Des Moines man indicted on federal sex trafficking charges spanning nearly a decade

A Des Moines man appeared in federal court Tuesday to face sex trafficking and drug charges.

Marlin Santana Thomas, 45, is charged with trafficking seven women and one minor girl between September 2009 and February 2018, distributing heroin and transporting women out of state for the purpose of prostitution.

Authorities say Thomas transported women and one minor to Minnesota, North Dakota and Illinois and forced them or coerced them into prostitution.

He was indicted by a grand jury in July.

Thomas is currently serving time in federal prison on drug charges stemming from a separate investigation.

Thomas was arrested by Des Moines police in May 2017 and charged with trafficking a person under age 18. Authorities say he arranged for three man to meet with and have sex with a victim, according to court documents from those charges in state court.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of assault causing bodily injury and was sentenced to three years in state prison.

In May 2018, Thomas pleaded guilty to a federal count of conspiracy to distribute a substance containing heroin. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Scherle said women trafficked by Thomas felt safe enough to come forward after he was taken in custody on the federal drug charge.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/09/03/des-moines-man-marlin-thomas-indicted-federal-sex-trafficking-charges/5701891002/

Fort Benning soldier jailed on 2 child sex abuse charges

A Fort Benning soldier has been arrested on child sex abuse charges.

Just Scott Reed, 30, was arrested Aug. 27, according to an announcement this week by the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Central Intelligence Division at Fort Benning. He is charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of two victims.

One of the victims is under the age of 16 and the other is under the age of 12, said Sheriff Jimmy Abbett. The investigation began in April when the alleged crimes were reported to sheriff’s officials.

Additional details have not been released, and Abbett said the investigation is ongoing. Reed is being held in the Tallapoosa County Jail with bond set at $30,000. He is set to have his first court appearance later this month.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/fort-benning-soldier-jailed-on-2-child-sex-abuse-charges/ar-BB18GkwD

Fire at oil storage facility kills 2 in Pakistan's port city

KARACHI, Pakistan – A massive fire broke out Thursday at the main oil storage facility on the outskirts of the Pakistani port city of Karachi, at a terminal used by a local subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell. Two drivers were killed and three others were injured, police and local media reported.

The incident took place while truck drivers were waiting to get oil supplies. Local TV footage showed firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze, which was later brought under control.

It was not immediately known what had caused the fire and the government and police provided no details. Authorities later said they temporarily suspended oil supplies from the terminal for The security reasons.

In 2017, days after a fuel truck fire that killed 215 people, Pakistan ordered the same subsidiary, Shell Pakistan, to pay $2.4 million in compensation to the victims. The incident took place when an oil tanker crashed in Punjab province, erupting into a fire as crowds of impoverished local villagers hurried to the site to try and collect oil that was spilling out, ignoring warnings.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/fire-oil-storage-facility-kills-pakistans-port-city-72797745

Lebanese army finds 4 tons of ammonium nitrate in Beirut

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese military discovered more than 4 tons of ammonium nitrate near Beirut's port on Thursday, a find that's a chilling reminder of the horrific explosion a month ago that killed 191 people.

According to the military, army experts were called in for an inspection and found 4.35 tons of the dangerous chemical in four containers stored near the port. There were no details on the origin of the chemicals or their owner,

The find comes almost exactly a month after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port for six years detonated, wreaking death and destruction. Along with 191 people killed, more than 6,000 were injured and entire neighborhoods were devastated. The blast left nearly 300,000 people homeless and caused damage worth billions of dollars.

The military statement said that customs officials had called in the army to inspect containers at a facility near the port, where they found 4.35 tons of ammonium nitrate. It said army experts were “dealing with the material," an apparent reference that it was being destroyed.

Days after the Aug. 4 blast, French and Italian chemical experts working amid the remains of the port identified more than 20 containers carrying dangerous chemicals. The army later said that these containers were moved and stored safely in locations away from the port.

French experts as well as the FBI have taken part in the investigation into the Aug. 4 blast, at the request of Lebanese authorities. Their findings have yet to be released.

So far, authorities have detained 25 people over last month's explosion, most of them port and customs officials.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lebanese-army-finds-4-tons-of-ammonium-nitrate-in-beirut/ar-BB18Gd6e

>>10516050

Don't think he was looking at child porn…he abused them as the article says…and yes uploading files on a target's computer is old tech, nothing new

>>10516274

'You shoot at the police, expect us to shoot back': Ohio sheriff responds to protest 'lawlessness'

CINCINNATI – The Butler County Sheriff's Office in Ohio issued a statement Wednesday in response in response to what its leader called "lawlessness in the country over the last few months directed towards police."

"If you come to this county expecting a free pass to harm one of my men or women in uniform keep in mind, nothing in life is free,” Sheriff Richard Jones said in a press release and on Facebook.

The statement referenced people dumping water on police in New York, bricks, and frozen water bottles being thrown at police in Portland, Oregon, and people shooting at officers in Chicago.

"You shoot at the police expect us to shoot back," Jones said. "I will not allow my deputies or any law enforcement officer in Butler County to take the abuse I have seen over the past several months."

Jones posted the same information on the organization's Facebook page shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday. Nearly 3,000 people have shared the post and over 4,000 people have liked it .

Protests against police brutality and racial inequality have continued nationwide since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a Black man who died at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, who has since been fired and arrested. The killings of other Black people, such as Breonna Taylor in Louisville, have also sparked protests.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/03/ohio-sheriff-responds-protest-violence-saying-officers-may-shoot/5702267002/

>>10516318

or=Pelosi's Con-Spa-Racy=

Freehold rape suspect lured 12-year-old runaway from 7-Eleven, prosecutor says

FREEHOLD - A judge on Thursday ordered an undocumented immigrant from Freehold held in jail without bail to face charges that he randomly plucked a runaway 12-year-old girl off the street and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in his basement while his family slept upstairs.

State Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano, in ordering 45-year-old Elias Hernandez held at the Monmouth County Jail without bail, said there was overwhelming evidence to charge him with aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and child endangerment, for which he could potentially face life in prison if he is convicted.

“This is not a case based merely on a verbal allegation without corroboration,’’ Falcetano said. “This was a stranger-to-stranger, forced abduction of a 12-year-old victim upon whom the defendant committed repeated acts of sexual assault, so goes the allegation.

https://www.app.com/story/news/local/courts/2020/09/03/freehold-child-rape-victim-it-hurt-really-bad/5703274002/

“This crime was committed while other family members were in the house, asleep, at the very time he was sexually assaulting the victim,’’ the judge said. “If proven, this is the act of a child predator.’’