Child Molestation

A former Lynwood high school principal has been arrested on suspicion of molesting three students at the school and another in the Whittier area. Jonas Silverio, 40, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon by sheriff's detectives at Los Angeles International Airport after flying in from the Philippines. He is accused of molesting at least two members of the girls' volleyball team at Lynwood's Firebaugh High School, said L.A. County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Scott. He's been charged with 17 counts of committing lewd acts upon a child and is being held on $1-million bail.

Michael Jackson's death has had an electrifying effect on business for those in Las Vegas who make their living imitating the self-proclaimed King of Pop in all his moonwalking, crotch-grabbing glory. One club proprietor hopes to launch a permanent Jackson show by the star's birthday in late August, and booking agents have seen surges in applications from would-be impersonators and calls for their services. In a town in which guys made up like Elvis will marry you, serve as emcee at your business conference or sing "Viva Las Vegas" at your private party, Royal Talent, a booking agency for impersonators, said its Michael Jackson act is now the most requested.

Instead of protests, residents in this rural community are using another approach to keep a convicted child molester from moving into their neighborhood: They're buying his mother's house. Residents say the $250,000 is a cheap price to pay for their children's safety, which, they say, would be jeopardized if Jonathan Hawes moved in with his mother later this month. Hawes' mother, Wendy Brewton, was not immediately available to comment on the deal. Hawes, 27, will be freed Aug.

Prosecutors in Utah on Wednesday praised the bravery of a teenage girl who came forward to testify of having been forced to marry her uncle, becoming his 15th wife. The case in Salt Lake City is being viewed as a rare opportunity to prosecute an alleged polygamist in a state where the practice of multiple marriages is all but legally ignored. David Ortell Kingston has been charged with two counts of incest and one count of sexual conduct with a minor, both third-degree felonies.

Police have arrested an Irvine man on suspicion of molesting several young boys, some of whom he may have met through his affiliation with the Boy Scouts and Big Brothers of America, authorities said. The suspect, Kenneth Eugene Teague, 40, was taken into custody after police found incriminating videotapes and photographs in several locations, Irvine Police Lt. Tom Hume said. "There is a tremendous amount of evidence to sort through," Hume said.

A baby-sitter's husband caught on videotape beating a toddler left in her care was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison. Richard Leonard, 30, of Orange was convicted in July of torturing and sexually assaulting the 14-month-old girl. Leonard's wife, Lisa, was caring for the child May 16, 1997, in her home when she left to pick up Richard's and her daughter from school. But a video camera she had set up taped what happened next.

The bedraggled girl walked six dusty miles to a gas station pay phone and punched in 911. Then she did what she was taught never to do: She told. Help me, she said to the sheriff. My father beat me when I ran away from an arranged marriage with my uncle. I was his 15th wife. With one phone call to an outside world she scarcely knew, the battered 16-year-old gave voice to silent women who live within the secretive constraints of polygamy.

After serving 11 years in prison, child molester Charlotte Mae Thrailkill could become the first California woman declared a sexually violent predator since a 1996 state law went into effect. A recent evaluation by state psychologists is the first step to determine if Thrailkill should be sent to Patten State Hospital, a maximum security mental lockup in San Bernardino. She would be reevaluated every two years.

Two men who have been serving life sentences since 1990 for sodomy convictions were released from prison this week after their young accuser recanted his testimony. Jack Ray Broam, 38, and Jay Cee Manning, 37, both of Fallon, Nev., had maintained their innocence since Broam's son leveled the charges eight years ago. The boy, Neal Broam, was 9 at the time; he is 17 now.

The wife of Pasadena Mayor Chris Holden was charged Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court with several counts of unlawful sex acts with a teenage minor, the district attorney's office said. Michelle Elizabeth Holden, 35, who was indicted Thursday, pleaded not guilty to all charges. She remained free on $20,000 bail. The mother of four was charged with six felonies involving a minor--one count of sexual intercourse, four counts of oral copulation and one count of a lewd act.