OKLAHOMA CITY ? An Oklahoma prosecutor said Friday he "fully expects" more young victims to emerge in the case of a former third-grade teacher accused of making child pornography involving her students and sharing it online with a retired college professor in Pennsylvania.
Former McLoud school teacher Kimberly Ann Crain, 48, and retired Pennsylvania professor of early childhood development Gary Doby, 65, were charged Thursday in the case in which prosecutors allege Crain took photographs of as many as 14 young girls while they were changing in her classroom and at her home and shared them with Doby. Crain also is accused of setting up video chats on her school computer between her students and a man named "Uncle G," who authorities say was Doby.
"Any person who has a child that's been a student of Mrs. Crain has been on pins and needles wondering if their child is a victim," said Pottawatomie County District Attorney Richard Smothermon. "We've had at least three or four more parents contact us. Potentially there are many more victims.
"Until we have identified every victim, the investigation will continue."
Crain, who resigned in November, was charged with 23 felony counts, including eight counts of manufacturing juvenile pornography, 10 counts of lewd molestation and aggravated possession of juvenile pornography. Doby, who was arrested Thursday outside his Bloomsburg, Pa. home, was charged with eight counts of manufacturing juvenile pornography and one count of conspiracy to manufacture juvenile pornography.
Crain and Doby were being held Friday on $1 million each. If convicted on all counts, Crain could be sentenced to life in prison, while Doby could face up to 170 years, Smothermon said.
Doby was being held in Columbia County Prison near Bloomsburg University, the state-owned school about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia from which he retired in 2008. Pennsylvania court officials said Friday they have no record of an attorney for Doby and that an extradition hearing hadn't been scheduled.
A not-guilty plea was entered on Crain's behalf during her arraignment Thursday in Pottawatomie County. Her attorney, Cregg Webb, did not return a phone message Friday left at his office in Shawnee.
Smothermon said he's also discussing the possibility of federal charges, but that Oklahoma statutes carry lengthier sentences.
"We want to make sure we can get the maximum amount of time that we can," he said.
The case first came to light in November when the parents of a 9-year-old girl contacted police after their daughter attended a pizza party at Crain's McLoud home. The girl told police Crain had several girls change into Christmas-themed bras and panties and then took pictures of them decorating a Christmas tree and made a video of them doing a cheer dance, according to a police affidavit.
Police later uncovered more than 100 sexually explicit photographs of young girls from Crain's cellphone, computers and digital cameras, authorities said.
Officers who interviewed Doby at his home in Pennsylvania earlier this week said he admitted his relationship with Crain and that he communicated with her via Skype and received photos of young girls in their underwear, according to the affidavit.
Crain and Doby apparently met when she was a student and he was a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee between 1985 and 1987, Smothermon said. Although Smothermon did not disclose the nature of their relationship, court records show investigators found evidence of numerous "sexual chats" between the two on Crain's computer.
"Our community is distressed by the alleged crimes," Marty O'Gwynn, assistant to the president at OBU said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."
George Wright, an attorney for the families of some of the alleged victims in the case, said both parents and the children are "traumatized."
"They're horrified daily," Wright said. "It seems like every day we hear something that was worse than the day before. It's an onslaught."
___
Associated Press writer Joseph Mandak in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
san diego chargers j.r. martinez north korea news north korea news nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture winter solstice
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.