Tag: children

Meleah Davis And The Casket She Was Buried In After Her Body Was Found

Maleah Davis — the 4-year-old found dead after she went missing in early May — will be buried in a colorful, one-of-a-kind casket, a tribute to her memory and her grieving family.

The casket was built and donated by SoulShine Industries to the Davis family.

“The casket is the most important part of remembering somebody, so it should be special,” said company owner Trey Ganem told CNN.

Ganem said that he received over 200 calls from the community asking him to make a casket for the Davis family. She will be buried in a private funeral on Saturday.

“It was such a blessing to provide something special for this loving family,” Ganem said.

The casket designer Courtney Sublett told CNN she worked closely with the family and the theme quickly became apparent. The final product was a white casket covered with rainbows, the color pink, “My Little Pony,” and even a portrait of Maleah.

“It’s such a tragic thing, I’m glad we could bring a little light to her story,” Sublett said.

The funeral home that is hosting the funeral, Richardson Mortuary, has been collecting flowers and condolences on behalf of the family, CNN affiliate KTRK.

Toys and teddy bears are also being collected at the apartment complex where the Davis family lived. A sign says that the items will be displayed at the funeral and then donated to the Houston Fire Department.

Meleah’s remains were found in Arkansas on May 30, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Her mother’s former fiancé, Derion Vence, is charged with tampering with a corpse in connection to Meleah’s death.

Waukegan school district employee charged with sexually abusing 13-year-old girl 3/4/2019

A former employee of a Waukegan school district is facing felony charges after being arrested last month for allegedly sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.

On Feb. 19, members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 26-year-old Gabriel Valadez in Waukegan, according to Chicago police. Valadez, of Darien, was later charged with felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under 13 years old, exploitation of a child under 13 and grooming.

Police said Valadez chatted with the young girl on FaceTime, instructing her to undress and perform sexual acts while he masturbated. Additionally, Valadez received nude photographs that showed the girl performing sex acts, police said.

When they met up in person, Valadez grabbed the girl’s hand and placed it on his crotch, police said.

From August 2017 until Monday, Valadez worked as an administrative assistant for Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, according to district spokesman Nicholas Alajakis. He never worked in the district’s schools and had no contact with children, Alajakis said.

Valadez is being held without bail at Cook County Jail, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. His next court date was scheduled for March 12.

Officer Becomes Hero to Neighborhood Kids After Sitting Down to Play With Girls Who ‘Were Afraid of Cops’ 2/24/2019

Corporal C.B. Fleming may not run around the city wearing a cape and mask, but the neighborhood kids still call him Batman.

The 42-year-old police officer is something of a local celebrity in South Hill, Virginia. He was given the affectionate nickname after he spent an afternoon ensuring that a group of children felt safe following a gas leak.

Fleming was just one of the emergency crew members who arrived at Iesha Roper-Boswell’s home in response to the dispatch call last week. Once the house was deemed safe, he started chatting with Roper-Boswell.

As they talked, the 28-year-old mother mentioned to Fleming that her daughter, niece, and fellow neighborhood kids were afraid of cops.

She was then stunned when – shortly after their conversation – she saw Fleming lying in the grass so he could play with the children. Not only that, the kids were happy to have another playmate, regardless of his uniform.

Roper-Boswell pulled out her phone and captured a quick video of the heartwarming moment. Since uploading it to Facebook, it has been viewed thousands of times.

In addition to being a father of four biological and two adopted children, Fleming has been working at the South Hill Police Department in Virginia for the last 15 years, and he says that he has always strived to be a positive part of his community.

“It’s something I’ve always tried to do,” Fleming told WTVR of his interaction with the children. “When I got into this job, I knew there was something different, other than just writing tickets and being the bad person all the time. I figured if I could be that bright spot in someone’s day then that’s all that mattered.”

And based on his latest interactions with the kids, it seems that he has succeeded

“He’s awesome. That’s the only word you can really use to describe C.B.,” Roper-Boswell told the news outlet. “It’s just amazing, the bond he has with the children.

“For him to make my child feel like she’s safe, she doesn’t even have to call 911, she just has to call C.B. if she’s in trouble. I’m glad he made this part of his job. He’s changed my daughter and niece’s lives.”

(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by Iesha Roper-Boswell

Woodbridge man sentenced for sexually exploiting 2 minor girls

A Woodbridge man was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison for sexually exploiting two minor girls as a prostitution customers.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 65-year-old Steve Nowell, was a frequent commercial sex customer of a prostitution ring led by Michael Gunn, who was accused of sex trafficking two minor girls — ages 14 and 16 — over the course of two years in the DMV area.

Nowell was identified by the minor victims and by two co-conspirators of Michael Gunn as a regular commercial sex customer who paid both of the minor girls for sex on at least 23 occasions.

Authorities found a hidden camera at Nowell’s home that secretly recorded at least one of the minors, and other female victims, in various stages of undress while at his residence for prostitution.

In a recorded interview, Nowell admitted to paying for sex with one of the minors and claimed he did not know her real age. Evidence at trial revealed the minor weighed between 80 and 90 pounds while she was sexually exploited by Nowell.

In addition to the sentence of 10 years in prison, Nowell was ordered to pay $8,900 in restitution to the minor victims.