WebProNews

Tag: Crime

  • Teens Arrested after Posting Rape Video on Facebook

    Three Chicago-area teens are facing charges of aggravated sexual assault after they allegedly raped a girl and posted the video on Facebook.

    Justin Applewhite, 16, Kenneth Brown, 15, and Scandale Fritz, 16, are named in the attack. According to prosecutors, Fritz lured a 12-year-old girl to his home, took her into the basement, and sexually assaulted her. Reports indicate that he then took Brown and Applewhite to the basement, where they all forced the girl to engage in sex acts.

    According to the Sun-Times, the girl refused for a while, but eventually gave in because she knew the three teens were gang members and feared for her life if she continued to refuse.

    The video allegedly shows the rape, complete with the waving of guns and the flashing of gang signs. One of the assaulters, Fritz, apparently turned the camera around on his own face, giving police a nice big image of who was perpetrating the crime.

    The video eventually wound up on all of the attackers’ Facebook pages.

    All three teens are being held on charges of aggravated criminal assault, and will return to court on June 6th. Sometimes, you just have to sit back and ask “wtf are people thinking?” Sadly, this is not the only serious crime that teens have committed and then posted to Facebook in recent memory. Last year, three teens were charged with first-degree murder after reportedly beating a disabled man to death and then uploading the video to Facebook. Earlier this year, two girls (14, 15) landed in hot water after they posted a video involving their attack on a 13-year-old girl to Facebook.

  • Kentucky Man’s Overnight Grocery Party Involved Beer, Steaks, Birthday Cake, and 57 Cans of Whipped Cream

    Kentucky Kicks Ass. Seriously. It’s full of history, horses, mountains, rolling hills, great food, better bourbon, beautiful women, and we gave you George Clooney.

    But here in Kentucky, we also produced Trevor Runyon, whose overnight grocery party for one would make Barney Stinson rethink his criteria for legen…wait for it…

    A Mount Washington ValuMarket manager found an odd scene when he opened up the store on Monday morning. Little did he know, but he was gazing upon one of the most epic parties one could ever throw for himself.

    Here’s a brief list of everything Trevor Runyon reportedly did on Sunday night, according to WAVE 3 News:

    • Used (note, used, not necessarily consumed) 57 cans of Reddi-Wip whipped cream.
    • Cooked and consumed 6 steaks
    • Smoked an untold amount of cigarettes
    • Ate an untold amount of shrimp
    • Ate at least part of a birthday cake
    • Peed himself and found replacement clothes
    • Fell asleep in the rafters of the store

    Apparently, Runyon was able to sneak into the grocery store at closing time on Sunday. He’s been taken into custody, after the fire department was called to get him out of the rafters. That’s one nitrous party for the books.

    …DARY.

  • Mom Checks WebMD to Treat Son’s Gunshot Wound

    A Houston woman has been charged with one count of injury to a child with intent to commit bodily injury, a felony, after waiting seven hours to take her son (aged 14) to the hospital after he suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.

    What was Deborah Tagle, aged 55, doing during that time? Apparently she was attempting to find treatment options using WebMD. And the whole thing was caught on in-house surveillance video. From KHOU in Houston:

    The video shows Pete Jesse Rodriguez, 24, who is also a resident of the home, pointed a pistol directly at the teen, police said. Rodriguez is accused of tracking the teen’s movement with the pistol and eventually pulling the trigger. The victim was shot once in the upper left thigh with a high-caliber bullet, police said. The teen lay on the floor for several minutes before getting up. Police said the teen and his mother initially looked up gunshots on WebMD.com. Then, seven hours later, the teen’s mother drove him to Mainland Center hospital, police said.

    The shooter is charged with injury to a child with intent to commit serious bodily harm and is being held on bond.

    The kid is reportedly recovering and in stable condition.

    Police did not say whether or not the mom’s WebMD searching produced any viable treatment options. A quick search of WebMD leaves much to be desired in terms of gunshot treatment advice – although after spending a few minutes on the site I’m 100% convinced I have a brain tumor.

    [KHOU via UPROXX]

  • Abortion Doctor Found Guilty Of Murder

    Update: Gosnell gets life in prison

    Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a former abortion doctor in Philadelphia, was found guilty of three out of four counts of first-degree murder today, and could face the death penalty. Gosnell was reportedly known for performing late-term abortions, and allegedly (alleged by prosecutors) delivered babies alive, then killed them by cutting their spinal cords with scissors.

    Vince Lattanzio of NBC Philadelphia reports:

    According to court observers, as the verdict was read by the jury forman, Gosnell didn’t react at first. Once the full charges had been announced, he shook his head from side-to-side, trying to make eye contact with members of the jury.

    The jury of seven women and five men weighed a total of 263 crimes against Gosnell with the most serious being four counts of first-degree murder.

    Gosnell was acquitted of the fourth first-degree murder charge, which involved an aborted fetus, and of a third-degree murder charge, but was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of former patient Karnamaya Mongar, who was 41. Mongar died after being given pain killers and anesthesia during an abortion procedure in 2009.

    The entire jury reportedly consisted of people who either said they were pro-choice or had no opinion at all on a woman’s right to choose.

    Sentencing is scheduled to place next Tuesday.

  • Beaten With Skateboards: Man In Critical Condition

    A man in Huntington Beach, California is in critical condition today after being mercilessly beaten by a group of teens.

    The man intervened after his girlfriend tried to break up a fight between the teens and they turned on her. Authorities say he was chased to a nearby laundry, where the group beat him with skateboards. Four suspects were arrested on charges of attempted murder; all of them were juveniles who were already on probation for other offenses.

    The 25-year old victim is said to be undergoing surgery for his injuries; witnesses say the beating was intense.

    “I was so scared, so I locked the door. They used their skateboards to beat the boy in the head,” said Sandy Nguyen, who works at a nail salon near the laundry.

    The victim’s identity is not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation; police say there may be more arrests this week.

  • Ariel Castro Arraigned, Charged With 4 Counts Of Kidnapping, 3 Counts Of Rape

    Ariel Castro was arraigned on Thursday, appearing in court for the first time since he and his two brothers were arrested in the case of the three kidnapped women in Cleveland. The brothers were not charged, but Ariel was arraigned on four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.

    Castro reportedly spent the majority of the hearing looking down at his feet. USA Today reports:

    In a brief explanation of the charges, prosecutor Brian Murphy alleged that Castro had “snatched three young ladies from the streets” and forced them to endure a “horrifying ordeal for more than a decade.”

    He said the victims had been “bound, restrained and sexually assaulted.”

    “They were never free to leave this residence,” he said, referring to Castro’s home on Seymour Avenue.

    Bail was set at $8 million. Judge Lauren Moore ordered that he have no contact with the victims or their families, should he post bond.

    Two of the three women – Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus – returned home on Wednesday. The third, Michelle Knight, remains in a hospital in Cleveland.

  • Photos Of Kidnapped Women Amanda Berry And Gina Dejesus

    UPDATE: A photo of Michelle Knight has surfaced.

    The story of the three missing girls (now women) who have been rescued after being kidnapped a decade ago, has taken the nation by storm. It’s a tragic story, without question, but it’s nice to at least see one in which the victims survived.

    Amanda Berry has been deemed the “real hero” of this whole thing by Cleveland police, after she called 911 and got the whole thing “rolling”.

    There has been a website dedicated to finding Berry, including these pictures from before the kidnapping:

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    Hat tip to EveryJoe, who also shares these photos of Gina DeJesus, one of the other kidnapped women:

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    Photos of the third woman, Michelle Knight, are not circulating so much. According to Mail Online, while Berry’s and DeJesus’ cases have remained “high profile” over the past ten years, not as much is known about Knight, and according to the publication, no picture has been published of her so far.

  • Teen Charged with Making Facebook Threats to Upstage the Boston Marathon Bombings

    A Methuen, Massachusetts high school student has been arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after police were notified of posts made on his Facebook page.

    18-year-old Cameron B. Dambrosio is being held on $1 million bond after making the unspecific threats referencing the Boston Marathon bombings on Facebook. According to Chief of Police Joseph Solomon, Dambrosio’s house has already been searched, and multiple devices have been recovered for analysis (computer, Xbox).

    Here’s what went down, according to a Meuthuen Police Department release:

    Tuesday, May 1, 2013, at approximately 12:20, Methuen High School students reported to administration that they had received a Facebook phone message sent by a Methuen High School student with disturbing verbiage. The student made terrorist threats. These threats were in general and not directed towards another person or the school. The administration acted quickly, contacted school service officer Jim Mellor, who then contacted the police department. The student was not in school but has since been located and placed under arrest.

    So, what did the kid say? According to Solomon,

    “F*ck the Boston bombing, wait til you see what I do. I’m going to be famous.” Apparently, he also went on to say that he would “beat every murder charge brought against him.

    “He’s telling people to shut up and in order to get some props he’ll have to go kill somebody. He says he’ll go insane and make the news,” Solomon said. “And he said people shouldn’t cry when they see what he does because they have it coming.”

    Dambrosio has been charged with Terroristic Threats, which can be punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

    The Daily Dot found Dambrosio’s YouTube channel, which shows him to be an aspiring rapper – or whatever you call this:

    [Methuen PD via Eagle Tribune]

  • Baby Sold On Facebook For Grandfather’s Drug Money

    A newborn baby in India was rescued at the last minute from being sold by his own grandfather in order to fund his drug problem.

    47- year old Feroz Khan has been arrested for allegedly conspiring with two hospital employees to kidnap the baby just hours after he was born; his plan was to sell the child to a Facebook friend whose wife had trouble conceiving. Luckily, the child’s mother found out about the plot and alerted police. The baby was returned unharmed to his mother, and a total of four people are now facing charges.

    “We acted upon the complaint of the mother, who alleged that her child was stolen from the nursing home in Ludhiana,” Ishwar Singh, Ludhiana’s Commissioner of Police, said. “After investigations, we found the grandfather of the child had struck a deal with a man in Delhi and had roped-in the nursing staff to smuggle the baby out of the nursing home. We have arrested four people including the grandfather. We have also booked the buyer from Delhi.”

    Khan was allegedly asking for about $830 for the child.

  • Man Admits Threatening to Shoot 200+ Kids on Facebook

    A British man has been charged with making threats to kill and sending grossly offensive messages after he threatened to kill at least 200 students on Facebook.

    The man, 24-year-old Reece Elliot, hails from Fossway, South Shields, South Tyneside – but the threats appeared on a tribute Facebook page for an American girl who was killed in a car crash back in October of 2012.

    According to The Guardian, Elliot used an assumed name and posted the following messages on the RIP Caitlin Talley Facebook page:

    I’m glad the fat bitch is dead. Let’s drink to drink driving. No one gives a shit that she’s dead, get over it. If I was there now I would rape you.

    My father has three guns. I’m planning on killing him first and putting him in a dumpster. Then I’m taking the motor and I’m going in fast. I’m gonna kill hopefully at least 200 before I kill myself. So you want to tell the deputy, I’m on my way.

    I’m killing 200 people minimum at school. I will be on CNN.

    Of course, threats like this are always taken very seriously, but in light of the recent school shooting in Newtown, officials in the Warren County Tennessee district suspended school for nearly 3,000 students. The school district also beefed up security, putting the local schools in “lockdown” mode.

    According to the report, Elliot turned himself in after officials coordinated with the FBI to uncover his true identity. He claimed to be a “troll” who was just trying to get a rise. Authorities say that Elliot used the words “dumpster” and “deputy,” clearly American words, to make the threats seem more credible.

    Then again, he did say he was going to be “taking the motor.”

    Speaking of people being idiots on Facebook, an Ohio man was sentenced this week to 17 months in prison after making threats about killing police and judges on Facebook. When will people learn?

  • 5th Amendment Protects Child Porn Suspect from Compelled Decryption

    A man accused of housing child pornography on multiple hard drives will not be forced to give authorities access, after a Wisconsin judge rules that doing so would violate his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

    The case involves Jeffrey Feldman, a software engineer with a degree in computer science from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Suspected of possessing child pornography, FBI agents raided his home and seized 16 storage devices, 9 of which were encrypted.

    The FBI filed an order to compel Feldman to decrypt his devices, and order which has been shot down by Judge William Callahan.

    “This is a close call, but I conclude that Feldman’s act of production, which would necessarily require his using a password of some type to decrypt the storage device, would be tantamount to telling the government something it does not already know with “reasonably particularity” – namely, that Feldman has personal access to and control over the encrypted storage devices. Accordingly, in my opinion, Fifth Amendment protection is available to Feldman. Stated another way, ordering Feldman to decrypt the storage devices would be in violation of his Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination,” said Judge William E. Callahan Jr.

    The Judge concedes that the state knows the encrypted devices contain data, and that they already know the names of the files and that they probably exist on said devices. He also concedes that the state has shown that Feldman is surely capable of decrypting the devices.

    But the following question remains: Is it reasonably clear, in the absence of compelled decryption, that Feldman actually has access to and control over the encrypted storage devices and, therefore, the files contained therein? To be sure, the storage devices were all found in Feldman’s residence, where he has admittedly lived alone for the past 15 years. In addition, the unencrypted Dell computer, which showed connections to the encrypted storage devices, has a login screen with only one username, “Jeff.” Nevertheless, unlike in Boucher and Fricosu, here, Feldman has not admitted access and control.

    It’s clear that the Judge thinks that this is a very tricky case, and his decision toes the line.

    In the end, however, the conclusion is that the state simply doesn’t know enough already about the contents of the drives and the defendant’s ties to them to compel him to access them.

    An attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Wired that “this isn’t just about child porn. It’s about anything on your computer that prosecutors or government officials may want.”

    Don’t think that encrypting your data shields you from the long reach of the law, however. Not only is encryption less than 100% effective, but this is simply one ruling. In the past, we’ve seen courts compel decryption – for instance in the aforementioned Boucher case, where a man was forced to unlock his laptop after authorities suspected it contained child pornography.

  • Drunk Driver’s Cop-Killing Facebook Fantasy Leads to Additional Time

    If only people knew when to stop while they’re ahead.

    This latest installment of the moronic Facebook chronicles takes us to North Olmstead, Ohio, where a man has been sentenced to 17 months in prison plus he’s been forced to undergo anger management counseling thanks to a few Facebook posts.

    27-year-old William Bement was furious with the justice system. He had just been given probation for a drunk driving incident, and he wasn’t happy about it.

    So where do people go these days when they want to vent to hundreds of people? Facebook, of course.

    Shortly after his probation sentence, Bement decided that it was a good idea to post vague threats on Facebook. “Stop shooting up schools and start shooting cops in courthouses!” said one post. “Kill you local judges,” said another.

    After one of Bement’s friends notified a court employee of the alarming posts, Bement was hauled back into court – this time receiving a much lengthier sentence for one count of “attempted retaliation.”

    He claimed that he was simply talking out of his ass – or doing it for “shock factor” as he put it. But it just goes to show you – it’s hard to communicate jest via social media. Joking or not, you can’t just instruct people to murder officers and judges online. You. Just. Can’t. Do. It.

    [The Plain Dealer via The Daily Dot]

  • Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Tells Authorities Tamerlan Masterminded Boston Bombing

    The remaining suspect in the Boston bombings is blaming the whole thing on the dead suspect.

    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been talking to authorities (or writing rather, as he can’t talk because of a gunshot wound to the throat), and says that his brother, the late Tamerlan Tsarnaev, masterminded the whole thing.

    According to a report from CNN, Tsarnaev told authorities that there is not any international terrorist group involved, and that his brother orchestrated the attack. CNN’s Jake Tapper and Matt Smith report:

    Tsarnaev has conveyed to investigators that Tamerlan’s motivation stemmed from jihadist thought and the idea that Islam is under attack, and jihadists need to fight back, the source said Monday.

    The government source cautioned that the interviews were preliminary, and that Tsarnaev’s account needs to be checked out and followed up on by investigators.

    So far, officials have not found evidence that the suspects collaborated with other people on the attacks, though Tamerlan had taken a long trip to Russia last year. The details of this trip are unclear, though he had posted and taken down a YouTube video of Islamic militant Abu Dujana, who was killed in a gun battle with Russian security forces a few months after Tamerlan’s trip.

    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged on Monday with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (an improvised explosive device) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death. He could face, upon conviction, the death penalty or life imprisonment.

    More details about Tsarnaev’s conversations with authorities will no doubt emerge in time.

  • Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Complaint Describes Carjacking Episode

    As previously reported, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been officially charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (an improvised explosive device) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.

    If convicted, Tsarnaev faces the death penalty or life in prison.

    The Justice Department released a statement, as well as the complaint document. In this, we learn some interesting details. For example, there is a description of a carjacking episode the suspects engaged in. Here’s the relevant section from the document:

    Near midnight on April 18, 2013, an individual carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A victim of the carjacking was interviewed by law enforcement and provided the following information. The victim stated that while he was sitting in his car on a road in Cambridge, a man approached and tapped on his passenger-side window. When the victim rolled down the window, the man reached in, opened the door, and entered the victim’s vehicle. The man pointed a firearm at the victim and stated, “Did you hear about the Boston explosion?” and “I did that.” The man removed the magazine from his gun and showed the victim that it had a bullet in it, and then re-inserted the magazine. The man then stated, “I am serious.”

    The man with the gun forced the victim to drive to another location, where they picked up a second man. The two men put something in the trunk of the victim’s vehicle. The man with the gun took the victim’s vehicle. The man with the gun took the victim’s keys and sat in the driver’s seat, while the victim moved to the front passenger seat. The second man entered the victim’s vehicle and sat in the rear passenger seat. The man with the gun and the second man spoke to each other in a foreign language.

    While they were driving, the man with the gun demanded money from the victim, who gabe the man 45 dollars. One of the men compelled the victim to hand over his ATM card and password. They then drove to an ATM machine and attempted to withdraw money from the victim’s account. The two men and the victim then drove to a gas station/convenience store in the vicinity of 816 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. The two men got out of the car, at which point the victim managed to escape.

    You can read the full complaint here (pdf).

    In related news, this afternoon, reddit issued an apology for “dangerous speculation” that occurred on its site in the wake of the bombings.

  • Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Charged, Faces Possible Death Penalty

    Nineteen-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been officially charged with using a weapon of mass destruction in the Boston Marathon bombings on on April 15.

    He has been charged specifically with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (an improvised explosive device) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death. This is all punishable, upon conviction, by death or life imprisonment.

    Tsarnaev’s initial court appearance took place today from his hospital room, where he has reportedly been communicating by writing, as he is unable to speak due to a gunshot wound to the throat.

    Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement, “Although our investigation is ongoing, today’s charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country. Our thoughts and prayers remain with each of the bombing victims and brave law enforcement professionals who lost their lives or suffered serious injuries as a result of this week’s senseless violence.”

    “Thanks to the valor of state and local police, the dedication of federal law enforcement and intelligence officials, and the vigilance of members of the public, we’ve once again shown that those who target innocent Americans and attempt to terrorize our cities will not escape from justice,” Holder added. ” We will hold those who are responsible for these heinous acts accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

    John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, added, “The events of the past week underscore in stark terms the need for continued vigilance against terrorist threats both at home and abroad. Friday’s arrest and today’s charges demonstrate what can be achieved by a collaborative, round-the clock response involving law enforcement officers, intelligence professionals, prosecutors and the general public.”

    Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said, “Today’s charges are the culmination of extraordinary law enforcement coordination and the tireless efforts of so many, including ordinary citizens who became heroes as they responded to the call for help in the hours and days following the Marathon tragedy. The impact of these crimes has been far-reaching, affecting a worldwide community that is looking for peace and justice. We hope that this prosecution will bring some small measure of comfort both to the public at large and to the victims and their families that justice will be served. While we will not be able to comment on any possible communications between the suspect and law enforcement at this time, as a general rule, the government will always seek to elicit all the actionable intelligence and information we can from terrorist suspects taken into our custody.”

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Weinreb and Aloke Chakravarty from the Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division is assisting.

    The Justice Department’s announcement concludes by reminding the public that the charges are “merely allegations” and that Tsarnaev remains innocent until proven guilty.

    The official complaint against Tsarnaev can be viewed here (pdf).

  • Juror Can’t Stop Texting During Trial, Promptly Jailed

    A 26-year-old juror in a Salem, Oregon, armed robbery case has been sentenced to serve two days in jail after he was caught texting in court.

    Benjamin Kohler was charged with contempt after authorities say he was using his mobile device to text after being given explicit instructions to stay off it.

    The judge in the trial, Dennis Graves, instructed the entire jury that cell phone use during court was prohibited. He apparently issued the instructions multiple times.

    But Kohler either didn’t hear or didn’t care. During the testimony of a Salem police officer, a video recording was played in the courtroom. That’s when the district attorney noticed a dim light emanating from Kohler’s area.

    The proceeding were stopped and the courtroom was emptied. Apparently, Kohler had no explanation for his texting.

    “The duty to serve as a juror must be taken very seriously. Every juror has the responsibility to devote his entire attention to the witnesses and evidence being presented. In this case, Mr. Kohler failed to meet his obligations and failed to honor the direction of this court. My hope is that he will use his time in jail to reflect upon his behavior,” said the judge.

    Hopefully. If you can’t put your phone down for a few minutes, let’s say, while you’re eating – you may get soup on your device. But if you can’t put your phone down for a few minutes during a trial – you may miss something that could be the difference between someone’s freedom and incarceration. Put the phone down, dude. Nothing you’re texting about is that important, I assure you.

    The too-technologically-connected juror has been an ever-increasing problem over the past few years. Just this week, we told you that a juror in the U.K. faces contempt charges after he made Facebook postings about wanting to “fuck up a pedophile.” In the past, we’ve even seen death row convictions overturned due to social media-using jurors.

    [Madison County Sheriff’s Office via Wired]

  • Teacher Faces 44 Years for Fake Facebook Sex Scam

    An Anaheim high school teacher is set to be arraigned on 60 felony counts stemming from charges that he used Facebook to obtain sexually explicit photos from over 100 underage boys over the past 3 years.

    30-year-old Zachary Joshua Reader, a former high school teacher and baseball coach at schools in both Anaheim and Irvine, California, is accused of encouraging sex acts and possessing nude photographs of boys aged 13-17.

    According to police, Reeder used Facebook to commit his crimes. Between June of 2010 and January of 2013, he allegedly created a fake Facebook account posing as a female student. Through this account, Reeder befriended many underage boys, most of which he knew through his teaching jobs.

    He reportedly got at least 106 victims to send him sexually explicit photos and videos.

    Here’s the full list of counts that Reeder faces:

    22 felony counts of using a minor for sex acts, 15 felony counts of distributing pornography to a minor, 13 felony counts of contacting a child with the intent to commit a lewd act, six felony counts of lewd acts upon a child, two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, one felony count of possession and control of child pornography, and one felony count of distribution of child pornography.

    These counts carry a total maximum sentence of 44 years in prison.

    This definitely isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Facebook used in elaborate fake profile sex scams. Last year, a Pennsylvania man was charged with 68 felony counts after he went to painstaking lengths to manipulate underage girls through a series of fake Facebook accounts.

  • Juror Faces Contempt After Posting He Wanted to ‘F*ck Up a Pedophile’ on Facebook

    Juror Faces Contempt After Posting He Wanted to ‘F*ck Up a Pedophile’ on Facebook

    With the proliferation of social media use, courts are having a harder time keeping jurors from making public postings about trials in which they’re currently involved. The latest example of this comes from the U.K., where a suspended juror now faces contempt of court charges.

    According to The Guardian, a juror in the case of a now-convicted sex-offender will face prosecution at the hands of the Attorney General for “an act likely to interfere with the due administration of justice.”

    In December of 2012, Kasim Davey was dismissed from the trial of Adam Kephalas in the Wood Green crown court of London. He was let go after making a Facebook post in which he claimed that the trial was giving him the chance to do something he’d always wanted to do: “Fuck up a paedophile.”

    “Woooow I wasn’t expecting to be in a jury Deciding a paedophile’s fate, I’ve always wanted to Fuck up a paedophile & now I’m within the law!” he posted.

    Although he initially denied ever posting the status, Davey was removed. Kephalas was eventually convicted and given a suspended year-long prison sentence. Today, the Attorney General was given the go ahead to prosecute Davey.

    Keeping jurors off of social media it an issue that transcends geography. In the U.S., we’ve seen numerous cases of Twitter-happy jurors, some even affecting the outcome of major trials. Back in December, an Arkansas man’s death row conviction was overturned essentially because one juror couldn’t keep off Twitter. The juror was found to have been tweeting during court recesses.

  • Child Pornographer’s Sentence Overturned After Judge Goes On Strange, Irrelevant Rant About Facebook, Zuckerberg

    Child Pornographer’s Sentence Overturned After Judge Goes On Strange, Irrelevant Rant About Facebook, Zuckerberg

    An 8-year prison sentence for a convicted child pornographer has been vacated and remanded for resentencing following a procedural error that involved the judge in the case going off on a completely unnecessary rant about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. The case is even odder when you understand that the crimes in question had absolutely nothing to do with Facebook.

    56-year-old Laura Culver was sentenced on January 30th to 96 months in jail for producing child pornography. Back in 2001 and 2002, Culver collaborated with a man named Edgardo Sensi to film an 8-year-old girl engaged in various sexual acts. Pretty disgusting stuff. So, an 8-year prison sentence is not unreasonable, right?

    Well no, but in this specific case the sentence is being thrown out. An appeals court has ruled that the judge’s actions during sentencing demand that the sentence be vacated and reworked.

    While explaining Culver’s sentence, U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton reportedly went on some sort of unrelated Facebook-bashing tangent where he ended up blaming Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for “hurting a lot of people.”

    The records are sealed, but the appeals court, in its decision, paints a pretty clear picture of what the judge was ranting about.

    In justifying its decision to impose a sentence of eight years instead of six, the district court referenced “Facebook, and things like it, and society has changed.” … The court speculated that the proliferation of Facebook would facilitate an increase in child pornography cases. The court said it hoped Mark Zuckerberg (who founded Facebook) was “enjoying all his money because…he’s going to hurt a lot of people….”

    But Facebook had nothing to do with Culver’s case. In fact, the internet itself didn’t even play a factor in it.

    The government argues that the district court was merely concerned about the extent to which various new technologies may facilitate child pornography, rather than Facebook specifically. In that sense, Facebook was a reference to the internet, using synecdoche. But the government does not explain (because it cannot) the role of new technology in this case. Culver did not use the internet to commit her crime, and it should not have played a predominant role in her sentencing.

    The appeals court makes a point to say that the ruling in no way suggests that the 8-year sentence for Culver’s crimes is “substantively unreasonable.” In fact, it’s actually well under the recommended guidelines for such a crime.

    “Still, that discretion should be exercised without the influence of procedural error.”

    What a truly terrible, and odd case.

    [via Techdirt]

  • Man Stabs Wife in the Face Over a Facebook Like

    A Philadelphia man is being held on $1 million bond after stabbing his wife in the face and neck over a Facebook like.

    49-year-old Thomas Troy Young admitted to stabbing his 33-year-old wife Carla Brown back in March over her Facebook actions. Reportedly, Young stabbed Brown because he was angry that she had liked someone else’s post on the site.

    According to court records, Young and Brown were fighting in their bedroom on the night of March 10th. Later, after Young had left the house, Brown’s daughter found her in the locked room lying on the floor, covered in blood.

    Brown had multiple stab wounds to her face, neck, back, and hand. She also suffered a punctured lung as a result of the attack.

    Records indicate that Young also tried to strangle her with a plastic warm-up suit, and threatened to kill her children if she attempted to get help.

    “If he was going to jail for one murder it didn’t matter to him if it was three or more,” Young reportedly said to Brown.

    Young, who has had assault charges filed on him in the past, is scheduled for trial on May 22nd.

    Sadly, this isn’t even close to the first time that we’ve seen domestic altercations linked to something ridiculous involving Facebook. In 2011, a Texas man was charged with battery after he allegedly punched his wife in the face for failing to like one of his Facebook statuses. Last year, a drunk guy called 911 on his wife after she refused to allow him to browse Facebook in peace. Also, you probably remember the guy who assaulted his girlfriend after seeing a photo of an unfamiliar man on her Facebook Timeline. That man turned out to be former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

    [Philly Burbs via Daily Dot]

  • Thief Smashes Through Glass Door at Full Speed [VIDEO]

    If you’re like me, you’ll never get tired of idiot criminals doing idiotic things. This bag thief definitely fits the bill, running through a glass door at full speed in his attempt to flee the scene.

    According to The Telegraph, what you’re seeing is from Perth, Australia. Our thief was able to make an escape, even after flying through the glass at full speed. According to reports, he had a getaway driver waiting nearby in a stolen car.

    Police have apparently released the video in the hopes of identifying the man.