Nun Faces Molestation Charges

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) In December 2006, a 78-year-old nun and former principal at St. Patrick's Congregation grade school, Norma Giannini, was charged with two felony counts of indecent behavior with a child. Giannini allegedly engaged in sex with two schoolboys 40 years ago. A warrant was issued for Giannini's arrest.

On Wednesday of this week, Norma Giannini, now 79, turned herself in to face charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Giannini confessed to the Milwaukee Archdiocese 11 years ago that she'd had sex with boys on numerous occasions at St. Patrick's Elementary School in Milwaukee, often in the church's convent and school office.

Those admissions weren't reported to police, however, until the accusers themselves reported it last year, the TV station reported.

Giannini could strike a plea deal, but a trial also is a possibility.

"We're prepared to go to a jury trial if that's what it takes. I know it would be a couple of days really, really rough for us, but just to get some finality to this after all these years," accuser Jim St. Patrick said.

Giannini was released on a $10,000 bond and allowed to return to her nursing home outside Chicago.

Jeez, at 79 years of age and living in a nursing home, it seems that there's not too much they can do to her, if she's found guilty. Of course, the diocese can probably be held somewhat liable and a lawsuit might bring a big payday for the plaintiffs.

Heh.


[Update 11/12/07]

Giannini pleads no contest.


[Update 02/01/08]

Giannini sentenced to one year in jail.

Donna Moonda Gets Life in Prison

(Akron, Ohio) In July 2007, a federal jury of seven women and five men convicted Donna Moonda of all the charges she faced in the death of her husband: murder for hire, interstate stalking and two counts of using a firearm.

Today, a loud Donna Moonda, 48, was sentenced.

A defiant Donna Moonda declared Friday that with her very last breath she would fight her conviction for killing her husband, Dr. Gulam Moonda, a prominent Mercer County urologist.

"I am a victim of May 13, 2005," Donna Moonda said at her sentencing in U.S. District Court. "I am innocent, as God is my witness, and I stand here today to be sentenced for something I have not done."

Judge David Dowd sentenced Moonda to life in prison for the contract killing of her husband along the Ohio turnpike more than two years ago.

Well, that's a shame.

Dracula's Kittens Fed to Pit Bull

(Dracula, Georgia) A 21-year-old Dracula man, Tye Hilmo, was arrested by Gwinnett County Sheriff's deputies for animal cruelty. It was discovered that Hilmo was feeding neighborhood kittens to his pit bull.

Deputies got a tip that some sort of animal cruelty had been going on at the Hilmo's house in Dacula, involving the pit bull there. They found two pounds of marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun and other weapons, and two dead kittens. How those kittens died is what brought the cruelty charges against Hilmo.

"He was getting the kittens and cats from the neighborhood," said Stacey Bourbonnais of the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office. "And he was injuring those kittens and cats before he was giving them to the pit bull to maul and kill."

One more piece of evidence from the case was on Hilmo's cell phone. He had a picture on his phone of his dog, with parts of a kitten in its mouth. The caption on the picture read, "Good Dog."

Regarding this all happening in Dracula, make your own joke.

Ohio Islamic School Vandalized

(Sylvania, Ohio) High school vandalized.

Several swastikas were spray painted on windows and trees outside of an Islamic high school in Sylvania early this morning, the school's principal said.

Two of the building's windows were broken out and two trucks in the parking lot were also vandalized, said Aalaa Eldeib, the principal.

This is news to me. I didn't know there was an Islamic high school in Ohio. Oddly, the article failed to identify the school by name.

Tent Rape Charged in Florida

(Collier County, Florida) Reportedly homeless, 45-year-old Lance Hicks has been charged with sexual battery.

A homeless man was arrested Wednesday night after a woman told authorities he raped her while she was sleeping inside his tent.

This is an outrage. Hicks wasn't homeless. He had a tent and it came with its own Goldilocks. After all, Sheriff Joe Arpaio houses thousands of prisoners in tents and they are not called homeless. Nor are the Bedouins and other nomadic tribes who roam the deserts of the Middle East and Africa while living in tents.

Regarding the alleged rape, Hiicks was arrested and claimed that he and the woman had consensual sex "all the time." This time, however, she was mad because he kicked her out of his tent.

Islamists Targeting Cartoonist, Swedish Firms

(Stockholm, Sweden) No surprise here, again the followers of the religion of peace and tolerance and diversity are furious about a cartoon.

Websites run by militant Islamists have listed the names of over 100 Swedish companies as possible targets in the ongoing row surrounding the publication in Swedish newspapers of a caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

Detailing the addresses, maps and logos of Swedish businesses, the websites called for their readers to boycott these firms and "take revenge" on Sweden for the publication of a controversial cartoon by artist Las Vilks.

The cartoon apparently is a caricature of Muhammad as a "roundabout dog" and it was drawn to test the limits of art, says cartoonist Vilks.

A few days earlier, a bounty was offered for the death of Vilks.

An al-Qaeda front organization in Iraq, the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq, issued a statement on the Internet on Saturday offering $150,000 to anyone who slit the throat of Lars Vilks, whose sketch depicted Muhammad as a dog.

It also offered $50,000 for the death of the editor-in-chief of the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper, Ulf Johansson, who published the caricature.

Additionally, the Swedish government has received formal complaints from Iran, Egypt and Pakistan. Naturally, the situation is being taken seriously by the government and Vilks is in hiding under police protection.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Iowa Teacher Sentenced Again

(Sioux City, Iowa) In May 2007, 39-year-old married mother of three and former teacher at Boyden-Hull Community School, Kelli Cuperus (aka Kelly DeBoer), received probation for repeatedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old male student. Most observers would likely say she was treated leniently by the court. I'd say she was given a gift.

Nevertheless, it seems that probation was too hard for Cuperus (DeBoer) and, in June 2007, she was arrested for a probation violation.

Cuperus' probation officer, Kimberly Waagmeester, said in the court documents that it's apparent that Cuperus isn't "taking her probation seriously and feels she can do as she chooses."

Immediately after her her probation was imposed, Cuperus/DeBoer apparently crashed a family camping outing and, without consulting with adults in attendance, she spent an entire day playing with youngsters and imbibing in a reported six-pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade. Both activities were prohibited by the terms of her probation. Additionally, she also wasn't sporting her ankle monitor as required.

As a result, Judge Edward Jacobson found Cuperus/DeBoer guilty of violating her probation and sentenced her to four months at a residential treatment facility in Sioux City. If she keeps a clean record during her stay, the judge said he may overturn her conviction.

So, in a nutshell, a teacher gets essentially no punishment for child sex crimes, violates probation and receives a hand slap. One has to wonder what makes Cuperus/DeBoer so special, other than the fact that she is female. Holy moly, if a male teacher had been convicted of child sex crimes with a female student and then violated probation, I don't believe he would breathe air as a free man for many years.

Hey, it ain't over either. Given her demonstrated disregard for the law, Cuperus/DeBoer will likely be back in the news soon. Stay tuned.

Missing Mom Pleads Not Guilty in Sex Case

(Madison, Nebraska) A 38-year-old woman from the rural town (pop. about 1,000) of Battle Creek, Tammy Walnofer, faces a charge of sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in a relationship which occurred two years ago.

This case is odd since Walnofer was listed as a missing person from May 2006 to March 2007. She apparently took off to parts unknown, taking her teenage daughter, Kylee Walnofer, without telling anyone. Their car was found abandoned in May 2006 in Logan, Utah.

Interestingly, some insight into the thinking of Walnofer and her daughter is illustrated by the statements of Norfolk, NE, Police Detective Joe O’Brien.

O'Brien said the Walnofer women had an interesting relationship and were more like best friends than mother/daughter. He said Tammy Walnofer mostly spent time with her daughter and her male friends.

After interviewing Kylee Walnofer's school friends, O'Brien said, he discovered that Kylee would often talk about her and her mother running away to Texas.

Authorities and concerned citizens searched for a year before they were found in March 2007 at a motel in Oxnard, California. Arrested on a charge of sexual assault of a minor, Tammy Walnofer was held in a California prison before being extradited back to Madison County, Nebraska.

In July 2007, a preliminary hearing was held in Madison County Court.

A former Norfolk Police Investigator took the stand to answer questions about his investigation involving an "intimate relationship" between Walnofer and a 15-year-old juvenile male who was staying in a group home.

He said the boy filed a complaint with the sheriff's department telling them that he was in an inappropriate sexual relationship.

A judge indicated that there was probable cause to have the case heard in District Court.

Today, it's reported that Tammy Walnofer pleaded not guilty to first-degree sexual assault. Her trial is scheduled for next month. Daughter Kylee Walnofer is in the care of her grandparents.


[Update 8/26/08]

From Norfolk Daily News:

A Norfolk woman accused of first-degree sexual assault of a minor has entered a no contest plea to a lesser charge.

The Madison County Attorney's Office filed an amended charge of child abuse Friday morning against Tammy Walnofer, 38, of Norfolk in Madison County District Court here.

Consequently, the court found Walnofer guilty of felony child abuse. Sentencing has been scheduled for October 20.


[Update 11/12/08]

Walnofer sentenced to prison.

Student Arrested for Killing Newborn

(Erie, Pennsylvania) An 18-year-old student at Mercyhurst College, Teri Rhodes, was arrested and charged with homicide for allegedly killing her newborn girl.

Erie police said a Mercyhurst College student accused of killing her newborn researched abortion methods on her computer before she gave birth.

Teri Rhodes, 18, hid the pregnancy from friends and teammates, told a doctor two days before the birth that she didn't think she was pregnant and did Internet research on topics including "what can kill a fetus," police said.

After giving birth in her campus apartment Aug. 12, Ms. Rhodes put the newborn in a plastic bag and left it on the floor of a bathtub as she showered, according to the criminal complaint.

She was charged yesterday with homicide, abusing a corpse and concealing the death of a child. Her attorney, Philip Friedman, declined to comment.

The coroner ruled the death a homicide by suffocation. The child was alive for about 10 minutes before being snuffed. Police found the infant's body in a plastic bag on the bathroom floor of Rhodes' apartment.

Since Rhodes researched methods to kill prior to committing the act, any defense citing lapse in judgment or confused ignorance won't play at a jury trial. Expect a plea deal to be accepted.

Rhodes was booked and released on $25,000 bond.

Tip: slwlion

Ahmadinejad & Ground Zero

More than once I've heard the suggestion that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should have his own Ground Zero so he can leave ours alone.

Kidding aside, I fear he'll go there and pull a stunt to honor the terrorists who brought the towers down. For sure, it would make the homicidal Islamists more anxious to kill infidels.

Barricades should be placed to keep his evil ass away from Ground Zero.

Alabama Teacher Arrested for Theft

(Dothan, Alabama) A 25-year-old high school math teacher at Northside Methodist Academy, Holly Nicole Faircloth, was arrested this week by Houston County Sheriff's deputies for theft of students' property.

Faircloth faces two counts of third-degree theft of property and one count of third-degree theft of property by deception.

According to Investigator Bill Rafferty, Faircloth stole two Vera Bradley bags from student's lockers at the school. Security cameras caught the act on tape, Rafferty said.

Also, Faircloth had been soliciting students for a supposed mission trip to Jamaica, according to Rafferty. The solicitation had been unknown to school officials, a violation of Northside policy.

Faircloth was booked into the Houston County Jail and released on bond.

Deported Alien Returns, Kills Cop

(Phoenix, Arizona) Throughout his young life in Phoenix, illegal alien Erik Jovani Martinez has been in trouble with the law. He was a documented gang member, spending time in juvenile detention, the Maricopa County Jail and prison. Assaults, theft and drug charges pepper his rap sheet starting with his first arrest in 1999.

In March 2006, Martinez was finally deported.

In May 2006, Martinez returned to the Phoenix-area and was arrested by Scottsdale Police for a domestic dispute. Upon release from custody, a judge ordered Martinez to attend domestic-violence counseling. Martinez didn't attend and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

This week, 22-year-old Erik Jovani Martinez gunned down Phoenix Police Officer Nick Erfle.

My condolences to the family and friends of Officer Nick Erfle.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Stupid Criminal

(Lawrence County, Pennsylvania) Robbing a gun store is high risk when the owner is behind the counter.

A Lawrence County gun store owner confronted by an armed robber yesterday grabbed his own gun and foiled the attempt, sending the suspect running out of the shop.

"I always planned for this," said Donald Pieri, 60, owner of Triangle Gun Shop in Perry Township. "You have to think it out."

State police charged Jeffrey J. Ierino, 32, of Wampum, Lawrence County, with attempted robbery and other offenses after tracking him to his house.

Tip: slwlion

Big Idea and Cocaine

Don't you just hate losing something that belongs to someone else?

Leroy Carr, 46, called Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on August 7 to report that two backpacks he had stashed near the border containing 31 kilograms of cocaine were missing.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Emily Langlie said Carr asked the agents to put out a press release saying the drugs had been seized so that the people he worked for would not think he stole the cocaine.

About two weeks after he lost the drugs, a Boy Scout ranger found them and notified authorities. Subsequently, Mr. Carr was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Thirty-one kilos is a large load of cocaine for a mule on foot, almost 70 pounds, which will likely send Mr. Carr to prison for a long time. Of course, there's always the possibility that he will help himself by rolling on the organization.

Pennsylvania Woman Guilty of Raping Boys

Christine Carver-Schlesser sentenced to prison. See updated post here.

NYTimes Bends Over Best for Gays

Rated the most accommodating newspaper company for alternative sexually-oriented people is the New York Times, according to the latest Corporate Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.

The Times Co. scored a "perfect" 100 in the HRC Index. Cox Communications was rated a 95. Gannett Co. was rated 65, and Dow Jones & Co. was scored as 30.

Presumably, with a 95 rating, Cox should soon slip into the elite "perfect" circle. On the other hand, Dow Jones apparently needs a hard push to get off the bottom.

The First Clue of Subservience

This story from Britain cracked me up.

A HIGH school teacher told a student he was allegedly having sex with not to scream "Yes, sir!" during their cocaine-fuelled sessions in bed.

Andrew Riley, a married father-of-two, allegedly gave the A-level student cocaine before they first had sex in June 2005, thesun.co.uk reported.

Prosecutor Dennis Watson said Mr Riley told the student that "sex and coke is mind-blowing" in a chatroom message.

Riley added: "You have to promise, in the heigh of passion you don't scream 'Yes, sir! Yes, sir!' because it will put me right off what I'm doing."

Interestingly, the girl didn't complain until she was in college.

Obviously it's not an absolute truth that every Brit sings "God Save The Queen" during sex.

Teacher Sentenced for Child Abuse of Son

(White County, Arkansas) In April 2007, a 25-year-old teacher at Jacksonville Elementary School, Amy Hilbun, was arrested for alleged child abuse of her six-year-old son. Another teacher, 35-year-old Stephen Rose, was also arrested for the same offense.

A hotline tip of child abuse to the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services prompted the investigation and arrests.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Chris Raff, Hilbun "whipped the child with a belt, hit him with a cat stick, a toy you play with cats with, grabbed him and shook him and caused him some bruising, in excess of a normal grabbing." The child, however, required no medical care.

Last week, a White County Circuit Court jury convicted Hilbun of two counts of second-degree battery and she was sentenced to three years in prison.

Stephen Rose is scheduled for a jury trial on October 9th.

I don't know about this case. Three years seems harsh for Hilbun, especially since Mary Winkler only got five months for fatally shotgunning her husband in the back while he slept.

Georgia Teacher Caught in Pot Bust

(Athens, Georgia) A 56-year-old teacher at Oglethorpe Elementary School, Lora Hubbard, was arrested at the school last week for possession of marijuana.

According to Athens-Clarke Police Lt. Mike Hunsinger, Hubbard's arrest resulted from an Athens Clarke-County Drug Task Force investigation which also netted her husband and son.

Husband Ronnie Jay Hubbard, 54, was arrested for possession of marijuana. Son Jay Warren Hubbard, 22, was arrested for possession of marijuana, possession of Xanax and felony intent to distribute marijuana. Both were booked and released on bond.

According to Kevin Kiger, human resources director for Oglethorpe schools, Lora Hubbard resigned her teaching position the day following her arrest.

Lora Hubbard was booked into the Clarke County Jail and released on $1,000 bond.


[Update 7/6/08]

According to a comment by Lora Hubbard, charges were dismissed against her due to lack of evidence.

Doctor: You Want Treatment? Get Out of Canada!

Both BizzyBlog and Porkopolis grabbed this story before me.

From TheStar.com:

OTTAWA–Belinda Stronach, the MP for Newmarket-Aurora and former cabinet minister, travelled outside Canada's health-care system to California for some of her breast cancer treatment earlier this year.

Stronach, diagnosed in the spring with a type of breast cancer that required a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, went to California in June at her Toronto doctor's suggestion, a spokesperson confirmed.

This illustrates a major problem with universal health care. Too many problems chasing too few dollars produces unhealthy waiting times for care. Lack of prompt health care equals reduced levels of health care.

Assuming Bill Clinton back-doors a third term in the Oval Office and he and Hillary take a second, and successful, shot at socialized medicine, what on Earth are the Canadians going to do? Think about it. As a minimum, there should be some rumblings of Canadians protesting universal health care in the United States.