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Ontario youth pastor, iglesia la familia de dios, arrested

Gerardo Custodio Jr, the long-time youth pastor at Ontario’s Iglesia La Familia de Dios, was arrested Sunday January 14, 2017. He is suspected of having sexually abused two minors between 2012 and 2015. 30-year-old Custodio has been a youth pastor there for many years; he had been away from the church while attending college, but had been back since 2011. According to police reports, both women reported their sexual abuse over this last weekend. One indicated that she was fourteen years old when Custodio abused her between 2012 and 2014 — several times on church property. The other noted that she was fifteen years old when Custodio abused her between 2014 and 2015. Gerardo Custodio Sr, the youth pastor’s father, is the senior pastor of Iglesia La Familia. We join the community in giving our thanks to the Ontario Police Department investigating this case. Custodio Jr is being held on bail of $3 million, and is scheduled to appear in Rancho Superior Court. It is almost never the case that youth pastors, and others in positions of authority at schools, churches and other institutions are virtually never found to have molested children “just once” before they are caught. Therefore, we…

teacher DANIEL RIOS at el monte’s Arroyo high, arrested for child molestation

51-year-old Daniel Rios is a former substitute teacher and coach at El Monte, California’s Arroyo High School, part of El Monte Union School District. Rios was arraigned at Pomona Superior Court for five counts of child sexual molestation of his former students. The student victims were molested over the course of five months, August through December of 2016, according to the criminal complaint — police are not revealing the location where the molestations took place. The investigation by El Monte police began in December of 2016 over an allegation of inappropriate contact between the Arroyo High teacher and several female students. Rios was eventually arrested at his home on April 12, 2017, and posted bond and was released on April 15, three days later. El Monte Union School District Superintendent Edward Zuniga stated that Rios resigned on February 16, 2017, two months after the investigation began but prior to being arrested. The preliminary hearing is on January 10, 2018, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Another DA’s Office spokesperson, Shiara Davila-Morales, indicated that Daniel Rios could be sentenced to up to three years in state prison, then three years in county jail, if he…

Why Do People Sexually Abuse Children? – Some Top Reasons

It is natural to ask why after a disaster or traumatic event. Often, understanding why something happens is the first step to preventing it in the future. Why people sexually abuse children is a question that has plagued many parents, psychologists, and criminologists for years. While there is no simple answer, there are a few “top reasons” that appear most often during studies and investigations. Learning about the minds of sexual abusers may help detect and stop abuse against children before it happens, as well as ease feelings of fear and shame many victims feel when they blame themselves. #1. Wield Power Over Someone Else One of the common features present in child sexual abuse cases is that the abuser is a person who has a position of power or influence over the child. Parents, family members, and teachers are examples of people who have power over children. When someone in a power position develops a sexual interest toward the child, abuse can occur. It is up to the individual not to act on these impulses – to listen to the barriers that should prevent him or her from betraying the child’s trust. When the person in power succumbs to…

TEACHER / JEHOVAH’S WITNESS ELDER GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE

Jason Morris Gorski has already pleaded guilty on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, to sexual abuse of a 13-year old boy, a former student of his. Gorski is a 44-year-old former teacher and Jehovah’s Witness elder. The sentencing, currently scheduled for January 26, 2018, is expected to earn Gorski six years in prison. His former employer, when he was a teacher for four years (2003-2007), is the now-closed Southwestern Longview Private School, in Long Beach California. During that time, as well, he attended the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall congregation in Cypress, and was appointed a church elder in 2007. Gorski had sex with his young victim in several locations in Buena Park between June of 2007 and June of 2008. Eight years later, in March of 2016, the young boy reported the sexual abuse to law enforcement. Buena Park Police began investigating the case, and Gorski was arrested in June 2016 — but the boy had reported the abuse to the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in 2009. The congregation removed Gorski as an elder, but allowed him to remain an active member. When he moved to South Carolina in 2010, he began attending the local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Charlotte, NC. If…

MUSCOY UNITED METHODIST PASTOR CONVICTED — CHILD MOLESTATION

Steve James Howard, the 58-year-old pastor of the United Methodist Church in Muscoy, California, was just convicted on Friday October 27, 2017 of over 30 counts of child sexual molestation. Sentencing is set for November 29 in San Bernardino; in the meantime Pastor Howard sits at the West Valley Detention Center, in Rancho Cucamonga. As one might expect in a case like this, there has been no bail set. Pastor Howard had been the lead pastor at Muscoy since 2001; for the twelve years prior he was the Youth Director at a United Methodist church in Ontario, California. The arrest goes back to March of 2014, after detectives had begun investigating reports of Pastor Howard molesting young boys in San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, among other locations. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children Division was in charge of the investigation, which found two victims, a 14-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man (for whom the abuse had begun at age 9 and continued). Pastor Howard’s abuse has, thus far, been tracked over the course of many years, starting in 1990. Bishop Carcano noted in 2014 that United Methodists stand firmly against child sexual abuse; that said, we would…

MUSIC TEACHER ARRESTED FOR TAINTING STUDENT FLUTES WITH SEMEN

At least thirteen school districts in southern California might have been affected by a music teacher giving away semen-tainted flutes to students, according to the Los Angeles Unified School District. Fountain Valley, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Inland Empire, Chatsworth, Capistrano Unified and Newport-Mesa are just some of the school districts that have sent home statements to parents about the ongoing investigation. The music teacher administered a music program for students at schools. The flutes were part of the Flutes Across the World program, colorfully decorated and painted by students across Southern California, and given to students. But the flutes were potentially “decorated” with bodily fluids, namely, semen, as well. Parents are being asked to take the flutes from the students and provide them to police for investigation. The California Department of Justice and California’s Office of the Attorney General are investigating. Parents have indicated that people feel violated, victimized, and certainly, disgusted, and naturally so. Knowing what we know about sexual predators and their tendencies, we would be surprised if the music teacher is found to have had NO previous involvement in any kind of sexual abuse or molestation of school children. We suspect that authorities will find other incidents —…

SAN JOSE MUSIC TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SEX WITH STUDENT

Samuel Neipp is the music teacher at Dartmouth Middle School in San Jose arrested for having a three-year-long sexual relationship with a Dartmouth student, beginning when the student was just thirteen. Neipp was also an assistant band director at Branham High School. Neipp was arrested Friday October 6, 2017 on suspicion of blackmail and multiple sex-related charges, having used his position of authority at the school to exploit the victim — otherwise known as grooming. He is being held without bail at the Santa Clara County jail per a statement from the San Jose Police Department, and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday October 11, 2017. Officials believe that Neipp could have victimized additional students due to his position of authority and his close proximity to many students at both schools. We agree with investigators on this point. We’re sorry to say that in our professional experience we have never encountered a teacher who sexually abused “just one child” or “just one time”. There is no doubt that other victims of Neipp will come forward, whether from Dartmouth or Branham schools or other positions Neipp may have held.

TEACHER CHRISTINA JACOBSON ARRESTED FOR SEX ABUSE

Christina Jacobson (aka Chris Austin), a Beaumont High School English teacher, remains in the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on $500,000 bail. The 37-year-old teacher was accused of sexual contact with a female student at or near her Lake Arrowhead home. Jacobson’s arrest comes just two weeks after that of Samantha Ciotta, a fellow English teacher at Beaumont High. The Beaumont Unified School District is expanding its training to help staff identify signs of inappropriate sexual conduct. The district learned of the allegations on September 18, after which Jacobson was put on administrative leave — she resigned later that day. One week later, on September 25, Beaumont Police, who had been working with the district, turned the case over to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’ Crimes Against Children Detail, and Jacobson was arrested a week after that on Monday October 2, 2017. We have, in all of our years, never come across an authority figure at a school having committed just one instance of sexual abuse with a child. In our measured opinion, authorities will uncover other students from Jacobson’s recent and/or distant past, beyond the one that is noted currently. If your child was taught by Ms….

Lakewood High School Teacher arrested for sex abuse of student

Lakewood High School’s Mary Jahn is the 52-year-old English teacher arrested on nine felony charges related to sexual abuse of a then-15-year-old female student for a three-year period, 2008-2011. The survivor is now an adult, and thankfully, reported the sexual abuse to officials this year. After the reporting, the Long Beach Unified School District placed Jahn on leave from her job; she was eventually arrested by Long Beach Police on September 13, 2017. The nine charges include sexual penetration by a foreign object (four counts), lewd act upon a child (three counts) and oral copulation of a person under 18 (two counts). The Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office continue to investigate the Mary Jahn case. Over the course of two decades, in our very considerable experience working with institutional child sex abuse cases, we have virtually never come across the case of a school teacher, coach, volunteer, bus driver, scout leader, or any other authority figure at the school having sexually abused a child “just that once” or “just that one student” over the course of his or her career. Frankly, we are almost certain that Long Beach Police will find additional survivors…

BEAUMONT HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE

Beaumont Unified School District’s Samantha Lee Ciotta is the 32-year-old English teacher and head cheer coach at Beaumont High School recently arrested for sexual abuse of a student. Beaumont police detectives began investigating this case based on a tip. In the course of the investigation, the victim disclosed the months-long unlawful sexual abuse by a teacher at Beaumont High School. Based on evidence the authorities discovered (inappropriate communications between the teacher and student via various messaging platforms), Ciotta, of Banning, California, was taken into custody on Wednesday September 20, 2017. She is currently held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in nearby Banning, also in Riverside County. In our very considerable experience over the course of decades, we have virtually never seen a teacher, scout leader, coach, or any other authority figure working with children, having committed child sexual abuse “just one time” or “just with this one victim”. Unfortunately, there is a near-100% chance that police will find additional students from Ciotta’s seven years as a credentialed teacher, and possibly prior, beyond the one that is reporting currently. If your child knew Ms. Ciotta, was taught by her or coached by her at Beaumont High or prior, and…

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