Group home worker accused of selling teen in program for sex

Ashley Goodrich - Click to watch video

SAUGUS, Mass. — A Lynn woman was indicted in connection with trafficking a minor for sexual servitude in Boston and Worcester from a Saugus group home where she worked and where the victim lived, Attorney General Maura Healey said. Ashley Goodrich, 27, was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on four charges of trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, one count of deriving support from prostitution of a minor and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with trafficking a minor for commercial sexual exploitation.

Goodrich, a former employee of Eliot Community Human Services, targeted and recruited the minor while working at the group residence, investigators said.

Goodrich posted ads online offering sexual services in exchange for money, investigators said.

Goodrich then drove the minor to these sexual encounters in Boston and Worcester and coordinated them during times when the minor had run away from the home, investigators said.

Goodrich was arraigned and released on personal recognizance.

The residence was a home for minors referred from the Department of Children and Families to provide congregate care for adolescents and was operated by Eliot in Saugus.

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Group home worker accused of selling teen in program for sex

Britney Spears’ Net Worth: The Truth About Her Spending Habits and How She Still Makes Millions Today

Britney Spears is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, and one of the richest. Here’s what she spends her money on and how she still continues to rake in millions today.

Starting out

Before she was a household name, Spears made her nationwide singing debut on the competition show Star Search back in 1992. While she didn’t win, her appearance on the show opened doors for her and she ended up being cast on Disney’s The All-New Mickey Mouse Club alongside other future stars like Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.

Making it big

In 1999, Spears became a pop sensation with the release of her single “Baby One More Time.” The song was an instant hit and sold more than 500,000 copies within its first day of being released.

The singer continued to put out successful albums in the early 2000s and also starred in movies including the film Crossroads. She then appeared on a reality TV show with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline. In 2012, Spears served as a judge on The X-Factor and banked $15 million for one season.

Other ventures

Aside from releasing one hit after another and her film and TV gigs, Spears earned some serious cash from endorsements. The pop princess had deals with top brands like Pepsi, American Express, McDonald’s, Home Depot, Verizon, Amazon, Google, Visa, Colgate, Estee Lauder, Priceline, and Comcast to name a few.

In addition, she has her fragrance line in partnership with Elizabeth Arden. And of course, her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood which started in 2012 and became one of the most successful residencies ever in Sin City. Forbes noted that she made well over $100 million from the show.

A substantial amount of her money has come from touring and in August 2018, she began her Piece of Me tour in the United Kingdom.

Her net worth

All that has given her an impressive net worth of around $215 million. The number is according to Celebrity Net Worth and may differ from some other estimates you have read. That’s because some publications only list a fortune of $41 million that was put in a trust years ago after her public meltdown and today is controlled by her father, Jamie Spears. A common question many people have is how long will the conservatorship remain in place?

“As long as she is bringing in so much money and as long as the lawyers and conservators are getting paid, there is little incentive to end it,” Elaine Renoire, president of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse, told The New York Times. “Usually, the conservatorship just keeps going unless the conservatee makes a fuss or the family does.”

How she spends her money

So how does the “Oops!… I Did It Again” artist spend her money? Well, as E! News noted, Spears shops at a lot of the same retailers we all do such as Target, Old Navy, Macy’s, and TJ Maxx. She also picks up clothing for herself and her sons at stores like Nike, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Adidas.

Some of her other expenses though differ from everyday folks as she pays for bodyguards, a legal team, and maintaining her home’s elevator.

It’s good to be Britney!

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Britney Spears’ Net Worth: The Truth About Her Spending Habits and How She Still Makes Millions Today

Lack of judicial transparency in Colorado is intolerable but there is hope

A Denver Post reporter’s terrific series on how state courts have suppressed thousands of lawsuits and criminal cases from public view has prodded the judicial branch into pledging belated reform. But don’t celebrate yet. Final victory for judicial transparency in Colorado is a long way off.

And fixing one of the obstacles may require the intervention of the highest court in the land.

In his reports, The Post’s David Migoya revealed that “someone could be arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced for a crime in Colorado without anyone outside of law enforcement ever knowing who, how, why or whether the process was fair.” That’s intolerable on many levels, which is perhaps why the state court system has bestirred itself and announced that suppression orders and their legal justification may soon be made public. We shall see.

But suppression orders aren’t the only way courts prevent citizens from monitoring their activities. Another threat — thanks to a deplorable ruling this year by the Colorado Supreme Court — is the nearly unlimited authority of judges to bar public access to court documents without so much as offering a legal justification, even in a capital murder case of intense public interest that was sullied by prosecutorial misconduct.

The state high court not only rejected a request by The Colorado Independent, an online publication, to unseal documents in the death-penalty case of Sir Mario Owens, it unanimously dismissed the idea that the public has a constitutional right to inspect any judicial records.

Colorado is now a regressive outlier in terms of access to judicial documents, which is why the Independent’s latest move is so important. On Friday, its attorneys filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to consider the issue.

Seeking Supreme Court review is always a long shot, but this case contains many features that may make it attractive. The high court has clearly stated that “the right to attend criminal trials is implicit in the guarantees of the First Amendment,” but it has never ruled outright on access to court documents. Meanwhile, no fewer than 11 federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and a variety of state courts have recognized a qualified constitutional right for the public to view court files, as the Independent’s petition points out.

Either those courts are wrong or the Colorado Supreme Court is out of line. The highest court in the land should clear the air.

Then there is the nature of the underlying case itself. In pursuing Owens, who was sentenced to death 10 years ago, prosecutors in the 18th Judicial District under DA Carol Chambers cut corners. Among tantalizing facts they failed to properly disclose was that her office promised and later gave a car to a witness.

A lower court ultimately ruled these lapses had not jeopardized Owens’ right to a fair trial — which is certainly plausible — but defense attorneys naturally sought to disqualify the DA’s office from any further role in the case. (By this time Chambers had been replaced by George Brauchler, the current GOP attorney general candidate.) And this is where the Independent enters the fray. It wants to see the motions for and against that request, a transcript to a closed hearing on the matter and the judge’s order rejecting the defense motion. All have been sealed without explanation.

If there is confidential information in the documents, the court could have said so. But for all we know, the records were sealed to protect the DA’s office from embarrassment and pointed questions. It is simply staggering that our state Supreme Court believes the public has no right to know the truth. As the Independent’s petition points out, public access to the judicial system “discourages perjury, misconduct, and bias that can thrive in secrecy” while promoting the “perception of fairness.”

Nor is access to criminal trials alone sufficient in an age when “less than five percent of all felony cases” even go to trial. “Even entirely public proceedings cannot easily be followed or fully comprehended by the press and public without access to the pleadings, motion papers and documentary evidence that are the focus of those proceedings,” the petition rightly observes.

Yet instead of affirming a qualified right to inspect judicial records, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart delivered a sloppy and dismissive opinion that failed even to frame the issue correctly. She said the Independent sought “unfettered access” and “a constitutional right of access to any and all records in cases involving a matter of public concern,” neither of which is true.

But true or not, the damage is done. Judges in Colorado have the green light to seal a vast array of records, and then hide their reasons for doing so, without fear of impinging on a foundational right.

Fortunately, there are two possible avenues of relief. The first is the legislature, which should enshrine a presumptive right of public access to “all judicial proceedings, related documents and exhibits” except in certain well-defined situations. That’s the American Bar Association’s recommendation.

The second avenue is the U.S. Supreme Court. Let’s hope it takes the bait.

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Lack of judicial transparency in Colorado is intolerable but there is hope

Docs: 89-year-old tortured, maimed, sexually abused

Marcine Herinck

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Chris Blair, the pastor at Crossroads Church, the place where Marcine Herinck used to pray, said family and friends had been preparing for the worst when they learned of her disappearance.

On Wednesday, over a week after her body was found in the trunk of a car, the man suspected of killing her was indicted on 23 charges, including 13 counts of aggravated murder. Additionally, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said 58-year-old Timothy Mackley caused Herinck's death by "intentional torture and intentional maiming."

"We kind of were prepared for the worst," Blair said, "and this sounds like it was the worst."

Mackley, according to the indictment, kidnapped, sexually abused and tortured Herinck over a six-day span before killing her. Mackley did not appear in a court procedure Thursday morning. His arraignment was set over until November 7, a move agreed to by both the DA and the defense team.

Herinck's son Jeff Herinck told KOIN 6 News via phone Wednesday that he hadn't seen the indictment, but, "I can't fathom what happened."

Mackley's other charges include: one count of intentional murder, four counts of burglary, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of abuse of a corpse.

"I'm glad we stopped him in his tracks before he could hurt anyone else," Jeff Herinck told KOIN.

Herinck was reported missing on Sept. 19 and her body was found on Sept. 24 in the trunk of the car Mackley was driving. ​​​​​​She was last seen the day before when a family member took her home from a shift at a thrift store where she volunteered.

Mackley was caught on surveillance video in the shop, where Herinck family members say there may have been a confrontation between him and Marcine.

"We heard he may have dropped a cell phone in the store and my mom accused him of looking up her dress," Jeff Herinck said in a press conference last week. "He was ordered out of the store, he came back and apologized and then mom went missing."

Back at the Crossroads Church, Blair said the people that knew Herinck, a wonderful person who they said lived an exemplary life, are devastated.

"There's nothing you can say in a situation like this other than letting people know you're with them and praying for them," Blair said.

And as tough as it is to process, Blair said something like this doesn't test faith.

"It tests your forgiveness," Blair said.

"It's a clear cut case here of good versus evil."

Mackley will appear in court again on January 17, 2019.

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Docs: 89-year-old tortured, maimed, sexually abused

Probate Judge's Alleged Affair With Opposing Lawyer Exposes Estate Judgment to Challenge

The Texas Court of Appeals has ruled that the losing party in a multimillion-dollar estate dispute can challenge the final judgment in that case based on allegations that the Dallas probate judge who presided over it had an “undisclosed personal relationship” with an opposing lawyer during the litigation.

The case was handled by John Peyton Jr., a former Dallas associate probate judge who entered into a voluntary agreement resigning from office earlier this year in lieu of discipline from State Commission on Judicial Conduct. According to the February agreement, Peyton resigned after the publication of an article in the April 2017 edition of D Magazine called “Ardor in the Court,” which detailed Peyton’s alleged affair with Dallas probate attorney Mary Burdette.

Peyton in his resignation denied the allegations.

After a final judgment was signed in Thomas v. 462 Thomas Family Properties, lawyers for Robert Thomas filed a bill of review before the trial court alleging that Peyton had had a personal relationship with the opposing lawyer during the pendency of the trial, which he did not disclose, that “destroyed the integrity of the proceedings.”

The bill of review seeks to set aside Peyton’s rulings in the case and claims the judge’s alleged misconduct could not have been discovered before the case was resolved in his court. Following a hearing, another Dallas probate court judge dismissed Thomas’ bill of review with prejudice—a decision he appealed to Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals.

In its Aug. 2 decision, the Fifth Court ultimately concluded that the trial court erred by dismissing Thomas’ bill of review, noting he couldn’t have known about Peyton’s alleged misconduct conduct in time to file a pretrial motion to recuse the judge within statutory deadlines.

“Assuming appellant’s allegations, as well as reasonable inferences drawn from them, are true, appellant neither knew nor reasonably should have known that the grounds for recusal existed. Thus, a motion to recuse filed after the tenth day before trial would not have been untimely,” wrote Justice Craig Stoddart.

“Applying the notice pleading standard and liberally construing appellant’s petition according to his intent, we conclude the trial court erred by dismissing his petition for equitable bill of review as lacking any basis in law at this early stage,” Stoddart wrote, remanding the case back to the trial court for further rulings consistent with the opinion.

Rob Gilbreath, a partner in Dallas’ Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young who represents Thomas on appeal, is pleased with the decision.

“We believe the allegations of a close personal relationship between the trial judge and opposing counsel during trial justifies a new trial,’’ Gilbreath said.

Robert Dubose and Doug Alexander, partners in Alexander DuBose Jefferson & Townsend who represent appellees 462 Thomas Family Properties, both did not return calls for comment.

Peyton, who now works as the director of probate operations for the Dallas County probate courts, did not return a call for comment.

According to his voluntary agreement to resign from office, Peyton denied the allegations against him in their entirety. The commission initiated an investigation into Peyton’s conduct in February 2017 after receiving a letter from his attorney, Randy Johnston, detailing a “series of events” that he believed would be made public in the D Magazine article.

Johnston did not return a call for comment.

Burdette, whom according to pleadings in the case has not appeared as counsel for the defendants in the bill of review proceedings, also did not return a call for comment.

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Probate Judge's Alleged Affair With Opposing Lawyer Exposes Estate Judgment to Challenge

Elder Rage: How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents

Elder rage can make caring for aging parents next to impossible. For eleven years I pleaded with my challenging elderly father to allow a caregiver to help him with my ailing mother, but he always insisted on taking care of her himself. Every caregiver I went ahead and hired soon sighed in exasperation, “Jacqueline, I just can’t work with your father. His temper is impossible to handle and he’s not going to accept help until he’s on his knees himself.”

When my father’s inability to continue to care for my mother nearly resulted in her death, I stepped in despite his very loud protests. It was so heart-wrenching to have my once-adoring father be so loving one minute and then some trivial little thing would set him off and he’d call me nasty names and throw me out of the house the next. I took him to several doctors and even a psychiatrist, only to be flabbergasted he could act so normal and charming when he needed to.

Finally, I stumbled upon a thorough neurologist, specializing in dementia, who put my parents through a battery of blood, neurological, memory tests and PET scans. After ruling out numerous reversible forms of dementia such as B-12 and thyroid deficiency and evaluating their many medications, he shocked me with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in both my parents – something all their other doctors missed entirely.

What I’d been coping with was the beginning of Alzheimer’s, which begins slowly and appears to come and go. I didn’t understand that my father was addicted and trapped in his own bad behavior of a lifetime of yelling to get his way, which was now coming out in over-the-top spurts of irrationality. I also didn’t understand that demented does not mean dumb (a concept not widely appreciated) and that he was still socially adjusted never to show his Mr. Hyde side to anyone outside the family. Conversely, my mother was as sweet and lovely as she’d always been.

Alzheimer’s makes up 60-80% of all dementias and there’s no stopping the progression nor is there yet a cure. However, if identified early there are a few FDA-approved medications (more in clinical trials) that in most patients can mask the symptoms and keep patients in the early independent stage longer.

Once my parents were treated for the Alzheimer’s, as well as the often-present depression in dementia patients, and then my father’s volatile aggression was treated without just making him sleep all day, I was finally able to optimize nutrition and fluids with much less resistance. I was also able to manage the rollercoaster of challenging behaviors. Instead of logic and reason, I used distraction and redirection. I capitalized on their long-term memories and instead of arguing the facts, lived in their realities of the moment. I finally learned to just go-with-the-flow and let hurtful comments roll off while distracting with a topic of interest from a prepared list.

And most importantly, I was finally able to get my father to accept two wonderful live-in caregivers and not drive them to quitting. Then with the tremendous benefit of Adult Day Health Care five days a week for my parents and a support group for me, everything finally started to fall into place.

Jacqueline Marcell

Alzheimer’s afflicts more than 5.7 million Americans, but millions go undiagnosed for many years because early warning signs are chalked up to stress and a “normal” part of aging. Since 1 in 6 women and 1 in 11 men are afflicted by age 65, and nearly half by age 85, healthcare professionals of every specialty should know the ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s and help educate their patients so everyone can save time, money, heartache… and a fortune in Kleenex!

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Elder Rage: How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents

Corsica Man Pleads Guilty to Financial Exploitation

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota attorney general says a Corsica man is facing up to 10 years in prison for exploiting money from an elderly family member.

Attorney General Marty Jackley said Friday 48-year-old David Anthony Stetson has pleaded guilty to felony theft by exploitation. Authorities say Stetson must pay restitution of more than $27,000.

The felony is also punishable by a fine of up to $20,000.

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Corsica Man Pleads Guilty to Financial Exploitation

State senator proposes guardianship for adults with severe mental illness, addiction

A Washington state senator who says he’s heard from “literally hundreds of parents” of adult children who are struggling with mental illness or addiction wants to allow families to petition for temporary guardianship.

Republican Sen. Steve O’Ban unveiled his proposed guardianship program Tuesday outside a Pierce County crisis center. He was joined by two fellow Republicans who offered their own ideas to address the state’s mental health crisis.

“We need to empower parents and other loved ones to have the authority to rescue that adult child who needs that care and is not getting it,” said O’Ban, the ranking Republican on the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.

Guardianship is typically associated with older or disabled adults who can no longer make decisions for themselves and are found by the courts to be incapacitated. Under the law, it’s designed to be a last resort.

Jerri Clark, of the group Mothers of the Mentally Ill, said some sort of limited guardianship makes sense.

“But it needsto be responsive to the reality of mental illness which is not a static condition,” Clark said.

Under O’Ban’s proposed law, immediate family members could ask a court to give them guardianship of a “gravely disabled” loved one for up to one year. During that time, the family could make treatment decisions on behalf of the individual. Mental health professionals could also make a referral for guardianship.

O’Ban said his proposal was modeled off a mental health “conservatorship” program in Los Angeles County.

Asked whether guardianship might interfere with the civil rights of the individual, O’Ban said: “I don’t think that violates their civil liberties any more than helping your 85-year-old grandmother get the care that she needs but doesn’t understand she needs.”

Democratic state Rep. Laurie Jinkins, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and works on mental health issues, said she was open to considering O’Ban’s proposal during the 2019 Legislative session, but wasn’t sure it would pass constitutional muster.

“I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of devil in the details,” Jinkins said.

Jinkins noted that Washington recently passed an “assisted outpatient treatment” law that allows courts to supervise the treatment of patients who are in the community, as opposed to in a state hospital.

Another mental health proposal from Senate Republicans, who are currently in the minority in the state legislature, is to provide at-risk students access to mental health appointments at school through telemedicine.

“We have to look at how we’re delivering care in the schools and re-think how it’s being done,” said Sen. Randi Becker (R-Eatonville), who plans to sponsor a telemedicine bill in 2019.

Sen. John Braun, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, also said he would urge the Legislature to send voters a $500 million bond measure to build more psychiatric beds in the community.

“We have a real problem here and it’s a problem that will take, frankly, years to fix,” Braun said, adding that an infusion of cash would speed the timeline for building more capacity in the community.

Jinkins called Braun's bond proposal “an interesting idea,” but said she’d like the Legislature to commit to mental health funding without going to voters.

“It would be best for us to be able to pay for these facilities within our current budget,” Jinkins said.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have signaled that mental health will be a top issue during the 2019 Legislative session. Governor Jay Inslee and legislative Democrats are expected to unveil their own proposals to shore up the mental health system in the coming months.

In May, Inslee, a Democrat, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for a five-year plan to move civil, or non-criminal, patients out of the state hospitals and into new 16-bed community-based facilities that have yet to be built.

Bringing urgency to that plan is the fact Western State Hospital recently lost federal certification and with it approximately $53 million a year in funding. In recent weeks, there has been a series of high profile assaults of staff by patients at the 850-bed, century-old hospital.

“That’s another example of this crisis that impacts our state,” O’Ban said.

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State senator proposes guardianship for adults with severe mental illness, addiction

Elder abuse task force proposes legislation

MADISON — A Wisconsin Department of Justice task force on Wednesday released draft legislation designed to protect senior citizens and vulnerable adults from exploitation, including bills that would define new crimes, create penalty enhancers and speed up court proceedings for elderly victims and witnesses.

The National Association of Attorneys General last year called on members to focus on elder abuse. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel responded by forming a task force comprised of representatives from the state DOJ, the state Departments of Health Services and Financial Institutions and the Wisconsin Bankers Association, among other organizations. The group released its recommendations Wednesday, including draft proposals of four bills.

The legislation would make any act of sexual misconduct against a person age 60 or older a felony punishable by up to 60 years in prison. It also would create another new felony called physical abuse of an elder person that carries penalties ranging from three-and-a-half years to 40 years in prison, depending on the severity of the crime. Judges could add two, four or six years to sentences in crimes involving the elderly, depending on the offense’s maximum sentence.

Judges also would be required to expedite court hearings involving elderly victims and witnesses to minimize stress on them.

Securities professionals would be allowed to notify the DFI and protective service agencies of suspected financial exploitation of vulnerable and elderly adults and refuse or delay transactions when exploitation is suspected.

Schimel, a Republican, sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker and legislative leaders from both parties on Tuesday outlining the legislation and urging passage. He noted that elder abuse is increasing as the elderly population grows, citing state DHS data that shows a 160 percent increase in reported elder abuse in Wisconsin since 2001.

Legislators wrapped up their regular two-year session this spring but are expected to return for an extraordinary session a week after the Nov. 6 election to consider whether to offer tax incentives to paper products maker Kimberly-Clark.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s office has said the session will focus exclusively on Kimberly-Clark, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he would be open to considering other bills.

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Elder abuse task force proposes legislation