Latest news with #Rash
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Scammers cheat one Northbrook resident of $47,000; another targeted for $24,000
Northbrook police reported that three residents were recently targeted in computer fraud and/or identity theft scams amounting to thousands of dollars each. In all the incidents, the victims found messages or problems on their computer screens or in emails. In the first instance on June 2, a resident in the 2800 block of Canterbury Drive told police she found her home computer had been locked and an onscreen message prompted her to call Microsoft to fix the issue, according to a police report. When she called, the person who responded said her bank accounts had been compromised. They told her to call her bank and provided a phone number. When she phoned that number, the person responding instructed her to move her money to a different account and withdraw money, according to the report, and she complied. She withdrew $47,100.00 and deposited into bitcoin machines per their instructions, per the report, but when they asked her to withdraw more, she became suspicious and called police. 'As with many money scams, getting the money back is difficult on many levels,' said Northbrook Police Community Relations Supervisor Richard Rash. 'In this case, the complainant did lose that money because she deposited it into a bitcoin machine per the 'scammer's' request. More than likely she was given a specific account to deposit it into. The money then can be shared amongst Bitcoin wallets. The scammer can then withdraw the money or move it somewhere else. 'Being able to trace it is sometimes difficult. Most of the offenders are overseas and use fake IP addresses to do their businesses.' In a second instance, a resident in the 3700 block of Pebble Beach Road found that more than $24,000 had been charged to his credit cards that were attached to his Amazon account, according to police reports. When he called Amazon, the person responding told him someone had hacked the account and changed the email, phone number and address, per the report, and the illegally purchased merchandise had been shipped to Miami. According to Rash, once the complainant disputed the charges with the credit card companies associated with the Amazon account, they took the charges off the bill and asked their fraud department to look into it. The credit card companies cancelled the cards to prevent them from being used for any further fraud. In a third incident, a resident on the 2400 Block of Burgundy Lane said she had not used PayPal in several years, but received an email stating she had several outstanding balances from PayPal, according to the police report. She called the number listed and the person who answered the phone told her there had been fraud on the account and she needed to withdraw money from her bank to fix the issue and, per the report, she withdrew $6,000. The phone respondent advised her to go to a business and deposit the money into a bitcoin machine, according to police, but when she arrived there, the business owner demanded to see her ID. The complainant got nervous, left the store and contacted her son, who advised her it was a scam and to call the police, per the report.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
East Troy music teacher sexual assault case; Rash sentenced to prison
The Brief A former East Troy music teacher convicted of sexually assaulting students was sentenced to prison. In court on Thursday, he finally admitted he sexually assaulted his former students. At least 15 former students have now accused him of inappropriately touching them on their breasts, thighs, shoulders and hair over and over again during music lessons. EAST TROY, Wis. - A former East Troy music teacher convicted of sexually assaulting students was sentenced on Thursday to more than a decade in prison. The backstory John Rash, 47, taught middle school band in East Troy for more than 20 years. At least 15 former students have now accused him of inappropriately touching them on their breasts, thighs, shoulders and hair over and over again during music lessons. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Rash pleaded guilty last year to two of nine charges he faced as part of a plea deal. What's next On Thursday, Rash was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He will be placed on 10 years of extended supervision and required to register as a sex offender for life when he's released. What they're saying In court for sentencing, Rash finally admitted he sexually assaulted former students – some as young as 11 years old. Those girls are now adults, and four of them spoke in court about the lasting impact of Rash's perversion. "I can still feel his hands on my skin," one victim said. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Rash has never been accused of having sex with a student, but make no mistake, his victims said he is a sexual predator. "A hand on my breast, a hand on my thigh, it made me so uncomfortable," another victim said. "When you had your hand between my legs, you asked me why I was crying," said a third victim. Judge Daniel Johnson described Rash's actions as a "system to sexually assault children." "No matter how far I go, the memories follow me. I cannot outrun the trauma," a fourth victim said. What they're saying For the first time since he was charged, Rash spoke for himself in court on Thursday. "I have let everyone in my life down. My students. Their families. My school and community. My wife and three daughters," he said. "I cannot imagine the hurt, the fear, the anxiety, the confusion and loss of trust in men that I have caused them to feel. For this, I am truly sorry." "I think you're smart. I think you say some of the right things. I don't know if I believe you," said Judge Johnson. Rash was also surrounded by supporters on Thursday – including his wife. "He is a wonderful husband. The best dad of three girls," his wife said. A teacher described Rash as "considerate, thoughtful, empathetic," and a former student thanked him for "my passion for music." Dig deeper For years, Rash denied he did anything wrong, but his own attorney admitted on Thursday that he did it to fulfill a sexual urge. "He has a serious character defect," Defense Attorney Patrick Cafferty said. "He focused on the thrill he got from the behavior," said Walworth County District Attorney James Sempf. "The jolt of adrenaline. He didn't think about it, he just did it." Sempf said the defense team's own doctor diagnosed Rash with a rare disorder known as frotteurism, where a person gets "intense sexual arousal from touching a non-consenting person." In his 21 years as a prosecutor, Sempf said it is the first time he's heard it. Editor's note: FOX6 did not name the women or show their faces because they are victims of child sexual abuse. The Source Information in this report is from the Walworth County District Attorney's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior FOX6 Investigators coverage of cases involving Rash.
Washington Post
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Guitars, masks and defiance: Kenya's rock and metal scene catches fire
NAIROBI — The guitar thrummed, the drumsticks smashed into a quivering cymbal, and the lead vocalist for Rash howled into the mic, electrifying the night air. After years in the wilderness, Kenya's tiny rock and metal scene is exploding — and bands like Irony Destroyed, Last Year's Tragedy and Rash are clawing their way up the charts. Very few Africans have traditionally listened to rock music, said Nick Wathi, one of Kenya's first rock producers. Its reputation for rebelliousness and subversion creates suspicion in a society that values religion and respect for elders, Wathi said. But that's what drew him in. 'It was the devil's music!' he laughed. Samuel Gakungu, Rash's drummer, has his musical roots in a church choir. He came to rock, he said, because it spoke to him more deeply. 'There was no structure, there was no right way or wrong way to do things, I just had to be me, without any judgment,' said the 31-year-old car dealer. He met the other four band members through a friend 11 years ago, creating hits like 'Darkness and Witchcraft' and 'Do or Die' — attracting a fan base of restless young urbanites increasingly furious with authority. In a few hours, they would be taking the stage at Nairobi's premier rock and metal festival: Undertow. Rock in Kenya has had an uneven ride. A decade ago, bands would sometimes show up for gigs that had been canceled without their knowledge. Audiences were tiny. The closure of Kenya's only rock radio station, XFM, in 2019 and the arrival of covid in 2020 nearly smothered the scene altogether. The first Undertow concert in April 2022 rescued bands on the brink of collapse by providing a dependable gig and venue. Now a well-established quarterly event held in Nairobi's upscale Westlands District — its neon-nightclub-lined promenade nicknamed Electric Avenue — the concert has featured most of Kenya's 16 commercial rock bands, said Wathi. The musicians still have day jobs. Irony Destroyed, a metalcore group with pugnacious lyrics and reverberating bass, is composed of a lawyer, a writer and a product manager for a fintech company. The howling, thrashing sounds of Last Year's Tragedy are generated by an advertising strategist, a product designer, a logistics manager and a journalist. Practice time is scarce and precious. In a last-minute rehearsal in the lead-up to Undertow, Last Year's Tragedy's vocalist David 'Madman' Mburu paced across a tiny floor writhing with cables, crowding pianist Rono Kipkulei and nearly knocking over bass guitarist Mahia Mutua. A copy of Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina' muffled the drum set as they thrashed out 'Of Villains and Heroes' from their first record, released last year. Irony Destroyed, meanwhile, had to scramble to replace drummer Cyrus Kamau after he dislocated his arm in a motorbike accident just a week before the concert. Kamau, only able to use one hand, had to train his replacement, Larry Kim, after they both finished work. 'Start with a little ascent, tone it down and build it up again,' he advised Kim. They practiced until midnight, when police prowled the empty streets and the last vibrations rolled over the lone tea seller still in the alley outside. Some bands have made it onto streaming platforms like Spotify, which hasn't brought in much cash but has broadened their reach. Last Year's Tragedy's song '47' has become an anthem among Kenyan youths, with its lyrics raging against the country's politicians. 'These so-called leaders/ Who sit on their ivory towers/ (These never-ending cycles)/ Stealing and killing,' raged the band. 'We will watch them all/Burn!' Anne Mwaura, 29, is the host of Capital FM's rock show 'The Fuse,' which now gets around 3 million online listeners every month. She has hosted the show since its inception and remembers when it used to be the same handful of bands all the time. Now, she says, the scene is much more diverse, with all-female bands and Christian rock groups breaking onto the airwaves. 'It's really a genre for everyone,' she said. When the radio station once considered axing the show, she said, enough people wrote in to persuade the managers to keep it on air. Undertow's ticket prices mean the audience is mostly middle-class. An advance ticket goes for around 1,000 Kenyan shillings (a little under $8), and it's a bit more at the door. That's more than two days' wages for most people. About 200 men and women, some with thickly mascaraed eyes and studded collars, head-banged in a mosh pit. A tarot reader read palms on the balcony, and a cloud of cigarette smoke enveloped the barman as he sloshed beers to the crowd. Regulars Margaret Nekesa, 29, and husband Dennis Mwangi, 33, met because Mwangi had a home studio, and they had both been in local bands. Now they have a 1-year-old son — home that night with a sitter — but they still compose and play music. They're seven songs into an album, Nekesa yelled over the music. 'I come from a very, very strict family, a military family … you had to dress in a certain way, you had to appear in a certain way,' she said. 'There was no space for exploration or discovery of self, so rock music gave me all that I missed.' She was drowned out as Irony Destroyed stormed onto the stage. Masked musicians belted out their single 'Najiskia Kuua Tena,' which translates to 'I feel like killing again.' A bloodred liquid oozed from the mouth of Preston 'Riot' Mado, Irony Destroyed's guest vocalist, as they broke into the crowd's favorite hit, 'Scholar of First Sin.' Later, Rash belted out a rendition of the Cranberries' song 'Zombie' — a scream against the brutality of Northern Ireland's Troubles, the decades in which British security forces battled Irish paramilitaries and civilians were caught in the crossfire. The lyrics resonate in Nairobi, where young demonstrators have been shot, kidnapped and teargassed as they protest government corruption and police violence. The protests saw parliament set aflame and the bodies of slain college students wrapped up in Kenyan flags, fished from dams or carried through the capital before banks of television cameras. 'But you see, it's not me, it's not my family/ In your head, in your head, they are fightin',' the crowd screamed along with the band. 'With their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns/ In your head, in your head, they are cryin'.'
