On Tuesday this week, federal agents descended on the Indiana home of Jared Fogle, best known as the Subway pitchman who lost 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches. Reports indicate that investigators from the Indiana State Police, the United States Postal Service, and the FBI were searching for evidence in a child pornography investigation.
Although Fogle was not been named as a suspect, and although there is sufficient evidence to believe that the search could be related to allegations against a former co-worker rather than Fogle himself, it took very little time for Subway and other outfits to begin distancing themselves from the former sandwich pitchman.
The same day that Subway said it believed the investigation was related to the arrest of "former Jared Foundation employee," it announced that the restaurant chain was suspending its relationship with Fogle and began scrubbing its website of mentions of Jared.
And Subway isn't the only one backing away from Fogle. Within 24 hours of the raid, the Syfy network announced that Fogle's cameo scenes have been cut from an upcoming broadcast of Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Remember, at this point, Jared Fogle has not been officially named as a suspect, although CBS News is reporting that an unnamed "law enforcement source" has "confirmed" to the news reporting agency that Fogle is a suspect in a child pornography investigation.
According to Fogle's attorney, "Jared has been cooperating, and continues to cooperate, with law enforcement in their investigation of unspecified charges and looks forward to its conclusion. He has not been detained, arrested or charged with any crime or offense."
And while Subway and Syfy are quickly trying to remove themselves as quickly as possible from any connection with child pornography, federal investigators could have reason to check the home of an innocent man in their investigation.
Just two months ago, the executive director of the Jared Foundation--an organization set up to fight childhood obesity--was arrested on child pornography complaints. Russell Taylor is charged with seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He attempted suicide after his arrest and was subsequently placed on life support, but officials say his condition is improved and he remains in the custody of U.S. marshals.
So it is possible that the search of Fogle's electronics has nothing to do with Fogle himself, but rather with the search for evidence in Taylor's case. It could be that a depressed Taylor could cast his former employer in a negative light in order to shift blame from himself. It could be that investigators are barking up the wrong tree. Or it could be that Fogle himself is involved in child pornography. Regardless of the outcome, the investigation itself has become a scarlet letter for Jared Fogle, and the media coverage and corporate shunning of Fogle serve as a cautionary tale reminding us that "innocent until proven guilty" does not seem to apply in a trial by media.
An Oklahoma woman who says she walked in on a suspected sex offender molesting her children chased the man and beat him with a pool cue until a bystander who misunderstood the situation helped him escape.
The woman told police that her children, aged 5 and 6, were visiting their grandmother's house in Duncan. She walked in to find a man identified as Eric Sean Absher, 40, exposing himself to the children and having inappropriate sexual contact with them. She said she grabbed the nearest thing she could find--the pool cue--and began hitting Absher with it as he ran away. He stopped a passerby and said, "This woman is crazy," convincing the person to take him away from the scene.
Acting on tips and information from the public, police arrested Absher the next day. He was booked into the Stephens County jail. He was charged Tuesday with five counts of lewd acts with a child under 12.
At the time of the alleged incident, Absher was out on bond after having been charged in February with lewd acts with a child under 12 in a separate case in Stephens County. In that case, two children were at Absher's home on January 16 with their parents to discuss construction work. The children, including a 5-year-old girl, were watching a DVD in Absher's room as the adults discussed business. The girl says that the man stood in the hallway and exposed himself to them before motioning the girl to come closer. As she approached, she says, he grabbed her and tried to force her to touch his genitals, but she was able to pull away and run to tell her parents. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest on February 25, and in early March, he was arrested and originally held in lieu of $100,000 bond.
The suspect also has pending cases for second degree forgery in Stephens County and a drug case in Oklahoma County where he is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of drug proceeds, possession of Xanax, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Lewd or Indecent Proposals or Acts to a Child under 16 is a felony sex crime that, in general, is punishable by 3 to 20 years in prison. However, if the crime involves a child or children under the age of 12, the penalty is much more severe. Conviction of lewd acts with a child under 12 brings a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. As a result of the allegations against him in January and June, Absher has been charged with six counts of lewd acts with a child under 12 in two separate cases. He faces 25 years to life for each count if convicted.
Lewd or Indecent Proposals or Acts to a Child under 16 is a Level III sex crime which will require a person convicted of that offense to register for life as sex offender.
Prosecutors say a 20-year-old man was in violation of a protective order when he went to his parents' home and assaulted his father. When the older man died of head injuries the next day, Samuel Michael Harman was charged with the murder of his father.
In the incident, police were called to the Bethany home on June 6, with the caller reporting that her son was at the home, despite a Victim's Protective Order barring him from contact with his parents. The caller said that they needed a police car to escort Samuel Harman from the premises. The caller described her son as bipolar, schizophrenic, and high on methamphetamine. She said the younger man was threatening her husband.
The parents did not want their son to be arrested, and asked that he instead be transported to a drug rehab facility. However, the following day, the father died of head injuries. When police returned to question the family further, a witness allegedly stated that Harman "had actually assaulted the father, barricaded the house so the father could not get out, and broke the father's cell phone so he could not call 911," according to Bethany Police Deputy Chief J.D. Reid.
Samuel Harman was arrested on complaints of violating a protective order, kidnapping, domestic abuse, and murder. He was formally charged on June 18 with one count each of violating a protective order, kidnapping, and first degree murder.
Harman's criminal record also reveals a conviction in May 2014 for assault and battery with intent to kill. In that case, he was given a 7-year suspended sentence. On May 29 of this year, a week before the alleged assault at his parents' home, he failed to appear for a court date related to that conviction. Today, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his suspended sentence. If approved, he would be sent to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence for the assault and battery with intent to kill conviction.
If convicted of the crimes with which he has been charged, the defendant faces significant prison time.
Violating a protective order may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. A first offense is typically a misdemeanor, and subsequent offenses are felonies. The penalties are more severe if the person causes physical injury to another when violating a VPO:
B. 1. Any person who has been served with an ex parte or final protective order or foreign protective order who violates the protective order and causes physical injury or physical impairment to the plaintiff or to any other person named in said protective order shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment in the county jail for not less than twenty (20) days nor more than one (1) year. In addition to the term of imprisonment, the person may be punished by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).
2. Any person who is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of a protective order which causes physical injury or physical impairment to a plaintiff or to any other person named in the protective order shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections of not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years, or by a fine of not less than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) nor more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
3. In determining the term of imprisonment required by this section, the jury or sentencing judge shall consider the degree of physical injury or physical impairment to the victim.
Kidnapping is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.
First degree murder carries a sentence of life or life without parole.
Last October, a housekeeper in Duncan, Oklahoma, walked into the home of her employers, newspaper publisher John Hruby, 50, and his wife Joy "Tinker," 48. She discovered a grisly scene, finding the bodies of both John and his wife, as well as that of their 17-year-old daughter, Katherine.
Before long, investigators had a suspect. However, the identification of the suspect did little to soothe the horror the town felt in wake of the murders of three members of a prominent family. Alan Hruby, then 19 and a student at the University of Oklahoma, is accused of killing his mother, father, and little sister. His motive: greed. Investigators say that Alan Hruby, who was already serving a deferred sentence for fraudulent use of his grandmother's credit card, killed his family in order to speed up his inheritance and to keep from having to share it with his little sister.
Investigators say that Hruby scheduled tweets to make it appear as if he were in his dorm room at OU before making a quick trip home to kill his family. He is accused travelling home to Duncan to steal his father's gun. He then allegedly shot his mother in the kitchen of the family home, and when she appeared to be still alive, he shot her again. When his little sister walked in, Hruby admitted he shot her once. Police say he then waited for his father to come home and shot him in the head. Like his mother, Hruby allegedly confessed, his father was still alive after the first shot, so he fired again.
Reports say Alan Hruby then left the scene and drove to Dallas, where he sold his ticket to the OU/TX Red River Rivalry Game and then partied with friends at the Ritz Carlton while his parents and little sister lay dead in the family home.
After his arrest following the murder investigation, Hruby was sent to prison to serve the sentence for credit card fraud. He is awaiting trial on three counts of first degree murder.
At a preliminary hearing this week, reports say Hruby wept as the housekeeper described finding the bodies on October 13, four days after their murders. They say he wiped away tears as a police witness testified that the college freshman admitted to shooting his mother, then his sister, and then lying in wait for an hour before shooting his father. However, as prosecutors announced they would be seeking the death penalty against the suspect, and a judge ruled that there was enough evidence to bind him over for trial, Hruby sat stony faced, showing little emotion.
A judge has issued a gag order in the case.
It has long been said that the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. That certainly seems to be true for a felony murder defendant who chose to represent himself at his re-trial.
In 2009, two masked teenagers walked into the Reliable Discount Pharmacy in an attempted robbery. When the pharmacist, Jerome Ersland pulled a gun and started firing, one fled; the other was shot and killed.
After surveillance video of the incident was made public, Ersland was no longer dubbed a hero. The footage showed him chasing Jevontai Ingram, then 14, out of the store before returning to fire multiple shots into Antwun Parker, 16, who already lay immobile on the floor. Ersland was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder.
However, under state law, Ersland was not the only one liable for the teenager's death. It is considered an act of first degree murder any time a person is killed in the commission of a felony, which made Ingram and two others, Emmanuel D. Mitchell and Anthony D. Morrison, culpable in the teen's death. Mitchell and Morrison were accused of convincing the two teens to rob the pharmacy, and Mitchell drove the boys to the location and was to be their getaway driver.
In his first trial, Mitchell was sentenced to life plus 35 years in prison. At the conclusion of the trial, Mitchell made headlines when he punched Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater in the face inside the courtroom.
Mitchell appealed his conviction on the grounds that he was not allowed to represent himself, and in 2013, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial.
The murder defendant did represent himself at his new trial, but he was forced to wear shock sleeves under his pants so that deputies could subdue him if he became violent again. At his new trial, Mitchell argued that it was not fair that he was charged with murder when Ersland was the one who shot and killed Antwun Parker. However, regardless of his feelings about the fairness of the law, the law does, in fact, allow any person involved in the commission of a felony to be charged with murder should a death occur during the act.
Prosecutors insisted that Mitchell was culpable in Parker's death because he sent the 16-year-old into a dangerous situation by convincing him to perform an armed robbery at the drugstore.
Jurors agreed. They deliberated only 15 minutes before returning a guilty verdict and recommending an even greater sentence than the one handed down at Mitchell's first trial. Now instead of life plus 35, Emmanuel Mitchell is sentenced to life in prison without parole for first degree murder. He is also sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy and 10 years for stealing a vehicle.
A teen missionary from Edmond, Oklahoma, was accused last year of raping and molesting children at a Kenyan orphanage. Now, his federal sex crimes trial is scheduled to begin next week.
Matthew Lane Durham, now 20, was 19 years old when he made his fourth mission trip to the Upendo Children's Home in Kenya last April. Federal prosecutors say that during the latest trip, Durham requested to stay at an overflow bunk in the orphanage rather than with a host family. They say that Durham took advantage of his proximity to the children in order to sexually assault 8 children ranging in age from 5 to 14.
When an official with Upendo Kids International questioned Durham about the alleged sex abuse, he confessed. The Upendo official gave the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi a statement signed by Durham admitting that he was involved in sexual activity with the children, but defense attorneys say the signed confession was coerced. They note that Durham was only 19 years old, thousands of miles from home, and kept in isolation with his passport confiscated until he confessed.
The former missionary is charged in United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. His charges include eight counts of aggravated sexual abuse with children, eight counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, and one count of travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday morning. A judge has determined that the courtroom will be closed when the children involved in the case testify.
Travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places (18 U.S. Code § 2423) are federal sex crimes sometimes called "sex tourism." When a person travels to another country to engage in sex acts which would be illegal in the United States, including child prostitution or child sexual abuse, the act is a violation of federal law even if the act is not prohibited in the foreign country. These acts are punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Aggravated sexual abuse with children (18 U.S. Code § 2241) involves any sex act against a child under 12, or the sexual abuse of a child aged 12-15 by use of threat, force, rendering the victim unconscious, or use of an anesthetic or narcotic to impair "ability of that other person to appraise or control conduct." Aggravated sexual abuse with children is a federal sex offense punishable by 30 years to life in prison.
The label "sex offender" carries an unpleasant stigma for anyone who is forced to register, and this stigma often unfairly labels people as "pedophiles" even if the offense did not involve children or as "predators" even if the person convicted has virtually no risk of re-offending. This misconception comes from several sources:
Some states assign a sex offender's risk level through a combination of tools and assessments that weigh the nature of the crime, the history of the defendant, characteristics of the victim, the number of victims, and other factors. In this case, a 19-year-old teen who had "consensual" sex with an almost-16 year old would carry a lighter risk level than someone who forcibly raped another or who had a history of sexually abusing children. In Oklahoma, however, all three "sex offenders" would carry the same risk level--Level 3, which is theoretically reserved for the worst offenders.
View the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registration Level Assignment tool here.
Recently, an Oklahoma teacher accused of multiple sex crimes after engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student appeared on Dr. Phil to explain her relationship with the teen and how she went from being an ordinary teacher to becoming a sex offender.
Jennifer Caswell, 29, was a married mother of one who had only recently obtained her teaching certificate when she became involved in a relationship with a middle school student. She resigned last April after coming under suspicion for inappropriate acts with the teen, and she was arrested last summer when she traveled to Mississippi to meet the boy for sex while he was on vacation with his family.
Caswell is charged with multiple felony sex crimes in the case:
The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16. This means that no one under the age of 16 has the legal capacity to consent to sex. Since rape is loosely defined as non-consensual sex, and a person under the age of 16 is not able to legally provide consent, a sexual relationship with a minor under 16 is second degree rape, or statutory rape.
However, under Oklahoma law, there are others in addition to minors under 16 who are unable to provide legal consent. These include people considered to be in the custody or under the supervision of an authority: students cannot legally consent to sex with teachers, inmates cannot legally consent to sex with DOC employees, and those in DHS custody cannot consent to sex with a DHS employee, for example.
In her interview with Dr. Phil, Caswell repeated that she is not a sex offender, she is not a predator, she is not a danger to children, and she is not a rapist. She is rightfully troubled by the fact that she will likely be branded a sex offender for the rest of her life.
Her words echo a common misunderstanding of the words "sex offender" and "rape"--a misunderstanding that can lead to a difficult stigma that burdens those convicted of sex crimes.
"Sex offender," for example, is someone who is convicted of a sex offense. Not all sex offenders are habitual, violent, forcible rapists and child molesters. A great many of them are people convicted of statutory rape--sex with a willing partner who is precluded by law from consenting to sex. Caswell does not see herself as a sex offender because she did not force a sexual relationship. However, she did violate Oklahoma sex crime laws by having sex with a 15-year-old student.
This case illustrates how quickly a normal, law-abiding person can cross the line between propriety and impropriety. Often, those who become involved in illegal relationships with those who do not have the legal capacity to consent are troubled by relationship difficulties at home, depression, and other factors that trigger any typical affair. However, the person who is filling the gaps missing in the perpetrator's life is prohibited by law through age or custodial status.
In an interview with a local news station, Dr. Phil wondered what screening methods could be used in hiring teachers to prevent these illegal relationships. However, there is nothing apparent in Caswell's background that would have indicated that she would begin a sexual relationship with a student. Did she have marital difficulties? Was she in a "loveless marriage?" She says so. But millions of people go through marriage problems without turning to illegal sexual relationships. Instead, teachers and others who eventually become involved in relationships which constitute second degree rape would often have benefited from treatment and counseling for mental health issues prior to crossing the line, rather than lifelong punishment as a sex offender after the fact.
On Monday afternoon, a 14-year-old girl in northwest Oklahoma City stepped outside her front door to retrieve a package. When she did, a man rushed her, forcing his way into the home, punching her, and raping her. Police are now looking for a suspect, described as a 6 foot tall black man weighing about 215 pounds. The girl told police the man had brown eyes and short black hair with a beard about 4 inches long. He was wearing an orange t-shirt and shorts, a silver chain with a cross pendant, and diamond stud earrings. Police have released a sketch of the suspect and are asking anyone with information to call (405) 235-7300.
A random, violent attack by a stranger is a horrific act against a young girl. While many people think of a forcible assault by a stranger when they hear the word "rape," the truth is that acts of stranger rape are relatively rare in comparison to rape by someone the victim knows.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) defines "strangers" and "nonstrangers" in determining whether a crime was committed by a person known to the victim:
The BJS points out that most crimes are committed by someone a person knows rather than by a stranger:
The above statistics encompass all violent crimes perpetrated by strangers and nonstrangers, and are not specific to rape. Statistics vary widely regarding the incidence of rape in the United States, discrepancies which may be attributed to estimations because of the number of rapes that go unreported each year. However, by many estimates, while 62% of nonfatal violent crimes are committed by someone the victim knows, 82% of sexual assaults are committed by a nonstranger. These statistics from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) show how likely the rapist is to be someone not only known to the victim, but close to her or him as well:
Whether rape is committed by a stranger, an acquaintance, or someone close to the victim, it is a crime that brings harsh consequences in its wake, including the possibility of life in prison and lifetime sex offender registration for those serving less than a life sentence.
A Tulsa man accused of sexually abusing a young girl accepted a plea agreement that will send him to prison for 25 years--the minimum sentence for his crimes.
Jimmy Earnest Hill, 58, was arrested in March and charged with four counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12. He was accused of molesting a girl beginning when she was only 3 years old and continuing until July 2014, when she was 7 years old. He has been held without bond in the Tulsa County Jail since his arrest on March 25.
On Monday, Hill pleaded guilty to all four counts against him. Tulsa County District Judge Jefferson Sellers sentenced Hill to 25 years in prison for each count, ordering that all four sentences are to be served concurrently. Because sexual abuse of a child is an 85 Percent Crime, Hill must serve 85% of his sentence--or 21 years--before becoming eligible for parole. This means that the man will not even have the possibility of parole until he is 79 years old. If he lives to complete his sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Sexual abuse of a child, defined in 21 O.S. § 843.5, involves child molestation by someone who is responsible for the care and protection of a child under 18--often a parent or other relative. In general, child sexual abuse carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but if the child involved is under the age of 12, then the sentence is enhanced to include a minimum sentence of 25 years.
If the person accused of sexually molesting a child is not a relative or caregiver, then the crime is typically charged as lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child under 16. Lewd acts with a minor (21 O.S. § 1123) is typically punishable by 3 to 20 years in prison. Like child sexual abuse, however, the penalties are strengthened if the child involved is younger than 12. Lewd acts with a child under 12 is punishable by 25 years to life. In all cases, child sexual abuse and lewd or indecent acts or proposals to a child under 16 are Level 3 sex crimes that mandate lifetime sex offender registration upon the completion of any sentence.
Learn more about Oklahoma sex offender registration here, or call Coventon Criminal Defense at (405) 417-3842 to speak confidentially with a sex crimes defense lawyer about your case.
