Lady Justice
Sheriff’S Deputy Indicted for Alleged Sexual Assault of Female Inmate in His Custody
On-duty Kanawha County officer faces life in prison if convicted of civil rights violation for assault at Judicial Annex
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been indicted on federal charges alleging he sexually assaulted a female inmate while she was in his custody and he was on duty, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Cass Aaron Close, 56, was charged in a federal indictment with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a civil rights violation stemming from the alleged assault on July 29, 2025. According to the indictment, Close was on duty as a Kanawha County Sheriff’s deputy at the time of the assault, and the victim was in his custody at the Kanawha County Judicial Annex.
If convicted, Close faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
“An indictment is merely an allegation,” the Justice Department emphasized in its announcement. “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
Brutal Abuse: Justice Department Finds California Women’S Prisons Systematically Failed to Protect Inmates From Staff Sexual Assault
Investigators uncover longstanding pattern of misconduct, inadequate safeguards, and improper investigative practices at Chowchilla and Chino facilities
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has systematically failed to protect female prisoners from sexual abuse and harassment by staff at two state women’s prisons, violating their constitutional rights, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Investigators found a longstanding pattern of sustained staff sexual misconduct, inadequate safeguards, failures in confidential reporting, improper investigative practices, and insufficient accountability measures at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino, according to a DOJ investigation launched in September 2024.
The Department concluded that these systemic deficiencies grievously violate prisoners’ rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and that the state has failed to adequately implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
“Female prisoners have the constitutional right to be free from sexual assault and harassment by prison staff,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice’s investigation revealed that California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation knew of repeated incidents of sexual assault and harassment against female prisoners, and failed to protect them. This deliberate indifference to the suffering of female prisoners at the hands of prison staff is illegal, and the Civil Rights Division, in partnership with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern and Central Districts of California, will end this brutal abuse.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California called the findings “unacceptable,” adding that “California owes a legal and moral duty to safeguard prisoners in its custody. The State must confront the persistent failure of its own employees to prevent and address sexual abuse at these facilities and the systemic breakdowns that have permitted these conditions to persist. This report should serve as a turning point.”
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California said the findings “highlight why robust, independent enforcement of federal civil rights laws remains critical,” adding that “the pattern and practice described here is exactly what Congress intended CRIPA and PREA to address.”
The Justice Department has provided California with notice of the minimum remedial measures required, including expanded camera coverage, enhanced confidential reporting channels, strengthened investigative protocols, improved staff training and monitoring, and implementation of PREA-compliant safeguards.
The state now has 49 days to address the concerns. If officials do not satisfactorily remedy the violations, the Attorney General may initiate litigation under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.
Depraved Colorado Man Convicted for Filming Child Sex Abuse in Mexico and Selling Videos on Dark Web
Alekzander Bywater and wife created two videos of themselves abusing prepubescent victim, advertised for sale on public website; faces up to 150 years
BALTIMORE — A federal jury has convicted a Colorado man who fled to Mexico and, together with his wife, filmed themselves sexually abusing a young child and then advertised the videos for sale online, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Alekzander Quinn Bywater, 32, formerly of Colorado Springs, was found guilty of conspiracy to sexually exploit a minor outside the United States, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor outside the United States, and two counts of advertisement of child sexual abuse material. He faces a maximum penalty of 150 years in prison when sentenced on a future date.
According to court documents and trial testimony, while living in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, Bywater and his wife Anika, 29, formerly of Gonzalez, Texas, created two separate videos of themselves sexually abusing a young child. In January 2024, on two separate occasions, the Bywaters agreed to create the videos depicting them jointly engaging in the abuse of the minor victim.
Law enforcement discovered the conduct when investigators found the videos circulating on the internet. Bywater had uploaded both videos to a publicly available website, where he advertised them for sale. On Feb. 6 and 7, 2024, an undercover FBI agent in the District of Maryland purchased and downloaded the videos.
When agents executed searches, they recovered the videos from a desktop and laptop used to commit the offenses. The devices also contained a different video of Alekzander Bywater sexually abusing the same minor victim, along with thousands of additional CSAM images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children other than the victim.
“Alekzander Bywater left the United States for Mexico and preyed upon the most vulnerable among us, a young child,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Child exploitative hands-on violations are among the most depraved. This defendant and his wife, Anika, perpetrated this heinous crime together, and even tried to profit off their conduct. This case is core to the Criminal Division’s mission of hunting down child predators and removing them from society.”
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland said: “This guilty verdict holds this defendant accountable for the horrific abuse of a child and for his role in distributing videos that documented that abuse. Mr. Bywater’s depraved actions cost him his freedom, so now he’ll be separated from society where he can’t harm other children.”
Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division added that the FBI and partners “are working every day to hold criminals accountable for their participation in child sexual exploitation and abuse.”
Anika Bywater was sentenced in March to 25 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.
Nicholas Renfro, 25, held on $250,000 bond after grand jury returns charges related to child sexual abuse material
BRECKINRIDGE COUNTY, Ky. — A Breckinridge County grand jury has indicted a 25-year-old man on 10 felony counts of possessing matter portraying sexual performance by a minor under the age of 12, Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Thursday.
Nicholas Renfro was indicted on 10 counts of Possession of Matter Portraying Sexual Performance by a Minor Under Age 12, each a Class C felony under Kentucky law. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
“The charges in an indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” the Attorney General’s office noted in its announcement.
The Kentucky Supreme Court’s rule on trial publicity limits the information the Office can provide publicly regarding the case. A photograph of Renfro was made available by authorities.
Under Kentucky law, Class C felonies are punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison upon conviction. The indictment signals that prosecutors believe Renfro possessed material depicting children under 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The Kentucky Supreme Court’s rule on trial publicity limits information the Office can provide publicly.
The charges in an indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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