Single mom Lorianna Parker is excited when she meets popular good-looking Corey Davis online, and filled with hope as their friendship blossoms. But when she goes to meet him in the flesh, her dream date turns into a living nightmare. -People You May Know, Web of Lies (S4,E1)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
While her husband is away, a vivacious Army Medic enjoys a night out at a dive bar near Fort Bragg, NC. But she never makes it home. And though dogs pick up her scent in a nearby swamp, her fate baffles police. Until a local PI takes up the case. -Murder of the Medic, Swamp Murders (S3,E8)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 (UPI) — The acceptance of bullying in U.S. culture contributes to sexual assault in the armed forces, experts say.
Mary Ellen O’Toole, editor-in-chief of Violence and Gender and retired FBI profiler and criminal investigator analyst led a roundtable discussion with Christopher Kilmartin of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Col. Jeffery Peterson of Center for Naval Analyses in Alexandria, Va., discussed specific factors that likely contribute to the sexual assault problem.
“The evidence is that the population of people who come into the U.S. military have more experience with sexual assault than the general population, both as offenders and as survivors. Survivors are at statistically increased risk of being revictimized, and offenders are at an increased risk for reoffending,” Kilmartin said at the roundtable.
“Our daughter was taught to trust the uniform.” -Retired Chief Navy Petty Officer
DNA evidence linked Army officer 1st Lt. Aaron Lucas to a string of child sex crimes in three states: Colorado, Alabama, and Texas. Aaron Lucas was a 4th Infantry Division Army artillery officer stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. He is married with two children. According to reports, Lucas had a glowing resume and received countless awards including the Bronze Star after a deployment to Afghanistan. On October 23, 2012 Aaron Lucas was arrested by Colorado civilian authorities and accused of indecent exposure, kidnapping, and rape of children during the 2009-2012 time frame. He was also accused of committing child sex crimes in Alabama in 2007 and Texas in 2009. 1st Lt. Lucas was charged with 20 counts of sexual abuse in Colorado. It appears that Lucas preyed on and targeted children in the nearby communities while stationed at Fort Carson. Some he kidnapped and raped. Investigators also noted that Lucas was linked to 11 attempted abductions in Colorado and all the crime appeared to cease when he was deployed to Afghanistan. Victim testimony revealed that Lucas attacked most of his victims while in military uniform. Aaron Lucas has an identical twin brother Brian whose DNA is a near identical match to his. Therefore Aaron attempted to use the ‘evil twin defense’ and blamed the crimes on his brother who was also accused of committing his own list of crimes. Although investigators concluded that there was no evidence uncovered to link Brian Lucas to the crimes as he wasn’t even in the same states where the crimes occurred. In November 2013, Aaron Lucas dropped the ‘evil twin defense’ and pleaded guilty to the crimes prior to the trial because he loved his family and didn’t want to put them through it. He also begged the judge to get him treatment. The defense noted that it is difficult to argue someone else committed the crimes when you can’t put the person at the scene of the crime. Prosecutors argued that treatment does not work for someone who repeatedly and deliberately makes the decision to prey on children. Aaron Lucas was sentenced to 20 years to life. In his defense, Aaron’s father claims his son is a hero and that combat stress prompted the crimes. According to his father, Lucas is also a victim of sexual assault. In other news, Brian Lucas was convicted of sodomy and sexual abuse charges in February 2015 in Alabama.
Honoring Judilianna Lawrence, 19, a disabled civilian teen who went missing on October 10, 2008 after meeting up with US Army soldier Robert Marko.Marko, an active soldier stationed at Fort Carson, lured the teen using MySpace with the intent to rape and murder. She was found dead on October 13th after Marko led police to her body. Judilianna was Marko’s second victim that week. His first victim was a fourteen year old he violently raped and threatened to murder. Marko was charged by the civilian authorities with rape and first degree murder. Marko attempted to plead insanity and blame Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but was found guilty in 2011 of the rape and first degree murder of Judilianna. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O’Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. The 18 year old woman reported the rape to her local police department but they accused her of lying and she was charged with false reporting. In 2011, Marc O’Leary was arrested in Colorado for rape and consequently admitted to raping several women in Washington and Colorado. DNA, digital evidence, and O’Leary’s vehicle linked him physically to several rapes. As it turns out, there was evidence on a camera corroborating the 18 year old’s report of rape in 2008. Investigators learned the Lynnwood, Washington police didn’t believe the alleged victim of rape and she was indeed found guilty of false reporting and fined $500.
The victim sued the City of Lynnwood who refunded her $500 fine and settled out of court for $150,000. Marc O’Leary pleaded guilty to the rapes in Colorado and was sentenced to over 300 years in prison. ProPublica covered the story and highlighted the dangers of mishandling rape cases and not using the FBI national database created to help catch repeat offenders. ProPublica won a Pulitzer prize for their coverage of “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” with The Marshall Project. Maureen Maher of 48 Hours also did an investigation titled the “Hunted” and she went inside the mind of a serial rapist who was hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him.
Cops can be protective about their cases, fearing that information could be leaked that would jeopardize their investigations. They often don’t know about, or fail to use, an FBI database created years ago to help catch repeat offenders. Between one-fourth to two-thirds of rapists are serial attackers, studies show. -ProPublica
True Crime:
“48 Hours” goes inside the mind of a serial rapist hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him. -48 Hours (November 17, 2016)
Inspired by real events, a teen reports and eventually recants her reported rape, while two female detectives, states away, investigate evidence that could reveal the truth. Based on The Marshall Project & ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” written by T. Christian Miller & Ken Armstrong, “Unbelievable” is a story of unspeakable trauma, unwavering tenacity, & astounding resilience. -Netflix (July 18, 2019)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 