Westerfield's Fate In Hands Of Jury: VERDICT WATCH BEGINS in Van Dam Murder Case

CourtTV ^ | August 8, 2002 | CourtTV

[FresnoDA]

Jury's hands After two months of hearing evidence, jurors have begun deliberating the fate of David Westerfield, who is accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam

[I. Ben Hurt]

See post 688 for the link. (I'm trying, I'm trying).

[John Jamieson]

I think that's the one that's locked.

[bvw]

Pickles good. Sweet or sour?

[bvw]

Oh I just want to remark on what exactly I meant by expressing my "opinion" in that prior post. I meant in my opinion Greg Weston's name is spelled g.r.e.g. space. w.e.s.t.o.n.

Now the other stuff is just my opinion too, but I am more sure of it.

[John Jamieson]

THE REAL POWAY PERVERT IS NOT WESTERFIELD.


(CBS) A group of parents sexually molested their own children and sent pornographic pictures of them worldwide over the Internet, CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. There have already been 20 arrests in the United States and abroad.

Forty-five children, including 37 in the United States who ranged in age from 2 to about 14, were victims and have been removed from the care of those indicted, Customs officials said. Eighty percent of the children were molested by one of their own parents, they said. Most of them are in the custody of another parent or relative, or foster care.

"I've rarely seen crimes as despicable and repugnant," said Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner.

"Parents forced their children to commit sex acts, which were then photographed, and posted on the Internet," Bonner said.

Ten U.S. citizens have been charged since January, including nine named in an indictment unsealed Friday in Fresno, Calif. One has already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Bonner said. The 10th American committed suicide after his arrest.

Six residents of Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands were also indicted in Fresno and the Justice Department is seeking their extradition to the United States to face charges, Bonner said.

Four other foreigners were charged abroad as part of the joint investigation with the Danish National Police that reached Belgium, Germany, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Those charged in this country could be sent to jail for up to 60 years, reports CBS News Correspondent Barry Bagnato.

More arrests are expected. Authorities are still trying to identify other children in some of the explicit pictures.

Bonner said he had never seen a broad conspiracy of this type among parents before. "If this isn't unusual, God help us," he said.

The indictment alleges that members of the ring, referring to themselves as "the club," traded messages across the Internet requesting photographs of specific sexual poses. One man asked for an audiotape so he could hear a child crying while being spanked, the indictment said, and another posed naked with an underage girl. In one instance, a man swapped his own children with another pedophile to be abused, Bonner alleged.

Donna Rice Hughest, a child advocate, said "children may have been given the message by the abusive parent that if you love daddy you'll do tihs for daddy because you're daddy's little girls or you're daddy's little boy. And they ay actually feel a lot of love for that parent, want to protect them, not want to get them in trouble, because they want the parent's approval."

Bonner said the wide availability of child pornography on the Internet encourages pedophiles.

"Together we must find ways to protect our children ... and to starve the pedophiles of the sordid images that induce them to act," he said.

A few of those arrested received pictures but did not produce them, Bonner said.

The investigation began when the international charity Save the Children found on the Internet a picture of a Danish man molesting his 9-year-old daughter, and reported it to Danish authorities. The Danish National Police traced the man through a company logo on the shirt he wore in the picture, said Customs special agent Mike Netherland.

The man and his wife were arrested, and Danish police found information on his computer that was forwarded to the U.S. Customs Service and led to the arrests in January of Lloyd Alan Emmerson of Clovis, Calif., and Paul Whitmore and Brooke Rowland of San Diego, Netherland said.

Searches of the California suspects' computers led investigators to the other eight U.S. citizens, Netherland said.

The other Americans charged include: Tracy Reynolds, Texas; Leslie Peter Bowcut, Idaho; Michael David Harland, Florida; Harry Eldon Tschernetzki, Washington state; John Zill, South Carolina; Craig Davidson, Kansas.

The foreigners indicted in Fresno were identified as Eggert Jensen and Bente Jensen of Denmark; Jean-Michael Frances Cattin, Marcel Egli and Peter Althaus of Switzerland; and Dirk-Jan Prins of the Netherlands. The others were indicted abroad.

©MMII CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters Limited contributed to this

[John Jamieson]

Whoops, sorry CBS. I didn't read the warning until after I copied it! Will be much more carefull next time.

[I. Ben Hurt]

Yes I see now. Had not been on that one yet this a.m.

[bvw]

Fair use -- ninth crcuit be damned re FR-WashPost-LATimes.

[I. Ben Hurt]

Lime pickles. Chrisp, yummy, lime pickles. I love them.

[bvw]

I've had key lime pie, and lime beer, but never before heard of lime pickles. Sounds interesting.

[hoosiermama]

Morning all. Looks like last night thread went down in flames. Any thread going this AM other than this one?

Yes, do love lime pickles! Last time I made pickles doubled the hot peppers by mistake....labled them: "Hot too Molly's Pickles"

[Kerensky]

I can't see past post #831 at this time.

[John Jamieson]

I see you at post 832.

[crystalk]

Last night's thread needed to be put out of its misery, this Greg Weston was on it.

With pedophiles (REAL ones) live and loose in Poway, why on earth are we trying to sentence an innocent man to death? Or one whose crimes if any, are unshown, unproven?

Am I the only one who finds the Van Dams lifestyle unsupportable upon their visible income level?

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Am I the only one who finds the Van Dams lifestyle unsupportable upon their visible income level?

Nope.

And as for Greggie......may I suggest that we ignore anything and everything he posts. He attempts to get the battle started and succeeds in shutting down serious discussion of the case.

He has nothing to offer but juvenile one-liners meant to inflame. Ignore him.

[John Jamieson]

No, you're sure not the only one. Most of this porno ring were pimping their own children!

[alexandria]

Paul Whitmore was the perv. arrested in the middle of Jan. see the rap sheet here.

http://info.sdsheriff.org/wij/wijDetails.asp?bkNum=2106059&agent=NS

The next one, Rowland was arrested just DAYS after DVD's body was found.
BTW Whitmore was the one who also worked in a childrens center.

[hoosiermama]

Yes we do need to ignore Greg. That will make him the IGNORant I believe.

Sometime back we discussed their (VDs) living beyond their "income" Drugs, porno,blackmail, anything could be the reason. It really needs to be investigated........ "Calling the ENQUIRER! Where are you Enquirer?"

[Kerensky]

Am I the only one who finds the Van Dams lifestyle unsupportable upon their visible income level?

Drug dealing? Did they ever take that trip to Italy? Damon was a cell phone engineer, perhaps Albanian smugglers were ready to buy the latest in untraceable cell-phone call technology.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Yep.......the pass that LE gave the van Dams is unforgivable. Where there's smoke, there's fire and anyone foolish enough to believe that these types of perverts keep their sexual appetities under control needs to think again.

A few people act like the porn found at DW's (regardless of whose it is)is motive to kidnap and kill, which I don't buy. But anyone who DOES buy it (those same people and those same LEOs) should draw a similar, but much more frightening conclusion from the ADMITTED behavior of van Dam and Company.

As a side note......Can you imagine the damage to the remaining van Dam boys? The oldest must already be aware, but as both of them grow up, they will be marked with the stigma of their sick parents.

When they look back on the tragic loss of their sister and try to put all the pieces together, I wonder what they will think. I shudder to imagine.