One man is seriously injured and another man’s dog is dead after a house fire in Lexington. It happened at a home on Martin Luther King Boulevard around 3 a.m. Saturday. Firefighters say someone started the fire intentionally.
Three men were inside when the fire started. All three got out, but one man was on fire as he ran from the burning home. Firefighters say he was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

http://liarcatchers.com/arson_investigation.html

The fight against the flames lasted longer than the typical house fire, mostly because it’s an older building.
“It gave us some problems. Once, we thought we were through the ceiling and didn’t find fire. There was actually another ceiling behind the fire, so we had to pull all that out to work through it,” said Jeff Nantz from the Lexington Fire Department.
Fire crews were on scene for more than 6 hours Saturday morning and they had the road closed from 3rd to 4th streets as they investigated the cause. The chief says after about 30 minutes of intense work, they called in a second crew of men to relieve the first.
“They’re pretty tired. They worked at it pretty hard for 20 or 30 minutes trying to get it under control. Besides just being labor intensive it’s a high stress level so we fatigued them out pretty quick,” said Nantz.
One of the occupants’ dog was not lucky enough to get out before the house erupted into flames. The fire department says they have contacted the Red Cross to find somewhere for these people to stay until they find a more permanent home.

The fire has been ruled arson. Anyone with any information on the fire is asked to call 231-5672 or email arsontips@lexingtonky.gov.

Walter Johann Happel, 63, was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court on four felony charges: one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of intrafamilial sex abuse and one count of interfering with the privacy of a minor.

He was sentenced to 120 months in prison, with credit for nearly a year served, of which he’ll spend two-thirds behind bars before he’s eligible for supervised release. He also was ordered to register as a predatory sex offender for 10 years.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

As part of a plea deal, other charges against him were dismissed.

“Walter Happel preyed on the innocence of children for over 30 years, and I am relieved that he will be held accountable for his crimes,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a prepared statement. “The plea agreement spared all of his victims — especially the young children — the added stress and trauma of having to relive those experiences by testifying in court.”

In all, Happel was charged with felonies in eight criminal cases, including interfering with the privacy of a minor, criminal sexual conduct and intrafamilial sex abuse.

The first charge came in March 2014, when Happel was accused of peering at an 11-year-old boy in the bathroom at Linwood Monroe Arts Plus school, where Happel of Newport worked as a janitor.

After the initial charge, others came forward, including several boys who said Happel watched them or acted inappropriately at school, and several relatives who said Happel molested them as children.

According to the Ramsey County attorney’s office, there were 10 known victims from the 1970s and 1980s but, due to statute of limitations restrictions, only two of the cases were charged. Prosecutors charged Happel in all six known cases that occurred in the 2000s.

Two victim-impact statements were read in court Thursday.

One, read by prosecutor Andrew Johnson, was from a boy abused by Happel in the 1980s.

“Because of what Mr. Happel did to me, it has affected my relationship with my own father and other people I should trust,” the statement said. “Now, as an adult, I know the only thing I did wrong was not to tell anybody, so he (continued to) hurt others for his own sick pleasures.”

Another victim, molested by Happel nearly 40 years ago, read his own statement.

“We live in a world guided by morals. He does not,” the man said of Happel.

The man said he “tried to bury the hurt” for years, but found his own courage after he heard about the young children who reported Happel last year.

“To those affected, I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to come forward (earlier),” the man said.

Asked what he had to say before sentencing Thursday, Happel said, “I’m sorry.”

“Who are you sorry to?” Judge Diane Alshouse pressed.

“Everyone. Everyone,” Happel said. “I don’t know what to say. I really don’t.”

The judge and prosecutor said they were concerned about statements Happel made during the presentence investigation, indicating that he thought his sexual encounters with children were consensual and that, at the time, he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Alshouse asked the prosecutor to send a message to all the victims: “They have nothing to apologize for. They were children and did nothing wrong.”

She said they did what any child might do when told to keep quiet by an adult.

“They need to forgive themselves,” Alshouse said, before she turned to Happel to impose his sentence.

Happel’s sentence is a double upward departure, based on the sentencing guidelines from the 1980s; had the criminal sexual conduct occurred today, the sentence would have been higher, according to the county attorney’s office.

After sentencing, one of Happel’s attorneys said Happel is “deeply remorseful” and understands that what he did was wrong. He said Happel was also abused as a boy and that influenced his actions.

“Whether he was abused as a child or not is not an excuse,” prosecutor Johnson said. “It might help explain his behavior, but it was not a factor in our decision.”

Victims who attended Thursday’s hearing declined comment.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning its customers about a phone scam.

Officials say the caller in this scam pretends to be a DMV employee calling to reschedule an appointment. They ask for personal information, including social security number, date of birth, home address, and driver license number. The DMV says you should never give out such personal information to anyone who contacts you by phone or email.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

If you’ve received a call like this, you can report it to the DMV by calling 1-866-659-5758 or sending an email to dlfraud@dmv.ca.gov. Scams can also be reported on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

The DMV also provides the following tips for anyone who is a victim of identity theft:

1. Notify the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union — that you are the victim of identity theft and request a fraud alert or credit freeze.

2. Obtain your free credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228 and report any incorrect information.

3. Create an Identity Theft Report by filing a complaint on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

4. File a police report with your local law enforcement agency and get a copy of that report.

5. Review all financial statements such as credit card bills and bank statements and report any false information to your financial institution.

A former Kentucky pastor has been returned to the Commonwealth to face sexual abuse charges.

Duncan Aker Jr., 63, served as pastor at the Vanceburg Christian Church until 2011 when he moved to Indiana. Police say he sexually abused a boy under 12-years-old between 2007 and 2010. According to the indictment, investigators say the abuse took place in a vehicle along the AA Highway, in Aker’s home, in an outbuilding he owned, and in the church.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

Aker faces four counts of first degree sodomy and five counts of first degree sexual abuse. He was indicted last month and booked into the Lewis County Detention Center Monday.

Aker is scheduled to enter a plea in the case next week.