Father accused of murdering 67-year-old alleged rapist of his 14-year-old daughter makes startling bid for public office



An Arkansas father accused of murdering the 67-year-old alleged rapist of his 14-year-old daughter is making a surprising bid for public office after he said the "system failed" him and his family.

Aaron Spencer, 37, announced last week that he's is running for Lonoke County Sheriff. As it happens, the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office investigated last year's headline-grabbing case involving Spencer.

'Through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court.'

The Facebook video from Spencer's campaign is captioned: "It’s time to bring trust, accountability, and safety back to our community. Join us on this journey to build a sheriff’s office you can believe in!"

In the campaign video, Spencer notes that "many of you know my story."

"I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed," Spencer says.

Spencer adds that he is a husband, a combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, a contractor, and a farmer.

"Through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court," Spencer states. "I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures."

Spencer also stresses in the video, "This campaign isn’t about me. It's about every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel safe in their homes and safe in their community. It’s about restoring trust, where neighbors know law enforcement is on their side and families know that they will not be left alone in a moment of need."

RELATED: Thug allegedly recorded himself raping woman at gunpoint — before she shot him

As Blaze News reported last October, Spencer was arrested after authorities said he fatally shot 67-year-old Michael Fosler, who reportedly was in a vehicle with Spencer's 14-year-old daughter.

Spencer reportedly went to his daughter's bedroom to check on her. Citing an affidavit, CNN said the daughter was gone, but there was a stuffed animal wrapped in her hoodie under the blankets in her bed.

The Lonoke County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that deputies were dispatched regarding a missing teen at approximately 1:12 a.m. Oct. 8, 2024. However, while en route, deputies were notified that Spencer had located his daughter in a vehicle with Fosler.

The affidavit states that Spencer used his vehicle to rear-end Fosler’s Ford F-150 truck at an intersection, forcing it off the road.

"A confrontation between the two adult males ensued, which resulted in a shooting," the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office stated.

According to the affidavit, Spencer told police that he "had no choice" but to shoot Fosler.

The New York Post, citing the affidavit, reported that Spencer told investigators that Fosler "lunged towards him" with something in his hand and shouted, "F**k you!"

The affidavit states Spencer fired at Fosler until his weapon was empty and then jumped on him and pistol-whipped him.

Police said Fosler was pronounced dead at the crime scene.

Citing court records, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that Fosler was out on bond at the time of the shooting after being arrested and charged with two counts each of fourth-degree sexual assault, sexual indecency with a child, and internet stalking of a child. Fosler also faced one count of electronic facilitation of child sexual abuse and 35 counts of pandering or possessing depictions of sexual conduct involving a child.

CNN added that "the family had been on edge" and that "three months earlier the teen, then 13, revealed she’d been sexually abused by a 67-year-old man she met at the home of a family friend."

Spencer was arrested and soon charged with second-degree murder. Spencer was released on a surety bond and has pleaded not guilty.

Spencer's pretrial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.

RELATED: Couple allegedly tries to sell 2-month-old baby for cash, 6-pack of beer because it's 'not working having 3 dogs and a baby'

A Change.org petition titled "Absolve Aaron David Spencer of Charges Stemming from Saving his Daughter's Life" was launched and has more than 361,000 signatures.

Spencer's wife, Heather, said in a GiveSendGo fundraiser that her daughter had been "targeted, groomed, and ultimately raped by the boyfriend of a family friend," the Post reported.

"We let the justice system do its job," Heather Spencer said. "The monster who hurt our child was charged quickly, but released even faster on a $50k bond. He was awaiting court in December for several felonies in relation to what he did to our child."

The mother called her husband a "hero" and said that her "child would have not come home if my husband hadn’t found her."

Lonoke County Sheriff Jeff Staley told the Democrat Gazette that he couldn't comment on the Spencer case because of the pending trial.

But Staley did say in an emailed statement, "I will be seeking re-election to continue being your Lonoke County sheriff. Since 2013, I have served as sheriff of Lonoke County with a clear mission — to protect our citizens and hold those who break the law accountable. From day one, our focus has been on three major threats to our communities: drug traffickers, sexual predators, and thieves."

The Lonoke County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Are you a 35-year-old with a nose ring? Forget ‘adulting’ — you need to grow up



This week’s column is meant for anyone younger than 40, which ropes in most Millennials and all of Gen Z and more. But they won’t listen to Olds like me at 51, so maybe you good readers can find a way to slip this into their Ovaltine if they’re your kids or grandkids.

I suppose if I were smart and wanted to market this well to that crowd, I’d call what follows a “guide to adulting.” But I won’t, because using the non-word “adulting” is the kind of kiddie nonsense that young people should have stopped doing before they started doing it.

You’d think this set was raised in a joint custody arrangement between 2 Live Crew and a band of cockney orphans in Dickensian London.

The new 17?

We’re in an era of unprecedented infantilization. Chronological adults are grown-ups in years only; they have the minds of children. No, it’s not “just like it’s always been.” I’m not saying “the same things old people have always said.” There has never been a time in history before the Millennial generation when helpless, unskilled, and babyish behavior was tolerated in adults, let alone culturally praised as it is today.

The average 35-year-old in 2025 has the tastes, habits, and deportment of a 17-year-old from my youth. They bond over cartoon comic book superheroes; they giggle in the corporate office tower over Stanley-brand water cups and clicky acrylic nails like girls used to do in ninth grade in the bathroom.

I’ve had enough.

Let’s get to it.

OK, groomer

Fifteen years ago, I hired 24-year-old “Olga” for a secretarial job at my company. She was great and worked for us for years. But I almost fired her on the first day. She walked into the office wearing a belly-baring crop top and jeans slung so low she might have been modeling for a depilatory cream ad.

“This is not appropriate office wear; this is an outfit for the clubs,” I said as she looked at me shocked. Her mother had never told her that it wasn’t cute to wear provocative clothing to a professional job, because mom was too busy trying to look her daughter’s age.

Prescription for young ladies:

  • No exposed belly.
  • No excess cleavage — no more than half an inch should be shown, if any.
  • Wipe 75% of that makeup off, and absolutely no false eyelashes in broad daylight. That’s an evening look for women of questionable reputation.
  • Pry off those acrylic claws and keep your nails no longer than what’s standard for a French manicure. In fact, just do that — the French manicure.
  • Take that nose ring out.

Prescription for young gentlemen:

  • No dyeing your hair — not for fun, not to cover gray. Dyed hair on a man gives the impression that he’s unstable or untrustworthy. Do not sass me about this.
  • Shave your face, or, if you wear a beard, trim it neatly. You may not do handlebar mustaches or biblical patriarch 4-foot long trailing vines. Honestly.
  • Wash your hair. Repeat: Wash your hair.
  • Then comb it.
  • No long hair. No, a ponytail will not do. A gentleman’s hair should be short and neat. You may rock a fade, a modified slick ’50s pompadour (my favorite), and similar, but that’s all.
  • Buy jeans that fit sufficiently to remain above your butt crack, and tuck your shirt in.
  • No jewelry except a wedding ring or a class ring. No, you may not wear “just one diamond stud in my ear.” Do you want to look like a gentleman or a Brooklyn pimp from 1972?

That’s fashion and grooming sorted. Let’s move on to speech.

Talk stupe

If you’ve been alive for 50 years, you’ll notice how different America sounds today. You’ll notice how immature and declassé even newscasters sound now. As a young man, my friends mocked me for my sharp, nasal upstate New York/upper Midwest accent. Sample of me speaking at 17: “Oh my Gad! I’ll have a side seel-id with reeyinch dressing!”

I deliberately cultivated a (then-normal) “newscaster from nowhere” flat American accent, the kind that all professionals of every race and background strove for. It served me well in two ways.

First, my speech no longer made me sound like what I was (a welfare kid from a semi-rural trailer park), removing class-based preconceptions from the minds of people I needed to impress. You can object to that all you want, but it won’t change reality. If you talk like you’re down-market, you will be perceived as down-market.

Consider the widespread fashion among American young people to mimic low-class (and particularly black low-class) pronunciation and mispronunciation. It sounds “street.” It sounds vulgar. It sounds uneducated. Many of them think this is positive. It is not.

Second, since my aim was to communicate clearly and respectfully with my fellow adults, I no longer peppered my speech with up-to-the-minute slang and obscure in-jokes. Today, however, nearly everyone young (and too many older people) seem more focused on broadcasting how “cool” they are to their peers than in expressing their thoughts with elegance and precision.

Remove these from your vocabulary:

  • “Adulting,”
  • “Not a good look,”
  • “Comfy,”
  • “My journey,”
  • “Lived experience,”
  • “Do better,” and
  • “Super” as a replacement for “very.” In fact, drop “very” as well.

Glottal stop it

Amend incorrect and grating mispronunciations. The worst feature of modern accents are the glottal stops that everyone under 40 is suddenly inserting into words. You’d think this set was raised in a joint custody arrangement between 2 Live Crew and a band of cockney orphans in Dickensian London. If you don’t know what I mean, click here to listen to examples of glottal stops.

In all the following, people are dropping the ‘T’ sound and putting in a glottal stop. It’s nails on a chalkboard. The only kids who did this when I was in school came from ignorant households and were still saying “puh-sketti” at 12 years old.

  • Not “buh’in,” but “button.”
  • Not “impor’enh”, but “important.” (And never “impore-dent.”)
  • Not “kih’en,” but “kitten.”
  • Not “moun’uhn,” but “mountain.”

Extra credit: Stop dropping your G’s. You are “swimming,” not “swimmun.” This doesn’t sound “authentic;” it sounds stupid.

RELATED: How not to be socially awkward

Bettman/Getty Images

Missed manners

A trip to any store will convince American adults of a certain age that remedial etiquette lessons are necessary. A great many parents have not instructed their children in the most elementary forms of manners and interpersonal communication.

Prescription:

  • Look people in the eye when they speak to you. Stop looking at your phone or at the floor.
  • But do not perform the Gen Z stare. If you’re not mentally retarded, you may not goggle at people with a blank expression as if you didn’t know how to respond to the greeting “hello.”
  • When someone says, “Hi, how are you,” you must respond. It’s easy. Just mimic the form back to them: “Hi there, I’m great. How are you?”
  • When placing a phone call, you identify yourself first. It’s intensely rude to call someone and ask for “Josh” without first saying, “Hi, this is David Smith from Smith Capital. I’m looking for Josh, please?”
  • The proper response to “thank you” is “you’re welcome.” It is not “no problem,” and it is never “no worries.”

Whine moms

Extra credit: Work on your pitch and intonation.

It started with the valley girls of the ’80s, but now everyone, man and woman alike, is speaking in what I call “gear-shift tonality.” Recall how a car engine winds up higher and higher as you shift a manual from first gear to second to third, etc. The pitch gets higher and higher until you shift, then it drops back down and starts again.

That’s for manual transmissions, not for human speech. Gear-shift tonality makes even declarative sentences sound like questions. It’s also known as “upspeak.”

Whatever you want to call it, stop doing it. Anyone not in your age set finds it annoying and wearying. It makes you sound child-like, tentative, unsure, or manipulative. Remember, Margaret Thatcher took vocal lessons to lower her speaking register in order to be taken seriously in world politics.

That concludes today’s instruction. Keisha and Valerie, you will stay behind and clean the chalkboards to work off the demerit for chewing gum (open-mouthed too). All remaining pupils may close their desks and take their primers home. Class is dismissed.

Ex-middle school teacher — guilty of 21 counts of sex crimes against daughter's underage babysitter — learns her fate



A former sixth-grade teacher in Ohio recently pleaded guilty to sex crimes against an underage female.

As Blaze News reported in August, 41-year-old Stefanie Erin Kellenberger pleaded guilty to four counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and 17 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

'I know that during this time, you were just a child, and I was an adult in a position of trust.'

Kellenberger on Monday was sentenced to 15 years in prison for having an illicit sexual relationship with a minor, the Richland Source reported. Kellenberger may be granted a judicial release after a decade if she doesn't commit any other offenses.

Judge Brent Robinson delivered a stern warning to Kellenberger.

"Don't let anybody be confused, this is a 15-year prison sentence with the hope that you come back in 10 years, and you've been a model inmate — you’ve done everything you were supposed to do, you haven’t got in any trouble at all," Robinson stated during the sentencing hearing.

Kellenberger must register as a Tier-3 sex offender. She also was ordered to have no contact with the victim or any other minors. The former middle school teacher also must forever forfeit her teaching license.

During the sentencing hearing, Kellenberger apologized to her victim — who was her daughter's underage babysitter.

"I know that during this time, you were just a child, and I was an adult in a position of trust," Kellenberger said, according to the Source. "I'm responsible for everything that happened between us."

Kellenberger continued, "I'm so sorry for all of the emotional pain and hurt that I’ve caused you."

"I hope that my guilty pleas and this sentence will provide some degree of closure for you as you move on with your life," Kellenberger stated. "I fully accept the consequences of my actions and the sentence that I will be receiving today."

RELATED: Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex with 11-year-old at 'play dates,' blamed boy for advances, sent him hundreds of dollars: Cops

Photo by halbergman via iStock / Getty Images

Kellenberger formerly was a sixth-grade English teacher at Shelby Middle School.

According to the Mansfield News Journal, Robinson told Kellenberger during her trial that "you had been a teacher. She had been a student. But at the time these occurred, you were not her teacher, and she was not your student."

Bryan Dove, an assistant prosecutor for Richland County, alleged that Kellenberger began grooming the girl when she was just 13 years old and that the child sex abuse began when the victim turned 14.

"The relationship continued until the age of consent,” Dove told the judge.

Ohio law declares that 16 years old is the age of consent.

Prosecutors noted that there was "no use of force" by Kellenberger.

James Mayer III, Kellenberger's defense attorney, stressed that "consent was never an issue in this case. It's an age thing."

The sexual abuse allegations surfaced in February 2024, and school officials placed Kellenberger on paid administrative leave.

Shelby City Schools Superintendent Michael Browning sent a letter to parents in October 2024 regarding the eye-opening allegations against Kellenberger.

"As a follow-up to the communication sent on March 4, 2024, I have been informed that the staff member placed on administrative leave following serious allegations has been arrested, and criminal charges have been brought against them,” Browning stated, according to a separate story by the Source. "This news may be unsettling, especially for families with children in our schools."

The Mansfield News Journal reported that Kellenberger resigned in October 2024 "due to personal reasons."

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'Unsettling': Former teacher pleads guilty to 21 felony counts of child sex crimes against girl



A former sixth-grade teacher in Ohio has pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts of child sex crimes against an underage girl and now faces up to 15 years in prison.

Stefanie Erin Kellenberger, 40, recently pleaded guilty to four counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and 17 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Richland County Common Pleas Court records.

'This news may be unsettling, especially for families with children in our schools.'

According to the Mansfield News Journal, Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson said, "You had been a teacher. She had been a student. But at the time these occurred, you were not her teacher, and she was not your student."

State prosecutors informed the court that there was “no use of force” in Kellenberger’s sexual abuse.

"Consent was never an issue in this case," James Mayer III, Kellenberger's defense attorney, stated. "It's an age thing."

Mayer reportedly pointed out that his client had no legal issues before this case.

Bryan Dove, an assistant prosecutor for Richland County, alleged that Kellenberger began grooming the girl when she was just 13 years old and that the child sex abuse began when the victim turned 14.

"The relationship continued until the age of consent,” Dove told the judge.

Ohio law declares that 16 years old is the age of consent.

RELATED: Married ex-teacher escapes jail sentence after accused of sharing explicit videos with student, inviting teen to have sex

Kellenberger allegedly sexually abused the girl at her home in Shelby, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors claimed Kellenberger committed child sexual abuse between February 2020 and October 2021, the Richland Source said.

The victim allegedly asked that Kellenberger serve three years in prison, but the judge reportedly said that the sentence was too lenient for the severity of the crimes.

The Post said prosecutors presented Kellenberger with two options: 12 years flat prison time or 15 years with the possibility of judicial release after 10 years.

The disgraced teacher reportedly chose the second option when she pleaded guilty, court documents show.

Kellenberger also must register as a Tier 3 sex offender, court papers said. She was ordered to have no contact with minors and forfeit her teaching license forever.

Dove noted, "The victim is relieved to not have to testify. That's why we entered into this agreement with the defendant."

RELATED: Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex with 11-year-old at 'play dates,' blamed boy for advances, sent him hundreds of dollars: Cops

Photo by Five Buck Photos via iStock / Getty Images Plus

Kellenberger was a sixth-grade English and language arts teacher at Shelby City Schools at the time of her crimes.

Shelby City Schools Superintendent Michael Browning sent a letter to parents in October 2024 regarding the accusations against Kellenberger.

“As a follow-up to the communication sent on March 4, 2024, I have been informed that the staff member placed on administrative leave following serious allegations has been arrested, and criminal charges have been brought against them,” Browning stated, according to a separate story by the Richland Source. "This news may be unsettling, especially for families with children in our schools."

Browning added that "we have been in touch with the district’s legal counsel and are awaiting further guidance. As shared previously, the staff member was immediately placed on leave and has had no contact with students or staff since the investigation began."

The Mansfield News Journal in a separate story reported that Kellenberger resigned in October 2024 "due to personal reasons."

Superintendent Browning said at the time, "She is no longer an employee. We're going to move on."

Kellenberger's photo was still visible on the Shelby City Schools website on Friday morning.

Kellenberger is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 6, according to court records.

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Ex-teacher accused of grooming, sexually abusing teen boy; mother rips suspect as 'sick, twisted, calculating sex offender'



A former elementary school teacher in South Carolina is accused of engaging in a "prolonged and inappropriate relationship" with a teenage boy, according to police.

Multiple jurisdictions have been investigating the allegations.

'Looking back, it sickens me knowing Nikki manipulated our son and our family.'

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office charged Nicole Ballew Callaham, 33, with three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Greenville Police Department hit Callaham with eight counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, as the alleged victim attended school there. In addition, the Clemson City Police Department has been conducting a parallel investigation.

The Anderson School District Five stated that Callaham had been a kindergarten teacher for the Homeland Park Primary School from 2017 until her May 21 resignation.

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that an investigation into Callaham was launched in May 2025 after police discovered evidence of misconduct against a teenage boy.

The Greenville Police Department added in a press release, "The investigation revealed that Callaham engaged in an inappropriate and unlawful relationship with a 14-year-old male."

Police said the alleged misconduct began in 2021 when the boy was 14 and continued for at least two years.

Investigators said Callaham "engaged in grooming behavior toward the boy during his early teenage years."

"The relationship intensified as she reportedly signed the student out of school, transported him to practices, and served as a supervisor for after-school activities," the Anderson County Sheriff's Office stated.

Detectives said Callaham engaged in a "prolonged pattern of abuse, which was corroborated by search warrants and ongoing cooperation with the victim's family."

Citing arrest warrants, WHNS-TV reported that Callaham provided the alleged victim with marijuana, nicotine, and alcohol. The arrest warrants also accused Callaham of engaging in sexual intercourse with the teen boy at a Greenville hotel and a downtown Greenville parking garage.

Callaham "voluntarily surrendered herself" Thursday morning to the Anderson County Detention Center, the sheriff's office said. The next day, Callaham was booked at the Greenville County Detention Center.

During Callaham's bond hearing in Anderson County last week, a detective read a letter in court from the mother of the alleged victim, according to WYFF-TV. The mother claimed that her family first met Callaham while she was serving as the director of musical theater productions for a play in which her son performed.

RELATED: Florida teacher accused of 'disturbing' sexual misconduct against student — including in classroom just hours before arrest

"Our son, who was an innocent, naive 14-year-old boy, had worked hard for years in hopes of earning a lead role. Our son was finally given an opportunity by Nikki, and we were beyond thrilled for him," the mother wrote.

The mother said she and her husband "trusted her completely with our son, as she seemed to be a wonderful mentor to our son and other young actors and actresses by investing in them."

"Looking back, it sickens me knowing Nikki manipulated our son and our family," the mother stressed. "She was waiting on this opportunity, and she found the perfect victim and family to prey on."

The letter stated, "She saw our son's innocence and that he was very easily manipulated. ... She saw a family who had a lot of love and kindness to share with those who needed it."

The mother accused Callaham of having a "plan to groom our son" and added that Callaham referred to her as her "best friend."

"However, Nikki was abusing our trust and abusing our young teenage son right under our noses," she wrote.

The mother claimed that Callaham "led a double life" and put up a "facade" to "blind us from her evil, sick intentions."

The mother added that Callaham is a "sick, twisted, calculating sex offender."

The mother also said she witnessed behaviors around her son that were "questionable and inappropriate," and her family instructed her to cease all contact with the teen.

The mother alleged that Callaham continued to contact her son through social media and purchased an Xbox video game system in order to interact with him.

WHSV-TV reported that the alleged victim — identified as Grant Strickland — spoke out following Callaham's bond hearing.

RELATED: Married ex-teacher hit with 52 additional child sex charges related to multiple alleged trysts with 15-year-old male student

The station said he decided to come forward as an 18-year-old after time spent processing the trauma he said he experienced.

Strickland told WSPA-TV that confronting Callaham was like a "weight lifted off his shoulders." He noted that he was a "child" when the alleged misconduct occurred.

"All I really want the public to know is that that was a traumatic event. I'm here to fight, and I'm not going to back down," Strickland said following the hearing, according to WRDW-TV. "I think more awareness needs to be brought to things like this. And just because I'm a man doesn't mean that it should be shunned away. Because I was a child."

Strickland added, "I would love to bring more awareness to show that this happens, and it happens a lot, and it's not just to women. It's to men too, and it happens to young children, and it's gotta stop."

Strickland continued, "I would never want somebody to go through what I went through, because I don't really think that most people would be strong enough to survive it. Because I almost didn't."

WSAV-TV reported that at Callaham's bond hearing in Greenville on Monday, she was seen smiling at people in the courtroom, including her family and fiancé.

RELATED: Florida middle school teacher sent nude photo, engaged in 'lewd conduct' with 14-year-old student: Police

Callaham's lawyer asked for leniency since his client is pregnant and needs prenatal care.

"Miss Callaham is eight to nine weeks pregnant," attorney William Epps III said.

Her bond was set at $120,000 in Greenville County, and her bond was set at $40,000 in Anderson County.

WRDW reported that as part of her bond requirements, Callaham will be placed under house arrest until she secures employment. A judge also ordered Callaham to not have contact with the alleged victim; in addition, she must undergo a psychological evaluation and will be required to wear a GPS monitor.

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office stated that the Anderson School District Five is aware of the investigation and charges made against Callaham.

Blaze News reached out to the Anderson School District Five for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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Your kids' iPhones may be the most dangerous things they own



What’s an acceptable level of online child sexual abuse, blackmail, and sextortion? How many teen suicides must happen before someone acts? Most parents would say the answer is obvious: zero.

Apple doesn’t seem to agree. Despite serving as the constant digital companion for millions of American kids, the company has done nothing to rein in the iMessage app — a tool that now functions as an unregulated playground for child predators. Apple has shrugged off the problem while iMessage becomes the wild west of child exploitation: unchecked, unreported, and deadly.

It’s long past time for Apple to confront the truth: Its inaction empowers predators. And that makes the company complicit and accountable.

You wouldn’t leave a toddler alone by the pool. You wouldn’t hand your 9-year-old the keys to a pickup. And when you drive that truck, you don’t let your kid ride on the hood. But every day, parents hand their children a device that could be just as dangerous: the iPhone.

That device follows them everywhere — to school, to bed, into the darkest corners of the internet. The threat doesn’t just come from YouTube or TikTok. It’s baked into iMessage itself — the default communication tool on every iPhone, the one parents use to text their kids.

Unlike social media platforms or games, iMessage gives parents almost no tools to limit its use or increase safety. No meaningful restrictions. No guardrails. No accountability.

Criminals understand this — and they take full advantage. They generate fake nude images of boys and send them via iMessage. Then, they threaten to release the images to the victims’ classmates and followers unless they pay up. It’s extortion. It’s emotional torture. And it often ends in tragedy.

This isn’t rare. It’s growing. Online child-sexual abuse and interaction are spreading fast — and Apple refuses to act.

The statistics are outrageous:

Why do predators prefer iMessage over apps like WhatsApp or Snapchat? According to law enforcement and online safety experts, iMessage offers “an appealing venue” for grooming — a place where predators can build trust with your child. They identify victims on public platforms, then move the conversation to iMessage, where no safety guardrails exist.

RELATED: Is your child being exposed to pedophiles in the metaverse?

ljubaphoto via iStock/Getty Images

And children trust it. That familiar blue bubble? Apple teaches them it means the message came from a “trusted source.” Not just another text — another iPhone.

Apple claims to offer a “communication safety” feature that blurs nude images sent to kids through iMessage. But here’s the catch: The alert lets the child view the image anyway. That’s not a safety feature. That’s a fig leaf.

Apple knows exactly what iMessage enables — a criminal playground for sextortion, child sexual abuse, and worse. But Apple doesn’t act. Why? Because it doesn’t have to. The company sees no urgent economic risk. Today, 88% of American teens own iPhones. This fall, 25% are expected to upgrade to iPhone 17 — up from 22% last year.

The numbers tell the rest of the story.

In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified more than 20 million cases of suspected online child sexual exploitation — much of it sextortion. Instagram reported 3.3 million. WhatsApp logged more than 1.8 million. Snapchat topped 1.1 million.

Apple reported 250.

No level of child sexual exploitation is acceptable. Not one instance. Content providers and app developers across the industry have taken steps to protect children. Apple, by contrast, has shrugged. Its silence is willful. Its inaction is a choice.

It’s long past time for Apple to confront the truth: Its inaction empowers predators. And that makes the company complicit and accountable — economically, legally, and morally.

Married ex-teacher hit with 52 additional child sex charges related to multiple alleged trysts with 15-year-old male student



A former Illinois special education teacher accused of molesting a 15-year-old student has been hit with 52 additional charges relating to previous accusations of child sex crimes.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced Tuesday in a statement that 30-year-old Christina Formella had been indicted on 52 additional counts of child sex crimes against a student.

'I feel like I’m gonna throw up.'

Formella is facing 20 counts of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 Felony), 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 1 Felony), six counts of indecent solicitation of a child (Class 3 Felony), and six counts of grooming (Class 4 Felony), Berlin said.

As Blaze News previously reported, Formella was arrested March 16 when she was a teacher at Downers Grove South High School. At the time, Formella was charged with one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 1 Felony), one count of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 Felony), and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 2 Felony).

Police bodycam video of Formella’s arrest shows her appearing confused when an officer asks her to step out of her vehicle during a traffic stop. With her husband in the passenger seat of the vehicle, Formella exits the car and is placed in handcuffs.

Bodycam footage shows Formella crying in the back of the police cruiser.

"I feel like I’m gonna throw up," a sobbing Formella is heard saying.

RELATED: Special education teacher fights molestation charges, claims student set her up for blackmail because she's 'good-looking'

The DuPage County State's Attorney's Office stated in a previous news release, "On March 15, 2025, the victim, who was 15 years old at the time of the alleged assault, and his mother went to the Downers Grove Police Department to report inappropriate sexual contact allegedly committed by the boy’s soccer coach/tutor, later identified as Formella."

It was alleged that the student and Formella were in a classroom for a tutoring session before school began in December 2023 when the teacher sexually assaulted the boy, officials said.

But in its press release Tuesday, the State's Attorney's Office said, "Following further investigation, it is alleged that the sexual abuse began in January 2023 and continued through August/September 2024."

"The new allegations against Ms. Formella, including the allegations of grooming and that the abuse lasted nearly two years, are beyond disturbing,” Berlin proclaimed. "I thank the victim in this case for having the courage to come forward during what I imagine is an extremely difficult time for him."

Authorities noted that Formella "sent the victim multiple text messages that were grooming in nature and that she and the victim had engaged in sexual acts approximately 50 times, both at the school and at Formella’s home, including at least 45 times at the school."

WGN-TV reported that the following text exchange was allegedly between the student and Formella:

Student: “I love you so so much mama.”
Formella: “I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect”
Student: “I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect.”
Formella: “I love having sex with you.”
Student: “I know baby I love it so much… It feels so good… It’s so passionate. .. It’s so intimate … It’s so perfect.”

The alleged victim's mother reportedly discovered text messages between the boy and Formella on her son's cell phone.

RELATED: Shocking texts, secret 'memoir' reportedly reveal special-ed teacher's affair with student

In addition, Formella allegedly had a secret "memoir" in her phone's notes app, in which one note said the student “cheated on me" and called him “disgusting,” according to a petition to deny her pretrial release that People magazine obtained.

“We will never ever be together again,” Formella allegedly wrote. “I'm not a second choice. I'm the best thing you'll ever have, even with all of my mistakes.”

Formella asserted that she was the victim of a blackmail scheme the student orchestrated.

"[Formella said] everybody comes after her because she is good-looking, and she is just a good person who cared too much about [the boy]," according to court documents the Daily Mail obtained.

Blaze News previously reported that Formella allegedly told investigators that the student broke into her phone and sent text messages to himself to set her up for blackmail.

"She claimed that one day, [the boy] had grabbed her phone unattended, had entered her passcode ... had sent the message to his phone, had then deleted the message from her phone, and had saved it to his phone as blackmail," the documents obtained by the Daily Mail read.

Formella is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 4, the state's attorney said.

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Exclusive: Linda McMahon Meets With Detransitioners To Discuss Schools Pushing Gender Transition

Education and HHS are looking at ways they can stop the school-to-transition pipeline among children.

Report reignites suspicions would-be Trump assassin wasn't working alone



The New York Post recently published a report suggesting that the July 13 attempt on President Donald Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, may not have been solely the work of Thomas Matthew Crooks but rather the doing of a "criminal network" that has benefited from alleged efforts by law enforcement to suppress critical information about the shooting.

Dana Kennedy, a reporter who previously worked at CNN and MSNBC, did her apparent best to justify the Post's claim of an exclusive by speaking to various people who knew Crooks. The report hinged, however, on a well-established theory, this time restated by a Pennsylvania private investigator who has reportedly done some digging in Butler.

Doug Hagmann told the Post that he was hired by a private client to look into the assassination attempt shortly after the deadly rally and has been working the case for several months with a team of six other investigators.

After interviewing over 100 people and conducting geofencing analysis of cellular devices not belonging to Crooks that were detected at his home, the rifle range where he practiced, and at the high school where he graduated two years prior to the shooting, Hagmann concluded, "We don't think he acted alone."

Various individuals who spoke to the Post characterized Crooks as a happy and "nerdy" individual — as someone whose transformation into a killer must have been private and possibly even nurtured.

'This took a lot of coordination.'

Mark Sigaroos, one of Crooks' friends from high school, told the Post, "It's presented like an open-and-shut case like, 'Oh, he went crazy,' but it doesn't really add up. It's like JFK. Do we think we've become so modern that wouldn't happen again?"

Xavier Harmon, a teacher who taught Crooks in his computer technology class at Steel Center for Career and Technical Education for two years, said Corey Comperatore's killer "was the quirky, funny little guy who also loved to excel in class. When he was finished, he'd always go back and help his classmates. He was very intelligent."

"I don't think he set out to kill the president," said Harmon. "My guess is, he messed with the wrong individuals about what they were going to do and it was different from what he thought it was going to be. Anyone planning to do this would leave some sort of breadcrumbs. But there's nothing — no paperwork, no itinerary, no even [him] going to websites to [research]."

Jim Knapp, a recently retired guidance counselor at Crooks' high school who also knew the shooter's parents and sister, told the Post, "I believe evil exists in the world and the devil caused him to snap. Something got into his brain and controlled it. The devil fed on him and got him, hook, line, and sinker."

Hagmann suggested that it would have taken more than Crooks and his inner demons to pull off the shooting.

"This took a lot of coordination," said Hagmann. "In my view, Crooks was handled by more than one individual, and he was used for this [assassination attempt]. And I wouldn't preclude the possibility that there were people at the rally itself helping him."

Hagmann, who claims on his website to be a "former informational and operational asset for the FBI and US Department of Justice," is no stranger to coordinated operations at political rallies. Apparently an associate of at least one Jan. 6, 2021, provocateur who managed not to get arrested, Hagmann reportedly directed elements of his team at the U.S. Capitol to "breach the chambers" on Jan. 6, 2021, while broadcasting his weekday show, "The Hagmann Report."

The former FBI asset also told the Post that one of the electronic devices that his geofencing analysis indicated had traveled with Crooks to several different places around the time of the attempted assassination is still live and pinging at Bethel Park High School, which Crooks attended until his graduation in 2022.

Hagmann is neither the first to suggest that Crooks may have been groomed nor the first to track mobile devices linked to Crooks, his known associates, or the places he frequented.

'I'd need as little as three days to prep him for the specific operations.'

Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker, who has reported extensively on the Butler shooting with Blaze Media investigative reporter Joseph Hanneman, indicated that their sources have been sounding the alarm about the likelihood of handlers for several months.

"Our sources, which are all intelligence community and Department of Defense special operations guys, all tell us that everything about the Butler incident screams that Thomas Crooks was groomed and could not have done what he did alone without preparation," said Baker.

A top-tier U.S. military special operations expert told Blaze News in July that "a 20-year-old with no military or government training doing so many things correctly — range finder, drone, recon, turning off his phone — had to have been 'groomed' into this process. He was likely paid by some government or dark money source."

"I don't think he went rogue or was a rogue operator," the expert said. "I've seen and been involved in these types of ops for too many years. He had instructions."

The expert further indicated that a single special operator can easily train or groom about eight to 12 youths in short order.

"Depending upon the op, I'd need at least nine months for the source vetting and grooming, but I've done it in as little as six months," said the expert. "Then I'd need as little as three days to prep him for the specific operations, after the requisite number of months of grooming."

"I don't know anyone in the intelligence community who believes that Crooks did this on his own," Baker told Blaze News Thursday, adding that a number of special operations experts have told him that when reviewing the Butler case, they recognize their "own handiwork" customarily conducted overseas.

Hagmann's geofencing insights into devices in Crooks' orbit are no more novel than his theory about handlers or co-conspirators.

The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project revealed last year that it flushed out some of the would-be assassin's connections through an "in-depth analysis of mobile ad data to track movements of Crooks and his associates. To do this, we tracked devices that regularly visited both Crooks's home and place of work and followed them."

"We began this investigation on the night of the shooting," an Oversight Project spokesman told Blaze News last year. "We've been working 24/7 since then."

The Oversight Project noted that one frequent visitor to the Crooks household had also paid a visit to the Gallery Place complex in Washington, D.C., in June 2023 — "in the same vicinity of an FBI office."

Former FBI Special Agent Kyle Seraphin told Blaze News that while the location was home to various retail stores and restaurants, there were offices of the FBI on the upper floors. Oversight Project investigators indicated that the phone associated with the ID number detected in D.C. likely did not belong to Crooks but rather someone who visited him at home.

Another device, this time linked to Crooks' work, traveled from the shooter's home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Butler on July 4 and 8 — just days before the shooting. The device apparently went silent on the eve of the Trump rally.

'The people who do this kind of thing don't talk.'

Hagmann insinuated that there may be a cover-up under way, stating, "One can assist in an operation like this by omission or standing down. There are people still out there involved in this case that need to be brought to justice."

Blaze News reached out to Hagmann for comment about his conclusions and his past ties to federal agencies but did not receive a response by deadline.

Kennedy also did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment regarding the exclusive nature of her piece or Hagmann's inputs.

Baker cast doubt on whether the change of leadership at the FBI will mean greater transparency about Crooks' radicalization and the possibility that the bureau may have had been involved.

"Everybody thinks that Kash Patel is going to open a file drawer somewhere and he's going to pull the names of dozens or hundreds or thousands of agents that have been involved in the assassination attempts of Trump and the solicitation of violence at the Capitol on January 6," said Baker. "I'm just telling you right now that's not going to happen. In order for a conspiracy to be successful, it has to be very compartmentalized, with very few people in the know."

"I hope that we do find out. I hope it is revealed," continued Baker. "But the reality is that, as I said, the circle of people in the know will be so small. There will be no paper trail. And the people who do this kind of thing don't talk."

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School district helped student declare herself homeless so she could move in with teacher later accused of 'grooming': Report



A school district in Colorado is accused of assisting an underage high school student to lie on a federal form to declare herself homeless so that she could move in with her female teacher, who later was accused of "grooming" the student, according to a report.

What's more, the KCNC-TV report said counselors at the high school kept the parents of the 17-year-old girl in the dark about the situation involving Leann Kearney, now a former social studies teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton.

'Ms. Kearney takes interest in helping kids navigate their sexuality.'

The girl — who reportedly was a straight-A student and captain of the swim team — allegedly developed an inappropriate relationship with Kearney as early as her sophomore year in 2018.

The report said the Jefferson County School District assisted the girl with declaring herself homeless — even though she was living with her parents. The student allegedly told school administrators that she didn't feel as though her home was safe. High school counselors purposely kept the girl's parents in the dark about their daughter declaring herself homeless, according to school emails obtained by KCNC through an open records request.

"There's this icky feeling that something is wrong, and as it progressed, it only got worse. Not a single person stood up and said something doesn't seem right and reached out to the parents," said Heather McCormick, a friend of the girl's mother.

The mother of the girl only found out about her daughter declaring herself an "unaccompanied minor" after discovering paperwork under her daughter's bed.

“If my friend hadn’t found the homeless paperwork under the bed, this would’ve remained sealed," McCormick said.

The student requested that she be placed in Kearney's care, according to school district documents.

The concerned mom continued to investigate why her daughter wanted to move out of her family's home and in with her teacher. Then the mother reportedly discovered that her daughter had exchanged approximately 20,000 text messages with her teacher. She also found a handwritten note from 2021 detailing her daughter "kissing" the teacher, according to the documents and a sheriff’s report, the New York Post said.

'While we have taken every step to remove this former employee ... and prevent her from working in another educational setting ... we recognize this is of little comfort to the family. ... We deeply regret how profoundly this violation has affected their family.'

The teen's mother brought the phone records and the note to Scott Christy, principal of Columbine High School, who reportedly said he was "aware of the situation."

The mother claimed that Christy dismissed her by saying, "Ms. Kearney takes interest in helping kids navigate their sexuality."

The mom allegedly sent Kearney a message warning her to stop contacting her daughter, and the mother hounded the school district to take action against the teacher.

Eventually, the school district launched an investigation into the allegations and then issued a statement at its conclusion: "Obviously, the student did not meet the criteria to be considered homeless, and the staff involved in this isolated incident were addressed as part of the investigation as the proper channels in place were not followed."

The statement continued, "While we have taken every step to remove this former employee ... and prevent her from working in another educational setting ... we recognize this is of little comfort to the family. ... We deeply regret how profoundly this violation has affected their family."

Kearney reportedly quit her teaching job two years after the accusations first surfaced, and the state eventually stripped Kearney of her education license. According to the Post, the revocation document described her behavior as "grooming."

After the student turned 18 years old, she reportedly moved to Oregon with Kearney.

KCNC in its news video showed a report from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office about the teacher's interactions with the student.

The following is the sheriff's office's response Wednesday to Blaze News, which asked the agency why criminal action was not taken against the teacher.

This case was assigned to an investigator and has been investigated to the extent possible without the permission or involvement of the juvenile (now an adult) involved in the matter. The case remains open, with the intent to investigate further if the potential victim decides to participate in the investigative process at any point in the future. At this time, we do not have sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges in this case. Should new information become available, or the potential victim chooses to engage in the investigative process, we will reassess the situation accordingly.

McCormick stated, "It's really scary to think there are schools and teachers and administrators that are working behind your back and not in the best interest of your child."

The school district told KCNC that it now has policies in place that ensure this type of situation never happens again.

When asked if the school district would have acted differently if Kearney were a male teacher, McCormick responded without hesitation: "Oh, absolutely."

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