Autistic Man in Jail for Talking to Some Kids

Dec 2011 Pennsylvania:

A Philadelphia area man with autism is being held on $100,000 bail for talking to some children.

The man, Daniel Lee, 26, of Wayne, PA, spoke to a group of three siblings, 8, 9 and 10 on Wednesday, asking them about their school and telling them he was on his way to a cabin in the woods. It’s unclear if he told the kids he wanted them to join him or not. (News accounts differ: See this and this.)

He walked off then found and talked to the kids again 20 minutes later near Wayne Elementary School, whereupon the children’s mom saw him and called the police. The police found the man in just two minutes.

Why so fast? My guess is because he was not a crafty creep trying to elude the authorities. He is a man with a disability that makes it hard for him to interact like a “normal” man around kids, which is apparently to never interact with them at all, but run in the opposite screaming, “Get away! I hate kids! I am not a predator!”

Now, WPVI “Action News” reports, Lee is in jail, “charged with Attempting to Lure Children into a structure, which is in reference to his statements about a cabin, corruption of the morals of a minor, and harassment.”

Sex offender with Alzheimer's says he can't remember abuse, gets 2 years in jail

4-10-15 New York:

Fabius, NY -- A Cortland County man told authorities he can't remember sexually abusing two children a decade ago.

John Webb, 66, of 104 Pine Hills Trailer Park, Homer, was sentenced today to two years in jail for the abuse.

He was arrested Oct. 9, 2013 after a Fabius girl reported one of the incidents to school officials, who contacted Child Protective Services, according to Onondaga County sheriff's deputies. A second victim came forward later.

The abuse apparently happened a decade ago. Webb, who has advanced Alzheimer's Disease, told authorities he just didn't remember it, his lawyer, Robert Baska, said in court.

Medical center food isn’t good enough for this obese sex offender

No matter what anyone thinks, if the state is going to incarcerate a person, they must recognize medical, physical and mental needs, and provide what is needed. The author calling him "crybaby" is clearly not professional and uncalled for; personal feelings must be set aside and deal with the needs of the person..

10-3-2014 New York:

Talk about a big crybaby. A 560-pound former pimp and convicted sex offender called The Post to whine about his taxpayer-funded stay at a Queens medical center — saying his bed was too small and the food is scanty and bland.

Kenneth Harvey, 58, says the Peninsula Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation in Far Rockaway has made his five-month stay a “bad dream.”

“My body is literally bending the mattress like an accordion,” Harvey said in his private room, which costs Medicaid and Social Security up to $10,000 a month.

“A lot of times when they bring a meal up here, almost nothing is on the plate,” he said. “There might be lettuce and tomatoes and two pieces of bread. That’s what they call lunch.”

The supersized slacker, who was once 700 pounds, said he griped to the state Health Department and Queens Legal Aid to no avail.

Albion Park child-sex offender 'struggling' in prison

10-1-2014 Australia:

An Albion Park man who sexually assaulted a child and later threatened to shoot her parents if she told anyone will learn his fate next month.

A jury took just two hours to convict Dennis Raymond Walker of four counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and one count of indecent assault during a trial held in April this year.

In a sentence hearing in the district court in Sutherland on Wednesday, Walker told the court he was having a hard time in jail due to various health problems, which included depression, an enlarged prostate and osteoarthritis.

He said because he was in protective custody - as are all offenders involved in sexual offences against children - he received reduced time out of his cell compared to other inmates.

Screaming Inmates Make L.A. Rethink Jailing Mentally Ill

9-26-2014 California:

Inmates in suicide-proof gowns scream and bang on their cell doors one floor below Terri McDonald’s office in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. The bedlam is a reminder, if she needs one, that the mentally ill population in the largest U.S. jail system is out of control.

It’s a “shameful social and public-safety issue,” said McDonald, the assistant sheriff who runs Los Angeles County’s jails. “I believe we can do better. I believe at some point in the future we’ll look back and wonder, ‘What took so long?’”

That’s been a question for years. Conditions for mentally ill inmates in the county have been a focus of federal probes since 1997, and the number with psychiatric disorders was an issue in a recent debate over a new jail. Keeping a mentally ill person behind bars can cost more than $50,000 annually, while treatment could run two-thirds less. Criminal justice systems from Seattle to Miami with aggressive jail-diversion efforts have cut inmate headcounts -- and lowered recidivism rates.

L.A. County has taken tentative steps to join them. The board of supervisors in July endorsed the concept of broadbased diversion, and last week pledged $756,000 for a pilot program.

Swedish Man Acquitted of Rape Due to 'Sexomnia'

See also: 'Sexsomniac' RAF man sobs as he is cleared of raping girl in his sleep and Sleepless in America

9-20-2014 Sweden:

A Swedish man who was convicted of rape had his charges overturned after an appeals court found the man could have been asleep during the attack and cited "sexomnia" as a reason he should be released.

Mikael Halvarsson was acquitted of rape this month after experts said he was asleep during the attack and had no memory of the incident, according to a translated court ruling from the Sundsvall appeals court in Sweden.

Halvarsson was accused after the victim woke up as Halvarsson allegedly assaulted her on April 2, 2014. They had been sleeping in the same bed, but they each had their own blanket, according to the translated court documents, which also noted that she called the police the next morning, and they found Halvarsson still asleep in her bed when they arrived.

In the appeal, Halvarsson's previous girlfriend testified that he had previously tried once to have sex with her when she was sleeping. When she stopped him, he then acted confused and asked what had happened.

Judge revokes convicted sex offender’s probation

9-19-2014 National:

A convicted sex offender who distributed child pornography while he was on probation will spend the next one to 15 years in the Utah state prison.

Seventh District Judge Lyle R. Anderson on Aug. 26 imposed a 2011 sentence against Mathew Lee Gough, after the 23-year-old Moab man admitted that he violated the terms of his probation.

Gough declined to address the court. But Grand County Public Defender Don Torgerson said his client acknowledges the violations. According to an affidavit and order to show cause, Gough distributed child pornography five times on June 26.

He also admitted that he used Adderal. The prescription drug is commonly used to treat attention deficit disorder, but it’s also a powerful stimulant that is widely abused, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Norfolk won’t prosecute accused predator because he has dementia

9-14-2013 Massachusetts:

Norfolk prosecutors notified some two dozen alleged victims of accused sexual predator William E. Sheehan this week that the former Foxborough teacher and Boy Scout leader will not be prosecuted because his advanced dementia makes him unable to stand trial.

The decision, after a psychological examination commissioned by prosecutors, brings an end to the state’s criminal investigation of a set of allegations that date back four decades.

Sheehan, 74, is now in a Florida nursing home. Under the law, defendants must be able to meaningfully participate in their own cases.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey called Sheehan’s alleged crimes “predatory and disturbing” and their scope “shocking.” In a statement Friday, he praised the alleged victims who came forward to report their stories.

“We are grateful for their courage,’’ Morrissey said. “Speaking out today, even decades later, will hopefully make it safer for other victims to step forward and maybe even help prevent such a terrible thing from happening to other children.”

After receiving the pyschological report, prosecutors in Morrissey’s office spent the week delivering the disappointing news in personal phone calls to the men, who have been waiting a year for a decision.

“I feel badly victims have no sense of justice,’’ said Foxborough Police Chief Ed O’Leary, adding that there are no more current leads to follow.