Tag Archives: Dangerous Environment

Child Abuse, Indifference, Law Enforcement, Mental Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse

TN Couple Plead Not Guilty At Arraignment

.jpg photo of man charged in felony abuse of 6 children
Randall Ridenour, 54, of Harriman, Tennessee,

East Tennessee couple charged with
aggravated Child Abuse, assault of
six children

HARRIMAN, TN  –  A couple in Harriman, Tennessee face a slew of aggravated abuse charges of six children, according to a grand jury indictment.

.jpg photo of man charged in felony abuse of 6 children
Michelle Ridenour, 48, of Harriman, Tennessee,

Randall Ridenour, 54, and Michelle Ridenour, 48, of Harriman have been charged with 17 counts of aggravated child abuse, seven counts of aggravated child neglect and five counts of aggravated assault.

The two plead not guilty in an arraignment hearing on Monday, October 26.

The alleged abuses involve six children, ages 6-14, and occurred between Jan. 1, 2018, and June 13 of this year.

According to the list of charges in the indictment, the victims sustained severe bruising from being whipped by a belt.

The charges also allege the couple knowingly treated and neglected the victims, “in such a manner as to inflict injury, and the abuse was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel or involved the infliction of torture to the victim.”

The five counts of aggravated assault listed involve both strangulation or attempted strangulation and the use or display of a deadly weapon, according to court documents.

They are set to appear in court on Friday, Dec. 18.

Child Abuse, COVID-19, Good Parenting, Illicit Drugs, Law Enforcement, Missing

Op Triple Beam Nets CA Murder Suspect, Costs Life To Covid After Detective Returned Home

.jpg photo of public announcement of OK roundup of gangs, violent offenders, and drug activity
“Operation Triple Beam” led by U.S. Marshalls with OK Law Enforcement resulted in 262 arrests, the discovery of five missing and endangered children, among other things, and also lost one CA Detective to COVID-19.

Hundreds arrested, 5 missing children found
during U.S. Marshals’ operation targeting
metro gang activities

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK  –  An operation led by the U.S. Marshals Service targeting gang activities in the Oklahoma City metro resulted in 262 arrests, the discovery of five missing and endangered children and the seizure of firearms and narcotics.

According to the U.S. Marshals, the 60-day “Operation Triple Beam,” which concluded on Sept. 6, targeted violent fugitives and criminal offenders who committed high-profile crimes, such as homicide, felony assault and sexual assault, illegal possession of firearms, illegal drug distribution, robbery and arson.

Officials said among the people arrested, 141 were confirmed gang members.

The U.S. Marshals Service Metro Fugitive Task Force also safely located a total of five missing children during the operation, officials said.

Law enforcement officers seized 72 firearms, more than nine kilograms of narcotics and nearly $17,000 in currency, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

The operation was conducted in partnership with multiple local law enforcement agencies, including Oklahoma City police, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Shawnee and Yukon police, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma Department of Corrections and more.

According to authorities, a suspect in a homicide that occurred in California was taken into custody in the Oklahoma City area.  Four detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Oklahoma City to continue their homicide investigation.  They interviewed the suspect and witnesses, and served search warrants in Oklahoma City.

One of the detectives became ill shortly after he returned home.  He had contracted COVID-19 and died after spending a few weeks in the hospital, Johnny L. Kuhlman, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Oklahoma, said during the news conference.  The detective was laid to rest Wednesday. 

Better Laws, Child Predator, Good Parenting, Missing, Sexual Predator, StopChildAbuse

It’s Not Just Fb Or Google

.jpg photo of child abuse silhouette graphic
Is your family really safe? Do you really know who has your family’s information and is watching them?

The antivirus product of the year is really
a surveillance tool…

All I can say is… wouldn’t you know it.

Avast was named AV-Comparatives’ 2018 Product of the Year.  It offers premium security for mobile devices, laptops, and home computers.  And it can be downloaded for free.  What’s not to like?

Consumers certainly love the idea of free antivirus protection.  Avast now has more than 435 million active users a month.  That’s a huge customer base.

But it turns out there is a catch…

Avast has a subsidiary called Jumpshot.  And Jumpshot has been harvesting the data of every Avast user from the moment they installed the software.

Every search.  Every click.  Every buy.  On every site.  Jumpshot recorded it all, packaged it up, and sold it.

And guess who the buyers have been?  Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, Pepsi, Home Depot, and others.

These are large, blue-chip companies.  And reportedly some of them have been paying millions of dollars to get their hands on the data Jumpshot has taken.  Some of this data is very sensitive and personal.

This is perhaps even more invasive than what Google and Facebook are doing.  It’s scary.

And we were never supposed to know about it.  Jumpshot required its customers to sign very strict confidentiality agreements.  Thankfully, Motherboard and PC Magazine launched a joint investigation and discovered what was really going on.

So the big takeaway here is simple.  Nothing is ever free.  If a product or service is marketed as free, that means we are the product.

Somewhere, buried within an agreement, consumers unwittingly “consent” to allow these free products and services to spy on them and do whatever they want with the information obtained.

While some companies may call that consent, I call it deception and a violation of our privacy.  And I highly recommend readers stay away from Avast… and stay skeptical of any other product that is supposedly “free.”

Doctor, Indifference, Physical Abuse, Sex Abuse, Sexual Predator

IHS Doctor Indicted On Eight Counts

.jpg photo of IHS Doctor from wagner south dakota indicted on sex abuse charges
Pedro Ibarra-Perocier, 58, of Wagner, SD, was indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 4 on 4 counts of sexual abuse and 4 counts of abusive sexual contact.

Indian Health Service Doctor Faces
Sex Abuse Charges

RAPID CITY, SD  –  A former Indian Health Service physician in South Dakota faces federal charges that he sexually abused Native American patients.

Pedro Ibarra-Perocier, 58, of Wagner was indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 4 on four counts of sexual abuse and four counts of abusive sexual contact involving his patients, according to U.S. Attorney for South Dakota Ron Parsons.

Ibarra-Perocier previously worked at the IHS clinic in Wagner on the Yankton Reservation.  The allegations involve four adults between January 2014 and August 2018.

The indictment does not explain where or how Ibarra-Perocier allegedly abused his patients, but it says he engaged in sexual acts and contact with patients by threatening them and making them fearful.  A trial date has not been set.

Earlier this week, a former IHS pediatrician was sentenced for sexually abusing Native American children while on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Stanley Patrick Weber, 71, of Spearfish was sentenced in federal court to five consecutive life sentences and ordered to pay $800,000 in fines.

In a statement Friday, the IHS said it has “made important strides to address and prevent sexual abuse in healthcare facilities and strengthen policies on patient protections and staff reporting responsibilities.  Patients and employees of the Indian Health Service should never face sexual harassment or abuse.”

Child Abuse, Child Predator, Good Parenting, Indifference, Law Enforcement, TX AG

Children Are In Danger On-Line

Cyber Safety

The proliferation of child predators using the Internet to target young victims has become a national crisis.  A study shows one in seven children will be solicited for sex online in the next year.

The Texas Attorney General is urging all parents and teachers to realize the risks our children face online, and take steps to help ensure their children’s safety.

Internet Chase Video

So why are some teens so trusting of people they meet online?  For many students there is a sense that what happens online can’t hurt them.  Unfortunately, we are finding that many teens are posting personal information in chat rooms and on social networking sites making them easy prey for child predators.

In this video, provided from the I-Safe curriculum, you can see what happens when one student finds out the hard way that you can’t trust what people tell you online. Click the image to watch the video.

If for any reason you fear any one, or have any doubts about your safety, contact Law Enforcement immediately.

Texas Attorney General’s office 1 (800) 252-8011

The CyberTipline
https://report.cybertip.org/
1-800-843-5678

Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
http://www.nsopw.gov

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children®
http://www.missingkids.com