A former Osbourn High School teacher has been sentenced after he was convicted of crimes of a sexual nature against a sixteen-year-old Manassas boy. The sentencing of 50-year-old Kevin Ricks has been described as a "formality," and the former English teacher has been linked to three decades of accusations of sexual abuse. Both local and federal law enforcement officials are planning to charge Ricks with numerous additional crimes dating back to at least 1979.

Ricks was sentenced on October 28th to serve a year in Prince William County jail. At the end of his prison term, Ricks is expected to be handed over into federal custody while charges are prepared in further cases. He has been charged in federal court in Alexandria on counts relating to child pornography, and also faces sexual abuse charges in North Carolina. Ricks, a longtime teacher and host of international exchange students, has been linked by FBI agents to incidents of sexual abuse of boys in several states including Virginia and Maryland, as well as crimes in Japan.

Prince William County Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen, who said that sentencing guidelines did not "adequately take into account the breach of trust" involved in Ricks' case, sentenced him to five years of prison with all but one suspended. Ricks, who was observed shaking his head while conferring with his Virginia sex crimes lawyer, told Judge Hamblen in court that he had been "completely mischaracterized" by both law enforcement officials and the media, and denied the accusations against him.

"I am not a pedophile and I never have been," Ricks told the court. "I am not a predator and I never have been. I have never stalked anyone."

As state and federal prosecutors compile a case based partly on Ricks' own journals describing alleged incidents of abuse, his distraught mother commented on the current and pending charges against her son:

"I thought I had the perfect family, but all that changed with one phone call," Jean Ricks said, crying. "I didn't know what heartbreak was until this. . . . Kevin obviously needs help, but he also did good things in his life."

Law enforcement officials have said that they believe the convictions could land Ricks in prison for decades.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer, Washington DC DUI Attorney and Virginia personal injury websites.

A 20-year-old former Chuck E Cheese employee who has also worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County has been charged with 15 misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. Artes Levelle Diggs calls the allegations that he was found in possession of images showing boys under the age of 16 engaging in sexual acts "out of control" and claims that the images came to be on his computer while he was still a child himself.

Diggs has been assigned a Virginia Criminal Lawyer by the state, and denied the charges to press, saying:

"(Police) found stuff that was on my computer when I was a child. It was old stuff."

Diggs first became the subject of an investigation back in December, when Fairfax County police were alerted to a case of alleged child exploitation. Two illicit photographs and a phone number were posted for a 17-year-old boy on Craigslist, and the teen in the pictures told police he'd been chatting with a person online known to him only as "Artes." Contact between the two is said to have lasted several weeks, during which time Diggs is said to have asked the minor to engage in sexual acts using a webcam. When the teen attempted to cease contact with "Artes," the man threatened to post the pictures publicly if the victim discontinued contact.

When approached by police on December 30th of last year, Diggs admitted to possessing the images, but denied that the relationship was inappropriate or that he is a danger to children:

"I love children," he said. "I would never touch a child. This is all happening because of a fight with a guy."

A Fairfax District Court hearing regarding Diggs' case was originally scheduled for July 20th, but has been canceled after prosecutors filed to have the case heard in Fairfax District Court. A date for the trial has not been set, but each count carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.

This article is presented by The Law Office of Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer and DC Criminal Lawyer websites.

A Virginia criminal lawyer knows the consequences of a sex offender conviction. In addition to registering as a sex offender, those convicted of sex crimes face restrictions on where they can live and the places they can visit. Unfortunately, the specifics of these restrictions are often not readily available to convicted sex offenders upon the completion of their jail sentences. A Virginia criminal lawyer can prove to be an invaluable resource for sex offenders seeking information regarding registry requirements.

For the last two years, a bill that would require Virginia State Police to give sex offenders a list of these restrictions has failed. Additionally, new restrictions and penalties for convicted sex offenders were enacted. However, since state police are not required to inform registered sex offenders of these restrictions, many do not have the information they need to successfully abide by the law. Ignorance of these restrictions is not an excuse for violating them, and therefore, many registered sex offenders feel like they are being set up for failure due to the lack of notice of the restrictions.

Opponents of the bill say that the information on sex offender restrictions is readily available on the internet; however, not all people convicted of sex crimes have access to the internet. In fact, some of the convicted, including Virginia Beach sex offenders, are prevented from using the internet as a condition of their parole. And while free internet access is often available in libraries, public libraries are frequently a restricted area for sex offenders.

Although some local agencies are working on ways to ensure that released sex offenders have access to the information they need to remain within the law, notice of restrictions and changes to the law is limited and inconsistent within the state. For those charged with sex crimes in Virginia, a Virginia criminal attorney understands the law and knows the implications of a sex crime conviction. If you are charged with a sex offense in Virginia, it is recommended that you seek competent, experienced counsel with a proven record of quality representation in sex crime defense.

This article is presented by The Law Offices of Price Benowitz, LLP, representing clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Maryland Sex Crime Lawyers and Washington DC Sex Offense Attorneys websites.

As the internet continues its ever-expanding reach into our everyday lives, the number of individuals facing charges related to crimes allegedly committed in cyberspace seems to increase proportionally- and internet sex crimes have been a consistent lurking specter. Such is the case with recent charges brought in Fairfax County, Virginia against Wisconsin radio DJ Richard Kieffe. Kieffe, 55, appeared with his Fairfax criminal lawyer before Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David Schell where he pled guilty to the charges on June 9th.

Kieffer's case began on May 3rd of this year when he was arrested at Reagan National Airport. At a May 28th hearing, probable cause was found to move the case to the grand jury level. Kieffer, who went by the name Rich Allen on WVBO-FM 103.9 in Wisconsin, was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by use of a communication device at his arraignment. The former DJ was charged based on evidence presented by Deputy Virginia Commonwealth Attorney Katherine Stott and collected by Fairfax County police Detective Nick Boffi in a series of online chats.
During the chats, Boffi purported to be a gay man attempting to arrange a sexual encounter between Kieffer and his own (fictitious) son. According to the chat logs, Kieffer, using the screen names "Cannibal Al" and "Just Looking," allegedly engaged in explicit conversations with the undercover detective fantasizing about and planning sexual contact with the man's supposed minor child.

During the first chat on April 1, Cannibal Al asked Boffi whether his son was clean and "if it was OK to do rape-type play with him," Stott told the court. Kieffer used his Just Looking moniker in a second chat on April 20, Stott said, and went into more detail on the kind of sexual game he wanted to engage in with Boffi's son "Will he play dead?" Kieffer asked. "I want to make it look like he was kidnapped. ... I'd like him to beg, 'Please don't kill me."'
Stott says chat logs also indicate that during an April 27th chat, Boffi shared a picture of a "white pre-pubescent male," and that Boffi told" Cannibal Al" that the image was of his 12-year-old son. It is said that Kieffer then told Boffi that he would have free time during a short trip to Washington DC at the beginning of May, and made specific plans to have contact with the "child" on the evening of May 3rd. No further contact was made between the detective and Kieffer before the DJ's arrest on May 3rd at the airport.

At his hearing on June 9th, Kieffer pleaded guilty to charges of sexual solicitation of a minor over the Internet. During the hearing, the former DJ spoke quietly to his Virginia criminal attorney, and answered questions from Judge Schell as to whether he fully understands the ramifications of pleading guilty to the charges. At his sentencing, scheduled for September 3rd, Kieffer faces up to 10 years in jail and up to $2,500 in fines. There is no possibility for parole in Kieffer's case under Virginia law.

This article is presented by The Law Offices of Price Benowitz, LLP, representing clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Washington DC Sex Offense Lawyer and Maryland Sex Offense Attorney websites.