Does this sound right to you?

In Wilmington, Del., the Catholic diocese has filed for Chapter 11, but they say they're going to keep paying retirement benefits to six former priests who are confirmed pedophiles. They say they still have an obligation to the men.

42 charges in Mohler sex-abuse case

That's after authorities filed 11 more charges in the case on Thursday, Don Bradley reports. Today's report has more about the allegations:

The alleged abuse occurred from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, when the sisters ranged in age from 5 to mid-teens. The case broke when one went to police in August. Her siblings have since supported her version of events.

They told investigators they remembered being taken from location to location for photographs on beds with naked men and in provocative poses. In 1988, several of the sisters ran away to flee the abuse, but they later returned home. As punishment, their father, Burrell Mohler Jr., allegedly made them watch him sodomize another sibling.

Investigators also seized several dozen videotapes from one Mohler son's house in Columbia, though until they actually tell us what's on the tapes, I'm not sure how big a deal that is.

Also -- Fox 4 contacted a former church leader who says he heard about the allegations years ago.

A former Mormon Bishop in Independence, Mo., said during the time of the alleged abuse, the wife of Burrel Mohler Jr. told him several times she feared Mohler Jr. was abusing their children.

... Bishop Paul Tonga headed the Mormon church at the time Mohler Jr.'s family attended. He would only speak to FOX 4 by phone. Tonga said he spent a lot of time questioning Burrel Jr. and his children, but learned nothing. "He denied the accusation," Tonga said. "Nobody admitted anything for the children."

Tonga said his investigation ended there. He did not explain why he never contacted police.

Should homeless shelters ban some sex offenders?

In Massachusetts, there's a movement to add homeless shelters as one of the places where Level 3 sex offenders can't stay. Level 3 is the worst of the lot, the ones most likely to offend again. Homeless shelters, which are facing budget cuts, would love to have a few less mouths to feed. Shelters, however, tend to be a pretty popular place with RSOs because they're forbidden from living other places. (Though some just use them as a mail drop and live some place nicer.)

Not everybody thinks a ban is a great idea. This will essentially make the RSOs -- admittedly, the worst of them -- live exclusively on the street. Which will make them harder to track. And, then, there is that business about them having already served their time and fulfilled their obligation to the state.

More charges coming in Mohler case?

That's what Don Bradley is reporting -- the new charges could be filed today. He also quotes a Mohler cousin who wasn't terribly impressed with yesterday's development, that authorities reportedly found incest porn at Burrell Mohler Sr.'s house.

“That’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t convict them,” said Bill Bruch, a cousin of the senior Mohler.

Incest porn found in Mohler suspect's home, records state

From Don Bradley:

A search of the Independence home of the man at the center of Mohler child sex case turned up incest pornography, recording equipment and old tapes with hand-written titles.

Magazines with titles of “Family Taboo,” “Best of Family Secrets” and “Best of Family Touch” were found in a locked file cabinet in the home in the 1300 block of South Dodgion during a Nov. 11 search.

Burrell Mohler, 77, is in jail in Lexington, Mo., after his arrest last week on allegations of a family child sex case that included rape, sodomy and bestiality. His four sons were also charged for a torrent of alleged sexual assaults in which the family victims were allegedly as young as 5 years old.

More sex-crime charges against Mo. camp director

In Taney County, prosecutors have filed eight new charges against Peter D. Newman, a former assistant camp director at Kanakuk Camps near Branson. Two other charges were dropped. Newman is accused of having Bible study with boys in his hot tub, where they allegedly engaged in sexual activity. The incidents are supposed to have occurred between 1999 and 2008. Newman has pleaded not guilty to the charges, the News-Leader reports. Kathee Baird has more about the case at her blog.

Ala. boy, age 13, tried to hire a prostitute, Mobile cops say

Instead, it was an undercover prostitution sting. The charge is loitering for the purpose of prostitution.

UPDATE on Mohler sex-abuse case

Don Bradley has the full story, but here's the gist of it: The new charges are against Burrell Mohler Sr. and his four sons -- but not Mohler's brother from Florida. (I'm not sure about the others, but the Florida man was denied the charges. The others will be arraigned today -- Don's out there, so maybe we'll get to hear something from them.) Like the earlier reports, this accuser also says she was raped.

The Community of Christ church, meanwhile, is hosting a prayer vigil because of the charges tonight.

Meanwhile, KCTV has the search warrants and reports this. It's important to note, though: No charges of that stripe have been filed. And unless the authorities aren't telling us something, there's no body either.

UPDATE: Don has more information from the hearing this morning, including more detail about the allegations that KCTV was reporting. Several members of the extended family were there to support the Mohlers.

The Mohler case first came to light when a youngest of the women making the search warrant allegations came to police in August with suppressed memories of sexual abuse that led to 14 counts against her relatives.

Some abuse cases based on suppressed memories have led to complaints of over zealous therapists helping to recover stories that later prove to be untrue. In this case, however, the woman’s five siblings have all supported her allegations with even more of their own, adding 17 more charges, all along the same lines of sexual torment.

Another arrest in Bates City sex-abuse case

Over the weekend, a man named Darrel Wayne Mohler, 72, appeared in a Florida court -- his first courtroom appearance in last week's sex-abuse case from Lafayette County. Mohler, who's accused of raping two young girls, says he didn't do it and denies having much contact with his brother and four nephews, who were also charged in the case. Mohler told reporters that he was placed on suicide watch after being arrested on Friday.

The men are accused of heinous crimes against children:

The original complaint — including allegations of bestiality, forcing children into fake marriages with relatives and making an 11-year-old have an abortion — date from 1988 to 1995.

Arkansas preacher sentenced 175 years for child sex crimes

A federal judge in Texarkana, Ark., has sentenced Evangelist Tony Alamo to 175 years in prison for child sex crimes

Alamo, 75, was convicted in July on a 10-count indictment accusing him of taking young girls across state lines for sex.

After the jury's verdict, he told reporters: "I'm just another one of the prophets that went to jail for the Gospel."

| Bob Cronketon

Family members arraigned in court on sex charges

UPDATE: The father and his four sons accused of sex crimes against young family members heard the charges against them in Lafayette County court today, The Star's Donald Bradley reports.

Three of the brothers appeared near tears as they moved shackled in their jail garb. Each was escorted by an individual law officer, who stood behind them during the preliminary arraignment.

The charges appear to pull the covers off a family’s dark secrets, as the men listened to 14 charges ranging from forcible sodomy and rape to use of a child in a sexual performance.

Police are still looking for bodies and the bottles buried with the children's horrific memories.

|Meredith Rodriguez

 

Details worsen in case of father/sons charged with child sex abuse

UPDATE: According to charging documents, Mohler Sr. and his four sons sexually abused multiple children over the course of several years, often working together during the acts. The abuse included pencils, screwdrivers, a pet dog and "marriage" ceremonies followed by sex in a chicken coop and a camper. As a result of being raped, one of the victims was forced to have an abortion when she was 11. Don Bradley reports that authorities have been searching for a body or bodies at a farm once owned by one of the men.

77-year-old Burrell Edward Mohler Sr. of Independence and his middle-aged sons were arrested Tuesday and charged with 14 felonies, including forcible sodomy and forcible rape with a child less than 12 years old, and use of a child in a sexual performance.

They were all being held in the Lafayette County jail. Hope to have more on this story after a press conference, scheduled for this afternoon.

| Sara Shepherd

Burrell Edward Mohler Sr.

Texas polygamist gets 10 years for sex assault of teen 'wife'

The jury deliberated for six hours Tuesday before sentencing FLDS member Raymond Merril Jessop to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl five years ago.

He feels his trial was religious persecution.

| Sara Shepherd

Raymond Merril Jessop, left, is led outside during a break in the sentencing portion of his trial. Jessop, 38, was convicted Friday for having sex with the teen with whom he had a so-called spiritual marriage. (AP photo)

St. Louis man indicted on sex trafficking, enticement of children

James Patrick Grady, 58, allegedly answered an advertisement that young female minors were available for sex.

The ad was placed by law enforcement officers conducting an undercover operation into people attempting to purchase children or their services.

Hat Tip to cripjak

| Bob Cronkleton

Former Joplin Globe reporter charged with sex crimes

Colby Williams, a reporter for the Joplin Globe with ties to a Christian organization, has been charged in federal court with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2007 while on a mission trip to Cyprus.

The missionary group he was with immediately sent him back to the United States.

Hat tip to kathee

| Bob Cronkleton

Naked man blames explosive diarrhea -- police are skeptical

A story like this should not be summarized, but enjoyed in full.

"Romeo & Juliet" convict isn't a sex offender, Mich. court rules

In Michigan, a state appeals court says it was "cruel and unusual" to force an 18-year-old convicted of having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend to register as a convicted sex offender. He's completed probation, his record has been expunged and he's even married the girl. But the terms of his sentence required him to register as a sex offender for 10 years. The court declared shenanigans.

(The legislature, by the way, fixed this problem a couple of years ago, after his conviction, by exempting "Romeo and Juliet" cases from the sex-offender registry.)

Illegal activity manages to become even more illegal

In Eugene, Ore., an Illinois man has been sentenced to 50 days because he hired a prostitute over the Internet. A prostitute who turned out to be (A) 15 years old and (B) a runaway.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

The strange case of Hayden Autumn Blackthorne

In Nebraska, a judge is allowing a convicted sex offender named Billy Joe McDonald to change his name to Hayden Autumn Blackthorne. If that sounds like something you might name a character on "Dark Shadows," well, understand that Blackthorne, a Wiccan, wanted to change his name for religious reasons. He insists that's his motivation -- not because he wants to stop being linked to his old name and sex-offender status.

Rhode Island legislators ban indoor prostitution

Because the governor supports the ban, too, about two dozen brothels will have to close there.

UPDATE: Mo. camp director accused of sex crimes

Kathee Baird's Crime Scene blog has an update on the story of Pete Newman, a Kanakuk Kamp director who's accused of sex crimes with boys in his hot tub. Newman was reportedly 14 minutes late to court, so the judge raised his bond by $100K and threw him in jail.

Indecent-exposure suspect can totally explain

In Florida, two women have accused of "masturbating, smiling and (waving) a body part" at them, Naples News reports. The defendant says it wasn't a body part -- it was his cane.

Link between bestiality, other sex crimes?

USA Today has a report about Tennessee's new anti-bestiality law getting used in a handful of criminal cases. Usually, these types of crimes engender a fair amount of snickering, but experts say it's important to take the cases seriously. The story quotes a couple of studies suggesting that people who sexually assault animals will often do the same thing to people.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

KCPD gets $500K to investigate "cold case" sex crimes

Courtesy of the National Institute of Justice. Sex Crimes' cold-case squad has been in operation since 2008, and they've helped close 100 cases. Some of them have been particulary heinous -- one involved a serial rapist responsible for at least 10 sexual assaults. Another was a gang rape / robbery from 1992. One thing to note, though -- from KCPD's release:

Since January 2008, the Sex Crimes Cold Case Squad filed charges in 29 cases, and another 71 were cleared by exceptional means.

Exceptional clearance means the suspect was identified, located, and there was sufficient evidence to prosecute, but the prosecution could not go forward because of exceptional reasons. Some of the most common include the suspect being deceased; the suspect being incarcerated elsewhere and ineligible for extradition; or the victim refusing to cooperate in prosecution.

Teacher created "secret society" to have sex with teen girls, Texas cops say

In San Antonio, a Christian-school teacher is accused of recruiting a pair of teenage girls into his "secret society," which was mostly an excuse for them to have sex, police allege. The whole thing fell apart after a third potential member declined to join, and the authorities got involved. The girls say the teacher, who has been fired, would quote Bible verses to justify the sex.