Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Officer Louis Morris Arrested for Lewd Acts with Minor


"It was very disturbing and disgusting. This person also violated their oath of office and that's something we don't take lightly. This man crossed the line," said Chief Norman McNickle, Stillwater Police Dept.

Chief McNickle says a citizen called in a tip that Louis Morris, who is a school resource officer at Stillwater Junior High was having an inappropriate relationship with a 15 -year -old girl. So he started an internal investigation.

"After they started their investigation they realized the allegations were more serious and gave rise to a criminal investigation," said Rob Hudson, Payne County District Attorney.

OSBI was then given the case and Tuesday Morris was arrested on three counts of lewd acts with a minor and two counts of rape by instrumentation. According to court documents, the 15-year-old girl used to be involved with Morris' son. She claims she and Louis Morris were going to get married and the relationship was consensual. But Oklahoma law states otherwise.

"There is no such thing as consent under 16. Another aspect of this case is that teachers, law enforcement or people employed by the school, it has a special statute that relates to the activity or relations they can have with students," said Hudson.

Morris' police powers were revoked before his arrest and Tuesday he was suspended without pay. He has the right to have a hearing about his status. The D.A. says investigating Morris has been difficult and he find this case troubling.

"It's troubling when we think our school are safe then we have someone from law enforcement that has these allegations against him," said Hudson.

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Former Trooper Albert Silveri III on Trial for Soliciting Minor

A former Pennsylvania state trooper on trial for allegedly soliciting underage sex on the Internet from an undercover cop said yesterday that he never intended to go ahead with a planned meeting.

A Delaware County prosecutor disagreed and said work kept the trooper from the appointment.

Albert Silveri III, 40, of Aston, opted to forgo a jury trial and have his case heard before Common Pleas Court Judge Frank T. Hazel. Silveri was arrested in July on charges of criminal solicitation and criminal use of a communication facility.

In April, Silveri first made contact in an Internet chat room with a Delaware County detective who was posing as a woman with two daughters, ages 8 and 10. Silveri used the screen name "Strongwilled07." Sex was discussed in all of the chats. In late July, Silveri made an appointment to meet with the woman and her daughters.

Yesterday while on the stand, he told Michael Galantino, deputy district attorney, that the fantasy was in the conversation. He said that he had corresponded in chat rooms hundreds of times and that the sexually explicit language came easily to him. But, Silveri said, he never intended to carry through with the meeting and didn't.

Galantino questioned whether Silveri, an accident-reconstruction specialist in the Belmont barracks in Philadelphia, missed the appointment he had set up with the fictitious mother and her daughters because he was busy at work.

Steven M. Pacillio, Silveri's attorney, said that although the conversations in the chat room were "reprehensible and not socially acceptable," they were not illegal.

Hazel said he would issue a verdict June 26.

Former Officer Joseph Kelley Arrested for Stealing Wallet

A former Mashpee police officer was arrested yesterday and accused of stealing a clerk’s wallet at Kmart in Hyannis, reports the Cape Cod Times.

Joseph Kelley, 33, was also arrested last month on drug-trafficking charges.

Also arrested yesterday was Kelley’s girlfriend, Kristen Hendrick, 25, on charges related to both the Kmart allegations and drug trafficking.

Barnstable police said that Hendrick bought a Wii gaming system at Kmart on June 12 using a gift card. Soon after, Kelley allegedly returned the Wii for cash and security cameras allegedly caught him grabbing a clerk’s wallet that was near the register.

Kelley was arrested May 19 after police allegedly found 200 oxycodone tablets and some other drugs at his Cotuit home.
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Read full story here.

Detention Officer Leon Wood Accused of Sexually Assaulting to Inmates

Two female inmates at the Sebastian County Detention Center alerted workers that they had been sexually assaulted by 64-year-old Leon Wood, officials said.

Wood was a detention deputy and had access to all parts of the jail. The inmates said the assaults happened while they were both locked in a cell together. The alleged acts were committed both Sunday and Monday.

"The deputy had made contact with the victims throughout the night and committed the acts through out the night," said Bill Hollenbeck with the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office.

Both inmates were treated at a local hospital before being returned to the Detention Center.

After an investigation by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, deputies found surveillance video confirming the assault.

"We have footage of certain evidence that collaborates with what the victims have stated," Hollenbeck said.

Deputies said the detention centers policy was violated, as only female workers are suppose to make contact with female inmates. The sheriff's department is now investigating internal procedures at the detention center.

Wood has been charged with two counts of sexual assault in the third degree.
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http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2009/06/17/news/news061709_02.txt