Newsmakers 2017: Child sex crimes make headlines by perpetrators in power

Dec. 29--SANTA CRUZ -- A brain surgeon, nurse, afterschool counselor, taekwondo instructor and child psychologist, among others, were charged or sentenced this year on suspicion of molesting children or creating child pornography in Santa Cruz County.

Headlines, some that reached an international audience, were packed in 2017 with stories about powerful people -- mostly men -- accused of using their authority to exploit children.

A case in point: A federal court judge granted a pretrial conference to be continued to January for Aptos baby sitter, afterschool counselor and accused child pornographer Ryan Spencer, 20. Spencer remains in custody at Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland held without bail. He is accused of recording and sharing footage of boys in his care being fondled and having sex, according to court documents.

Spencer and Bryan Petersen, 25, of Tiburon were arrested in April after authorities found more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography exchanged on electronic devices and the messaging app, Kik. The defendants built their lives around seeking access to children, U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch wrote in a motion May 3.

Spencer preferred children 4 to 8 years old, according to court documents.

Petersen, an Eagle Scout who led camping trips for young boys, also worked as a tutor and chess coach, Stretch wrote. Petersen pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute child pornography, and producing, receiving, distributing and having child pornography, according to court documents. His sentencing has not been scheduled.

Spencer was due to attend a December hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to respond to a prosecution request for him to unlock encrypted electronic devices seized from his home by the FBI. That hearing was delayed to 1:30 p.m.Jan. 23 to give Spencer time to file an opposition motion, according to court documents.

MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

Santa Cruz brain surgeon James Kohut remains in custody at Santa Cruz County Jail on $15 million bail after police obtained videos of him molesting or encouraging molestation of children with accused conspirators Emily Stephens, 30, of Tucson, Arizona, and Rashel Brandon, 43, of Watsonville, according to court documents. Brandon is a nurse. Brandon and Kohut were arrested in Santa Cruz County in May. Stephens was arrested in Tucson in May.

Kohut, 57, is accused of luring multiple women online with plans to impregnate them and have sex with the children to perpetuate "taboo families," according to court documents. Kohut, who initially faced 11 charges, now faces 48 felonies. New charges were filed after Brandon's brother, Isaac Lynn, gave authorities a video that court documents indicate was filmed in Watsonvillebetween Jan. 1 and May 9 showing defendants -- court documents did not specify which -- raping a 3-year-old and 10-year-old boy multiple times.

Stephens, 30, of Tucson faces 45 felonies and Brandon faces 44 felonies linked with molestation.

A hearing in the case is scheduled 9 a.m.March 12 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR

Nemesio Estrada-Alfaro, 28, was an instructor and owner of N & H Tae Kwon Do studio in Watsonville. He faces molestation charges in two sexual abuse cases involving three students, Watsonville police said.

The taekwondo instructor, arrested in January, posted bail before new charges were filed in September: lewd acts with a minor, copulation with a minor, sex with a minor and having sex with a minor on video, police said. He initially faced charges of willful cruelty to a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, furnishing marijuana to a child and committing a felony while released on bail, police said. He faces 25 felonies dating 2012 to 2017, according to court documents.

Estrada-Alfaro, who remains at Santa Cruz County Jail, is scheduled to appear in Santa Cruz County Superior Court at 8:15 a.m.Jan. 4.

CHILD THERAPIST

William Visher, 71, is serving 16 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of child molestation and one count possession of child pornography to forgo trial in July. The former Capitola child psychologist recorded himself molesting patients and had 1,200 files with child pornography, according to court documents.

The convicted sex offender initially faced 21 charges of child molestation and child pornography. He could have faced life in prison if he had been convicted of those charges in trial.

During an emotional Superior Court hearing, Visher read a prepared statement admitting that he has "no business treating child-psychology patients." In his statement, he said he was an abuser and is sorry.

In his low voice, Visher read from a prepared statement and apologized for his actions.

Visher is at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, according to California Department of Corrections. His earliest chance for parole consideration is July 2026. He will be 79 years old at that time.

FATHER FIGURE

Steven Irving Weissman of Soquel was a foster parent and Del Mar Elementary School volunteer before he was convicted last year of child molestation, aggravated sexual assault on a child, oral copulation of a child under 10 and lewd acts on a child under 14 for acts dating to 1997.

Weissman, 61, remains at Santa Cruz County Jail after a motion was filed in September seeking a new trial. A hearing in the case is slated for 1:30 p.m.Jan. 24.

Weissman passed background checks when he volunteered at the school in 2006, according to Live Oak School District.

Weissman ingrained himself into children's lives as a volunteer yard duty supervisor at multiple elementary schools, as a foster parent, and as a "big brother" in the big brother and sister program with 8- to 12-year-old boys, according to Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office.

He was reported to have encouraged the boys to spend the night at his house, molesting them in their sleep. He also installed hidden cameras in his shower, allowing him to watch footage live, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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(c)2017 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)

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