Trinity Mount Ministries

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Trinity Mount Ministries - NCMEC - CyberTipline - REPORT ABUSE!


Overview

NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, extra-familial child sexual molestation, child pornography, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.

What Happens to Information in a CyberTip?

NCMEC staff review each tip and work to find a potential location for the incident reported so that it may be made available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for possible investigation. We also use the information from our CyberTipline reports to help shape our prevention and safety messages.

Is Your Image Out There?

Get Support
One of the worst things about sextortion is feeling like you’re facing everything alone. But you have people who care for you and want to help. Reach out to them!
A trusted adult can offer advice, help you report, and help you deal with other issues. It could be your mom, dad, an aunt, a school counselor, or anyone you trust and are comfortable talking to. You can also “self report” by making a report on your own to the CyberTipline.
Don’t Give Up
Having a sexual exploitative image of yourself exposed online is a scary experience. It can make you feel vulnerable and isolated, but remember, others have been in the same situation as you – and they’ve overcome it. 

Learn the steps you can take to limit the spread of the content.


Sex Sting At Joliet Comfort Inn, Hobart Man Arrested - Defendant looking to have sex with underage girls

This man traveled from Indiana to Joliet trying to hook up with underage girls, police say. (Illinois State Police)

By John Ferak, Patch Staff

JOLIET, IL — The Illinois State Police announced that a 36-year-old man from Hobart, Indiana, is now staying at the Will County Jail after he was arrested on charges of traveling to meet a minor for sex. On Sunday, the Illinois State Police arrested David Michael Adams at the Comfort Inn on Commerce Lane in Joliet.

According to police, Adams "had been chatting with a Zone 3 agent whom he thought was a 38-year-old woman who was going to allow him to engage in sexual acts with her two minor daughters."

On Sunday, at 7:45 a.m., "Adams arrived at the prearranged meeting spot, Comfort Inn, to engage in sex with the minors," Illinois State Police noted.

Instead, Adams was met by the presence of the Illinois State Police; he tried to run, but he didn't get very far, police indicated.

"After a short foot pursuit, Adams was taken into custody," authorities said, adding that he was charged with traveling to meet a minor for sex as well as resisting arrest.


Six years ago, The Times of Northwest Indiana published a crime story in 2013 listing David Adams as being one of three men who were arrested as part of a prostitution sting. That article also published his mugshot and details about the Hobart man's arrest.



Tuesday, April 2, 2019

FBI - Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.

What Testing Backlogged Sexual Assault Kits is Teaching Law Enforcement About the Crime
The effort to address a backlog of sexual assault kits nationwide has led to tens of thousands of long-shelved kits being tested over the last several years. The FBI Laboratory alone tested more than 3,600 kits in a four-year effort to assist state and local agencies.
The work being done to inventory and test the evidence kits is one part of the story. The other part is what has been discovered about the serial nature of many sexual offenders as thousands of cases are added into the FBI’s national DNA and violent crime databases.
As we mark April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the findings offer important insights into the nation’s most underreported violent crime.
Sexual assault kits are created when a victim reports an assault to authorities and consents to allowing a trained nurse or physician to gather physical evidence from his or her body and clothing.
These kits may end up sitting untested by labs or not submitted for testing for a number of reasons, according to Angela Williamson, senior forensic policy adviser with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which is leading the sexual assault kit initiative.
Many jurisdictions have backlogs going back to the decades before DNA profiling was well developed. Still other kits have gone untested due to limited law enforcement and lab resources, victims withdrawing from the process, or a lack of training and understanding among law enforcement personnel.
BJA awarded $159 million in grants for the kit initiative between 2015 and 2018 to dozens of state and local jurisdictions; the agency will award another $48 million in grants this year to continue to chisel away at the problem.
Since 2015, the program has inventoried 61,134 kits and sent 44,952 for testing. Of the 39,565 kits that could be tested to completion, 13,521 produced a DNA profile of high enough quality that it could be entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) forensic database.
When the 13,521 kits were entered into CODIS, 6,366 matched to an entry already there. A CODIS entry is only created when an individual or his or her DNA is linked to an alleged crime.
The FBI Laboratory tested 3,610 kits and uploaded 1,965 entries into CODIS. “In 829 of those, there was a match to someone in the database or to another sample in the database,” said Heather LaSalle, a forensic examiner with the FBI’s DNA Casework Unit. LaSalle stressed that a hit in CODIS is an investigative lead only, but those leads can connect cases and offenders. 
“When you test so many kits at the same time, you can see how much serial offending is going on,” said Rachel Lovell, a senior research associate at Case Western Reserve University and the lead research partner on the BJA grants received by Ohio’s Cuyahoga County. “We saw serial offenders who are frequently assaulting strangers and nonstrangers,” she added.
The vast majority of sexual assault victims know their assailants, but Lovell stresses that even if the victim names his or her offender, the DNA is still worth taking and testing. “Someone’s known offender could be someone else’s unknown offender,” said Carey Aldridge, the coordinator of Kentucky’s sexual assault kit initiative.

“When you test so many kits at the same time, you can see how much serial offending is going on.”

Rachel Lovell, senior research associate, Case Western Reserve University
One kit submitted to the FBI Lab by the Everett (Washington) Police Department in 2016 linked the DNA gathered from the victim to the host of a 2010 holiday party at which the woman reported being raped. Two weeks after that report was made, the party host was arrested for assaulting another woman in the restroom of a bar. When the FBI Lab tested the first victim’s kit six years later, the man had already been released from prison after serving time for the second assault.
Another kit the FBI tested in 2017 from a 2011 Fayetteville, North Carolina, case linked the DNA to a man who was in prison for a 2016 kidnapping, robbery, and rape. A kit tested by another lab also linked the man to a 1998 assault. The delay in processing the evidence was devastating and costly.
That cost, in dollars and to lives, is something Kentucky has been working to understand as it tests a state backlog of more than 3,000 kits in response to 2016 legislation. Kentucky and other states are finding that individuals who commit sexual assaults often commit more than one sexual assault–and not only do these offenders often assault more victims, they are often linked to other violent and/or property crimes.   
The Kentucky study found that the cost to society of not testing the kits is far greater than the expense the state would face in fully funding its crime lab. “We know that rapists are often serial criminals,” researchers wrote in the report. “Someone willing to commit violent, intimate crimes against another person poses the highest risk to other persons and property.”
“Our culture for many, many years mischaracterized rape,” said Gretchen Hunt, executive director for the Office of Victim Advocacy with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. She added that the assumption was that if it happened in a familiar setting—if it was someone the person knew—that it was somehow less serious. The reality, born out by the data, is that sexual assault is a violent crime, committed by an individual who is likely to be violent again. 
Another powerful tool supporting the effort is the FBI’s Violent Crime Apprehension Program (ViCAP), which can help in cases where there is no DNA or if cases are linked by DNA but there is not yet a name attached. ViCAP allows for agencies to capture descriptions of suspects, vehicle information, incident accounts, and other data that can help connect cases.
Kentucky is one state that has volunteered to enter the information from its sexual assault kits into ViCAP; the BJA program now requires it of grant recipients. Aldridge says using ViCAP is just good policy for Kentucky: “We are a poor state. We don’t have a lot of resources. We are trying to work smarter.”
“One of the most frightening things is that although these data give us a much better picture, it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Lovell. “These victims reported and submitted to a sexual assault kit being collected. Two thirds of victims don’t report, and our data suggest that only about half of those who report get a sexual assault kit.”
Experts agree that the primary lesson learned from the backlog is that law enforcement should investigate each incident of reported sexual assault with vigor and care, which requires reform beyond the lab work and data entries.
“It’s not sufficient just to test—departments need to do something with the information and follow up,” said Angela Williamson, the BJA policy adviser. The BJA grants provide as much funding for prosecutions and investigations as they do for testing. The grants also require that recipients institute organizational changes to prevent the backlog from building up again. In addition, agencies nationwide are embracing the need for first responders to be better trained in sexual assault response, how victims respond to trauma, and how to institute a victim-centered approach in every step of an investigation.
“It’s great to see so many jurisdictions saying, ‘We may not have done this the best way before, but we are doing something about it now,’ ” said Lovell. “Such change is happening,” echoed Williamson.

FBI Lab Assistance Leads to Innovation

A 2013 five-year interagency agreement with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) allowed the FBI to assist in testing backlogged sexual assault kits submitted by state and local agencies. The first kits arrived in 2014, and the Lab began testing between 15 and 30 kits each week until the effort concluded in September 2018.
Beyond supporting state and local agencies in their efforts to address their backlogs and making important case connections, the intensive work done by the FBI Laboratory helped develop more efficient and effective DNA analysis techniques, including the implementation of DNA robotics, ways to streamline the DNA processing approach, and the recommendation for labs to do direct-to-DNA sampling. The FBI published its recommendations in the NIJ report, National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits: A Multidisciplinary Approach, to help enhance the efficiency of DNA analysis in other laboratories. With these innovations making DNA analysis faster and more cost effective, more kits can be worked in laboratories nationwide.



Family says teen was lured to her death by boys she thought were friends


Sylvia McGhee, 14, murdered in Canton, Ohio (Image source: GoFundMe/ Sylvia McGhee lost her life In cold blood)

by 

By all accounts, Sylvia McGhee, 14, was a bright and outgoing middle school student who had a full life ahead of her. Now her family is grieving and wondering why Sylvia snuck out of the house in the early morning hours of March 30, 2019, only to be found dead a short distance away from her home in Canton, Ohio.
According to Canton police, Sylvia’s body was found just a few blocks away from her home around 4 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:01 a.m., according to the Stark County Coroner. Police have poured over Sylvia’s cellphone and social media postings and have identified two suspects. The suspects are reportedly 13 and 14 years old and were allegedly her friends.
The 13-year-old has been charged with obstruction of official business and is in custody. According to Canton Police Captain Dave Davis, “He lied to officers. He gave false information during his interview.”
The second suspect has not been arrested or charged at this time. Davis stated to ABC News-5, that all information regarding the murder has been turned over to the Stark County Prosecutor’s office. It will be up to a juvenile justice prosecutor to decide what charges may be filed.
Sylvia’s grandmother, Sylvia Milina, believes her granddaughter was lured to her death. “She didn’t even have a chance. … It was like it was a set up to me because she’s never been out at that time,” she said to the media.
This sentiment was echoed by the teen’s mother, Ashley Milina who has created a GoFundMe campaign titled “Sylvia McGhee lost her life in cold blood” to help with funeral expenses. She wrote, “My poor baby was murdered in cold blood. Her life was taken senselessly and carelessly. She was set up by people she considered her friends. She was only 14 years old. She was lured out of her home by some of her friends into the alley behind her house, and murdered, right behind her own home. That person who murdered her stole a part of me and my family, my heart, my soul, my world, that I will never get back nor can it be replaced. #JusticeForSylviaMcGhee.”

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Woman charged with selling 2-year-old for sex leads police to child molestation suspect


By John Donnelly, FOX 26 News

(Originally Posted on Mar 05 2019 01:11PM CST)

Houston - His name is Michael Lowry and when we rang, he answered the door to his Southeast Houston home. He confirmed who he was. “Are you Michael Lowry?” I asked. “Yeah,” was his reluctant reply.

According to court documents this started last year with an investigation by the Montgomery county DA's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. They intercepted a woman named Sarah Peters who was heading to Conroe "who agreed to allow an adult male to engage in sexual intercourse with her two year old daughter in exchange for $1,200."

When Peters and her daughter arrived to meet Lowry, she was taken into custody, and Child Protective Services took custody of her daughter.


That then led investigators to Lowry. She told them she allowed Lowry to gratify himself while touching her daughter. She showed them messages sent via the social media site "Kik." They discussed getting more naked pictures of the girl. He allegedly wrote to her, "The only reason I need to stop seeing you is I want you both," and "I remember you talking about Benadryl, and I imagine the things we could do with her sleeping."

Peters admitted to exchanging child pornography with Lowry on several occasions. Numerous images were located on his phone containing items of "child pornography" and "child erotica".

Detectives went to Lowry's home. His wife showed them his cell phone, laptop, and thumb drive  allegedly containing child pornography. She stated that she and her husband have an open marriage, and that she was aware of the sexual relationship between Lowry and Peters. Upon finding out that the two had spent the night at a hotel with Peters' daughter present, Lowry's wife requested that the relationship end.

Lowry allegedly denied having any sexual contact with the girl, but the "defendant further admitted to talking to Peters about having children together and raising the children in an incestuous family."

He had not yet been arrested, but was already choosing to be silent.

"We'd like to talk to you about the charges against you. Did you really try to have sex with a two year old girl?" I asked. He smirked and shut the door. Hours later he was in custody. He had been living just three blocks from a school.


MISSING TEEN: It's been 1 year since Tiffany Terwilliger was last seen


by: Kel Dansby

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is asking for help from the public to locate missing teenager, Tiffany Terwilliger.

Tiffany Terwilliger went missing a year ago on March 29, 2018. She was last seen at her home in Las Vegas, NV. Tiffany may still be in the local area or she may attempt to travel to Henderson, Nevada or Yucaipa, California.

She is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall with blue eyes, pierced ears, and naturally light brown hair; however, her hair may be dyed red.

Anyone with information about Tiffany is asked to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at 1-702-828-3111.



Friday, March 29, 2019

Pennsylvania police chief, friend charged with raping child over 7 year period


A small Pennsylvania town police chief and his friend were charged with raping a child over a seven-year period when they were teenagers starting when the girl was 4 years old, state prosecutors said Wednesday.

Brent Getz, 27, was arrested and charged Tuesday along with Gregory Wagner, 28. The alleged victim said both men sexually assaulted her, often at the same time, from 2005 to 2012.

The investigation began in 2012 when the child, who was 12 at the time, reported Wagner had been assaulting her, prosecutors said. No charges were filed following an investigation.

Three years later, a criminal complaint was prepared charging Wagner, but it was dismissed due to a paperwork error. Charges were never refiled.

In August, a police officer revisited the case. It was then the victim said Getz also sexually abused her. Getz became chief of police earlier this year in Weissport, a town of 412 people in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, about 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

It is unknown whether council members who appointed Getz knew of the allegations. A message was left with a phone number found for Paulette Watson, the mayor of Weissport.

Wagner admitted he and Getz sexually abused the girl together, prosecutors said. Attorney information for either man could not be found in court documents. Both men remain jailed. Messages could not be left with phone numbers found for Getz and Wagner.

The victim said she was sexually assaulted hundreds of times between the ages of 4 and 11, both by Wagner and Getz. She said Wagner made her watch pornography with him. The attorney general's office did not disclose how the men knew the child.

Authorities found many electronic devices at Wagner's home, including his cellphone, which had Google searches of terms related to child pornography, prosecutors said.

Both Getz and Wagner were arraigned on charges. The men are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing April 3.