Audie Bryan Cooper – Repeat Sex Offender – Hung out with Girl Scout Troop

A convicted pedophile who was living with a Girl Scout troop leader when arrested in March pleaded guilty Friday to Measure 11 sex abuse charges in connection with two cases in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Audie Bryan Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty Friday to unlawful sexual penetration in a case involving a Dec. 15 assault on a developmentally delayed adult. Judge Bill Purdy accepted Cooper’s guilty plea and immediately sentenced him to eight years and three months in prison and 20 years of supervised probation. A lesser charge of second-degree sex abuse was dismissed.

“He pleaded guilty to the top charge and he’ll do the maximum,” said District Attorney David Hoppe.

Cooper also pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse in a second case related to a child. Details about the incidents were not revealed to protect the victims’ identities, but they were not believed to have occurred at troop meetings.

Hoppe said neither victim wished to speak in court regarding Cooper’s actions.

“Everyone agreed this was the way to go. They did not wish to be present,” said Hoppe.

Cooper will be sentenced for the second Measure 11 offense after a presentencing investigation is completed. He will serve additional time for at least a portion of the second mandatory prison sentence, he said.

“Mr. Cooper is going to be in prison for a very long time,” said Cooper’s defense attorney, Michael Bertholf.

Two Measure 11 convictions mean Cooper could end up with a life sentence if he offends again, Hoppe said.

Cooper was arrested on March 20 by Medford police at the home of Girl Scout troop leader Shannon Nilsson after a tip alerted police that Cooper, a registered sex offender in New Mexico, had failed to register in Oregon. Nilsson said she did not know Cooper had a history as a sex offender. She has resigned as troop leader.

Parents voiced concerns after discovering that Cooper, who had attended Girl Scout functions, had a history as a sexual predator. Candace Bartow, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of the Winema Council, said in March that she informed the council immediately and left messages about the alleged abuse with the Oregon Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare Division and the Children’s Advocacy Center the day after Cooper’s arrest.

Bartow waited until the following week to send a letter to the parents of Troop 2036, which comprises about 10 young girls. Bartow said at the time it was her understanding that Cooper was a stepparent of a troop member. Girl Scout policy guidelines at the time of Cooper’s arrest did not require them to perform background checks on volunteers, she said.

Cooper had been held in the Jackson County Jail on $1 million bail before Friday’s conviction.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

James Edward Whitfield – Repeat Sex Offender – Pedophile

April 13, 2003
public indecency for exposing himself to a minor

Sept. 25, 2003
child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes

A convicted St. Marys child molester has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

James Edward Whitfield, 25, was also sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Judge Anthony Aliamo to a lifetime period of supervised release after he serves his 137-month sentence.

He faced a minimum sentence of 10 years because he was previously convicted of child molestation, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Edmund Booth Jr.

Whitfield had pleaded guilty in April to a single count of possession of child pornography as part of a plea agreement in which the government dismissed charges of receipt of child pornography and transportation of child pornography.

Evidence showed Whitfield possessed numerous pictures and 37 videos depicting child pornography. He told investigators in a sworn affidavit he got the pornography over the Internet while using a peer-to-peer program called Limewire.

He became the subject of an investigation after he took his computer to be repaired and a technician discovered a document file on the machine’s hard drive containing the pornography.

Prior to his conviction, Whitfield told investigators he was convicted of misdemeanor public indecency for exposing himself to a minor on April 13, 2003. He was also charged with child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes on Sept. 25, 2003. Both cases occurred in Houston County, according to court documents.

Whitfield had been held without bail because he was found living in the 300 block of West Wilbur Street in Kingsland with his pregnant, 17-year-old girlfriend, which was a violation of his release as a sex offender.

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“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

James Edward Whitfield – Repeat Sex Offender – Pedophile

April 13, 2003
public indecency for exposing himself to a minor

Sept. 25, 2003
child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes

A convicted St. Marys child molester has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

James Edward Whitfield, 25, was also sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Judge Anthony Aliamo to a lifetime period of supervised release after he serves his 137-month sentence.

He faced a minimum sentence of 10 years because he was previously convicted of child molestation, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Edmund Booth Jr.

Whitfield had pleaded guilty in April to a single count of possession of child pornography as part of a plea agreement in which the government dismissed charges of receipt of child pornography and transportation of child pornography.

Evidence showed Whitfield possessed numerous pictures and 37 videos depicting child pornography. He told investigators in a sworn affidavit he got the pornography over the Internet while using a peer-to-peer program called Limewire.

He became the subject of an investigation after he took his computer to be repaired and a technician discovered a document file on the machine’s hard drive containing the pornography.

Prior to his conviction, Whitfield told investigators he was convicted of misdemeanor public indecency for exposing himself to a minor on April 13, 2003. He was also charged with child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes on Sept. 25, 2003. Both cases occurred in Houston County, according to court documents.

Whitfield had been held without bail because he was found living in the 300 block of West Wilbur Street in Kingsland with his pregnant, 17-year-old girlfriend, which was a violation of his release as a sex offender.

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“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Guy Wesley Hamilton – Repeat Sex Offender – GUILTY

Hamilton was on parole for a 1999 Washington County conviction
of sexual assault of a child.
He also had been convicted in federal court in 1998
for possessing child pornography.

A West Fork man received 12 / 2 years in federal prison Thursday for possessing child pornography. Guy Wesley Hamilton, 48, pleaded guilty to one of two counts brought against him as the result of an inspection of his home by parole officers. Officers discovered a laptop computer, a DVD hidden under a couch, and a flash drive memory card containing images depicting minors engaged in sexual acts with adults.

The items were discovered during a random house inspection in May 2007. Hamilton pleaded guilty in November.

Hamilton was on parole for a 1999 Washington County conviction of sexual assault of a child. He also had been convicted in federal court in 1998 for possessing child pornography.

Hamilton was fined $ 15, 000 by U. S. District Court Judge Jimm L. Hendren, who sentenced Hamilton to parole for the rest of his life after his prison term is completed.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Guy Wesley Hamilton – Repeat Sex Offender – GUILTY

Hamilton was on parole for a 1999 Washington County conviction
of sexual assault of a child.
He also had been convicted in federal court in 1998
for possessing child pornography.

A West Fork man received 12 / 2 years in federal prison Thursday for possessing child pornography. Guy Wesley Hamilton, 48, pleaded guilty to one of two counts brought against him as the result of an inspection of his home by parole officers. Officers discovered a laptop computer, a DVD hidden under a couch, and a flash drive memory card containing images depicting minors engaged in sexual acts with adults.

The items were discovered during a random house inspection in May 2007. Hamilton pleaded guilty in November.

Hamilton was on parole for a 1999 Washington County conviction of sexual assault of a child. He also had been convicted in federal court in 1998 for possessing child pornography.

Hamilton was fined $ 15, 000 by U. S. District Court Judge Jimm L. Hendren, who sentenced Hamilton to parole for the rest of his life after his prison term is completed.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Clifton Bobbitt Somerville Sr – 81 year old Repeat Sex Offender

An 81-year-old Lexington Park area man identified in court records as a convicted sex offender was arrested this week on charging papers alleging he drove a 14-year-old girl to his home and grabbed her thigh.

Clifton Bobbitt Somerville Sr. was charged Tuesday with second-degree assault from the Sept. 11 incident, and with failing to comply with a requirement that he notify the St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office of a change of his address. A court commissioner released Somerville from custody Tuesday on personal recognizance, on the condition that he have no unsupervised contact with any children.

Somerville had seen the girl several times at a soup kitchen near Point Lookout Road before he offered her a ride last week from there to her home at a nearby trailer park, according to charging papers filed by detective William Raddatz of the St. Mary’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

‘‘When the defendant got close to [the trailer park], he turned around and stated he had to bring some items in his van to a friend,” Raddatz wrote in a statement of probable cause. ‘‘The victim became afraid, but stated the defendant drove too fast for her to get out of the vehicle.”

Somerville drove the girl to his current home off Route 5 south of Great Mills, according to court papers.

‘‘She was afraid and did not know what to do, so she complied with his instruction to come inside,” the detective wrote, and Somerville allegedly grabbed her without her consent. ‘‘The defendant told her she did not have to do anything she didn’t want to do,” court papers state, ‘‘and she asked him to take her home. The defendant complied.”

Somerville said Thursday that he will contest the charges in court. ‘‘That’s not true,” he said of the allegations. ‘‘I’ve got a lawyer already.”

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Clifton Bobbitt Somerville Sr – 81 year old Repeat Sex Offender

An 81-year-old Lexington Park area man identified in court records as a convicted sex offender was arrested this week on charging papers alleging he drove a 14-year-old girl to his home and grabbed her thigh.

Clifton Bobbitt Somerville Sr. was charged Tuesday with second-degree assault from the Sept. 11 incident, and with failing to comply with a requirement that he notify the St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office of a change of his address. A court commissioner released Somerville from custody Tuesday on personal recognizance, on the condition that he have no unsupervised contact with any children.

Somerville had seen the girl several times at a soup kitchen near Point Lookout Road before he offered her a ride last week from there to her home at a nearby trailer park, according to charging papers filed by detective William Raddatz of the St. Mary’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

‘‘When the defendant got close to [the trailer park], he turned around and stated he had to bring some items in his van to a friend,” Raddatz wrote in a statement of probable cause. ‘‘The victim became afraid, but stated the defendant drove too fast for her to get out of the vehicle.”

Somerville drove the girl to his current home off Route 5 south of Great Mills, according to court papers.

‘‘She was afraid and did not know what to do, so she complied with his instruction to come inside,” the detective wrote, and Somerville allegedly grabbed her without her consent. ‘‘The defendant told her she did not have to do anything she didn’t want to do,” court papers state, ‘‘and she asked him to take her home. The defendant complied.”

Somerville said Thursday that he will contest the charges in court. ‘‘That’s not true,” he said of the allegations. ‘‘I’ve got a lawyer already.”

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Donald Brantman Jr – Repeat Sex Offender – Strikes Again lands in Prison for 15 years

A convicted sex offender arrested after he traveled from New York to Dallas with plans to have sex with a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Donald Brantman Jr., 29, of New York told a 14-year-old boy via Yahoo Instant Messenger in March that he wanted to be the child’s boyfriend, said Kathy Colvin of the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas.

He also discussed having sexual relations with the boy during cellphone and IM conversations, Ms. Colvin said.

Mr. Brantman made plans to travel to Hunt County and was arrested by federal authorities in late March when his Greyhound bus arrived in Dallas, Ms. Colvin said. He had previously been convicted in 1999 of attempted sodomy of a minor in New York.

He was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, who also ordered a lifetime of supervised release.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

Donald Brantman Jr – Repeat Sex Offender – Strikes Again lands in Prison for 15 years

A convicted sex offender arrested after he traveled from New York to Dallas with plans to have sex with a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Donald Brantman Jr., 29, of New York told a 14-year-old boy via Yahoo Instant Messenger in March that he wanted to be the child’s boyfriend, said Kathy Colvin of the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas.

He also discussed having sexual relations with the boy during cellphone and IM conversations, Ms. Colvin said.

Mr. Brantman made plans to travel to Hunt County and was arrested by federal authorities in late March when his Greyhound bus arrived in Dallas, Ms. Colvin said. He had previously been convicted in 1999 of attempted sodomy of a minor in New York.

He was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, who also ordered a lifetime of supervised release.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte

John Charles Fox – Repeat Sex Offender Gets 10 years in prison

A military contractor convicted of having child pornography while working in Iraq was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Thursday in U.S. District Court in El Paso.

John Charles Fox, 52, an aircraft repairman from El Paso, pleaded guilty June 30 to charges of failing to register as a sex offender and possession of child pornography, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

U.S. District Judge David Briones sentenced Fox to 10 years in prison on the child porn charge and more than eight years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service determined that Fox had 22 videos and 14 photos of child porn while working at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq, officials said. Fox took several trips to Iraq.

On May 23, 2007, the pornography was discovered on Fox’s laptop computer when he lost the computer at Heathrow Airport in London. Fox was arrested Jan. 22 in Detroit while on a return flight to El Paso from Iraq.

Fox was convicted in Guam in 2002 for a sexual act with a minor.

But he didn’t register with El Paso police as a sex offender as required nor did he let authorities know of his trips to Iraq, officials said.

“25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years”

………Sarah Tofte