Friday, May 02, 2014

Former Officer Daniel Barber Charged with Sexually Assaulting Child

A former police officer turned businessman accused of sexually assaulting a boy is facing additional charges involving seven more children in northwestern Wisconsin.

Authorities say 46-year-old Daniel Barber preyed on children in his care, sometimes using Craigslist and Facebook to connect with parents in need of baby sitters. St. Croix County Sheriff John Shilts says Barber appeared to be "a knight in shining armor," sometimes stepping in to care for children of single parents experiencing financial difficulties.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press says the North Hudson man was charged in February with sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy and possessing child pornography. The new charges filed this week date back to 2004 and allege the abuse of seven more boys, including two toddlers.

Barber's attorney, Mark Gherty, declined to comment on the additional charges.

Judge Seals Ex-Police Officer John Marra Conviction in 2008 teen-sex case

  

    John L. Marra, 37, had made the request to seal the conviction on the dereliction of duty charge, a second-degree misdemeanor.

    Marra, who now is police chief of Brady Lake in Portage County, had pleaded no contest to the charge. He was sentenced to probation for two years and ordered to resign as a Uniontown police officer.

    Marra served as a part-time/auxiliary Uniontown officer. He was hired July 11, 2005, and resigned May 28, 2008.

    According to the complaint, while on duty, Marra kissed and fondled a teenage girl. He also engaged in inappropriate text messages, the court record said.

    In addition, Marra “failed to perform his duties by going to Subway restaurant while on duty, to engage in a sexual relationship with (the girl).”

     The girl was 16 and 17 during that time, records said.

    At Thursday’s court hearing, Judge John Poulos said it appeared that Marra’s conviction qualified to be sealed under state law. The conditions include the time since the conviction occurred, the level of crime and the offender’s criminal record.

    Poulos’ ruling means the conviction will be sealed and no longer appears in public court records.

    Following the brief hearing, Marra declined comment.

    The city prosecutor’s office had objected to Marra’s request.

    The prosecutor’s office cited multiple reasons for the objection, including that Marra should be held to a higher standard as a police officer.

    Marra has been interim police chief of Brady Lake since March, court records said.

    The prosecutor’s office also said that state law prevents the sealing of convictions where the victim of the offense was a minor under age 18 and the charge is a first-degree misdemeanor.

    “Although (Marra) is not charged with a misdemeanor of the first degree, the court should still treat this offense as such because the facts of this case make it substantially similar to other serious crimes such as importuning and sexual battery,” the court filing reads.
A judge has sealed the record of a former Uniontown police officer who was convicted in 2008 of a misdemeanor stemming from having sex with a teenage girl while he was on duty.

Correctional Officer Curtis Godard Arrested for Exposing Himself to Co-Workers

Anne Arundel County police said a correctional officer has been arrested and charged in connection with exposing himself to female co-workers.

Police said detectives began investigating allegations of a man exposing himself and committing lewd acts to female co-workers at the Anne Arundel County Ordnance Road Correctional Facility at 600 E. Ordnance Road in Glen Burnie on Thursday.

Detectives interviewed women employees at the facility, who were victims. They said over the past several months a correctional officer had been exposing himself to them. On one occasion, the correctional officer also kissed one of the employees against her will, police said.

The investigation led detectives to obtaining an arrest warrant for Curtis Sylvester Godard, 51, of Severn.

Godard was taken into custody without incident on Thursday evening.

He was charged with two counts of indecent exposure, one count of second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense.

As the investigation continues, police are urging any other potential victims or anyone with information on the incidents to contact Detective Juan Honesto of the Sex Crimes Unit at 410-222-3457 or Metro Crime Stoppers.