Crime In Charlotte, NC

On Friday morning, police arrested a CMS teacher and charged him with four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

Donald L. Winger, 61, was a 6th grade language arts teacher at CMS' Francis Bradley Middle School in Huntersville. Winger starting teaching at CMS schools in 2000. Winger has taught at Bradley Middle School, Mallard Creek Elementary and Francis Bradley.

Police say the charges against Winger stem from his involvement with two boys four years ago. At the time of the assault, the boys were ages 12 and 13. The boys were not students and the assaults did not occur on school property.

Police have charged 55-year old Michael Timothy Bridges (R) for various sex crimes involving children.

Police say Bridges is accused of touching, taping and showing pornography to a 5-year old girl who attended his wife’s in-home daycare. In addition, police examined Bridges’ computer and found evidence that he was an avid child porn collector.

Michael Bridges is charged with:
- 4 counts of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor
- Employing or permitting to assist in obscenity
- Dissemination to minors under the age of 13
- Indecent liberties with a child

- More Info @ WSOC-TV

UPDATE: Police searched Smith's home after his brother called police when he found inappropriate photos of little girls on David Smith's digital camera. The search warrant stated the photos were taken from underneath the piano and he photographed up little girls skirts. Police are still working to identify the victims.

On Tuesday, police arrested 54-year old David Gerard Smith (R) and charged him with four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

Police say David Smith is a traveling music instructor accused of molesting a 10-year old female piano student. The incident took place in the girl's home last week. Smith was teaching at least 40 other students at the time of his arrest, however, this is the only student to come forward.

UPDATE III: 01/11/08: Christopher Reynolds pled guilty today to the sexual assault charges against him. Reynolds was sentenced to 15 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, three years probation and he must register as a sex offender.

UPDATE II: 10/29/07: Christopher Reynolds was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department today. The arrest is for the four arrest warrants issued in August.


UPDATE: 8/15/07: Four more arrest warrants were issued for Dr. Christopher Reynolds today. Since Dr. Reynold's arrest, 15 different women came forward to report they were victimized by Reynolds. Police were able to charge him with four of the reported incidents and more charges could follow.
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Huntersville Police arrested Dr. Christopher John Reynolds, a 49-year old eye doctor accused of inappropriately touching a female patient during an eye exam over a month ago.

Christopher Reynolds and his wife Katherine are both optometrists operating Northcross Eye Associates, located on Sam Furr Road.

Police say the female patient reported the incident over a month ago. They investigated her allegations until they had enough evidence to obtain a warrant for Reynold's arrest. He is charged with sexual battery.

On Wednesday, police arrested a second CMS high school teacher on child sex charges. Jerry Wayne Linton, 58, is accused of sexually molesting three children under the age of 10.

Police say Linton took nude photos of two boys and a girl and forced them to partake in sexual games and activities. Two of the three victims are relatives of Linton.

Police started investigating the allegations against Linton in June and he quickly resigned from his teaching position at Butler High School.

Linton is charged with three counts of first degree rape of a child under 13, three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and three counts of a first degree sex offense.

A 27-year old (former) CMS teacher, Amanda Maria Athey, (R) was charged today after a father contacted police and told them Athey was having sex with his 16-year old daughter. The girl's father provided police with lots of proof... e-mails, online chats and recorded telephone calls between Athey and his teen daughter.

Police obtained a search warrant and Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Deputies raided Athey's townhouse looking for evidence to collaborate the evidence the father provided. Police seized computers, phones, writings, photo albums and photos of the victim from Athey's home.

Amanda Athey was a freshman English teacher at Hopewell Valley High School in Huntersville. She was suspended by CMS when the sex allegations arose. Yesterday, Athey resigned from her teaching position.

Athey turned herself in to police this afternoon after she learned police had warrants for her arrest. She is charged with sexual activity between a teacher and student & three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. The magistrate set her bond at $4,000.

Police say the incidents took place in Cabarrus County and Mecklenburg County but it is unclear how they will proceed with the case. Photo & Article: @ The Charlotte Observer

Two weeks ago, a man was caught on tape exposing himself outside the Holiday Inn Express on Carowinds Boulevard. He dropped his pants on purpose, so police were concerned and released the surveillance video for public assistance in identifying him.

With the help of the public, police identified the flasher as 41-year old Kevin Perrin from Indian Trail, NC. It turns out Perrin is a serial flasher! In 1998 & 1999, Perrin was charged with public indecency in Indiana. In 2001, Perrin pled guilty to indecent exposure charges in Michigan and he received probation.

The disturbing part of this story is that Perrin's wife runs an after-school daycare program in their Union County home. Police say Perrin's wife cares for eight to ten children on weekday afternoons but Kevin Perrin isn't at home when the children are there. I sure hope that is true!

Alan Jeffery Whitesides, 31, is a convicted child predator. According to DOC records, Alan Whitesides was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child in March 1998, September 1998 and January of 1999. He had two other charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor in 1999, but the charges were dismissed.

The state dropped one charge and sentenced Whitesides to one year in state prison for each of the remaining indecent liberties charges. However, the sentences ran concurrently, so he only served a year in jail. Whitesides was added to the NC Sex Offender Registry when he was released from jail.

In August of 2005, Whitesides was in trouble again when he was indicted by the federal court for distribution and possession of child pornography. The indictment states the incidents occurred in June and December 2004.

Alan Whitesides pled guilty to the distribution of child pornography charges. On February 13, 2007, Whitesides was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Whitesides was living in the Mecklenburg County jail since he was indicted in 2005 until he was transported to Federal Prison on March 19th. View Court Docs: Indictment/Sentencing

UPDATE: 3-20-07- Zarrinnam was arrested again today for indecent exposure.

Kristopher Ali Zarrinnam, 21, was arrested today after he flashed a 15-year old girl when she was walking home from her school bus stop. The incident happened in the McAlpine Forest neighborhood along Colony Road near SouthPark Mall.

Police say Zarrinnam approached the girl in his car and followed her. The girl saw Zarrinnam masturbating in the front seat of his car and she said he made lewd expressions at her when she looked at him.

The victim hurried home and told her parents who notified police. CMPD officers arrested Kristopher Zarrinnam as he was leaving the subdivision. He is charged with indecent exposure.

Zarrinnam has a record of exposing himself to women. In 2005, he was arrested and charged in Union County with five counts of indecent exposure. Police in Union County say he exposed himself to many different women over a nine month period. Zarrinnam pled guilty to the indecent exposure charges. More Info @ WBTV

Jimmie Vance Grubbs, the former Charlotte teacher accused of molesting children, may be prepared to plead guilty next week. Grubbs, 66, pled not guilty in August after being indicted on federal charges involving interstate transportation of minors for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual activity and traveling across state lines with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.

On Monday, he is scheduled to appear in federal court at 10:30 a.m. for a change of plea hearing, according to the docket for his case. Grubbs is being held in jail- without bond.

Authorities believe Grubbs, a former language arts teacher at Bradley Middle School, repeatedly assaulted children on the campus and during trips to Myrtle Beach between 2002 and this year. Prosecutors previously said that if convicted on all counts, Grubbs could face up to 360 years in prison.

Grubbs also faces more than a dozen state sexual assault charges in Charlotte, NC stemming from allegations made by at least three former students. No trial date has been set on the state charges. Myrtle Beach police have said they have three warrants pending for Grubbs -- two alleging lewd acts on a minor and one alleging criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials took criticism earlier this year for not telling child welfare workers about allegations of child molestation by Grubbs. They told Huntersville police, who initially declined to get involved because the allegations centered on trips to Myrtle Beach- out of their jurisdiction. School officials later said they would begin reporting allegations of sexual misconduct by school personnel to social workers. Source: The Charlotte Observer
Court Docs: Indictment #1 - Indictment #2 - Plea Agreement

A Charlotte, NC man charged with sexual exploitation of children was sentenced yesterday to 9 years in federal prison. Derek Dyda, 37, entered a guilty plea in April in connection to allegations of possessing and distributing child pornography. The U.S. attorney's office says Dyda had a computer containing images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Following his prison term, Dyda faces a life term of supervised release. He was also forced to pay a $15,000 fine. Source: News 14 Carolina

* View FBI Press Release

Update: (Article) Tip led to fireman's porn arrest

A Union County firefighter has been charged with possessing child pornography, according to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

Benjamin Lee Keziah (L) of Marshville, NC was arrested Thursday on 10 counts of third-degree child exploitation for possession of child pornography, said Noelle Talley, SBI spokeswoman. Authorities had obtained a search warrant for Keziah's home Wednesday, where they say Keziah kept child pornography on his computer and traded images over the internet. Keziah worked as a firefighter with the Monroe, NC Fire Department. He is suspended pending the outcome of the case.

The case is being investigated by the N.C. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which is headed by the SBI. Source: The Charlotte Observer

Brian J. Porterfield, 30, (Left) is charged with 2nd degree sexual assault and kidnapping. On Tuesday morning, he attacked a 22-year old female- who is a summer student at Queens University. The attack took place in his on-campus dorm room.

Porterfield, who is a Charlotte resident, is coaching at the football camp at Queens University. The woman said she was invited to Porterfield’s room, where he then got physical. Police said she managed to get away with minor bruises and scratches.

The football camp is run by a company called Sports International. The football camps take place in other NFL cities nationwide. Its president said it never performs background checks on coaches. It just talks to schools and colleges they used to work for.
* Summary of North Carolina Sex Crime Statutes
Source: News 14 Carolina

Investigators in Pineville say K-Mart's security alerted police about 38-year-old Alex Byrd. Once officers arrived Friday, they caught him in the act using a hand-held video camera. Police say they have video of their own, showing Byrd following women with the camera aimed underneath their skirts. They believe Byrd has done the same thing at other stores in the area.

Alex Byrd was arrested twice in 2004 on charges of secret peeping, solicitation for crime against nature & worthless checks.

Source: WSOC-TV

A Union County, NC man was arrested Friday after a 12-year-old girl didn't return home from Monroe Middle School. Marcos Ortiz, 21, (R) was in the Union County jail Sunday. His bond was set at $250,000.

He was arrested at his house on Crescent Street and charged with kidnapping, child rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor. Witnesses told police that the girl left school with Ortiz. Police, who say Ortiz is in the country illegally, contacted federal immigration officials and expect him to be deported.

Police located the girl safe in Monroe on Saturday morning.

UPDATE:
Janet Botton Klatt, 44 faces another charge of having sex with a 16 year old student. The latest charge stems from an incident that police say occurred a few weeks ago in the parking lot of a Concord restaurant.

The new charges allegedly involve the same student she is accused of having sex with in Raleigh. Police said Klatt and the student had sex in a car at Afton Village, a shopping center located at George Lyles Parkway and Poplar Tent Road.Klatt was taken to the Cabarrus County Jail and released on a $5,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m. WBTV- Video

This is pretty scary stuff! James Yarbro, Jr., the Charlotte man charged with 21 felony sex related warrants is out of jail on $25,000 cash bond and a written release.

James Yarbro, Jr. turned himself in two weeks ago after police issued a warrant for his arrest in relation to sexual charges involving his stepdaughter. He was originally held in the Mecklenburg County Jail on more than $500,000 secured bond. That bond was unsecured by a judge Friday afternoon when Yarbro posted $25,000 cash and signed a written release.

According to a search warrant obtained by WBTV News 3, James Yarbro Jr. began sexually assaulting his stepdaughter a month after her mother left for active duty in Iraq during September of 2004. The warrant states that the young girl was raped nearly 70 times. Sometimes she was tied up with a belt and other times by velcro handcuffs. The 42-year-old man always kept a gun by the bed during the assaults.

Earlier this month, the young girl alerted her mother who reported the alleged sexual attacks to police. When officers search Yarbro's home, they found sex toys and pornography. There is no word yet on when Yarbro will return to court.

Source: WBTV

It looks like CMPD had a prostitution bust in the past couple of days. Several men & women were arrested for prostitution, crime against nature & soliciting on Thursday & Friday. You can see how drugs & prostitution are closley related since many of the prostitutes have drug charges thrown in there as well.


Name : DANIELS, KIM L

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Name : MCDOWELL, ANNIE P

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Name : HUNEYCUTT, PENNY LOVE
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