Category Archives: Victimless Crimes

WPRI 12 Eyewitness News

With counterfeiting crimes on the rise, police are cracking down WPRI 12 Eyewitness News The sad part of that, she added, If they didn't put the trademark on some of these products, like the coats and the shoes, those products could have gone to someone in need. But now, these good coats or boots are being destroyed. So victimless crime?

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With counterfeiting crimes on the rise, police are cracking down - WPRI 12 Eyewitness News

A utility worker has been sent on a sex offenders course after being caught with 'abhorrent' movies of young children suffering sexual torture.

Shane McCollum downloaded the sickening videos and still images from peer to peer file sharing sites on the internet and used them for sexual arousal.

He started by watching adult pornography but when it no longer aroused him he moved on to child images and sought ever more extreme material.

He was caught with 171 movies in the most extreme category A and 24 showing adults having sex with animals, Exeter Crown Court was told.

READ MORE: No link between missing doctor and nurse who worked at the same...

McCollum, aged 37, of Rising Sun, Dalwood, near Axminster, admitted three counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme images.

He was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to undertake the 60 day probation-run 'Maps for Change' programme.

He was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register for ten years and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by Judge Erik Salomonsen.

He told him: "Some of the material depicted extreme cruelty and sexual offending against very young children. It was described by the prosecution as sexual torture.

"The images are abhorrent even by the standards of some of the material which is dealt with in this court. The offence is aggravated by the age of the children, their pain and distress, the fact many are moving images, and the number of children involved.

"These are not victimless crimes. Every time someone views these images it stimulates the demand among those who produce them to produce yet more of them."

READ MORE: Weapons-obsessed Devon teen wanted to cause carnage in the...

The judge said he was suspending the sentence because he believed the public were better protected by McCollum receiving treatment than serving a short jail sentence.

Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said police acting on information about the use of peer to peer file sharing sites raided McCollum's home in July last year and seized a laptop and other equipment.

They found a file marked 'porn' on the computer and images and movies on four data discs. There were 171 movies and four stills in the most extreme category and 119 at lower levels.

He said: "Some of the images are particularly extreme and depict scenes of what can only be described as sexual torture sometimes involving very young children indeed."

READ MORE: A letter from Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw: A vote for me will not...

Mr Warren Robinson, defending, said McCollum is a lonely and isolated man who had been using adult pornography since his teens.

He was drawn into seeking images of children and more extreme material at a time when he was working in utilities and was very unhappy while living on his own in Taunton.

Since his arrest he has moved to a new address near his family in East Devon, sought counselling for depression and anxiety, and contacted the Lucy Faithfull Foundation for help to prevent him using pornography again.

He told the police on his arrest that he needed help, he has shown remorse, and the probation service have deemed him fit to take part in one-to-one work.

A probation report said McCollum had been drawn to more and more extreme material which gave him sexual gratification despite him being shocked and sickened by it.

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Devon man who downloaded 'abhorrent' abuse of children spared jail - Devon Live

United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., announced today that a LaRue County, Kentucky resident was sentenced April 25, 2017 in United States District Court by Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson, III, to 78 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release. The Court further ordered Benjamin Boyd of Hodgenville, Kentucky to pay $65,000 in restitution to be divided between nine identified victims, after he pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of child pornography.

Receipt and possession of child pornography are not victimless crimes, stated United States Attorney John Kuhn. Every image and every video in this case document a horrific moment of pain and damage inflicted upon an innocent and defenseless child. Circulating and viewing these images simply perpetuate the damage and pain for the victims. Mr. Boyds lengthy sentence and the substantial award for restitution to be paid to these victims is a just and appropriate outcome.

According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Benjamin Boyd, admitted to receiving and possessing 3,595 images and 2,778 videos of child pornography.

More information concerning this case will appear in the May 3, 2017 edition of The LaRue Couty Herald News.

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LaRue County resident sentenced to 78 months in prison - The LaRue County Herald News

wwlp.com

With counterfeiting crimes on the rise, police are cracking down wwlp.com The sad part of that, she added, If they didn't put the trademark on some of these products, like the coats and the shoes, those products could have gone to someone in need. But now, these good coats or boots are being destroyed. So victimless crime? and more »

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With counterfeiting crimes on the rise, police are cracking down - wwlp.com

Police officers in Southport are appealing for help from members of the public after a restaurant in the town was broken into twice in less than a week.

Mark Tyndall, of Lansdowne Bistro on Anchor Street, says the eatery was broken into in the early hours of Monday morning (April 18) and again overnight on Thursday (April 20)

"Where are all the police in Southport?" - restaurant owner says town is unsafe

Thieves made off with a small quantity of cash and bottles of spirits.

The break-ins come shortly after Gusto Trattoria on Lord Street was broken into twice in the space of two weeks, and Playtown on Ocean Plaza was ransacked by burglars.

Local policing Inspector Graham Fisher said: "I would appeal for anybody who can help us with our investigations into these incidents to come forward.

"Business burglaries are not victimless crimes, they employ local people who just want to earn a living.

"Retail businesses provide a vital service to our communities, so preventing these crimes is in everyone's interest.

"We will continue to work with our local businesses to deter and prevent this type of crime and lock up those responsible."

"We are fully committed to dealing with crime throughout Sefton and do so daily, working alongside Sefton Council, partners, local businesses and members of the community.

"We undertake regular visible patrols and have introduced Dispersal Zones to tackle anti-social behaviour and other criminality in Southport."

Anyone with information can call 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously and for free on 0800 555 111.

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Southport police officers ask for public's help following spate of town centre break-ins - Southport Visiter

STEPHANIE GARDINER

Last updated18:38, April 24 2017

Sergio Montoya has been jailed for child pornography offences.

A nine-year-old girl was swinging on the monkey bars at school in Sydney, Australia one morning.

Little did she know that a teachers' aide, Sergio Edward Montoya, was taking photographs of her underwearas she played at Forest Lodge Public School.

Montoya, 48, was working as a learning support officer at the Bridge Road School for special needs children, and was supposed to help young students settle into mainstream schools.

Former dancer, Sergio Montoya, who gained prominence in the 1990s when he won Channel Ten's Star Search, took 14 iPhone photographs focusing on a girl's crotch.

Instead, the former dancer, who gained some prominence in the 1990s when he won Channel Ten'sStar Search, took 14 iPhone photographs focusing on the girl'scrotchin February 2015.

READ MORE: *Australian reporter Ben McCormack arrested over alleged child sexual exploitation images

He also took 13similar photos of another child at the Bridge Road School in late 2014.

"There's a real abuse of trust here and the victimswere children who were particularly vulnerable," Judge John Northtoldthe NSW District Court on Monday, sentencing Montoya to two years' jail.

Montoya pleaded guilty to producing child abuse material, accessing child pornographyand possessing child abuse material.

He sobbed and wiped away tears as he listened to the judge describehiscrimes, including possessing507 child pornography images and four videos, which showed children aged between two and 14 in sexual poses or engaged in sexual acts.

Judge North said that, while there was no evidence heshared or sold any of the images with anyone else,Montoya'scrimes were serious.

"It's clear that by accessing and possessing child pornography, the offender has taken advantage of the sexual exploitation of children.

"Children have suffered and will continue to suffer, their image is captured forever. This is not a victimless crime.

"Those who possess such material help continue a market for child exploitation."

Montoyaalso admitted to inciting a woman to send him sexual photographs of her 15-year-old daughter.

In a series of messages in September 2015, Montoyaaskedthe woman to pose with the girl naked or in their underwear.

One message read: "The thought of you both just over excites me ... You are everything to me!!! Sexy Sexy Sexy!!!"

Judge North said he accepted that Montoya was remorseful, and had since realised the gravity of his crimes.

"He said 'I'm beside myself with guilt.' "

But the judge said Montoyaneeded to continue treatment for paedophillic disorder after he is released from custody.

Judge North ordered he be released in January 2019 under the supervisionof Community Corrections and adhere to strict conditions.

With tears on his cheeks,Montoya put his hands into a prayer pose, kissed them and gestured at his family as he was led down to the cells.

-Sydney Morning Herald

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Dancer and teachers' aide Sergio Montoya jailed for child porn - Stuff.co.nz

New York Times

A Showdown Over Wells Fargo's Board of Directors Looms New York Times Because customers rarely lost much money to the fraudulent fees they were charged, the board considered the unethical acts to be minor misdeeds and victimless crimes, according to the board's investigative report. That infuriates Seth Magaziner ... and more »

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A Showdown Over Wells Fargo's Board of Directors Looms - New York Times

The New Hampshire State House has voted on eight occasions over the last few years to legalize and/or decriminalize marijuana. Every proposal in previous sessions was successfully opposed by Democrat governors John Lynch and Maggie Hassan.

But this year we have a Republican governor, whose campaign embraced decriminalization of marijuana. His party controls both houses of the Legislature. Republicans wrote and co-sponsored both marijuana legalization and decriminalization bills. House Bill 640, the decriminalization bill, was expected to coast through to Gov. Chris Sununus desk for his signature.

Sununu wants to boost the New Hampshire economy. That isnt compatible with trying to revive the corpse of Franklin Delano Roosevelts 1937 reefer madness programs. Decrim will save tax money, keep young people out of prison and divert law enforcement resources back into solving actual crimes. It will allow drug switching away from harder drugs; marijuana is far less dangerous on the road than alcohol, and far less harmful to the body than opiates.

On this issue, all other New England states have become more Live Free or Die than our own. Trying to maintain a system of Bloodstream Police in 2017 is more Taliban than New Hampshire. Imagine John Starks expression on reading that any government was going to send Redcoats to check his bloodstream. I doubt that Jeb Bradley would have dared to tell the general to his face.

Unfortunately, in spite of polls showing large majorities for marijuana decriminalization, state Sen. Bradley is daring to tell state residents to our face that were going to have to pay for more years of failed drug policy. He has put his political capital into sabotaging HB 640, pushing for an amendment that would remove the decriminalization paragraph (and thus the whole point) from the bill.

There are only two groups that directly benefit from Bradleys move: illegal drug cartels and police/prison officials. (One other group benefits indirectly: 2018 Democrat candidates. Republicans who want to attract the important under-80 voting bloc, take note).

Police chiefs have been the main opponents of decriminalization and legalization in New Hampshire legislative hearings, fearing the loss of budgets and headcount in their little empires. Not only would police departments be much smaller without their victimless crime squads, but overall crime will plummet.

Addicts wont have to steal to get drugs, there wont be the blurring of moral lines when honest people break drug laws. Crime would return to pre-Prohibition levels, a career catastrophe for those depending on ever-expanding numbers of troopers.

Drug cartels fear nothing and no one except the end of the Drug War. One can only speculate as to the campaign contribution policies of illegal drug entrepreneurs, but we know from the history of alcohol Prohibition that they know where their price support programs come from. Without the drug war, there are no wealthy, glamorous drug lords. They would all be replaced by the local pharmacist.

Of course only full legalization will completely realize the benefits of detoxifying from the Drug War. But decriminalization is an important step, one that would end our current status as the drug policy pariah of New England.

There is no way to have a world without drugs; there are still drugs in our prisons. There are only two real choices in drug policy. One is the path of personal freedom, which results in harm reduction, easy access to treatment, safe drugs and no drug cartels. The other is Prohibition, with all the cost, corruption and death. We can have a Live Free or Die New Hampshire, or we can keep paying taxes for our New Deal drug bureaucracy and admit that we arent as free as Massachusetts or Vermont.

The people of New Hampshire know that the Drug War itself is the worst of our addictions. The first step in ending the state bureaucracys addiction is to pass HB 640 in its original form. But decriminalization isnt going to happen without public involvement. If Jeb Bradley thinks that no one is watching, he will try to keep us in 1937 as long as he can.

Let him know that we are watching. Call your state senator today, and let them know that its 2017 in New Hampshire.

(Bill Walker is a member of the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.)

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My Turn: Marijuana reform sabotaged in state Senate - Concord Monitor

Victoria Advocate

Opinions split over Refugio man accused of immigration crimes Victoria Advocate Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback said participating in illegal immigration, even when the harm is not immediately apparent, is hardly a victimless crime. "All of those crimes associated with human smuggling, indentured servitude - all of its ...

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Opinions split over Refugio man accused of immigration crimes - Victoria Advocate

Maintaining the yards of vacant properties, a movement known as greening, may help reduce crime rates in urban neighborhoods, according to a new study at Michigan State University. The findings show that higher levels of greening are tied to less crime in general, including victimless crimes, property crimes and even violent crimes.

Previous research has shown that greening and gardening programs are linked to less stress, depression and hopelessness for residents, as well as lower crime rates, including assaults, burglaries and robberies. But an in-depth space-and-time analysis of these correlations has not been explored until now, say the researchers.

For the study, the researchers analyzed nine years of crime statistics in Flint, Mich., using data from a greening program where thousands of abandoned lots in various neighborhoods were regularly mowed and maintained.

Today, more than 42 percent of the properties in Flint are either publicly owned or otherwise vacant.

Dr. Richard Sadler, an urban geographer and the studys lead author, assigned each neighborhood a greening score based on how many vacant properties in the area were being kept up. Using a method called emerging hot spot analysis, which identifies patterns or trends of events over space and time, he applied crime data from 2005 through 2014.

Generally speaking, I found that greening was more prevalent where violent crime, property crime and victimless crime were going down, said Sadler, an assistant professor of public health in the College of Human Medicine.

The idea for the study was born when the Genesee County Land Bank Authority began its Clean and Green program 13 years ago to help maintain vacant properties throughout the city. They discovered that over the years, the program seemed to produce another benefit crime appeared to be declining.

Weve always had a sense that maintaining these properties helps reduce crime and the perception of crime, said Christina Kelly, the land banks planning and neighborhood revitalization director. So we werent surprised to see the research back it up.

Flint has one of the highest crime rates in the nation. The citys population of slightly more than 100,000 is half what it was in the 1960s when it was the world headquarters for Buick. But once the auto industry pulled out of the city, Flint lost 41 percent of its jobs. This led to a concentration of poverty in the city as well as a decrease in the number of police officers.

Sadler said investments in eliminating blight and encouraging community buy-in can pay off in a number of ways for urban areas across the country and be less expensive to sustain.

He indicated that programs such as Clean and Green not only make the properties more attractive for development and stabilizes neighborhoods, but alert potential criminals that residents are keeping an eye on things.

Its people looking out for their own neighborhoods, he said. If you know somebodys watching, youre not going to go out and vandalize something. Its the overall change in perception created by cleaning up blighted property.

The study is published online in the journal Applied Geography.

Source: Michigan State University

APA Reference Pedersen, T. (2017). Well-Kept Vacant Lots May Mean Less Crime in Urban Areas. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 19, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/04/19/well-kept-vacant-lots-may-mean-less-crime-in-urban-areas/119329.html

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Well-Kept Vacant Lots May Mean Less Crime in Urban Areas - PsychCentral.com