ME- Suspended priest found dead from gunshot wound

6-29-2008 Maine:

A priest suspected of sexually abusing a girl in 1979 was found dead Friday morning in the Dover-Foxcroft rectory where he lived.

Police confirmed the Rev. James P. Robichaud, 56, an Augusta native, committed suicide.

Robichaud most recently served at St. Agnes Parish of Pittsfield and Our Lady of the Snows Parish of Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had temporarily suspended Robichaud on Thursday pending an investigation into an allegation he sexually abused a girl 29 years ago, in 1979.

Robichaud, who was born and raised in Augusta, became an ordained priest in April 1979 and the same year was assigned to St. Jean-Baptiste Parish in Lowell, Mass. He served at that parish until 1983.

"This is a tragic end to a story that we may never completely understand," Bishop Richard Malone said in a statement released Friday by the diocese. "It is simply our mission to bring the healing presence of Jesus to this agonizing situation."

The same statement noted there is not yet sufficient information to dismiss or substantiate the abuse charge.

"May His love work through each of us to find compassion for the woman who made the complaint, Fr. Robichaud's soul, his family, friends and parish community," Malone's statement said.

The diocese said it would release further details about the abuse complaint at a later time.

Robichaud attended the Oblate College and Seminary in Natick, Mass., from 1970 to 1971. He later earned a bachelor's in English from Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., in 1974. He studied at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and earned a master's in divinity in 1978.

The announcement of Robichaud's suicide came as a surprise to those who knew him.

"That doesn't seem possible," said Patricia Connery, a Palmyra resident who sits on the St. Agnes Parish Council. "He was a wonderful person."

"He was well-liked and he was a good chaplain," said Denise Roy, a nurse at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass., where Robichaud served as chaplain from 1983 to 1993.

Roy recalled Robichaud was studying to be an emergency medical technician and said the priest had worked with Lowell firefighters.

Harvey Paul, Maine director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called the suicide "tragic."

"We grieve for everyone involved in this sad situation," he said in a statement.

During his nearly 30 years as a priest, Robichaud also served as pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes church in Lowell, Mass., from 1994 to 1999. In 2000, he returned to Maine to become the administrator of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Dover-Foxcroft and St. Francis Parish in Brownville Junction.

In 2005, he added Dexter's St. Anne Parish to his responsibilities.

The three parishes merged in 2007, becoming Our Lady of the Snows Parish. That same year, he also became the St. Agnes Parish administrator.

Robichaud died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, said Sgt. Gary West of the Dover-Foxcroft police.

He said an employee at the rectory found the body in a second-floor bathroom, and it was believed that the shooting took place Thursday evening. No suicide note was found, West said. ..News Source.. by MATTHEW STONE

UK- FORMER SOLDIER'S SUICIDE IN CELL ENDS SEX CASE

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OK- Sex offenders struggle to find jobs

7-10-2005 Oklahoma:

As many as 270 sex offenders head to work in Tulsa each day, most in low-paying jobs in busy retail and industrial areas of the city, an analysis of Department of Corrections data indicates.

They often take jobs as stockers, carpenters, janitors, cooks, truck drivers, handymen and temporary laborers.

And those are the lucky ones.

Many sex offenders find it difficult to get a job while on the registry.

"It limits the type of employment that you can secure," said Sandra Lewis, executive director of the Day Center for the Homeless. "Just because of the stigma that goes along with having to register."

Plotting where each of the 584 registered sex offender lives in Tulsa reveals a map with many living in or near downtown. Other concentrations of sex offenders can be found living near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue, near 11th Street and U.S. 169 and 31st Street and Garnett Road.

Plotting where sex offenders work reveals a map depicting concentrations of offenders again in the downtown area as well as areas near major highways such as Memorial Drive between the Broken Arrow Expressway and the Creek Turnpike.

About 15 sex offenders also listed work addresses along the busy industrial area near Mingo Road between 51st and 61st streets, according to DOC data.

Nearly 60 percent of employed registered sex offenders working in Tulsa listed occupations in the labor industry such as painters and mechanics. Another 21 percent work in service industry type positions such as sales, customer service and in one case as a hair stylist.

Twenty-one registered offenders, or about 8 percent of the total employed, worked in professional-type positions such as engineers, computer programers and accountants.

Many sex offenders either work in the service industry or are self-employed, said the Rev. Steve Whitaker, executive director at John 3:16 Mission homeless shelter.

"Construction, concrete, roofing -- those kinds of things are where those guys typically can make a good living," Whitaker said.

"Some of those guys are dangerous and they need to be watched for the rest of their life," Whitaker said. "But there are some of them, I think, we can restore back to our cities, our churches, as our neighbors."

One mother said she is not sure how much of an impact the sex offender registration requirements had on her son and his attempts to find a job.

The mother, who requested anonymity, said her son was a senior at Salina High School in 1999 when he was arrested for what she described, with much embarrassment, as a "high school thing." The mother said her son was walking to the high school restroom when he exposed himself to a group of freshman gym students.

Police were called and her son was led away in handcuffs from school to jail, where he stayed until his court date, she said.

Four months later, he pleaded guilty to indecent exposure. He received a five-year suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, court records reflect.

While her son avoided prison time, she said he couldn't escape the specter that followed him in the small Mayes County community.

"He had to leave this community," the mother said.

Her son dropped out of high school and moved to Tulsa. The mother said her son had a hard time landing a job and when he did, he had trouble keeping it.

"It seemed like after that happened, he didn't care," the mother said.

Her son was found shot to death in November 2000 in a wooded area near Lake Hudson in what officials ruled a suicide, state Medical Examiner records indicate. He was one month shy of his 20th birthday.

Looking back, the mother said she is not sure whether having to register contributed to her son's suicide.

"I'm not saying that's what did it," the mother said. She said some consideration should be given to sex offender registration requirements when the charge stems from a nonviolent act.

"He was a pretty normal kid," the mother said. The sex offender registration requirements "changed his life." ..News Source.. by CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer

OH- Uniontown woman charged in rape case

6-21-2008 Ohio:

Summit County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a Uniontown woman in connection with the rape and sexual battery of a teenage girl.

Virginia Johnson, 38, was arraigned this morning in Barberton Municipal Court on felony charges of rape, permitting child abuse, sexual battery, disseminating sexual material involving a minor and unlawful restraint.

Sgt. Dave Brown of the sheriff's department said detectives began investigating Johnson and her longtime friend, Stephan Brothers, 40, after receiving information that the pair were allegedly sexually assaulting the girl.

Brown said the abuse allegedly began three years ago.

Sheriff's detectives executed a search warrant at Brothers' home in Green and at Johnson's Uniontown residence on April 22. Detectives recovered cameras, computers and computer hardware.

Brothers was found dead in the garage area of his home by detectives during the April 22, search. His death was ruled a suicide.

Johnson is being held in the Summit County Jail on a $100,000 bond. ..News Source.. by Carl Chancellor, Beacon Journal staff writer

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Deceased Green man, Stark woman under investigation for sexual abuse of teen

SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the alleged sexual abuse of a teen girl by her relative, Virginia Johnson, of Hartville, and deceased Green resident Stephan Brothers.

Detectives raided the homes of both April 22 after the girl reported the abuse. Deputies recovered cameras, computers and computer hard drives.

According to a preliminary report by the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, Brothers, 40, of Raber Terrace, was found dead inside his garage April 28 from carbon monoxide poisoning in an apparent suicide.

Johnson, 38, faces charges of rape, permitting child abuse, sexual battery, disseminating sexual material involving a minor and unlawful restraint. She is being held in the Summit County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

Johnson was arraigned in Barberton Municipal Court June 18 and the case was transferred to Summit County Common Pleas Court for a June 27 hearing. ..News Source..

Teacher charged with sex offence commits suicide

6-15-2008 Australia:

A RESPECTED Perth school-teacher committed suicide within hours of being charged with child sex offences.

Jeff Cahill, 48, was the head of science at Carmel School, a Jewish college in Dianella. He was a finalist last year for the esteemed $50,000 Premier's Prize for Excellence in Secondary Science Teaching.

Mr Cahill took his life on Friday, June 6, after detectives searched his home the previous day and charged him with child sex offences.

Police were investigating allegations about sexual activities with a 15-year-old boy he met on the internet.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was not a student at the school at which Mr Cahill taught.

Mr Cahill was well-respected in education circles and had written papers used to develop WA's high school science curriculum.

A police source told The Sunday Times the boy went to Mr Cahill's Mt Lawley home on Sunday, May 11, where they engaged in sex.

The 15-year-old boy told police he exchanged contact details with Mr Cahill in an internet chat room. Mr Cahill made no admissions to police.

But he told his lawyer Jeremy Birman he had believed the boy to be over the 16 years age of consent.

He told Mr Birman he had responded to a classified ad on a website. The advertiser claimed to be 17 years old, published a mobile phone number and offered his services for cash.

Police were called a week later when the boy's parents filed a complaint.

It is understood a computer and mobile phone were seized during the home search.

Mr Cahill's body was found at home by a friend the next night, after he failed to keep an appointment.

It is alleged that through the sex was agreed to by both parties, it was illegal because the boy was under the age of consent.

In light of Mr Cahill's death, police charges have been dropped.

More than 500 people including friends, and past and present students, attended Mr Cahill's funeral at Midland on Friday.

Mr Birman said the State Government recently changed the Criminal Code to abolish the defence of reasonable but mistaken belief of age in under-age sex cases.

Anyone over 19 years old having sexual relations with a child under 16 is automatically guilty of a serious offence.

"Populist legislation like this invites entrapment and blackmail," Mr Birman said.

"An accused person should have the right to put his side of a story to a jury. The changes to the law were intended to protect victims. Who is the real victim in this case?"

Mr Birman called on Attorney-General Jim McGinty to review the law.

..News Source.. by Nicole Cox and Jon Bassett

PA- Man accused of sexual assault commits suicide

6-15-2008 Pennsylvania:

DARLINGTON TWP. — A Darlington Township man apparently killed himself Friday, two days after he was charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.

Donald L. Uber, 61, no street address available, was found by relatives on his living-room floor shortly before 9 a.m., said Beaver County deputy coroner Lloyd “Skip” Haswell.

Uber was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, and the death was being “treated as a suicide,” Haswell said. A .22-caliber rifle was found nearby. Uber was last seen by relatives around 7:30 a.m. Friday.

“There was really no indication that he might take his own life,” Haswell said.

Township police had charged Uber Wednesday with assaulting the girl on April 9 in a garage in the township. A police brief on the charges appeared in The Times Friday.

The girl’s grandmother caught Uber molesting the child and called police, according to court documents.

Police reported that Uber admitted to touching the girl’s genitals.

Uber faced charges of indecent assault, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. ..News Source.. by J.D. Prose

OR- Rape suspect dies at OHSU

6-14-2008 Oregon:

The rape suspect who used a bed sheet to hang himself Tuesday in the Umatilla County Jail died as a result of his injuries.

David Eugene Malone, 29, died at 6:11 p.m. Wednesday. He was the suspect in a violent rape case and faced charges of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sex abuse, first- and second-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

Malone had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was going to trial in less than two weeks and faced a life sentence if a jury convicted him.

Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo said Malone was the lone inmate in an administrative segregation cell, where he hung himself. But doing that took considerable practice and effort.

Trumbo explained Malone had cut a sheet into thin strips and worked the strips through ventilation holes that are three-eighths of an inch wide.

The vents are supposed to be "hang-proof," Trumbo said, but Malone poked one end of the sheet through a vent hole and then used a pencil or toothbrush to hook the end and pull it through another vent hole.

Malone did that with several thin strips of the sheet until he had enough to support his weight.

Trumbo said the cells must have ventilation and the vent holes are as small as possible to still allow air flow.

"Ultimately, if a person is bent on taking their own life, they are going to do it," Trumbo said.

Malone was in the segregation cell because of the charges against him. Trumbo also said Malone wasn't taking any medications and mental health authorities previously judged he was in good condition.

Jail staff looked in on Malone every 30 minutes. Trumbo said a staff member looked at Malone and made eye contact with him, but when staff returned 30 minutes later Malone was hanging from a bed sheet.

Staff gave Malone CPR until an ambulance arrived to take him to St. Anthony Hospital. From there, a helicopter took Malone to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where he died.

Pendleton police arrested Malone Aug. 23, 2007, 10 days after a man attacked a woman from behind around 4:45 a.m. Aug. 13, 2007, in the first block of Southeast Isaac Avenue. The attacker allegedly grabbed the woman's neck and bounced her head off the pavement before raping her.

Police used DNA and other evidence to track down Malone. Authorities also found Malone was an ex-convict who had served three years in an Oregon prison for rape. ..News Source.. by Phil Wright, The East Oregonian

CA- Police Say Wanted Sex Offender Kills Self

6-13-2008 California:

Billy Potts Accused Of Kidnapping, Assault

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A man who told police he was wanted sex offender Billy Potts shot himself to death on Friday morning, authorities said.

Potts was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl earlier this week.

Authorities said Potts was confronted by a police officer. Potts then turned a gun on himself, police said. ..NewsSource.. by KCRA.com

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Person of Interest in Stockton Amber Alert Found Dead

STOCKTON, CA - A man who fatally shot himself by the delta in San Joaquin County Friday morning was the person of interest in a Stockton Amber Alert incident Thursday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

Billy Don Potts, 71, was found when a California Highway Patrol officer stopped to check on a van stopped on Empire Tract Road northwest of Stockton. The officer approached the van to check on the welfare of the individual who was inside and that person said he was fine, said CHP spokesman Adrian Quintero. A short time later, the officer heard a gunshot. Re-approaching the van, the officer found the man inside dead of a gunshot, Quintero said.

Although the CHP officer didn't know it at the time, the van matched a description of one authorities were looking for in connection with the alleged abduction.

The sheriff's office confirmed the dead man was Potts, wanted in connection with the Amber Alert issued Thursday morning for a 12-year-old Stockton girl. The girl returned home, visibly unharmed, early Thursday afternoon.

The girl has since been placed with child protective services, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Les Garcia.

Investigators said that Potts, a registered sex offender was living with the girl's family. It's believed Potts planned taking the girl because he had the van, Garcia said. His other vehicle was found abandoned Thursday morning.

Investigators believe Potts used the van to drive the victim around. Garcia also said Potts dropped off the girl to her home Thursday because he may have known that authorities were looking for the two.

According to the girl's mother, Potts and her daughter left about 7 Wednesday night to go to a Food 4 Less in east Stockton. They didn't return. The mother first reported her daughter missing to authorities on Thursday morning. ..News Source.. by News10 KXTV

OR- Accused boxing club owner found dead

6-10-2008 Oregon:

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) -- The owner of a Klamath Falls boxing club died from an apparent suicide on the same day he was to report to a Medford jail on sex charges involving a 15-year-old girl.

The Herald and News reported that Edward G. Clarke was found hanging from a rope Monday afternoon at Klamath Boxing and Fitness. Klamath County authorities confirmed the death.

The 53-year-old had been charged with rape and sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty, and had until Monday to post $25,000 bail or report to the Jackson County Jail.

Clarke moved to Klamath Falls in the mid-1990s and started the boxing club. He took several boxers to events in the West and coached for the Oregon Golden Gloves team that went to regional and national tournaments.

He was arrested after witnesses told police that an older man and a girl were engaged in a sex act in a vehicle outside a Medford movie theater. ..News Source.. by Mail Tribune

OR- Ex-superintendent accused of child sex abuse shoots himself

6-9-2008 Oregon:

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- A former La Grande schools superintendent charged with molesting a 7-year-old girl has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Irv Nikolai was discovered with a gunshot wound to the chest in his Washington County home. His wife told authorities her husband had been cleaning a gun when it discharged Monday night.

Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson says there is no evidence of foul play.

The 71-year-old had been accused of inappropriately touching a 7-year-old girl during an April birthday party in Hillsboro. His trial had been scheduled for July 8.

Background: Sex abuse case

Nikolai was the interim superintendent in La Grande before resigning after his arrest. He had 20 years of experience as a superintendent, the last 14 in Oregon. ..News Source.. by Associated Press

FL- Former band instructor facing sex charges found dead

6-3-2008 Florida:

PORT CHARLOTTE — A former band instructor accused of molesting students at Port Charlotte High School died Monday, most likely as a result of suicide.

Sheriff’s Office investigators are awaiting a coroner’s report for confirmation.

Investigators found Bowe after responding to a report of a man with a gun at 18438 Temple Ave, Port Charlotte at 2:40 p.m. Monday.

The residence is owned by Dale Bowe and his wife Debbie Bowe, who is a civilian employee with the Sheriff’s Office.

She was possibly a witness to Dale Bowe’s death. The name of the 51-year-old, female witness to Bowe’s death is blacked out on the sheriff’s office’s incident report, but her place of business is listed as the sheriff’s office.

Dale Bowe, 46, was arrested early this year on charges of sexual battery against two Port Charlotte High School students. ...News Source.. by STAFF REPORT