Photo courtsey www.restlessbeings.org

The murder of Shaniya Davis in North Carolina last fall raises the issue of child prostitution in the United States.  For those who may not know, Shaniya’s own mother, Antoinette Davis, is charged with Human Trafficking, allegedly prostituting her own child.  Antoinette was released on a $51,000 bond a few weeks ago and is set to appear in court sometime next month.  This case is enough to make anyone sick. 

The U.S. Department of Justice says, “it is estimated that about 293,000 American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation.”  The report goes on to say that “children are mainly recruited into prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive agreements between parents and traffickers.”

I cannot understand why anyone, especially a parent, would want to do this to their child… Aren’t parents supposed to protect their children for life?  Investigators told me early into this investigation that Antoinette may have sold Shaniya to pay off a drug debt. 

Through all of this, I would like your input.  The goal is to highlight the best programs in the United States that help to protect children from this trade and to make communities aware of the resources.

The work of many non-profit organizations is commendable, and I occasionally come across one that goes above and beyond to serve the citizens of our nation. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is one such organization.  Their goal is not only to protect the consumer, but also to fight for consumer advocacy.  PRC has been around for more than 17 years, and their website says, “Your personal information is more than your name, address and Social Security number. It includes your shopping habits, driving record, medical diagnoses, work history, credit score and much more. The right to privacy refers to having control over this personal information. It is the ability to limit who has this information, how this information is kept and what can be done with it. Unfortunately, personal privacy is lost, unknowingly forfeited, purchased or stolen every day.” Recently, they launched their new website, which includes a wealth of information to protect your privacy, and interesting article to read.  Check it out!

In the coming weeks, I will dive into some of their programs so I can suggest some things you can do to protect your own identity, and point out some ideas you may not have thought about.

PRC even provides a check list as to what exactly you need to do if your identity is stolen.

Have you had your identity stolen before?  Did you change anything you were doing before to protect yourself?  Share your stories.

Investigators are working to locate a missing family of four.  Authorities say Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3, vanished on February 4, 2010.  Four days later, the families white Isuzu Trooper was found and towed from the Mexican border in San Ysidro.  San Diego County police say they may have the McStay family on surveillance crossing the U.S. border into Mexico.  The video is not clear enough to say for certain if it is the family, but according to police there are two adults and two children seen walking across the border around the same time the family vehicle was abandoned.

Unable to reach them, Michael McStay, Joseph’s brother, reported the family members missing to police 11 days after they went missing. Investigators dispatched to check on the family’s welfare, and found no signs of them.  Their animals had been left in the yard without food or water, and it didn’t appear as if they had packed up and gone on a vacation.  Investigators told me early on the family is going through a major renovation project, so it is hard to tell if they were packing up to leave or not. 

Family members are appealing for help in finding their missing loved ones while investigators check their bank accounts and cell phone records.

The McStay’s family has built a website that tracks case progress and information about their loved ones.

If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers:  (888) 580-TIPS

Doug Schantz MISSING

2:40 p.m. New Orleans police confirm the body is in fact Dough Schantz.

2:04 p.m. – It appears the body of Doug Schantz may have been found in the Mississippi River.  Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch confirms he is on the ground, and pulled a body from the water. 

Doug Schantz, the president of Sequent Energy, hasn’t been seen since last Friday, March 5, 2010 at 2 a.m. At that time, he was seen leaving friends at  the Razzoo Patio bar in New Oreleans.  Doug is a resident of Houston, Texas and was visiting New Orleans to make a donation to his daughter’s university.  New Orleans police say he was reported missing by his wife, Lori, after he missed his flight home with his daughter later that day. Doug’s son Michael is hitting the streets of New Orleans passing out fliers about his father.  Investigators say Doug’s credit cards have not been used since he went missing, and searches are underway to find this husband and father.  Investigators and Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch will focus on the Mississippi River today.

Race:  Caucasian male

Weight:  200 pounds

Height:  5’11”

Build:  Medium

Eyes:  Blue

Hair:  short, straight, dirty blonde

Last seen wearing:  navy blue blazer, white collared shirt with a tie

If you have any information, please contact the New Orleans Police Department : (504) 821-2222

A $25,000 reward is being offered.

This is a great program to protect the senior citizens of our nation who can no longer take care of themselves.  Maryland State police used the system for the first time in November 2009 to help locate an elderly man, and it worked.  The victim was found safely by a BGE worker on a street corner. The alerts are generally displayed on highway billboards and over local television and radio stations. Please consider registering your family member or friend on line, it provides a safe and secure place to store vital medical information that can be easily accessed in case of an emergency. 

Also, you can also request brochures for free of charge to healthcare facilities, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, and emergency responder agencies.  If you require more than 100 brochures, please contact the corporate office at:  

866-840-3639

John Albert Gardner

In light of the recent tragedy in San Diego where 17-year-old Chelsea King was raped and murdered, the fact that convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner could be the man responsible is sparking an outrage across America.  The big question is how can a man who should have spent 10 years behind bars, serve five and be on probation for mere three? 

Gardner was convicted in 2000 of sexually assaulting and attacking a girl in his own home.  He punched the 13-year-old in the face numerous times during the attack.  If Gardner is guilty of murdering Chelsea, one has to wonder if giving him the maximum sentence could have prevented this horrific incident.

Then, over the weekend, the bones of Amber Dubois were found.  This teen went missing more than a year ago, on February 13, 2009 as she walked to school.  We are waiting for the autopsy and toxicology reports to come back, and if this is, in fact, a murder, there may be evidence linking Gardner to her death as well.  Gardner was also charged with assault for an attack he allegedly committed on December 27, 2009 on a woman in the same park where Chelsea was found.  Investigators throughout the area are opening up cases on women who say they were attacked to see if Gardner could be linked to them as well.  

I read an article over the weekend by Jim Moret in The Huffington Post about GPS for sexual predators. Jim says, “I can locate my car and even find my phone with a tracking device. So why not do the same with Registered Sex Offenders? It’s time they give up their ability to roam freely once they are convicted of such a horrible crime. As a lawyer, I believe strongly in protecting the rights of the accused, even of the convicted – but not at the expense of past and future victims,” and to be honest, I couldn’t agree more.  If our prisons are overpopulated, and we cannot lock predators away for life if they commit an offense on a child, then why not utilize GPS on predators for as long as they live and breathe on this planet?

Another interesting point is that no one in the neighborhood was alerted to the fact that Gardner was out of prison, and living back in their community.  I understand the resources of police departments and sheriff’s offices throughout the country are limited, especially with budget cuts, but I know of plenty of hometown people who are heading up information campaigns in their communities to alert residents to a variety of crimes. 

Here’s another problem: the convicted sex offender registries do not specify what the offender is convicted of.  Did the guy urinate in public or molest a child?  We should consider a way of color coding that system; i.e. red for child offense, blue for adult offense, yellow for other. I feel the information entered into these systems should come with more information about the person and the crime committed based on what got them convicted in the first place.  This information is public record, but it takes a lot of time and energy for citizens to track down the information.

In his article, Jim says, “My iPhone has a GPS chip which enables me to find it if it is lost or stolen. Many cars have a similar device. We insert microchips in our dogs and cats for identification – why can’t chips be implanted in convicted sex offenders to make sure we always know where they are?” He is so right. 

Until the laws are fixed, and there is a national standard across the board, citizens have to be vigilant in their own communities.  This means checking the Family Watchdog site, and state sex offender registries in your area and knowing who lives around you.  Consider making one person the lead in your community to watch police department press releases, and send out e-mail alerts when things are going on in your community.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a program you can implement in your own town called TAKE 25.  This program promotes safety and awareness, and can even help you to hold events in your own communities.

What are your thoughts?  Do you have ideas to keep better track of sex offenders?  Post your comment below.

Remembering Amber Dubois

Investigators confirm the skeletal remains found in a remote area of San Diego County are those of Amber Dubois.  Amber went missing on February 13, 2009 as she was walking to her high school in Escondido, California.  Investigators will not say if convicted sex offender, John Albert Gardner is responsible for her death, or if he has any connection to her case.  Gardner is currently behind bars, and is charged with the murder and rape of 17-year-old Chelsea King.  Chelsea went missing a little more than a week ago as she was jogging through a San Diego County park.  Gardner is also charged with a December 2009 assault of a woman in the same area.  As we learn more about the investigation… we will bring it to you.

Remembering Chelsea King (family photo)

Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner is charged with murder in the disappearance of missing teen Chelsea King.  The District Attorney filed the charges and the complaint was read at an arraignment earlier this week when Gardner made his first appearance.  Gardner entered a plea of not guilty. I spoke with the District Attorney in San Diego, and he tells me that a status hearing will take place next week, and a preliminary hearing is set for March 18, 2010.  At the preliminary hearing, the court will decide if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial.  The charges come after a body was found earlier this week in Lake Hodges, an area near where Chelsea King went missing while she was running through the Rancho Bernardo Community Park.  We are still waiting for a positive ID on the body.  Investigators say that Chelsea, 17, was a runner for her high school, and parked her car nearby as she went to exercise.  Inside her vehicle, police found a cell phone and other personal belongings.

Registered sex offender John Albert Gardner was initially arrested on Sunday and held on preliminary charges of suspicion of murder and rape in the disappearance of the missing teen.  Gardner has a conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, and served five years in prison.  He was released in 2005 and was on parole until 2008.  During that period, he did wear an electronic monitoring device.  Gardner was staying with his mother in the Rancho Bernardo Community where Chelsea went missing.  It is widely reported that 10 years ago, Dr. Matthew Carroll, a psychiatrist who spent time and interviewed Gardner after his conviction said he lacked remorse for the incident, making him “an extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment.”   

Since last Saturday, nearly 5,000 volunteers donated their time to look for Chelsea.  Many members from the Laura Recovery Center were on site to help organize the search efforts. Investigators say physical evidence found at Lake Hodges lead them to Gardner.  It appears Gardner may be linked to a December 27^, 2009 attack on another jogger in the area. Gardner was also charged with assault in that attack. The victim in that incident told investigators she was tackled by a man who demanded money from her as she was running in the park.  She was able to elbow him in the face and escape.  DNA was taken from the victim’s elbow. Since the incident, the victim has moved away from the area, but she was contacted and has positively identified Gardner as her attacker.  At a press conference, authorities said Gardner may have played a role in the Amber Dubois case as well.  Amber disappeared on February 13, 2009 as she walked to a nearby high school.  She hasn’t been seen since.  We are waiting to learn more information about a possible link to that case.

John Albert Gardner

In addition, authorities in Riverside County and Lake Elsninore are looking into all cases involving any sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults in the surrounding area that Gardner may be linked to.  There was an incident on the day Chelsea went missing involving a teenager and a man with a sedan who was trying to get her into his car, and an incident in October 2009 that investigators are diving into.

The big question is how could this happen and what can citizens do in their own communities?  I am diving into a more in depth report on that, and should have an updated post for you on Monday.  A lot of the issue boils down to money and resource of police departments.  In this case, Gardner was registering as an offender, but some people in his own community didn’t know he was living there.  He allegedly re-offended in the same community he had been convicted of assaulting a teen a decade prior.  Folks, you have to be vigilant in your own communities and be the eyes and ears for law enforcement when they cannot be around. Check the national sex offender and state offender registries, and learn who is living around you.  I know some of the problem with these registries is that you don’t know what the convicted offender is actually convicted of (meaning a child crime, adult crime, animal crime, etc).  I will have more for you on this in the coming days.  

If you have any other information to help investigators, please contact the San Diego Sheriff’s office:

(858) 565-5200

John Doe #13 (FBI photo)

The FBI works hard to prevent crimes against children.  Their intelligence units are constantly combing the Internet in search of child predators.  Many times, agents come across videos of suspects engaging in sexually explicit activity with children, and these videos and images are often sold or distributed around the world.  Sometimes these videos are easy to find, but the suspects in them are hard to identify.  This is one of those cases.  Agents have proof that this unknown man is abusing a young girl.  Please take a good look at this white male’s picture. You  can view webcam of the suspect (with no sound) right here (you will only see basic images).

On January 2, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted this person for knowingly transporting, or aiding in the transportation of, visual depictions via interstate commerce of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Please contact the FBI if this person looks familiar to you, and help agents get this predator off the streets.