Category Archive for : ‘General’

Robert Ellis, a 53 year old convicted child molester and former softball coach of the  Connecticut Express independent traveling softball team, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Daniel Brennan Jr. to 30 years in prison, suspended after 18 served, and 35 years on probation.  He had faced up to 117 years in prison.  His attorney said he plans to appeal the 18 year sentence.  In February, a six-member jury found Ellis, of Valley Road, Shelton, guilty of sexually molesting and harassing four teen-age girls, including three who played on his

Steven Reyes, a 23 year old Freeport man, was arraigned yesterday in First District Court in Hempstead on charges that he sexually abused his half-sister’s 12 year old playmate.  Police say Reyes, who lives at 279 Branch Street, sodomized the girl early Saturday morning while the girl and another 12 year old friend had come to the house for a sleep-over.  The three friends slept in a bedroom with an aunt who was watching the girls.  Reyes entered the bedroom some time around 3 a.m. and began to sodomize the

State and local officials have been investigating for the past several weeks whether a 17 year old girl placed at Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center in late February was raped by a male patient in a ward bathroom.  No arrests have been made but the girl’s claims have prompted independent reviews by two state agencies, the Office of Mental Health and the Commission on Quality of Care, which are awaiting Suffolk’s findings.  The teenager’s transfer from a children’s psychiatric center in Queens by the state to the Brentwood hospital also has

Cardinal Bernard Law said yesterday he discussed his resignation with Pope John Paul II during an unpublicized visit to Rome, where he discussed his central role in an explosive child sex scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church.  He issued a statement saying he met with the pope and Vatican officials and discussed the impact sexual abuse cases were having on public opinion and the Boston Archdiocese.  The fact that my resignation has been proposed as necessary was part of my presentation, he said.  The pope and those others

Bishop William Murphy, who heads the Catholic diocese on Long Island, has purged two top aides, including a close Rudy Giuliani pal, from their jobs and from a team handling cases against priests accused of child molestation.  His move follows criticism of the Diocese of Rockville Centre for how it has dealt with sex abuse cases, and news that a special Suffolk County grand jury will investigate how they were handled.  Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota said he believes church officials covered up for child abusing priests.  Murphy booted Monsignor

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a federal pornography law that makes it a crime to have computer-generated pictures that look like real children engaged in sexual acts, ruling the law violates free-speech rights.

(Washington)