents for sex trafficking of a minor and related charges.

A four-count indictment returned Sept. 30 charges Jamal Kareem Warren, 24, with sex trafficking of a minor, producing images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, distributing images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possessing images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. Warren made his initial appearance in court Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The indictment alleges that between November 2009 and Dec. 15, 2009, Warren, along with Mario Londell Boyd, 42, and Ashley Nicole Evon, 23, knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported and maintained a 16-year-old girl for the purpose of having her engage in a commercial sex act. The indictment also charges Warren with producing, distributing and possessing images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and seeks criminal forfeiture of several items used to facilitate the crime.

Evon is scheduled to make her initial appearance in court Tuesday. Boyd has not been apprehended.

The case resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Police Department.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Campus police at California State University, Sacramento, are looking for a man they say sexually assaulted a female student last week.

The student was studying on the northeast side of Capistrano Hall at about 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 13 when the man, who was sitting across from her, moved next to her, Det. Scott Christian said.

The man then touched her "on an intimate part of her body," Christian said. The student was not injured. Christian said the student did the right thing by reporting the crime immediately.

Christian said police advise students to stay alert.

The suspect is described as a Latino man, about 26 to 27 years old, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-7 tall and weighs 170 to 180 pounds. He has dark hair and a goatee, and dark colored tattoos on both of his lower legs.

He was wearing a black baseball cap with white lettering, a white T-shirt, Khaki cargo shorts, white ankle length socks and black tennis shoes. He was carrying a black backpack with red stitching.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Sacramento State Police Department dispatch center at 916-278-6851. Callers may remain anonymous.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Bee Staff

A former Cool church deacon was sentenced Friday to 30 years to life for five counts of lewd or lascivious acts with two young sisters under the guise of providing Bible study, according to Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully.

The jury than convicted Robert Cowan (photo left) in July also agreed to an enhancement against him, which added to his sentence, Scully said.

Cowan, 66, also will be required to register as a sex offender.

Cowan was a deacon in a large Baptist Church in Cool.

The victims are sisters, ages 7 and 10. Cowan committed the molestations at the victims' Sacramento County home where was supposed to be leading the victims in Bible study, Scully said.

"This case is particularly disturbing given the abuse of trust, power and position by a religious leader," said Deputy District Attorney Kari Reeve. "Today's sentence is justice served for the crimes committed by the offender and for the two young victims."

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento man convicted on two counts of rape and 16 other felony counts for a 2007 crime spree in North Natomas has been sentenced to 159 years to life in prison.

Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet imposed the term Friday on Sammie Lee Nichols, 20.

Nichols, who was 17 when he launched into a series of home-invasion burglaries and robberies, two of which resulted in sexual assaults, was convicted in June.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

By Bill Lindelof

blindelof@sacbee.com

Davis police have arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of molestation.

Carl Mitchel Testerman, a Davis resident, was arrested Tuesday in Sacramento, police said today. He is being held in Yolo County Jail on $1 million bail.

Davis Police Sgt. Paul Doroshov said Testerman is suspected of molesting two children between the ages of 10 and 17 years old.

One of the victims confided in a relative about inappropriate acts allegedly committed by Testerman, police said. The relative then called authorities on Aug. 2.

Further police investigation revealed that there is a second suspected victim, said Doroshov.

The suspected molestations began about July 2009, police said.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant that alleges Testerman is suspected of committing 11 counts of sexual battery and one count lewd acts with a minor under 14 years old.

Testerman is a high school English teacher at Vanden High School in Fairfield, Solano County.

"The victims have no relation to Vanden High or the school district," said Doroshov. "This is not job-related as far as we know."

A man accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old Oregon girl before secretly marrying the child's mother is a fugitive believed to be in California.

Read the Associated Press story here.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Sacramento County Sheriff's detectives are seeking information related to a July 18 attempted sexual assault in Antelope.

At 11:57 that night, deputies responded to a call at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Shandwick Drive. When they arrived, a woman told them she was asleep on her sofa when a man entered through an unlocked door and attempted to sexually assault her. She struggled with her attacker and he ran away.

The woman did not get a good enough look at the man's face to produce a composite sketch, sheriff's officials said. She described her attacker as a white man, approximately 6 feet tall, weighing between 180 and 190 pounds with a medium build. He had shaggy brown collar-length hair and the woman thinks he was clean shaven. He was wearing green pants, which may have been sweat pants.

Anyone with information about the case or who may have seen someone matching the suspect's description in the area of 4400 Shandwick Drive on the night of July 18 is asked to call the Sheriff's Sexual Assault Bureau at (916) 874-5070.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Rocklin resident was sentenced today to six months in jail and placed on three years probation for committing a sex act on a man who was asleep in a guest room the morning after a New Year's Eve party.

Placer County Superior Court Judge J. Richard Couzens also ordered Ladd Douglas Wiidanen, 42, to obtain psychological counseling and treatment for alcohol abuse. He must also register as a sex offender.

A jury on March 18 convicted Wiidanen of committing a sex act on an unconscious person, which is a felony. The jury took less than 90 minutes to reach a guilty verdict, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office news release.

Wiidanen and the victim were among guests at a house party in Rocklin on the night of Dec. 31, 2007.

The victim and his girlfriend retired to a guest room during the early morning hours of Jan. 1.

About 7 a.m., the victim was awakened by the defendant committing an act of oral sex on him, according to the news release.

Rocklin police were called to the home and took DNA samples, which were forwarded to the California Department of Justice for analysis. Because of the heavy backlog of cases, however, the department didn't match the DNA samples to Wiidanen until 22 months after the incident.

Earlier this month, as Wiidanen awaited sentencing, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Rocklin and is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 12. Judge Couzens cited the arrest in ordering counseling and treatment for alcohol abuse.

Wiidanen apologized repeatedly in a brief statement to the court and acknowledged the drinking problem, saying that he is attending Alcoholics Anonymous classes, according to the news release.

Couzens said Wiidanen must serve at least 45 days of his county jail sentence before he is eligible to apply for alternative sentencing, which could include work release programs with electronic monitoring.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Deia deBrito
ddebrito@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights police are seeking a man who reportedly broke into a bedroom window late Sunday night and sexually assaulted a woman who had been sleeping in her apartment in the 7600 block of Greenback Lane.

After waking up to the sound of the intrusion, the victim screamed loudly enough for the neighbors to hear and fought off the attacker, a police report states.

The intruder, described as a white male 5 feet 8 inches tall between the ages of 22 and 25, fled on a dark red bicycle that witnesses said looks like a cruiser.

He was described as weighing about 185 pounds and clean-shaven, with spiked short blond hair and dark brown eyes.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the Citrus Heights Police Department at (916) 727-5500, or the department's anonymous tip line at (916) 727-5524.

The Police Department offers these crime-prevention tips:

• Lock doors and windows when you go out and at night.

• Don't leave cash and jewelry in plain sight. Don't tell people you don't know well about your valuables.

• Close pet doors.

• Trim bushes and trees so your front door is visible from the street.

• Leave lights on at night.

• Keep a radio or a television on during the day.

• Install motion lights on your property.

• Vary your times of arrival and departure.

Call The Bee's Deia deBrito, (916) 321-1087.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a man who is suspected of grabbing the behinds of women in Sacramento.

Police arrested Maurice Talley (photo right), 26, Wednesday on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a sex crime and sexual battery. Initially, he was suspected of grabbing the buttocks of women downtown near Fifth and K streets.

He was later suspected of three other incidents. Talley, ineligible for bail, is in the Sacramento County Jail.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives have broadened the scope of their investigation into a Santa Rosa bus driver accused of molesting a teenaged boy in a Sacramento motel earlier this year, according to authorities.

Detectives have learned that Richard "Butch" Guillen (photo left), a 60-year-old Petaluma resident, lived and worked in the Southern California communities of Imperial Beach and Huntington Beach roughly between 1980 and 1995, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

He was involved in youth activities at that time, Curran said, and detectives fear he might have molested children in those areas as well.

Detectives arrested Guillen in May. He was arraigned on one felony count each of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and contacting a minor with intent to commit certain offenses, and a misdemeanor count of molesting a child under the age of 18, according to Sacramento Superior Court records.

Guillen remains in the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to jail booking records.

He is accused of befriending his 13-year-old victim, who rode on Guillen's bus to and from school in Santa Rosa, according to authorities. The boy was allowed to travel with Guillen to Sacramento for an auto show in February.

It was during that three-day, two-night trip that he plied the boy with alcohol, authorities allege, and molested the victim at a motel room.

Detectives serving a search warrant at Guillen's home found hundreds of photos from Santa Rosa youth-related sporting events, according to authorities.

Anyone with information about Guillen's case or who know of other potential victims are asked to call sheriff's Detective Darin Pometta at (916) 874-5203 or e-mail him at dpometta@sacsheriff.com.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted a North Natomas man for committing four home invasion robberies -- including two in which he raped his victims -- that helped terrorized the neighborhood two years ago.

Sammie Lee Nichols, now 20, was convicted on 18 counts: the two rapes, five first-degree burglaries, four kidnappings for the purpose of robbery, four robberies, one kidnapping and two gun violations.

"All of these victims were really good, hard-working people," Deputy District Attorney Rob Gold said. "They had done everything right, but this was just the worst day of their lives. It was real rewarding when they can see that the justice system works."

The four North Natomas home invasions and another one outside the area happened in 2007 and 2008, Gold said. They occurred around the same time that North Natomas residents had expressed fear and concern over a violent string of attacks that had hit their neighborhood.

In the midst of the home invasions, more than 400 people attended a community forum at Inderkum High School.

Nichols was charged in the case Nov. 10, 2008, a few days after he was arrested on marijuana, gun and felony evasion charges. He was taken into custody after attempting to escape a sheriff's deputy who pulled him over for a cracked windshield, Gold said.

Nichols is facing six life terms as a result of his conviction. Judge Michael W. Sweet scheduled his sentencing for Aug. 6.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A nurse practitioner at a health center in El Dorado County has been arrested on suspicion of sexual battery.

Greg Dales, 59, a Garden Valley resident and longtime employee of the Divide Wellness Center in Georgetown, is accused of sexual battery to one of his patients, according to an El Dorado County Sheriff's Office news release.

The victim, a 38-year-old woman, reported the incident to the Sheriff's Office on May 4. A subsequent investigation led to Dale's arrest Thursday.

He was booked into El Dorado County Jail and has been released on $20,000 bail.

Anyone with information relevant to the case may call detectives at (530) 642-4716 or (530) 642-4710.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man has been arrested in a weekend sexual attack after accounts of the crime prompted a citizen to note apparent similarities between the suspect and a Woodland resident.

A woman managed to escape a would-be rapist after being forced into a car at gunpoint on a main Woodland street at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

In an attempt to come up with leads, the Woodland Police Department distributed a press release, conducted interviews with reporters and made public a composite sketch (left) of a suspect.

That all paid off, they said. On Wednesday a citizen who saw the information disseminated by police, particularly the composite drawing and the description of the suspect vehicle, called police with a tip.

Detectives conducted follow-up investigation and identified Horacio Lopez, 29, as a suspect. The victim was driven to Lopez' residence and positively identified him as her attacker, police said.

Lopez was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping with intent to commit rape on Wednesday.

Police provided this account of the Saturday attack:

The woman was walking south on West Street near Buckeye Street when a newer, black sport-utility vehicle approached and the driver asked for directions. When the woman stopped to talk to the driver through the passenger window, he pulled a handgun and ordered her into the SUV.

She got in and the man drove to rural Yolo County, ordering her to undress on the way. After several minutes he pulled into a grove of trees near Interstate 5 and County Road 98.

As the man got out and walked around to the passenger side, the woman attempted to call for help on her cell phone.

He opened the door and tried to pull the woman's pants off while she struggled. The victim managed to break free and ran to I-5 where she waved down a passer-by who took her to safety and called police.

The suspect fled north on County Road 18 in his black SUV.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Jack Louis Sporich, a 75-year-old pedophile who authorities believe victimized as many as 500 children before abruptly moving to Cambodia, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to sexual conduct with two 12-year-old boys in Southeast Asia.

Sporich, who was the focus of a 2006 Bee series on California's failed efforts to treat sexually violent predators, entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that could send him to prison for 10 years and fine him as much as $30,000, money that would be placed in a fund for the two boys.

Sporich, a wealthy engineer who was building a $1.2 million home in the resort community of Siem Reap, is accused of luring the boys to the home, which included a swimming pool and water slide. Court documents indicate he had been seen driving the streets of the community on a motorbike dropping currency on the street for children to pick up.

Sporich moved to Cambodia in November 2008 after what authorities said was a series of molestations in the United States that began in the 1960s. He was convicted in Ventura County on seven counts of molestation and spent nine years in prison.

Upon completion of his sentence, Sporich was declared a sexually violent predator and sent to Atascadero State Hospital. He refused treatment there and eventually won release in May 2004 after two juries were unable to agree on whether he was likely to re-offend.

He left California for an upscale condo in Sedona, Ariz., where he was visited by Bee reporters and insisted he was not a threat to anyone.

He was arrested in Cambodia last February and brought back to the United States in late August under the auspices of "Operation Twisted Traveler," an international law enforcement effort aimed at "sex tourists" victimizing juveniles overseas.

Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.

Previous coverage:

Child molester expelled from Cambodia, is in U.S. custody Sept. 1, 2009

By Robert Lewis
rlewis@sacbee.com

A woman managed to escape a would-be rapist after being forced into a car at gunpoint on a main Woodland street at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Woodland Police Department.

Police gave this account of events:

The woman was walking south on West Street near Buckeye Street when a newer, black sport utility vehicle approached and the driver asked for directions. When the woman stopped to talk to the driver through the passenger window, he pulled a handgun and ordered her into the SUV.

She got in and the man drove to rural Yolo County, ordering her to undress on the way. After several minutes he pulled into a grove of trees near Interstate 5 and County Road 98.

As man got out and walked around to the passenger side, the woman attempted to call for help on her cell phone.

He opened the door and tried to pull the woman's pants off while she struggled. The victim managed to break free and ran to I-5 where she waved down a passer-by who took her to safety and called police.

The suspect is believed to be a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feeti 6 inches tall and weighing about 160 to 180 pounds, with short black hair and a thin mustache. He has two silver caps on his front teeth, according to police.

He fled north on County Road 18 in his black SUV.

The attack comes weeks after incidents in which young school girls reported being followed home from Freeman Elementary School by suspicious men. The victim of Saturday's kidnapping was over 18 and the suspect description is different from the other cases, Sgt. Steven Sexton said.

Saturday's incident did, however, happen in the same vicinity as the other cases.

"Whether they're connected or not we don't know," Sgt. Sexton said.

Anyone with information about the incident should call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800.

Call The Bee's Robert Lewis, (916) 321-1061.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A former Folsom resident has been booked in Sacramento County Jail, suspected by police of 109 counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old.

John C. Schenberger, 44, was booked into jail after being arrested in Fremont, Alameda County, by police on Wednesday. He was booked on suspicion of 31 counts, but police said they believe he really committed 109 sexual acts against a child.

Schenberger worked for a technology company in Fremont.

Schenberger told the arresting officers that he was aware he would eventually be arrested, police said. Folsom detectives transported Schenberger to Sacramento jail.

The sexual assaults on the child are suspected to have occurred in 2003 in Folsom. The victim was a 12-year-old girl in 2003.

He is also under investigation by El Dorado County and Portland, Ore., law enforcement.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

El Dorado County sheriff's officials say a school bus that was reportedly fired upon by a passing motorist last month was not damaged by a gunshot,

Based on the damage to the windshield, investigators believe a hand tool, such as a wrench, may have been thrown at the bus, according to a news release issued today by the Sheriff's Department.

No suspects have been identified in the incident, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. April 19 as the bus was westbound on Carson Road, just west of Pony Express Trail in the Camino area.

The bus driver reported that she observed a green Jeep Cherokee approaching and saw what appeared to be a muzzle flash from the driver's side of the Jeep, just before the bus windshield shattered, spraying glass on the driver.

The driver was able to maintain control of the bus and continued to the next wide spot in the road, where she stopped and called 911.

Seventeen El Dorado High School students were on the bus, but none were injured.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Previous coverage:

El Dorado officials seek suspects after school bus is shot - April 19, 2010

By Bee Staff

A registered sex offender living in Roseville is scheduled to be arraigned later this month on suspicion of trying to rape a woman with whom he had a dating relationship, police said.

In Place County jail on a no-bail hold is Ruben Hernandez, 48, on suspicion of assault with the intent to commit rape, attempted rape, and parole violation, said Dee Dee Gunther, spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department.

Hernandez was also arrested on suspicion of providing false address information when registering as a sex offender, Gunther said.

Officers arrested Hernandez soon after the victim reported the April 24 attack was reported.

The victim had minor injuries, but did not require medical attention at the scene, Gunther said.

Hernandez's arraignment is schedule for May 25.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Police on Thursday morning arrested a University of California, Davis, student for allegedly trying to rape a fellow student.

Officer Ken Garcia of the UC Davis campus police department said Pierce Hunter, 19, was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and forcible oral copulation. The bail is set at $150,000. It was not clear if Hunter posted bail by Thursday evening, Garcia said.

Garcia said Hunter and the victim know each other and the alleged incident took place at a campus dormitory.

Andy Fell, a UC Davis spokesman, said the victim filed her complaint earlier this week and an arrest warrant was issued Thursday morning. Fell said Hunter's major was "undeclared."

Garcia said police believe other victims might be involved. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at (530) 752-1230.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Scott Dodd Anderson, the Sacramento County physician accused of sexually assaulting three of his patients, is now scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

On Tuesday, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested the 60-year-old Anderson (photo left) on suspicion of various charges, including sexual exploitation by a physician, rape and attempted sodomy.

He faces a total of 30 counts, according to the District Attorney's complaint against him.

Jail booking records initially indicated he would be arraigned today. However, a DA spokeswoman confirmed the proceeding had been moved to 1:30 p.m. Friday in Department 62, which is located inside the Sacramento County Main Jail.

Anderson, who declined an interview with The Bee, was released from jail Tuesday night on $750,000 bail.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento-area doctor accused of sexually assaulting 3 patients - April 7, 2010

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A Sacramento County physician has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting three female patients who saw him for exams related to workers compensation claims in 2009, authorities said today.

Scott Dodd Anderson (photo left), 60, was arrested this morning and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including felony sexual exploitation by a physician, rape and attempted sodomy, booking records show.

In all, Anderson faces 30 counts of abuse, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's complaint against him.

He is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. From the Main Jail, he declined to talk to a Bee reporter.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives began investigating Anderson in December, after one of his three victims told her family of the alleged abuse, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. The woman's family encouraged her to contact authorities.

Detectives identified two more alleged victims during the course of their investigation, Curran said. The women range in age from their early 30s to their early 60s.

The women suffered the alleged abuse while visiting Anderson at the U.S. HealthWorks clinic on Folsom Boulevard, near La Riviera Drive, between May 2009 and September 2009, Curran said. (An earlier version of this story had an incorrect location for the clinic at which Anderson worked.)

The women were being examined in connection with workers compensation claims.

Curran said Anderson left that clinic in September 2009, and investigators could not find any record of him practicing medicine since then.

Detectives suspect there are more victims who have not come forward, Curran said.

Anderson graduated from the Tufts University School of Medicine in 1975 and received his California license to practice medicine two years later, according to the Medical Board of California's online records.

His license, which is renewed and current, is scheduled to expire in May 2011, the records show.

According to Sacramento Superior Court records, Anderson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace in 1999. Records show he was not given probation for the conviction.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call sexual assault detectives at (916) 874-5070 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. (An earlier version of this story had a wrong phone number for the detectives.)

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Bee Staff

The Sacramento Police Department is asking for the public's help in solving two sexual assaults.

On Feb. 23 at approximately 6:30 p.m., a 19-year-old woman was walking in the area of Franklin Boulevard, near Calvine Road when she was approached by two males.

One of the males grabbed her from behind and dragged her into a nearby field where she was sexually assaulted.

One suspect was described as a black male in his early 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and with a medium build. He was wearing a dark jacket with a hood.

The second suspect was only described as a black male adult.

On March 20 at approximately 11:49 p.m., an 18-year-old woman was walking in the area of Florin Road, near Loma Verde Way when she was approached by a man.

The man dragged her into a nearby parking lot in the 2300 block of Florin Road where he sexually assaulted her.

The suspect was described as a black male in his 20s. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a heavy build. He was wearing a white jacket or sweatshirt with a green stripe on the sleeve.

Detectives do not know if the cases are related, according to a Police Department news release.

Anyone with information on these two cases is asked to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The on-call Sacramento County sheriff's deputy accused of picking up a 13-year-old girl he met on duty and having sex with her in a Lincoln hotel is no longer employed by the Sheriff's Department, authorities said today.

Sheriff John McGinnness confirmed that Eric Cephus (photo left), who remains in custody in Placer County, resigned from the Sheriff's Department on Friday.

Lincoln police arrested the 39-year-old Cephus on March 2 at his San Jose home. He was arraigned two days later on one felony count each of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14 and transporting a person for a sex act.

Cephus was working a contract shift for a north Sacramento County parks district - meaning he was in uniform and driving a marked patrol car, but his work was paid for by the parks district - the night of Feb. 26 when he allegedly met his victim.

After his shift ended, Cephus and the girl allegedly drove to a Lincoln hotel and had sex. Police have not said whether the sex was forced or whether Cephus paid the victim.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Previous coverage:

Woman's call to police on teen girl at Lincoln salon led to deputy's arrest - March 10, 2010

Sacramento on-call deputy accused of sexual assault of 13-year-old - March 4, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A composite sketch of a man (left) suspected of three separate sexual attacks on Del Campo High School girls has been released by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

All three incidents involved 15-year-old students as they walked to the Fair Oaks campus from Moraga Drive onto the west end of the high school at 4925 Dewey Drive.

The first incident occurred 10:30 a.m. Jan. 28 when a girl was approached by the suspect and inappropriately touched. The suspect then fled.

The second incident occurred 7:50 a.m. Feb. 5 when the suspect ran up to the student from behind and grabbed her backpack. He also inappropriately touched her. The suspect ran away toward Moraga Drive.

The last incident occurred 7:15 a.m. March 3 when the suspect ran up to her from behind, grabbed the girl and inappropriately touched her. The suspect ran toward Moraga Drive after the girl pulled away.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, about 5-feet-8 to 6 feet tall with a medium build. The suspect, who had short black hair and a chubby face, was dressed in a black hooded jacket and baggy jeans.

Anyone who has any information is asked to call detectives at (916) 874-5070.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Ed Fletcher
eflectcher@sacbee.com

A 39-year-old man employed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department as an "on-call" deputy pleaded not guilty today to sexual assault in Placer County Superior Court.

Bail was set at $1 million for Eric Cephus (photo left).

Cephus, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, spoke softly to the judge when he said he understood his right during the brief arraignment. He is charged with one felony count each of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and transporting a person for a sex act.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento on-call deputy accused of sexual assault of 13-year-old - March 4, 2010

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A 39-year-old man employed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department as an "on-call" deputy has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at a Lincoln hotel, according to authorities.

Eric Cephus was taken into custody late Tuesday night in San Jose, said Lincoln police acting Chief Paul Shelgren.

He was booked into the Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 and transporting to commit rape, Shelgren said. He is expected to arrive in Placer County this afternoon.

Police began investigating Cephus on Feb. 27, after a Lincoln patrol officer came across the girl walking in the area of Ferrari Ranch Road and Joiner Parkway in the early morning, Shelgren said.

The girl was "pretty forthcoming about what happened" hours earlier, Shelgren said.

He said detectives suspect that Cephus met the girl "through the course of his employment," but declined to elaborate.

Shelgren said the girl was not brought to Lincoln against her will. It's unclear to detectives at this point whether the sex was forced; however, Shelgren said he found it hard to imagine a scenario in which sex with a 13-year-old girl would be consensual.

In addition to the two sex-related charges, Shelgren told The Bee earlier today that Cephus had been arrested on suspicion of engaging in an act of prostitution. However, he said this afternoon that detectives did not have enough evidence to support such a charge.

He declined to say whether the girl characterized herself as a prostitute or whether Cephus paid her.

Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness confirmed that Cephus is employed as an "on-call" deputy sheriff, although he is on administrative leave because of the arrest. He said Cephus had been employed as a full-time deputy sheriff until he was laid off in August as a result of department-wide budget cuts.

At the time he was laid off, Cephus had been employed by the Sheriff's Department for a "couple years," McGinness said.

Cephus lives in San Jose with his girlfriend and the couple's son, according to their babysitter, who spoke briefly to The Bee but did not give her name. A message for Cephus' girlfriend, left with the babysitter, has not been returned.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A 29-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly sexually assaulted his girlfriend's two daughters, according to Sacramento police.

Detectives became involved late last year, after they were told that two girls had been sexually assaulted over a few years, starting when they were 9 and 10 years old, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Omar Valdivia (photo left) and police arrested him Monday in Rio Linda, Leong said.

He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on 15 counts of various sex charges, according to booking records.

He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating a woman's alleged sexual assault by two unknown men in the North Laguna Creek area, according to authorities.

An 18-year-old woman told police that she was walking home in the area of Franklin Boulevard and Calvine Road about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when a man grabbed her and dragged her to a nearby bike trail, where he sexually assaulted her in some bushes, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

The woman noticed a second man, who was going through her personal belongings while she was being assaulted, Leong said. The men then fled on foot.

The teen was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center, where she reported the assault. Hospital staff members called Sacramento police.

Leong said the investigation is ongoing. The alleged assailants were described only as two black men in their 20s, one of whom was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Leong reminded residents to avoid walking alone when possible and to be alert at all times.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are looking for a man they suspect of kissing and inappropriately touching a woman while apparently going door-to-door in the Elmhurst neighborhood.

On the afternoon of Feb. 16, the man knocked on the door of a home on Discovery Way and spoke with a female resident, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

He told the woman he worked with a local mortgage loan company, and she stepped onto the front porch to talk to him, closing the door behind her, Leong said.

As they talked, the man kissed the woman and inappropriately touched her, Leong said. The woman got away and called police.

She told officers that the man had paperwork in his hands that included other addresses, so police believe he might have knocked on other doors, or had the intention of doing so, Leong said. However, the woman is the only known victim, he said.

The man was described to police as a white man with a dark olive complexion, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds with a large belly. He had short black hair with some gray starting to show, a scruffy beard and silver teeth on the upper right side of his mouth.

He had a thick accent, possibly, Serbian, and wore a black zip-up jacket with a red logo on the back, according to police. He was driving an off-white, four-door 1987 Nissan Sentra.

Sacramento police are using the incident to warn residents to be wary of strangers approaching them in or near their homes. Residents are encouraged to call police if there is a question about the person's identity, and should not provide any personal information to the person, Leong said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter "SACTIP" followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting woman in her 70s.

According to an online police log on Thursday, Jesus Gutierrez (photo left) is an acquaintance of the woman.

He allegedly assaulted her in her home on Alan Shepard Street, the report stated.

Gutierrez is in jail on $400,000 bond, according to online jail records.

No other information was available.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police say they arrested a 22-year-old Sacramento man Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting an underage girl over a three-year period.

Meckie Cha (photo left) was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of eight counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, two counts of sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, two counts of oral copulation with a person under 16 and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a victim more than three years younger, online jail records show.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the 16-year-old victim is related to Cha. She reported the alleged assaults, which began three years ago, to an adult in early January. Police are not identifying the adult, who informed authorities of the allegations.

Cha was arrested at about 10 a.m. at a house on Albion Way, Leong said. He is being held on $1,000,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court on Feb.16.

By Robert Lewis and Sam Stanton
rlewis@sacbee.com

One of the inmates the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department released early as part of an effort to reduce the state's prison population was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted rape, less than 24 hours after getting out of jail, The Bee has learned.

Kevin Eugene Peterson got out of jail Monday night after serving about two months on a four-month sentence for violating probation on a prior conviction. Peterson was arrested 12 hours later, around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, on suspicion of an attempted rape involving a female counselor at the 1300 block of North C Street, a Sacramento Police Department spokesman said. He was booked into the Sacramento County jail at 3:21 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of attempted rape, sexual battery, false imprisonment and violating the terms of his probation.

"Our greatest fear has occurred almost immediately after the early release of these inmates," said Christine Ward of the Crime Victims Action Alliance. "We are certain that we will see more of this as more inmates are released from jails and prisons."

Peterson has a criminal history including a 2008 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation. On Dec. 2, he was sentenced to four months for violating the terms of his probation, according to court documents.

Traditionally inmates who exhibit good behavior while in custody are eligible to be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. A law the Legislature passed late last year requires county jails to release inmates on good behavior after serving half the sentence, a change of about two months for most sentenced to a year.

Sheriff John McGinness on Tuesday said only nonviolent inmates jailed on misdemeanors would be eligible for early release. Peterson was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon in 2008. His most recent stint in jail, however, was for a probation violation.

"The probation violation was nonviolent," McGinness said.

Peterson got out 16 days early as a result of the new law. McGinness said he won't defend the policy but that 16 days likely did not make a difference in Peterson's behavior.

"What he is alleged to have done yesterday, he conceivably would have done 16 days later," McGinness said.

But Kevin Mickelson, president of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association, said the episode calls into question the notion that violent prisoners won't be getting out early,

"The state Legislature has duped the citizens of California into believing they've released only nonviolent offenders back into the communities," Mickelson said. "That is simply not true."

Call The Bee's Robert Lewis, (916) 321-1061.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating a report of a sexual assault on Arden Way on Wednesday night, authorities said today.

A woman told police that she was on the 1900 block of Arden Way near Cal Expo when she was contacted by two men she did not know, said Sgt. Norm Leong.

They allegedly grabbed the woman, took her to nearby location and then sexually assaulted her, Leong said.

She was not sure where she was taken, Leong said.

The woman described her attackers only as white male adults, Leong said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A woman said that she was forced behind a building in North Sacramento and sexually assaulted by a stranger Wednesday night, according to Sacramento police.

The woman, who is in her 20s, told police she was waiting for a friend near the light-rail station at Arden Way and Del Paso Boulevard shortly after 8:30 p.m. when an unknown man approached her and physically forced her behind a nearby building, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

The woman said the man sexually assaulted her and fled, Leong said.

The suspect was described to police as a black man in his late 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 185 pounds, Leong said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

By Bee Staff

A 63-year-old West Sacramento man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, the Yolo County district attorney said today.

Louis Charles Romano received the sentence Thursday for the April 12, 2008, assault on the girl, DA Jess Reisig said in a news release. Romano also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Reisig said.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge that Romano also assaulted the 10-year-old sister of the 15-year-old girl and acquitted him of possessing child pornography, Reisig said.

"The family, whose trust Romano violated, should find some satisfaction knowing that Romano will be in prison for a long time," said Deputy District Attorney Tiffany Susz, who prosecuted the case.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A woman was kidnapped at gunpoint in Del Paso Heights and then sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant Wednesday evening, according to Sacramento police.

The woman was getting into her parked car on the 800 block of Grand Avenue shortly before 6 p.m. when a stranger approached her, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

The man pointed a gun at the woman and ordered her to move into the passenger seat, Leong said. He then drove her to an undisclosed location and sexually assaulted her, Leong said.

The man then fled on foot, Leong said.

The victim described the man to police as black and in his late 20s or early 30s, Leong said. She said her assailant weighed about 250 pounds and wore dark clothing.

Anyone with information about this assault is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

From Dixie Reid:

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in finding three men suspected in a Nov. 22 rape.

The trio is believed to have forced a woman, who was walking along Meadowview Road at 2 a.m., into their vehicle. They then took her to another location, where they sexually assaulted her.

The descriptions of the suspects, all believed to be East Indian, are:

The driver is in his late 20s, about 5-foot-7 and weighing 230 pounds with a thick build. His messy black hair was heavily gelled, and he wore a tan long-sleeve shirt and black pants.

The second suspect is 21-22 years old, also 5-foot-7 and weighing 150 pounds. He has short hair and dark rings around his eyes. He wore a long black leather coat.

The final suspect is older, in his late 30s, standing 5-foot-9. He sat in the back seat and wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

The suspects were in a red 1990s Ford Mustang with 20-inch rims and white around the wheel wells. The interior is a dark gray. A Mustang emblem is on the dashboard.

Anyone with information can call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES); enter SACTIP, followed by the tip information.

Callers may remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Bill Lindelof:

A church deacon has been arrested on suspicion of child molestation by Sacramento County Sheriff's detectives.

Robert Lindsay Cowan (photo left), 65, of Cool, El Dorado County, was arrested at his home on Tuesday on five counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14 years.

Cowan, a deacon in the Baptist Church of Cool, on occasion traveled to the Sacramento area for in-home Bible study sessions. It was during one of these in-home meetings that the molestations are suspected to have occurred.

Cowan was booked into Sacramento County Jail and is being held without bail. The sheriff's department investigation is on-going with detectives looking into whether Cowan might be a suspect in other molestations.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Linke at (916) 874-5964.

Sacramento police are investigating the sexual assault of a teenager in Meadowview.

Police reported that the 17-year-old girl was walking home from a party about 6:30 a.m. Sunday when she was forced at gunpoint into a red 1990s Ford Mustang.

The suspects drove her to a vacant house in the area of Amherst Street and Meadowview Road where they sexually assaulted her, according to a police report.

Police described the three suspects as East Indian. The first suspect was described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, 230 pounds, wearing a black shirt and black pants; the second, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 150 pounds, wearing a black leather coat; and the third, 5 feet 9 inches tall, medium build, wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt with a white and black checked pattern.

From Bee staff:

El Dorado County sheriff's officials are seeking information about a reported kidnapping and possible sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in the Pollock Pines area.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the incident about 5 p.m. Thursday.

A department news release provided these details:

The victim reported that she had been walking along a local trail, when she was attacked by a man. The suspect dragged the victim off the trail and attempted to sexually assault the victim. The victim was able to fight off her attacker and flee.

The victim provided this description of the suspect: white male adult in his late 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, medium to muscular build, short straight brown hair, light complexion, with a reddish goatee beard. The suspect was wearing dark tight-fitting pants and a long-sleeve red/black checkered shirt.

Officials said the suspect was not found after an extensive search of the area.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about the incident to call (530) 621-6600.

From Hudson Sangree:

Rocklin police announced Thursday that a DNA match had led to an arrest in an alleged sexual assault that occurred nearly two years ago.

A news release provided these details:

On Jan. 1, 2008, officers responded in the early morning hours to a report of a sexual assault in the 5400 block of Quane Road.

The alleged victim, 27, was a man who had come to a party there on New Years Eve and decided to spend the night. He said he was fast asleep, when a man woke him up while sexually assaulting him.

The suspect had also been at the party and lived in the neighborhood, police said.

Detectives obtained DNA samples from both men, but the samples weren't processed until earlier this month.

A match led to the arrest of Ladd Douglass Wildenen (top left photo), 41, for suspicion of sexual assault and oral copulation, both felonies.

He was booked into the Placer County Jail, with bail set at $150,000.

From Bill Lindelof:

Four people have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of two girls in the Yuba City area.