National Roundup

Missouri
Backpage.com sues over human trafficking probe
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Backpage.com has filed a federal lawsuit aiming to block an investigation by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley who says the classifieds website promotes human trafficking via adult-oriented ads.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the company says federal law and the First Amendment bar attempts to shut down or censor the website. The company says it takes efforts to prevent illegal activity with warnings and filters that block and remove improper ads.

The suit calls the investigation “enormously broad,” saying it requires “seven years’ worth of documents encompassing essentially all business operations of the company.”

Hawley’s office issued the investigative demand May 10.

Hawley described Backpage. com’s lawsuit as “frivolous” in a statement released Wednesday, saying “there is no First Amendment right to engage in human trafficking.”

Pennsylvania
Students sue over rejection of anti-abortion club
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Two Pennsylvania high school students have filed a federal lawsuit against their school district alleging discrimination and a violation of their free-speech rights after their failed attempt to start an anti-abortion club.

Chicago-based law firm Thomas More Society filed the lawsuit on behalf of students Elizabeth Castro and Grace Schairer Tuesday against the Parkland School District in Allentown.

The lawsuit alleges Parkland High School denied the student’s proposal to start a “Trojans for Life” club in 2016 for being too political and controversial.

A spokesperson for the school district says it would have approved the club if the students changed its mission, abandoned certain activities and gave up fundraising rights.

The lawsuit seeks a court order against the rejection of the proposal, and seeks monetary damages and attorney fees.

Kentucky
Plea deal for ex-cop charged with sexual abuse
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A former police officer in Kentucky charged with sexually abusing a child has agreed to a plea deal.

The Kentucky New Era reports 33-year-old Ian L. Damber pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree sexual abuse Tuesday and received a 10-year sentence. He’ll also be required to register as a sex offender for life.

Special prosecutor Carrie Ovey-Wiggins says she consulted the victim and victim’s family before entering into the plea agreement.

Damber was a Hopkinsville police officer from 2013 until 2016. He resigned when allegations were made against him and was arrested Aug. 19.

New Jersey
Case winds down in Kushner suit over mall plan
FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Testimony has concluded in a lawsuit involving a redevelopment plan for a New Jersey mall by a real estate company owned by Jared Kushner’s family.

The Asbury Park Press reports a judge said she’ll give her finding in the coming days after closing arguments Tuesday.

Four Eatontown residents are seeking to overturn a zoning decision for the Monmouth Mall project.

Kushner Cos. wants to build apartments at the mall. The company is owned by the family of Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.

Plaintiffs say it was difficult for residents to participate in meetings when the modified zoning ordinance was approved because many were moved to another location for a video feed because of a large turnout.
They accuse the borough of private negotiations.

West Virginia
Woman gets 60 years for beating  elderly woman
PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) — A woman who admitted she robbed and brutally attacked her boyfriend’s 81-year-old mother has been sentenced in West Virginia.

The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports 41-year-old Angela M. Graham was sentenced Monday to 60 years on a first-degree robbery charge and 3 to 15 years for attempted murder in the beating of Patricia Hartley.
Bluefield police said Graham and her boyfriend, 44-year-old Wayne W. Hartley, were arrested Jan. 20 after Hartley’s mother was found beaten in her home with a baseball bat and rolling pin. Her wrist also had been cut with a knife.

A detective’s incident report said that after Graham carried out the attack, she and Wayne Hartley left with a stolen debit card and withdrew cash they used to buy drugs.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Janet Williamson says Graham’s earliest possibility for parole will be in 18 years.

Massachusetts
Lawyer for police captain’s son wants witness names released
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A defense attorney for a Boston police captain’s son accused of plotting an attack on a college campus to support the Islamic State group wants a judge to order the government to release the identities of secret witnesses against his client.

Masslive.com reports attorney David Hoose told a federal judge Tuesday that hiding the identities of the witnesses has hampered his ability to build a defense.

Hoose’s client is 25-year-old Alexander Ciccolo, who was arrested in July 2015 in a plot to detonate homemade bombs similar to the ones used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack.

Prosecutors invoked a federal law in May to shield the witness’ identities. Hoose may have to seek a security clearance for access.

Ohio
Pacemaker data can be presented at arson trial
HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A judge says data from the pacemaker of a man accused of setting his Ohio house on fire in 2016 can be presented as evidence at his trial.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports the judge ruled Tuesday in Ross Compton’s case. The 59-year-old Middletown man has pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance fraud charges.

Police say Compton described packing belongings when he saw the fire, throwing them out of a window and carrying them to his car. Investigators say a cardiologist reviewed Compton’s cardiac device and concluded his medical condition made the actions he described “highly improbable.”

Ross’s attorney had argued that the data should be thrown out because searching the device violated Compton’s constitutional rights.

But the judge says the individual data is no more private than other things.