DevCat

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities in Randolph County arrested Lucas Timothy Hunt, 25, of Asheboro, known as the founder of the "Thank You Jesus" signs movement, on a felony child exploitation charge after a month-long investigation.

The Invictus Task Force took Hunt into custody on Tuesday and charged him with felony Second-Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. A representative with the organization confirmed to WFMY News 2 that Hunt started the initiative, which has placed thousands of signs across the country promoting the message.

An ABC News yearlong investigation into the 2x2 Church, a Christian sect so secretive most people have never heard of it, has uncovered allegations of widespread child sexual abuse and subsequent coverups.

During the investigation, ABC News spoke with dozens of alleged victims of child sexual abuse across more than 30 states.

As part of the ongoing investigation by law enforcement, Raymond Zwiefelhofer was convicted of 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 120 years in prison last month.

Republican West Virginia State Senator Mike Maroney was arrested this week and charged with indecent exposure after he was seen performing what local news station WTRF describes as "an overt act of self-gratification" in public.

Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro tells WTRF that a criminal complaint has now been filed against Maroney related to an alleged incident that took place at a local gaming parlor.

A former Vermont State Police trooper pleaded guilty Wednesday to a lesser charge after being accused of sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend’s daughter over several years, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.

In a plea deal, Todd Chisholm, 59, agreed to a sentence to 30 days in prison and six years of probation for lewd and lascivious behavior. In December 2020, he had initially been charged also with repeated sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual assault.

The religious leader of a “shamanistic community” in Southern California was charged with rape, child sexual abuse and other sex crimes after “multiple victims” came forward.

Ricardo Flores, 59, was accused by “multiple” alleged survivors of sexual assault on August 1, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said.

The investigation showed that the young child "suffered broken bones, severe bruising, and was the victim of sexual violence," according to a press release

A 13-month-old child was allegedly raped and physically abused by a Pennsylvania police offer.

Steven Kyle Cugini, a member of the York City Police Department, was arrested without incident on Tuesday, April 16, following an investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police, Lykens Station, and Lykens Criminal Investigation Unit.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has charged a former Ottawa police deputy chief with sexual assault over an incident that occurred while he was an inspector.

Uday Jaswal is charged with a single count of sexual assault against one woman.

An Orange County woman filed a federal lawsuit Monday against an Anaheim Police Department officer, alleging that he raped her after seeing her at an In-N-Out Burger and getting her name by running her license plate number.

The woman, who is referred to as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, sued former Officer Carlos Romero, the city of Anaheim and 10 members of the police department, alleging sexual battery and civil rights violations, among other claims.

Two former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies and former members of the British and Australian militaries are facing decades in prison after they allegedly extorted an Irvine man out of tens of millions of dollars.

The four allegedly “acted as a sham law enforcement team” when they entered the home of the man, who has not been publicly identified, and threatened him and his family with violence and deportation in 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, an undercover Plano officer posed as a prostitute and placed an ad on a website that is commonly used by individuals to solicit sex for money.

On May 2, Dames called the number on the ad and offered to pay $150 for the "full service," which is a slang meaning for sex, the affidavit alleges.

Aberdeen Councilman Riley Carter, 39, was arrested Tuesday evening on suspicion of first-degree rape of a child.

Police were contacted Tuesday afternoon for a report of a sex offense against a minor, according to court documents.

The victim was interviewed in the presence of their parent, stating that Carter had touched them sexually “a lot of times,” according to court documents, with incidents occurring over the last two years, as often as several times per week.