Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Dennis Devlin, 57, a former Florida hotel owner, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old boy. Devlin will spend at least 15 years in federal prison. Devlin is the former owner of the Desert Inn in Daytona Beach, Florida. Federal agents found an iPhone hidden in the bathroom ceiling of his second-floor hotel that contained sexually explicit images of the boy. A former employee of Devlin’s, 20-year-old Michael Ehmen, also pleaded guilty to the same federal charge. Ehmen admitted he recruited the boy, took him to the hotel for Devlin’s enjoyment, and received $100 for his recruitment. Police stated Ehmen also had sex (molested the boy) with Devlin for money and the two had an arrangement that Ehmen would bring “new people to visit [Devlin]” for more. Ehmen recruited the boy, the son of a friend, to help install security cameras at the hotel. On the way to the hotel Ehmen told the teenager Devlin would pay him to pose nude. Prosecutors said on a second visit to the hotel video was taken of Ehmen and the minor performing sexual acts together and spanking each other on Devlin’s bed. Devlin has a long history of sex-related charges in Volusia County and elsewhere. In 1988, 13 sex-related charges were dropped against him by prosecutors in Ocean View, Maryland. In 1993, he was charged with 23 crimes against a single boy; Devlin was convicted and spend 22 months in prison. However, in 2002 a judge overturned his conviction after the boy recanted his testimony as an adult. Federal agents seized the iPhone containing nude photos of the boy, as well as four DVD recordings of the boy and child porn in “several boxes” and on Devlin’s business computer. Sentencing dates have not been set for Ehmen or Devlin, they each face the same time range in federal prison. For more read Former Florida hotel owner pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old boy.
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A day care operator and one of her employees have been accused of child abuse at a child care center in Surry County, North Carolina. The charges were formally pressed against 46-year-old Renee Frances, co-owner of the child care center, and 26-year-old Patricia Ann Seville, an employee at the center, following a two-month investigation. Frances and Seville were charged with child abuse and neglect, arrested and their bond set a $25,000 unsecured. According to Sheriff Graham Atkinson, the Surry County Sheriff’s Office was contacted on February 16 about a 2-year-old that had been abused at Blackburn’s Nursery and Day Care. An investigation was immediately initiated and included numerous interviews before warrants were formally issued. Although Frances and Seville have been arrested, the lead detective on the case said she is currently unable to release specifics on the type of abuse alleged. For more read
Janaysia Stevenson was the unfortunate and tragic victim of child abuse. Recently, law enforcement officials and prosecutors in Albany, Georgia pressed criminal charges against the director of the day care center. What alleged crime was committed by the day care director? According to Georgia law enforcement officials, the day care director (Glenda Ann Brown) failed to report child abuse. Authorities believe that Glenda Ann Brown should have reported injuries and bruises to the child to authorities so that a child abuse investigation could have been initiated. There will be many issues involved with a case like this including:
In Texas, a 65 year old babysitter (Carolyn “Carrie” Marie Easton) was arrested for allegations that she shook and slapped 5 month old triplets under her care. The interesting part of this case is that the alleged abuse was caught on tape by the parents who had installed a hidden video camera. The parents were concerned about the amount of play time that the children received under the babysitter’s care and supervision. When the parents viewed the tape, the parents discovered the abuse and neglect by the babysitter. The acts were not only horrible but also criminal in nature.
