POLICE NEWS: Suspect charged in sex crime case after nabbed by online group

Aimee Ambrose, Goshen News, Ind.
·4 min read

May 6—A sting by an online watchdog group has led to sex crime charges against an Elkhart man.

Michael Kelly, 54, is charged with two Level 5 felony counts of child solicitation. He's accused of sending sexually explicit online messages to two people he believed were under 14 years old.

According to details in a probable cause affidavit, a member of social media group, Truckers Against Predators, contacted Elkhart County police last July. The member apparently had evidence alleging Kelly messaged two members of the group who had posed as children aged 13 and 12 years old on an app.

The messages police reviewed showed Kelly, identified by a screenname, allegedly had sexual conversations with the two decoys and sent graphic photos of himself, as well as a photo of his driver's license in one of the messages, the affidavit shows.

Police interviewed Kelly, and he acknowledged the account investigators reviewed was his. He also allegedly admitted to having the explicit conversations with who he believed were minors, the affidavit shows.

The case was filed in Elkhart County Superior Court 3 on Wednesday.

CHILD MOLESTATION

Javier Perez Faustino, 34, Goshen, has been charged with two Level 4 felony counts of child molestation.

Perez Faustino is accused of inappropriately touching a child under 12 years old multiple times at a home along South Silverwood Lane between August and September 2020, according to details by Goshen police in the probable cause affidavit in the case.

As police investigated the allegations, they interviewed Perez Faustino. He denied touching the child in an inappropriate way, saying some upper body touching may have occurred on accident as part of child care, according to the affidavit.

The case was filed in Elkhart County Superior Court 3 on Monday.

CRASHES

—Four vehicles were involved in a crash at a line of traffic waiting to pull into the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru lane in Goshen on Wednesday.

A car driven by Aaron Albin, South Bend, rear-ended a vehicle driven by Michael Stack, South Bend, while he was stopped in the line of traffic outside Dunkin Donuts, 906 W. Pike St., around 11:15 a.m. The collision pushed Stack's vehicle into the rear of a van driven by Ida Weaver, Middlebury, and Weaver's van was pushed into the rear of a pickup truck driven by Matt Wilson, Saucier, Mississippi, according to a report by Goshen police.

Stack was treated at the scene for neck pain, police said.

Weaver, Wilson and Albin did not report any injuries. Albin told police he had checked his mirror to change lanes when he saw the traffic line. But when his focus was back on the road, he said couldn't stop in time, the report shows.

—A car driven by Sineang Oy, Elkhart, collided with a pickup truck driven by Larry Line, Goshen, at Clinton Street and Riverside Boulevard around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Goshen police said in a report.

Oy was treated at the scene for back pain, the report shows. Line did not report any injuries.

ARREST

Alberto Rivera, 22, 1608 S. 12th St., Goshen, was arrested by Goshen police and jailed on charges of resisting law enforcement, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana following a police pursuit early Thursday morning. According to a report, police tried to stop Rivera on Elkhart Road, but he led officers on a high-speed chase until he struck a fence and stopped.

BATTERY

Alan Reynolds, Goshen, reported to Goshen police a battery that occurred at Brookside Manor, 61108 C.R. 17, around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. While no injuries were reported from the battery, John Perez, Goshen, also reported his foot was injured by a vehicle driven by the suspect in the battery, according to a police report. The situation is under investigation.

INTIMIDATION

Goshen police responded to a report of a man who was threatened in the 600 block of West Wilden Avenue around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

INDECENT EXPOSURE

Goshen police responded to a report of a man who exposed himself inside Walmart, 2304 Lincolnway East, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

THEFT

Kenneth Story, Bristol, reported to Goshen police that $4,000 in property was stolen at Goshen Hospital, 200 W. High Park Ave., sometime Thursday.

TRESPASSING

Goshen police issued a trespassing warning to a 44-year-old man at Lowe's Home Improvement, 2219 Rieth Blvd., around 9:05 p.m. Wednesday.

RESIDENTIAL ENTRY

Angela Hogue, Goshen, reported to Goshen police a case of residential entry at 724 S. Main St. around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.

HIT-AND-RUN

Nancy Boull, Goshen, reported to Goshen police her vehicle was struck by another vehicle while it was parked at Lippert Components Inc., 1101 Eisenhower Drive S., sometime Wednesday. The driver of the other vehicle left the scene without exchanging information.

DOG BITE

Wallace Kehr, Goshen, reported to Goshen police he and his dog were bitten by another dog at 1200 Prairie Ave. around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Kehr was taken to Goshen Hospital to be treated for injuries, police said in a report.

Recommended Stories

  • Employee fatally shot man ‘causing a disturbance’ in business, Kansas City police say

    A KCPD spokesman said the employee was taken into police custody and released “pending further investigation.”

  • 5-year prison term for Hawaii psychiatric hospital escape

    A man who spent decades in a Hawaii psychiatric hospital for killing a woman was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for escaping from the facility in 2017 and flying to California before he was captured. In November 2017, authorities said Randall Saito walked out of Hawaii State Hospital, where he was sent in 1981 after he was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity in the 1979 killing of Sandra Yamashiro. After leaving the hospital, Saito called a taxi that took him to the airport, where boarded a chartered flight to Maui.

  • Australia to resume India repatriation flights after backlash

    The government will bring some "vulnerable" Australians home after its travel ban ends next week.

  • Vaccinated American doctor dies after travelling to India to help with Covid, say reports

    ‘It is ironic that we came to India for two weeks and he contracted it here,’ Dr Rajendra Kapila’s widow says

  • Ellen DeGeneres is living with Courteney Cox after selling her Beverly Hills mansion

    DeGeneres shut down speculation that she was living with the "Friends" star because of "marital troubles."

  • John Legend says he and Chrissy Teigen are teaching their daughter Luna to not be 'competitive' about beauty

    The "All of Me" singer shared his thoughts on beauty, saying he's teaching his children that everyone is unique.

  • A Filipina-American artist's powerful drawing captures her experiences of being racially stereotyped

    Anne Castro said she grew up hearing the same stereotypes over and over. She drew them to raise awareness about anti-Asian racism and discrimination.

  • Big weather news at ABC11: A replacement for Chris Hohmann, who retires this month

    A familiar face will take the chief meteorologist spot from Chris Hohmann, who has been at the station for almost 30 years.

  • Coffee chain yanks Louisiana man’s franchise over crude reply to LeBron James post

    “PJ’s Coffee does not tolerate hatred or disrespect of any kind,” the franchise said in a statement.

  • Coffee chain yanks Louisiana man’s franchise over crude reply to LeBron James post

    “PJ’s Coffee does not tolerate hatred or disrespect of any kind,” the franchise said in a statement.

  • 8-year-old wearing BLM shirt banned from school cafeteria and recess, Oklahoma mom says

    “Wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt has NOTHING to do with politics,” his mom said. “He’s simply saying his life matters.”

  • Family upset that 2 Americans got Italy's harshest sentence

    The family of one of two Americans, both convicted of a fatal stabbing during a scuffle with an Italian police officer, on Thursday blasted the jury for ordering Italy's harshest punishment of life imprisonment, a sentence frequently meted out to mobsters who assassinate state officials. When trial ended Wednesday night, more than 14 months later, the jury convicted both on all charges and handed down life sentences — a ruling that U.S. lawyer Craig Peters called “a mockery of justice.” Finnegan Lee Elder, now 21, said that he stabbed the 35-year-old Cerciello Rega because he feared he was being strangled as the two scuffled on a Rome street.

  • No plan to shoot down Chinese rocket -Pentagon chief

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday there was no plan at this point to shoot down the remnants of a large Chinese rocket expected to plunge back through the atmosphere this weekend. The Long March 5B rocket blasted off from China's Hainan island on April 29, carrying the Tianhe module, which contains what will become living quarters for three crew members on a permanent Chinese space station. The Global Times, a Chinese tabloid published by the official People's Daily, characterized reports that the rocket is "out of control" and could cause damage as "Western hype."

  • Former Maldives president hurt in blast outside home - police

    Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was injured in a blast outside his family home on Thursday, police said in a statement. "Following an explosion... Speaker of Parliament President Mohamed Nasheed has sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at ADK Hospital," the statement said. "Strongly condemn the attack on Speaker of Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed this evening," the country's foreign minister Abdulla Shahid, a member of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party, said in a tweet.

  • Arriving Northwest storms to induce harsh temperature drop

    A cold front will arrive off the coast of Oregon and Washington, bringing cool air and rain through the end of the week.

  • "Greatest tool in the Democrats' arsenal": Pollster says Trump may cost GOP the House in 2022

    Former Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells Kara Swisher on her New York Times podcast "Sway" that Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election "could cost the Republicans the majority in the House in 2022."Why it matters: The former president is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party, but his baseless claims about the election have alienated moderates and key GOP leaders — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Key exchange: Luntz: "More than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen."Swisher: "So it's working. This 'Big Lie' thing is working."Luntz: "It is working. ... What Donald Trump is saying is actually telling people it's not worth it to vote. Donald Trump single-handedly may cause people not to vote. And he may be the greatest tool in the Democrats' arsenal to keep control of the House and Senate in 2022."The big picture: "If Donald Trump runs for president as a Republican, he's the odds-on favorite to win the nomination," Luntz added. "He could never win a general election, but I can't imagine losing a Republican primary. ... I would bet on him to be the nominee and I would bet on him losing to whatever Democratic nominee there was."Listen up.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

  • Fox News Anchor Wonders ‘Who’s Right’ on the ‘Big Lie’—Cheney or Trump?

    Fox NewsWhat is the “Big Lie”? Is it a former president and his allies claiming widespread voter fraud and a “stolen” election? Or is it a Republican congresswoman calling those lies the “Big Lie”? Who’s to say, suggests one Fox News anchor, whose ostensible job it is to report the news.During Thursday’s broadcast of America Reports—one of Fox News’ “straight news” programs—anchor John Roberts ended an interview with Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) by deploying a high-grade bothsidesism to ask him about House Republicans’ push to oust Rep. Liz Cheney. The Wyoming lawmaker is at risk of being forced from her leadership position because she insists on calling out former president Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election.Noting that Cheney survived an attempt to vote her out earlier this year, Roberts pointed out that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)—a staunch Trump ally who supported his push to overturn last year’s election—has the inside track to supplant Cheney.Brady, for his part, attempted to thread the needle and offer up some praise for Cheney, claiming she is a “fierce conservative” who has gained a “great deal of respect” over her “vote of conscience” on impeachment. (Cheney was one of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.)The Fox anchor then decided to frame Trump’s outright lies about widespread voter fraud as merely a “sharp disagreement” with Cheney, suggesting this GOP feud is an unsettled issue that is still up for debate.“Trump says the ‘Big Lie’ was the result of the 2020 election. Liz Cheney says, no, the ‘Big Lie’ was suggesting the 2020 election was stolen. Between the two of them, who is right?” Roberts asked the Texas congressman, who is retiring after this term.“I’ll leave that dispute to them,” Brady said, prompting a chuckle from Roberts.This was not the first time the Fox anchor has framed Trump’s baseless election claims as nothing more than a difference of opinion between the ex-president and the Liz Cheneys of his own party.Earlier this week, during an interview with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Roberts brought up Trump’s claim that the “fraudulent” election will now be known as the “Big Lie” before contrasting it with Cheney’s response that the “2020 election was not stolen” and the “Big Lie” was the act of deploying those falsehoods.“Who of the two of them is right?” Roberts wondered aloud.After Barrasso didn’t directly answer the question—instead stating that Biden is in the White House and the election was verified—Roberts again asked: “Was the 2020 election stolen or was it fought fairly?” Fox News viewers may never know.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Liz Cheney and the GOP, &c.

    Political courage is a rare thing, like all courage. That’s why we celebrate courage (some of the time), I think. If courage were more common, we might shrug at it, or even fail to notice it. Liz Cheney, the Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, has demonstrated political courage. In last November’s presidential election, Donald Trump won Wyoming with 70 percent of the vote — his highest percentage anywhere. Wyoming has a small population and just one congressional district. Liz Cheney is that House rep. Despite Trump’s immense popularity in her state, she voted to impeach him, and she will not stop telling the truth about November 3 (Election Day), January 6 (the day of the assault on the Capitol), and so on. As a result, she will probably lose her leadership position in the House GOP. And why shouldn’t she? She is out of step with her party — which is greatly to her credit, I think. Listen to her colleague Anthony Gonzalez, a Republican congressman from Ohio: “If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit. Liz isn’t going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes. She’s going to stand on principle. If that’s going to be distracting for folks, she’s not the best fit. I wish that weren’t the case.” Yes — but it is. On the way to the rostrum to give his recent speech to Congress, President Biden greeted Cheney with a fist bump — which led Donald Trump Jr. to tweet, “Republican” warmonger Liz Cheney gives Sleepy Joe a fist bump after he delivered a radical socialist vision for the future of America. So glad she’s in the GOP leadership, I guess they wanted to be more inclusive and put Democrats in there too?!? Bill Buckley used to say, “It’s amazing how serious political issues can be boiled down to bumper stickers: ‘Better Dead Than Red’; ‘Better Red Than Dead.’” Similarly, it’s amazing how one tweet can go so far in summarizing the current state of our politics. Liz Cheney responded, I disagree strongly w/@JoeBiden policies, but when the President reaches out to greet me in the chamber of the US House of Representatives, I will always respond in a civil, respectful & dignified way. We’re different political parties. We’re not sworn enemies. We’re Americans. That kind of language — that kind of thinking — is from another age. The tweet might as well have been written in Sanskrit. At a Utah GOP convention last Saturday, delegates booed Mitt Romney, and heckled him as a “traitor” and “communist.” Romney asked the poignant question: “Aren’t you embarrassed?” (Answer: no.) Millions of Americans are definitionally at sea. They have no idea what a communist is, or a conservative, etc. They are badly misled by the talkers they listen to. In the 2012 Republican primaries, Rick Perry damned Mitt Romney as a “vulture capitalist.” Today, some Republicans are damning Romney as a “communist.” If Mitt thinks the world has gone stark raving mad, I don’t blame him. Some days, I’m inclined to believe that Matt Gaetz, the talk establishment, and the rest of Trump Nation are right: There is no place for the likes of Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney in the GOP. Not today’s. The Republicans have become a Trump party, through and through. Is there room for a third party, of any significance? Probably not. America seems to do two at a time. But a third party is awfully attractive to a lot of conservatives. By “a lot,” I don’t mean the kind of numbers that Trump & Co. can attract. But enough to fill a few booths at Denny’s? Yes. Maybe even rent out the whole restaurant. • In a recent column — primarily about Northern Ireland — Daniel Hannan said something that really rang my chimes: . . . Britishness is uniquely suited to the modern age. It is creedal rather than ethnic, resting on values rather than blood. Which values? Precisely those that the IRA tried to bomb out of existence: the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, personal liberty, religious pluralism, private property, tolerance of difference, free speech. Sing it, baby. • Did you see this? “Chinese university plan causes security concerns in Hungary.” As I have noted in this column before, China is establishing its first foreign campus ever — in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. This campus bids to be a spy hub, among other things. Ties between Orbán and Beijing are increasingly warm. Many of my friends and colleagues are gung-ho on Orbán. At the same time, they are hostile to the Chinese government. I wonder how they reconcile these things. • Another article — an eye-popper: “This ex-Marine tried to help North Korean diplomats defect. Now he faces decades in prison.” The article is by Max Boot and Sue Mi Terry. They relate the story of Christopher Ahn. I want to paste a little excerpt, then do some more pasting, from something else: . . . Ahn interrupted a vacation in the Philippines to fly to Taiwan to help Kim Han Sol, the nephew of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. . . . Kim Han Sol no longer felt safe living in Macao after his father, Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un’s half brother, was assassinated with a chemical weapon by alleged North Korean agents in Malaysia. Ahn helped Kim Han Sol and his mother and sister find a flight to safety abroad. I had an encounter once with Kim Han-sol. I did not meet him, in the flesh — wish I had. But I saw some video, and wrote about him in my book Children of Monsters (a book that also includes plenty of grandchildren). Han-sol, I said, was born in 1995, and has had most of his life outside of North Korea. Via the social media, he has expressed concern over the widespread famine in his home country. “I know my people are hungry.” That is treasonous talk. In 2012, when he was a student at the United World College in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was interviewed by Elisabeth Rehn, a Finnish politician who was a founder of the college. This interview was filmed for television. Han-sol proved a winsome young man, speaking American English, complete with slang. He wore two earrings in his left ear. Rebellious. Subversive. He told his interviewer that he had spent his first years in North Korea, kept largely isolated from society. He never met his grandfather, Kim Jong-il. He is not sure his grandfather ever knew of his existence. His mother was not a North Korean “royal,” just an ordinary citizen. Visiting her family, he could glimpse the lives of ordinary North Koreans. He said, in the interview, that he dreamed of a united Korean Peninsula. One more little slice: Han-sol was a student in France when Kim Jong-un executed Jang Song-taek, and then “liquidated” the man’s extended family. Han-sol was put under police protection. He is a Kim, not a Jang, but he has been a loose cannon, a virtual Westerner, an offender against juche. Yes. (Juche, as you recall, is the official ideology of North Korea. It means, roughly, “self-reliance.” But this is not an Emersonian self-reliance. It means: “North Korea will be shut off from the rest of the world — a hermit kingdom — ruled by the Communist Party.”) • Shall we lighten up? Let me do some Reagan, by way of George Washington. On April 30, Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian, tweeted, When he was sworn in as first President of the United States today 1789, George Washington wore a suit of plain brown broadcloth (possibly this one from his wardrobe), showing that he did not intend to be a king or tyrant. “This one”? Well, Beschloss had tweeted a photo, too: Go here. I could not help thinking of the 40th president — Reagan — and his brown suit. There was a lot of comment on this suit. A lot. Brown suits were considered a rarity, and not very — you know: with-it. But the president made them almost fashionable. Try an article from UPI, in August 1985: “Reagan Makes Brown Suit a Success Mark.” I do not own a brown suit. Do they sell ’em? I might should wear one, in honor of GW and RR. • Let’s have a little language. The other week, I was watching a TV series, set in the 1980s (speaking of Reagan!). The characters said, “I’m good,” meaning they did not need or want another drink, etc. I believe this was wrong. I don’t think we were saying “I’m good” in the 1980s. If we were, what we meant was, “I’m virtuous.” “I’m good” in the sense of “I’m happy with the status quo” came much later, I believe. Perhaps some student of language can tell us . . . • A little music? For my monthly “chronicle,” in The New Criterion, go here. You get a slew of performers, composers, and issues. For a post on Mishka Rushdie Momen, a London-born pianist, go here. You get a slew of performers, composers, and issues in that one, too, come to think of it. • Quiz: Where was this picture taken? South Bend, Indiana, correct. Wanna take in a minor-league game, while in South Bend? And doesn’t that sky look big, and wonderful? A statue of Father Ted Hesburgh and Martin Luther King, singing “We Shall Overcome”: Civil War memorial — thank God for the men who saved the Union: Civic theater! Do they still matter in American life, when we can watch shows on our phone and whatnot? I hope so. For one thing, there’s nothing like participating, rather than being a mere spectator. Now we’re talkin’: This place was virtually made for me. In fact, they must have known I was comin’: A taste of New York — New York Harbor — in South Bend: Thank you for joining me today, my friends, and see you later. If you’d like to receive Impromptus by e-mail — links to new columns — write to jnordlinger@nationalreview.com.

  • ‘I’m a vet ... f*** you all!’: Capitol riot suspect screams at judge and disconnects call during wild hearing, report says

    Attempts to mute defendant were unsuccessful and he may face competency hearing and detention

  • Dad accused of fatally hitting son who ate his cheesecake pleads guilty in Wisconsin

    The dad was upset the 5-year-old ate his Father’s Day cake, officials say.