New Orleans Cop Raped 13-Year-Old Girl Seven Times

A New Orleans Police Officer was arrested for raping his girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter. It all began when she told her mother. She was ready to witness at court when the officer pleaded guilty himself. He admitted seven rapes against this girl. Two years passed by before they started on the case because the officer refused that he had anything to do with the raping, and the girl’s mother believed him. She said that her daughter trusted her boyfriend and that she almost saw him as a father figure.
Before the officer admitted the crime the girl was on a rape exam where they found clear signs on sexual abuse. The officer resigned immediately after arrest and he can get a life time in prison, for now he remains jailed with a $2,8 million bond in lieu.

Female Sheriff Sexually Abusing Two Young Girls

Two girls have been sexually abused by a 45-year old female Florida sheriff. She handcuffed the girls to a desk and used a leather paddle to spank their legs, backs and buttocks. Another thing she did was to videotape the situations on her phone and send it to her boyfriend that she met over a website for people with different fetishes.

The Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that she was shocked when she heard about the sheriffs behavior. The girls that were tortured on homemade spanking bench was between 10 and 18 years old. The female sheriff was immediately arrested.

rmer Moorestown cop, ex-girlfriend convicted on child sex charges

Former Moorestown cop, ex-girlfriend convicted on child sex charges

MOORSETOWN — A former southern New Jersey police officer and his ex-girlfriend have been convicted on several child sex assault charges.
Robert Melia Jr., who was suspended from the Moorestown police force after his April 2008 arrest, was found guilty Friday on 22 counts, including official misconduct.
In 2008, Melia also was charged with animal cruelty after investigators said a video found in his home showed him sexually molesting cows. Those charges were dismissed in 2009 because bestiality is not a crime in New Jersey.
Heather Lewis of Pemberton, Melia's ex-girlfriend, also was found guilty Friday, on 26 counts.
Their convictions included multiple counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, child endangerment and invasion of privacy.
But the Burlington County jury could not reach verdicts on 19 counts that both defendants faced. The charges stemmed from alleged assaults against the same victim, and prosecutors did not say whether they will retry them on those charges.
Melia and Lewis both face more than 50 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 13.

Cop facing sex assault charge now accused of animal cruelty
Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 8:34 AM Updated: Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 8:35 AM
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) -- More legal trouble for Burlington County policeman charged with sexually assaulting three girls.
Authorities have charged Moorestown Officer Robert Melia Jr. with cruelty to animals. Authorities say Melia engaged in sex acts involving cows in 2006.
Melia and his girlfriend, Heather Lewis, were charged last week with three counts of sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual contact involving three girls at his home in Pemberton between 2003 and 2006.

Introducing the Fairfax County Police Officer Robert M. Bauer I'll lie and keep my job award

Police officer faces sex allegation

Police officer faces sex allegation

A part-time Manito police officer made his initial court appearance in Havana Thursday, after being arrested Tuesday for criminal sexual assault and official misconduct.

 Illinois State Police officers arrested Nicholas W. Butler, 27, Tuesday after he admitted to them during an interview that “he had met a 17-year-old girl through his official capacity as a police officer,” according to court records.

 “They subsequently developed a relationship and eventually had sex (consensual) on one occasion,” the records said.

 Mason County State’s Attorney Kristen Miller said she has not filed formal charges but she requested that Butler’s bail be set at $50,000, which is an amount she typically seeks for people charged with serious felony charges. Eighth Circuit Judge Alan D. Tucker set the bail at $25,000, so Butler can get out of jail if he pays 10 percent of that amount.

 Butler — who has a Delavan address listed in the court records — was arrested for criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony that carries a possible prison sentence of four to 15 years upon conviction, and for official misconduct, which is a Class 3 felony with a possible prison sentence of two to five years.

 Miller told Tucker there is no allegation of Butler using physical force, nor was she aware of any allegation of the incident involving any drugs or alcohol.

 Butler said he was born and raised in central Illinois, but that he had left to serve in the military and had returned to the area in September.

 Manito Village Board President Tim Sondag told GateHouse News Service that Butler was sworn in as a part-time police officer Oct. 3. He was still in training when Manito officials learned of the ISP investigation and was placed on administrative leave until his arrest, according to Sondag. He was terminated from the village’s employment upon his arrest.

 Miller said she intends to file formal charges against Butler before his scheduled appearance with counsel, set for 10 a.m. Thursday.

 Tucker appointed Mason County Public Defender Roger Thomson to defend Butler.

 

Pair guilty of child-sex assaults in Burlington

After deliberating for two days, a Superior Court jury in Mount Holly found a Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend guilty Friday of sexually assaulting juveniles over eight years.

Robert Melia Jr., 42, who was suspended from his patrol job after his arrest in April 2008, was found guilty on 22 of the 47 counts listed in the indictment, including official misconduct for committing a crime while employed as a police officer. He was found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls.

Heather Lewis, 36, of Pemberton, was found guilty on 26 counts involving three girls and a boy. The conviction included multiple counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and invasion of privacy.

The jury hung on 19 counts against each of them, all involving the same victim, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. The office will review the case to determine whether to retry the defendants on those charges.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 13. Melia and Lewis both face more than 50 years in prison, according to the prosecution.

Melia will appeal, his attorney Mark Catanzaro said Friday.

"There was a litany of problems in the way the evidence was presented," Catanzaro said. He declined to elaborate.

Lewis' public defender, Bonnie Geller-Gorman, could not be reached Friday evening for comment.

The initial indictment - which included counts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, invasion of privacy, and endangering the welfare of a child - accused Melia and Lewis of repeatedly assaulting three girls, one of whom was a babysitter for Lewis' son, and videotaping some of the attacks.

The girls, two of whom were sisters, gave statements to police in April 2008 and said the incidents began in 2000. They said then that they were assaulted separately by Melia and Lewis. They told police the couple used vibrators on them and forced them to engage in sex acts with the adults.

A graphic, 35-minute video taken in August 2005 was shown to the jury. It had been extracted from Melia's computer, authorities said.

The prosecution had argued that the girl on the tape, who along with the others was between age 12 and 17, was incapacitated during the encounter.

Lewis testified that the girl in the video was 18 and had consented to the sex acts. Lewis also testified that she enjoyed bondage and that she was giving commands to the girl, and the girl responded. At one point, when the girl's body writhed, Lewis said, it was not out of pain but pleasure.

Lewis also was charged with sexually assaulting a boy, 14.

Police were notified after one of the girls told her stepfather.

The jury of eight men and four women began deliberating after closing statements Wednesday in the nearly three-week-old trial. Attorneys for Melia and Lewis argued that the accusers had lied and that prosecutors were overzealous, in part because of the case's notoriety and the alleged involvement of a Moorestown officer.

Bail was revoked for both.

Protective Order Filed Against Tulsa Officer Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

TULSA, Oklahoma -

An emergency protective order was filed against a Tulsa police captain accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.

 The new allegations come just weeks after he was suspended for sex acts on the job that happened three years ago.

Captain Shawn King says he is not ready to get into the details of the allegations made against him. But his attorney says they're false. He says it's all part of a plan by an angry ex-girlfriend to ruin King's name.

 An Osage County judge granted an emergency protective order against Captain Shawn King on behalf of Keena Roberts and her minor children. The order was filed late Friday.

 "What's happened today is evidence of Ms. Robert's ongoing and continuous vendetta against Capt. King since their break up," wrote King's attorney Scott Wood.

 Wood says King and Roberts ended their relationship sometime in the past six months. And says that ever since, Roberts has gone to great lengths to "attack" his client.

Wood says the protective order is another example of that. But the accusations in that order are serious.

Roberts' attorney alleges that King molested one of Roberts' underage children. In the protective order, the attorney confirms that King is accused of groping, kissing and forcibly raping the child with his fingers.

 Roberts' attorney alleges the incidents happened many times over a period of several years. The allegations surfaced after the child spent time in therapy.

 King's attorney calls the allegations false and outrageous.

 "Another example of how desperate Ms. Robert's is to wreck havoc on Captain King's life," Wood said in a statement.

 Earlier this month, King was suspended a week without pay after TPD Chief Chuck Jordan says King engaged in sexual activity in his patrol car. That incident happened in 2009.

An interoffice memo from Chief Jordan's classifies the activity as "Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer."

"No allegation was made to the police department regarding any criminal activity, including activity involving children," Scott Wood said.

A hearing for a permanent protective order is set for May 22, 2012, in Osage County. But King's attorney is hoping to get a quicker hearing.

He says depending on the outcome, his client make take legal action against Roberts. As of now, Captain King is still reporting to work as a shift supervisor in the Gilcrease Hills Division.

Police Officer Arrested For Harassing Teenage Girl

Story Updated: Apr 26, 2012

The Laredo Police Department has arrested one of it's own, accused of harassing a 13-year-old girl.
Police say the cop was sending inappropriate messages to the teen.
Our Annette Garcia spoke to the chief of police about the matter.
“I’m certainly disappointed. We expect our officers to act in a certain fashion and if they don't we are going to take action against that.”
Disappointed at the embarrassing arrest of one of their own.
Ten-year-veteran officer Victor Raul Rodriguez, arrested for harassing a 13-year-old girl by repeatedly calling the teen and sending her unwanted text messages.
“ It was a 13 year old and even that in and of itself is troubling.”
Authorities say the messages were inappropriate in nature and were all sent on April 1st by the 35-year-old officer who is known to the victim.
“The victim wanted the person to stop and she wanted the person to stop the harassing phone calls but they continued.”
The next day a report was filed with police.
“That was reviewed by the district attorney's office who ultimately decides what charge will be filed.”
The chief of police says the case will not be taken lightly and says their investigation is far from over.
“From my perspective this person can loose his job. But it doesn’t necessarily require a conviction I’ll leave it at that.”
Officers he says, are held to the highest standards.
“I want the community to be rest assured that the organization is one they can be very, very proud of. We’ve done a lot in the community over the last few years and years before that in terms of protecting the community and we will continue to do so.”
Rodriguez was taken to jail this morning, where his bond was set at $30,000 dollars.
He will remain on administrative duty pending the outcome of the case.

NJ Cop Arrested For Allegedly Trying To Lure 12-Year-Old For Sex

A New Jersey police officer has been arrested for allegedly attempting to spark a sexual
relationship with a 12-year-old girl. Woodland Park Police Officer Steven Vigorito Jr., 39, has been charged with attempted aggravated sexual assault as well as luring and enticing a child—he met the alleged victim while assisting her family in an unrelated police matter. "What is so disturbing about this, is the person who was to assist the family, ends up preying on the family," said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes.

Vigorito, a married father of two, is a 12-year-veteran of the Woodland Park police department (which only has 25 officers). The girl’s mother complained to the police department Monday that the officer had made inappropriate comments to her daughter, had given her his private cell phone number and had asked her to text him when he visited their home on the other matter (it's not clear what that other matter was).

Woodland Park Police Chief Anthony Galietti said they immediately contacted the prosecutor’s office, whose detectives posed as the girl and started exchanging texts with Vigorito. “Officer Vigorito’s texts became increasingly sexually explicit. Eventually, the officer attempted to have the child meet with him for a sexual purpose,” Valdes said. “The texts—from what I was able to see—were fast and furious and more explicit as they went.” She said he texted the girl photographs in which he exposed himself while wearing his police uniform, and arranged to meet her for a sexual encounter.

Vigorito faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Galietti, a father of five, was very disturbed by the accusations: “Something that’s alleged like this is very upsetting and I can assure you that’s not the way my department is run,” Galietti said.

NJ officer accused of luring 12-year-old girl

By SAMANTHA HENRY, Associated Press–16 hours ago

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey police officer sent a 12-year-old girl explicit photos of himself in uniform and tried to set up a sexual encounter with her, days after meeting the girl while assisting her family in an unrelated police matter, authorities said Wednesday.

Woodland Park Police Officer Steven Vigorito Jr. pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges ranging from attempted aggravated sexual assault to luring and enticing a child. He was being held on $250,000 bail following his arrest while on duty Tuesday night. A message left after-hours for the public defender who represented him at the arraignment was not returned.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said the girl's mother complained to the police department on Monday that the officer had made inappropriate comments to her daughter, had given her his private cellphone number and had asked her to text him. Woodlawn Park Police Chief Anthony Galietti said they immediately contacted the prosecutor's office, whose detectives posed as the girl and started exchanging texts with Vigorito.

The texts became increasingly explicit over the course of several days, prosecutors said. Vigorito eventually texted the girl photographs in which he was exposing himself while wearing his police uniform and arranged to meet her for a sexual encounter, prosecutors alleged.

The girl was never in harm's way, and never exchanged texts with the officer, Valdes said.

"What is so disturbing about this, is the person who was to assist the family, ends up preying on the family," Valdes said.

The 39-year-old Vigorito has been with the police department for 12 years in Woodland Park, a small suburb about 15 miles from Manhattan. The town, known until a recent voter-approved name change as West Paterson, is a bucolic, leafy borough of neatly landscaped homes adjacent to Paterson, a grittier, more industrialized urban neighbor.

Vigorito, who New York television station WABC-7 reported is a married father of two, was arrested Tuesday night in the police station while on the night shift, according to Galietti, who said the patrolman was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

The arrest of one of the 25 officers on the force has shaken the small department, Galietti said.

"It's very upsetting, when you have one of your own do something like this. It's very upsetting," he said. Galietti added that department officials had acted immediately upon receiving the family's complaint about the officer, and had no hesitation in alerting the prosecutor's office.

"When this came to light we went into it head-on. We didn't care if it was one of our own," he said. "I'm the father of five kids, and this is wrong. It's a very inappropriate situation. Unfortunately, he (Vigorito) had a badge at the time."

Officer Robert Melia Jr, alleged child molester, alleged cow mollester

Moorestown, N. J. (The Weekly Vice) -- When a Moorestown police officer was arrested and accused of sexual assault against three little girls, Moorestown residents were horrified. But new charges have emerged that may show that this allegedly demented cop has reached a new, sickening low.

Robert Melia Jr., a 38 year old police officer with the Moorestown Police Department was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault. He has also been charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual contact.

Melia's former girlfriend, Heather Lewis was also arrested. She has been charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of third-degree criminal sexual contact.

According to the Burlington County Prosecutors office, Melia and Lewis both sexually assaulted three minor girls in Melias home on multiple occassions beginning in 2003. Police say sexual assaults also occured in 2003, 2004 and 2007.

Now, prosecutors have filed additional charges against Robert Melia.

Prosecutors have now announced that Melia has been additionally charged with four counts of animal cruelty after allegedly engaging in sex acts with cows between June and December of 2006.

Robert Melia has been ordered held at the Burlington County Jail on $510,000 bail. An attempt from his attorney to reduce bail was denied by the judge.

His former girlfriend, Heather Lewis has been ordered held at the Women's Detention Center on $300,000 bond.

Officer In Child Porn Case Released on Bond

The Long Beach police officer, who is being investigated for allegedly soliciting graphic images via text from a teenager he met while on duty, had previously sued the city.

Long Beach police officer, Noe Yanez, 40, who was arrested for possession of child pornography Thursday, was released on bond the following day, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Lisa Massacani, LB police public information officer, told Patch that he was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail. However, the Los Angeles Times, which cited the sheriff's department as a source, reported the bail amount to be $20,000. In some cases, a judge may reduce the bail amount depending on the circumstances.

Yanez, a nine-year veteran, was arrested following an internal investigation by the Long Beach Police Department. At this time, it is unclear where the officer was stationed.

Police allege that Yanez first came into contact with the teenager during the course of his employment with the department and began contacting the minor via text messages.

As the communication between the two progressed, police allege that Yanez solicited inappropriate photographs of the victim. Sometime in April, the victim reported the incident to a school resource officer and LB police began an immediate investigation.

According to officials, significant resources--including multiple search warrants--were utilized to uncover the extent of contact between Yanez and the victim.

Sources familiar with case have told the Los Angeles Times that LB police detective have not ruled out the possibility of more victims. Department Investigators have gathered phone records and are attemptinging to identify the extent of Yanez’s activity, reported the LA Times.

The officer has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal and internal affairs investigation.

Yanez is also listed in a class action lawsuit filed by Long Beach police officers against the city in 2009, according to court documents given to the Long Beach Press-Telegram by City Attorney Bob Shannon three years ago. The officer was one of 56 others who filed a class-action lawsuit against the city in 2009.

The suit sought compensation for unpaid time while performing routine tasks, such as shaving, shining their boots or walking to debriefings, and was settled after the city agreed to pay 47 vacation hours to around 900 former and current officers, and pay $300,000 in attorney fees, according to the Press-Telegram.

The case cost the city more than $1 million in fees and other costs, according to a 2009 report by the Press-Telegram. Yanez had requested compensation for shaving.

Last year, an LB police officer was arrested after his wife found him having sex with a minor, reported the LA Times. Detective Erik Alvarez of Upland resigned and was convicted, receiving a two-year prison sentence for having a sexual relationship with the minor, who was 15-years-old when their relations began, the LA Times reported.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Justice System Integrity Division will handle the criminal prosecution against Yanez, said officials.

Long Beach cop arrested

Long Beach cop arrested for possession of child pornography

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Long Beach police idiot cop was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possession of child pornography.

The department said Idiot cop Noe Yanez met the victim while on the job and then asked the child for inappropriate pictures.

The child reported the incident to a school resource idiot cop, and then the Long Beach Police Department launched its investigation.

"Not only are the actions of this idiot cop a violation of the law, they are a violation of the community's trust, and a violation of the principles of this Department," said Chief Jim McDonnell. "The men and women of this Department take great pride in the good work they do everyday with the community, and we will not allow the actions of this one idiot cop to compromise that relationship."

Yanez, a nine-year employee at the department, was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.

Colo Spring Cop

Colo. Springs Cop Found Guilty On 21 Counts Of Child Porn,

The trial for Joshua Carrier, a 31-year-old former Colorado Springs police officer and volunteer wrestling coach at Horace Mann Middle School who was accused of molesting 22 boys and faced 207 counts of child exploitation, child sexual assault and possessing child pornography, has taken a surprising turn.

7News reports that the jury was unable to reach verdicts on most of the charges against him. Carrier was convicted only on child-pornography charges, 21 in total, but he was not convicted on any of the 36 molestation charges. The jury remained deadlocked on 150 other charges reaching no verdict.

The courtroom was surprised by the verdicts the jury reached. The jury forewoman, who only gave her first name of Julia, spoke with KRDO and tried to explain. She said that there were two jurors who would not agree with the other 10 jurors about convicting Carrier on the child sex abuse charges. She also said the trial was one of the most emotional, frustrating periods of her life.

District Attorney Dan May said he plans on re-trying Carrier on all the counts the jury could not reach a verdict on. If May does, he apparently has the cooperation of many of the children that took the stand in this trial KKTV reports that a lawyer representing parents in the case says the children are willing to take the stand again.

The defense maintained the argument that Carrier was simply performing his duties as wrestling coach, checking for skin diseases, like ringworm, that wrestlers are prone to become infected by. Carrier's defense attorneys also alleged that some of the children who testified--two of whom alleged that Carrier tried to masturbate them, while another alleged Carrier inserted a finger into his rectum while checking for appendicitis--were encouraged to lie for a court payout, according the Colorado Springs Gazette.

In May of 2011, Carrier was arrested for buying child pornography and then re-arrested a week later on suspicion of sexually assaulting several children. Before his arrest, Carrier was already the subject of an internal affairs review for showing his gun at a middle school sporting event (Carrier had been employed as a school resource officer and wrestling coach at Horace Mann Middle School in Colorado Springs prior to allegations of sex assault).

The Gazette spoke with an alleged victim's parent who said that when Carrier was working at Horace Mann as a wrestling coach he sexually abused her son under the pretense of examining the young boy for ringworm, a common wrestler illness.

Back in May, when Carrier was initially arrested, a Horace Mann student on the wrestling team made an anonymous statement to a CBS4 affiliate in Colorado Springs that Carrier placed his hands on student wrestler's bodies frequently when checking for ringworm:

He would actually take us into his own office one by one and touch us and look at us and stuff.

7News reported that Carrier had several assignments that placed him in situations with youth including a school resource officer at Horace Mann Elementary where he also served has wrestling coach, a coach for the Police Athletic League, and as an advisor to youth in the Explorer Scout Program.

Carrier worked for the Colorado Springs Police Department for seven years before he resigned in June 2011 amidst the assault and child pornography allegations.

Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.

Long Beach police idiot cop arrested in child porn case

Long Beach police idiot cop arrested in child porn case

A Long Beach police idiot cop has been arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography after soliciting pictures from a minor, authorities said Friday.

Idiot cop Noe Yanez, a nine-year veteran of the department, came into contact with the minor in the course of his work and began contacting the victim via text messages, officials said in a statement. He subsequently solicited inappropriate photographs of the victim, they said.

The victim reported the incident to a school resource idiot cop in April, and the Long Beach Police Department launched an immediate investigation, they said.

Yanez was arrested Thursday and is being held at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail; his bail amount has not yet been determined.

"Not only are the actions of this idiot cop a violation of the law, they are a violation of the community's trust and a violation of the principles of this department," Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement.

The justice system integrity division of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office will receive the case for review. Yanez has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal and internal-affairs investigations, officials said.

Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.

Corpus Christi TX cop arrested

Corpus Christi TX cop arrested for allegedly coercing 15yr-old girl to engage in sex acts via internet [0] http://bit.ly/Hz2aAH

Lurid testimony opens trial of suspended Moorestown officer

Testimony began Thursday in the trial of a Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend, who are accused of sexually assaulting three juvenile girls in his home over eight years, in one case allegedly videotaping their actions.

Robert Melia Jr., 42, who was suspended from his patrol job after his arrest in April 2008, sat in Superior Court in Mount Holly and scribbled continuously on a notepad as Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Kevin Morgan gave sordid details of how Melia allegedly videotaped a blindfolded and bound girl being repeatedly violated with objects.

"Perhaps the most crucial piece of evidence was the video," Morgan told the jury, adding that the girl appeared to have been drugged.

Melia's girlfriend, Heather Lewis, whom the prosecution identified as the adult woman on the tape, is accused of assaulting the minor and forcing her to be her sexual partner.

Melia's lawyer, Mark Catanzaro of Moorestown, said the girl appeared to be an adult and had consented to the sex act. There was no evidence Melia was even present at the taping, he said.

The two other girls Melia and Lewis allegedly assaulted lied to police to deflect criticism about themselves and their troubled families, Catanzaro said.

"They conjured up a story," he said.

Testimony before Judge Charles Delehey began after opening arguments, with some jurors looking away when the discussion became graphic.

Morgan warned the panel they would need to see explicit photographs and the 35-minute video police extracted from Melia's computer.

"I apologize for the disturbing material," he said.

Lewis, 36, of Pemberton, took the girls to Melia's home in Moorestown to be "exploited" for the couple's "sexual amusement and enjoyment," Morgan said. Police were notified after one of the girls told her stepfather.

The first witness to testify was one of the alleged victims. She said she occasionally visited Melia's house to babysit Lewis' son from a previous relationship. The child is her cousin, said the woman, who is now 23.

"I would go there to play with him, babysit him. He was attached to me. I spent a lot of time there," she said.

But one night she awoke in the house to find Lewis sexually assaulting her, she testified. When she tried to move away, Melia held her back, she said.

Police said that during a search of Melia's home on Cottage Avenue, they also discovered video of Melia engaged in sexual acts with calves on a Burlington County farm. He was charged with animal cruelty, but a judge dismissed the counts in 2009, saying there was no evidence the animals had been tormented by the acts.

Melia and Lewis are standing trial on more than 40 counts each of aggravated sexual assault, sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a minor, invasion of privacy, and other charges related to the teens.

Lurid testimony opens trial of suspended Moorestown police officer

Testimony began Thursday in the trial of a Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend, who are accused of sexually assaulting three juvenile girls in his home over eight years, in one case allegedly videotaping their actions.

Robert Melia Jr., 42, who was suspended from his patrol job after his arrest in April 2008, sat in Superior Court in Mount Holly and scribbled continuously on a notepad as Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Kevin Morgan gave sordid details of how Melia allegedly videotaped a blindfolded and bound girl being repeatedly violated with objects.

"Perhaps the most crucial piece of evidence was the video," Morgan told the jury, adding that the girl appeared to have been drugged.

Melia's girlfriend, Heather Lewis, whom the prosecution identified as the adult woman on the tape, is accused of assaulting the minor and forcing her to be her sexual partner.

Melia's lawyer, Mark Catanzaro of Moorestown, said the girl appeared to be an adult and had consented to the sex act. There was no evidence Melia was even present at the taping, he said.

The two other girls Melia and Lewis allegedly assaulted lied to police to deflect criticism about themselves and their troubled families, Catanzaro said.

"They conjured up a story," he said.

Testimony before Judge Charles Delehey began after opening arguments, with some jurors looking away when the discussion became graphic.

Morgan warned the panel they would need to see explicit photographs and the 35-minute video police extracted from Melia's computer.

"I apologize for the disturbing material," he said.

Lewis, 36, of Pemberton, took the girls to Melia's home in Moorestown to be "exploited" for the couple's "sexual amusement and enjoyment," Morgan said. Police were notified after one of the girls told her stepfather.

The first witness to testify was one of the alleged victims. She said she occasionally visited Melia's house to babysit Lewis' son from a previous relationship. The child is her cousin, said the woman, who is now 23.

"I would go there to play with him, babysit him. He was attached to me. I spent a lot of time there," she said.

But one night she awoke in the house to find Lewis sexually assaulting her, she testified. When she tried to move away, Melia held her back, she said.

Police said that during a search of Melia's home on Cottage Avenue, they also discovered video of Melia engaged in sexual acts with calves on a Burlington County farm. He was charged with animal cruelty, but a judge dismissed the counts in 2009, saying there was no evidence the animals had been tormented by the acts.

Melia and Lewis are standing trial on more than 40 counts each of aggravated sexual assault, sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a minor, invasion of privacy, and other charges related to the teen

When the girls gave statements to police in April 2008, they said the incidents had begun in 2000. They had difficulty pinning down exact dates or how old they were.

The girls, two of whom are sisters, said they were between 12 and 17 when they were assaulted, separately, by Melia and Lewis. They told police the couple used vibrators on them and forced them to engage in sex acts with the adults.

The charges carry prison sentences in excess of 52 years for each defendant, the prosecutor said. Melia also is charged with official police misconduct, and Lewis faces charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy and forcing him to have sex with one of the girls.

Lewis' public defender, Bonnie Geller-Gorman, said her client was not "the monster" the prosecutor portrayed her to be.

Before she moved in with Melia, Lewis lived with the uncle of the two sisters. Lewis and that man had a baby and she often invited the girls to Melia's house to babysit or to visit their cousin, the lawyer said.

She knew the third girl through family and neighborhood ties in Pemberton, Geller-Gorman said. When Lewis learned the girl had been impregnated by her stepfather, she suggested the girl notify police, Geller-Gorman said. Instead, the girl concocted a story about being assaulted by Lewis and Melia, the lawyer said.

"It's all lies to protect her stepfather," Geller-Gorman said.

Lewis and Melia were jailed after their arrests, then released on bail. Their trial is expected to last up to three weeks.

Columbia police officer has been fired

Columbia police officer has been fired after being caught at a motel with an underage prostitute, said the spokesperson of the Richland County department.

32-year-old Mark A. Cornish was arrested after the police received a tip that a uniformed police officer was seen entering the motel with a girl that was known to the staff as a prostitute. It was later confirmed that she was only 17 years old.

Cornish fled in his patrol car when the deputies arrived at the motel, but he was found later that day just a couple of blocks from the motel. It turns out that this wasn’t the first encounter he had with this prostitute.

Police chief Randy Scott said that he initially wanted to wait until the investigation is over to decide about his course of action, but since Cornish refused to cooperate with the investigators, he chose to fire him immediately.

“You represent an agency, the community and what’s good in society,” said Scott, stating that this kind of behavior is unacceptable for a member of the police force.

Cornish’s Facebook page suggest that not only he’s a Chaplain candidate for the U.S. Army and deeply religious, but a married man as well.

Upshur County Sheriff’s deputy, Richard Louis Bridgewater

Upshur County Sheriff’s deputy, Richard Louis Bridgewater (29) is sentenced to eight years behind prison walls for molesting an 11-year-old girl. Late last year the victim told her friends about the molestation, and later on in an interview she said that he had touched her up to 20 separate times at his home. Bridgewater admitted this during a meeting with Texas Ranger Ronny Griffith. He was then placed in the Titus County Jail where he remained until he was sentenced. Bridgewater had to permanently surrender his police officer license. Attorney Billy Byrd said that Bridgewater got a fair punishment, and he thinks it’s going to be hard for the little girl to handle the traumas that the incident has brought her.

Former Mpls. cop sentenced for sex crimes

MINNEAPOLIS - The former Minneapolisk Police officer who was facing multiple sex crime charges was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison and 10 years probation.

William Jacobs was charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old boy over a three-year period. In March, Jacobs reached a plea bargain and pled guilty to lesser charges of second degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of possession of child pornography.

On Monday, Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman said Jacobs' sentence is the best the county could hope for considering how much time has elapsed between the abuse and prosecution.

The charges stemmed from the molestation of a boy over a three-year period.

Prosecutors had said Jacobs inappropriately touched children as far back as the early 1960s.

Jacobs also previously taught at the Breck School in Golden Valley where he was also accused of sexual abuse