Protect Our Children Act of 2008

Waters said studies indicate 30 to 40 percent of people who view child pornography online are child molesters, that the images make them feel OK about what they’re doing, as if it’s normal because so many other people are doing it too. They sometimes even share tips about how to do it and how to avoid being caught.

Last Monday “The Oprah Winfrey Show” focused on child molestation, providing gut-wrenching detail about how pervasive child pornography trafficking has become in America.

A Cheyenne man, Flint Waters, commander of the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, spoke about new technology that allows his task force to track child pornography images being sent online.

He said 15,000 such images are traded online every day, and that in the past two years 300,000 to 500,000 computers in the United States have sent such images.

Waters said studies indicate 30 to 40 percent of people who view child pornography online are child molesters, that the images make them feel OK about what they’re doing, as if it’s normal because so many other people are doing it too. They sometimes even share tips about how to do it and how to avoid being caught.

The good news is that such task forces exist now in every state, so that Waters can send tips about the most prolific traffickers to them for investigation.

But because there are so many offenders, the task forces can’t go after them all.

A bill now before the Senate, the Protect Our Children Act of 2008, also known as the “Protecting Children from Pornography and Internet Exploitation Act of 2008,” would start a five-year effort to increase the ability of those task forces to respond to the problem.

It would establish a National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, provide training to local and state task forces and increase their abilities to conduct investigations.

The Senate bill would seek $320 million over the next five years to fund increased law enforcement investigations of child exploitation.

Winfrey said she wants the Senate to declare war on child pornography and molestation, and asked viewers to pressure the Senate to pass the bill before it goes into recess on Sept. 26.

Dedicating $1.6 billion to declare a war to protect our children would be a worthy and timely investment.

Robert William Fischer Jr – Repeat Sex Offender

A Level 3 sex offender was arrested Friday concerning allegations that he made sexually explicit recordings of a child.

Bentonville police arrested Robert William Fischer, 37, of Farmington for distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a class C felony, which is punishable with a prison sentence ranging from three to 10 years.

According to a press release from the Bentonville Police Department, Fischer’s arrest was the result of an investigation that began Monday after the parents of two female children, ages 9 and 10, reported possible inappropriate activity between Fischer and the children. Police learned Fischer is not related to the children, but rather is an acquaintance of both children’s families, according to the press release.

Police also learned Fischer is a registered sex offender living in Farmington, and he was convicted Feb. 14, 2007, of sexual indecency with a minor in Washington County. The case leading to the conviction involved two 9-yearold girls and a 5-year-old boy, according to the press release.

Fischer was placed on supervised probation and was assessed a Level 3 sex offender.

The current investigation by the Bentonville Police Department revealed Fischer made sexually explicit video recordings of one of the children involved and also accessed and viewed inappropriate materials via the Internet, according to the press release.

Fischer is being held in the Benton County Jail on a $ 50, 00 bond.

The investigation and arrest was assisted by the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections Probation and Parole, the Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force and the Farmington Police Department.

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

………Sarah Tofte

Robert William Fischer Jr – Repeat Sex Offender

A Level 3 sex offender was arrested Friday concerning allegations that he made sexually explicit recordings of a child.

Bentonville police arrested Robert William Fischer, 37, of Farmington for distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a class C felony, which is punishable with a prison sentence ranging from three to 10 years.

According to a press release from the Bentonville Police Department, Fischer’s arrest was the result of an investigation that began Monday after the parents of two female children, ages 9 and 10, reported possible inappropriate activity between Fischer and the children. Police learned Fischer is not related to the children, but rather is an acquaintance of both children’s families, according to the press release.

Police also learned Fischer is a registered sex offender living in Farmington, and he was convicted Feb. 14, 2007, of sexual indecency with a minor in Washington County. The case leading to the conviction involved two 9-yearold girls and a 5-year-old boy, according to the press release.

Fischer was placed on supervised probation and was assessed a Level 3 sex offender.

The current investigation by the Bentonville Police Department revealed Fischer made sexually explicit video recordings of one of the children involved and also accessed and viewed inappropriate materials via the Internet, according to the press release.

Fischer is being held in the Benton County Jail on a $ 50, 00 bond.

The investigation and arrest was assisted by the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections Probation and Parole, the Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force and the Farmington Police Department.

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

………Sarah Tofte

Rick Lee Wagher – Pedophile lured kids with signs outside his home

Wagher went on to say that he only likes to be around children and he takes pictures of them as mementos, the reports said. He said he buys gifts for children and takes them to Disneyland and concerts.

He later told deputies he had touched or massaged 18 children over the past eight years.

Rick Lee Wagher, arrested in June for child molestation, was sentenced Thursday to 24 years in prison by a Kern County Superior Court judge.

The 58-year-old man was charged with six counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child after he was found with three naked boys in his trailer in east Bakersfield.

Wagher took a plea deal Aug. 21 that dismissed three of the six charges.

He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, so Wagher won’t be eligible for parole until his late 70s.

The boys found in Wagher’s mobile home ranged from ages 6 to 13.

he placed signs outside that read

“Tons of Hugs”
“Kids Spoiled Here”
“Free Cookies”

Authorities found nude photos of the boys along with evidence that suggested Wagher had molested about a dozen other children during a multiple-year period. Detectives, however, weren’t able to locate the other victims.

It was not alleged that Wagher had intercourse with his victims, though it was alleged that he touched them inappropriately, according to prosecutors.

Rick Lee Wagher – Pedophile lured kids with signs outside his home

Wagher went on to say that he only likes to be around children and he takes pictures of them as mementos, the reports said. He said he buys gifts for children and takes them to Disneyland and concerts.

He later told deputies he had touched or massaged 18 children over the past eight years.

Rick Lee Wagher, arrested in June for child molestation, was sentenced Thursday to 24 years in prison by a Kern County Superior Court judge.

The 58-year-old man was charged with six counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child after he was found with three naked boys in his trailer in east Bakersfield.

Wagher took a plea deal Aug. 21 that dismissed three of the six charges.

He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, so Wagher won’t be eligible for parole until his late 70s.

The boys found in Wagher’s mobile home ranged from ages 6 to 13.

he placed signs outside that read

“Tons of Hugs”
“Kids Spoiled Here”
“Free Cookies”

Authorities found nude photos of the boys along with evidence that suggested Wagher had molested about a dozen other children during a multiple-year period. Detectives, however, weren’t able to locate the other victims.

It was not alleged that Wagher had intercourse with his victims, though it was alleged that he touched them inappropriately, according to prosecutors.

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.

SetC2LVisibility(‘Morris’,’Jacksonville’,’tu-online_stories_091908_geo_334041006′,’C2LContainer’)

“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

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