Cullman Co. court referral officer charged with sexual misconduct
No bond for St. Bernard deputy charged in Darren Sharper rape case
Salem police officer pleads guilty to bribery charge, admits trading fake legal favors for sex
Cullman
Co. court referral officer charged with sexual misconduct
CULLMAN COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - Cullman County
Sheriff Mike Rainey said deputies have arrested a court referral officer for alleged
sex crimes.
He said 61-year-old Winfred
Eugene "J.R." Vance has been charged with two counts of first degree
sexual misconduct and two counts of first degree sexual abuse.
According to Rainey, Vance has
worked as a court referral officer in the drug testing area for 10 years.
Rainey said about a month ago,
a female victim came forward and told them Vance had told her to take
photographs of herself and asked for sexual favors. In return, he would keep
her out of trouble.
Rainey said his office has
received complaints against Vance before but this is the first case where the
victim cooperated and there was evidence to support the allegations.
Rainey said anyone who may have
been a victim of Vance is urged to call deputies at 256-734-0342 or to visit in
person at 1910 Beech Ave. SE.
Vance is being held at the
Cullman County Detention Center on a $42,000 cash bond.
No
bond for St. Bernard deputy charged in Darren Sharper rape case
Andy Grimm,
A federal judge Thursday (Dec.
18) ordered former St. Bernard Sheriff's deputy Brandon Licciardi held without
bond on charges of distributing drugs to women who former Saints player Darren
Sharper is accused of raping.
During a hearing that ran
nearly three hours, federal prosecutors called Licciardi a "predator"
and heaped allegations of misconduct not included in the federal or state
charges he faces in connection with the rape cases. Licciardi has pleaded not
guilty to the federal charges.
Using information from text
messages, a St. Bernard Parish bookmaker and a drug informant, prosecutors
claimed Licciardi beat his live-in girlfriend, sold club drugs and was not just
involved in drugging and raping women with Sharper, but also did nothing when
he found out other NFL players were drugging women at a Las Vegas convention a
year ago.
"This man is in many ways,
a one-man RICO case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Miller said.
"There is nothing he will not do... he is a predator. He is a danger to
the community."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally
Shushan ordered Licciardi held in federal custody with no bond, noting that
prosecutors had alleged that Licciardi, a third-generation police officer,
appeared to have a history of violent behavior toward women and already faced
federal charges for attempting to tamper with the investigation.
Shushan seemed especially
disturbed by the fact Licciardi had in text messages admitted to beating his
longtime girlfriend, and that he had never reported to police that he was
present when women were being drugged at the Las Vegas convention, though he
did later tell investigators who were probing Sharper's activities.
"He admitted to that. I
can't excuse that," Shushan said. "He went to Vegas and was told
women were being given those drugs, he is a law enforcement officer ... He
probably had an obligation to report those activities.
"That leads me to believe
the he is all right with those activities. That's not OK."
Federal prosecutors last week
charged Licciardi with distributing the drugs Alprazolam, Diazapam and Zolpidem
-- powerful prescription sedatives better known by their respective brand names
as Xanax, Valium and Ambien -- to commit rape.
He also is charged with lying
to Orleans Parish investigators and trying to convince a witness not to testify
before a grand jury.
Licciardi last week was ordered
held on $2.9 million bond on charges of aggravated rape and eight other counts
in Orleans Parish in connection with a series of rapes he is accused of
committing with Sharper and associate Erik Nunez in 2012 and 2013.
In Orleans Parish, Licciardi
faces counts of aggravated rape in connection with the assault of a woman in
February 2012 in New Orleans and battery with a dangerous weapon in of another
victim that November.
Details from the November
battery charge emerged in testimony by U.S. Pre-Trial Services officer James
Laney. Discussing records he reviewed from Orleans Parish prosecutors, the
battery count stemmed from a Nov. 12 incident at a New Orleans bar where
Licciardi spiked the drink of a woman. The drugs made the victim violently ill,
and she staggered to a bathroom and vomited until she fell unconscious.
When she awoke, Laney said, she
was alone and locked inside the bar, which had closed. The state charge of
battery with a dangerous weapon was unusual, Laney said.
"I've never seen it
charged that way," Laney said. "I guess the battery was the drugs
used against the woman, that made her violently ill."
In other text messages,
Licciardi expressed concern investigators would find a message in which Sharper
talked about one of his victims, FBI Special Agent Robert Blythe said,
recalling a report from Orleans Parish investigators.
"She's on the
potion," Sharper wrote. "She's ready."
He also faces three counts of
human trafficking for sexual purposes, offenses the indictments states took
place between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2012, and Aug. 31 and September 23, 2013. The
last two dates are the same as rapes Sharper is accused of committing in 2013.
Nunez, who faces no federal
charges, was ordered held on $2.5 million bond. Sharper has been jailed in
California on rape charges since February, and also faces charges for alleged
rapes committed in Arizona.
Licciardi's attorneys, Ralph
and Brian Capitelli, protested that prosecutors did not include evidence that
showed Licciardi had tried to convince Sharper not to rape one of his victims,
and went with his girlfriend to Sharper's apartment to try to stop Sharper from
assaulting a woman.
Licciardi's stepmother, Paula
Licciardi, who had raised him, was the sole witness for the defense. She said
she and her husband would post $500,000 cash and "everything they
own" to secure her stepson's bond.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark
Miller pointed out that Paula Licciardi had not known her stepson was involved
in any of the activity that he had admitted to Orleans Parish investigators or
other criminal activity.
"You don't know anything
about the beating. You don't know anything about the gambling. You don't know
anything about the club drugs," Miller said. "Do you really know
whose bond you're posting?"
Fighting back tears, Paula
Licciardi replied: "Yes, I do. My son Brandon who is not a drug addict,
who does not distribute drugs. Who does not sedate women to rape them."
Salem
police officer pleads guilty to bribery charge, admits trading fake legal
favors for sex
Kevin Moore faces more than two
years in prison
ROANOKE, Va. -
A Salem police officer pleaded
guilty to a federal bribery count Tuesday and could spend more than two years
in prison.
Kevin Moore admitted he traded sexual favors
for fake legal deals or reduced criminal charges. In court Tuesday, prosecutors
said Moore took advantage of three cooperating female witnesses. The women were
involved in cases Moore was investigating as a member of the Drug Enforcement
Administration regional task force. The incidents began in 2009 and continued
until September of this year.
As part of Moore's plea
agreement, sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term of 24 to 30 months. A
sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 2. In the meantime, Moore is free
on bond.
“Kevin Moore took a solemn oath
to protect and serve the public, but then abused the authority of his badge by
sexually exploiting a federal witness,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie R.
Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.
“When Moore crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it, his actions
cast an unfortunate shadow over the selfless and courageous work of his fellow
officers. Working with our law enforcement partners, the Department of Justice
will expose and prosecute all such abuses of authority, in order to restore and
maintain the public’s trust.”
Between June and September of
2014, Moore told a female defendant that he was in a position to help with her
federal methamphetamine trafficking case. In text messages between Moore and
the defendant sent in August 2014, Moore told her that he could recommend a
favorable sentence in exchange for sexual favors.
The Department of Justice's
Public Integrity Section in Washington DC investigated Moore after the told
authorities what happened to her.
It started over text messages
in April, when she texted Moore saying, "40 years and two 1 million dollar
fines over my head."
Moore responded: "Well
don't worry about that I will do all I can to help you out with that."
A few months later, Moore got
bolder, texting: "I'm going to take care of you as long as you take care
of me."
The woman replied: "I
appreciate it and I will do whatever you need me to do so don't worry bout
that."
Moore then said: "That's
what I'm talking about girl. Lol."
Back and forth the texts went
until August, when they discussed a location and Moore texted "I'm licking
my chops now lol."
The next day, Aug. 21, 2014,
she gave him oral sex in a gas station parking lot.
Moore also admitted to similar
conduct with two other female witnesses in federal drug cases dating back to
2009. In both cases, he told witnesses that he convinced federal prosecutors
not to charge them with federal offenses. He then solicited sexual favors in
exchange for his help. (Click here to read the statement of facts.)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is
evaluating Moore’s cases that he worked on as a task force officer for the DEA.
Timothy Heaphy, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, says his
office is considering whether or not Moore’s guilty plea requires disclosure to
defendants and counsel in cases that Moore was involved in as an investigator.
Heaphy was recused from the Moore case.
“This United States Attorney’s
Office will make those disclosures and ensure that we fulfill our important
obligation to provide potentially exculpatory information to all criminal
defendants,” Heaphy said in a statement. “We will handle this matter in accord
with the high professional and ethical standards expected of federal
prosecutors.”
Moore was suspended without pay
by the Salem Police Department after being arrested October 10th. The
department says Moore’s employment status will be handled expeditiously “and in
a manner that will show that such behavior will not be tolerated,” Salem Police
Chief Tim Guthrie said.
“We appreciate the work of the
U.S. Justice Department and the F.B.I. in bringing this matter to light. The
men and women of our department are a dedicated group of individuals and should
not be judged by the actions of one person,” Guthrie said.
Here is the news release from
the Department of Justice:
A police officer employed by
the City of Salem, Virginia, and assigned to a U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) task force pleaded guilty today for soliciting and
receiving sexual favors from a cooperating defendant in exchange for agreeing
to recommend a favorable sentence to a federal prosecutor on the defendant’s
behalf.
Assistant Attorney General
Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent
in Charge Adam S. Lee of the FBI’s Richmond Division and Special Agent in
Charge Michael Tompkins of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector
General’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Kevin Moore took a solemn oath
to protect and serve the public, but then abused the authority of his badge by
sexually exploiting a federal witness,” said Assistant Attorney General
Caldwell. “When Moore crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it,
his actions cast an unfortunate shadow over the selfless and courageous work of
his fellow officers. Working with our law enforcement partners, the Department
of Justice will expose and prosecute all such abuses of authority, in order to
restore and maintain the public’s trust.”
“Cases involving corruption of
law enforcement officials are among the FBI’s highest priority criminal
investigations. The public should expect integrity from those sworn to uphold
the law. Mr. Moore’s breach of his sworn duty in this case is particularly
pernicious as he exploited his victims in the most personal way. The Richmond
Division of the FBI continues to have confidence in the City of Salem Police
Department. We value our partnership with the Department and the proud men and
women who serve their community with distinction everyday,” said Special Agent
in Charge Lee.
“The OIG will aggressively
investigate with its law enforcement partners allegations of misconduct among
Department employees, contractors, and deputized task force officers to help
ensure the Department of Justice performs its critical work with integrity,”
said Special Agent in Charge Tompkins.
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