National Roundup

Oregon
Man, 80 years old, ­convicted of sex abuse
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — An 80-year-old Oregon man has been convicted of sexually abusing a developmentally delayed woman.

The Albany Democrat-Herald reports that jurors after a three-day trial in Linn County found Richard Conklin guilty of sex abuse, sodomy and unlawful sexual penetration. Prosecutor Keith Stein says the convictions all include a mandatory-minimum sentence, and the lightest penalty Conklin can receive at his Feb. 2 sentencing is eight years in prison.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office arrested Conklin two years ago when the victim was 28. Deputies began investigating after the woman’s parents found a note she wrote that claimed that Conklin was her boyfriend and described sexual acts.

The victim told investigators that Conklin would give her jewelry and rocks. Authorities seized about 60 pieces of jewelry from the victim as part of the investigation.

Conklin lives in a community northeast of Lebanon. The prosecutor thanked the Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Lebanon for its help in the case and support of the victim.

Virginia
Appeals court to re-examine DC sniper’s life ­sentences
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The life sentences given to a sniper who terrorized the D.C. region more than 15 years ago will be re-examined by a federal appeals court.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments Tuesday on an appeal of a federal judge’s ruling granting new sentencing hearings for Lee Boyd Malvo.

Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in random shootings that killed 10 people in and around the nation’s capital in 2002.

A judge ruled last year that Malvo is entitled to new hearings in Virginia under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made its ban on mandatory life-without-parole for juvenile offenders retroactive, extending it to people who were already sentenced before it ruled that such punishments are unconstitutional.

Malvo’s accomplice was executed in Virginia in 2009.

Utah
Justice Ginsburg describes facing sexual ­harassment
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she has experienced sexual harassment.

The 84-year-old told a crowd at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday that women her age are familiar with sexual harassment but didn’t have a name for it.

When Ginsburg was a student at Cornell University in the 1950s, she says a professor gave her a practice test that was identical to the real test.

Realizing what the professor wanted in return, Ginsburg says she confronted him and “that was the end of it.”

Asked about the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct, Ginsburg says, “It’s about time.”

Pennsylvania
Prosecutors drop bid for 1 trial for 2 charged in teen death
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Prosecutors have withdrawn a request to try a man and woman together in the rape and killing of her 14-year-old adopted daughter in Pennsylvania.

An attorney for 43-year-old Sara Packer says prosecutors’ decision Monday means that, absent a guilty plea, there will be two homicide trials in the death of Grace Packer.

Bucks County prosecutors allege Packer watched Sullivan act out a rape-murder fantasy in July 2016. They say the couple stored the body in cat litter for months, then dumped it in a remote area where hunters found it.

Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against Sullivan and possibly Packer as well.

New Jersey
Prosecutors: Taxi driver had $800,000 of crystal meth
FORT LEE, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey prosecutors say a New York City taxi driver was arrested after officials say they found approximately $800,000 in crystal meth in his vehicle.

Forty-two-year-old Gerardo Camilo-Nolasco, of the Bronx, was pulled over in Fort Lee Monday in connection with a Bergen County narcotics probe. Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo says police found 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms) of methamphetamine in his vehicle, alongside four grams of cocaine.

Prosecutors say the meth has a street value estimated at $800,000. Camilo-Nolasco faces several drug charges, including cocaine and meth possession.

A New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission spokes­person says the Camilo-Nolasco’s taxi license expired in 2011, and his application to renew was denied. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Florida
2 12-year-olds charged with cyberstalking in girl’s suicide
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Two 12-year-olds in Florida have been charged with cyberstalking in connection with the death of a middle school student who killed herself two weeks ago.

Panama City Beach officials said in a news release that the circumstances around the death of 12-year-old Gabriella Green on Jan. 10 led to the arrests of the two middle school students.

The news release said investigators were made aware of the potential cyberbullying against the girl, which led them to examine several cellphones and social media accounts. They interviewed two suspects who confessed to cyberbullying.

Gabriella’s mother, Tanya Green, told the News Herald the arrests “were gratifying” but added she puts the blame on parents and the school system.

New York
Man pleads guilty to trying to ­support terrorism
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man who traveled to Turkey in an attempt to join the Islamic State group has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Arafat Nagi entered the plea in federal court in Buffalo on Monday. The 47-year-old Lackawanna man faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced in May.

Prosecutors say Nagi traveled to Turkey in 2012 and 2014 with plans to meet members of the Islamic State group, first purchasing military combat items including body armor, a machete, night vision goggles and a black and white flag associated with the group.

Authorities say he was planning his third trip to Turkey, with plans to continue to Syria to join the fighters, at the time of his arrest in 2015.