Articles Posted in Sexual Crimes

We began the week discussing Massachusetts child pornograpghy prosections. Today, we continue the subject matter from another perspective. The perspective is from after the conviction comes.

Yesterday, the Commonwealth’s highest court debated whether criminal defendants convicted of child pornography should be tracked by GPS while on probation – or if their crimes call for laxer conditions than other sex offenses.

Naturally, law enforcement, embodied in the political prosecuting person of Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Commonwealth was on the side of harsher treatment.

This Boston criminal lawyer will tell you that this type of crime is one of the most widening areas of danger for our youth today. Another one is in the area of “self-defense” but we will get to that another day.

It involves the possession and dissemination of child pornography…by children!

This past Friday, Fall River law enforcement arrested a 17-year-old kid (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) who now stands charged with having created a Facebook page featuring of nude pictures of High school students. The actual charges will include dissemination of obscene material harmful to minors, and possessing child pornography.

We all know that the internet and social media phenomenon has decimated many industries. Anyone see Borders Books, Strawberries Music or Blockbuster around lately? There are some areas, however, where the Internet and social media provide great help. One of these areas is in law enforcement.

This blog has covered many stories in which law enforcement has used the Internet to go after folks in the prostitution trade. But it is not anywhere close to being limited to that.

Take the case of Christopher Doherty, for example. This 30-year-old Weymouth gentleman recently posted himself into trouble through craigslist. His post claimed that he was seeking a “sexy coke- friendly hottie to play in the snow with.”. Instead of his “hottie”, Mr. Doherty got the attention of an undercover police officer who spotted the ad and responded.. According to law enforcement, the undercover officer even was even able to get Doherty to send him photographs of the allegedly drugs. Mr. Doherty became a guest of the Commonwealth on December 2nd.

Usually, a mere accusation is enough to put someone into the criminal justice hot seat and change their last name to “Defendant”. However, that is not what ended up happening to a certain Florida State quarterback .

Nearly a year after Florida Jameis Winston was accused of rape by a female FSU student, the state attorney has now decided not to charge the Heisman Trophy favorite with the crime alleged.

Last Thursday, Willie Meggs, the state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit, announced the news during a news conference at the Leon County Courthouse. The news came approximately one full year after Winston was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at an off-campus apartment on Dec. 7, 2012.

Massachusetts sexual assault matters involving children seem to be a constant these days.

On Friday, Daniel Correia, 39, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) of Marlborough was found guilty in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. He was convicted of aggravated rape of a child and two charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. Judge Douglas Wilkins sentenced him to a sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of probation, according to a statement from Ryan’s office. The statement added that for the first three years of his probation, the Defendant must wear a GPS-monitoring device. He also must not have any contact with the Commonwealth’s witnesses or any unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years of age. He is also required to complete a sex offender evaluation and treatment while complying with the regulations of the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board.

The Defendant’s charges go back to February 17, 2011. According to the prosecution, the Defendant gave a 14-year-old boy vodka while he and a few friends were hanging out at the Defendant’s apartment. The pair are said to have discussed their age differences and, despite said difference, the Defendant allegedly engaged in sex with the boy.

32-year-old Joshua Garsteck, a voice coach from Haverhill, and hereinafter the “Defendant”, is now facing Massachusetts rape charges. How he got behind bars is an interesting story.

Prosecutors say an investigation began in May after police were notified by the state Department of Children and Families that the girl was several months pregnant. DCF suspected the Defendant.

When police spoke with the girl, she denied having a relationship with the Defendant and instead pointed to someone she said she had met online who was her own age.

So far this week, The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has dealt with the hot button criminal offenses that fall under the category of “sexual crimes”. They have ranged from child pornography to actual Massachusetts sexual assault and battery. Although not necessarily a specific crime that is outlawed by a particular statute, the reality is that the crime of “Evil thoughts” has also been involved. I refer, of course, to the “gentleman” who’s defense is that he merely fantasized about kidnapping, killing and eating little children. The prosecution, you recall, argued that that fantasy was not only in the planning stage of coming true, but that he was guilty of crimes that were almost beyond description they were so bad.

You will also recall, of course, they were very easily described. It’s called “possession and dissemination of child pornography”. There was no evidence that he ever touched or molested any child.

We discussed a more typical sex crimes case in which the defendant is accused of actually molesting a nine-year-old child. No evidence of deadly fantasies but evidence of actual sexual assault.

Yesterday, we were discussing the story of a convicted gentleman who, while charged with the possession and dissemination of child pornography, was really suspected to be about to do far worse.

While admittedly not kidnapping, killing and eating anybody, East Boston’s 39-year-old Jose Avila (hereinafter, the “Defendant”)has been charged with committing a Massachusetts indecent assault and battery already.

I think it is worth comparing the two cases.

You won’t be seeing 40-year-old Geoffrey Portway of Worcester (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) around for awhile. A 27 years while.

The Defendant pleaded guilty in May to distribution and possession of child pornography as well as solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Pending his sentencing, federal prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation that he “has pled guilty to some of the most vile and heinous crimes known to our society,”

Last Tuesday, he was sentenced to just under the 27-year, three-month sentence sought by prosecutors.

As last week ended, 30-year-old Stephen Ardredy (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) from Missouri was the one facing confinement and the Medfield 17-year-old young woman (hereinafter, the “Girl”) was free, safe and sound.

Such was the aftermath after the 2 1/2 –day disappearance of the Girl, including what must have seemed like endless torture for her family and other loved ones.

The Girl had disappeared after leaving the Medfield Public Library last Monday afternoon and wasn’t found until Thursday morning when she and the Defendant were spotted in Coventry, Rhode Island. According to a law enforcement official, speaking only on condition of anonymity (“because of the sensitivity of the investigation”), the Defendant was seen on a videotape leaving the library with the Girl.