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Suspect in sex assault reportedly commits suicide

8-31-2011 Indiana:

A man being investigated for sexually assaulting his daughter took his own life on Wednesday morning, police said.

The man's wife returned home from work about 9:30 a.m. and found her husband on the living room couch with a gunshot wound to his head, according to a police report. The wife told police he had been feeling very depressed of late.

The daughter filed a police report on Aug. 23 claiming that her father has been sexually abusing and raping her for years at their home, while the mother was working. She also said her older sister had been abused by their father, according to police.

The daughter told police that her father had threatened to kill them if they ever told the mother.

The St. Joseph County Family Violence/Special Victims Unit had been investigating.

The Tribune is not naming the location or the gunshot victim to protect the identify of the victim in the sexual assault case.

It is unclear if anyone else was home at the time of the shooting. ..Source.. by Tom Moor

Sex offender kills self

8-29-2011 North Carolina:

RALEIGH -- A convicted sex offender with a history of child molestation offenses dating back to 1995 was scheduled to appear in court Monday on charges of attempted rape and indecent liberties with a child.

Someone instead called 911 Monday morning after finding Michael Assaad Lahoud, 54, dead inside his car at a North Raleigh parking lot.

"It was a suicide," Melanie Shekita, a Wake prosecutor said Monday afternoon. Raleigh (police) are calling it a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Lahoud was charged between late 2008 and 2009 with 11 counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of attempted rape.

"He was supposed to plead guilty to some of those and go to prison," Shekita said.

Lahoud would have spent between eight and 10 years in prison for the offenses, Shekita said.

The police were notified at 7:53 a.m. about a dead person in the parking lot of an office complex at 7008 Harps Mill Road, Jim Sughrue, a Raleigh police spokesman, said Monday afternoon.

Lahoud of 1905 Grove Point Court was given a deferred prosecution for indecent liberties in 1995, then convicted of four counts of indecent liberties, one in 2002 and three in 2004, according to the N.C. Sex Offender Registry. Prison records show he received probation and suspended sentences and never served time in prison for the offenses.

In 2008, Lahoud's neighbors were baffled by the news of his arrest. They described him as a quiet, churchgoing, hard-working general contractor.

Investigators think the offenses involved at least four juveniles - one girl and three boys.

They think the offenses took place between 2001 and 2006, court records show.

One of the victims, who was 15 when Lahoud was arrested, told investigators that he was fondled by Lahoud at least five times.

Three other teens also told investigators Lahoud fondled them on multiple occasions when they were younger. ..Source.. by NewsObserver.com

Sex offender landlord dies on eve of court appearance

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Police say they're investigating the death of a Raleigh landlord accused of molesting a tenant's children.

Michael Lahoud, 55, of 1905 Grove Point Ct., Raleigh, was expected to appear in court Monday and likely would have been sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

Those who knew Lehoud, say he hated jail and after two months behind bars, he and his family came up with his $2.5M bond.

A mother of one of his alleged victims told ABC11 Eyewitness News, she believed he had molested hundreds of children and knew of over 30.

She said Lehoud molested her son ten years ago when he was a young boy.

After learning of Lahoud's death, the woman says she was happy to tell her son he was found in his car at an office complex on Harps Mill Road near his north Raleigh home. He had been shot to death and although his death is an apparent suicide.

"I've seen jubilation in my son's voice today, and a light that came back that was never there -- that that man took." she said choking up. and a light that came back that was never there - that that man took."

The woman says she is celebrating the news.

"We're celebrating today, celebrating," she said. "This is a celebration. My son and I had this conversation yesterday. We knew we would never see the cuffs on that man."

Even though Lahoud is dead, his latest victims will never get to see him accept responsibility.

"I feel sorry for the children who were expecting to see justice today because they didn't," she added.

Melanie Shekita, the attorney who was prosecuting Lahoud, said it's a sad situation for everyone involved.

"The case has ended. Obviously we couldn't go forward with it," said Wake County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Shekita. "For me, it means another child will never be molested again by him, but it's a sad situation by all involved."

Lahoud, who was listed on North Carolina's sex offender registry, had multiple convictions for indecent liberties with minors. In each case, plea agreements kept him out of jail.

In 2002, he was sentenced to a year of probation for an offense in 2001.

In 2004, he was sentenced to two years of probation for offenses in 1994, 1998, and 2001.

He was rearrested on indecent liberties charges in 2008 and a charge of attempted second-degree rape was added in early 2009.

According to a search warrant filed in his case, Lahoud managed rental properties around Wake County.

While out on bond, he tried to open a daycare center in one of the buildings he owned. He lined up investors but a judge stopped the plan. ..Source.. by Ed Crump

9-hour standoff in Holly Hill ends in suicide of rape suspect

8-26-2011 Florida:

HOLLY HILL -- A man who overdosed after police came to his house to arrest him on charges of raping a 9-year-old girl called a few of his friends and told them he had done something terrible, Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker said Friday.

A few hours later, 55-year-old Edward Eugene Carter's refusal to emerge from his residence for the arrest prompted a nine-hour standoff on Daytona Avenue that included the Volusia County sheriff's SWAT team, the Bomb Squad and a specialized robot.

In the end, just after 2 a.m. Friday, police found Carter slumped over on a desk inside his two-story house, his handgun next to him, Barker said Friday. Preliminary autopsy reports showed Carter -- the father of three girls -- had killed himself with a lethal dose of alcohol, Xanax and methamphetamines, Barker said.

Police first arrived at Carter's home on Daytona Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Thursday to arrest him on a warrant for sexual battery of a child, Barker said. The case had just been reported to police on Wednesday, even though the abuse had been going on for almost a year, the chief said.

According to the arrest affidavit, the girl and her godmother were doing the child's homework Wednesday afternoon when suddenly the youngster passed a note to her godmother that said "Jed had sex with me," the police report shows. "Jed" is the name friends and neighbors knew Carter by, police said.

The godmother immediately told the child's mother, and the two women then asked the child a few questions, the report shows. The girl drew pictures of what occurred between her and Carter, police said. She also wrote out another note that said: "I was scared to tell mom because he told me not to tell no one. I was very scared!"

Police began their investigation Thursday and during the course of that inquiry, Carter made several statements that confirmed the allegations the child had made, Barker said.

Thursday afternoon investigators had enough evidence to confront Carter with an arrest warrant, police said. That's when the trouble started.

Officers reported Carter came out of the house momentarily with his weapon in his waistband. He then went back into his house and refused to come out, police said.

Barker said he tried to negotiate with Carter, but Carter's level of intoxication increased throughout the night and he was uncooperative and refused to come out of the home.

"We tried everything possible to resolve this," Barker said.

As the standoff continued, multiple units arrived at the scene, including the Volusia County sheriff's SWAT team and the Bomb Squad, which deployed a specialized robot.

One neighbor described the street as a "war zone," as long-range marksmen and an armored tactical vehicle moved through.

Barker said the SWAT team deployed tear gas into the home, but got no response. The Bomb Squad robot searched the residence but found no one.

Carter was finally found dead about 2:15 a.m. on the second floor of the home with no visible trauma to his body. At no time during the standoff were any shots fired, authorities said.

Friday afternoon, detectives were expected to return to Carter's green-colored house to search for evidence, Barker said.

The chief said Carter may have victimized other children. The suspect had a swimming pool at his home that was popular with a few neighborhood children. ..Source.. by LYDA LONGA and CHRIS GRAHAM, Staff writers

'Horrific' Child Sex Abuse Investigation Linked To Dead Fireman

8-9-2011 Washington:

It appears a veteran Pierce County firefighter killed himself rather than face a police investigation into the repeated molestation of his adopted daughters.

KIRO Team 7 Investigators have discovered that 48-year-old Lt. Scott D. Hamrick of Eatonville, committed suicide by carbon monoxide on June 30 inside a horse trailer at the family's ranch. Police documents say Hamrick left a note, saying he was "afraid he would be going to prison."

After a confidential source informed Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne that Hamrick was under police investigation for sexual abuse of children at the time of his death, KIRO Team 7 Investigators contacted Central Pierce County's Fire Chief, Doug Willis. He confirmed that a detective had been talking with him and others within the department regarding some "particularly disturbing allegations" especially because Hamrick and his wife had been involved with foster and special needs kids.

Chief Willis shared with KIRO 7 Eyewitness News a resignation letter sent to him by Hamrick June 23 which states, "Personal issues have caused me to tender my resignation to the department effective immediately. I have enjoyed my time with the department and sincerely regret having to leave. Please list my reasons as personal only with no contact to be made. (Signed) Scott Hamrick ," Station 68 A-shift." Hamrick had worked at for Central District Fire and Rescue for 27 years.

A few months ago, an adopted foster daughter of the Hamricks was arrested by Eatonville police on accusations that she stole an iPod or iPod Touch. At first, the girl claimed she used the stolen item to send text messages to friends, claiming she had been molested by her father, Scott Hamrick. Police never investigated the claim, though. Eatonville Mayor Ray Harper told KIRO 7 the reason was that the girl recanted her accusation while being interviewed by an officer.

"Our officer was involved, he did arrest her, she did go to Remann Hall (where the juvenile court is located)," Harper said. "She had told the officer that she was just looking for attention from her friends and denied it to the officer."

But law enforcement sources told KIRO 7 the police interview of the girl took place with the Hamricks in the same room. Only then did the girl claim the texts were all lies.

KIRO 7 learned that the Department of Social and Health Services also may have been notified of the molestation claims.

DSHS spokesperson Sherry Hill would only confirm that the Hamrick's were licensed foster parents from October 1997 to September 2004. She said DSHS can't confirm any investigation because the case involves a juvenile.

In Eatonville, there are still questions about what could have been done differently, now that the allegations against Scott Hamrick are being investigated by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.

Asked if Eatonville officials would be looking into their handling of the case, Harper said, "Oh, most certainly. We always look at our procedures if something we feel wasn't followed through."

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesperson Ed Troyer asked that KIRO 7 hold off reporting on our findings for a few days because his detectives are "going to be making some arrests." Troyer described the case as "disgusting and horrific," but ongoing. Troyer indicated that the sexual abuse involved more than just Hamrick.

A Facebook page, run by Hamrick's wife, Drewanne, says she and Scott had five daughters and three sons. ..Source.. by Chris Halsne, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter