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Archives > Volume 8 Issue 7 - January 26, 2010 Judge: Polanski must return to US for sentencing...A California judge today ruled that film director Roman Polanski must return to the United States to be sentenced for his 1978 sex conviction and cannot be sentenced in absentia. ABC News story here 
The court ruling came as Polanski's wife defended her husband in a magazine interview against 32-year-old charges of child rape, saying she thought his arrest was a "joke" and that he is an "impeccable" man.
Friday's decision does not mean that Polanski, 76, necessarily will return to Los Angeles to face justice. Rather, it means that Polanski cannot be sentenced in absentia and would have to return for sentencing in person if Swiss authorities agree to extradite him. Polanski is under house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, wearing an electronic bracelet. A Swiss court still is deciding whether or not to extradite Polanski to the United States. Polanski was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after drugging her during a 1977 modeling shoot. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse, then fled to France after the California judge in the case indicated he would renege on the plea bargain and give Polanski a harsher sentence. The Oscar-winning director was arrested at Zurich's airport on his way to a film festival September 26, 2009. He was released on bail December 4 and transferred to house arrest. Polanski's lawyers have been arguing that he should be sentenced in absentia to time already served. But Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza sided with prosecutors, saying Polanski must be sentenced in person. "In defense of the integrity of the justice system, he needs to surrender," Espinoza said, according to The Associated Press. Missing Haleigh Cumming's dad arrested on drug trafficking charges... The father of missing child Haleigh Cummings and his ex-wife have been arrested on drug-trafficking charges in Florida, authorities said. CNN story here 
Ronald Cummings, 26, faces three counts of trafficking prescription medication - including Oxycodone and Hydrocodone. He is being held in jail on $500,000 bond, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said.
Misty Croslin, 18, faces six counts of trafficking prescription medication and is jailed on $950,000 bond. The former couple was arrested along with three others after allegedly selling about $3,900 worth of drugs to undercover officers, sheriff's officials said. An undercover investigation was launched after authorities received information about suspected drug dealing, Greenwood said. He added that this probe was separate from the investigation into Haleigh's disappearance. "Even though these are totally separate, they are parallel cases, and there's no doubt in my mind these cases will cross some day," Greenwood said. "I hope that somewhere through this, the investigators in the Haleigh case will find the information they need." Two of the counts against Croslin are felonies that carry mandatory 25-year sentences if she is convicted, Greenwood added. Haleigh Cummings, then 5, vanished February 9, 2009 from the couple's Satsuma, Florida, mobile home. Misty Croslin was the last person known to have seen Haleigh the night she disappeared. She said she tucked Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother into bed about 8 p.m. and went to sleep herself two hours later. She awoke at 3 a.m. to find the girl missing and a cinder block propping open a back door. Ronald Cummings called police and reported his daughter missing when he returned from work at dawn. See vol7_iss77 for more information on this story. In other news... 
Teen binge drinking may do more than just get you grounded. A recent study shows adolescent drinking can cause irreversible brain damage. Sphere.com story here The study, published in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, found damaged nerve tissue in the brains of teens who drank. Researchers believe the damage translated to teens' test results, which showed shortened attention spans in boys, difficulty comprehending and interpreting visual information among girls and memory damage in both genders. Although it may seem alarming that teen binge drinking could permanently affect the brain, the leader of the study, neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego, says alcohol is toxic for the still-developing teenage brain. "The adolescent brain is still undergoing several maturational processes that render it more vulnerable to some of the effects of substances," Tapert told National Public Radio. Tapert and her team examined 12- to 14-year-olds described as drinking "heavily" - consuming four or five drinks per occasion, two or three times a month. Even Tapert did not expect the study to find that brain damage occurred in teens who drank only a few times monthly. "These results were actually surprising to me because the binge-drinking kids hadn't, in fact, engaged in a great deal of binge drinking," she said. "They were drinking on average once or twice a month, but when they did drink, it was to a relatively high quantity of at least four or five drinks an occasion." The study showed damaged nerve tissue, or "white matter," among the binge-drinking teens. According to Tapert, there were "dings" in the vital tissue that relays information across brain cells.
A police lieutenant who has served nearly three decades on the Anne Arundel County force has been charged with child pornography. WBAL story here According to court documents, James Cifala, 47, exchanged sexually explicit picture messages - a practice known as "sexting" - with a 16-year-old girl. "The parents of a teenage girl contacted the FBI and reported that their daughter was having what appeared to them to be an inappropriate relationship with an adult male," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein. They didn't know at the time who it was." Copies of some of the text messages are in the criminal complaint. Investigators said Cifala texted to the girl that she should call him "Johnny." Authorities said Cifala gave the girl the phone for the purpose of dealing with him. The current charge doesn't allege that he committed an actual sex crime, 11 News reported. For more information on protecting kids with cell phones, see eGuide/cell phones.
A key witness lays a bombshell before the jury in the child sexual abuse civil trial against Morning Star Boys Ranch. The witness not only claims he was sexually abused at the Washington ranch, but that the former director paid him $2,000 to keep the entire thing quiet. KREM story here Michael Clarke was the subject of heated argument in court Monday. The Plaintiffs calls him the 'Rosetta Stone' of their case against Morning Star Ranch. Both sides presented their cases. Until recently, Clarke never told anyone about being a victim of abuse at Morning Star. Back in 2006, he told Morning Star attorneys he was not a victim. Today, he told a jury that was a lie. The lawsuit involves Kenny Putnam, who says he was sexually abused three times during his stay at Morning Star Ranch in the mid 1980's. In the late 1970's, Michael Clarke began a three year stay there. He claims former director Father Joe Weitensteiner sexually abused him up to 20 times at the ranch, on his boat and on camping trips. Decades later, he says Weitensteiner gave him a bribe as the ranch faced civil litigation. Last week, Father Weitensteiner said he barely knew Clarke, never gave him money and certainly didn't abuse him. On the stand, Clarke said the exact opposite. Yet, Clarke called Weitensteiner a good man, a father who helped him survive his teens. After his time at Morning Star, Clarke said Weitensteiner gave him money. Then in 2006, there was the alleged hush money meeting. "To the best of my recollection, well, the bottom line of it is I received an envelope with $2,000," said Clarke.
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