VT - 2 more Rutland cops (David Schauwecker, James Tarbell & Craig Petrie) accused of watching porn named

Original Article

10/17/2013

By Ali Freeman

RUTLAND - A Rutland City Police officer faced criminal charges for watching porn on the job in 2010. But a recent internal investigation revealed that two other officers did as well.

After a three-year battle between the Rutland Herald and the city, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday that the internal investigation must be turned over. WCAX News has also obtained those documents and a current sergeant was listed for downloading thousands of pornographic images at work.

"Looking at pornography on duty as a Rutland City Police officer is a very, very serious matter," Rutland City Police Chief James Baker said.

Baker says this type of misconduct is not tolerated at the Rutland City Police Department. But recently released internal investigations show that before Baker's time in the PD's top spot, three officers were caught watching porn on the job.

In 2010, an officer was caught with porn on duty and criminal charges forced David Schauwecker out of the department, and brought the details to the public. But that was just one of three Rutland police officers since 2004 who have been caught with porn at work.

"The situation was investigated, a punishment was assigned, a punishment was served and the case was closed," Rutland Police Commissioner Larry Jensen said.

Although the three investigations happened under former Chief Anthony Bossi's watch, two of the names have just been released for the first time. In a lengthy investigation, current sergeant-- Det. James Tarbell-- was front and center in the first investigation in 2004. The investigation reveals that a computer tech was trying to fix a glitch on Tarbell's computer in 2004 and stumbled upon pornographic images. It goes on to say that Tarbell downloaded 25,000 graphic images, 94 explicit videos and several images of possible child pornography. But that couldn't be proven because the ages of the females are unknown. So, no criminal charges were filed.

During questioning, Tarbell said he was only looking at the images for research and he doesn't get "…any pleasure from that, and certainly nothing that I did for my own gain."

He explained: "Look at the setting... If I was going to be doing this I think I would be doing it in my home, in my own computer with nobody else around... I did it here because it is a controlled environment and I had a goal in mind. Not my own personal pleasure."

"He accepted his punishment, he moved on, and since 2004, I know of nothing that Sergeant Tarbell has done that would rise to a level of discipline within a department. He has had a spotless record for nine years," Baker said.

Tarbell was suspended for 10 days without pay. A separate investigation in 2010 revealed that animal control officer Craig Petrie was also caught emailing and downloading porn at work. He, too, was suspended without pay and retired earlier this year.

Chief Baker says this misconduct isn't excusable, but these officers cannot be punished twice. What is important now, he says, is to look to the future.

"This is very trying times. This police department has been through a lot in the last 10-15 years. I feel bad that it is coming out on my watch. I feel bad that the members of the department have to go through it. But as I said to the sergeants today, it's time to lead," Baker said.

Baker also says that contrary to other media reports, Tarbell was not promoted. Last year, he was transferred to the BCI unit, but it was a reassignment, not a promotion.

Sexual violence common among teens. Feeling responsible isn't

Original Article

10/07/2013

By Melissa Healy

Nearly 1 in 10 young Americans between ages 14 and 21 acknowledges having perpetrated an act of sexual violence at least once, and 4% of a nationally representative sample of American kids reported attempting or completing rape, a new study finds.

While those most likely to report initiating unwanted sexual contact in their early to mid-teens were boys, girls were among the perpetrators as the age of respondents increased. Latino and African American youths, and those from low-income families, were less likely to have coerced another person to engage in sex than were whites and those from higher-income families, the study found.

And among perpetrators of sexual violence, consumption of X-rated materials -- specifically those depicting physical harm in the context of sex -- was notably more common than it was among youths who did not report efforts to coerce or force someone else to engage in sex.

The research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, appears to be first to gauge how widespread sexual violence is among Americans of high-school and college age. It was based on surveys conducted between October 2010 and March 2012 with 1,058 people ages 14 to 21 who participated in a broader longitudinal study called "Growing Up With Media."

Drawing upon the U.S. Justice Department definitions of sexual violence, the authors of the latest research asked participants whether they had ever engaged in a wide range of behaviors, including kissing, touching, making an unwilling partner do something sexual or coercing or forcing someone who did not want to have sex to do so. That range of behavior might range from sexual harassment to rape, but is generally all defined as sexual violence.

In all, 8% of those responding -- 84 of 1,058 respondents -- reported they had kissed, touched or made someone else do something sexual when they knew the person did not want to (characterized as "forced sexual contact"). About 3% reported they had gotten someone else to give in to sex when the perpetrator knew the other person did not want to (characterized as "coercive sex"). Also, 3% acknowledged attempting rape, meaning that he or she had been unable to force someone else to have sex. And 2% -- a total of 18 individuals -- said they had forced another person to have sex when they knew the person did not want to, a completed rape.

Coercive tactics, including arguing, pressuring, getting angry or making someone feel guilty, were most commonly reported by those who acknowledged attempted or completed rape. And the study found that 75% of the cases of sexual violence occurred in the context of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Ten of the respondents -- just under 1% -- acknowledged having threatened or used physical force to get someone to engage in sex.

While vaginal sex was the most common form of forced or coerced sex sought, it was closely followed by oral sex.

The study also found that perpetrators of sexual violence of all types were unlikely to accept responsibility for their acts. One in seven believed that he or she was "not at all responsible for what happened," and almost 4 in 10 said they considered the victim somewhat or completely responsible for the reported incident. And only two of the respondents reported being arrested for the transgression.

The authors said that the rarity with which perpetrators either are caught or assume responsibility for their actions underscores the importance of "bystander" training and intervention in U.S. high schools and colleges. Such training emphasizes the responsibility of peers not only to discourage and prevent negative behavior within their group or community, but also to recognize, stop or report such behavior when they witness it. Widely used in anti-bullying campaigns, bystander intervention is now gaining ground on college campuses as a means of reducing sexual violence.

The study was conducted by Michele L. Ybarra of the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, CA, and Kimberly Mitchell of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center.

[For the Record, 5:42 p.m. PDT Oct. 7: An earlier online version of this story said the study was based on survey results from 1,062 people; there were 1,058 people.]

NM - "Digging" - Matthew Coker's Testimony (User story)

Video Description:
This (mostly) live recording is of Matthew Coker's testimony given at Celebrate Recovery at Highland Baptist Church, in Clovis, NM, on Sept. 19, 2013.

Matthew is a former porn addict and an ex-con who has found freedom in Christ and now sponsors and counsels other men who have been going down the same path he took.

This is a powerful story. Celebrate Recovery programs and any other Christian program has our full permission to show this at your church or meeting.

If your church or group would like to bring Matthew Coker as guest speaker to your church or event, you can contact him via Twitter (listed below).

(Apologies for the quality, an older camera was used.)

We are not representatives of Celebrate Recovery as a national organization, and while most of the material in these videos is from the CR curriculum, some has been written by us and/or drawn from our own experiences! We'd love your feedback!

See Also:

• Matt Coker - Twitter
• Highland Baptist Church (Website)
• Highland Baptist Church (Facebook)
• Celebrate Recovery (Website)