Former Hoover day care worker faces federal child porn charges in Montana

Published: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 11:30 PM ??? Updated: Wednesday, December 22, 2010, 1:23 AM

A former worker at a Hoover day care has been charged with enticing a Montana boy to send sexually explicit images of himself over the Internet, according to federal court records.

An attorney for the parents of at least one child?at Bright Horizons day care on Riverchase Parkway said parents were "livid" and concerned about any contact the man may have had with their children.

Robert Shane Wilkins, 33, of Homewood, was arrested Thursday and charged in federal court in Montana with conspiracy to sexually exploit children, sexual exploitation of children, distribution of child pornography.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Ott today ordered Wilkins, described as a day care worker who taught third-graders, to continue to be held in jail and ordered U.S. Marshals to transport him to Montana to face the charges.

Wilkins' attorney, Michael V. Rasmussen, responded to the charges.

"He (Wilkins) will be taken to Montana and answer the charges there," Rasmussen said "At this point the allegations concern pornography and not the actual sexual touching of a child. I don't expect there to be any charges concerning that," he said.

Wilkins and another man, Anthony Steven Rodriguez, of Georgia, are accused of both using a YouTube account with the user name "funandfreaky7," according to an FBI affidavit in the case. The men under that user name pretended to be a pre-teen girl.

A 10-year-old Helena, Montana, boy told law enforcement that he had received a friend request from "funandfreaky7" asking to be friends and sending him a video of a preteen girl exposing herself. The child made several sexually explicit videos of himself at "funandfreaky7's" request and sent them to "funandfreaky7," according to the FBI affidavit.

The mother of the boy had called law enforcement in Helena, Montana, on Dec. 6 to report the activity on her son's computer, according to an FBI agent's affidavit in the case.

Rodriguez, who is a convicted sex offender, also has been arrested and charged in the case.

A search of Wilkins' residence -- he lives with his parents -- resulted in the recovery of a computer "that the defendant admitted would contain child pornography," according to Ott's detention order.

Wilkins admitted to communicating with the child in Montana and also to working with Rodriquez to entice children to "self-produce" sexually explicit videos, according to Ott's order.

Ott noted at the bottom of one page of his order Tuesday that prosecutors referenced in the hearing that Wilkins "may have commented to Rodriguez about possibly having engaged in sexual contact with a neighborhood child." No evidence, however, was offered at the hearing about that allegation, according to Ott's order.

Eric Guster, an attorney representing at least one family who has a child at Bright Horizons day care on Riverchase Parkway, said that parents were notified by the day care about the arrest of Wilkins.

Wilkins was fired last week from that day care, Guster said.

Bright Horizons is a day care operated under contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Guster said. Employees of that insurance company use the day care for their children, he said.

Efforts to get comments from?Bright Horizons were not successful?Tuesday.

Bright Horizons officials met with parents Tuesday, Guster said. Parents are concerned about why Wilkins was working there and whether he may have videotaped or taken photographs of their children, or had any inappropriate contact with their children, he said.

"They (parents) are livid to think that their children were exposed to someone who has been accused of this type of activity," Guster said.

Peggy Sanford, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Birmingham, said federal authorities in Birmingham assisted Montana authorities in Wilkins' arrest. "We are looking into whether there were any violations of federal law here," she said.?

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Birmingham firefighters battle blaze at former Adams Inn hotel

Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 10:38 PM ??? Updated: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 11:01 PM

Birmingham firefighters are on the scene tonight of a fire at the old Adams Inn hotel at 3rd Avenue North and 10th Street off Interstate 65.

Flames and heavy smoke were reported at 10:15 p.m. at the former hotel, which has been abandoned and is no longer in business.

Flames were visible from?a couple of first-floor rooms, which firefighters attacked with water upon arriving.

Shortly before 11 p.m., as more firetrucks arrived on the scene, flames were no longer visible and the smoke was not as heavy as earlier.

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Wallace State president testifies former Alabama college chancellor did not order her to hire accused contractor

Published: Monday, November 01, 2010, 7:08 PM ??? Updated: Monday, November 01, 2010, 7:09 PM

An Alabama community college president testified in federal court today that former Alabama two-year college chancellor Roy Johnson did not direct or coerce her into hiring Tuscaloosa contractor Roger Taylor's company for a construction project on campus.

Taylor is on trial in federal court in Tuscaloosa. He is charged in a bribery conspiracy to influence Johnson in the awarding of community college contracts to his company, Hall-Taylor Construction, by paying for appliances, doors and windows, and some constructions costs on a house Johnson was building in Opelika in 2004.

Vicki Hawsey, president of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, testified today she had entertained proposals from Hall-Taylor Construction and one other company for the job of managing construction on a proposed $12 million project to build a fine arts center on the campus.

Hawsey said she was already leaning toward hiring Hall-Taylor when she asked Johnson about the two firms. Johnson told her that Hall-Taylor was doing a good job on another project for the two-year college system and recommended she hire that firm, she said.

But Hawsey said during questioning by one of Taylor's defense attorneys, Augusta Dowd, that Johnson did not coerce, order, or direct her to hire Hall-Taylor Construction in March 2005.

The construction management contract with Hall-Taylor was later cancelled when the project was delayed after construction bids came in higher than expected. The project has since been built.

Hawsey said during questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Meadows that she was hired in 2003 in a process that involved Johnson and the board that oversees the two-year college system. Prosecutors have repeatedly tried to show that Johnson had a major role as chancellor in the hiring or firing of the college presidents to whom he was recommending Taylor's firm for work. Johnson served as chancellor from 2002 to 2006.

In all, Hall-Taylor got $3.4 million for managing 16 construction projects at nine state community colleges between 2003 and 2006, according to an FBI agent who tallied the contracts during testimony Monday. Hall-Taylor also was paid another $939,832 for construction management work on two other state projects connected to the two-year college system, the FBI agent testified.

One project was a center in Thomasville built to provide training to prisoners about to re-enter the workforce after serving their sentences. The other project was a center in Tuscaloosa that offered state employment and job training services.

The site selected for the Tuscaloosa center was owned by a group of investors that included Taylor. The state leases the site from the investment group for $11,475 a month, according to testimony during the trial.

Brenda Truelove, site manager of the Tuscaloosa Career Center, testified that Johnson was the one who picked the site. But she said she was happy with the location that was chosen.

Johnson has pleaded guilty to charges involving Taylor and similar charges involving others, and as part of his plea agreement agreed to testify. He is to be sentenced Nov. 18. Also under his plea agreement, prosecutors won't prosecute members of Johnson's family as long as Johnson cooperates and testifies truthfully.

Taylor's trial is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Chief U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn said she will let the jury go early Tuesday so they can vote.

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Top helps Ron Sparks, Glen Zorn and forestry former association leader, John McMillan, to be Commissioner of agriculture

Published: Sunday, October 24 2010 5 H.

MONTGOMERY - Top of page help agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks and Republican John McMillan, a former leader of the forest Association of Alabama, Glen Zorn, Democrat run November 2 to replace Sparks, Commissioner of the State, the Ministry of agriculture and industries.

Zorn, 66, is co-owner of Zorn Brothers Inc. of Florala, which grows cotton, cereals and peanut farmers buys and sells along with fertilizers, pesticides, feed and seed. "I understand, firstly, the agricultural production. "I understand the economy need it," said Zorn.

Zorn has worked for Sparks as Deputy Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner since 2003. "The bottom line, I was there for seven year and a half." "I have the experience to go forward," said Zorn.

He said it provides funding for the Department to keep falling in the next few years and wants the Ministry to team with the universities and other organizations to share resources. "For too long."¤.¤.each department wanted to be there as an island in soi.Le time came that we must work together.?

McMillan, 69, lives in Stockton, 1986-2006 was Alabama, lobby for businesses mill and sawmill paper, Forestry Association Executive Vice-President landowners and other interests forestiers.Sa family is owner of agricultural land and forestry in the County of Baldwin.Il was Commissioner of the Department conservation status from 1981 to 1983.

McMillan said his work at the Department of conservation "demonstrated an ability to perform a much larger government agency."

He also told his work on the status of staff, where he has held since 1997, help him manage employees.

"Fiscal and personnel questions are really important, the overall financial situation of the State," says McMillan, who agreed with Zorn that support from the State for the Department of agriculture will probably be tight in the years to come.

To join the conversation by White comment below or send to dwhite@bhamnews.com.

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