National Roundup

Delaware
Women who took MAGA hat, tore up Trump sign get probation

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Two Delaware women who confronted supporters of former President Donald Trump and took a “Make America Great Again” hat from them at the 2020 Democratic National Convention have been sentenced to probation.

In a video viewed millions of times on social media, Olivia Winslow and Camryn Amy were seen ripping apart a Trump poster and taking a red MAGA hat from Trump supporters who were protesting Joe Biden’s victory as the Democratic nominee for president.

The News Journal of Wilmington reports that Winslow and Amy, both 21 at the time, were each sentenced Friday on misdemeanor charges of theft, child endangerment and hate crimes. Neither will serve time in jail.

Judge Francis Jones went along with prosecutors’ recommendation in sentencing the women to multiple counts of conditional probation. If they attend required anger management counseling and complete 40 hours of community service, the probation will be lifted, Jones said.

“We have all had moments of pettiness and immaturity,” said Thomas Foley, Winslow’s attorney.

He said that his client has “learned a great deal” and “paid a tough price.” She and Amy have both received hate mail and death threats since Students for Trump tweeted the video.

The adult male victim of the incident said the harassment the women received has been “punishment enough,” according to a submitted statement.

“I wish things did not get so out of hand from the start,” he wrote. “I hope they can use this to move forward.”

Jones said he took the victim’s wishes into account in sentencing, including his agreement to drop charges of assault, attempted assault and conspiracy in the plea deal.

Amy and Winslow, both of Wilmington, offered apologies after their sentencing.

“I’m ashamed of my actions that day,” Winslow said.


Pennsylvania
Man convicted of first-degree murder in girlfriend’s death

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — A man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, whose body was found in his sport-utility vehicle in northeastern Pennsylvania three years ago.

Jurors in Luzerne County who heard three days of testimony took only about a half-hour Friday to convict 42-year-old Dana Ganjeh in the August 2018 death of 56-year-old Linda Frick. He now faces a mandatory life term without possibility of parole.

Prosecutors characterized Ganjeh as a jealous and abusive boyfriend who brutally killed Frick, whose body was found covered with a blanket and towels in the SUV behind his Kingston apartment. The victim had broken ribs, blood-filled lungs and bleeding in the brain, prosecutors said.

Authorities alleged that the defendant wanted to silence Frick because she had reported domestic violence on his part a few months earlier. “Linda finally decided to pursue the charges,” Deputy Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hogans said. “Now she’s dead.”

But defense attorneys Demetrius Fannick and Katelyn Spellman argued that Ganjeh defended himself when Frick pulled a pocketknife during a alcohol-fueled argument at her brother’s home in Dreher Township, Wayne County. They argued for an acquittal or at most a third-degree murder conviction.

“This was not a planned, premeditated event,” Fannick said. “It was a heat-of-passion event.”

Fannick said after the verdict that he was disappointed but he respected the jury’s verdict, adding “Mr. Ganjeh will obviously be appealing.”

Hogans said he was happy with a verdict he called “right and just.”

 “There’s finally justice for Linda Frick and her family,” he said.

West Virginia
Woman admits she was paid for trafficking teen

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a West Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to a child sex trafficking conspiracy in which she was charged with providing a 17-year-old relative to a former police chief for sex in exchange for money.

In a news release, Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Johnston says 28-year-old Kristen Naylor-Legg pleaded guilty Wednesday and faces up to life in prison. She will also be required to register as a sex offender. Naylor-Legg is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 9.

Prosecutors say Naylor-Legg on two occasions in 2020 offered up her minor relative to then-Gauley Bridge Police Chief Larry Allen Clay, Jr., who also had been working with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Prosecutors say Naylor-Legg admitted Clay paid her $100 on one occasion, and on another he promised $50 but did not pay her.

Naylor-Legg and Clay were initially charged in March and indicted the next month. The teen has also sued Clay and the city of Gauley Bridge in federal court.

Clay has pleaded not guilty and heads to trial Nov. 9 on sex trafficking charges.

Missouri
U.S. man who taught in China sentenced for sexual exploitation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who taught English in China has been sentenced to nearly 42 years in federal prison for attempting to blackmail a former student into sending him pornographic images of herself.

Curtis Baldwin, 48 contacted the 12-year-old via the WeChat message service in November 2019 after leaving his job in China and returning to Springfield, Missouri, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Friday announcing the sentence.

The release said Baldwin told the girl that he had video footage that showed her engaged in sexually explicit conduct and threatened to post the video online unless she sent him additional pornographic images and a video.

The girl’s father saw the messages and contacted the language school. The school then contacted the FBI.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at Baldwin’s home in March 2020 and found videos that Baldwin had made of former Chinese students engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The files also contained a sexually explicit video titled “My First Project,” created by Baldwin of a minor female in Springfield, the release said.

Baldwin pleaded guilty in October to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.