Man Posts Online Threats & Allegations - Gets Convicted

John E. Murphy, Acting United States Attorney announced that 32-year-old Steven Weste is in federal custody today after a jury in San Antonio found him guilty of making false statements to and concealing material facts from federal authorities and e-mailing threats to kill people including a person hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent, a Virginia police officer, and Weste’s former girlfriend.

Following the jury’s verdict handed down yesterday, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ordered that Weste, who had been out on a $50,000 unsecured bond prior to trial, be remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal. Judge Rodriguez scheduled sentencing for October 30, 2009.

Weste, a Judson High School teacher who was transferred to an administrative post subsequent to being indicted, faces up to five years in federal prison per each of the 15 counts of which he was convicted.

The jury found that between November 2006 and January 2007, Weste sent scores of e-mails which either contained threats to kill or contained false statements. Testimony during the trial revealed that among those e-mails, Weste, in December 2006, threatened to kill his former student and former girlfriend, who was at the time attending the College of William and Mary in Virginia, upon her return home during Christmas break. Weste followed up by sending e-mails to a campus Police Lieutenant threatening to kill him and “everyone close to” him if he continued investigating Weste’s initial e-mail threat to kill his former girlfriend.

Testimony also revealed that Weste e-mailed a threatening communication on December 21, 2006 to one of his former students who was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which Weste threatened to kill the student and his entire family.

In addition to e-mailing the threats to kill, jurors also found that in November 2006, Weste, using aliases, sent various e-mails to federal authorities which contained false child molestation and sexual assault allegations with the intent to discredit an individual hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent in El Paso. The agent had previously dated the sister of Weste’s former girlfriend and Judson student.

This case was investigated by the College of William and Mary Police Department, Department of Homeland Security–Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Internal Affairs (CBPIA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The police departments from the Judson Independent School District, University of Texas at Austin and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as the San Antonio Police Department also provided assistance in this investigation.

Former CBPIA Special Agent Joe Arredondo, who began the investigation more than two years ago, came out of retirement to provide invaluable assistance to the prosecution throughout the trial. Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Blankinship and Tom McHugh are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

Man Posts Online Threats & Allegations - Gets Convicted

John E. Murphy, Acting United States Attorney announced that 32-year-old Steven Weste is in federal custody today after a jury in San Antonio found him guilty of making false statements to and concealing material facts from federal authorities and e-mailing threats to kill people including a person hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent, a Virginia police officer, and Weste’s former girlfriend.

Following the jury’s verdict handed down yesterday, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ordered that Weste, who had been out on a $50,000 unsecured bond prior to trial, be remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal. Judge Rodriguez scheduled sentencing for October 30, 2009.

Weste, a Judson High School teacher who was transferred to an administrative post subsequent to being indicted, faces up to five years in federal prison per each of the 15 counts of which he was convicted.

The jury found that between November 2006 and January 2007, Weste sent scores of e-mails which either contained threats to kill or contained false statements. Testimony during the trial revealed that among those e-mails, Weste, in December 2006, threatened to kill his former student and former girlfriend, who was at the time attending the College of William and Mary in Virginia, upon her return home during Christmas break. Weste followed up by sending e-mails to a campus Police Lieutenant threatening to kill him and “everyone close to” him if he continued investigating Weste’s initial e-mail threat to kill his former girlfriend.

Testimony also revealed that Weste e-mailed a threatening communication on December 21, 2006 to one of his former students who was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which Weste threatened to kill the student and his entire family.

In addition to e-mailing the threats to kill, jurors also found that in November 2006, Weste, using aliases, sent various e-mails to federal authorities which contained false child molestation and sexual assault allegations with the intent to discredit an individual hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent in El Paso. The agent had previously dated the sister of Weste’s former girlfriend and Judson student.

This case was investigated by the College of William and Mary Police Department, Department of Homeland Security–Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Internal Affairs (CBPIA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The police departments from the Judson Independent School District, University of Texas at Austin and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as the San Antonio Police Department also provided assistance in this investigation.

Former CBPIA Special Agent Joe Arredondo, who began the investigation more than two years ago, came out of retirement to provide invaluable assistance to the prosecution throughout the trial. Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Blankinship and Tom McHugh are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

Online Predator Back in Court

A Utah man who police say raped and sexually assaulted women he met through online LDS chat sites is in trouble again for striking up new Internet conversations.


Kent Parkinson, 28, appeared in 4th District Court on Wednesday for an order to show cause filed by prosecutors who say he's been contacting woman on the Internet -- a direct violation of his plea in abeyance.

In September 2006, Parkinson pleaded no contest to five counts of forcible sex abuse, two counts of forcible sodomy, 10 counts of rape and one count of aggravated kidnapping, all first- and second- degree felonies.

Prosecutors agreed to hold those in abeyance for three years -- and not ask for prison time -- if Parkinson could complete a series of requirements, including sex-offender treatment, paying fines and filing progress reports.

Prosecutor Mariane O'Bryant said in 2006 that although the deal seemed lenient, it was acceptable to the two victims, who were so traumatized by the abuse that more court hearings would have been difficult.

Police say Parkinson met the first woman online and later went to her home in Springville to watch a movie. During the movie, the woman told police Parkinson touched her breasts and genitals without her consent, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

The second case also began with an online meeting and when the two met in person, police said, Parkinson kept the woman against her will for 10 hours and raped her repeatedly at a home in Orem, according to an affidavit.

Defense attorney Debbie Hill told the court Wednesday that she wanted time to talk to Parkinson about the new allegations and the case was set for Nov. 26.

In September 2006, Parkinson was told that if he failed to meet the conditions of his probation or violated the law again, he could be sentenced and face the potential of life in prison.

The new chatting allegations arose when a woman from Layton said she met Parkinson on the Web site LDSplanet.com, and they chatted then agreed to meet.

She met him in July and they hung out several times, although she said she was hesitant to kiss him as much as he seemed to want to, she wrote in a sworn statement filed in 4th District Court.

They hung out a few more times but Parkinson began to get more aggressive and even unfriendly, the woman wrote. At one point she told him her feelings had changed and she wasn't interested and he got mad and said he never wanted to see her again, then sped away in his car, according to her statement.

The woman said she got home and deleted him from her Internet chat accounts, then searched to see if he had a MySpace account so she could block him from that, too.

She told police that during that search she found a newspaper article about his original cases and that he was not supposed to be using the Internet.

"That is when we decided that we had to contact someone about it so nothing else could happen to me or anyone else," she wrote in her statement.

original

(how much can we bet he'll just change his nickname(s), change his emails, maybe change his ISP and go right back to it? - Fighter)

Online Predator Back in Court

A Utah man who police say raped and sexually assaulted women he met through online LDS chat sites is in trouble again for striking up new Internet conversations.


Kent Parkinson, 28, appeared in 4th District Court on Wednesday for an order to show cause filed by prosecutors who say he's been contacting woman on the Internet -- a direct violation of his plea in abeyance.

In September 2006, Parkinson pleaded no contest to five counts of forcible sex abuse, two counts of forcible sodomy, 10 counts of rape and one count of aggravated kidnapping, all first- and second- degree felonies.

Prosecutors agreed to hold those in abeyance for three years -- and not ask for prison time -- if Parkinson could complete a series of requirements, including sex-offender treatment, paying fines and filing progress reports.

Prosecutor Mariane O'Bryant said in 2006 that although the deal seemed lenient, it was acceptable to the two victims, who were so traumatized by the abuse that more court hearings would have been difficult.

Police say Parkinson met the first woman online and later went to her home in Springville to watch a movie. During the movie, the woman told police Parkinson touched her breasts and genitals without her consent, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

The second case also began with an online meeting and when the two met in person, police said, Parkinson kept the woman against her will for 10 hours and raped her repeatedly at a home in Orem, according to an affidavit.

Defense attorney Debbie Hill told the court Wednesday that she wanted time to talk to Parkinson about the new allegations and the case was set for Nov. 26.

In September 2006, Parkinson was told that if he failed to meet the conditions of his probation or violated the law again, he could be sentenced and face the potential of life in prison.

The new chatting allegations arose when a woman from Layton said she met Parkinson on the Web site LDSplanet.com, and they chatted then agreed to meet.

She met him in July and they hung out several times, although she said she was hesitant to kiss him as much as he seemed to want to, she wrote in a sworn statement filed in 4th District Court.

They hung out a few more times but Parkinson began to get more aggressive and even unfriendly, the woman wrote. At one point she told him her feelings had changed and she wasn't interested and he got mad and said he never wanted to see her again, then sped away in his car, according to her statement.

The woman said she got home and deleted him from her Internet chat accounts, then searched to see if he had a MySpace account so she could block him from that, too.

She told police that during that search she found a newspaper article about his original cases and that he was not supposed to be using the Internet.

"That is when we decided that we had to contact someone about it so nothing else could happen to me or anyone else," she wrote in her statement.

original

(how much can we bet he'll just change his nickname(s), change his emails, maybe change his ISP and go right back to it? - Fighter)

ONLINE DATING: FOR CONVICTS?

From Lovefraud.com:

“His online personal ad shows him as a clean-cut, athletic man with a friendly face, a sense of humor and a love for the outdoors. Many women would consider him a serious prospect, based on his ad. The problem is, Mike Andes is a convicted murderer …”

A reader recently sent Lovefraud this news story about Prison Personals, produced by KATU in Portland, Oregon. It turns out that thousands of convicts are looking for love online.

Prisoners generally do not have access to the Internet. But apparently friends and family members can provide information to websites such as WriteAPrisoner.com, which then posts ads. Anyone who wants to respond to an ad—offering a gesture of friendship to someone behind bars—must send a reply via snail mail. According to KATU, the letters are flowing in.

READ THE REST OF THIS GREAT POST BY CLICKING HERE

ONLINE DATING: FOR CONVICTS?

From Lovefraud.com:

“His online personal ad shows him as a clean-cut, athletic man with a friendly face, a sense of humor and a love for the outdoors. Many women would consider him a serious prospect, based on his ad. The problem is, Mike Andes is a convicted murderer …”

A reader recently sent Lovefraud this news story about Prison Personals, produced by KATU in Portland, Oregon. It turns out that thousands of convicts are looking for love online.

Prisoners generally do not have access to the Internet. But apparently friends and family members can provide information to websites such as WriteAPrisoner.com, which then posts ads. Anyone who wants to respond to an ad—offering a gesture of friendship to someone behind bars—must send a reply via snail mail. According to KATU, the letters are flowing in.

READ THE REST OF THIS GREAT POST BY CLICKING HERE