View Full Version : Busted Martial Artists
hskwarrior
05-04-2018, 08:58 AM
LINK:https://www.thestar.com/amp/news/gta/2018/05/02/toronto-police-charge-four-time-canadian-olympic-coach-with-multiple-sex-assaults-of-taekwondo-student.html
10536
A former head coach with Taekwondo Canada is facing 13 charges related to sexual assault allegations involving a teenage girl he was coaching.
Toronto police arrested Shin Wook Lim, a four-time coach with Canada’s summer Olympic team, on Tuesday, alleging he sexually assaulted the student over the course of two years, from 2015 to 2017. His charges include six counts of sexual assault, five counts of sexual exploitation, and one count each of invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference.
Lim, 44, also worked as a coach at Black Belt World, a taekwondo dojo at Bloor St. W. and Ossington Ave.
Lim has an extensive history with the Canadian Olympic team and coached at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
He also worked as a youth Olympic team coach in the 2010 and 2014 qualifiers.
Taekwondo Canada, which represent Canadian athletes for the World Taekwondo Federation, said it is aware of the allegations against Lim.
“Taekwondo Canada does not tolerate sexual abuse or misconduct, and guarantees that Taekwondo Canada will deal with this extremely serious issue with one very clear goal — protecting our athletes and the integrity of our sport,” the group said in a Wednesday press release.
The group said Lim has been suspended, and added it will co-operate with the police investigation.
Tommy Chang, president of Black Belt World Canada on Thursday said the dojo was “shocked” to learn of the charges against Lim. “As always, our first priority is the health, safety and welfare of all of our students.”
“We have reached out to our students and parents, are fully co-operating with the authorities and will conduct our own investigation into the allegations. We will also closely monitor the legal proceedings. Master Lim has taken an indefinite leave of absence from Black Belt World Canada effective immediately.”
Lim is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on June 13.
With files from Claire Floody
GeneChing
08-23-2018, 04:10 AM
Man pleads guilty in martial arts studio child rape case (https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-in-martial-arts-studio-child-rape-case/817073498)
By: Associated Press
Updated: Aug 20, 2018 - 3:51 PM
https://mediaweb.kirotv.com/photo/2018/08/20/Untitled%20design%20_OP_12_CP__1534805439759.png_1 2684963_ver1.0_640_360.jpg
RENTON, Wash. - Authorities say a man has pleaded guilty to child rape in connection with a student at his martial arts studio in suburban Seattle.
The Renton Police Department said Monday that 43-year-old Robert James Morrison pleaded guilty last week to three counts of rape of a child and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
Police say Morrison was arrested in 2016 after investigation into allegations that he was having sexual contact with some of the underage students at his marital arts studio in Renton.
Police say a student told investigators that she was 15 when Morrison began having a sexual relationship with her. Police say two other students told investigators that Morrison sent them inappropriate pictures on Snapchat.
Morrison will be sentenced in September.
busted with snapchat.
https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/jiu-jitsu-instructor-accused-of-molesting-students-held-without-bond
oh, my...there is a really bad typo in that artical: 'marital' instead of 'martial'
Police say Morrison was arrested in 2016 after investigation into allegations that he was having sexual contact with some of the underage students at his marital arts studio in Renton.
GeneChing
08-23-2018, 10:23 AM
oh, my...there is a really bad typo in that artical: 'marital' instead of 'martial'
If I had a dollar for every time I came across this specific typo... :rolleyes:
This and 'King Fu' :p
GeneChing
08-30-2018, 08:11 AM
More on Jean Lopez here (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?42906-Tae-Kwon-Do&p=1308176#post1308176).
Taekwondo star Jean Lopez reinstated after ban from sport amid sexual misconduct allegations (https://www.click2houston.com/news/taekwondo-coach-from-sugar-land-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-reinstated-after-ban-from-sport)
By Click2Houston.com Staff
Posted: 10:45 PM, August 18, 2018
Updated: 10:45 PM, August 18, 2018
https://bobcat.grahamdigital.com/image/upload/view?width=1280&height=720&method=crop&url=https://media.click2houston.com/photo/2018/04/04/jean%20lopez%20getty_1522871899702.jpg_11882010_ve r1.0_640_360.jpg
Getty Images
HOUSTON - Noted taekwondo coach Jean Lopez, from Sugar Land, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, has been reinstated after being blocked from the sport earlier this year.
Lopez's attorney confirmed to KPRC 2 that the sanctions have been lifted by Safesport and he is eligible to coach again. Lopez was banned amid sexual misconduct charges that were filed this year.
The charges stem from an investigation that began three years ago.
Threads:
Busted Martial Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
2020 Tokyo Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64475-2020-Tokyo-Olympics)
Tae Kwon Do (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?42906-Tae-Kwon-Do)
GeneChing
08-30-2018, 08:17 AM
Now it's about Safe Sport.
Safe Sport added to lawsuit alleging USOC cover up of sexual abuse of taekwondo athletes by Lopez brothers (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/08/24/safe-sport-added-to-lawsuit-alleging-usoc-cover-up-of-sexual-abuse-of-taekwondo-athletes-by-lopez-brothers/)
Organizations accused of sex trafficking and forced labor by former Team USA athletes
https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/LDN-L-SAFESPORT-LOPEZ-0825-1.jpg?w=1018
Steven Lopez, an Olympic gold medalist in Tae Kwon Do is introduced as honorary captain before an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Houston. (AP Photo/George Bridges)
By SCOTT M. REID | sreid@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 24, 2018 at 4:40 pm | UPDATED: August 24, 2018 at 4:55 pm
The U.S. Center for Safe Sport has been added to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver Friday that alleges gross negligence and trafficking by Safe Sport and the U.S. Olympic Committee for failing to protect female taekwondo athletes from sexual abuse by Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez and his brother Jean, a longtime U.S. national team coach.
Kay Poe, a 2000 Olympian, on Friday joined other former and current Team USA athletes in a lawsuit that charges that the USOC, Safe Sport and USA Taekwondo, the sport’s national governing body, engaged in forced labor, sex trafficking and racketeering under federal RICO statutes by secretly obstructing investigations in allegations of sexual abuse by the Lopez brothers.
Specifically the lawsuit alleges that investigations into sexual abuse allegations against the Lopez brothers were suspended to allow the brothers to coach and compete in the 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 U.S. Championships.
The suit also alleges that Safe Sport’s claims of being independent are false and that the center is compromised by conflicts of interest. The center, which opened in March 2017, was created by and is financed by the USOC.
“This case will conclusively demonstrate that Safe Sport is a sham,” said Robert Allard, an attorney for Poe. “We have seen case after case highlighted by the recent decision to reinstate alleged serial predator JeanLopez where SafeSport bends over backward to protect pedophile coaches and, as a consequence, the financial interests of the USOC and its (national governing bodies).”
Friday’s amended complaint comes a week after Safe Sport removed Jean Lopez from its list of permanently ineligible individuals and given “interim restriction” status. It is unclear why Safe Sport made the change or what the conditions of the restriction are.
Jean Lopez was originally banned by Safe Sport in April for sexual misconduct and sexual misconduct involving a minor. Steven Lopez, a gold medalist at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, was placed on “interim suspension” on May 7 by Safe Sport for “allegations of misconduct.”
The Lopez brothers have denied any wrongdoing.
The suit, initially filed this past spring, alleges that the USOC, Safe Sport and USA Taekwondo “obstructed, attempted to obstruct, interfered, and or prevented the enforcement” of their policies by ignoring verbal and written complaints of sexual abuse, dismissing complaints of and refusing to act on reports of sexual abuse and delaying the investigation of reports of sexual abuse. The suit also alleges the organizations advised athletes to withdraw complaints of sexual abuse that they knew were truthful, offered to put athletes back on team rosters only if they withdrew truthful complaints of sexual abuse, and threatened athletes with consequences for failure to withdraw complaints.
Poe in 1996 at the age of 14 became the youngest ever member of the U.S. national taekwondo team. She alleges Jean Lopez began sexually exploiting her and engaging in sexual intercourse with her in the year leading up to the 2000 Olympics. The suit said Lopez forced Poe into sex at the 1999 World Championships in Alberta. Lopez’s abuse of Poe was known to many in the USOC and USA Taekwondo community, the suit alleges.
Mandy Meloon alleges Jean Lopez molested her while to she pretended to sleep on a trip to a 1997 World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt. Meloon was 15 at the time. Meloon began a sexual relationship with Steven Lopez in 2000, according to court documents. She alleges in the filing that Steven Lopez physically abused her in 2002 and raped her in 2004.
Heidi Gilbert alleges Jean Lopez drugged, molested and performed oral sex on her while they traveled to a 2003 World Cup event in Germany. Later, Gilbert alleges, Jean Lopez told her he wanted to leave his wife and have “Olympic babies” with her.
Gabriella Joslin alleges Steven Lopez sexually assaulted her during the 2006 German Open.
Threads:
Busted Martial Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
2020 Tokyo Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64475-2020-Tokyo-Olympics)
Tae Kwon Do (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?42906-Tae-Kwon-Do)
GeneChing
09-05-2018, 09:31 AM
This is BJJ so I suppose I could've posted it in Busted MMA fighters and fights, but I already posted there today. (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52219-Busted-MMA-fighters-and-fights&p=1310395#post1310395)
Martial arts teacher charged with molesting young teen (http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-gym-molester-20180830-story.html)
http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b883a6e/turbine/sd-1535654507-0409go709j-snap-image/640/640x360
Chula Vista Superior Court (Pauline Repard/San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pauline Repard
A South Bay martial arts instructor has been charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl at his home in National City two weeks ago.
Gabriel Abel Gonzalez, 39, pleaded not guilty in Chula Vista Superior Court on Wednesday to four felony counts of committing a lewd act on a child.
He is accused of touching the girl on four private parts of her body on Aug. 18.
His bail was raised from $100,000 to $400,000 because of the number of charges, Deputy District Attorney Julie Lynn said.
The alleged victim was not a student at the gym where Gonzalez worked. Authorities have said they have no evidence that any students or other children are victims.
Gonzalez turned himself in to National City police on Saturday, but was released until Monday, when he was arrested and booked into jail.
Gonzalez, who has made a living as a personal trainer at various gyms, was hired about six months ago to teach Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Chula Vista Jiu-Jitsu Club, according to his own former trainer.
Elias Gallegos, 42, owner of Alliance BJJ Eastlake, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu training gym, said Gonzalez has been his student for 15 years.
“He came up through me, from a white-belt (novice),” Gallegos said in an interview. “He couldn’t pay, so he helped me in classes as an assistant instructor. He was doing a great job.”
When other students under Gallegos opened the Chula Vista club about a year ago, they later took on Gonzalez as an instructor, Gallegos said.
Gallegos said he received an anonymous phone call last Friday from a person who claimed Gonzalez had molested a girl and persuaded her to keep quiet about it.
He confronted Gonzalez about it that night.
“He took a deep breath and said, ‘Let me explain,’” Gonzalez said. “It made me sick to my stomach. I lost it. I said, ‘That’s it, you’re done, you’re fired.’
“I told him he had two options — go on the run or turn himself in.”
Gonzalez gave him details on exactly what he had done to the girl, when, and where, Gallegos said.
Gallegos then called the alleged victim’s father, a friend, and told him when he had learned.
“It was one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had,” Gallegos said.
He said that on Monday he convened a meeting with parents of his young martial arts students and told them what had happened with Gonzalez.
“Everyone was numb, in shock,” Gallegos said.
“You hear about it (child molest allegations) but when it comes home to you — I feel like I’m in a bad dream. It’s devastating. I would have said Gabe is my brother, before.
“You see people try to hide it, but I want people to know I have zero tolerance here.”
The alleged victim’s father called Chula Vista police on Saturday to report the molestation. A police official said they took a report out of courtesy, even though the allegation was that the abuse occurred in National City, at Gonzalez’s home.
The Chula Vista police report was then forwarded to National City on Monday, and officers there used the complaint as a basis for arresting Gonzalez, authorities said.
GeneChing
09-05-2018, 09:37 AM
More BJJ underage fondling. WTH BJJ?
Martial arts instructor accused of fondling teens jailed without bond (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/davie/fl-sb-davie-jiu-jitsu-arrest-20180821-story.html)
Joao DaSilva
http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b7c739b/turbine/fl-1534882712-f7qjb7mmzj-snap-image/750/750x422
A 13-year-old girl told police her jiujitsu instructor, Joao DaSilva, reached under her bra and fondled her breasts approximately three times a week for three years, Davie police said. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Tonya Alanez
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The inappropriate touching by her jiujitsu teacher went on for three years as often as three times a week, a 13-year-old girl told Davie police.
The fondling of her breast, under her bra, began when she was younger than 12, a police report said.
Two weeks ago, a 15-year-old girl came forward and lodged mirror allegations against Joao Da Silva, owner and instructor at Raiva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 8234 W. State Road 84 in Davie, according to an arrest report.
And a third girl, 17, told Hollywood police that while attending a summer beach camp in June hosted by the martial arts studio, Da Silva molested her under the water.
“They gave statements saying they believe it was on purpose” and not accidental or as a part of their instruction, said Detective Vivian Gallinal, a spokeswoman for Davie police. “We don’t know if there are other victims. If so, please come forward.”
http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b7d2386/turbine/fl-1534927746-v1mxwjfcte-snap-image/400/400x225
Joao Da Silva was booked into Broward's jail late Tuesday afternoon (Broward Sheriff's Office)
Da Silva, 34, was arrested Tuesday afternoon. He was booked into the Broward Main Jail shortly after 4 p.m. on three felony counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and one count of sexual assault on a minor.
In a Wednesday morning court hearing, a Broward County judge ordered that Da Silva remain jailed without bond.
Da Silva ignored questions shouted by reporters as he was escorted in handcuffs from the Davie Police Department to a minivan waiting to drive him to the jail in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
His wife, Loi Da Silva, 35, hung up when a reporter called and identified herself Tuesday afternoon.
The 17-year-old victim had been a student at Da Silva’s jiujitsu studio for about two years and recalled several uncomfortable situations where Da Silva would place his hands inside of her martial arts uniform during training sessions, according to a report from Hollywood police.
Da Silva’s actions took an alarming turn on a day in June while he and the girl were in the ocean talking about a guy she was dating, according to a sworn statement the girl gave to police on Monday.
“Da Silva told her that he had to teach her what to do with a guy,” the police report said. Da Silva moved the girl’s swimsuit bottom to the side and told her to wrap her legs around him. He touched her inappropriately, police said.
The girl panicked, got out of the water and, out of fear, didn’t immediately tell anyone about the incident, the report said.
http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b7d647b/turbine/fl-1534944375-cepm0qlmgf-snap-image/400/400x225
Ordered held without bond during a court hearing Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. (Broward courts)
Raiva’s Facebook page was long on praise for Da Silva and his team posted by satisfied customers.
“Coach Joe and the entire team at Raiva are amazing!” said a March 3 post.
“The family-oriented atmosphere and attention is exactly why I love this place,” another person wrote. “If you want to embark on the beautiful journey of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Raiva is the first step.”
ljtrischitta@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta
GeneChing
10-31-2018, 08:33 AM
https://mwbbcwxck32zpp124d9nlwip-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/14171036_web1_copy_MORRISON-1200x800.jpg
Robert Morrison addresses the court Thursday during his sentencing hearing. Photo by Kayse Angel
KING COUNTY ROUNDUP
Martial Arts Teacher Sentenced in Sex Case; Lawsuit Filed Against Issaquah Schools (https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/martial-arts-teacher-sentenced-in-sex-case-lawsuit-filed-against-issaquah-schools/)
A weekly roundup of regional news
By Josh Kelety
Monday, October 29, 2018 2:30pm
• Emotions ran high on both sides of the courtroom Oct. 25 when former martial arts teacher Robert James Morrison, 44, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for sexual crimes against a minor.
Morrison was sentenced on three felony counts of rape of a child, one felony count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes and a gross misdemeanor count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
According to Renton Police Commander David Leibman, the incidents came to light when an acquaintance of the primary victim, identified only by her initials, notified Washington State Child Protective Services that Morrison was engaged in a sexual relationship with a student at his martial arts school, Lee’s Martial Arts studio in Renton.
According to the documents, the victim took martial arts at Morrison’s studio on and off for several years, but when she turned 14, the relationship changed as Morrison allegedly began sending to the victim Snapchats an texts of himself in his underwear, something she “thought was weird and not right.” The pictures then progressed from Morrison in his underwear to him wearing a towel and eventually himself nude. — Renton Reporter
Half a decade but he'll probably get out earlier on parole. Pederast sex offenders are often model prisoners because they aren't around children, so they often get parole.
GeneChing
03-04-2019, 10:20 AM
Not sure this guy really counts. Sounds more like a dumb braggart than an actual practitioner. Not that there aren't a lot of dumb braggarts who practice... :rolleyes:
Accused wife killer bragged about martial arts death grip: pals (https://nypost.com/2019/02/28/accused-wife-killer-bragged-about-martial-arts-death-grip-pals/)
By Rebecca Rosenberg February 28, 2019 | 7:35pm | Updated
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/190228-covlin-testimony.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1
Witness Morey Wildes Steven Hirsch
The cunning cad accused of killing his estranged wife bragged about his martial arts death grip to pals, according to testimony Thursday at his Manhattan murder trial.
During a night out with friends from his synagogue in 2006, Rod Covlin boasted of his mastery of a lethal hold, witness Morey Wildes testified.
“I remember Rod telling me that he could kill either me or someone else. He said, ‘I could kill you with one hand in a way that no one would ever find out,” Wildes told jurors.
Covlin is accused of snapping the neck of his wife, Shele Danishevsky, with a martial arts chokehold. The couple was in the midst of nasty divorce and custody battle.
Prosecutors contend that Covlin, a failed stockbroker with dual backgammon and philandering addictions, wanted to score her $5.2 million fortune.
Another friend, Jeffrey Buller, told jurors that he was on the subway with Covlin when he made a similar boast.
“He indicated that he had the ability to hurt someone by bending his hand with his fingers like this … his two fingers shaped like a “C” in a horizontal position,” Buller recalled. “I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not, I didn’t take it seriously, because guys night out, you talk big, it doesn’t matter.”
Danishefsky was found dead face down in the tub of her luxury Upper West Side apartment on New Year’s Eve 2009.
Lawyers for Covlin have argued that Danishefsky’s death was nothing more than a tragic accident.
GeneChing
03-05-2019, 08:36 AM
A dumb braggart, not an actual martial artist.
NEW YORK
Expert demonstrates martial arts chokehold in court that prosecutors say Roderick Covlin used to kill wife (https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-witness-chokehold-roderick-covlin-20190304-story.html)
By SHAYNA JACOBS
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAR 04, 2019 | 6:45 PM
https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/Ivr_1d34YYWpKT13rvJ_Cw7emOY=/800x0/www.trbimg.com/img-5c7da813/turbine/ny-1551738891-1eic1l6le0-snap-image
Martial arts expert Dan Anderson demonstrates chokeholds on a skeleton at the trial of accused wife killer Roderick Covlin. (Alec Tabak for New York Daily News)
A martial arts expert demonstrated a chokehold on a life-sized model skeleton Monday to demonstrate how prosecutors say Roderick Covlin killed his estranged wife.
Trainer Dan Anderson was called to testify about the use of choke-outs in the martial arts — prosecutors say Covlin bragged about having a black belt in a martial arts discipline but his lawyers say he was an amateur and had only taken classes as a kid.
Anderson has no connection to Covlin, 46, or knowledge of his experience but discussed chokeholds in general.
He testified in Manhattan Supreme Court that the “hardest part” of the maneuver “is to get under the chin” with a forearm, as he demonstrated on the skeleton.
“The natural response (for the victim) is to bring the chin down,” he added.
Covlin is accused of using a similar hold to strangle 47-year-old Shele Covlin, whose body was found in the bathtub at her W. 68th St. apartment by the couple’s 9-year-old daughter on Dec. 31, 2009.
He said the chokehold’s purpose is “to make you completely unconscious, cut off the blood supply to the brain and then you die.”
https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/yfsWfgx3dyezHjabtz04bQ4CVyM=/415x0/www.trbimg.com/img-5c7da84f/turbine/ny-1551738954-qsuwpu13u7-snap-image
Roderick Covlin is pictured at the defense table in State Supreme Court on March 4, 2019 in New York. (Alec Tabak for New York Daily News)
Covlin, who is being held without bail pending the outcome of the case, was recorded on surveillance video from a jailhouse law library in November apparently mimicking achokehold move for a fellow inmate.
Anderson admitted on cross-examination that the video shows Covlin doing a “bouncer’s chokehold” with one arm — not the “proper” way the professional performed the move for the jury.
Covlin’s lawyers argue the theory is bogus and that their client is no martial arts expert.
They say Shele Covlin died from a freak fall in the tub and that her death was painted as a homicide because of the ugliness of the couple’s divorce and their history of animosity.
GeneChing
03-21-2019, 06:39 AM
NJ KARATE INSTRUCTOR GUILTY OF RAPING 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL (https://nj1015.com/nj-karate-instructor-guilty-of-raping-9-year-old-girl/)
SERGIO BICHAO March 19, 2019
https://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2019/03/Luke-Bakula.jpg?w=980&q=75
Luke Bakula, seen in a photo released in 2015, and in a recent photo released after his conviction March 2019. (Passaic County Prosecutor's Office)
A former assistant instructor at a Passaic County karate dojo was convicted last week of raping a 9-year-old girl.
A Passaic County jury convicted Luke V. Bakula, 31, of two counts each of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and third-degree child endangerment.
Bakula, of Haskell, was arrested in 2015 after being accused of raping the girl, a student at Porta’s Karate Dojo Academy in Pompton Lakes, between Nov. 21, 2005, and July 2006. He would have been 18 or 19 at the time.
The assault happened at the dojo and at the girl's home in Bloomingdale, officials said.
He was let go as a student assistant instructor at the dojo in 2015 based on the allegations, prosecutors said.
Months before his arrest, he was hired as a paraprofessional in the Ringwood school district. His professional certification was suspended in 2017 by the State Board of Examiners, the body that licenses teachers, pending the outcome of the trial.
Bakula now faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced June 7 in Superior Court in Paterson.
Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.
I'm confused by the photo. Who is the woman?
GeneChing
03-21-2019, 02:19 PM
looks like him in drag?
I didn't read the caption this morning. The caffeine hadn't quite kicked in.
yikes.
lol, i didn't read anything but your comment and look at the picture.
GeneChing
04-18-2019, 08:35 AM
FORMER MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR GETS PRISON FOR SEX ABUSE (https://www.kezi.com/content/news/Former-martial-arts-instructor-gets-prison-for-sex-abuse-508610081.html)
https://media.heartlandtv.com/images/gerald+strebendt1.jpg
Gerald Strebendt was sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Posted: Apr. 15, 2019 2:31 PM
Updated: Apr. 16, 2019 7:27 AM
Posted By: Tyler Jones
EUGENE, Ore. -- A former martial arts instructor who sexually abused a girl he was coaching was sentenced to more than two years in prison Monday.
Gerald Strebendt was sentenced to two years and four months in prison with two years and eight months of probation. He will be eligible for credit for time served as well as good behavior and must register as a sex offender once he is released from prison.
At the end of March, Strebendt was found guilty of second-degree sexual abuse, but his sentencing was postponed "because circumstances came to light after the trial."
During a hearing on a motion for a new trial on Monday, it was revealed that two jurors wrote letters to the court about the jury's decision.
Strebendt's attorney Bryan Boender said one of the jurors, referred to as "juror number seven," disclosed that her had a "past experience that caused her to believe the victims in the case." Boender went on to note that he believes that is evidence of a "prototypical bias."
Deputy District Attorney Katherine Green argued against it being a bias, stating "jurors are allowed to rely on past experience, be it personal or otherwise."
Judge Clara Rigmaiden said it is her decision that there is no evidence of misconduct by the jurors in their sentencing process and denied Strebendt a new trial.
After Rigmaiden made that decision, the hearing moved on to sentencing.
Wonder what style he practices...
GeneChing
05-20-2019, 02:18 PM
Sickle attack? Like a kama (https://www.martialartsmart.com/sai-kama-tonfa.html)?
Update: Police arrest ‘martial arts expert’ after sickle attack of 70-year-old man (https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/05/19/police-stay-away-from-parker-street-near-dana-and-ellsworth-in-south-berkeley)
By Emilie Raguso
May 19, 2019, 7:07 p.m.
https://www.berkeleyside.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Wsbt9izF.jpg
Police enter a home on Parker Street in South Berkeley early Monday morning. Photo: Citizen reporter
Update, May 20, 5:15 a.m. Police have identified the man who was taken into custody early this morning as 40-year-old Nathan Hohmann of Berkeley. According to a BPD statement, the man who was injured was a 70-year-old from Oakland. The attack happened inside Hohmann’s home on Parker Street. Police say he attacked the homeowner and the homeowner’s friend, who sustained serious injuries to his hands and legs, were able to get outside to call for help.
This story was updated due to the developing nature of events. Scroll down to see how the night unfolded.
According to police, Berkeley PD’s Special Response Team ultimately found Hohmann hiding on one of the upper levels of the home just before 2 a.m. and used “less lethal projectiles” to take him into custody. A police canine from the San Leandro Police Department aided in the operation. Hohmann was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and felony battery, said BPD spokesman Officer Byron White. Hohmann has been taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation.
Update, 2 a.m. Police say the man is now in custody. BPD Lt. Katherine Smith said he will likely get a medical evaluation before going to jail.
Update, May 20, 1:30 a.m. Residents report that police have made it into the Parker Street home after setting off one or two explosions. Berkeleyside has asked BPD for an update.
LVW Wine Wags 300x250 4/30 - 6/2
Update, May 19, 11:59 p.m. Police remain on the scene in the 2300 block of Parker Street after getting a report of a tenant who had attacked his home’s owner and the homeowner’s friend, causing serious injuries to one of the men Sunday evening, said Lt. Peter Hong of the Berkeley Police Department.
According to police radio traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside, the call began as a report of a 40-year-old man who was brandishing a machete outside a home on Parker between Dana and Ellsworth streets. It was later reported that the 40-year-old had used a sickle to injure a man’s hands. The tenant was described over the radio as a “martial arts expert” with a “history of mental issues and violent tendencies” who “often keeps a machete near him,” according to radio traffic. The wounded man was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Police had tried to communicate with the tenant since getting to Parker at 5:50 p.m., but the man had not responded, Hong said shortly before midnight. Police obtained a warrant for the tenant’s arrest and a warrant to search the house. BPD’s Special Response Team has taken over the scene and will attempt to resolve the situation.
Just before midnight, BPD reported in a Nixle alert that officers would be “deploying diversionary devices which are loud and should not be confused” with gunfire.
https://www.berkeleyside.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/MGqGkQIQ.jpg
Police on Parker Street after taking a man into custody just before 2 a.m. Monday. Photo: Citizen reporter
Police had already visited the home earlier in the day after the man reportedly tried to set a small fire outside, but he did not answer the door when officers arrived, according to radio traffic.
When police got to the scene Sunday evening, they surrounded the Parker Street home with long guns and less-lethal weapons, according to radio traffic. At one point, police used a battering ram to force open the door to the home. They also brought in a department robot to help with their efforts to secure the scene, according to radio traffic.
Update, 10:35 p.m. According to one neighbor, as of about 7 p.m., “the whole block is cordoned off and the police are shouting at someone to come out with their hands up.” Police have told residents that “noise could happen anytime tonight.” Berkeleyside will update this story when more details are available.
Berk Humane - PFP19 - 300x250 5/3 - 5/31
Update, 10:25 p.m. The Special Response Team, which deals with armed suspects and other high-risk situations, is on the scene and having a briefing about the situation, according to Berkeley police.
https://www.berkeleyside.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ErO1oGU6.jpg
Police on Parker. Photo: Citizen reporter
Original story, 7:07 p.m. Authorities in Berkeley have asked people to stay away from Parker Street, near Telegraph Avenue, due to police activity in the area.
Police are attempting to arrest a felony assault suspect who is inside a house, BPD said. Police ask the community to stay away from Parker Street between Dana and Ellsworth streets.
Stay tuned for further updates.
maybe it was just one of these and they were arguing about proper pruning technique.
10688
I started using those types of pruners/weeders after learning about them in Hawaii
they are sharp as hell
GeneChing
05-21-2019, 09:15 AM
https://smhttp-ssl-73310.nexcesscdn.net/pub/media/catalog/product/cache/c687aa7517cf01e65c009f6943c2b1e9/k/a/kama-sharpened-kama-12.gif.gif
Sharpened Kama (https://www.martialartsmart.com/17-31.html)
They come from a Japanese gardening supplier.
GeneChing
06-05-2019, 08:39 AM
96 counts. Horrible.
Lake Nona martial arts teacher facing 96 counts of sexual battery on child (http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/lake-nona-martial-arts-teacher-facing-96-counts-of-sexual-battery-on-child)
https://media.fox35orlando.com/media.fox35orlando.com/photo/2019/06/05/martial%20arts%20mug_1559744339839.png_7354210_ver 1.0_640_360.jpg
Posted Jun 05 2019 10:35AM EDT
Updated Jun 05 2019 10:40AM EDT
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A Central Florida martial arts teacher is being bars, charged with 96 counts of sexual battery on a child.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office reports that Ruben Morales Jr., 62, was arrested on 36 counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 years of age and 60 counts of sexual battery on a child over 12 years of age.
Detectives have been investigating Morales since April 2019.
"Through our extensive investigation and with the help of our tenacious victim, probable cause was obtained to arrest Ruben Morales Jr."
Morales was a martial arts teacher in the Lake Nona area for years, according to deputies.
The investigation is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with additional information on Morales to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 407-348-1150.
GeneChing
06-13-2019, 08:31 AM
I feel for his victims. :(
Former martial arts teacher accused of child-sex abuse kills himself in Osceola jail, authorities say (https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-ruben-morales-suicide-20190611-5daearra6rdhzpe2ff2ptfe4vm-story.html)
Michael Williams
By MICHAEL WILLIAMS
| ORLANDO SENTINEL |
JUN 11, 2019 | 9:57 AM
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/resizer/-bIprBhRk2bac1dpfRCV17PqdV8=/800x515/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/AGEG4DIBQRHJLJ46IVC6W6VGCE.PNG
Ruben Morales
The former Lake Nona-area martial arts teacher who was facing dozens of child-sex charges died days after hanging himself in the Osceola County jail, authorities said.
Ruben Morales Jr., 62, was taken to Osceola Regional Hospital June 5, the day after his arrest on 36 counts of sexual battery on a child younger than 12 and 60 counts of sexual battery on a child older than 12.
Morales died Sunday, said Hope Hicka, a spokeswoman for the jail.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said Morales was an instructor at a Lake Nona martial arts dojo “for years,” but refused to specify which business employed him, other than to say it had been closed for about four years. The person Morales was accused of abusing, who is now an adult, was not a student at the dojo, the agency said.
Hicka said the death is being investigated internally.
If you are in a crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
miwilliams@orlandosentinel.com
Michael Williams
Michael Williams covers breaking news and crime for the Orlando Sentinel’s Justice & Safety team. A Pensacola native, he moved to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida, graduating in August 2018. He has covered mass shootings, hostage situations and death-penalty cases. He was previously an intern and web producer at the Sentinel.
GeneChing
06-17-2019, 08:11 AM
Martial arts instructor accused of raping, recording sex acts with underage student (https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/06/martial-arts-instructor-accused-of-raping-recording-sex-acts-with-underage-student.html)
Posted Jun 7, 2019
https://www.oregonlive.com/resizer/gWVtYeU3Rqr5ey_BXnnXQU_qV9w=/480x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-advancelocal.s3.amazonaws.com/public/XAYO4RJJ3RGFZD7GSEBAZNPP7Y.png
Iain Mackai
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive
A former martial arts instructor in Gresham faces more than a dozen charges after authorities say he raped an underage student multiple times and recorded sexual acts he had with the girl.
A grand jury last month indicted Iain Hee Joon Mackai on 18 criminal counts, including third-degree rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, using the child in the display of sexually explicit conduct, and luring a minor, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said.
Mackai, 22, was arraigned Friday in court and pleaded not guilty to all charges, records show. He remains lodged in the Multnomah County jail on more than a $1 million bail.
Prosecutors allege Mackai met the girl, who is under 16, as part of his duties as a tae kwon do instructor at a now-shuttered studio. The suspected abuse began last December and continued through March, court documents show.
Authorities at this time do not believe there are other victims, the district attorney’s office said.
Prior to his arrest, Mackai worked at a Dairy Queen in Gresham and attended school part-time at Mt. Hood Community College, according to a jail intake form.
He reported to jail staff that he was depressed and had recently started taking medication, records show.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632
Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com
Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
He's depressed? What about his victim? :mad:
GeneChing
06-27-2019, 07:48 AM
Taekwondo instructor accused of sexually assaulting young female students turns himself in (https://www.journalnow.com/news/crime/high-point-police-allege-taekwondo-instructor-from-winston-salem-sexually/article_84de1a10-b981-5eca-a353-56eb70e5d7a8.html)
By Jenny Drabble BH Media 3 hrs ago
A former taekwondo instructor in High Point, who faces 18 rape and sex-offense charges, turned himself in Wednesday, according to the High Point Police Department.
Marcos David Medina-Ramirez, of Winston-Salem, is charged with four counts of statutory rape of a child under the age of 15, and 14 counts of statutory sex offense with a child by an adult.
The incidents involved three juvenile females who were students at the Tiger Kim’s Tae Kwon Do at 3935 Brian Jordan Place in High Point, where Medina-Ramirez, 23, worked, police said.
Tiger Kim’s Tae Kwon Do issued a statement Tuesday about the incident, stating they became aware on May 30 that an adult instructor at their High Point location allegedly engaged in inappropriate texting communications with young female students at the location.
The instructor was terminated May 31, the statement from a Winston-Salem law firm, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, said on behalf of the martial arts business.
In mid-June, after the termination of Medina-Ramirez, the business was made aware of further allegations that were reported to the police, they said.
“The former instructor, through his conduct, violated all of our values and broke the trust of our students and our school,” the statement read. “While we do not and cannot understand or in any way condone that conduct, we understand the seriousness of this situation and, as instructors and parents, we share the pain and the concerns of our students and their families.”
Police became aware of the incidents, which they said began May 1, 2018, when they received a report on June 10 about possible sexual assaults at the High Point business.
High Point Police detectives with the Special Victims Unit are investigating the incident.
Medina-Ramirez is in custody with a $2 million bond, according to FOX8/WGHP, the Journal's news-gathering partner.
Tiger Kim’s statement said the business is cooperating with law enforcement and the Guilford County District Attorney’s office.
“We are heartbroken for the victims and their families and shocked by what we have learned,” the statement said.
The business declined to make further comments at this time.
Tiger Kim’s Tae Kwon Do opened its first school in Winston-Salem about 20 years ago, and operates a group of family-oriented taekwondo schools throughout the Triad.
Tiger Kim’s has locations in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Clemmons, Kernersville and High Point.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Detective Mustian at 336-887-7964 or CrimeStoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000.
jdrabble@wsjournal.com 336-727-7204
Gotta vet your instructors carefully nowadays.
GeneChing
08-14-2019, 08:53 AM
Smith's story was posted here over a decade ago (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=879111#post879111). :eek:
A former Brookfield martial arts instructor convicted in 2009 of molesting two boys has been released in Waukesha (https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/brookfield/2019/08/14/sex-offender-brookfield-case-released/2004819001/)
Karen Pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 7:39 a.m. CT Aug. 14, 2019
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/08/14/PMJS/ed748aa4-3097-4060-b103-368ae84297aa-Smith_arleigh.png?width=180&height=240&fit=bounds&auto=webp
Arleigh C. Smith (Photo: City of Waukesha Police Department)
A former Brookfield martial arts instructor who was convicted in 2009 of two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child was released Aug. 13, according to the city of Waukesha Police Department.
Arleigh C. Smith, 34, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for molesting two boys, ages 12 and 13, one of whom was a martial arts student. He will be living at 1100 E. Main St., Waukesha, according to the department.
Smith was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court after a boy's mother discovered a sexually explicit instant message on the family's computer and called police, according to a criminal complaint.
The Brookfield boy told police that he had sexual contact with Smith, including at the martial arts school where he was a student.
Smith's Milwaukee home was searched, and police seized a computer, court records said. Three videos found on Smith's hard drive showed him assaulting another boy.
Smith will be a life registrant with the sex offender registry and has registered with local law enforcement.
The police department's news release said his criminal history indicates he has the potential to reoffend.
He is not permitted to have employment or volunteer involvement with minors. Smith is to have no unsupervised contact with minors; is not allowed in taverns, bars or liquor stores; is prohibited from contact with the victims; and may not purchase. possess or consume alcohol or illegal drugs. He must comply with sex offender rules and will be on discretionary GPS monitoring, according to the police department's news release.
Contact Karen Pilarski at karen.pilarski@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarenPilarski.
GeneChing
08-27-2019, 08:47 AM
Not Guilty. How refreshing. Is that a first for this thread?
Martial arts instructor accused of molesting student found not guilty (https://www.nbc-2.com/story/40957441/martial-arts-instructor-accused-of-molesting-student-found-not-guilty)
A martial arts instructor accused of molesting a female student was found not guilty Friday.
Friday, August 23rd 2019, 3:55 PM EDT by Taylor Crehan
Updated: Saturday, August 24th 2019, 1:42 PM EDT
CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A martial arts instructor accused of molesting a female student was found not guilty Friday.
Victor Hardoy, 43, was arrested by Cape Coral Police in 2018. He ran American Top Team Cape Coral on Mid Cape Terrace.
The victim's lawyer said Hardoy touched her two years ago when she was 14-years-old. The victim also told police Hardoy was driving her home when he pulled over in his Hummer and began sexually touching her.
Follow this story to get email or text alerts from NBC2 when there is a future article following this storyline.
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"This verdict of not guilty was long overdue. Mr. Hardoy is an incredible man. I am very pleased with the outcome and the jury did its job! They got it right," said Douglas Spiegel, Hardoy's attorney.
GeneChing
10-15-2019, 08:28 AM
Martial Arts Teacher Pleads Guilty To Inwood Sex Abuse: DA Says (https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/martial-arts-teacher-pleads-guilty-inwood-sex-abuse-da-says)
The man admitted to sexually abusing four teenage students in the basement of an Inwood building.
By Brendan Krisel, Patch Staff
Oct 14, 2019 4:09 pm ET
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22866740/20191014/040921/styles/patch_image/public/webpnet-resizeimage-10-1529613832-6704___14150801450.jpg?width=725
A martial arts teacher pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four teenage students in an Inwood building's basement. (Manhattan District Attorney)
INWOOD, NY — A man who taught martial arts in Upper Manhattan pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four teenage students in the basement of an Inwood building, prosecutors announced.
Hector Bencosme, 58, is facing a decade in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of use of child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony, one count of second-degree sexual abuse and three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., announced.
Bencosme taught martial arts lessons at apartment buildings on Post Avenue and Vermilyea Avenue while going by the name Kiko Valoy, prosecutors said. Between March 15 and May 25, Bencosme allegedly sexually abused four female students at the Post Avenue building and was arrested on May 26 when two students called the police, prosecutors said.
The martial arts teacher was convicted on sex abuse charges in January of 2001 for sexually abusing martial arts students in the same Post Avenue building, prosecutors said. Bencosme fled the country before he could be sentenced.
Bencosme will be sentenced for the 2001 and 2018 charges in November, prosecutors said.
"As a martial arts instructor, this defendant used his unfettered access to children to manipulate and abuse them," Vance said in a statement. "Even more disturbing, however, is the pattern of abuse; he continued to exploit students 17 years after his conviction for virtually the same crime."
A decade in the joint for 17 years of exploitation doesn't seem just.
GeneChing
12-04-2019, 09:15 AM
As anyone in enforcement, or even anyone who's worked as a bouncer, knows, stepping in between a domestic dispute is the most dangerous part of the job.
Martial arts instructor convicted of unlawful killing of man who intervened during row with girlfriend (https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/martial-arts-instructor-convicted-of-unlawful-killing-of-man-who-intervened-during-row-with-girlfriend-968414.html)
https://www.irishexaminer.com/remote/media.central.ie/media/images/j/JonathanDarganCollinsCourtNov2019_large.jpg?width= 648&s=ie-968414
Jonathan Dargan. Pic: Collins
By Declan Brennan
Wednesday, December 04, 2019 - 02:48 PM
A jury has convicted a martial arts instructor of the unlawful killing of a man who had stopped to intervene in a late night “domestic” fight.
Jonathan Dargan (aged 49) was having an argument with his partner on the Harold's Cross Road, Dublin at around 4am on March 6, 2016, when Patrick Mullally (aged 56) and Jason Cunningham approached him.
The two men and others had been out celebrating Mr Mullally's retirement from Guinness.
Mr Cunningham told the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that their intention was to do the “honourable” thing and ask Dargan to leave his girlfriend alone. A passing cyclist testified that he saw a man “throw fairly powerful punches” at an older man while shouting “bang, bang”.
He later saw this man on the ground with his head in his friend's lap. Mr Mullally suffered a subdural haemorrhage and brain trauma due to a blunt trauma to the face and head and died the next day.
The defendant, who has worked as a doorman at Lillie's Bordello nightclub, admitted “lashing out” with a punch but claimed that he was surrounded by the men and felt in fear. His lawyers argued that he was acting in self-defence and that his actions were a proportionate response to the threat he perceived.
Dargan of Belfry Manor, Citywest, Dublin denied the unlawful killing of Mr Mullally. He also denied assault causing harm to Mr Cunningham and to the Mr Mullally's niece, Lauren Mullally, during the same incident.
The jury of five women and seven men took a little over four hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge. After deliberating for another hour the jury returned a majority verdict on the charge of assaulting Mr Cunningham.
Eleven jurors agreed on this verdict, with one dissenting. The charge of assaulting Ms Mullally was withdrawn from the jury by Judge Pauline Codd.
Judge Codd thanked jurors and set a date for sentence of January 27 next. She directed a victim impact report and a Probation Service report.
She expressed her sympathy to the Mullally family before remanding Dargan on continuing bail. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, said there was no objection to bail.
In her closing speech, Ms Murphy told the jury that to argue self-defence a person must use a reasonable amount of force to protect himself in circumstances where he believes himself to be threatened.
She said it was not believable that Mr Dargan could have perceived a threat. She said CCTV footage did not show the men surrounding him and that only two men had approached him at the time the deceased was knocked down.
“We know he is drunk, he was angry. He was looking to lash out,” she said. The cyclist Shaun O'Donoghue said that he had earlier stopped to speak to Dargan about the row.
“He told me to mind my own business and threatened me that if I didn't go away he would stamp my head off the ground,” Mr O'Donoghue said.
Ms Murphy told the jurors they must next consider if it was a reasonable response to the circumstances he found himself in to break someone's jaw in two places.
Closing the defence case Vincent Heneghan SC told the jurors that, after his arrest, Mr Dargan gave gardaí a truthful account of what happened. He admitted “lashing out” with a punch but said that he felt threatened by the men.
Mr Dargan told gardaí: “I saw three guys coming towards me, I felt like this guy is going to kick the **** out of me”.
Counsel told jurors they must consider if Mr Dargan had a genuine belief he was under threat.
“He didn't know how drunk these people were. He didn't know what was coming to him. Was his belief a genuine belief?” Mr Heneghan said.
The trial heard that Dargan has worked as a taekwondo instructor to young children.
GeneChing
01-10-2020, 08:30 AM
https://media.wkyc.com/assets/WKYC/images/cf85708a-0b39-4dc2-958f-de347a9b1fb8/cf85708a-0b39-4dc2-958f-de347a9b1fb8_750x422.jpg
CRIME
Twinsburg martial arts instructor facing sexual assault charges (https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/crime/twinsburg-martial-arts-instructor-sexual-assault/95-1ccc7851-44cc-45fd-8ccd-c56223c7c2a9)
Police are asking anyone with information, or who may be another victim, to reach out.
Author: WKYC Staff
Published: 11:56 AM EST January 9, 2020
Updated: 12:09 PM EST January 9, 2020
TWINSBURG, Ohio — A Twinsburg martial arts instructor is facing sexual assault charges on accusations he inappropriately touched a young girl.
William Mello, 59, is charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition.
The Summit County Prosecutor's Office says Mello was an instructor at The Silent Mind Martial Arts Studio on Church Street when he allegedly touched a female student who was under the age of 13.
A court indictment says the alleged crimes occurred between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14, 2019.
Mello, a Streetsboro resident, was arraigned last Friday. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 15.
Twinsburg police are asking for the public's help in their investigation. Anyone with information related to the case, or who may also be a victim of Mello, should call 330-425-1234. 'The Silent Mind'? :rolleyes:
GeneChing
02-10-2020, 10:17 AM
Former Martial Arts Coach To Spend Up To 44.5 Years In Prison After Sexually Assaulting Underage Students (https://www.jiujitsutimes.com/former-martial-arts-coach-to-spend-up-to-44-5-years-in-prison-after-sexually-assaulting-underage-students/)
By Averi Clements -February 10, 2020
https://651670.smushcdn.com/958334/wp-content/uploads/bosley1-1.jpg?lossy=1&strip=1&webp=1Source: William Bosley via Facebook
Former Pittsburgh-area martial arts gym owner and coach William Bosley has been sentenced to up to 44 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting three teen girls over a period of time dating back to 2010.
Bosley, formerly of Uniontown Fight Club, was sentenced days ago after entering his guilty pleas in December for almost ninety counts over five cases. His sentence accounts for six to twelve years for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse for each of the three sexual assault cases, four to eight years for illegal possession of a firearm, and three to six months for sexual intercourse with an animal (a dog). He will serve between 22 and 44.5 years in prison for his crimes.
The Herald Standard gave a detailed description of the events that occurred in the courtroom, saying that Bosley cited his family, coaching experience, and military service as reasons for why the judge should grant him leniency. He asserted that he’d been directing bible studies and teaching self-defense to the other inmates in his cell block. His attorney vouched for him by way of his military service, and Dr. Scott Tracy, who said that Bosley had visited him for counseling sessions in 2007, said that Bosley had been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and a traumatic brain injury following his time in the military.
District attorney Rich Bower, however, had no time for excuses for Bosley’s actions. He asserted that many veterans return to civilian life with mental health issues and don’t engage in illegal activity, emphasizing that it was Bosley’s fault alone that he was potentially going to be separated from his family.
Accusations of Bosley’s crimes first came to light in 2018, when a woman said that he had begun texting her inappropriately in 2013 and later had sex with her, which constitutes statutory rape under Pennsylvania law due to the victim being fourteen at the time. Soon, additional charges emerged, with two more victims coming forward and stating that Bosley had also sexually assaulted them when they were also underage. Bosley served as a martial arts coach for all three of the victims that came forward, and he told another victim that he would “put a bullet between her eyes” in a conversation about the first victim speaking up about what had happened.
I hope that over the next 45+ years, Bosley's fellow inmates can show him the error of his ways...repeatedly. :mad:
GeneChing
02-13-2020, 10:32 AM
Karate mentor sentenced for child sex crimes (https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Karate-mentor-sentenced-for-child-sex-crimes-567789801.html?fbclid=IwAR26IGRJpnA2i4A6BtB7ezeWFX G9Eb1FbNNf8xJ36Dknk4eSdb0r3f9kZvA)
By Catherine Silver | Posted: Tue 10:33 PM, Feb 11, 2020 | Updated: Wed 6:54 AM, Feb 12, 2020
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - 11 News has learned a man who was sentenced to 90 days in jail for child sex crimes was released one day after learning his fate.
Court documents say 23-year-old Nicholas Parnello met one young girl while he was mentoring her in Colorado Springs. His arrest papers say he met the girl at T3 Karate near Woodmen and Academy in Colorado Springs. The studio says he was not an employee, but an older student there.
Parnello took a plea deal, and Judge Lin Billings Vela gave him a 90-day jail sentence. He had already spent 88 days in jail waiting for that sentencing, so he got credit for the time he had served and got out one day after his sentencing hearing.
Court documents say Parnello asked one victim for nude photographs, and repeatedly tried to contact her even after he was told not to.
"Just a blatant disregard. He was a 23-year-old man," said deputy district attorney Anne Francis. "That’s a pretty big age difference and the fact that he was in a position of trust being at karate school.”
https://media.graytvinc.com/images/690*388/Karate+Mentor+Sentencing.JPG
Parnello was charged with seven counts, including sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust. Some of those charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to sex assault on a child.
“It was stipulated that he would serve 10 years to the rest of his life on sex offender intensive supervised probation, which is a very specialized sex offender probation," said Francis. "It was up to the judge yesterday whether or not he would receive a sentence to community corrections as a condition of his sentence. The judge decided to impose the 10 to life sex offender intensive supervised probation with our community corrections. She further sentenced him to 90 days jail.”
Prosecutors say the probation Parnellos is on is very strict, and it is a possible life sentence. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
“People hear probation and they think it’s a slap on the wrist. This is a special intensive supervised probation," Francis said. “This is a plea agreement we made with consultation of the victims. I think one of their main concerns was him getting treatment and help for an obvious troubling problem.”
The karate studio tells 11 News they kicked Parnello out as soon as they learned about the allegations. The studio owner says he was not an employee and was not there in an sort of official capacity.
Parnello told the judge at his sentencing hearing that he will do his best to make up for the things he has done. His lawyer says he has taken accountability for his actions and is already engaging in therapy.
This is a tricky one because he wasn't actually an employee of the school.
hskwarrior
02-24-2020, 08:31 PM
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/24/owner-of-east-bay-karate-studio-suspected-of-sexual-misconduct/
DANVILLE — A Marin County resident who owns a karate facility here was arrested last week and charged with sexually abusing a child, police said.
Officers arrested Ramon Pruitt, 63, in Oakland on Friday, a day after the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed charges on three felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. Authorities issued a warrant for Pruitt’s arrest when the charges were filed.
Police arrested Ramon Pruitt, 63, on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts against a child.
Public records list Pruitt, of San Geronimo, as one of two owners of Danville Karate International, located at 105 Town and Country Drive. A web site for the business said it has “provided quality Martial Arts training” since 1997.
Calls to Danville Karate International on Monday afternoon were not answered.
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Breaking: Feds order Anderson Reservoir to be
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According to police, investigators begin looking into Pruitt on Jan. 14 after receiving a report of alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with one of his students at the karate studio.
Pruitt remained in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility on Monday in lieu of $500,000.
Police have not said whether anybody else has come forward with similar information but encouraged anyone with additional information to contact 925-314-3711 or email Det. Dan Lynch at dlynch@danville.ca.gov.
GeneChing
02-26-2020, 07:40 AM
Pruitt used to stage a major tournament in Oakland, at the Hyatt or the Marriott, I don't quite remember. I never went because it was Karate. But I used to train under Master Tony Chen (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=453), who cooperated with that event in some capacity. Again, I don't quite remember the details. I don't think I ever met Pruitt face-to-face but I have a vague memory of hearing he had a stroke several years ago. Some of the Tiger Claw crew remember him because he was a client and they worked that tournament of his. None of them felt he was creepy in that sexual predator way, but real predators usually don't exude that creepy vibe. They're often good at covering their tracks.
Thanks for posting hskwarrior. Did you know of him personally?
Millqa
03-11-2020, 08:26 AM
I do not understand such people, why commit an act of violence against someone in order to meet their needs. It's terrible, especially when they do it with minors. If they want it so much, then let them go to sexshop (https://www.deliciasexshoponline.com.br/) and buy themselves some toys or dolls and do it at home, where no one will see it. The store always has a wide range and affordable prices, so they would not have problems with the purchase. I think it would be a better solution than what they did
GeneChing
08-10-2020, 10:32 AM
Iranian wushu athlete Hashemi handed four-year doping ban (https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450955/Iranian-wushu-athlete-Hashemi-handed-four-year-doping-ban)
Sports
August 7, 2020 - 15:6
https://media.mehrnews.com/d/2020/08/07/4/3518072.jpg
TEHRAN – Iranian wushu practitioner Maryam Hashemi Foroud has been banned for four years.
Hashemi has received a four-year ban after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.
A sanction of four years ineligibility is imposed on the athlete, starting on 21 October 2019 (the date of the sample collection) and concluding (but not inclusive of) on 21 October 2023.
She is disqualified from the 15th World Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China and the results at the competition forfeited as per Art.9.1of IWUF Anti-Doping Rules 2015.
Hashemi had won a gold medal in the World Wushu Championships in the 75kg weight category.
Men’s Sanda athletes Hamidreza Gholipour and Moein Taghavi had been previously handed four years doping ban.
Sanda competitor. Now I'm curious how many taolu competitors get busted for doping.
GeneChing
08-26-2020, 08:40 AM
SEX CRIMES
NYC Martial Arts Teacher Gets 7 Years for Raping 12-Year-Old Student at Studio (https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-martial-arts-teacher-gets-7-years-for-raping-12-year-old-student-at-studio/2584874/)
Published August 25, 2020 • Updated on August 25, 2020 at 2:26 pm
https://media.nbcnewyork.com/2019/09/Jail-Celll-Generic-Prison-1.jpg?resize=850%2C478
Getty Images
A 37-year-old instructor at a Queens martial arts studio has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl who took karate lessons at Hugo's Tae Kwon Do Studio in Sunnyside last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Hector Quinchi pleaded guilty in July to rape and child endangerment. Prosecutors say he had sexual contact with the child multiple times between August and October 2019 in the studio on Skillman Avenue.
On multiple occasions over a seven-week span starting August 15, Quinchi had sexual contact with the girl, including kissing her and rubbing her breasts and private area, prosecutors have said. In early October, he allegedly raped her.
Quinchi surrendered to authorities soon after learning the girl had told her parents about the abuse. In addition to his seven-year prison sentence, he'll be subject to 10 years' post-release supervision and must register as a sex offender.
"This defendant was supposed to teach this youngster how to defend herself, but he was the one from whom she needed protection. He manipulated a child too young to consent to sex," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. "My office will not tolerate adults who abuse their positions of trust to victimize children.”
Any parents concerned their child may have also been victimized by the karate teacher are encouraged to reach out to the NYPD Child Abuse Squad.
You cannot trust someone who teaches Karate at a Tae Kwon Do studio.
Jimbo
08-26-2020, 12:42 PM
You cannot trust someone who teaches Karate at a Tae Kwon Do studio.
In actuality, TKD was Korean karate. General Choi had been a 2nd dan in Shotokan and based his TKD off of it. Quite unlike the Olympic TKD now.
IMO, a seven-year sentence isn’t nearly enough for rape, especially of a child.
GeneChing
10-01-2020, 10:38 AM
How the heck does a dude that big market courses titled “Tiny Tigers” and “Little Dragon”?
Florida martial arts school billed taxpayers over $350,000 for ‘ghost’ kids, state says (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article246108885.html)
BY DAVID OVALLE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 10:23 AM, UPDATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 07:04 PM
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/7378mn/picture246115760/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Henry%20Regalad_fitted.jpeg
Henry Regalado and his wife, Kelly, ran the United Martial Arts Academy in Homestead. Authorities charged the school and Kelly Regalado with fraudulently billing taxpayers for nearly $300,000 in grants. - FACEBOOK
Funded by public grants, the United Martial Arts Academy in Homestead offered an array of self-defense training, including the “Tiny Tigers” and “Little Dragon” courses for kids.
But investigators say that many of those little dragons and tigers were actually phantoms — with the academy falsely billing over $350,000 for non-existent students and fake employees.
The Miami-Dade Inspector General’s Office and prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against Kelly Mendoza Regalado, who ran the school’s books. She ran the academy with her husband, martial arts instructor Henry Regalado, who describes himself as holding a “ninth-degree” black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu.
She is being charged with an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and communications fraud. The school itself was charged as a defendant.
Reached on Wednesday, Henry Regalado hung up the phone on a reporter. “I have no comment sir,” he said.
It was not clear Wednesday if the couple had retained an attorney.
Prosecutors say the academy fraudulently billed over $350,000 from the Miami-Dade’s Children’s Trust, a taxpayer-funded organization that awards grants to programs that serve poor and at-risk children. The school appears to now be closed, and its website has been taken down.
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/dujlp5/picture246109160/alternates/FREE_1140/Karate%20School.jpg
A screen shot of the website for the United Martial Arts Academy in Homestead. Miami-Dade prosecutors say the school falsely billed nearly $300,000 for students who didn’t exist. - INTERNET ARCHIVE
According to archive images of its website, the martial-arts academy began in the mid 2000s, and got its first Children’s Trust grant of $50,000 in 2007. Regalado, on his website, said he quit a job at the University of Miami to run the gym, which featured ample mats, punching bags and a raised boxing ring.
“The kids are watched over here, they’re safe — the streets outside are not so friendly,” Regalado said, according to the website. “What would these parents do without this? Of course, they’re thankful it’s here.”
According to a memo released by Inspector General Felix Jimenez, the academy was enrolled in two programs — one for after-school programs, another for summer camps — that reimbursed for costs associated with students and employees.
Agents reviewed the academy’s bills between 2013 and 2017. They discovered that the Regalados used fake checks, bogus records of money transfers and even sham student attendance data to bill over $350,000. The trust actually paid out just under $300,000, according to the memo.
The school inflated employee costs, agents found. That included paying Kelly Regalado’s mother under two different names, money that was kicked back to her daughter, the memo said. When the Trust questioned Regalado, she provided “forged bank statements,” Jimenez wrote.
“Theft in any form is repugnant, but it is particularly vile to line one’s own pockets with funds designated to help the children of our community,” Jimenez said in a statement to the Miami-Dade County Commission.
DAVID OVALLE
305-376-3379
David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter.
Jimbo
10-01-2020, 10:46 AM
How the heck does a dude that big market courses titled “Tiny Tigers” and “Little Dragon”?
Maybe he ate them all.
He should also be charged with fraud for implying in his poster that he could teach kids to defy gravity and run upside-down on the ceiling. Or that he could teach anyone to move at all. Gravity is certainly not his friend. The only training he’s ever done is ordering home delivery over his I-phone and then lifting the food up to his face.
GeneChing
10-06-2020, 11:37 AM
We don't get many 'not guilty' verdicts here.
Winnipeg firefighter, martial arts instructor found not guilty of some charges in sexual assault trial (https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-firefighter-martial-arts-instructor-found-not-guilty-of-some-charges-in-sexual-assault-trial-1.5134696)
Josh Crabb
Reporter/ Video journalist
@JoshRCrabb Contact
Published Tuesday, October 6, 2020 10:52AM CST
Last Updated Tuesday, October 6, 2020 10:59AM CST
ruiz
Manuel Ruiz (middle) leaves the law courts on May 29, 2020, during a break in his trial. (CTV News Photo Josh Crabb)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.4960998.1591038969!/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1020/image.jpeg
WINNIPEG -- WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.
A Winnipeg firefighter and martial arts instructor has been found not guilty of three charges involving one of two women who testified at his sexual assault trial, but no ruling has been made yet involving the charges stemming from allegations made by another woman.
Court heard Manuel Ruiz has been found not guilty of sexual assault, forcible confinement, and procuring someone to provide sexual services— charges stemming from allegations made by a 35-year-old woman.
The Crown asked the court for the not guilty finding before closing arguments in the case. Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey told the trial she accepts the Crown’s recommendation. McKelvey told the court she reviewed the evidence in great detail and determined the three charges have not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ruiz is still charged with six offences — three counts of uttering threats, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of forcible entry — in connection with allegations made by a now 46-year-old woman.
The woman testified she began talking on the phone with Ruiz when she was 14 and stayed in contact for several years. She told the court when she was in her twenties, he was at her apartment, put his hands down her underwear, and touched her.
In a separate incident, she testified Ruiz threw her on a futon and had sexual intercourse with her.
Ruiz has testified the woman initiated sex and it was consensual.
Ruiz, 56, has pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges. Closing arguments started Tuesday morning in his trial.
None of the remaining charges have been proven in court and Ruiz is presumed innocent.
GeneChing
10-15-2020, 08:46 AM
CRIME
Martial arts instructor charged with sexually assaulting student (https://www.kare11.com/article/news/crime/martial-arts-instructor-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-student/89-3814b432-8b45-469e-a6cc-8e5d010a4d2e)
Prosecutors say the 30-year-old Eden Prairie Tae Kwon Do teacher began having sex with the student when she was just 15.
https://media.kare11.com/assets/KARE/images/462606042/462606042_1920x1080.jpg
Credit: Getty Image
Author: Dana Thiede
Published: 10:27 AM CDT October 15, 2020
Updated: 10:27 AM CDT October 15, 2020
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — An Eden Prairie martial arts instructor is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct after investigators say he repeatedly had sex with a juvenile student.
Prosecutors say the contact between 30-year-old Hyobin Lee and his young victim began when she was just 15 years old.
A criminal complaint lays out the case against Lee, who arrived in the U.S. from South Korea in 2015 and began teaching the juvenile in October of 2015. Police say they were notified by a mandatory reporter from the Scott County School District of the allegations against Lee on September 21 of this year. The victim allegedly told that reporter that Lee had sex with her multiple times, and had "taken her virginity."
In a videotaped interview at CornerHouse the victim, now 17, said she would refer to the defendant as "Master Lee" and as part of Tae Kwon Do it is embedded in a student's mind that you do not say no to someone of Lee's rank, you must comply.
The teen said beginning in 2018 Lee would offer her rides to places, including picking her up from school and bringing her to Tae Kwon Do class. She told authorities he eventually began taking her back to his residence, where Lee would have sex with her. In one instance, she describes sexual contact in a bathroom of the Tae Kwon Do studio.
In November of 2018 a studio opened closer to the victim's home, ending any interaction with Lee.
A witness, who was an instructor at the same studio where Lee worked, told investigators that the victim shared in September what had happened.
Hyobin Lee is currently in custody.
Here's the problem - those that don't understand rank "you do not say no to someone of Lee's rank, you must comply."
GeneChing
10-27-2020, 08:19 AM
Horrifying
https://3a02v12ku8i343hjuf4c8urp-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/daniel-sharples.jpg
Daniel Sharples
Martial arts expert jailed for life for murder of vulnerable wheelchair-bound Warrington dad (https://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/2020/10/27/martial-arts-expert-jailed-for-life-for-murder-of-vulnerable-wheelchair-bound-warrington-dad/)
BY GARY SKENTELBERY ON 27TH OCTOBER 2020 12:10 PMCRIME, NEWS
A martial arts expert who repeatedly kicked a helpless wheelchair-bound father-of-two to death in Warrington has been sentenced to life in prison.
Daniel Sharples was convicted of the murder of 53-year-old Michael Mairs following an eight-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court which concluded on Wednesday 14 September.
Today, Tuesday 27 October, the 38-year-old of Griesdale Avenue, Orford, Warrington, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 21 years. The attack took place on Sunday 6 October 2019.
Sharples began his day at 9.40am when he went for breakfast with a pint at the Looking Glass in Warrington town centre.
He then went on to the Hop Pole where he had more alcohol to drink along with several shots of Sambuca. Sharples then left the pub at around midday and made his way up Winwick Street.
As he went under the railway bridges he came across Michael who was drinking with friends.
Sharples began to verbally abuse the group, before attacking Michael’s two friends – who both fled the scene after being repeatedly punched in the face.
He then turned his attention to Michael who was unable to escape – he initially punching him in the face, before tipping his wheelchair over and repeatedly kicking him in the head as he lay helpless on the floor.
As the attack continued, a member of the public intervened and attempted to pull Sharples off Michael, who was barely conscious on the floor.
However, the attack was not over, and before fleeing the scene he grabbed Michael’s wheelchair from underneath him and tossed it aside.
He then ran off on foot, but was arrested a short time later after attempting to evade officers.
Upon his arrest Sharples admitted the attack – claiming that he carried it out as Michael had sold heroin to his son.
Michael was initially treated at the scene by paramedics before being transported to Warrington District General Hospital with injuries reported to be life-threatening by the Paramedics.
Due to the severity of his injuries, he was placed into an induced coma and transferred to intensive care.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, Michael never regained consciousness and died on Monday 28 October.
A post mortem found that whilst Michael had suffered multiple organ failure, the central cause of death was the significant facial injuries sustained during the violent attack.
Sharples was initially charges with Section 47 assault to which he pleaded guilty.
However, following Michael’s death, Sharples was interviewed again by Cheshire officers and then subsequently charged with Murder.
Following the verdict Detective Inspector Helen Clegg said: “This was a totally unprovoked attack on a vulnerable man who had no way of defending himself.
“On the day of the incident Michael was simply socialising with his friends and minding his own business.
“Sharples is a strong and powerful man and used his kick boxing experience to launch a vicious and sustained attack on Michael as he sat helpless in his wheelchair. He was totally focused on inflicting serious harm.
“Throughout the investigation Sharples has never shown any remorse. Instead, attempted to place the blame on Michael, claiming that he had sold drugs to his son, claims that were totally unsubstantiated.
“He went on to claim that he had taken Valium prior to the attack and was unable to control himself and had no recollection of what happened.
“Thankfully, the jury have seen though his lies and he is now facing the consequences of his actions.”
David Keane, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, said: “This crime shocked the local community and deeply saddened all those who knew Michael.
“I would like to thank all of the officers involved in the investigation who have helped to get justice for Michael’s family and friends.
“My thoughts are with them at this difficult time I hope this conviction gives them some form of comfort.”
Detective Inspector Clegg added: “I would like to thank all of the member of the public who helped Michael on the day, along with those who have come forward with information.
“Their evidence was compelling and a driving force behind the conviction of this man for Michael’s murder.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the courage that Michael’s children have shown throughout this case.
“I hope the conviction of Sharples, and the sentence handed to him, will help them, and all those who knew him, to continue to come to terms with what happened and move forward with their lives.”
GeneChing
10-30-2020, 09:49 AM
Former martial arts studio owner charged with child abuse; other victims sought (https://www.wbaltv.com/article/former-martial-arts-studio-owner-charged-with-child-abuse/34534091)
WBALUpdated: 12:18 PM EDT Oct 30, 2020
Infinite Scroll Enabled
Jenny Fulginiti
Digital Editor
https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/images/charles-stover-1604074624.gifCharles Stover SOURCE: Frederick Sheriff's Department
FREDERICK, Md. —
A former martial arts studio owner has been indicted on nine counts of child abuse stemming from the late 90s. The Frederick Sheriff's Office is asking other potential victims to come forward.
Charles Calvin Stover, of Frederick, was indicted on Oct. 23 by a Frederick County grand jury on nine counts of child abuse to a minor. These counts span over the course of more than three years from 1997 to 2000.
Stover owned and operated martial arts studio In Ji Yong, which provided classes in Frederick and Thurmont. The studio just shut down this year due to COVID-19.
Anyone that may have additional information or would like to come forward to file a complaint against Stover is asked to contact Sgt. Joseph McCallion at 301-600-1022
In Ji Yong sound Korean?
GeneChing
12-07-2020, 10:00 AM
The ol' mickey finn...:mad:
Local martial arts instructor charged with rape (https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/local-martial-arts-instructor-charged-with-rape/)
CRIME
by: KRQE Staff
Posted: Dec 6, 2020 / 05:43 PM MST / Updated: Dec 7, 2020 / 06:21 AM MST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A local jiu-jitsu instructor has been charged with raping a client. Online court records state Rafael Freitas was at a client’s home on Nov. 7.
He allegedly made her a drink, and she reported feeling sleepy afterward. She fell asleep and woke up a few hours later to find Freitas gone and that she was naked from the waist down.
The woman later checked the surveillance footage in her home and alleges that Freitas can be seen taking advantage of her. A Google search of Freitas brings up a link to a page on the Jackson-Wink Academy website, but it’s unclear in what capacity, and the link is now broken.
Freitas is not currently listed as an employee at the gym. A Jackson Wink spokesperson also tells KRQE News 13 Freitas is not an employee of Jackson Wink Academy and never has been.
GeneChing
01-04-2021, 10:43 AM
Centennial martial arts instructor arrested on child sex assault charges (https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/centennial-martial-arts-instructor-arrested-on-child-sex-assault-charges)
Deputies say they believe he could have more victims
https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9c3b1f1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc7%2F06%2Fae2c3db24e 70a38698e8cecbf146%2Fcharles-niemi-mug.png
Photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office arrested 65-year-old Charles Niemi on two counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse, and he is being held at the Douglas County jail without bond.
Posted at 7:04 PM, Dec 31, 2020 and last updated 6:04 PM, Dec 31, 2020
DENVER – Deputies arrested a 65-year-old martial arts instructor from Centennial Thursday afternoon on investigatory charges of sexual assault on a child and believe he may have additional victims.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office arrested 65-year-old Charles Niemi on two counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse, and he is being held at the Douglas County jail without bond.
The sheriff’s office said Niemi was the instructor of the victim at Spirit Warrior Martial Arts in Centennial and was still employed as of Thursday afternoon. The academy’s website listed Niemi as the head instructor.
The authorities said they believe Niemi may have abused others as well and are asking anyone who might be a victim or have more information about Niemi to call Detective Ducat at 303-814-7179.
The sheriff’s office said it was unable to release further information about the case because the investigation is ongoing. Wonder what style he taught...
Jimbo
01-04-2021, 05:28 PM
Wonder what style he taught...
His school’s website says “Taekwondo, karate, jiu jitsu, self-defense, qigong, arnis/kali, meditation.”
GeneChing
02-26-2021, 10:59 AM
Martial arts instructor arrested on child porn, assault offenses (https://www.timesleader.com/news/944188/944188)
By Times Leader - February 25, 2021
By Patrick Kernan pkernan@timesleader.com
https://s24526.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/126540150_web1_154185321_969570926906787_324802637 3158176667_n.jpg
https://s24526.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/126540150_web1_williams.jpg
PITTSTON — A former karate instructor was locked up without bail Thursday after he was arrested by Pittston police and Luzerne County detectives on multiple sexual assault offenses against children and possessing images or videos of children engaged in sex acts.
David John Williams, 57, of Pittston, was charged with eight counts of child pornography, six counts each of corruption of minors and indecent assault and three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. According to an affidavit, Williams repeatedly abused three underage girls for years, starting when they were between 5 and 6 years old, until they were between 12 and 13.
An investigation into Williams began on Jan. 22, when the Pittston City Police Department received two complaints from two juveniles who claimed to have been victims of abuse.
An interview with the children was held on Feb. 19. One of the girls, identified in the affidavit as victim number one, identified Williams as a family friend, saying he had been around her family her whole life. She said the abuse started when she was “young,” saying Williams would undress in front of her and both force her to inappropriately touch him and would touch her.
The girl told police that Williams lived in the home with her for a time, and would also molest other underage girls in the home, saying she remembers a time when he recorded videos of one of the other girls.
The girl identified as victim number two told police she was a student at the karate school Williams operated, which met in the space above the firehouse in Pittston. She said Williams would expose himself to her, force her to touch him and would also touch her. She said Williams also repeatedly gave her and the other alleged victims alcohol and marijuana.
At another point, the girl told police, Williams began coming to the home drunk after playing with his band. He would come into the home, expose himself to the girls and fondle them. The girl identified as victim number two said she would pretend to be asleep, and he would move on to one of the other girls if it worked. She also said Williams would film the girls in the pool and would also make her perform oral sex and would perform it himself.
While serving a warrant at Williams’ home on Thursday, detectives said they found a camera with videos depicting sex acts between Williams and girls matching the alleged victims’ descriptions.
During an interview with police, Williams allegedly said that he began seeking out child pornography years ago, justifying it by saying he was trying to assist law enforcement with locating perpetrators to “bring them to justice.” He said that he found the material disgusting, but would watch it in its entirety on occasion.
Later during the interview, detectives say Williams said the girls were interested in sex from a young age, and that he “wanted to be the one that showed them about sex so the girls did not go out and do it in an unsafe manner.”
He also allegedly admitted to having the girls perform sex acts on him. He said that he did not remember filming sex acts, but if the detectives found them, “they had to have happened.”
Williams was arraigned by District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz who jailed him at the county correctional facility without bail, deeming him a danger to society. She scheduled his preliminary hearing for March 9.
Luzerne County Detective Chaz Balogh and Pittston City Police Sgt. Kyle Shumosic, lead affiants on the case, asked that, if there are any other victims, they contact either the Pittston City Police or the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
While being led out of the magistrate’s office, Williams said to reporters that he was “sorry.” On Williams’ Facebook page, his bio reads that “the kids are my life.”
"starting when they were between 5 and 6 years old, until they were between 12 and 13." :mad:
GeneChing
03-25-2021, 09:39 AM
NJ Martial Arts Studio Owner Placed Hidden Camera In Bathroom, Prosecutor Says (https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/somerset/police-fire/nj-martial-arts-studio-owner-placed-hidden-camera-in-bathroom-prosecutor-says/805663/)
Cecilia Levine 03/24/2021 3:33 p.m.
https://daily-voice-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/c_fill,dpr_2,f_auto,q_auto:eco,w_640/Screen_Shot_2021-03-24_at_3.37.30_PM_wymlnd
Leonardo Sanchez of Impact Martial Arts Photo Credit: Somerset County Prosecutor's Office/Google Maps
The 31-year-old owner of a martial arts studio was arrested on accusations he placed a camera inside of a bathroom and filmed members of the public and students who used it, authorities said Wednesday.
Leonardo Sanchez of Somerville -- who owns Impact Martial Arts in Warren -- was arrested March 19 and charged with third-degree Invasion of privacy, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said.
Police were called to the Mountain Boulevard studio around 11:30 p.m., when an employee found a hidden camera inside of the business, along with videos of individuals using the bathroom, Robertson said alongside local police.
The Warren Township Police Detective Bureau executed a Superior Court ordered search warrants for the Sanchez's home and business, seizing all electronic devices.
Sanchez was arrested without incident and lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a bail detention hearing.
The investigation remains on-going.
Anyone with information relating to this incident is urged to contact the Warren Township Police Department at (908) 753-1000 or via the STOPit app.
The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.
Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
So creepy and disgusting.
GeneChing
04-02-2021, 11:30 AM
More on David John Williams (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1320420#post1320420)
Child sex charges add up against martial arts instructor (https://www.timesleader.com/news/1189388/child-sex-charges-add-up-against-martial-arts-instructor)
By Edward Lewis - April 2, 2021
By Ed Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
https://s24526.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/126742982_web1_David-John-Williams-mug.jpg
Williams
PITTSTON — A martial arts instructor jailed since his February arrest on allegations he sexually assaulted two girls was arraigned Friday on sex offenses involving a third female.
David John Williams, 58, of Boston Street, Pittston Township, was involved in a sexual relationship with a woman that began when she was 15-years-old in 1998 lasting until 2001, according to court records.
Court records say Williams fooled the girl by taking her to a surprise 16th birthday party at the Knights Inn in Pittston Township. When they arrived, she claimed there was no one else in the room where they stayed having sexual relations in a hot tub, court records say.
The woman, now in her 30s, came forward after Williams’ first arrest by Pittston police and Luzerne County detectives on Feb. 25.
In that case, Williams was charged with sexually assaulting two girls from 2012 to earlier this year at various locations, including his karate school above the Pittston City Fire Station, court records say.
After his Feb. 25th arrest, Williams was jailed on multiple felony sex offenses without bail.
According to the latest criminal complaint filed Friday:
The woman told police she was 15 when she met Williams while babysitting for a mutual friend. They became friendly as Williams supplied her with beer and marijuana.
After knowing each other for several months, Williams took the girl to the Knights Inn motel for a surprise 16th birthday party. When she arrived, no one else was in the motel room.
They stayed and played board games and consumed beer for a while until Williams encouraged her to go into a hot tub, where they had sexual relations, the complaint says.
The girl claimed she lived with Williams at a residence in Harding, Exeter Township, when she transferred high schools. She told police and county detectives there were specific times she was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and “whatever else Williams” gave her, the complaint says.
She discovered a hidden video camera that Williams allegedly used to record their sex acts. When she confronted Williams about the camera, he allegedly told her the camera was for her protection and he wanted to teach and protect her.
Police and county detectives confronted Williams with the woman’s allegations during a jailhouse interview March 29.
Williams claimed the relationship was “consensual” believing the woman was 18 years old at the time. When told the woman was 16 and asked about the Knights Inn, Williams replied, “Oh yeah,” recalling he struck a vehicle when he drove her home after leaving the motel, the complaint says.
Williams was arraigned by District Judge James J. Haggerty in Kingston on two counts of corruption of minors and one count each of endangering the welfare of a minor and indecent assault. Haggerty set Williams’ bail on the latest charges at $50,000 but he remains jailed without bail stemming from his Feb. 25th arrest.
Edward Lewis
Ed Lewis covers crime and courts for the Times Leader, a beat he has covered since 1999. He is a graduate of Hanover Area High School and King's College, Wilkes-Barre, with degrees in criminal justice and political science
highlypotion
04-05-2021, 12:35 AM
In actuality, TKD was Korean karate. General Choi had been a 2nd dan in Shotokan and based his TKD off of it. Quite unlike the Olympic TKD now.
IMO, a seven-year sentence isn’t nearly enough for rape, especially of a child.
Rape is really a serious case. The trauma will affect the child's brain. It should be 30years and up.
GeneChing
04-08-2021, 09:24 AM
This one is a little different. Here's someone taking a school rivalry with a fellow student way too far.
Arson At Martial Arts Studio: Bolingbrook Man Charged, Bond Set (https://patch.com/illinois/naperville/arson-martial-arts-studio-bolingbrook-man-charged-bond-set)
28-year-old Andrew Wagner is accused of breaking into a Naperville martial arts studio and setting a fire that destroyed the building.
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Posted Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 12:59 pm CT
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Andrew Wagner's bond was set at $400,000 for two felonies and one misdemeanor. (Naperville Police Department)
NAPERVILLE, IL — A 28-year-old Bolingbrook man is accused of setting fire to a Naperville martial arts studio where he used to be a student, according to police.
On March 26, Naperville police responded to an alarm at United Martial Arts studio at 1260 Chicago Avenue. Naperville Fire Department also arrived to find the building engulfed in flames. Fire officials said the smoke and fire damage left the building "uninhabitable."
Police identified a former student of the studio, Andrew Wagner, as the accused arsonist. Wagner was voluntarily interviewed by Naperville police and taken into custody on April 6.
Further investigation found that Wagner broke into the studio and used an accelerant to strengthen the fire, according to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin.
"Thankfully, no one was present at the studio when he allegedly started the fire and no patrons in any of the adjacent businesses were injured," Berlin said.
Wagner's bond is set at $400,000. The Red Bud Court resident is charged with two arson-related felonies and one misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property for allegedly throwing a brick several times at the passenger window of a parked vehicle owned by a former classmate. The State's Attorney's office did not specify if the misdemeanor and felony charges are related.
Naperville Chief of Police Robert Marshall said he hopes residents feel they are getting their questions on the incident answered.
"Based on the serious nature with the crime of arson that occurred in this incident, it was important for the safety of the community to find out what happened," Marshall said.
Wagner's next court appearance is scheduled for May 5.
GeneChing
05-04-2021, 01:06 PM
Former Buncombe County jailer, martial arts instructor gets 22 years for child sex abuse (https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/05/01/former-buncombe-county-jailer-sentenced-22-years-child-sexual-abuse/7399803002/)
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven
Asheville Citizen Times
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/01e23bd51c8f049229c12aa4fda279902a0ec9f3/c=0-60-640-420/local/-/media/Asheville/2015/02/04/B9316094419Z.1_20150204143957_000_GP09S8HFK.1-0.jpg?width=640&height=360&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp
Jeffrey Buley, sentenced to 22 years in prison, worked at the Buncombe County Jail from 2007 to 2014.
A federal judge sentenced a former Buncombe County jailer and martial arts instructor to 22 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting one of his students.
Jeffrey Allan Buley, 58, was both a student and a volunteer instructor at a martial arts facility in Hendersonville. According to federal court documents, he used the position as a hunting ground. He worked at the Buncombe County jail from 2007-14.
Buley befriended one of his students and then coerced that student into sending sexually explicit content on Discord, a popular messaging app among gamers and young people.
The owner of the facility, said as soon as he discovered Buley's abuse he informed all of the parents and implemented additional safety measures. He strengthened background checks, added cameras, and created a policy prohibiting all adults from communicating with the students outside of class.
According to a statement a close friend of Buley’s filed on his behalf, Buley told people he worked for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, which oversees the state’s prisons. But the department has no record of a person with Buley’s name ever working there.
A spokesman confirmed that Buley worked at the Buncombe County Jail. The statement also said Buley worked at the Henderson County Jail, but the department has not confirmed his employment.
The investigation was spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations, a department housed within Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal authorities took over the case from officials in North Carolina because Buley used the internet in his abuse, which is regulated by the interstate commerce clause and falls under federal jurisdiction.
Authorities also found evidence that Buley accessed child pornography on his computers. Buley will pay a little over $7,600 in restitution to his victims, $3,000 of which will go to a person who appeared in a series of child pornography that he viewed. Buley was not accused or convicted of producing child pornography.
Buley was arrested in July 2019, and pleaded guilty in May 2020. He was supposed to be sentenced in February 2021, but the court pushed back the sentencing due to winter storms.
Buley faced up to 30 years in prison, and a possible fine of $250,000. The court ordered him to forfeit his two computers, Chromebook, cellphone and three USB drives to the government. Upon his release, he will remain on supervised release and need to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
"he used the position as a hunting ground" :mad:
GeneChing
05-07-2021, 09:31 AM
Changed the locks. :rolleyes:
Interior Health shuts down non-compliant Kelowna martial arts studio (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/interior-health-shuts-down-non-compliant-kelowna-martial-arts-studio/ar-BB1gpbi1)
Winston Szeto 1 day ago
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1gpdbC.img?h=406&w=540&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=fKelowna, B.C., martial arts studio Flow Academy was forcefully shut down by the Interior Health authority on Tuesday due to non-compliance with public health orders.© Brady Strachan/CBC Kelowna, B.C., martial arts studio Flow Academy was forcefully shut down by the Interior Health authority on Tuesday due to non-compliance with public health orders.
The Interior Health authority has taken the unusual step of forcibly closing a Kelowna, B.C., martial arts studio for flouting public health orders.
On Tuesday, Interior Health officers — accompanied by the City of Kelowna staff and RCMP — changed the locks of Flow Academy at 1151 Sutherland Avenue.
The health authority says it took aggressive measures to close the premises because owner Tonya Aguiar ignored provincial health orders against indoor group exercises.
Flow Academy provides classes such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, yoga and meditation.
In February, Aguiar was ticketed for interfering with health officers' inspection of the premises and was ordered by the health authority to stop hosting indoor group activities.
Interior Health's chief medical health officer Dr. Albert de Villiers said the authority issued a closure order on April 20, but the studio ignored it and kept operating.
"We still saw people coming and going and they were contravening the gathering order and … the closure order," de Villiers told CBC's Brady Strachan.
"Unfortunately, [we] had to change their locks because there was nothing else we could do at that point."
"This is the first time I actually had to go this far in changing locks and spending a lot of time to actually do this," de Villiers said. "It's the first time we've done that, and hopefully [it's] the last time."
CBC News has reached out to Aguiar by email but hasn't heard back.
Last month, Flow Academy announced on its website that it wouldn't take new membership applications from anyone who had taken a COVID-19 vaccine, inaccurately characterizing the vaccines as dangerous and a liability concern.
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1gp0MN.img?h=1022&w=1240&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=fInterior Health's closure notice posted on Flow Academy's door says the business failed to follow the authority's closure order issued on April 20.© Brady Strachan/CBC Interior Health's closure notice posted on Flow Academy's door says the business failed to follow the authority's closure order issued on April 20.
Although the announcement was removed, de Villiers said he's troubled by the misinformation about coronavirus vaccines being spread in the local community.
"It's always concerning to us because unfortunately … the public will actually believe and act on that [misinformation] as well, and then they might put other people at risk," he said.
Flow Academy, which has been operating without a business licence since February, submitted an application for one but was turned down by the city due to non-compliance with provincial health orders.
The City of Kelowna's risk manager Lance Kayfish said the city issued four violation tickets totalling $4,000 to Flow Academy for an unlicensed operation and failing to permit city inspections.
"It [the amount of tickets issued] is quite unusual," Kayfish said.
Group indoor fitness activities in gyms, yoga studios and other spaces are currently prohibited. The order is valid until May 25.
threads
Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)
Busted-Martial-Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
GeneChing
06-04-2021, 09:26 AM
CHENNAI
CB CID probe ordered into complaints of sexual harassment against martial arts instructor (https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/cb-cid-probe-ordered-into-complaints-of-sexual-harassment-against-martial-arts-instructor/article34725833.ece)
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHENNAI, JUNE 04, 2021 14:19 IST
UPDATED: JUNE 04, 2021 14:19 IST
https://th.thgim.com/news/cities/chennai/ogqx6r/article34725832.ece/ALTERNATES/FREE_660/04JUNETH--Martial
Kebi Raj | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The accused Kebi Raj, 41, was arrested by the All Women Police, Anna Nagar on Monday, following a complaint from a 26-year-old woman who had been a trainee at his institute
The Director General of Police (DGP) J.K. Tripathy has ordered a probe by the Crime Branch CID police into the complaints of sexual assault and harassment against E. Kebi Raj, a Chennai-based martial arts instructor, by his trainees.
The CB CID probe was ordered by the DGP following a recommendation from Commissioner of Police Shankar Jiwal. Sources said the matter was taken up by the CB CID since the accused faces at least three complaints against him. A thorough investigation needs to be taken up to establish his involvement and to find out whether any other associates have been involved. An investigation will also be conducted in other districts and other States besides collecting electronic evidence.
The accused Kebi Raj, 41, was arrested by the All Women Police, Anna Nagar on Monday. He was an instructor at a reputed city school and has been running Hi-Impact Martial Arts School in Anna Nagar.
A 26-year-old woman who was a trainee with him alleged that in 2014, when they were returning to the city after participating in a judo tournament in Namakkal, he touched her inappropriately and attempted to rape her in a moving car. She also alleged she was sexually assaulted her in the trip and later, he threatened to murder her if she spoke about the incident. Due to the trauma, she dropped out of the institute, she said. However, the recent arrest of a school teacher for sexual harassment gave her the confidence to come forward and lodge a complaint against the perpetrator.
Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under Section 376, read with Section 511 (attempt to rape), Section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman) of the IPC and provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act.
In a moving car? Was there another driver?
GeneChing
06-18-2021, 09:28 AM
Slightly OT - did he really know Karate (https://www.martialartsmart.com/karate.html)?
Defendant Karate Chops McDonald’s Door, Breaks It; Judge Rules Rights Weren’t Violated (https://www.davisvanguard.org/2021/06/defendant-karate-chops-mcdonalds-door-breaks-it-judge-rules-rights-werent-violated/)
Posted by Koda Slingluff Date: June 18, 2021in: Breaking News, Court Watch, Sacramento Region
By Zoey Hou and Roselyn Poommai
SACRAMENTO, CA – Defendant Oran Coleman is charged with felony charges after allegedly “karate-kicking” and breaking a McDonald’s restaurant door, but in a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court the defense moved to suppress his statements to responding police officers.
The prosecution claims that at around 5 a.m. on Jan. 18, a McDonald’s employee was stocking supplies in the back of the fast-food restaurant when she heard a loud noise. She then checked the front of the restaurant to find broken glass but was unable to see what had happened.
Officers were told about a suspicious 20- to 30-year-old African American male, later identified as defendant Oran Delvon Coleman. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a dark shirt outside the restaurant.
Officer Mark Roddy confirmed from video footage that the suspect had run to the door and “karate chopped and kicked it” until it shattered. The male then landed on the door’s bar handle and stayed there for a minute. After speaking with a store co-owner, Officer Roddy determined that the door’s cost amounted to about $1,500.
On the scene, two responding officers immediately found Coleman pacing back and forth in front of the door. He faces a felony complaint charge of unlawful defacing with graffiti and damaging property exceeding $400.
Officer Ricardo Perez testified that he failed to Mirandize/read rights to the defendant, and noted he did not because the suspect was not in custody at the time and that their questions were “purely investigatory.”
This admittance led to questions from Assistant Public Defender Joanne Virata, who argued that her client’s statements during the interaction should not be admissible in court as he was not properly notified of his Miranda rights.
The PD asked, “Vandalism is a crime, correct? And you were provided with information on the suspect. And the suspect information was given to you as it was related to the vandalism, correct?”
Officer Perez confirmed that he was looking for a Black male adult who matched the description. He also verified with the public defender that he did not tell the suspect that they were under arrest, nor did he Mirandize them.
PD Virata alleged that “if [the defendant] was approached by two officers that were in full uniform, who were given the information that led them to believe that he was the sole suspect in the case, along with a series of questions asked to him, it would be fair for anyone in that position that they were not free to leave and that they were actually in custody.”
The PD insisted the fact that two officers seeking one specific man and further interrogating him should be considered an instance of custody.
Virata continued to assert that any admissions made by defendant Coleman should not be held against him due to the officers’ failure to Mirandize him. She further argued that any question made to the suspect should have been subject to Miranda.
Law Clerk Chris Cantrell, a legal intern under Deputy District Attorney Rochelle Beardsley, countered that the number of officers present at the interrogation is unimportant and does not automatically put the suspect in custody. He also added that just because officers are on the premise does not necessarily imply arrest.
He explained, “The question of two officers versus one is irrelevant, and there were two officers in the McDonald’s interviewing other people. [The defendant] was not under arrest—he was not detained and Mirandized.”
Though PD Virata insisted that the nature of the interaction seemed like detention, Judge Kara K. Ueda ultimately denied the defense’s motion to suppress Coleman’s admissions. She determined that the initial exchange between the defendant and responding officers was voluntary rather than custodial.
“It appeared on the given testimony that the two officers initially approached for the purposes of the investigation,” Judge Ueda ruled.
Judge Ueda concluded the preliminary hearing, denying the defense’s motion to suppress Coleman’s statements, and said, based on the evidence given in the testimonies, there is probable cause to hold the defendant to answer. If found competent, the defendant faces the possibility of additional preliminary hearings.
Matters for Oran Coleman will resume on June 21.
GeneChing
06-25-2021, 10:16 AM
JUNE 24 2021 - 11:51AM
Martial arts expert guilty of 2014 murder (https://www.standard.net.au/story/7311763/martial-arts-expert-guilty-of-2014-murder/)
Margaret Scheikowski and Mark Russell
National
https://www.standard.net.au/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/672a589d-f971-4201-b57d-edce67b1719b.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Sayle Newson has been found guilty of murdering mother-of-two Carly McBride.
A martial arts expert has been found guilty of murdering his new girlfriend whose remains were found in bushland almost two years after she went missing.
Sayle Kenneth Newson, of Buff Point on the NSW Central Coast, had denied murdering Carly McBride, 31, on September 30, 2014, at Muswellbrook or elsewhere.
Her remains were found in bushland at Owens Gap, about 17 kilometres northwest of Scone, on August 7, 2016.
After deliberating more than two weeks, a NSW Supreme Court jury in Newcastle on Thursday found the 43-year-old guilty of murder.
A post-mortem examination revealed Ms McBride suffered blunt force trauma to her face and back of her head, indicating she suffered at least two blows to the skull and one to her back.
The mother of two had met Newson at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre west of Wyong in late 2013, before beginning a relationship with him in early August 2014.
The Crown alleged Newson had been motivated by jealousy and possessiveness.
When interviewed by police before Ms McBride's remains had been found, Newson said she was the first woman he had loved in 14 years and he believed "Carly was given to me".
Newson told police he thought she was dead and "God had made this decision".
Justice Mark Ierace will sentence him at a later date.
Australian Associated Press
"Martial Arts expert" could be better defined here.
rett2
06-26-2021, 01:24 PM
"Martial Arts expert" could be better defined here.
Search on name + muay thai
GeneChing
06-28-2021, 09:43 AM
More on Damien (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68492-European-Martial-Arts-(Armored-combat-HEMA-HMB-IMCF-SCA-et-al)&p=1321180#post1321180)
Medieval martial arts teacher who slapped French leader gets jail time (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emmanuel-macron-slap-face-medieval-martial-arts-teacher-faces-justice/)
BY ELAINE COBBE
UPDATED ON: JUNE 10, 2021 / 11:32 AM / CBS NEWS
Paris — The 28-year-old man who gained instant infamy by slapping French President Emmanuel Macron has been handed an 18-month jail sentence, but will only serve four months behind bars as the rest of the sentence was suspended. He told investigators that he'd acted "without thinking" when he struck the president.
The medieval history and martial arts enthusiast, identified only as Damien T., said he wanted to "express his unhappiness" with Macron's policies.
The public prosecutor believed him, saying it was clear there was no premeditation, and that the man had acted on the spur of the moment when the president walked directly over to him as he went to greet a waiting crowd in the village of Tain-l'Hermitage in the southeast region of the Drome. A video of the incident was posted to Twitter.
Macron's bodyguards immediately moved the president away and pulled the man to the ground. He and another man were arrested. Damien T. appeared in court Thursday, charged with assaulting a person in authority.
threads
European-Martial-Arts-(Armored-combat-HEMA-HMB-IMCF-SCA-et-al) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68492-European-Martial-Arts-(Armored-combat-HEMA-HMB-IMCF-SCA-et-al))
Busted-Martial-Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
GeneChing
07-01-2021, 01:30 PM
https://storage.googleapis.com/media.mwcradio.com/mimesis/2021-06/30/2021-06-30T011052Z_1_LYNXNPEH5T01J_RTROPTP_3_OLYMPICS-2020-KARATE.JPG
Karate-After long battle, karate gets long-awaited chance on biggest stage (https://whbl.com/2021/06/29/karate-after-long-battle-karate-gets-long-awaited-chance-on-biggest-stage/)
By Syndicated Content
Jun 29, 2021 | 8:10 PM
By Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO (Reuters) – Karate has fought a long, hard battle to earn its place as an Olympic sport.
Despite its 100 million practitioners worldwide, a solid place in popular culture and a rich history that some say can be traced back to the 15th century, the Japanese martial art’s bid to join the Olympics had been rejected three times, including, initially, for Tokyo 2020.
It was only thanks to the provision under the “Olympic Agenda 2020” reform blueprint adopted in 2014 that Games hosts were allowed to propose a number of sports and karate was granted a second shot.
Lobbied by then-chief cabinet secretary and current prime minister Yoshihide Suga, karate officially won its place two years later to join fellow Asian martial arts judo and taekwondo on the big stage in Tokyo.
Unfortunately for Japan’s karate federation, however, entering the Olympic sphere also exposed the rampant bullying of one of its leading athletes by a senior federation member in a scandal that sent shockwaves through the local karate world.
With just four months to go until karate’s debut at the Games, Japan Karatedo Federation (JKF) technical director Masao Kagawa was forced to resign when karateka Ayumi Uekusa blew the whistle – through the Olympics hot-line – on his abuses and unsanctioned use of a bamboo stick during training that caused her a serious eye injury.
The federation quickly dismissed Kagawa as head of the sport’s “Player Strengthening Committee” and replaced him with a popular former karate champion, Rika Usami, known as “the queen of kata”.
With the scandal behind it, karate will be looking to Tokyo 2020 to demonstrate why it deserves to be a core Olympic sport.
Karate has been ruled out for Paris 2024, though it will have a place at the postponed Youth Olympics in Dakar 2026 following a debut at the 2018 youth event in Buenos Aires.
In the “kata” category, in which athletes demonstrate offensive and defensive techniques against a virtual opponent, Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna is a favourite to win what would be the first gold medal for his native Okinawa prefecture, the birthplace of karate.
For female kata, a close contest is expected between Spanish world champion Sandra Sanchez and Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu after their memorable tie-breaker match at the sport’s top event in 2019.
The “kumite” sparring category will involve 60 athletes in three weight categories each for men and women, with France’s Steve Dacosta, Azerbaijan’s Rafael Aghayev, China’s Xiaoyan Yin and Turkey’s Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu among those to watch.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, editing by Ed Osmond)
Threads
Karate (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?10141-Karate)
2020-Tokyo-Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64475-2020-Tokyo-Olympics)
Busted-Martial-Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
GeneChing
07-29-2021, 09:13 AM
Martial arts instructor groomed 'vulnerable' teenage girl in care plying with her booze and so much cocaine her nose was left damaged (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/martial-arts-instructor-groomed-vulnerable-21132869)
Martin Yankey, 37, of Hindley, has now been jailed for 13 years
By Chris Slater
09:25, 24 JUL 2021
NEWS
https://i2-prod.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/incoming/article21132871.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_Martin-Yankey.jpg
Martin Yankey who was described by a judge as 'devious, selfish and manipulative' (Image: Greater Manchester Police (GMP))
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A 'twisted and perverted' martial arts instructor who plied a vulnerable teenage girl with drunk and drugs before having sex with her has been jailed.
Martin Yankey, 37, from Hindley, housed and 'exploited' the 15-year-old girl as she fled from her care and then foster parents before she was eventually found hiding in his kitchen cupboard.
He had 'groomed' and 'brainwashed' her into thinking they were in a 'relationship' the court was told with the pair having sex on "numerous occasions."
And she didn't realise what had happened to her until she saw a TV documentary on grooming gangs, the court was told.
During the period of abuse which spanned four months, he gave her so much cocaine the septum in her nose was left damaged, whilst she also suffered 'severe psychological harm' with the girl, now 19, suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A judge today said he had shown "absolutely no remorse" as she jailed him for 13 years.
Yankey, met the girl early in 2018, Rachel Shenton, prosecuting told Manchester Crown Court on Friday.
Manchester's courts are some of the busiest in the country with a vast array of cases heard every week.
To keep up to date with how justice is being served across Greater Manchester subscribe to our free weekly M.E.N. Court News newsletter put together by our court reporters Andrew Bardsley and Amy Walker.
And over a four-month period that year, the girl went missing from the care home in Greater Manchester where she was being looked, after numerous times.
On one occasion a taxi driver who dropped her at the house where Yankey was living in Atherton, described him as "looking a bit dodgy" as he looked up and down the street before she went inside.
On several occasions when she had been reported missing, police visited Yankey's address, telling him how old she was and showing him pictures of her, but he denied ever knowing her.
However, it is now believed she was likely hiding in the loft or a cupboard in the property.
Due to the number of times she went missing she was moved to foster parents out of the area but the court heard within ten minutes of her arriving there Yankey arranged for a friend to pick her up in a white Range Rover.
His crimes were uncovered when officers again attended at his home in 2018.
He insisted she wasn't there and complained to officers for repeatedly bothering him until was found hiding in one of his kitchen cupboards.
She told officers in a police interview that she thought they were in a 'relationship' and that he loved her.
However she said on one occasion she lost an entire day due to her intoxication and that she only realised when she saw a Snapchat message she had sent the day before.
13 years for this...
GeneChing
08-09-2021, 08:43 AM
Miami Herald
A child found hidden restroom cameras in a Broward martial arts school, police say (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/a-child-found-hidden-restroom-cameras-in-a-broward-martial-arts-school-police-say/ar-AAN3EnL)
David J. Neal, Miami Herald 1 day ago
A girl’s discovery of hidden cameras in a Pembroke Pines martial arts studio’s restroom led to the arrest of the 64-year-old head instructor, Pembroke Pines police announced Saturday.
Pines cops also want to hear from anyone who has used a restroom at Master Franco’s Taekwondo Academy, the school at 11090 Pines Blvd. named after Robert Franco. Franco, who turned himself in Friday, faces three counts of video voyeurism and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
“The expectation of privacy was violated for other undressed and unsuspecting victims who remain unidentified,” Pines police said.
Pines police say on July 29, a student noticed two cameras “discretely placed within picture frames on a shelf located in the academy’s restroom.”
She used her camera to shoot those cameras, police said, and took what she saw and snapped to Franco. Franco destroyed the frames and the cameras. The girl left the studio and phoned her father, who, in turn, called 911.’
Broward County online court records say Franco’s then-wife filed a temporary restraining order for domestic violence against him for two weeks after a Christmas Day, 2013 arrest on battery-domestic violence. The charges in the case were dropped. Franco filed for divorce in January 2014.
Online court records also say two days before the alleged discovery of the hidden cameras, Franco’s ex-wife filed for suspension of his timesharing rights as a father. That was granted July 30, the day after the alleged camera discovery.
Smart girl.
GeneChing
08-11-2021, 07:56 AM
Jade is my hero.
Teen martial arts student speaks out on confronting master about cameras hidden at Pembroke Pines taekwondo studio (https://wsvn.com/news/local/broward/teen-martial-arts-student-speaks-out-on-confronting-master-about-cameras-hidden-at-pembroke-pines-taekwondo-studio/)
BY PATRICK FRASER
AUGUST 10, 2021
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - A teen confronted the owner of a taekwondo studio in Pembroke Pines about hidden cameras she found in the bathroom.
Robert Franco has been arrested after police accused him of video voyeurism.
About 150 children and adults train at Master Franco’s Taekwondo Academy, but police said something else was going on here. Not only was he teaching them taekwondo, they said he was using his students for his private show.
In the martial arts world, this 17-year-old is good, very good.
Jade: “I’m very passionate about that sport. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
And having a second-degree black belt in taekwondo may have given Jade, as we will call her, the confidence to do what she did.
Patrick Fraser: “Who asked you to try on the chest protector?”
Jade: “He did.”
Patrick Fraser: “Franco asked you to try it on?”
Jade: “Yes, he told me to put it on. I already tried it on before.”
The master, Robert Franco, asked Jade to try on a chest protector again, which would require her to undress in the bathroom.
Patrick Fraser: “So, he was setting you up to see you naked?”
Jade: “Yes.”
Jade felt something was wrong.
As she went into the bathroom to change, she noticed two new picture frames that had been put up a month ago.
Jade: “And it just sparked a red light in my head. I just felt like something was wrong.”
Jade was not only an instructor at the studio, she is something else: very sharp.
Jade: “So, I turned off the light in the bathroom. I turned on my flashlight on my phone, and I pointed at the picture, and I saw a glare of a camera lens.”
This was the small camera in a Bruce Lee picture frame and another camera in the other new picture frame.
Jade: “So, when I finally saw it I was shocked. Even though I was not surprised, I was shocked, so right away, I took a video of them in case he was going to destroy them.”
Jade didn’t run, though.
She said she walked straight over and confronted Franco about the hidden cameras.
Jade: “He kept saying it was a gift from someone, and as I kept asking who gave that gift to him, he said he didn’t know, that it came in the mail, and that he didn’t know where it came from.”
Franco calls himself the master, but on this day, Jade was in charge.
Patrick Fraser: “Do you think your training in taekwondo gave you the confidence to confront him?”
Jade: “Yeah, absolutely, yeah. I was not scared to confront him. He was the one that was scared.”
As the 17-year-old called her father to come get her, she said Franco threw the video recording frames in the garbage. She said she took them out and called police.
Franco was arrested and charged with three counts of video voyeurism.
Stephan Lopez, attorney: “To secretly record a child, you are at a level of perversion and sickness that is beyond help.”
Stephan Lopez is a former sex crimes detective and now an attorney. What Jade did, he said, amazes him.
Stephan Lopez: “And she knew that if she didn’t speak up, if she didn’t confront this man, he would do it to other children younger than her, and she couldn’t stand for that, and for that, she should be applauded.”
Jade said she is proud that police said she stopped the videotaping of naked children and adults and hopes other children who are the victims of sexual offenders learn from her: don’t stay quiet.
Jade: “To not be scared to stand up for what you know is right, and in cases like this, people tend to get away with it because girls don’t speak up.”
Pembroke Pines Police said they confiscated a cellphone and a computer from the studio. On that cellphone, they found video of Jade while she was in the bathroom. That’s why they want anyone who trained at Master Franco’s Taekwondo Academy is urged to call police because they might be a victim and not even know it.
I asked Jade if she thought she would step forward like she did if she hadn’t had years of taekwondo training. She said, “I don’t know. I’ve always done taekwondo my entire life.”
YinOrYan
08-13-2021, 05:12 AM
Jade is my hero.
Yeah, he could have been "framed"...
GeneChing
09-10-2021, 09:34 AM
Owner of Kingsport martial arts business charged with continuous sexual abuse of child (https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/owner-of-kingsport-martial-arts-business-charged-with-continuous-sexual-abuse-of-child/)
LOCAL
by: Murry Lee
Posted: Sep 1, 2021 / 04:38 PM EDT / Updated: Sep 1, 2021 / 06:26 PM EDT
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The owner of a martial arts business is facing multiple sexual abuse charges, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO).
According to a release from SCSO, investigators were informed of possible sexual assault that had continued over a period of time. An investigation into Joseph Frank Grosso, 64 of Kingsport, began as a result.
A victim told investigators she had been a student at Grosso Martial Arts, which is both owned and operated by Grosso.
“The victim provided details of multiple incidents in which Joseph Frank Grosso had sexually abused her over a period of time while she was taking martial arts lessons,” the release states.
According to the victim, the sexual assaults occurred while others were at the business, but Grosso would allegedly have her “step away from others” during the lessons.
After presenting the case to a Sullivan County grand jury, a true bill was returned charging Grosso with the six counts of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Grosso was arrested Tuesday. As of Wednesday, he is being held in the Sullivan County Jail on a $200,000 bond, SCSO reports.
There's a news vid behind the link. I prefer to post the pix of the perps because they must serve as bad examples for our community.
GeneChing
09-12-2021, 09:41 AM
Here's a refreshing change from all the pedophiles. :(
Martial Arts Coach Beats Up Judge At Kickboxing Tournament: Suit (https://patch.com/new-york/astoria-long-island-city/martial-arts-coach-beats-judge-kickboxing-tournament-suit)
The Astoria-based coach and gym owner attacked a judge who refused to reveal his trainee's score after a match, a lawsuit contends.
Kayla Levy, Patch Staff
Posted Thu, Sep 9, 2021 at 2:14 pm ET
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/24928264/20210909/021412/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-690696292___09141339442.jpg?width=726
The Astoria-based coach and gym owner attacked a judge who refused to reveal his trainee’s score after a match, a lawsuit contends. (Shutterstock)
ASTORIA, QUEENS — At this year's World Kickboxing Association National Championships, Aziz Nabih fought Joel Bekker. The two men, however, were not in a kickboxing match.
Nabih, an Astoria-based trainer and gym owner, attacked Bekker, a tournament judge, when Bekker refused to show him his trainee's score after a match, a new lawsuit contends.
The "violent and vicious" attack happened on the evening of Aug. 28, after Taj Rueda, a fighter who Nabih coaches, completed a match at the WKA tournament, records show.
Shortly after, Nabih climbed down from the ring and walked up to Bekker — who was one of the people scoring the fight — demanding in a "loud and angry voice" to see the scorecards from his trainee's match, the lawsuit contends.
Bekker, who didn't have access to the scorecards, told Nabih to speak with Brian Crenshaw, a chief official at the tournament, who was sitting at a nearby table in the center of the arena, according to the suit.
Instead of speaking with Crenshaw, however, Nabih attacked Bekker, the suit contends.
At a rules meeting the night before, all tournament coaches were told that any questions or issues with a match's scoring should be directed to Crenshaw, records show. According to the lawsuit, Nabih was at that meeting.
After the fight, Nabih told other people to follow Bekker around the tournament site in a "menacing and threatening" way, prompting Bekker to fear for his "safety and life," according to the suit.
Ultimately, the WKA judge was escorted away from the tournament, for his own safety, with the group of Nabih's supporters following him all the way to his car, records show.
The attack injured Bekker to the point that nearly two weeks later he still can't fully work or participate in daily activities like he did before the attack, according to the suit.
Patch reached out to Sitan Muay Thai Gym in Astoria, which Nabih owns, about this lawsuit, but didn't get an immediate response.
GeneChing
09-15-2021, 09:20 AM
Martial arts expert, 32, who tried to drown his NHS nurse girlfriend after accusing her of having an affair as she worked 12-hour shifts on Covid ward in lockdown is spared jail (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9990231/Martial-arts-expert-32-tried-drown-NHS-nurse-girlfriend-spared-jail.html)
Scott Richards pushed ex-girlfriend Kathryn Rich's head under water last year
He was found guilty of 'cruel acts of violence' against NHS nurse Ms Rich, 40
Judge said he had 'brought shame' on all those involved in martial art sports
By ISABELLA NIKOLIC FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:53 EDT, 14 September 2021 | UPDATED: 13:13 EDT, 14 September 2021
A martial arts expert has been spared jail after he tried to drown his NHS nurse girlfriend when their relationship hit the rocks in lockdown.
Jealous Scott Richards, 32, pushed his ex-girlfriend Kathryn Rich's head under water as she was about to have a bath.
Richards, of Treherbert, Rhondda, was found guilty of 'cruel acts of violence' against NHS nurse Ms Rich, 40, his girlfriend for 11 years.
A judge said he had 'brought shame' on all those involved in martial art sports but let him off with a suspended prison sentence.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/14/17/47915615-9990231-image-m-7_1631636817365.jpghttps://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/14/17/47915625-9990231-image-a-8_1631636823179.jpg
Scott Richards (left), 32, pushed his ex-girlfriend Kathryn Rich's (right) head under water as she was about to have a bath
The domestic violence started in the first lockdown when Richards had to close his martial arts training school and Ms Rich was working 12-hour shifts on Covid wards.
Prosecutor Rosamund Rutter said: 'The defendant subjected his partner to frightening and cruel acts of violence, which may be partly due to the lockdown.
'He pushed her head into the bath water and held it down. She could not breathe and desperately tried to pull her head back but the defendant had a firm grip.'
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Ms Rich rang police to say her partner had tried to drown her on April 4 last year.
She also told them about an incident on March 24, the day after the national lockdown started, when Richards headbutted her after finding a 'personal note' about her feelings towards a work colleague.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/14/17/47915619-9990231-image-a-4_1631636776684.jpg
Richards, of Treherbert, Rhondda, was found guilty of 'cruel acts of violence' against NHS nurse Ms Rich (pictured together), 40, his girlfriend for 11 years
Ms Rich denied she was having an affair with a workmate and said it was 'just flirting'.
She said the bathroom attack was sparked by her commenting about another man in fancy dress on Facebook.
Mother-of-four Ms Rich told the court: 'Covid had just hit and we were told to have a bath and wash our uniforms when we got home from work.
'The bath was run when Scott came upstairs and pushed me backwards with quite a lot of force.
'The bath was pretty full, he pushed my head and shoulders under water. His hand was on the back of my neck, I couldn't get out of the water, it was probably only seconds but it felt longer.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/14/17/47915613-9990231-image-a-5_1631636782005.jpg
The domestic violence started in the first lockdown when Richards had to close his martial arts training school and Ms Rich was working 12-hour shifts on Covid wards
'When he let go I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't hear. I swallowed water, my clothing was soaked.'
Richards chose not to give evidence in his defence at the four-day trial.
He was found guilty of assaulting Ms Rich in the bathroom by a majority verdict of 11-1. He was unanimously found guilty of the headbutt assault.
In a victim personal statement Ms Rich told Cardiff Crown Court: 'When Scott tried to drown me I didn't know if I was going to come back up again.
'We had been together for 11 years and I genuinely loved him but I can't believe it's come to this.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/14/17/47915629-9990231-image-a-6_1631636791318.jpg
Prosecutor Rosamund Rutter said: 'The defendant subjected his partner to frightening and cruel acts of violence, which may be partly due to the lockdown'
'I have been working in a hospital environment under the pressure of Covid-19 which has had an impact on me.'
Richards was given a 30-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
Judge Caroline Rees QC made him the subject of a two-year restraining order preventing him from contacting his former partner.
She told Richards: 'It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Rich - she told the court she thought she was going to die.
'You have shamed those involved in your sport by showing uncontrolled violence and jealous outbursts.'
threads
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
Covid (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)
GeneChing
11-17-2021, 08:57 AM
Martial arts instructor indicted on more than a dozen sex charges involving teenage student (https://www.daytondailynews.com/crime/martial-arts-instructor-indicted-on-more-than-a-dozen-sex-charges-involving-teenage-student/WISO6JPFR5BWPGZHKXNWTEN7CY/)
https://www.daytondailynews.com/resizer/KmB-G7LMc0aHB8S1U25awZCplNk=/814x458/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coxohio/MQYORRVGOJA7PJIKKSX3MAQMNI.jpgajc.com
CRIME & LAW
By Kristen *****er
18 hours ago
A martial arts instructor accused of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old student has been indicted on more than a dozen charges.
John Townsend III, 29, of Vandalia, is facing 10 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony, and five counts of sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor, according to a Montgomery County grand jury report.
Townsend was the martial arts instructor of the 13-year-old victim, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. The incidents took place between Jan. 9 and May 10 and was investigated by Vandalia police.
A warrant has been issued for Townsend’s arrest. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 30.
We are working to learn more and will update this story as more information is available. Wonder what style he taught...
GeneChing
01-04-2022, 07:54 PM
Utah woman who claimed self-defense charged with murdering husband inside martial arts studio in July (https://www.fox13now.com/news/crime/utah-woman-charged-with-murdering-husband-inside-martial-arts-studio-in-july)
By: Spencer Burt Posted at 4:28 PM, Jan 04, 2022 and last updated 3:39 PM, Jan 04, 2022
MAGNA, Utah — A woman has been charged in court for shooting and killing her husband inside their martial arts studio in Magna over the summer.
A single charge of first-degree felony murder (with domestic violence enhancement) was filed Tuesday against 41-year-old Cynthia Vincent.
Around 12:30 a.m. on July 6, Vincent called 911 to report that she had shot her husband at Vincent's House of Goju, which court records indicate they owned and also resided. She claimed she grabbed the revolver to defend herself after her husband strangled her, then shot him once when he lunged at her. Officers found his body laying just inside the studio's main entrance. Vincent was arrested later that day.
Investigators now say they do not believe the shooting was in self-defense after interviewing the suspect, analyzing evidence, and viewing security camera footage.
The "dojo" had motion-activated security cameras inside and outside. Police watched the footage from these cameras and said in the hours leading up to the shooting, the couple was walking around, talking with each other, hugging and kissing.
About 10 minutes before Vincent called the police, the surveillance footage shows her husband pacing around near the front door while wearing pajamas. Six minutes later, he was seen wearing jeans, a black shirt and black shoes. These were the same clothes he was wearing when he was found dead.
Vincent told police they had been fighting all weekend. She said before the shooting, she called a friend to ask them to pick her husband up.
"He keeps coming at me. I'm scared. Come and get him before I kill him. I have my gun out," Vincent said, according to the friend. Her cell phone records show that she made a 19-second call to the friend at 12:27 a.m.
Police say there was no violence seen on the dojo's cameras. However, the charges indicate that the actual shooting and what immediately led to it were not captured on video.
The report states that a "burst of dust" was seen on camera at 12:28 a.m. — "the same time the motion sensor lights were activated." Police say the "camera time" then skipped to 12:35 a.m., when police are seen entering the building and Vincent was escorted out. It was not specified whether police believe the camera system was tampered with.
Investigators say there were inconsistencies in Vincent's story when she spoke with them post-Miranda-Warning.
She told detectives her husband fell backward after she shot him, described where they were standing and where he fell. However, she "immediately recognized that didn't make sense if he was facing her when she shot him." She tried to explain again, but police said it appeared she was guessing and that her account did not line up with the evidence.
Evidence, including an autopsy by the state medical examiner's office, indicated that the victim was shot in the side of the head while leaving the building through the front door.
After the shooting, court records also say Vincent tried to access and close financial accounts that they previously shared. She was not able to, though, because her husband had removed her from the accounts at some point before his death.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office requested that Vincent be held without bail because they believe she is a danger to the community and likely to flee.
Police identified the victim, her husband, as Michael Vincent. Hard to discern what happened here...
GeneChing
01-18-2022, 07:41 PM
Slightly OT but kinda funny...
Police Say Calm Masters Tai Chi Master (https://enewspf.com/news/police-master-tai-chi-master/)
January 17, 2022 by Gary Kopycinski
https://enewspf.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/tai-chi-master-pfpd-800x800.jpg
Park Forest Police attempt to fingerprint a self-proclaimed Tai Chi master Monday. (Photo: PFPD)
Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Police in Park Forest found themselves up against a “self-proclaimed Tai Chi Master” who apparently was not kidding, according to police. By calmly working with the man, officers were able to de-escalate the situation, police said in a statement.
Earlier Monday, January 17, police were fingerprinting a man on a charge of aggravated domestic battery. Suddenly, the man became angry, according to police.
He told officers he was a Tai Chi Master, and “began an exquisite Tai Chi routine that could have only been achieved through years of dedicated training,” according to police. Apparently, the man was a Tai Chi Master.
Thankfully, the officers were able to de-escalate the situation without force and the process was completed peacefully.
Police said in a statement Monday, “Park Forest Officers are equipped with several less lethal force options, such as a taser, baton, and pepper spray. However, sometimes the best option is a calm approach.”
They concluded with a quote from a popular Netflix show, “It May Not Seem Brave, But Sometimes, Avoiding Conflict Is One Of The Most Heroic Things You Can Do.” – Daniel LaRusso, Cobra Kai.
About the Park Forest Police
The Park Forest Police Department serves the people of Park Forest, Illinois, a community of approximately 22,000 people in the suburban Chicago area. Responsible for law enforcement duties in both Cook and Will Counties, Park Forest Police Officers handle approximately 18,000-20,000 calls for service every year. From its inception in 1949 with just 4 officers and a director, the Park Forest Police Department has grown to a state-of-the-art law enforcement agency with 60 employees. Divided into divisions of Patrol, Investigations, and Administration, some officers also specialize in assignments such as K9 handler, special operations, accident investigation, and a variety of specialized teams and task forces.
GeneChing
01-26-2022, 10:46 AM
NJ Martial Arts Instructor, Combat Vet Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Teen Students (https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/hudson/police-fire/nj-martial-arts-instructor-combat-vet-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-teen-students/824633/)
Cecilia Levine 01/25/2022 2:56 p.m.
https://daily-voice-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/c_fill,dpr_2,f_auto,q_auto:eco,w_640/Screen_Shot_2022-01-25_at_3.11.56_PM_q7oemf
Vincent Damiano Photo Credit: Somerset County Prosecutor's Office/Vince Damiano Facebook
A 44-year-old martial arts instructor was arrested for sexually assaulting two teen students, authorities in Somerset County said.
Vincent Damiano carried out the assaults in Branchburg Township (Somerset County), Asbury (Warren County), and the Borough of Lebanon (Hunterdon County) from May 2019 to July 2019, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said.
Damiano's website says he is a "multi-business entrepreneur, adventurer, speaker, coach, martial arts instructor, and combat veteran," who served 10 years in the military "and now serves his community by giving back through one of his businesses or non-profit charity organization[s]."
The investigation into Damiano began last November when a 22-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted by Damiano when she was 17, Robertson said. The alleged victim detailed incidents in Branchburg Township (Somerset County), Asbury (Warren County), and the Borough of Lebanon (Hunterdon County) from May 2019 to July 2019, according to the prosecutor.
Then, two days later, a second woman said she was also sexually assaulted by Damiano when she was between ages 16 and 18, Robertson said. She was interviewed by detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit.
As a result of this investigation, the victim disclosed incidents of sexual assault that occurred in the Branchburg Township (Somerset County), and Asbury (Warren County) from July 2017 to July 2019.
Damiano was arrested on Jan. 6, at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office by detectives from the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit without incident.
He was charged with two counts of 2nd degree Sexual Assault and two counts of 3rd degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Defendant Damiano was lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Damiano was subsequently released as a result of his detention hearing. Released for now...
GeneChing
02-08-2022, 10:28 AM
HOME MILITARY & DEFENSE
Leaked chats show current troops and veterans joined a white supremacist group, offering 'martial arts' and ability to 'clear rooms' (https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-records-people-with-military-ties-joined-white-supremacist-group-2022-2)
Abbie Shull 1 hour ago
https://i.insider.com/61acb80f35814a00195e9546?width=2000&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Members of the right-wing group Patriot Front march across Memorial Bridge in front of the Lincoln Memorial on December 04, 2021 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Leaked chat records from a white supremacist group show many applicants claim to have current or former ties to the US military.
The records were posted online by Unicorn Riot, a media collective known for reporting on extremist groups.
Applicants with military backgrounds said they could offer skills like "Marine martial arts" and the ability to "clear rooms."
By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Leaked chat records and membership applications show roughly one in five people who applied to join the white supremacist group Patriot Front claimed to have current or former ties to the US military, according to documents published by Unicorn Riot and analyzed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
SPLC, a civil rights nonprofit that tracks hate groups, found that 18 of the 87 people who applied said they were either in the military or veterans, with a number highlighting skills picked up through the military.
Applicants reportedly included a 21-year-old man claiming to be a former Marine and a current employee of the Department of Homeland Security, a man claiming to be a current Army reservist, and a veteran who said that he became a national socialist after listening to Alex Jones' 9/11 conspiracy theories.
In January, activists from Unicorn Riot, a left-leaning media collective known for reporting on extremist groups, published more than 55,000 messages and files from the Patriot Front group.
Patriot Front was established in the aftermath of the deadly 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va. by former members of the neo-nazi group "Vanguard America," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Applicants who claimed to have ties to the military said they had skills like the ability to "clear rooms" and knowledge of "Marine martial arts" and said they had "training in firearms" and "military intelligence."
This trend of seeing people with connections to the military join up with extremist groups is not limited to the Patriot Front group.
It has been seen elsewhere, such as with the Oath Keepers, which 81 uniformed US service members have signed up with, according to a recent USA Today report. Fourteen of 20 still in the service used their official military email address.
In February 2021, a report from the Pentagon said military members are "highly prized" recruits for extremist groups and that they can "bring legitimacy to their causes and enhance their ability to carry out attacks."
Current service members are prohibited from advocating for or actively participating in extremist organizations, but the Department of Defense does not ban specific groups. The Pentagon issued new rules in 2021 attempting to further prevent US military personnel from engaging with these groups.
threads
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
Military-martial-arts (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?9278-Military-martial-arts)
GeneChing
02-21-2022, 10:41 AM
Kung Fu instructor had sex with underage girl he ‘fell in love with’ during training session (https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/kung-fu-instructor-sex-underage-26277325)
Daniel Murphy took advantage of the girl and “groomed” her after claiming to have fallen in love with her on the first day that they met.
By Mark Naylor Peter Diamond
17:40, 19 FEB 2022
https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article26277559.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/2_Daniel-Murphyjpeg.jpg
Murphy, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, a six-month 8pm to 6am curfew and 55 days’ rehabilitation (Image: Donna Clifford)
A twisted Kung Fu instructor groomed a teenage girl before having sex with her in a gross breach of trust after ‘falling in love with her’.
Daniel Murphy took advantage of the girl and “groomed” her after claiming to have fallen in love with her on the first day that they met.
27-year-old Murphy took a shine to her during classes at a Kung Fu club which he taught at.
This week a court heard how it became very apparent that he was attracted to her and they started kissing and touching, before eventually having sex.
Murphy admitted engaging in sexual activity with a child between September 2016 and September 2017.
https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article26277560.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_IMG_0304jpeg.jpg
Sexually excited Daniel Murphy took advantage of the girl and "groomed" her (Image: Donna Clifford)
David Godfrey, prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, said that the girl first joined the martial arts club when she was a young teenager and he was 19.
Murphy, of Peter Nevill Way, Long Riston, was an assistant instructor in Kung Fu there and was “very experienced” in it, but she was a novice.
Murphy made a comment that she “looked like a lad” and she was upset by this, according to Hull Daily Mail.
The girl posted a Facebook message about the incident and Murphy contacted her and their chat became more frequent.
“It became apparent that Murphy was interested in her,” said Mr Godfrey.
They engineered time to spend alone together and he would give her lifts.
The prosecution claimed that Murphy had “groomed” the girl and had a “position of authority” over her because he was an instructor.
“He was teaching her a new skill,” said Mr Godfrey.
Murphy ended the relationship with the girl, presumably because he knew that it was wrong, the court heard, and started a new relationship with a girl of 17 but briefly had a sexual relationship with the girl again when she was 16 before again ending it.
She reported the matters to the police in 2018.
The girl said in a statement that she had “really struggled” at times because of what happened and, in the past, felt unable to do anything.
She dreaded bumping into Murphy accidentally and constantly checked cars to make sure that they were not his. She felt “so emotional and upset” about it.
“What happened really affected her,” said Mr Godfrey.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Murphy joined the Kung Fu club when he was 16 and was a volunteer instructor, not an officially appointed one.
“As he rose up the ranks, he assisted with the younger members,” said Miss Scott.
“The sexual contact took place at his home away from the club.
“He accepts that he developed an inappropriate relationship while at the martial arts club.”
Murphy instantly thought, at their first meeting, that he was in love with the girl but he later told her that their relationship could not continue because of their ages and he ended the relationship, the court was told.
Judge John Thackray QC told Murphy: “You were the third in line instructor at a Kung Fu club when you were 19.
“You were her instructor and you began community on social media. That developed into you giving her a lift home.”
A sexual relationship developed when the girl was still a teenager and he was 21, involving unprotected sex with her three times.
Murphy recognised that the relationship should not be taking place and he ended their contact, although he resumed it when she was 16.
The prosecution claimed that there was grooming but there was “little evidence” of that as far as sentencing guidelines were concerned.
“Your offending has had a significant effect on your victim,” said Judge Thackray.
“I accept there is genuine remorse.”
Murphy, a network security engineer, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, a six-month 8pm to 6am curfew and 55 days’ rehabilitation.
He must register as a sex offender for 10 years. That sentence is too lenient.
Jimbo
03-02-2022, 11:45 AM
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested for shooting at a man accused of molesting his relative (he hit the man’s stepfather instead).
Sorry, I don’t know how to link to a story here.
GeneChing
03-03-2022, 10:17 AM
See Busted-MMA-fighters-and-fights&p=1322647#post1322647 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52219-Busted-MMA-fighters-and-fights&p=1322647#post1322647)
MMA has their own indie thread. :o
GeneChing
03-23-2022, 08:55 AM
Wow. Just when you think you've heard everything...
Arrested martial arts duo planned to ‘build an army,’ Hong Kong national security police say (https://hongkongfp.com/2022/03/22/arrested-martial-arts-duo-planned-to-build-an-army-hong-kong-national-security-police-say/)
The pair, who were arrested last Sunday, were accused of preparing for “revolution” by Steve Li of the National Security Department.
by CANDICE CHAU
19:35, 22 MARCH 2022
A 59-year-old combat coach and his 62-year-old female assistant arrested last Sunday under the colonial-era sedition law were planning to “build an army,” according to Hong Kong police. Weapons – including crossbows, swords, bows and arrows, and air guns – were found at locations in Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, and Ma On Shan during the investigation.
Senior Superintendent Steve Li of the National Security Department said on Tuesday that, since March 2020, multiple allegedly seditious articles have been published on the Facebook page of a training centre used by the pair. However, the police did not indicate whether they had published the posts.
https://hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hkfp_2022-03-22_13-44-45.jpg
Senior Superintendent of the National Security Police Department Steve Li in an online press conference held on March 22, 2022. Photo: Hong Kong Police, via video screenshot.
According to Li, the posts involved inciting others to use force to overturn the regime, and inviting netizens to practise martial arts “in preparation for a future revolution and resisting the regime.”
“For example, some of the posts read ‘Hong Kong people keep it up, establish a shadow government and self defence forces to demand repayment from communist bandits, overturn the Communist Party with a revolution using force,'” said Li.
Some posts published in late February were also suspected of inciting others to resist the government’s Covid-19 policies, such as claiming that the vaccines would create harmful toxins.
https://hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hkfp_2022-03-22_12-01-57.jpg
Weapons confiscated by the police during the searches in Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, and Ma On Shan. Photo: Hong Kong Police, via video screenshot.
Apart from weapons, police also found cash, most of it in foreign currencies, amounting to HK$380,000, as well as leaflets and posters.
The pair will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Possible national security offence
The senior superintendent also said that the pair’s alleged offences “far superseded seditious acts,” and that the police force was discussing with the Department of Justice about adding charges under the national security law.
“For example, we can see that the target is clear, emphasising on building an army, a brigade of black knights, supporting Hong Kong independence, targeting the regime of the People’s Republic of China and the SAR government,” said Li.
https://hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hkfp_2022-03-22_12-31-18.jpg
Cash and leaflets confiscated by the police during searches conducted in Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin and Ma On Shan. Photo: Hong Kong Police, via video screenshot.
The anti-sedition law, which falls under the city’s Crime Ordinance, is different from the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Last amended in the 1970s when Hong Kong was still under British rule, the sedition legislation outlaws incitement to violence, disaffection and other offences against the British Crown.
The national security law, implemented in June 2020, criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure.
The police also fined four people present at the arrest of the pair for violating the two-person Covid-19 group gathering limit. Li said that the police will also investigate whether participants of martial arts classes also took part in illegal activities.
threads
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
covid (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)
GeneChing
03-29-2022, 10:39 AM
Detroit Lakes martial arts instructor faces felony charge for sex crimes against a minor (https://www.inforum.com/news/local/detroit-lakes-martial-arts-instructor-faces-felony-charge-for-sex-crimes-against-a-minor)
Patrick Dean Fineday, 65, formerly ran Pat's Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do School and was a longtime martial arts instructor in the Becker County area.
By News Staff
March 28, 2022 12:29 PM
DETROIT LAKES — Patrick Dean Fineday, 65, of Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor.
https://cdn.forumcomm.com/dims4/default/c0a771b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/452x603+25+0/resize/330x440!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2F61%2F425c 1a0345eebea82a062ae2aa7d%2Fpatrick-fineday.jpg
Patrick Dean Fineday
According to court records, on Feb. 25 an investigator with the Becker County Sheriff's Office received a report from a Becker County elementary school of an alleged sexual assault involving a girl related to Fineday.
The abuse allegedly occurred at Fineday's home, in multiple incidents over a number of years, ending in the fall of 2021.
The girl attended a forensic interview at the Red River Children's Advocacy Center in Fargo on March 3. During the interview, she talked about the sexual abuse and said she did not tell anyone at the time because she didn't think anyone would believe her.
On March 11, officers interviewed Fineday at the Detroit Lakes Police Department, and he admitted to sexually assaulting the girl in the last two years.
He also admitted to sexually assaulting another girl, also related to him, approximately eight years ago, and said that it had never been investigated by law enforcement.
Fineday formerly ran Pat's Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do School and was a longtime martial arts instructor in the Becker County area.
He is currently being held at the Becker County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Related to him...
GeneChing
04-29-2022, 08:16 AM
‘Doctor Strange’ actress Zara Phythian and husband accused of sex with teen (https://pagesix.com/2022/04/27/doctor-strange-actress-zara-phythian-husband-accused-of-sex-with-teen/)
By Joe Tacopino April 27, 2022 | 7:29pm
An actress who appeared in “Doctor Strange” has been accused, along with her husband, of having sex with a teenage girl, a report said.
Zara Phythian — a martial artist who played a sorcerer in the 2016 Marvel movie — has been accused of sex crimes along with husband Victor Marke for “repeatedly having sex” with a 13-year-old girl, according to the Nottinghamshire Post.
The girl, who is now an adult, claims Phythian, 36, and Marke, 59, plied her with alcohol and had sex with her between 2005 and 2008. She also said they filmed some of the encounters.
“I knew it was wrong but I just didn’t know how to get out of the situation or say anything,” she told cops, according to the outlet.
“I remember trying to copy Zara’s reaction at the time because I looked up to her and tried to be like her in every way.”
Both Phythian and Marke were martial arts instructors in the UK when the teenager reached out to them.
https://pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/04/zara-phythian-134.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024
Zara Phythian and her husband Victor Marke are accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
David M. Benett
https://pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/04/zara-phythian-136.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=682
The alleged victim claims some of Zara Phythian’s and Victor Marke’s sexual encounters with them were filmed.
zaraphythian/Instagram
The woman now claims that Phythian asked her to play a game of “dare” and give Marke oral sex.
Pythian and Marke both denied the allegations in court.
threads
Doctor-Strange (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69097-Doctor-Strange)
Busted-Martial-Artists/ (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists/)
GeneChing
05-13-2022, 08:25 AM
Doctor Strange actress Zara Phythian and husband convicted of multiple counts of child sex abuse (https://ew.com/celebrity/doctor-strange-zara-phythian-convicted-child-sex-charges/)
The couple's offenses relate to sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl, as well as another underage victim.
By Joey Nolfi
May 11, 2022 at 04:14 PM EDT
Doctor Strange actress Zara Phythian and her husband, Victor Marke, have been convicted of multiple charges of child sex abuse in a British court.
According to a document provided to EW by the Nottingham Crown Court clerk, 37-year-old Phythian — who was tried under the name Zara Marke — was convicted of 14 counts, with her 59-year-old husband convicted of 18.
The counts for Phythian all relate to sexual activity with a child that occurred between December 2005 and December 2008. She is named alongside Marke in all of her charges, though he is individually included on four additional indecent assault charges (for actions dating back to September 2002) as an individual.
Marke's offenses include indecent assault of a 15-year-old victim, while both were convicted of multiple counts of sexual activity with another underage victim beginning when she was 13. Their actions span multiple years and repeated occasions involving the same victim.
https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F6%2F2022%2F05%2F11%2FG ettyImages-617805396.jpg
Zara Phythian at the 'Doctor Strange' premiere in 2016. | CREDIT: ANTHONY HARVEY/GETTY IMAGES
Phythian has two dozen credits listed on IMDb, the most notable being a small role in the 2016 Doctor Strange blockbuster opposite Benedict Cumberbatch as a "Brunette Zealot." She does not appear in the sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Per BBC reporting, Marke claimed that the sexual activity occurred on only one occasion, and that Phythian was not involved alongside him. Phythian reportedly denied any sexual activity with one of the victims.
Judge Mark Watson remanded the couple into custody following the trial, ahead of their May 16 sentencing. "Both of you know the sentence I pass on 16 May is likely to be measured by a considerable period of custody," he said at the trial.
Nicole Hepburn from the Crown Prosecution Service said that Phythian and Marke were "exposed as the true liars" in the case, after the victims initially reported the pair years after the abuse began.
"This abuse may have occurred some years ago, but that makes it no less serious and nor is it a barrier to justice," Hepburn continued, according to the BBC. "I would encourage anyone who has been abused in the past to come forward with the knowledge that the CPS will take your case seriously."
threads
Doctor-Strange (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69097-Doctor-Strange)
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists/)
GeneChing
05-25-2022, 06:50 AM
We seldom get female pedos. This might even be the first one like this.
Who is Elsa Christina Flores? Martial Arts Teacher Arrested for Having Sexual Relationship with 13-Year-Old Student (https://www.ibtimes.sg/who-elsa-christina-flores-martial-arts-teacher-arrested-having-sexual-relationship-13-year-old-64777)
By Manthan Chheda
May 24, 2022 13:35 +08
A Peoria martial arts teacher is facing several sexual abuse charges after allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of her students.
According to court documents, Elsa Christina Flores, 22, was arrested on May 4 after the parents of the teenage boy discovered romantic messages on their son's phone.
Flores Exchanged Messages Over Snapchat, Her Contact was Saved as 'My Baby'
https://data.ibtimes.sg/en/full/58467/elsa-christina-flores.png?w=928
Elsa Christina Flores Twitter/Facebook
Flores, a teacher at the Millennium Martial Arts, would reportedly have the victim, stay back after class. Court paperwork obtained by Arizona's Family, says that the student would frequently get rides from Flores. On one occasion, the boy's parents had tracked him to a Safeway, but he didn't want to talk about why he was there.
As per the court documents, the parents found that Flores had been messaging the boy over Snapchat with her contact name saved as "My baby." Investigators also noted that they saw a conversation where they called each other "babe" and "I love you," but the teen quickly locked his phone and refused to provide his password.
A parent tried to talk to Flores, who said she wanted to speak in person, was "ashamed," and would no longer speak to that boy, court paperwork said. Parents later provided that phone to Peoria police as part of the investigation.
Flores and the Boy Allegedly Had Sex in Her Car at a Park
Detectives also interviewed the owner of the Karate Studio, who asked Flores about the allegations after the parents told the studio. She admitted to the relationship with the owner and said that if "anyone finds out, I am going to prison."
The teen's sister told detectives that the boy and Flores had started messaging each other in December and soon after, the martial arts instructor told him she had "romantic feelings" for him.
Court documents say that after a belt test, Flores had asked the teen if he would be her "Quince" — short for quinceanera — partner. In one instance, Flores and the teen went to dinner and TJ Maxx, which the boy described as a "date."
In January, the victim and Flores reportedly started their sexual relationship. Court paperwork alleges that Flores had sent explicit photos to the victim, but he only sent her pictures of his abdomen. Detectives also helped set up a recording with a parent where Flores said they had had sex in her car at a park and that Flores had to take the "morning after pill."
Victim's Mother: 'Our Family Has Been Turned Upside Down'
The victim's mother told Arizona Family that her family is in shock. "It has been absolutely horrific. Disturbing. Our family has been turned upside down," she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"He was exceeding, he was doing well, all that has been taken from him, we obviously pulled him from there," she added. "You put them in activities and sports as a safe place, to keep them out of trouble, to keep them safe, and when it happens in a place where that's where you think you're sending them it's alarming. It's very alarming."
Flores was booked into jail on six counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of molestation of a child, and one count of aggravated luring of a minor.
GeneChing
05-31-2022, 09:41 AM
She billed for bogus karate school students in South Florida. Now, she’s a convicted felon (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article261840235.html)
BY DAVID OVALLE UPDATED MAY 27, 2022 1:49 PM
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/kgypd9/picture261857840/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/MIA_DV8R2919
Kelly Regalado, the operator of a Homestead karate school, leaves the courtroom after pleading guilty for stealing hundreds of thousands in public grant money during a court hearing presided over by Judge Tanya Brinkley (not pictured) at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami, Florida, Friday, May 27, 2022.
SAM NAVARRO Special for the Miami Herald The operator of a Homestead martial arts academy that ripped off taxpayers by billing for “ghost” students was spared prison after shelling out $225,000 in restitution and fines. Kelly Regalado, who managed the United Martial Arts Academy, pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to 10 years of probation. The school, which had largely been funded by public grants, was also dissolved. Regalado, while she’s on probation, is also barred from working for any organization that receives public money. Regalado, 45, pleaded guilty to charges of organized scheme to defraud and wire fraud. Her defense attorney, Miguel San Pedro, declined to comment after Friday’s hearing.
The plea happened nearly two years after prosecutors charged Regalado and the school itself with fraudulently billing over $350,000 from the Miami-Dade Children’s Trust, a taxpayer-funded organization that awards grants to programs that serve poor and at-risk children. The school, according to the Miami-Dade Inspector General’s Office, billed for students that never existed.
According to a memo released by Inspector General Felix Jimenez, the academy was enrolled in two programs — one for after-school programs, another for summer camps — that reimbursed for costs associated with students and employees. Agents reviewed the academy’s bills between 2013 and 2017.
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/7378mn/picture246115760/alternates/FREE_1140/Henry%20Regalad_fitted.jpeg
Henry Regalado and his wife, Kelly, ran the United Martial Arts Academy in Homestead. Authorities charged the school and Kelly Regalado with fraudulently billing taxpayers for nearly $300,000 in grants. - Facebook
They discovered that Regalado used fake checks, bogus records of money transfers and even sham student attendance data to bill over $350,000. The Trust actually paid out just under $300,000. The school also inflated employee costs, agents found. That included paying Kelly Regalado’s mother under two different names, money that was kicked back to her daughter, the memo said. When the Trust questioned Regalado, she provided “forged bank statements,” Jimenez wrote. She ran the academy with her husband, martial arts instructor Henry Regalado, who describes himself as holding a “ninth-degree” black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu. He was not charged.
Regalado paid $180,000 in restitution to the Trust. An additional $45,000 was paid to the Inspector General’s Office, prosecutor Carol Jordan told Circuit Judge Tanya Brinkley.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 11:55 AM.
DAVID OVALLE 305-376-3379 David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter.
That's a twist for this thread.
GeneChing
06-03-2022, 08:41 AM
https://video-images.vice.com/articles/626270a9448b64009b3ad5ee/lede/1653035984072-english.png
PHOTO COURTESY OF ELSJE AND JEPPE.
She Fell in Love with a Colleague. Their Boss Was a Cult Leader. (https://www.vice.com/en/article/dypb8m/kung-fu-cult-leader)
Elsje and Jeppe met at a rehab clinic, but what she didn't know was that his life was totally controlled by a charismatic founder of a kung fu sect.
Djanlissa Pringels
By Djanlissa Pringels
June 3, 2022, 1:00am
A version of this article originally appeared on VICE Netherlands.
In November 2021, a 72-year-old Dutch man named René L. was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The former kung fu teacher was convicted of assault, threatening behaviour and possession of illegal weapons. For over 25 years, he’d kept his students on a short leash in a so-called “kung fu sect”. He recruited sect members by offering them in-depth martial arts classes that promised to go beyond what they’d pick up in more traditional learning environments.
Former students reported being sexually abused, taken advantage of financially and being intentionally isolated from friends and family. Many of the kung fu students lived with their teacher – in a house they had paid for.
René couldn’t make money from kung fu classes forever. When that became apparent, he changed tack and turned his attention to other schemes and scams. First came a weed farm. Then there was a rehab clinic.
Elsje and Jeppe – both of whom wanted to keep their full names private – met and fell in love at the clinic. Elsje was 33 years old at the time.
“I graduated as a psychologist in February, 2013. A few months later, someone I’d studied with approached me on Facebook to say that a new rehab clinic was looking for staff,” Elsje said. The clinic had been formed by a group of friends who “had a strong belief that the care provided for addicts in the Netherlands could be done differently,” as she put it.
Run in a seemingly ad hoc manner, the clinic was built atop an isolated old farm close to the German border, 30 kilometres from the Dutch city of Nijmegen. It was remote enough that commuting to work via public transport wasn’t an option. Getting there involved hoping another member of staff could offer Elsje a lift.
“I worked there for two years. It wasn’t until I left the clinic that I found out it had been run by a sect all along. Once I discovered that, things started to make sense.” It was Elsje’s first job after completing her training and she went into it unsure of her own abilities. She says she worked hard to prove herself, worried that her colleagues looked down on her.
“The atmosphere at the clinic was strange,” she said. “On the one hand, it felt very intimate. It was immediately obvious that a lot of my colleagues had a strong bond. On the other hand, it was also clear that an outsider would always find it difficult to become part of things.” When she tried to communicate with her colleagues, she was often ignored. The message was clear: They weren’t open to strangers.
Her team leader Jeppe was part of the in-crowd and often gave Elsje a lift to work. Their friendship blossomed during those journeys. “I liked Jeppe, but I was in a relationship at the time,” she said. Even when that relationship ended, Jeppe held off. “He told me that friendship was enough.”
What she didn’t know yet, is that like a lot of people involved in the story, he was a kung fu student in thrall, and in debt, to René. Jeppe and his co-workers were happy talk spirituality with Elsje. She said that her colleagues believed in karma and reincarnation and that they also often spoke about the philosophies that underpinned kung fu. They were also strongly against having children “because it would be bad for the planet”, and that no one in the group “had the need for a relationship”.
With hindsight, it was bizarre that everyone seemed to share the exact same opinions. “At the time, though, I wasn’t suspicious at all,” she admitted. “In fact, I found their version of the world inspiring.”
René was the clinic’s director. “There’d be change in atmosphere whenever anyone spoke about him,” Elsje, said. “I actually only saw him once. He was unexpectedly in the living room. It is a moment I won’t forget. Everyone was so tense and nervous around him.”
https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1650618756109-untitledartwork-4.jpeg
ELSJE AND JEPPE PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2014.
Elsje learned from Jeppe that René had “enormous power” over his followers. He even managed to convince Jeppe that he was gay. “If Jeppe denied being gay, other members of the sect had to spend hours discussing the matter with him. In the end, he was so worn out by it all that he ‘admitted’ to being gay,” Elsje said. “I think the reason René did that was to prevent men from trying to get into relationships with the women in the sect – because he was sexually abusing them.”
Despite Jeppe’s tortured relationship with his sexuality, he and Elsje fell in love. “It wasn’t until then that he realised that he really wasn’t into men, and that René was wrong all along,” she said. “Meanwhile, my colleagues felt sorry for me, because they were still convinced that Jeppe didn't like women and that he was only pretending whilst being with me.”
Bit by bit, Jeppe told Elsje about everything going on behind the scenes at the sect. “Members were regularly beaten up by René. Women were not only beaten but also sexually assaulted,” Elsje said. “He saw the female members of the sect as ‘****s’, and they had to spend the rest of their lives trying to get rid of that label.”
Jeppe ended up giving a substantial amount of money to René, who managed the group’s finances, claiming it was necessary to ensure they could buy their house. He also encouraged the group to think of money as only having relative value, ending up with some members spending far beyond their means, often on gifts for their master.
After 15 years, Jeppe owed the bank €100,000. Leaving the sect meant he was temporarily homeless, and Elsje was shocked. Despite all this, she says, Jeppe wouldn’t hear a bad word about René – he’d just decided it was time to leave his friends behind. It was only two years later, after watching a documentary about cults, that he realised the true extent of his experiences with René had been.
Even after they got together, Elsje says that Jeppe held onto René’s misogynistic, ****-shaming ideology for a long time: “That black and white thinking was present in our relationship.” Jeppe was judgemental with everything and everyone, but was afraid of being judged himself. He was jealous of Elsje’s relationships; he’d often overspend and argue with her about money despite being broke.
Elsje contemplated ending the relationship but felt too connected to Jeppe to do so: “There were a lot of things broken in him and his life.” Eventually, he started going to therapy and began rebuilding his life. Jeppe and Elsje have two children together and got married earlier this year. Despite the occasional nightmare about his time in the kung fu cult, Elsje says, he’s doing much better.
“Despite all the trauma he went through, we’re able to talk about everything really well,” she said. “He’s been there for me when I wasn’t doing so well. When I was depressed, he helped me through it. When I started having panic attacks, he was there to listen to me. Ultimately, being with him has enriched my life.”
your own kung fu cult (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?61648-your-own-kung-fu-cult)
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
hskwarrior
06-19-2022, 07:15 PM
Ernest Joseph Ramirez Allegations
Ramirez Arrested, Accused Of Assault. “Ernest Joseph Ramirez, 54, of San Jose, was charged this week with eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, based on crimes spanning August 2019 and June 2021, according to a criminal complaint filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Ramirez was arrested June 9 and booked into the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas, where he is being held without bail, records show. The complaint specifies that the reported victim was between 11 and 13 years old when the alleged assaults occurred. A San Jose Police Department report states that Ramirez’s accuser, who is now 14, has since moved to Ada County, Idaho and confided in her father that Ramirez sexually abused her at Extreme Martial Arts, his San Jose studio.” [East Bay Times]
https://oliverwillis.com/who-is-ernest-joseph-ramirez-san-jose-martial-arts-teacher-arrest/
GeneChing
06-22-2022, 07:59 AM
Taekwondo instructor accused of sexually abusing student at Sweden studio (https://13wham.com/news/local/taekwondo-instructor-arrested-on-sex-abuse-charges)
by WHAMWednesday, June 8th 2022
https://13wham.com/resources/media/8aa2ba8f-785c-46ce-bfea-ddbabe82881d-jumbo16x9_JaeLim.JPG?1654713332389
Jae Lim, 50, the owner of Master Lim's Taekwondo at Sweden Corners, was arrested Tuesday on sex abuse charges. (Photo provided by Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
Sweden, N.Y. — The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has arrested the owner of Master Lim's Taekwondo on Brockport-Spencerport Road on sex abuse charges.
Jae Y. Lim, 50, of Sweden, allegedly touched a 12-year-old female student on more than one occasion earlier this year.
Deputies say the victim was a student there for four years.
"Don't know if it was a private instruction or if it was before or after class, but I do know it was just the two of them there," Inv. Sgt. David Bolton said.
Investigators arrested Lim Tuesday on two counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Deputies from the Orleans County Sheriff's Office located Lim during a traffic stop and took him into custody.
Lim was arraigned in Sweden Town Court and remanded to Monroe County Jail on $15,000 cash bail.
The judge also issued an order of protection for the victim.
Investigators believe the incident was isolated, though anyone with additional information is encouraged to call 911.
hskwarrior - that guy was from San Jose. Did you know him? I did not.
GeneChing
07-01-2022, 03:28 PM
More on Fineday here (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1323003#post1323003).
Former martial arts teacher gets 12 years on sex charge (https://www.dl-online.com/news/local/former-martial-arts-teacher-gets-12-years-on-sex-charge)
The victims were not students of Pat Fineday, who formerly ran Pat's Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do School and was a longtime martial arts instructor in the Becker County area.
https://cdn.forumcomm.com/dims4/default/43b8990/2147483647/strip/true/crop/515x343+0+124/resize/1680x1120!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2F61%2F425c 1a0345eebea82a062ae2aa7d%2Fpatrick-fineday.jpg
Patrick Dean Fineday
By News Staff
June 30, 2022 12:29 PM
A former martial arts instructor in Detroit Lakes has been sentenced to 12 years in prison at St. Cloud for sexually assaulting two girls.
Patrick D. Fineday, 65, was sentenced Wednesday in Becker County District Court on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. A second charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct was dropped in a plea agreement.
According to court records, on Feb. 25 an investigator with the Becker County Sheriff's Office received a report from a Becker County elementary school of a sexual assault involving a girl related to Fineday.
The abuse allegedly occurred at Fineday's home, in multiple incidents over a number of years, ending in the fall of 2021.
The girl attended a forensic interview at the Red River Children's Advocacy Center in Fargo on March 3. During the interview, she talked about the sexual abuse and said she did not tell anyone at the time because she didn't think anyone would believe her.
On March 11, officers interviewed Fineday at the Detroit Lakes Police Department, and he admitted to sexually assaulting the girl in the last two years.
He also admitted to sexually assaulting another girl, also related to him, approximately eight years ago, and said that it had never been investigated by law enforcement.
The victims were not students of Fineday, who formerly ran Pat's Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do School and was a longtime martial arts instructor in the Becker County area.
On June 29, Becker County District Judge Gretchen Thilmony sentenced Fineday to 144 months in prison, with credit for 111 days served in jail. He was ordered to pay $250 in court fees and register as a predatory offender.
GeneChing
07-13-2022, 08:51 AM
https://kdvr.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/07/Erik-Chen_mugshot.png?w=1280&h=720&crop=1
Erik Chen, 31, is accused of sexual exploitation of a child (Credit: Castle Rock Police Department)
LOCAL NEWS
Martial arts instructor accused of sexual exploitation of a child (https://kdvr.com/news/local/martial-arts-instructor-accused-of-sexual-exploitation-of-a-child/)
by: Colleen Flynn
Posted: Jul 12, 2022 / 01:05 PM MDT
Updated: Jul 12, 2022 / 02:12 PM MDT
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) — A former taekwondo instructor is facing several felony charges after being accused of the sexual exploitation of a child.
Law enforcement from the Castle Rock Police Department, Aurora Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service arrested 31-year-old Erik Chen of Denver in Aurora last week.
According to CRPD, the incidents occurred between the beginning of 2019 to early 2021 when Chen ran camps as an instructor throughout Douglas County and the city of Aurora at Han Lee’s Taekwondo Academy.
The owner of the business is working with authorities to help identify other victims from the Castle Rock and Aurora locations.
Chen’s first court appearance was Friday, July 8, and he is being held on a $250,000 bond.
Several juvenile victims have been identified during the course of the investigation but detectives believe there could be additional victims. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the CRPD tip line at (720) 733-3517 or CrimeTips@CRgov.com.
Creepy looking dude.
GeneChing
08-10-2022, 07:58 AM
The owner of a Montco martial arts gym has been charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack (https://www.inquirer.com/news/james-jim-robinson-capitol-riot-pennsylvania-martial-arts-20220809.html)
Jim Robinson, a fourth-degree black belt known to students as "Master J," told FBI agents he'd always been trained to render aid to those in need and that's why he joined the mob storming the Capitol.
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Surveillance footage shows a man prosecutors have identified as Jim Robinson, of Schwenksville, inside the Capitol Rotunda during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Justice Department court filings
by Jeremy Roebuck
Updated Aug 9, 2022
A Montgomery County gym owner said his martial-arts training led him to join the mob of pro-Trump rioters that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court filings made public this week.
Jim Robinson, 60, of Schwenksville, told FBI agents that as a fourth-degree master black belt in the Korean fighting style of Tang Soo Do, he had always been taught to help people in need of assistance. He said he’d been drawn inside the building by screams and cries of people inside.
But prosecutors say the “aid” he rendered that day included shoving his way through a crowd into the Capitol Rotunda, dismantling a roped security stanchion, and chanting along with his fellow insurrectionists.
He was charged Friday in Washington with federal misdemeanor counts, including knowingly entering a restricted area and illegally demonstrating on Capitol grounds. His arrest makes him the 71st Pennsylvania defendant charged in connection with the Capitol attack — a list that includes former police officers, small-business owners, several members of the Philadelphia Proud Boys, and at least one other gym owner.
Dawn Bancroft, the former owner of Bucks County Elite Fitness in Doylestown, was sentenced to two months’ incarceration last month for participating in the insurrection and filming a video in which she said she’d been looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “shoot her in the friggin’ brain.”
Like her, roughly half of the Pennsylvania defendants have pleaded guilty, mainly to misdemeanor crimes, while dozens more await trial on more serious charges from attacking police officers to playing a central role in the planning behind the attack.
Robinson declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday. In an email, his attorney, Douglas Dolfman, drew distinctions between his client and those who had been charged with more serious crimes.
“His actions were certainly more as a curious observer than an active participant or destructive individual,” Dolfman said. “He regrets deeply for being caught up in the mob mentality that was occurring and didn’t cause injury to anyone or damage to any property.”
Agents identified Robinson — the owner of King of Prussia-based Robinson’s Martial Arts & Fitness, known to his students as “Master J” — in surveillance footage after receiving a tip from a “confidential human source.” According to charging documents in his case, Robinson admitted during a May 3 meeting with the FBI that he had illegally entered the Capitol building
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Images shared on social media show a man prosecutors have identified as Jim Robinson, of Schwenksville, exiting the Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Justice Department court filings
Dressed in all black with his gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and his face occasionally covered with a black balaclava, Robinson was pictured among a crowd that pushed its way into the Rotunda’s east entrance. Security stills show him spending several minutes inside, pumping his fists in the air, shouting and chanting.
At one point, he was caught on camera removing a velvet rope from a security post meant to keep people out of unauthorized areas and holding it over his head like a trophy.
But Dolfman took issue with several of the details in the FBI complaint, saying that the security footage had no sound and it was impossible to tell -- as agents had claimed whether his client was chanting.
“He was simply following people who were chanting and being loud,” the attorney said.
In his FBI interview, Robinson said he had initially traveled to Washington with three other people from the Philadelphia area to attend former President Donald Trump’s rally but became separated from them as they joined the crowd marching to the Capitol. He maintained that he had entered the building because he had heard screams coming from inside and that he was “sucked into” a mob that pushed its way into the building, the charging documents say.
“According to Robinson, his training in martial arts had taught him that when people need assistance, he should do what he could to help,” the FBI wrote . “Robinson [said he] understood that he was not supposed to be making entry into the Capitol, but he felt he could help people who were crying out.”
Dolfman added Tuesday that while Robinson was inside the building he assisted a lady who had fallen and was being crushed by the crowds.
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U.S. Capitol surveillance footage shows a man prosecutors have identified as Jim Robinson, of Schwenksville, inside the Capitol Rotunda during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Justice Department court filings
On his profile page with the American Tang Soo Do Association, Robinson said he began training in the martial art in 1990 after two seasons playing football for a Pottstown team.
His social media accounts feature photos of him in various martial arts poses as well as one in which he is holding an American flag with the logo of the Three Percenters, an antigovernment militia. Other posts are peppered with right-wing posts railing against everything from inflation and U.S. relations with Russia to COVID-19 precautions and vaccines.
If convicted, Robinson faces up to a year incarceration. He remains free pending trial and under orders to stay away from Washington.
Published Aug. 9, 2022
Jeremy Roebuck
I cover public corruption, white collar crime and the criminal misuse of power.
He looks like Terry Silver from Cobra Kai in that top pic
GeneChing
08-21-2022, 11:02 AM
More on Ramirez (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1323308#post1323308)
More victims, protective orders added to sex abuse charges for San Jose martial-arts instructor (https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/12/more-victims-protective-orders-added-to-sex-abuse-charges-for-san-jose-martial-arts-instructor/)
Three women alleged past abuse by Ernest Ramirez following his initial charges in June involving a student in his after-school program
By ROBERT SALONGA | rsalonga@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: August 12, 2022 at 2:45 p.m. | UPDATED: August 15, 2022 at 4:45 a.m.
SAN JOSE — A martial-arts studio owner charged in June with sexually assaulting one of his students has since been charged with several more felony counts after three more people came forward to allege they were also assaulted by him, court records show.
Ernest Joseph Ramirez, 54, appeared Wednesday in court, where Judge Jose Franco appointed the Santa Clara County Alternate Defender’s Office to represent him. Franco also approved three protective orders barring Ramirez from making any contact with three of the reported victims. Ramirez has not yet entered a plea in the case.
On June 13, Ramirez was initially charged with eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, based on crimes spanning August 2019 and June 2021. Three days later, the criminal complaint was amended to add 10 more charges related to claims from three more reported victims.
Ramirez, who ran Extreme Martial Arts in San Jose, was arrested June 9 after a 14-year-old girl — who now lives in Idaho — told her father Ramirez sexually abused her while she was enrolled in an after-school program at his studio. They contacted local authorities, who then alerted police in San Jose, since the alleged crimes occurred when she lived there.
After they served a search a warrant at the studio, investigators reported that Ramirez denied the allegations. When police announced his arrest, they said they were exploring the possibility of other victims based on Ramirez’s lengthy time spent supervising minors.
Three women contacted police with accounts of being sexually assaulted by Ramirez, according to court documents.
One woman claimed that Ramirez assaulted her in May 2021, leading to a charge of sexual penetration involving a victim who was intoxicated or anesthetized.
The amended criminal complaint also states that another woman told police that in at least three instances between 2004 and 2008, Ramirez had sex with her, when she was between 10 and 13 years old. Those allegations led to charges of aggravated sexual assault and of a child under 14, oral copulation with a child under 14, and lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14.
A fourth reported victim described being sexually assaulted by Ramirez over the course of the past 14 years, starting when she was between 7 and 9 years old. The complaint describes at least four instances of assault, leading to charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14; two counts of rape with the use of an intoxicating, anesthetic or controlled substance; oral copulation with a minor under 16; rape by force, violence, duress, menace or fear; and threatening to commit a crime that would result in death or great bodily injury.
The rape and threat charges involving this woman are based on a reported encounter on April 14, according to the complaint.
Ramirez is being held without bail at the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas. He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 21.
GeneChing
09-09-2022, 09:27 AM
Broken Arrow martial arts instructor faces child porn charges (https://www.fox23.com/news/broken-arrow-martial-arts-instructor-faces-child-porn-charges/B57ARD7CGJFKDA2LGWDF3QCLRA/)
By Abigail Dye, FOX23 News
September 08, 2022 at 10:31 pm CDT
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Gordon Okerstrom was arrested Friday, Sept. 2, by Broken Arrow Police for possession of child pornography. Thursday, he was officially charged with two counts of aggravated child pornography.
Prior to his arrest, Okerstrom was an instructor at Martial Arts Advantage Studio. He taught children there for 12 years.
The studio told FOX23 they fired him immediately following the arrest and notified parents.
According to the court records, investigators found over 100 photos of child porn on Okerstrom’s phone, and over 100 photos on his computer.
Broken Arrow Detective Sgt. Ian Buchanan said that investigators don’t believe he was sending or producing any child pornography.
“We’re not seeing anything that indicated that he was sending it. It just appears that he was downloading it,” he explained.
Police said they don’t believe any children locally, or students at the studio, were abused or involved. The ongoing investigation could bring more charges against Okerstrom, police also said.
“[I was] broken hearted,” said Chief Instructor at Martial Arts Advantage Studio Jim Hammons. “Because it’s someone you know, and ... because it’s just terrible.”
He continued, “I advocate for kids. So I can’t tolerate in any way, shape or form, anybody who would do anything to a child. We can’t have it. We can’t have that around our kids, and definitely can’t be a leader and have that around.”
Buchanan said investigators are still examining Okerstrom’s phone and computer.
“We’re still examining to see if there’s any additional child pornography on any of those other devices,” he explained.
There's a news reel behind the link.
GeneChing
10-03-2022, 08:29 AM
PINELLAS COUNTY
Riverview martial arts instructor accused of molesting multiple students (https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/riverview-martial-arts-instructor-accused-of-molesting-multiple-students/)
by: Nathaniel Rodriguez
Posted: Oct 1, 2022 / 03:13 PM EDT
Updated: Oct 1, 2022 / 03:13 PM EDT
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RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WFLA) — A Riverview martial arts instructor was arrested Monday after he was accused of molesting his students, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Daniel Medina-Alvarez, 56, was an instructor at Medina Martial Arts.
A release from the sheriff’s office alleged that from 2016 to 2020, Medina-Alvarez inappropriately touched his students both at the business and at his home.
Multiple victims made allegations against the instructor, according to deputies.
Daniel Medina-Alvarez was booked on 20 counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and one count of sexual battery.
Detectives said they are looking for other potential victims. If you have any information, call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200. Not a lot of details on this one yet. 20 counts though...
GeneChing
10-28-2022, 09:37 AM
Martial arts instructor charged with sexual exploitation (https://www.chvnradio.com/articles/martial-arts-instructor-charged-with-sexual-exploitation)
Written by Staff Wednesday, Oct 26 2022, 1:38 PM
https://dht7q8fif4gks.cloudfront.net/2020-11/police_crest.jpg
(File photo)
The Winnipeg Police Services is reminding the public that it is committed to the education of sexual abuse in sport.
In July 2022, the WPS's Child Abuse Unit received a report of a teenage martial arts student who had been sexually assaulted by their instructor between May and June earlier this year.
The Child Abuse Unit began the investigation and learned through the victim that on several occasions before the class had begun, the instructor touched them in an unwanted and sexual manner, going as far as attempting to kiss them on one occasion.
The victim was not physically injured during these incidents.
Through further investigation, officers discovered that the victim experienced previous grooming incidents that happened through digital communication.
The martial arts studio location and gender identity are not provided to protect the survivor's identity.
On October 25, 23-year-old Noah James Beaton-Stokell was charged with sexual exploitation and sexual assault.
He was released with Crown-imposed conditions.
Anyone wishing to speak to an investigator can call the Child Abuse Unit at 204-986-3296. Additional Support resources include WPS Victim Services at 204-986-6350 and the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631.
The WPS is committed to providing education initiatives regarding sexual abuse in sport.
Proactive in-person presentations for athletes, parents, coaches, and sports organizations are also available. I imagine the martial arts studio location would be discoverable given a little sleuthing with his name...
GeneChing
02-16-2023, 03:34 PM
This dude (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1323720#post1323720) again. :mad:
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
Riverview martial arts instructor arrested for a fourth time after inappropriately touching students, deputies say (https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/riverview-martial-arts-instructor-arrested-for-a-fourth-time-after-inappropriately-touching-students-deputies-say/)
by: Katlyn Brieskorn
Posted: Feb 16, 2023 / 04:50 PM EST
Updated: Feb 16, 2023 / 04:51 PM EST
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Riverview martial arts instructor was arrested for a fourth time Thursday after he inappropriately touched students, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies said Daniel Medina-Alvarez is facing charges of lewd or lascivious molestation. This is the fourth time Medina-Alvarez has been charged with similar offenses, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives said multiple victims made several sexual allegations against Medina-Alvarez for inappropriately touching them. Investigators said Medina-Alvarez was the owner of Medina Martial Arts Studio at the time.
Alligator living with mouth taped shut since December has been captured
“I’m disgusted, this man abused his position as a trusted instructor to prey on innocent victims,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “This suspect knowingly and intentionally victimized his students time and time again. We are working to get these victims and their families peace of mind, justice, and the help or services they might need.”
Investigators said they are looking for others who might have been victimized by Medina-Alvarez.
“I encourage parents to talk to their children. If your child was a student at this Martial Arts studio, please have a conversation with them about this. We believe there might be other victims,” Chronister said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.
GeneChing
02-16-2023, 03:39 PM
Martial arts instructor uses “strip Pokemon” to sexually assault teen student (https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/martial-arts-instructor-uses-strip-pokemon-to-sexually-assault-teen-student-2061176/)
Zackerie Fairfax
❘ Published: Feb 14, 2023, 12:04
❘ Updated: Feb 14, 2023, 12:05
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Aaron Smalley, 29, has pled guilty to sexual assault of a 15-year-old student.
An Australian martial arts instructor is being accused of using Pokemon as a “strip game” in order to sexually assault a 16-year-old student.
Aaron Smalley, a 28-year-old martial arts instructor from Melbourne, Australia, has pleaded guilty to the allegations he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old female student.
According to court documents, the Melbourne police claim Smalley’s assaults occurred between November 2019 and March 2022 while the victim was 15. The assaults took place at the martial arts studio, the back of Smalley’s vehicle, an apartment, and a park.
On Tuesday, February 14, the court was made aware that Smalley had first met the female student when she was 10 and had urged her mother to enroll her in the martial arts academy.
Pokemon allegedly used as means of sexual assault
At the same hearing, Prosecutor Charlotte Duckett told the court that Smalley would suggest playing Pokemon with the teen. However, instead of the kid-friendly monster battler many are familiar with, Smalley used the game to make sexual advances with his victim.
He reportedly turned Pokemon into a “strip game.” Duckett stated that removing clothes was a way for Smalley to “make it more interesting.”
Duckett claims that the sexual assaults started when the victim was 15 but that Smalley began having sexual intercourse with the girl once she turned 16. The student reported Smalley to the police in March 2021.
In a secretly recorded phone call played for the court, the student claimed she had developed Tourette syndrome as a response to the trauma. Smalley stated he felt like he was “falling” for her.
He also questioned whether he was being recorded and asked if he was “going to prison.”
Smalley pled guilty to 13 charges, including sexual assault of a child aged under 16 and penetration of a child aged 16 under his care. He was kept in police custody and will be sentenced at a future court hearing.
Busted-Martial-Artists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
Holy-sh1t-real-life-pokemon (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58747-Holy-sh1t-real-life-pokemon)
GeneChing
03-30-2023, 07:48 AM
Martial arts instructor convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (https://www.eplocalnews.org/2023/03/29/martial-arts-instructor-convicted-of-first-degree-criminal-sexual-conduct/)
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By JIM BAYER
March 29, 2023 Updated:March 29, 20234 Mins Read
An Eden Prairie martial arts instructor has been convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from repeated sexual contacts with a 15-year-old girl in 2018.
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Hyobin Lee
Hyobin Lee, 33, was sentenced Tuesday to 48 months in prison for penetrating a victim 13 to 15 years old while in a position of authority. Judge Carolina A. Lamas, who presided over the case in Hennepin County District Court, opted to reduce Lee’s sentence by more than 30% compared to state sentencing guidelines.
In her Minnesota Sentence Guidelines Departure statement, Lamas cited Lee’s offense as a “crime less onerous than usual” as her reasoning for departing from the sentencing guideline.
Lee was acquitted of a second similar count of criminal sexual contact. 'less onerous than usual'?
GeneChing
03-31-2023, 02:27 PM
Arizona martial arts instructor accused of sexual conduct with teenage student (https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-martial-arts-instructor-accused-of-sexual-conduct-with-teenage-student?fbclid=IwAR046gpftTOsFDrd5nv1ZsmfY-j0StzL4aiLE3T7P4xymujTOQVbkcmIny0)
By Brent Corrado Published March 24, 2023 Updated March 25, 2023 Crime and Public Safety
Gilbert Police say 22-year-old Dyllon DePalma had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl he met as an instructor at DePalma's Team USA Martial Arts.
GILBERT, Ariz. - Police say a man who works as a martial arts teacher in Gilbert has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with a 15 year old.
Gilbert Police say Dyllon DePalma, a 22-year-old man who works as an instructor at DePalma's Team USA Martial Arts, was arrested on March 18 "following an investigation which alleges that DePalma engaged in Sex Conduct" with the victim, who is purportedly a student of the martial arts studio.
DePalma was booked into jail on three felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor and is being held on a $25,000 bond.
Police are asking any other victims or anyone with further information on DePalma to contact them at 480-503-6500 and reference report DR 23-37115.
https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox10phoenix.com/www.fox10phoenix.com/content/uploads/2023/03/932/524/Dyllon-DePalma2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Dyllon DePalma (Gilbert PD)
Oh no. I know this guy's dad. We went to Shaolin Temple together in 95 & 96.
GeneChing
04-26-2023, 08:44 AM
University Place martial arts instructor faces child rape charges dating back to 2007 (https://komonews.com/news/local/university-place-martial-arts-instructor-child-rape-charges-2007-washington-crime-sexual-assault-pierce-county-school-district-victims-criminal-charges-bail-molestation-coach-police-department)
by Ryan Simms, KOMO News ReporterTue, April 25th 2023, 5:49 PM PDT
UserWay icon for accessibility widget
Michael Basse, the accused sexual abuser with alleged incidents dating back to 2007.(Photo: Tacoma Attorney Loren Cochran and Cochran Douglas, PLLC)
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The Pierce County Prosecutor's Office has filed multiple counts of child rape and molestation against a former University Place coach, martial arts instructor, and University Place School District employee.
According to court papers, 59-year-old Michael Basse was charged with eight counts of child rape and five counts of child molestation. A judge ordered Basse to be held in custody on $250,000 bail.
In total, prosecutors said six people have accused Basse of abuse so far. They told KOMO News that Basse's alleged sex crimes dated back to at least 2007. According to court documents, several victims reported that they had sex with Basse at the Tenchikan Dojo in Tacoma, where Basse worked as an instructor. So far, prosecutors said it doesn't appear that any of the alleged victims actually took classes at the martial arts studio.
"Never in my presence was he inappropriate and I never had a student mention anything or come to me with any complaints," said an employee of Tenchikan Dojo, adding that Basse left the martial arts studio in 2016.
In court filings, prosecutors wrote that they uncovered Basse's alleged crimes in October 2022 when one of his accusers visited the University Place Police Department. The victim said his first sexual encounter with Basse was when he was 15 years old. He told police Basse offered and then performed oral sex on him.
Upon further investigation, police said they located the second victim, who reported that he had been abused by Basse when he was just nine years old. As in the first case, the alleged victim said Busse assaulted him at the Tenchikan Dojo, as well as several other places.
“These survivors need answers not only from Basse but also from organizations and entities that gave Basse unfettered access to these kids for so long," said Loren Cochran, an attorney retained as the victims' advocate in this case.
Eventually, police said several other victims came forward, including the brother of the initial victim. According to prosecutors, three of the alleged victims said that Basse threatened them with physical violence if they ever reported the crimes to police.
"He had a military background, he had a martial arts background, he was known to have weapons, he took a lot of these kids to the shooting range, so when he made a threat, as a young kid, they believed him," said Cochran.
On Monday, prosecutors told the judge more victims were being interviewed by detectives and more criminal charges against Basse are expected to be filed.
“When you look at the detail of the kind of abuse that was going on, it is as bad as I’ve seen in more than 20 years of practice," Cochran told KOMO.
Cochran added that sexual misconduct allegations led to Basse being fired from the University Place School District in 2016. Despite the allegations, Cochran said that Basse never faced criminal charges in that incident.
"There were red flags that could’ve stopped this ten years ago at least," he told KOMO. "This could’ve been prevented." Red flags are obvious in hindsight
GeneChing
05-01-2023, 07:59 AM
More on DePalma (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1324589#post1324589)
Martial arts instructor from Gilbert indicted on child sex charges (https://www.azfamily.com/2023/04/27/martial-arts-instructor-gilbert-indicted-child-sex-charges/)
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At the time of his arrest, he was booked on three counts of sexual conduct with a minor but now he faces more charges.(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
By AZFamily Digital News Staff
Published: Apr. 27, 2023 at 12:32 PM PDT
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A Gilbert martial arts instructor who is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student and ex-employee three times over the course of several months has been indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury.
County prosecutors filed the indictment in Superior Court on Thursday against 22-year-old Dyllon DePalma. According to detectives, DePalma was an instructor and employee at DePalma’s Team USA Martial Arts studio. Investigators say he had known the girl since she was 8 years old and he was 15. Court documents alleged that DePalma encouraged one of the victims to sneak out of their home in Queen Creek and meet up with DePalma down the street. Once arrested, he told detectives that while the victim was known to him, he denied having a relationship with her.
Arizona’s Family previously reported that DePalma faced similar allegations two years ago. In Nov. 2021, police received a report that DePalma asked a 13-year-old girl for nude photos despite knowing her age. At the time, he was a karate instructor for DePalma’s Team USA Martial Arts.
GeneChing
06-28-2023, 09:25 AM
Martial arts instructor arrested and charged with indecent liberties with children (https://greensboro.com/news/local/greensboro-martial-arts-instructor-sanyama-dojo-indecent-liberties-children/article_c76581ce-1528-11ee-b974-074c11c19479.html)
Connor McNeely 18 hrs ago 0
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/greensboro.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/70/370f7006-152f-11ee-bac6-bfbadf4bf2d0/649b50c547ef2.image.jpg?resize=400%2C500
Norman
Connor McNeely
The Greensboro Police Department arrested a martial arts instructor on Tuesday and charged him with three counts of indecent liberties with children.
Derek Lee Norman, 59, is the owner and sensei of Sanyama Dojo on 1208 Grove St. He was known to have frequent contract with children and community members while operating his business, according to a GPD press release.
The case involves three different children, all under the age of 16, police said.
Norman uses the alias “Hakiym Akbar” and children may know him by this name, according to Josie Cambareri, public information manager for the Greensboro Police Department.
Norman’s bond is currently set at $75,000.
Detectives with the Greensboro Police Department are actively working this case and believe there could be additional victims yet to be identified, police said.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. Citizens can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip. All tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous.
connor.mcneely@greensboro.com What's up with his neck brace?
GeneChing
08-17-2023, 09:27 AM
Owner of martial arts school sentenced for raping three students (https://www.wavy.com/news/crime/owner-of-martial-arts-school-sentenced-for-raping-three-students/)
by: Kenzie Finch
Posted: Aug 16, 2023 / 03:31 PM EDT
Updated: Aug 17, 2023 / 05:51 AM EDT
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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — After pleading guilty, the owner of a martial arts school was sentenced earlier this month for raping three of his students.
The victims included two 15-year-old girls and one 12-year old girl.
Owner of local martial arts academy accused of sexually abusing 3 juveniles
30-year-old Jeremy Armstead, of Williamsburg, was arrested Aug. 16, 2018. Armstead was the owner of a martials arts school called Xtreme Dragon’s Black Belt Academy. Police said Armstead’s crimes began in 2014 with one of the 15-year-old girls, soon after Xtreme Dragons opened its original location on Brick Kiln Road.
No bond for martial arts school owner charged with raping young students
On March 22, 2023, Armstead pleaded guilty, according to court documents.
On August 4, Armstead was sentenced to five 99-year sentences for two charges of rape, two charges of forcible sodomy and one charge of rape by force/threat of a victim under 13. He was also sentenced to two 10-year sentences for two accounts of abduction by force without justification. 515 years total.
GeneChing
08-17-2023, 09:31 AM
Martial arts instructor who taught young children in Brunswick arrested for child porn (https://www.wjcl.com/article/gary-james-meadows-brunswick-karate-instructor/44833042)
Gary James Meadows was arrested Wednesday on charges of child exploitation.
Updated: 6:04 PM EDT Aug 16, 2023
Graham Cawthon
Digital Media Manager
Ansley Christain
Assignment Manager
https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/images/karate-man-64dd3969bc7ac.png
BRUNSWICK, Ga. —
Authorities in Coastal Georgia are seeking possible victims following the arrest of a karate instructor in Brunswick.
According to the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office, Gary James Meadows was arrested Wednesday on charges of child exploitation.
Investigators with Homeland Security say Meadows, of Townsend, was accessing and downloading child sexual abuse material. They also say he was a part-time instructor at Advance Martial Arts, teaching elementary-aged children.
"Due to his online activity and employment, authorities are seeking information that may help identify potential victims Meadows has engaged or exploited," the MCSO said in a news release. Hopefully he was just accessing material, not producing it. Nevertheless, good on HS for catching him.
SteveLau
08-20-2023, 12:09 AM
The previous post makes me wonder is there law such as child exploitation. What is its definition?
Regards,
KC
Hong Kong
GeneChing
08-25-2023, 08:17 AM
Alvin area martial arts, gymnastics coach arrested on child pornography charges (https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/08/24/alvin-area-martial-arts-gymnastics-coach-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges/)
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Franklin Joseph Perkins has been charged with three counts of Possession of Child Pornography with a total bond of $225,000.00. (KPRC)
ALVIN, Texas – An Alvin area coach has been arrested and charged after deputies say he was in possession of child pornography.
On Aug. 21, 2023, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, along with members of the Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Task Force, and Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, executed a search warrant in the 500 block of Algoa-Friendswood Rd. in Alvin, Texas.
Franklin Joseph Perkins, 39, three other adults, and three children were located on the property.
A search of the residence was conducted and child pornography was found.
Perkins was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. His bond is set at $225,000.
Perkins is known to work with children in the Alvin area, coaching them in martial arts and gymnastics. Please contact the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office at 409-766-2333 if you have any information related to this investigation. Wonder what kind of martial arts he coached.
GeneChing
08-29-2023, 08:56 AM
An ex-MS martial arts instructor sexually abused her as a child. Adults called her a liar. BY MARGARET BAKER UPDATED AUGUST 28, 2023 4:07 PM
On the eve of his trial, former Ocean Springs martial arts instructor Allan Todd Pisarich pleaded guilty to felony charges for sexually assaulting a minor girl. Pisarich, 54, pleaded guilty Monday to six counts of sexual battery and three counts of touching a child for lustful purposes. He entered the plea before Judge Calvin Taylor and was sentenced to serve 20 years, day for day, in prison. The judge also ordered Pisarich to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Prior to his sentencing, the judge heard from four of the victims and two mothers. One of those victims, Serena Goldsberry, asked to be identified by name. “I was a kid, a child, who Allan Todd Pisarich raped and abused,” Goldsberry said. “He turned me into somebody, something I wasn’t. He acted like he was coming into my life and being ‘there for me.’ He painted a picture of what he wished he could be.” The girl talked about how people in the community supported Pisarich and called her a “liar.” “Not only was my childhood ripped from me, but (also) my innocence, my virginity (and) my loving open heart,” she said. “Todd hurt me physically and emotionally. He pretended to be my father while he had me in his bedroom pretending to be my husband.” Like some of the other victims, Goldsberry had been a student at the martial arts academy, and soon after, Pisarich assumed the role of a father figure. Instead, he abused that trust and sexually assaulted Goldsberry on various occasions for years. Jackson County prosecutors had planned to have at least three victims testify at the trial before Pisarich decided to plead guilty.
https://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/hmuhk3/picture278699814/alternates/FREE_1140/allan%20todd%20pisaric_fitted.jpeg
Allan Todd Pisarich Jackson County Adult Detention Center
“Todd Allan Pisarich lived two lives — a public life of a trusted community member and coach and a private life where he used young girls for his depraved sexual satisfaction,” District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said. “Pisarich’s victims have been through hell: they endured the sexual abuse, faced hurdle after hurdle in the community and court system, and now live with the aftermath of the sexual abuse. This sentence delivers justice to his victims and ensures he will never hurt another child again.” In 2017, Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrested Pisarich, then 50, on two counts of sexual battery for assaulting one minor teen. By December 2018, authorities arrested him again, this time for sexually assaulting another victim. When the crimes occurred at different times, beginning in 2016, Pisarich owned The Academy of Mixed Martial Arts on Old Spanish Trail in Ocean Springs. He led the martial arts center and taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a combat sport focusing on grappling and ground fighting. He accepted students as young as 3 years old. For years since his arrest and subsequent indictments, the families of those involved have fought to get the case tried. The trial was delayed at least 14 times during the COVID-19 pandemic, with five delays blamed on coronavirus and most of the others due to requests by then-attorney Wendy Martin. According to authorities, Pisarich preyed on the minor girls and sexually assaulted them after first developing a relationship with a relative of the minor girls. Pisarich had been free on bond pending trial before his guilty pleas.
https://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/l51ua6/picture223303945/alternates/FREE_1140/MUG%20Allen%20Pisaric_fitted.jpeg
Allen Todd Pisarich Santa Rosa County Jail, Milton, Fla.
“Todd told me I couldn’t serve our country in the ways he did,” Goldsberry said of the former Marine. “I never ruined my chances of joining the military like he tried to make me believe. I am a soldier, and I’m **** good at it, too.” Assistant district attorneys Nikki Huffman and Carolyn Lewis prosecuted the case. “We teach our kids to tell us if someone hurts them,” Huffman said. “Then, so often when they tell, the victim is not believed. “Pisarich admitted in open court to his sexual abuse of these victims,” Huffman said. “There can be no doubt in the community that these girls told the truth. Judge Taylor put it best when he recognized the victims’ courage and the defendant’s cowardice.”
https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/crime/qpjvpq/picture144468564/alternates/FREE_1140/Pisarich,%20Allen%20(1)
Allen Todd Pisarich Jackson County Adult Detention Center This story was originally published August 28, 2023, 11:28 AM.
MARGARET BAKER 601-909-0541
Margaret Baker is an investigative reporter whose search for truth exposed corrupt sheriffs, a police chief and various jailers and led to the first prosecution of a federal hate crime for the murder of a transgendered person. She worked on the Sun Herald’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Hurricane Katrina team. When she pursues a big story, she is relentless.
Terrible story from the victim's point of view.
GeneChing
09-05-2023, 09:28 AM
1 dead after 2 martial arts clubs brawl at Taiwan train station (https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4989244)
Weapons found at the scene included nunchaku, machetes, sickles, and samurai swords
By Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2023/09/04 19:04
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Two Indonesian martial arts groups engage in a brawl in front of Changhua railway station on Sept. 2. (Changhua County Police Department photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A violent clash between two rival Indonesian martial arts groups broke out at a train station in western Taiwan on Saturday night (Sept. 2), resulting in one death, one serious injury, and 29 arrests.
The melee took place outside of Changhua railway station, reported ETtoday, with participants wielding weapons and multiple individuals sustaining severe injuries.
One of the individuals died from his wounds, while another is in critical condition. Police said they arrested 29 suspects, and upon further investigation, an investigation was opened on 15 others for involvement in serious crimes.
https://image.taiwannews.com.tw/photos/2023/09/04/1693824966-64f5b7c6ecb89.jpg
(Changhua County Police Department image)
The Changhua Precinct of the Changhua County Police Department reported that one 32-year-old Indonesian man was stabbed in the back and later died. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old man was stabbed four times, but is under hospital observation, reported Liberty Times.
https://image.taiwannews.com.tw/photos/2023/09/04/1693824985-64f5b7d9ab7cc.jpg
(Changhua County Police Department image)
Fifteen suspects have been transferred to the Changhua District Prosecutor's Office to be investigated for homicide (殺人罪), assault (傷害罪), and participating in a deadly brawl.
According to preliminary police findings, there was a disagreement about martial arts training. The two groups arranged a meeting to discuss their differences, but the situation escalated.
https://image.taiwannews.com.tw/photos/2023/09/04/1693825005-64f5b7ed68400.jpg
(Changhua County Police Department image)
Weapons seized at the scene of the crime included knives, brass knuckles, machetes, samurai swords, survival knives, curved knives, nunchaku, screwdrivers, sickles, rods, utility knives, and cans of mace, among other items.
The police mobilied and expanded their search efforts for suspects. In less than 16 hours, the 24-year-old main murder suspect, an Indonesian national, was arrested in Taichung City.
https://image.taiwannews.com.tw/photos/2023/09/04/1693823904-64f5b3a0e3889.jpg
(Changhua County Police Department image)
The suspect led police to a ditch next to Jixiang Street in Changhua City, where officers recovered the knife allegedly used to commit the murder.
The authorities will inform the brokers and companies of the migrant workers involved to strengthen their management practices. They will also notify the Indonesian representative office in Taiwan to assist the victim's family in dealing with funeral arrangements.
Gang-Fights (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58205-Gang-Fights)
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
Bad-Day-for-Samurai-Wannabes (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52919-Bad-Day-for-Samurai-Wannabes)
Bad-Day-for-Wannabe-Bruce-Lees (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?56216-Bad-Day-for-Wannabe-Bruce-Lees)
GeneChing
10-17-2023, 10:05 AM
Martial arts expert jailed for six years for fatally kicking elderly man in Adelaide road-rage incident (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/16/francois-joseph-ghassibe-martial-arts-expert-jailed-fatal-kick-brian-richardson-road-rage)
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Francois Joseph Ghassibe will spend at least three more years behind bars for the manslaughter of 70-year-old Brian Richardson
Australian Associated Press
Mon 16 Oct 2023 00.48 EDT
A martial arts expert has been jailed after he fatally kicked a 70-year-old man in a road-rage incident while his family watched in horror.
Francois Joseph Ghassibe was on Monday sentenced for the manslaughter of Brian Maxwell Richardson after he was previously found not guilty of the more serious charge of murder.
Ghassibe, 32, was in the back of a taxi on West Terrace in Adelaide when his driver was cut off by 70-year-old Brian Richardson on 1 April 2022.
When Ghassibe tried to break up a confrontation between the taxi driver and Richardson, who had left their cars in the middle of traffic, Richardson started pushing and punching him.
Ghassibe, who was 40 years Richardson’s junior at the time and 10 centimetres taller, retaliated with devastating effect, the court heard.
As Richardson’s wife, brother and sister-in-law watched on from their car, Ghassibe – who later told police he had a background in martial arts – launched several blows at the older man before delivering a final kick to the chin, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the bitumen.
A postmortem examination found the impact of his head hitting the roadway to be the fatal blow.
Ghassibe climbed back into the taxi and left while bystanders rushed to Richardson’s aid.
He was later pronounced dead by paramedics.
Ghassibe pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied that he murdered Richardson.
SA supreme court Justice David Peek found Ghassibe’s kick was unlawful as it was not in genuine self-defence and was a dangerous act he should have realised risked seriously injuring or killing Richardson.
However, he was not satisfied that his actions demonstrated a murderous intent.
A psychological report found Ghassibe had a troubled upbringing and was frequently subjected to physical assaults and racial abuse on account of his Lebanese and Mauritian heritage.
He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which was exacerbated when his wife was severely assaulted by a “large, psychotic man”, forensic psychologist Richard Balfour found.
Ghassibe’s hyper-vigilance and hyper-arousal contributed to his state of panic during Richardson’s “unprovoked attack”, lowering his moral culpability, Justice Peek found.
The cocaine and alcohol circulating through his bloodstream and the temporary loss of vision in his only good eye from being punched and spat at also impeded his ability to act rationally and proportionately to the situation.
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Brian Richardson, who was killed in 2022 in a road-rage incident in Adelaide. Photograph: South Australia Police/PR IMAGE
Despite showing little contrition at the time, Ghassibe had shown remorse for his actions during the case and was on the road towards rehabilitation, the judge said.
Nevertheless, Justice Peek said he was deserving of “substantial punishment” for the irreparable loss suffered by his victim’s family and friends.
Richardson’s son, Shane, said his memories are “beyond painful” in a statement read out to the court.
“I’ve lost my dad, my best mate,” he said.
“No more laughs, no more fishing together, no more fixing ****, no more brainstorming, no more anything. It’s final and I’ll never see him again.
“I can only hope there is justice for Dad.”
Justice Peek sentenced Ghassibe to six years and nine months in prison.
His non-parole period was set at four years and six months, backdated to his arrest.
Ghassibe blew a kiss to his parents in the public gallery as he was ushered out of court.
His lawyer Nick Vadasz told reporters outside his client was “very remorseful” and lamented that his initial guilty plea for manslaughter was not accepted, which would have saved all involved from a lengthy trial.
Ghassibe will be eligible for parole in October 2026. Ironically he was trying to break up the fight at first.
GeneChing
10-17-2023, 10:09 AM
Teenager jailed after fatal 'martial arts-style' kick to man's head (https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/133135046/teenager-jailed-after-fatal-martial-artsstyle-kick-to-mans-head)
Jake Kenny
17:03, Oct 17 2023
PETER MEECHAM/STUFF
A man has died after he was allegedly assaulted in the heart of Christchurch. (Video first published on October 18, 2022)
A teenager who delivered a fatal “martial arts-style” kick to his 61-year-old victim’s head and celebrated it after has been granted leave to apply for home detention.
Anthony Michael Kelly, 61, known as Tony, was rushed to hospital and later died after he was assaulted on Cashel St in Christchurch about 6.20pm on October 18 last year.
Mark Nagel, 19, was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice Rachel Dunningham at the Christchurch High Court on Friday after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of manslaughter.
She granted him leave to apply for a home detention sentence.
The victim’s son, Ryan Kelly, 22, stared at Nagel as his victim impact statement was read to the court. He stormed out as the judge granted Nagel leave to apply for home detention.
“At the age of 18 you were going around attacking people... At 21 I was sitting at my dad’s bedside for 10 days before his life support was turned off,” his statement said.
The son spoke of hearing his father utter his last breath, and not knowing if his dad could hear his last words to him.
“I’ll never be able to do the things you do with your dad, like have a pint with him at the pub... Most importantly, I'll never be able to give him a hug and tell him I love him. These memories are what make life worth living.”
In his statement, Tony’s brother John Kelly spoke of the heart-wrenching moment the family turned his life support off while many of them dialled in from Ireland to say their goodbyes.
“The hardest thing we've ever had to do... We feel for your parents because they have to live knowing what their son is capable of. What you did will be with you for the rest of your life, you will never escape it.”
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Mark Nagel, 19, was sentenced to two years imprisonment with leave to apply for home detention at the Christchurch High Court on Tuesday.
Kelly’s former wife Geraldine Clarke had been unable to reconcile her friendship with him after their marriage ended, her statement said. She would now never have that opportunity.
“All because you wanted to be the hero in front of your peers... he died thinking I hated him.”
Crown prosecutor Mitchell McClenaghan described the footage and sound of Kelly’s head hitting the pavement after the attack as “utterly chilling”.
He submitted that a sentence of imprisonment was the only appropriate outcome.
In response, Nagel’s lawyer Trudi Aickin began by extending her condolences to Kelly’s family, and added that her client was truly sorry for what had occurred.
“He is focussed on changing himself”.
In sentencing Nagel, Justice Dunningham granted him discounts for his guilty plea, youth, personal factors and his remorse and rehabilitation prospects.
The judge told him: “You’ve got choices, that’s not something your victim has, that’s something you’ve taken away from him... Do something worthwhile in your life.”
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Anthony (Tony) Kelly died after he was kicked in the head, then his head hit the pavement, on Cashel St, Christchurch.
The offending
Nagel and his victim did not know each other. Nagel believed Kelly was taking photographs of him and his associates, but to date there has been no evidence to support this, according to the summary of facts.
On the evening of the attack, Kelly was at the central Christchurch bus interchange before security staff asked him to leave. He walked to Cashel Mall, with Nagel and his associates following.
The group approached Kelly, who tried to walk away. One of Nagel’s associates walked right up to him, and Kelly threw a punch in defence. The associate re-approached Kelly, adopted a fight stance and kicked him in the shin.
Nagel walked through the group and approached Kelly, who was still facing the other associate. Nagel got close and kicked his head with his right foot using a martial arts-style kick.
Kelly immediately lost consciousness and fell to the ground, his head hitting the pavement.
Nagel and the other associate who assaulted Kelly went back to the bus exchange and left on different buses. They high-fived each other as they fled.
Members of the public did CPR on Kelly until emergency services arrived. In Christchurch Hospital, he was placed in an induced coma. He succumbed to his injuries and died on October 28, at 11.04am.
After Nagel’s sentencing, the Kelly family issued a statement noting it was “almost a year to the day on which Tony was callously attacked, and subsequently lost his life”.
“We remember Tony, a loved father, brother and brother-in-law, uncle... loved and respected by all whom he met and interacted with.”
His Irish charm touched many a life and he would be fondly remembered by the executive and members of the Christchurch folk club community, the statement said.
“He gave generously of his time, every week without fail, Tony was there helping, for the love of music and this was one of Tony’s happy places.
“The folk club had rekindled his love of music, he was quietly working away playing the guitar.”
Just before death, Kelly was involved with another of his loves and passions – gardening and landscaping, the statement said. He had joined compatriots to help create a memorial garden to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Christchurch Irish Society.
“He left us that day with a real sense of purpose seeing the formation of the garden, looking forward to completing the task and making more new connections.
“The Irish community in Christchurch and Wellington will both miss him.
“Replacing a friend like Tony who volunteered his time for others in the community is a massive task.”
Kelly was sorely missed, but Christchurch had a living memorial that he formed with his own hands, the statement said.
“Tony was not a man you met every day... having the craic with Tony is one thing that is sorely missed.”
In contrast to the case above, this kid was just a punk.
GeneChing
11-13-2023, 10:53 AM
... but so stupid it needs to be posted here as a cautionary tale.
“Kung Fu Fighting” helps police identify those behind North Lawrence vandalism spree (https://www.wibw.com/2023/11/12/kung-fu-fighting-helps-police-identify-those-behind-north-lawrence-vandalism-spree/)
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Lawrence Police released a new video showing their lead in a north Lawrence vandalism case.(Lawrence Police Department)
By Sarah Motter
Published: Nov. 12, 2023 at 11:15 AM PST|Updated: 23 hours ago
LAWRENCE, Kan. (WIBW) - The lyrics of a popular song released in the 1970s may have helped police in Lawrence identify those believed to be behind a string of vandalism cases in the northern part of the city.
The Lawrence Police Department says it has identified persons of interest in the ongoing North Lawrence vandalism case - thanks to the lyrics of “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas.
On Thursday, Nov. 9, LKPD took to Facebook with an odd request. It wondered if anyone in the community recognized the voices of a pair singing the song during the crime spree.
Earlier in the week, police released photos of the damage done at several locations in North Lawrence all of which is believed to have happened on Nov. 3. The crimes included smashed work equipment, busted vehicles and shattered bus stops dealing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
On Friday morning, LKPD said the ploy worked and both individuals who were heard have been identified. However, no arrests had been made and no identities were released.
Busted-Martial-Artists (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists)
Everybody-was-Kung-Fu-Fighting-by-Carl-Douglas (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?60335-Everybody-was-Kung-Fu-Fighting-by-Carl-Douglas)
GeneChing
11-28-2023, 09:54 AM
Former gymnastics coach, martial arts instructor charged in child pornography related crimes (https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/11/28/former-gymnastics-coach-martial-arts-instructor-charged-in-child-pornography-related-crimes/)
ALVIN, Texas – A former martial arts instructor and gymnastics coach who worked in Alvin has been charged with multiple child pornography-related crimes following an investigation.
Franklin Joseph Perkins, 40, is now in federal custody.
The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Galveston is conducting an investigation.
“Parents should be worried,” said Chau Nguyen who is a trauma therapist at JEM Wellness and Counseling and weighed in following the allegations. “The word that comes to mind is grooming. Perpetrators gain access to young children because of their power because they’re a coach. Parents entrust their care to children, and they start gaining access.”
On Nov. 15, Perkins was charged with transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography.
Officials say they found it on a Google Drive after executing a warrant at his home. They say they also found non-pornographic images of what appears to be minors in gymnastics clothing and screenshots of young girls’ social media accounts.
“If you’re a parent watching this, just look at the signs, have those uncomfortable conversations with your kids, talk about appropriate and inappropriate boundaries and things that ok and not ok,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen says parents should be on the lookout for suspicious behavior.
“If a coach is getting too close if he’s giving you gifts,” Nguyen said.
Officials say Perkins worked at the Kuk Sool Won dojo and another former gymnastics gym in Alvin. The dojo has since closed and we are learning the former gymnastics gym has new owners, unaffiliated with Perkins who say they bought the building six years ago.
Since then, officials say two of Perkins’ former gymnastics students have come forward saying he sexually assaulted them when they were minors.
“It’s not uncommon for sexual assault survivors to tell their stories years later, they’re ashamed, there’s stigma, maybe they don’t want to talk about it because they’re still processing, and healing comes, for those of us who work in this world, healing can come years later,” Nguyen said.
As for Perkins, if convicted he faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison for the transportation and receipt charges, and up to 10 for possessing child pornography as well as thousands of dollars in fines.
HSI is calling on any other potential victims to come forward. Call HSI Galveston at (409) 443-0103
For information about resources that could help victims heal from any possible trauma suffered from abuse visit JEM Wellness and Counseling on their website or call 832-568-4681.
You can also visit txfne.com or call 281-306-6893 Hope he gets the 20+10...
GeneChing
12-18-2023, 09:19 AM
Canton Martial Arts Instructor Charged With Hitting Child in the Face (https://www.tribuneledgernews.com/local_news/crime/canton-martial-arts-instructor-charged-with-hitting-child-in-the-face/article_23467e80-9a99-11ee-87f4-23c3222f17da.html)
By Ethan Johnson ejohnson@ledgernews.com Dec 15, 2023
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tribuneledgernews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/ef/fef0a0aa-9a9e-11ee-9163-eba092509374/657b2f28bd8d6.image.jpg?resize=400%2C500
A Canton man who teaches martial arts has been arrested after authorities say he hit a child at a local school.
Derrick Lamont Clark, 50, has been charged with one felony count of first degree cruelty to children and one misdemeanor count of battery.
According to his arrest warrant, between 1:10 and 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15, Clark allegedly hit a child at Cherokee Charter Academy in the face with his hand. The child, who has no relation to Clark, has autism.
Representatives of CCA said he is not permitted on the campus anymore.
“The care and safety of Cherokee Charter Academy students is always our priority,” a spokesperson for CCA said. “We have strict standards for appropriate behavior at school and at all after-school related activities. If ever an individual violates those standards, we take all appropriate actions, and the individual is no longer welcome on our campus.”
Clark is an instructor at Canton Warriors BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) Academy. The academy, which offers training for kids and adults, did not respond to a request for comment.
Clark was arrested by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office Nov. 27. He was released the same day on a $7,500 bond, said CSO spokesperson Capt. Jay Baker.
Ouch. Autism.
GeneChing
01-17-2024, 09:52 AM
Quebec martial arts coach charged with 61 sex offences (https://globalnews.ca/news/10229328/quebec-martial-arts-coach-abuse/)
By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted January 16, 2024 12:02 pm
Updated January 16, 2024 4:53 pm
A 59-year-old martial arts coach appeared in court northeast of Montreal on Monday on more than 60 new alleged sexual offences involving minors.
Réal Chayer was charged at the courthouse in Joliette, Que., where he was ordered to be detained, provincial police said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chayer had been released on conditions after he was charged in May 2023 with sexual assault, sexual contact and incitement to contact.
Authorities say 61 new sex-related charges were laid against Chayer, of St-Lin-Laurentides, Que., for crimes that allegedly took place between July 2001 and December 2022.
According to Quebec’s business registry, Chayer is the owner of a martial arts academy in Repentigny, Que., east of Montreal.
Police say that as a coach, Chayer had authority over his alleged victims, who were boys from Laval, Repentigny, and the accused’s hometown in the Lanaudière region.
Karate Quebec, the provincial body that oversees the sport, said in a statement Tuesday the accused was not affiliated with it. Karate Quebec offers a certification program for instructors and development seminars for the national coaching certification program for its 125 affiliated clubs.
“We strongly condemn any form of inappropriate behaviour and are determined to act with transparency and accountability,” said Karine Fournier, the federation’s director of operations.
The organization’s statement urged anyone who experiences harassment, abuse or assault while practising the sport to report it through the provincial Sport’Aide platform.
61 sex offences. :mad:
GeneChing
02-23-2024, 10:50 AM
More on DePalma (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48947-Busted-Martial-Artists&p=1324707#post1324707). This one is personal because I know his dad.
Ex-Gilbert martial arts instructor pleads guilty to sex charges involving teen (https://www.azfamily.com/2024/02/22/ex-gilbert-martial-arts-instructor-pleads-guilty-sex-charges-involving-teen/)
A former Gilbert martial arts instructor pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual conduct with a minor.
By AZFamily Digital News Staff
Published: Feb. 22, 2024 at 2:03 PM PST|Updated: 20 hours ago
GILBERT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — An ex-Gilbert martial arts instructor accused of having sex with a teen student has pled guilty to several charges. Court documents revealed on Wednesday showed Dyllon DePalma pled guilty to three charges of sexual misconduct involving a minor.
DePalma was previously indicted in April 2023 after he allegedly had sex numerous times with a 15-year-old student, who was also an employee at DePalma’s Team USA Martial Arts studio. Court paperwork stated DePalma had known the girl since she was eight years old and he was 15. Investigators say he admitted to being the girl’s instructor, but denied having a sexual relationship with her.
DePalma also allegedly faced similar allegations three years ago. In Nov. 2021, authorities received a report that he reportedly asked a 13-year-old girl for nude pictures, despite knowing her age.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1.
“He was my son’s sensei and my son looked up to Dyllon,” said Danielle Pittman. She said she was shocked to learn her son’s mentor was accused of being a sexual predator.
“It’s every parents worst nightmare,” said Pittman.
A former employee who wants to remain anonymous tells Arizona’s Family the victim first confided in her and she reported it to her superiors right away.
“He’s in a place of power he’s someone that they trust. We teach them how to keep them safe. That’s what karate’s about. We teach them how to protect themselves against predators and kidnappers and bullies and how do you handle that when one of those people is the person teaching it to you?” she said.
Pittman said she pulled her son out of the studio after getting an email on March 25, 2023, talking about “alleged charges” and how DePalma “was immediately released from the dojo until proven innocent.” This was sent two days after Gilbert Police posted DePalma’s mugshot on their Facebook page.
“I was finding out all of the information on social media instead of directly from the studio. So, already my trust with the studio itself had been broken,” said Pittman.
Pittman and the former employee said the business handled the situation with a lack of transparency and allowed DePalma to work there for weeks after the allegations came to light. People connected to this dojo said the DePalma family is powerful and well-known within Arizona’s karate community. They feel the Depalma family was more focused on protecting their son instead of their students.
“I definitely think he’s getting off a little bit too easy,” said the former employee.
DePalma was originally charged with class 2 felony crimes, but he pleaded down to class 6 felony charges this week. Because he pleaded guilty in this case, he will have to register as a sex offender.
GeneChing
02-23-2024, 10:58 AM
Here's more on the triple homicide (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52484-Martial-Arts-Deaths&p=1326142#post1326142)
Martial arts teacher charged with murder over deaths of three people in Sydney (https://www.9news.com.au/national/three-people-found-dead-martial-arts-instructor-arrested-sydney/8e3013a4-6375-40df-9eb5-71369af05ad8)
By Adam Vidler
Mikala Theocharous
6:55pm Feb 22, 2024
Martial arts instructor Kwang Kyung Yoo has been charged with murder in connection with the deaths of three people in Sydney.
The body of Stephen Cho, 39, was found in a Baulkham Hills home at 10.30am yesterday after a concern for welfare report was made.
About two hours later, police found the bodies of Mr Cho's wife, Min, 41, and a seven-year-old boy at the Lion's Taekwondo martial arts studio in North Parramatta.
https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/GMCmMDxz3e2a4wkI7Req58lh1tk=/800x0/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F9d0a61dd-bf5e-4ad6-b9ad-9d960559b014
Martial arts instructor Kwang Kyung "Lion" Yoo has been arrested in connection with the deaths of three people. (Supplied)
It will be alleged the woman and child had been strangled.
About 11.50pm on Monday, Yoo arrived at Westmead Hospital with apparent slash wounds to his torso and arms.
He claimed he had been attacked at a carpark outside a Church Street supermarket in North Parramatta.
It's now believed he allegedly sustained those injuries in an altercation with Mr Cho before he died.
Yoo has since undergone surgery at the hospital.
He was arrested at the hospital about 11.20pm yesterday and charged with three counts of murder about 9pm today.
He is set to face a bedside hearing tomorrow morning.
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CCTV footage has also emerged showing Ms Cho's BMW being driven, allegedly by Yoo, from the taekwondo centre to the home in Baulkham Hills. (Nine)
https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/zWHoQISqxC_Dbhl65ex9ix0YADA=/485x35:1445x575/800x0/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F2c9baa32-03c7-48b5-b8f1-6adbdcd427d9
Stephen and Min Cho were both found dead in Sydney. (9News)
CCTV footage has emerged showing Ms Cho's BMW being driven, allegedly by Yoo, from the taekwondo centre to the home in Baulkham Hills.
Mr Cho was a senior estimator at construction firm Richard Crookes.
A spokesperson said the company was "shocked and saddened" by the "tragic passing of Steven Cho".
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Min Cho and the boy are believed to have been killed inside a Parramatta martial arts studio. (Nine)
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty from NSW Police said the deaths were "cataclysmic" and "tragic".
He confirmed the slain boy had attended the martial arts studio as a student of the accused murderer.
Doherty said police would allege Yoo killed Ms Cho and the boy inside the studio on Monday and that at some point after 6.30pm that day, Yoo travelled to the Chos' Baulkham Hills address where a confrontation with Mr Cho led to the third alleged murder.
Doherty said it was still very early in the investigation, but police did not believe anybody else was involved in the deaths.
Yoo's neighbours told 9News he was "nice to them" and they found the incident "shocking".
GeneChing
04-16-2024, 09:22 AM
Colorado martial arts instructor arrested for sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl (https://denvergazette.com/news/martial-arts-instructor-westminster-sexual-relationship/article_133d5c46-f789-11ee-941c-83a020aeda53.html)
Michael Seo, 21, was arrested on a traffic stop in Spicewood, Texas on Monday
Marco Cummings marco.cummings@denvergazette.com Apr 10, 2024 Updated Apr 11, 2024
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/13/313d33b0-3a9c-11ee-bab9-63bdc3da1df1/64cfef35556bf.image.jpg?resize=990%2C660
FILE PHOTO
MattGush/iStock
A local martial arts instructor was arrested in Texas and is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student, according to police in Westminster.
Michael Seo, 21, was arrested on a traffic stop in Spicewood, Texas, on Monday afternoon and was taken to the Travis County Jail, where is he currently awaiting extradition, according to a a news release from the Westminster Police Department.
In February of last year, Westminster Police were notified that a 14-year-old female had been having an ongoing sexual relationship with her then 19-year-old martial arts instructor.
After investigation, a warrant was issued for Michael Seo for the charge of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust – victim under 15 Years of age.
A spokesman for Westminster Police told Denver Gazette news partner 9News that the department is "unaware" of other victims. They did not say where Seo worked.19 & 14, now 21 & 16, still not legal, right? Not sure about Texas laws...
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