Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Sadly, it is difficult to know who is trustworthy and who is not when it comes to bad acts. In California, a former police officer and radio show host was arrested on charges of child pornography and production of child pornography. The facts of this story unraveled like a television movie. Aaron Aldridge, age 42, was a radio personality on WNTK in New London, New Hampshire. A family member became concerned over his disappearance along with the disappearance of his 19 year old daughter. Police were contacted and searched his belongings including a computer. Investigators found pornographic images on the computer. Some of the images / videos appeared to be from Aldridge’s home.
Family dogs are members of the family. Unfortunately, the family dog / family pet can sometimes be a very dangerous animal. In Eastpointe, Michigan, a Pit Bull Terrier mauled and killed a 1 year old boy. The father then killed the dog. The dog was shot with a handgun. The boy was taken to St. John Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lt. Darrell Corsi stated that the incident would be investigated further.
In yet another case of unfortunate and preventable deaths, a two month old baby has died due to being smothered while sleeping with an adult. For the third time in two months, an infant has died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a result of what is known as co-sleeping or bed-sharing. The Milwaukee Health Department has documented that between 2004 and 2007, 72 of 120 Milwaukee infants who have died have done so when sharing a bed with parents, other children or caregivers. Due to the growing concern of this phenomenon and the recent deaths, the City of Milwaukee Health Department has launched a safe sleep awareness campaign by posting a demonstration on YouTube, preparing videos. issuing guidelines for safe sleep and preparing pamphlets for distribution.
Text messaging is in full force in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Unless you have been locked in your house and have not been around any teenagers or adults for that matter, you should know about text messages. It is a tool. It is a game / toy. It can also be dangerous. Like anything else in life, moderation is important unless, of course, you are attempting to break some kind of record and want notoriety. The maxim should still apply “as long as nobody gets hurt”. Anyway, in Pennsylvania, two mean (Nick Andes, age 30, and Doug Klinger, age 30) spent the hours upon hours upon hours text messaging each other to try to break some kind of record. To Nick’s dismay, he received a bill of $26,000 for his excessive text messaging acts. Nick did have unlimited texting under his plan so the bill is being investigated and should be resolved in Nick’s favor. To me, Unlimited means Unlimited so Nick’s carrier should not be charging him any more than the fixed charges.
A former teacher recently was sentenced to 4 years for molesting a 14 year old in a hotel room. Daniel Axtell, age 38, is a former Huntington Beach, California middle school student. In December 2008, he pleaded guilty to 6 felony counts for lewd acts on / with a 14 year old. Axtell met the girl at Talbert Middle School in Orange County, California. Like many child predators / sex offenders, Axtell gained the trust of the child and her family. During a two month period in 2005, Axtell took the girl to hotel rooms for sex. The acts were calculated and planned. Certainly, Axtell knew that he was breaking the law but this did not stop his illegal and immoral acts.
Police and law enforcement in Phoenix Arizona are conducting an investigation following the stabbing death of an 18 year old student. A Chandler high school teacher was in the center of a dispute / fight between her current boyfriend, who was also a former student, and the 18 year old according to police.
In Queens, New York a bizarre incident occurred. A man called 911 to report that he thought that he struck a pedestrian. For some unknown reason, though, he did not stop. The pedestrian, was then hit by a second car. Instead of stopping at the scene, not realizing that he had hit the pedestrian, the second car continued on his trip, for 17 miles into Brooklyn! He was stopped by a pedestrian in Brooklyn who told him that there was something being dragged under his SUV. It turned out to be the pedestrian, who he had hit a county away. He was dead and unfortunately, partially dismembered.
A Glynn County Georgia mane was recently charged with crimes of pornography and child exploitation. Harrell Hall, age 56, used his computer to make plans to meet a 14 year old according to Captain Marissa TIndale of the Glynn County Police Department. The most disturbing part of the story is that Mr. Hall is a computer technician. This is frightening in that Mr. Hall has a good bit of knowledge of computer and the internet which he has chosen to put to use by luring teenagers for meetings. While Mr. Hall communicated with what appeared to be a 14 year old girl, it is not clear if the “14 year old” was really an undercover agent. It is the intent of the criminal defendant that counts in cases of this nature. If Mr. Hall believed that he was communicating with a 14 year old, he was up to no good and is certainly a danger to other teens who may unknowingly be in danger from such predators.
Internet chat rooms serve as playgrounds for child predators looking to take advantage of children. In many instances, a child predator is able to lure the child not only out of the home but out of the child’s home state. William Joe Mitchell recently appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to the charge of the interstate transportation of a minor for sex. Mr. Mitchell met a 15 year old girl in a chat room online and knowingly transported a child that he knew was underaged from Bartow (Polk County) Florida to Anadulsia, Alabama. These acts were in violation of Title 18, United States Code 2423 (a) which makes it a crime to transport a child under the age of 18 with the intent of having sex. Mr. Mitchell also violated Alabama law which makes it a crime for a person over the age of 16 to have sex with a child under the age of 16 when there is more than a 2 year age difference between the defendant and the child. Mr. Mitchell was 46 years old at the time of the crime. For his crimes, Mr. Mitchell faces a prison term of at least 10 years.