Lozano, who served time at the California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, said the support she found among other incarcerated women helped her endure conditions she describes as unsafe and traumatic. She said sexual assault in prison carries an added level of danger because incarcerated people are dependent on staff for daily movement, basic needs and access to grievance procedures.

Her call comes amid continued scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations inside California women’s prisons. In August 2024, a leaked video showed guards at the Chowchilla prison detaining incarcerated women in a cafeteria and repeatedly using pepper spray and tear gas. The incident reportedly followed sexual misconduct grievances filed by incarcerated people and was widely viewed by advocates as retaliation.

Although some guards were fired after the video became public, Lozano said the episode reflected only a small part of a much larger problem. One prison guard was later sentenced to 224 years in prison for multiple sexual assault convictions involving at least nine women. Still, she said, many incarcerated survivors remain in the same institutions where they reported abuse and where they may continue to face retaliation.

Lozano said formal grievance systems do not reliably protect survivors. Instead, she said, reporting sexual abuse by staff often leads to punishment, intimidation or further mistreatment.

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the safety of people in state custody, Lozano said, and she argued that the state is failing that obligation when it keeps survivors inside facilities where alleged abusers work and where staff salaries are paid with public funds.

Lozano also recounted her own experiences, saying a male guard once put his hands under her shirt and made a remark about warming his hands. She said other officers exposed themselves or touched themselves in front of her over a period of years. In one parole hearing, she said, she had to sit in the same room with a staff member who had abused her.

She said witnessing abuse of other incarcerated people was also traumatizing, particularly because prisoners often have no safe way to intervene.

Advocates have called for broader reforms to how California responds to sexual abuse behind bars. A statewide working group examining prison sexual abuse response and prevention recommended in a 2024 report that the state consider release as a safety measure for survivors assaulted by prison staff.

Lozano said California should revise corrections policy so that a person sexually abused by prison staff can be released from custody rather than forced to remain in an unsafe environment. She also called for prioritizing releases for people held in women’s-designated facilities who continue to face dangerous conditions.

She argued that long prison sentences compound the harm many people experience while incarcerated and make it more difficult to rebuild their lives after release. Survivors who work to heal while enduring harassment or assault in custody, she said, deserve a path home that supports their recovery and allows them to reconnect with their families.

“The only way” to protect incarcerated survivors from further abuse and retaliation, Lozano said, is to allow them to leave the prisons where the abuse occurred.

Original source: CalMatters

The post Advocates Call for Release of Sexual Assault Survivors in California Prisons appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A Murrieta jury deliberated less than a day before finding Martin Ancamil guilty of four counts of lewd acts on a minor, three counts of sexual penetration by force or fear, two counts of assault with intent to commit mayhem and one count of forced oral copulation of a child. Jurors acquitted him of four related charges.

The panel went behind closed doors briefly late Monday afternoon following closing arguments in the weeklong trial at the Southwest Justice Center. The jury returned with verdicts early Tuesday afternoon.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Johnnetta Anderson scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 11.

The defendant is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

According to a sheriff’s bail-setting declaration filed soon after Ancamil was taken into custody, the victim, identified in court documents only as “M.L.,” informed her family and others in early July 2023 that the defendant had sexually abused her beginning when she was 9 years old. At the time of the revelation she was 14.

Sheriff’s investigators were immediately alerted.

Court records said the series of assaults occurred from November 2017 to June 2023.

In one encounter, “Martin Ancamil put his hand under the girl’s pants and underwear,” the affidavit said.

“The victim woke up to Ancamil touching her (privates) underneath her clothing, and his hand was cold, and it hurt her,” the document stated.

M.L. also said the defendant penetrated her, though not enough to cause injuries, according to the declaration.

“Ancamil is a native of Argentina, lives in his car, has no friends or family here and has an expired (work) visa,” the affidavit said.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Reese, deputies tracked him to Cambern Avenue in Lake Elsinore, where he was taken into custody without incident on July 10, 2023.

His specific connection to the victim was not disclosed, and authorities couldn’t confirm how long he had overstayed his visa, remaining in the country illegally.

He has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.

The post Sexual Assault Of Lake Elsinore Girl: Jury Hands Down Convictions appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

According to the Riverside Police Department, a 12-year-old from Los Angeles reported the incident to the LAPD in late April, telling investigators Anthony Eduardo Lozano, 21, of Riverside, had sexually assaulted her. Authorities in L.A. forwarded the information to Riverside, where the department’s Sexual Assault – Child Abuse (SACA) unit began a full investigation.

Police allege Lozano arranged a rideshare to take the victim from Los Angeles to Rutland Park in Riverside, where he met the girl and sexually abused her.

In a news release Wednesday, police confirmed Lazno was taken into custody on Aug. 30 and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of eight felony sex crimes. Investigators said the investigation discovered evidence that suggested there may be more young victims who have yet to come forward.

Anyone with information relevant to the case can contact SACA detectives at 951-353-7950.

According to jail records, Lozano is being held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. The next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

The post Riverside Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing Girl He Met On Social Media appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

LYON, FRANCE — An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, “So I raped you,” has been detained in France after a three-year search.

A prosecutor in Metz, France, confirmed Tuesday that Ian Thomas Cleary, 31, of Saratoga, California, had been taken into custody last month and will be held pending extradition proceedings.

Cleary had been the subject of an international search since authorities in Pennsylvania issued a 2021 felony warrant in the case weeks after an Associated Press story detailed the reluctance of local prosecutors to pursue campus sex crimes.

The arrest warrant accuses Cleary of stalking an 18-year-old Gettysburg College student at a party, sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her while she texted friends for help. He was a 20-year-old Gettysburg student at the time, but did not return to campus.

According to a French judicial official, Cleary was detained on the street in Metz on April 24 as part of a police check. He told a magistrate that he had “arrived in France two or three years ago” from Albania and had only recently come to Metz, but did not have housing there, the official said. A French lawyer appointed to represent him did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday.

Cleary, according to his online posts, had previously spent time in France and also has ties to California and Maryland. His father is a tech executive in Silicon Valley, while his mother has lived in Baltimore. Neither he nor his parents have returned repeated phone and email messages left by the AP, including calls to his parents on Tuesday.

The Gettysburg accuser, Shannon Keeler, had a rape exam done the same day she was assaulted in 2013. She gathered witnesses and evidence and spent years urging officials to file charges. She went to authorities again in 2021 after discovering the Facebook messages that seemed to come from Cleary’s account.

“So I raped you,” the sender had written in a string of messages.

“I’ll never do it to anyone ever again.”

“I need to hear your voice.”

“I’ll pray for you.”

According to the June 2021 warrant, police verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Ian Cleary. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett, who filed it, did not immediately return a call Tuesday.

The AP does not typically name people who say they are sexual assault victims without their permission, which Keeler has granted. Her lawyer, reached Tuesday, had no immediate comment on Cleary’s detention.

After leaving Gettysburg, Cleary earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Santa Clara University, near his family home in California, worked for Tesla, then moved to France for several years, according to his website, which describes his self-published medieval fiction.

Keeler, originally from Moorestown, New Jersey, stayed on to graduate from Gettysburg and help lead the women’s lacrosse team to a national title.

By 2023, two years after the warrant was filed, Keeler and her lawyers wondered how he was avoiding capture in the age of digital tracking. The U.S. Marshals Service thought he was likely overseas and on the move, even as he was the subject of an Interpol alert called a red notice.

Across the U.S., very few campus rapes are prosecuted, both because victims fear going to police and prosecutors hesitate to bring cases that can be hard to win, the AP investigation found.
Keeler, when the warrant was issued, said she was grateful, but knew it only happened “because I went public with my story, which no survivor should have to do in order to obtain justice.”

The post ‘So I Raped You’ Suspect Arrested Following International Manhunt appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # L233390099, L240100024

Details:

In December 2023, Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station, Investigations Bureau, and the Special Enforcement Team began investigating a call for service regarding a runaway juvenile. The investigation revealed the suspect, Emilio Ronquillo, a 20-year-old resident of Riverside, assisted the juvenile with running away and harbored the juvenile for two days before returning the victim home. Ronquillo was later arrested and booked into jail for sexual assault against a minor; however, Ronquillo posted bail and was released from custody.

In January 2024, another juvenile victim came forward and disclosed they were a victim of sexual assault by Ronquillo. On February 16, 2024, Ronquillo was arrested and booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center for multiple felony sexual assault charges with a minor and committing a felony while out on bail. This is an ongoing investigation, and no additional details are available at this time.

The Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station investigators believe there may be additional victims and encourage anyone with additional information to contact Investigator Poznanski or Deputy Noel at (951) 245-3300.

As a reminder, “Community Policing” involves partnerships between law enforcement and community members. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is committed to keeping the community safe and encourages the public to report criminal activity directly to law enforcement by calling Sheriff’s Dispatch at (951) 776-1099, or by calling 911 if the matter is an emergency.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault on Juveniles appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # S233430002

Details:

On December 9, 2023, at 1:00 a.m., deputies from the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station responded to a local hospital regarding a female who had been sexually assaulted in the 41000 block of Indian Trail in Rancho Mirage. The victim provided a detailed description of the male suspect who committed the offense.

The Palm Desert Station’s Investigations Bureau assumed the investigation. Investigators positively identify the suspect as Reginald Demond Macon, Jr., a 27-year-old resident of Indio. On December 20, 2023, the Riverside County Gang Impact Team took Macon into custody in the 47000 block of Van Buren Street in Indio. Macon was subsequently booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for assault with a deadly weapon and felony sexual assault charges. This is an ongoing investigation. No additional details are available at this time.

The Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station believes there may be additional victims and is seeking the public’s assistance. Anyone with information about similar incidents involving Macon is encouraged to contact Investigator Iniguez at 760–836–1600.

As a reminder, “Community Policing” involves partnerships between law enforcement and community members. Business owners and residents are encouraged to report criminal activity directly to law enforcement by calling Sheriff’s Dispatch at (951) 776–1099 or 911 if the matter is an emergency. Criminal activity can also be reported through the We-Tip Crime Reporting Hotline, (909) 987–5005 or wetip.com.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault Suspect Apprehended appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File# T230930024

Details:

On April 3, 2023, deputies from the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a sexual assault of a minor. The Palm Desert Investigations Bureau assumed the investigation and, through the course of the investigation, identified the suspect as Oscar William Alvarez, a 65-year-old resident of Palm Desert.

On August 16, 2023, investigators located and arrested Alvarez in the 39000 block of Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.

Alvarez was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for multiple felony sexual assault charges against a minor.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Investigator Iniguez at 760–836–1600.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault on a Minor appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # CN231930022

Details:

In July 2023, deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a sexual assault of a minor. The Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station Investigation’s bureau assumed the investigation.

During the course of the investigation, the suspect in the case was identified as Kole Scully-Mims, a 23-year-old resident of Menifee. On August 4, 2023, Lake Elsinore Station Investigators along with assistance from Ben Clark Training Center personnel, located and arrested Scully-Mims without incident.

Scully-Mims was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center for multiple sexual assault charges against a minor.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Deputy Hernandez of the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at 951-245-3300.

As a reminder, “Community Policing” involves partnerships between law enforcement and community members. Business owners and residence are encouraged to report criminal activity directly to law enforcement by calling Sheriff’s Dispatch at 951-776-1099, or by calling 911 if the matter is an emergency.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault on a Minor appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # MV23200128

Details:

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at 09:53 a.m., deputies assigned to the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to a residence in the city Moreno Valley, regarding a sexual assault of a minor. Deputies contacted the reporting party, who said the suspect, Ruben Arguello, a 41-year-old resident of Moreno Valley, sexually assaulted their seven-year-old child.

The investigation revealed the assault that occurred in the city of Moreno Valley and additional assaults that took place out of the Country. Arguello was located at his residence and placed under arrest. Arguello was transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center and booked for multiple felony sexual assault charges.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any additional information about this case is encouraged to call Corporal Shamhart at the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station by calling (951) 486-6700.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault on Minor appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # L231780077

Details:

In June 2023, deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station responded to a sexual assault on a minor, call for service. The Lake Elsinore Investigation Bureau was notified and assumed the case.

During the investigation, the suspect was identified as Martin Ancamil, a 35-year-old resident of Lake Elsinore. On July 10, 2023, Lake Elsinore Station’s Special Enforcement Team located and arrested Ancamil without incident.

Ancamil was booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center and charged with multiple felony sexual assault charges against a minor.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Deputy Sanchez of the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at 951-245-3300.

As a reminder, “Community Policing” involves partnerships between law enforcement and community members. Business owners and residents are encouraged to report criminal activity directly to law enforcement by calling Sheriff’s Dispatch at 951-776-1099 or 911 if the matter is an emergency.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Sexual Assault With a Minor appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.