Gwinnett County police officer arrested for child molestation, sexual battery

A Gwinnett County police officer has been arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation, one count of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16, and one count of violation of oath of office.

The officer has been identified as 28-year-old Patrick Benjamin Ventura and he's being held at Gwinnett County Jail with no bond.

According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, a supervisor began investigating some inconsistencies in the patrol activities of Ventura in July. During the investigation, the Special Victims Unit became involved because of allegations involving a teenage girl under the age of 16.

Ventura was hired in October 2020 and graduated from the academy in the spring of 2021.

Former Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Stabbed In U.K. Prison

Former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, who is serving a 29-year sentence for sex offenses, was stabbed in a U.K. prison yesterday (Aug. 5), according to Sky News. Watkins, who has been incarcerated for 10 years, is recovering from multiple “not life-threatening injuries” after being taken hostage by three of his fellow prisoners at HMP Wakefield.

According to the report, it took guards six hours to free Watkins, who was convicted in 2013 on 13 horrific charges involving children and animals. Welsh rock outfit Lostprophets, which had massive U.K. albums in 2004 with Start Something and two years later with Liberation Transmission, immediately broke up in the wake of his conviction.

North Charleston PD fires school resource officer charged with child sex crime

A school resource officer employed by the North Charleston Police Department was arrested Aug. 5 on allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor, prompting city officials to swiftly fire the veteran police officer.

Mount Pleasant police booked David Don Watson Jr. into the Charleston County jail just before 6:30 p.m. on the charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Someone is guilty of the felony if they commit or attempt to commit a lewd act on a child under the age of 16.

Police say Eden Christian security guard traveled to Mississippi to meet girl for sex

A Butler County man who worked as a security guard at a Pittsburgh Christian school was arrested after police say he traveled to Mississippi to meet a girl for sex.

Hernando police said Samuel James Hugg, 28, of Mars, had been sending sexual messages for days to an undercover officer he thought was a 13-year-old girl, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported.

Hernando is a city of about 14,000 in DeSoto County in northwest Mississippi, south of Memphis, Tenn. It’s about 800 miles from Pittsburgh.

Hugg was arrested Tuesday after being pulled over. According to WPXI, Hernando police said Hugg fought officers during his arrest and accidentally shot himself, grazing his body.

Hugg worked as a security guard at Eden Christian Academy. According to WPXI, the school told parents Hugg was employed through an agency with the district since August 2020 but was immediately let go.

‘Sound of Freedom’ Fans Shrug Off Arrest of Donor for Child Kidnapping

The child-trafficking drama was a hit with conservatives who say it raised awareness of an important issue — which they are now pointedly ignoring

RELEASED ON THE July 4 to acclaim from conservative audiences and critics, Sound of Freedom has been a box-office bash, pulling in over $150 million thanks in part to a pay-it-forward ticket promotion, as well as churches and other groups buying up blocks of seats for their members. Even while anti-trafficking groups condemned the film’s distorted depiction of child sex trafficking, fans claimed it was raising awareness of a serious issue — and it has found strong support among QAnon adherents who believe in the existence of a pedophile cabal that drinks the blood of abducted youths.

But now that a Missouri man who donated money toward the film’s promotion has been charged with kidnapping a child, those same Sound of Freedom supporters suddenly appear more concerned with the movie’s reputation than the welfare of the possible victim.

Fabian Marta, 51, was arrested on July 21 in St. Louis, Missouri, for the alleged abduction of a non-relative child under the age of 14, a class A felony. His attorney, Scott Rosenblum, tells Rolling Stone that he plans to plead not guilty. Rosenblum adds that he is “baffled” by the state’s case against Marta. “It’s very hard for me to connect the dots, and I don’t really know how they’re proceeding,” he says, nevertheless holding out optimism that they’ll attack the charge “fairly easily.”