Articles Posted in Sexual Crimes

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The police in Haverhill Massachusetts got lucky recently. They got a “two-for”. They were investigating an arson case. However, due to what they found, they arrested another gentleman who now needs a lawyer for a different type of case.

The detectives were canvassing an apartment building which had been, the scene of three Sunday morning fires, when they stumbled upon a case of sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy,

“It was the last thing we expected to find,” a police spokesman, Police Officer Zipper, said. “The nature of police work is turning over stones.”

The detectives had gone to the apartment of accused arsonist Patricia M. (herein after, the “Arson Defendant”) on a Monday night to talk to other occupants. It was there that they met the boy and Jeffrey P. 39, (hereinafter, the “Sex Defendant”) in the apartment. Through questioning, they learned that the Sex Defendant and the boy shared a bed.

After further questioning, and the wading through what the police call “stark inconsistencies”, the Sex Defendant apparently ended up admitting to having sex with the boy several times. The boy ended up confirming the admission.
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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court says that people convicted of sexual crimes before 2006 do not have to wear GPS devices if they violate parole or probation. The decision split the court 4-3. The majority, however, said that the law cannot be applied retroactively.

The case involves a Bristol County sex offender who was convicted in 1997. Russell M. Cory pled guilty to indecent assault and battery on a child. He served time in prison for several years and was ordered to serve 25 years probation.

Cory left prison in May 2006. He did not take part in mandatory counseling sessions or treatment. Soon after the 2006 law went into effect, Cory was ordered to wear a GPS for violating his probation. Cory, a Level 3 sex offender, is back in jail.

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Massachusetts prosecutors are accusing a 26-year-old Hanover man of kidnapping, attempting to rape, and injecting a 6-year-old girl with an unknown substance. During his arraignment in Hingham District Court yesterday, Justin Shine pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted rape, kidnapping, assault and battery, and resisting arrest. He is being held without bond until his dangerousness hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

Among the allegations against Shine:
• He was high on cocaine when he abducted the girl.
• He got her to enter his apartment by telling her he had gerbils and guinea pigs.
• He injected her with a substance that made her drowsy.
• He bound her hands using black tape, shackled her ankles, and put tape on her mouth.

As police searched the apartment complex for the girl, Shine slit his own wrist. The girl either was let go or escaped. She did not sustain physical injuries. Police claim that Shine resisted arrest but they were able to subdue him.

Neighbors say that the Shine and the girl live near each other in Hanover Woods, a Massachusetts apartment complex.

Kidnapping
Kidnapping consists of secretly or forcibly imprisoning a person or keeping the victim confined against his or her will. This crime can comes with a maximum 10-year prison sentence in Massachusetts. A defendant convicted of kidnapping could be ordered to face a lengthier prison sentence if he or she used a dangerous weapon when committing the crime, caused serious sexual or other physical injury to the victim, kidnapped a person younger than age 16, or abducted someone for monetary gain.

Kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, and kidnapping with the intent to extort money are serious criminal offenses in Massachusetts. You cannot battle these charges without the help of an experienced Boston criminal defense lawyer. There may be insufficient evidence in your kidnapping case, or the alleged crime may be one involving mistaken identity or a misunderstanding. Your Massachusetts defense attorney can combat the charges that were filed against you.

DA details alleged kidnapping in Hanover, Boston.com, June 29, 2009
Girl’s Horror In Hanover Kidnapping Revealed, WBZ, June 29, 2009
Related Web Resources:
The General Laws of Massachusetts

National Child Kidnapping Facts, Polly Klaas Foundation Continue reading

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The criminal prosecution seems to have ended for John R., of Vermont, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and his lawyer. On June 8th, he pleaded guilty to charges, the investigation of which reflects some important information to those who assume themselves beyond suspicion.

After all, the Defendant had been something of a celebrity. Now in his 60’s, he had had helped found a gay rights group in Provincetown in the early 1990’s. In 1989, he helped form the Provincetown chapter of ACT UP, a group that described itself as diverse and nonpartisan, and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. He also served on a working group to combat hate crimes.

And now?

Now he has been convicted in the cyber-crime of possessing and distributing child pornography.

To make the charges against him seem even more unlikely, they are not even the result of a local investigation. In fact, it was not even initiated within the United States.
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This week, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog examined various news stories about a particular large population in the Boston area, namely, students. Whether it be graduate school, college, high school or even grammar school, a momentary, perhaps youthful, mistake can bring a postponement or even end to a lifetime of future dreams for that student and accompanying family. Now, as schools are adjourning for the summer, and graduations are upon us, our weekly Attorney Sam’s Take discussion looks directly at how the criminal justice system, and its results, can effect Massachusetts students.

There is a lot to say, so this week’s Discussion is a two-parter, which will continue into and conclude tomorrow, Friday, June 12th.

How many times have you read about a youth getting arrested and thought, “Well, it’s a kid. A juvenile. What can they do to a kid…spank him?”

Well, no. Spanking has been off the criminal justice books for many a decade.

However, the myth that juvenile offenders cannot be damaged by the justice system, although widely believed, is not really true. Most kids, of course, do not realize that. This is why many ongoing criminal enterprises, such as drug traffickers, are often able to use juveniles to do the “dirty work” of street selling. They convince the young eager entrepreneur that “the law” cannot really touch him/her and so, while the chance for money is high, the accompanying risk is low.
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Over the past months in the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog, I have been spend a lot of time suggesting to potential defendants the best way to respond to police officers at the time of impending arrest. In fact, last Thursday, our weekly “Attorney Sam’s Take” posting about issues in criminal justice, was devoted to the issue. I have warned you about not trying to outwit, outfight or out-run the police. Unfortunately, I have neglected to warn people about avoiding the officers’ means of transportation. Now, perhaps because of this neglect, Todd D., a 31-year-old homeless gentleman from Springfield (hereinafter, “Defendant1”) needs a lawyer.

The event took place last Thursday morning at Springfield’s Worthington Street parking lot.

Yes, Defendant1 is said to have broken into the car in front of police officers so that they could witness it.

Yes, it was a police car…although unmarked.
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David Frank, of Boston’s Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, has reported this week on a story that has become achingly familiar. It involves the issue of the wrongfully convicted.

Ulysses C. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is now 59 years old. On May 17, 2001, he was released from prison after serving 19 years of an 80 year sentence for unlawful confinement, rape and robbery. He was released from custody after DNA testing on the physical evidence used against him exonerated him of the crimes for which he was convicted.

But, then, what does “exonerated” really mean? Does it clear a man’s name? Can it give him back the nineteen years he unjustly lost at the hands of the Commonwealth?

In recent years, a number of criminal defendants have been convicted, only to be released after having served many years, after DNA evidence was discovered which showed that they were not, in fact, guilty.

Interestingly, District Attorneys still try to fight attempts by convicted defendants to have DNA tested for some reason, which is odd given their sworn oath to “do Justice”.
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This week ends as last week ended. From Boston to Providence, and beyond, law makers and enforcers are struggling with how to address the problems presented by the so-called “Craigslist Killer” (hereinafter, “CLK”). The case grows almost daily as he is now facing murder charges in Massachusetts and assault/robbery charges in Rhode Island. One would imagine that prosecuting attorneys, politicians and law enforcement would be concentrating on bringing CLK to trial and working to prevent such murders.

…And you would be wrong.

Instead, the response seems to be to attack the victims’ profession and method of advertisement. In other words, do everything possible to keep sex workers like the victims in the shadows of society so that they can continue to be easy victims to people like Jack The Ripper and CLK.

The Massachusetts CLK case was the crime of murder. The Rhode Island Matter involved assault and robbery. The victims were both of the sex industry and they purportedly met CLK through the website Craigslist.com. There are no allegations of any sexual acts, voluntary or forced, having been a component on CLK’s violent crimes.

Yet, somehow, the matter is being treated as if it were about the sex trade.
Somehow, the work of a twisted killer has become the fault of the profession of prostitution as well as Craigslist’s posting of ads which have, it turns out, sometimes been fronts for said trade.

And so, this past Wednesday apparently marked a great victory for humanity everywhere. Justice is finally being done and we are one step closer to murder-free.
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In Massachusetts and beyond, criminal defense attorneys are seeing more and more arrests being linked to the recent scrutiny of Craigslist. Last week, we spoke of the matter of the “Craigslist Killer” and the attention he has brought to the website’s listing of sexually enticing advertisements. Now, it seems, the website is everywhere and eagerly mentioned when a resulting criminal matter goes to press.

For example, let’s take the case of 42-year-old Deryck R. (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He is, or was, a roommate to two sisters in Quincy. They now allege that, as one of the sisters stepped out of the shower, Defendant 1 was pointing a cell phone camera in her direction, filming her. The sisters called the police, who searched the apartment and found video equipment, laptops and a camcorder in Defendant 1’s room.

The sisters had found Defendant 1 through Craigslist. The headline of the story posted by Channel 7 News was “Craigslist roommate arrested after spying“.
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Boston, Rhode Island and the rest of the country are watching the criminal charges against infamous alleged “Craigslist Killer” Phillip M. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) pile up. Along with the criminal charges, are character flaws such as an addiction to gambling. In the meantime, various prosecuting attorneys are looking for new and different charges and criticism to heap onto the pile of suspicion and innuendo and, of course, people to blame.

And so it is not surprising that, as in the case of white collar crime superstar Madoff, the finger of blame is pointing in various directions, including those we have been discussing this past week.

By now, you probably know of the alleged story of the Defendant. Along with his fiancé, he was pulled over in Interstate 95 one fine Monday as the couple were driving to Foxwoods Resort Casino. The destination was considered noteworthy by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conely because of a believed “strong link” between gambling and the Defendant’s alleged crimes. In case you have been living in a media-free zone, the Defendant, a Boston University medical school student, has been charged with f murder and armed robbery.

The Defendant’s alleged victims are believed to have met him through their advertisements on Craigslist. The advertisements involved the offering of “erotic massage” services which authorities believe were actually illegal escort, or prostitution services. The murder victim was found on the 20th floor of the Marriott Copley Hotel, having been shot three times and brutally bludgeoned.

Prosecutors say that the Defendant is also guilty of kidnapping and robbing another alleged prostitute who was found tied up at the Westin Copley in the Back Bay.

At first, the Defendant’s fiancé was an ardent defender of her beau. In fact, she issued the statement, ” All I have to say to you is Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly! A police officer in Boston (or many) is trying to make big bucks by selling this false story to the TV stations. What else is new?? Philip is an intelligent man who is just trying to live his life so if you could leave us alone we would greatly appreciate it. We expect to marry in August and share a wonderful, meaningful life together.”

Since then, her attorney has announced that that wedding, originally planned for this summer, “will not occur” and is not likely to happen at any time in the future.
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