Mass. man filmed a teenage girl with his phone while she was in a Target fitting room, police say
John Michael Williams, 25, faces the charges of photographing sexual or intimate parts of a child, possession of child pornography and disorderly conduct, police said in a statement.
At around 8 p.m. on Monday, police received a report that a 17-year-old girl was filmed while nude in a fitting room inside a Target at 579 Grand Army of the Republic Highway, police said.
Following an investigation, police determined that Williams filmed the girl with his cell phone, the statement read. Investigators used surveillance footage and social media photos of Williams to identify him, along with tips submitted from the public.
On Wednesday, Williams was arrested and officers took his phone as evidence, police said.
'This kind of invasive and disturbing behavior has no place in our community,' Police Chief Mark Foley said in the statement. 'We take incidents like this very seriously and will always work to protect the most vulnerable members of our community. I'm proud of the swift and diligent work of our Detectives, Furtado and Rowland, and Officer Stavens. They acted quickly and conducted a thorough investigation that resulted in the identification and arrest of the suspect.'
Williams' arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Fall River District Court.
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Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Successful Honolulu women's jail diversion program expanding to Kona on the island of Hawaii
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It's also expanding to the Big Island next month. Research shows that court programs focusing on drug treatment for nonviolent offenders are effective at keeping women from committing future crimes. The first women's drug treatment court opened in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1992, according to the National Drug Court Resource Center. According to a 2024 annual report on the program, 13% of graduates had a new conviction within three years of admission, compared with 44% of offenders who did not go through a drug court program. Hawaii Judiciary spokesperson Brooks Baehr said the courts here will check in with graduates every three months for the first year after graduation and then annually after that to see if they have any new court cases. Women in the program spend up to two years or more receiving substance abuse treatment, taking parenting classes, finding consistent employment or enrolling in educational training — and staying sober. It's too soon to know how successful the court will be in keeping women out of the criminal justice system in the long term, but proponents say it's already having a positive impact on women's lives. At the graduation ceremony this spring, participants spoke of how the program helped them regain custody of their children or find stable housing after years of living on the streets, said State Rep. Linda Ichiyama. Those stories were enough to let her know the program is working, she said. 'It is helping to break the intergenerational cycle of trauma,' said Ichiyama, one of the introducers of a bill that passed this year that included continuing the Oʻahu Women's Court and expanding to Hawaii island. The Big Island Women's Court pilot will start in the Third Circuit District Court in Kona next month with 14 women currently in the district's drug court program, said Judge Wendy DeWeese, who will oversee the court. The women will continue the substance abuse treatment they were getting through drug court, but will also receive more mental health support tailored to women who have experienced abuse and trauma. 'My sincere hope is that if this program can be successful,' DeWeese said, 'if the idea of personalized, supportive, evidence-based treatment of offenders in our community can be successful, that it will be a wake-up call to people to say, 'Why are we just doing this with women?'' Diverting Women From Prison Veronica Hanawahine was among the first six women to complete the pilot program on Oʻahu. Three years ago, Hanawahine was living in a tent at Lualualei Beach Park in Waiʻanae, trapped in a cycle of alcohol and drug abuse. One day in July 2022, fueled by meth and a deep sense of hopelessness, she climbed to the top of Māʻili Pillbox in the Waiʻanae Range. Intending to end her life, she jumped off the top of the pink concrete structure that marks the end of the hike. She lost consciousness, and by the time she woke up, it was dark. 'That was when I started reflecting on my life,' she said outside the First Circuit Court in Honolulu earlier this month, 'and if that's the kind of life that I wanted.' Hanawahine was arrested a few weeks later on a probation violation stemming from a 2018 assault charge. She was facing a year in jail, but that's when she instead became one of the first people to join the Women's Court pilot. Judge Morikawa and her probation officer in Women's Court were more understanding and empathetic than other court officials she'd dealt with, said Hanawahine, now 43. That helped motivate her to follow the terms of her probation and stick with the program. The program is designed to help women living with addiction who have a history of trauma, Morikawa said. Hanawahine, who was abused as a child before becoming addicted to meth and alcohol and arrested for assault at 37, was a good fit. 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Because some women face five or 10 years of incarceration, the savings to taxpayers from keeping them out of jail or prison can be significant. 'I think we're a bargain,' Morikawa said. How It Will Work On The Big Island The 14 women selected for the Hawaii island pilot are all on probation for non-violent felony drug or property crimes. Most have reoffended while on probation. The court is hiring a full-time drug court supervisor to help oversee the program, said Grayson Hashida, drug court coordinator for the Third Circuit. The court will also contract with a peer specialist who is a drug court graduate themselves, a women's health professional, and a cultural practitioner to run activities and provide mental health services centered around Native Hawaiian practices. Twelve of the 14 participants identify as Native Hawaiian, Hashida said. Like the Oʻahu program, participants will start with inpatient substance abuse treatment before moving into transitional sober housing and eventually moving out on their own and getting a job. They'll also receive ongoing mental health counseling. The supportive atmosphere of Women's Court is what made the biggest difference for Hanawahine. The mother of three was first arrested in 2018 for an assault on Christmas Day. She said she got into a fight with a woman who was threatening one of her children. Hanawahine said she was holding a folding knife in her hand and didn't realize it was open when she raised her hand to try to block the woman's advances. The knife slashed the woman's forehead, and Hanawahine drove away from the scene. A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors at the time said Hanawahine intentionally caused harm to the victim using a dangerous instrument. She pleaded guilty in November 2019 and was sentenced to four years' probation. During her probation, she had three bench warrants issued and was arrested twice for violations like failing to check in with her probation officer and skipping drug assessments. She said she was frustrated by probation officers who would call her when they knew she was working or couldn't understand when a delay in her long bus commute from Waiʻanae made her late for a drug test. When she was arrested for violating probation the second time in 2022, the court revoked her probation and sent her to jail. She was accepted into the Women's Court program on Feb. 22, 2023, and released from the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center to the Sand Island Treatment Center several weeks later. Her therapist at Sand Island helped her confront her past traumas, she said, and learn to forgive herself while striving to do better. About a year after starting treatment, Hanawahine's three children — who were 23, 22 and 16 at the time — came to visit her at Sand Island. It was the first time she'd seen them in over two years. 'We all cried,' she said. 'It was just tears of joy to see each other.' Hanawahine has been out of jail for a little over two years and was discharged from probation on June 26. She now lives with her brother and his family in their home in Kapolei and has a housekeeping job at the Hawaii Convention Center. Earlier this month, she was once again sleeping in a tent. But this time it was because she was on a camping trip in Makapuʻu with her two sons. 'It's so funny because I was living on a beach in my addiction and today I'm camping on the beach,' she said. 'It's true freedom.' ___ This story was originally published by the Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Texans S Jimmie Ward facing domestic violence civil suit
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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Men jailed for part in £18.4m boat chase drug plot
Two men who were part of an £18.4m cocaine smuggling operation which saw Border Force officers pursue a drug-laden boat off the coast of Cornwall for an hour have been jailed. Peter Williams, 44, of Havant, Hampshire, and 29-year-old Bobbie Pearce, of Brentwood, Essex, both admitted their part in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the UK when they appeared for sentencing at Truro Crown Court. Fisherman Williams, who had been skipper of the boat that was used to carry the drugs, was jailed for 16 years and nine months. Market trader Pearce, who was in a car which he drove from Essex to firstly Plymouth and then Cornwall as part of the smuggling plot, was given 15 years and four months. Six men have been jailed in total for their parts in trying to bring the class A drugs into the UK. 'Acting under instruction' The court heard Williams was arrested when the rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) he was skippering ran aground on Gwynver Beach, near Sennen, following the chase at sea on 13 September 2024. He was caught on the beach as he tried to run away. Pearce's phone showed he was in the Land's End area when the RHIB beached and he quickly departed the area and drove back to Essex. Williams' lawyer Harry Laidlaw told the court: "He knew full well what he was getting himself into. "He just captained the boat. He was a foot soldier acting under instruction. "He did not have an operational or management role in the chain. His role was simple, albeit skilled." Pearce's lawyer Ishan Dave said his client had no previous convictions and had never been involved in the drugs world before. Judge James Adkin said this was an international conspiracy to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the UK. He added that the conspiracy involved two organised crime groups in the South West and South East - their aim being "to flood the streets of Essex and London with cocaine with grave societal harm". More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Men jailed over boat chase cocaine plot Border Force
