California | The Trench Reynolds Report

July 8, 2017July 10, 2017 - No Comments

California cops claim creep created kiddie porn on Kik

(Story broke 5/8/2017)

19-year-old Ryan Michael Spencer of Apto, California, used to be a babysitter. You can already see where this one is going can’t you? Anyway, Spencer was arrested for allegedly taking explicit images of the children he babysat and shared them on the mobile messaging app Kik using the screen name ‘rydawg99’.

Despite my attempt at an alliterative headline, Spencer was actually first noticed by the FBI who were tipped off to him by an unnamed witness. The witness claimed Spencer traded child porn with him over Kik. Spencer also reportedly told the witness “his preference is for children approximately four to eight-years-old”.

It just goes to show you not every pedophile is a dirty old man in a coat, they can also be fresh-faced teenagers who you pay to babysit your kids while they make child porn. As my cohort Lady Gray always tells me, pedophiles constantly try to place themselves in job positions that allow them easy access to children. In this day and age if you have kids that require babysitting, you should have at least one hidden security camera in the home.

And lest I neglect my duties, let’s not forget Kik is teeming with sex offenders, pedophiles, and child porn collectors, and should be approached as a danger by parents.

UPDATE: A subsequent article about Spencer’s arrest says he was studying to become an become an elementary school teacher, furthering our opinion that pedophiles often try to place themselves in positions that allow them access to children.

UPDATE II: Shortly after Spencer’s arrest, another babysitter was arrested for allegedly working in conjunction with Spencer. He is 24-year-old Bryan Petersen of Tiburon, California. Between the two of them they are said to have produced over 10,000 images of child porn.

June 14, 2017 - No Comments

Snapchat sleaze was girls’ high school basketball coach

(Story broke 4/25/2017)

51-year-old Michael Engelmann, of Anaheim, California, was a girls’ basketball coach at an Orange County high school. He was arrested for allegedly harassing a 15-year-old female student from the school on Snapchat for inappropriate photos. He is said to have harassed the girl for not adding him to her Snapchat. Police believe there may be additional victims.

Again, it seems like an inordinate amount of school employees and volunteers get into more trouble with Snapchat than anyone else. Coaches and teachers are supposed to foster children’s education and development, not prey upon them during some of their most vulnerable years.

March 12, 2017 - No Comments

L.A. area Snapchat sleaze charged with child porn sextortion

24-year-old Francisco Javier Soledad, of Eastvale, California, was arrested by both ICE and Homeland Security for allegedly threatening children over Snapchat into sending him explicit pictures of themselves. Soledad is accused of using one of the most common online predator tricks of posing as someone he’s not in order to try to gain the trust of his victims. He reportedly posed as both an adult woman and a 13-year-old boy.

When Soledad is said to have convinced a 13-year-old Illinois boy to send him an explicit video, the boy blocked him on Snapchat, but Soledad used other multiple Snapchat accounts to threaten the boy into sending him more. The boy’s parents contacted law enforcement, and when federal investigators searched Soledad’s devices they are said to have found over 5,000 child porn images. Most of the images were said to be made by Soledad’s victims, the majority of whom have not been identified. Soledad’s main Snapchat username was said to be ‘linkinparkrocks’, and investigators are looking for additional victims.

Officials are encouraging anyone with information about Soledad or his Snapchat handle, “linkinparkrocks,” to call HSI’s toll-free tip line at 1-866-234-7423.

This presents a good opportunity to talk to your kids about a number of things when it comes to using social media. The first is that no matter what stories they’ve heard to the contrary, if an adult is approaching them in a sexual manner online, it’s not out of a romantic interest but a malicious one. The second thing is that once pictures or videos of them have been posted to social media, they are out there forever, no matter how much the app or network tells you that they disappear.

February 14, 2017 - No Comments

L.A. County Kik kreeper extorted girls into sex

27-year-old Josh Manuel Magana, of Whittier, California, is accused of allegedly extorting under age girls into sex using the mobile messaging app Kik.

Here’s what parents and kids need to know about how Magana is said to have found one of his victims…

Detectives said 27-year-old Josh Manuel Magana had learned enough about the victim through her social media posts to convince her that he knew where she lived and what school she attended.

As I’ve said before, online predators don’t need very much information from your kids’ social media accounts to find out where they live, work or go to school. The most innocent picture could provide them with the information they may need. Anyway, back to Magana.

Using the screen name “thegiftedmonster”, Magana reportedly threatened his victim into sending him explicit pictures. Once he received the pictures, he then threatened the victim into having sex with him or he would make the pictures public. One of his victims didn’t even come forward until she was contacted by police. Magana is accused of using this scheme to sexually assault both a 16 and 17-year-old girl in two separate incidents, but let’s be honest, this is nothing short of rape.

Police believe that Magana may have more victims…

Detectives said they believe Magana has more victims, and urged anyone who had been contacted by “thegiftedmonster” to call the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force at (323) 526-5156.

Magana is being held on close to $1M bail.

January 25, 2017 - No Comments

Backpage sued by victims of child sex trafficking in four different states

Five separate underage victims who claim that they were trafficked on Backpage for sex are suing the embattled website in four different states. The victims, ranging in ages from 14 to 16 at the time of the crimes, have filed suits in California, Texas, Washington and Alabama. Previous lawsuits like this have been defeated in the courts because of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. However, since the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that Backpage allegedly edits the ads to make the victims appear of age, that could make their CDA defense precarious.

The only people who Backpage really listens to are dead Presidents, so hurting them financially really is the best way to put them out of the sex trade business, and yes, they are still making money from sex trafficking ads.

January 17, 2017 - No Comments

Kik kreeper posed as Justin Bieber to extort 9-year-old girl for pics

24-year-old Bryan Asrary of Revere, Massachusetts, is accused of posing as Justin Bieber in order to extort explicit pictures from a 9-year-old girl for two years. The victim, from Los Angeles County in California, followed Bieber on Instagram and was messaged by Asrary claiming to know Bieber and promised a meeting with the alleged singer. The victim was then instructed to open a Kik account where Asrary is said to have posed as Bieber himself. That’s when Asrary is said to have threatened the victim into sending him explicit photos of herself. Two years later in 2016, the suspect is said to have tried to extort more pictures out of the victim by threatening to publish the original pictures. The victim then went to her mother who went to police.

In what should really come as no surprise, this is not the first suspect to try to pose as the Canadian pop star, or the second. In the annals of this website there have been two others who have tried to use the Bieber bluff. Their stories can be seen here and here.

While I can understand why a parent may allow their child to follow Justin Bieber on Instagram, it should still be done under strict supervision, not to mention that no 9-year-old should ever be allowed to have unfettered access to social media no matter how innocent their intentions may be. Any platform, regardless of how kid friendly it may be, can be abused by miscreants like this in order to corrupt your children.

January 12, 2017July 20, 2017 - 1 Comment

Woman who was accused of trying to set up craigslist rape was framed

Last July, I posted about how Michelle Suzanne Hadley was arrested for trying to set up he rape of her ex-boyfriend’s pregnant wife through craigslist. In a twist that is normally reserved for TV dramas, it turns out that the so-called victim in the plot was actually the suspect.

31-year-old Angela Diaz of Anaheim, California, has been accused of allegedly setting up the craigslist rape fantasy ad against herself in order to frame Hadley. Investigators say that Diaz used special software to make it look like Hadley had posted the ad and sent harassing e-mails to Diaz. Police were eventually able to determine the true IP address that the craigslist ad was posted from. Supposedly, Diaz wanted Hadley out of the way to put the brakes on any feelings that her husband may still have had for Hadley. Diaz seems to appear to be a serious con artist as well…

Along with attempting to frame Hadley, Diaz is accused of faking a pregnancy and cervical cancer, forging a check, posing as an attorney and as two of her husband’s ex-girlfriends, and forging doctors’ notes.

While this story is tailor-made for TV crime shows like Dateline and 48 Hours, this is the exception and not the rule. In the overwhelming majority of criminal cases where a suspect claims that they’ve been framed they haven’t.

UPDATE 1/16/2017: Late last week Diaz was extradited from Phoenix to California to stand trial. She could be sentenced to as much as 14 years behind bars. Diaz has also pleaded not guilty.

UPDATE 7/20/2017: Michelle Hadley is now suing the Anaheim Police, Diaz and Diaz’s husband who Hadley was once engaged to.

December 29, 2016December 29, 2016 - No Comments

Snapchat sleaze posed as teen to get girl to his home

Snapchat sleaze posed as teen to get girl to motel — Christopher Dean Martin

33-year-old Christopher Dean Martin of Roseville, California, has been arrested on charges of ‘having sex’ (child rape) with a 16-year-old girl. Martin allegedly posed as an 18-year-old on the mobile image sharing app Snapchat in order to convince a 16-year-old to come to his house for sex. Is it me or does this guy look nothing like an 18-year-old? As a matter of fact he looks older than 33.

Speaking of age, because I know some of you will try to argue this point, the age of consent in California is 18 and they’re pretty serious about it. According to Wikipedia, no one may have sexual contact with anyone under 18.

Police believe he may have other victims…

Investigators believe Martin may have tried to lure other young girls around the Sacramento area. Anyone who suspects their child may have been a victim is asked to contact detectives at kquartarolo@roseville.ca.us.

As usual the same cautions apply, learn to use these apps, know who your kids’ online friends are, and hold on to their devices at night. If not, you may find your child in the home of a 33-year-old pervert.

December 23, 2016February 11, 2017 - No Comments

New charges filed against Backpage bosses

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, has filed new charges against the heads of Backpage. After having the pimping charges against Backpage dismissed, Harris is now pursuing charges of money laundering, 26 counts of it to be exact. While these new charges have been filed against Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and shareholders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, I have yet to see any information whether or not arrest warrants have been issued for them. However, they are scheduled to be arraigned on January 11th.

While I admire Ms. Harris’ dedication to the cause, she needs to tread carefully. If these charges are dismissed as well, any further legal action by the Golden State after that could be seen as persecution by the courts. It also bothers me that Ms. Harris is slated to take her new position as a US Senator shortly. Her successor is said to be the Jerry Brown nominated Congressman Xavier Becerra. Will Attorney General Becerra continue the fight against those who profit from sex trafficking with the same devotion that Ms. Harris has? Unfortunately, that remains to be seen. However, the state is looking for victims of Backpage…

The attorney general’s office encourages anyone who was a victim of trafficking via Backpage to file a report with the California Department of Justice by emailing backpage@doj.ca.gov.

I can’t say I’m feeling confident about these new charges. While the Communication Decency Act seems to be inapplicable to money laundering charges, I’d be more confident about these latest charges if they made more details public. So far Backpage has been a slippery eel when it has come to being pursued by the law. Hopefully these new charges will finally cut the heads off of this greedy and heartless monster.

UPDATE 1/26/2017: Not surprisingly, Backpage wants the latest round of pimping charges against them thrown out. However, the prosecution is sticking to their guns and further reiterating the money laundering aspect of the charges…

Prosecutors say they have new evidence to justify the case. They claim Backpage illegally funneled money through multiple companies and created various websites to get around banks that refused to process transactions.

Now that the Senate claims that Backpage was editing their ads to make them appear legal, these criminal charges may finally have a leg to stand on.

UPDATE 2/11/2017: Earlier this week, Backpage’s legal team once again tried to have the charges dismissed on free speech grounds. The presiding judge did not make a ruling but may do so on March 10th.

July 20, 2016January 12, 2017 - No Comments

Woman tries to have ex’s pregnant wife raped through craigslist

UPDATE: All charges have been dropped against Michelle Suzanne Hadley. New post here.

29-year-old Michelle Suzanne Hadley, of Ontario, California, was arrested for allegedly trying to arrange a rape of her ex-boyfriend’s pregnant wife through craigslist. Police say that Hadley placed ‘rape fantasy’ ads on craigslist posing as the victim…

“Hadley is accused of telling the responders that the victim wanted the responders to have forcible sexual intercourse with her, even if she screamed or resisted,” the district attorney’s office said.

In case you were wondering, yes, there are desperate enough losers who think ads like this are real. Unfortunately men did start showing up at the victim’s home in Anaheim. One suspect even physically attacked the woman before she could call for help. That man is still on the loose.

Hadley had been arrested for these ads back in late June but was recently arrested again, while out on bail, for allegedly continuing to harass and threaten the victim with violence. She’s now being held on $1M bond.

Sadly, this is hardly the first case of craigslist being used for what I call rape by proxy. Just off the top of my head I can remember Jebidiah James Stipe who had his ex-girlfriend raped through craigslist three states away, the unidentified man from Kannapolis, North Carolina, who had his wife raped by another man through craigslist, and Justin Crawford who tried to have his wife raped through craigslist, but she was able to fight off her attackers.

Again, it comes down to the fact that craigslist continues to leave their ads largely unmoderated unless it suits their needs, as ~~Hadley~~ was reportedly able to continually post ads soliciting men to try to rape her victim.