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St. Clair County – Suspect arrested in shooting of teenager

Credit: St. Clair County Sheriff

Samad Williams, 24, of the 200 block of East Carlyle Street is charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. He is being held on $100,000 bond.

by Bryce Moore

Posted on March 26, 2010 at 2:45 PM

St. Clair County, Illinois (KMOV.com) – A suspect is in custody following a shooting just outside of Belleville earlier in the week.

Samad Williams, 24, of the 200 block of East Carlyle Street is charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. He is being held on $100,000 bond.

According to police, the 19-year-old victim was shot twice on March 22, around 6:30 p.m. at the 100 block of Lawndale Drive near unincorporated Belleville. The teen was treated and released from a St. Louis area hospital.

A short time after the attack, Williams was arrested by St. Clair County Sheriff's deputies after being spotted walking along Carlyle Avenue. The gun that is believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered from a trash can at nearby car wash.

Belleville school custodian, YMCA swim instructor faces sex charges

Suspect also taught swimming at YMCA

BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE -- A Jefferson Elementary School night custodian and YMCA swim instructor was charged Thursday with predatory criminal sexual abuse of children.

Christopher B. Mayweather, 37, of 23 St. Clair Lake Drive in Swansea, was charged Thursday with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson.

The charges stem from cases involving two victims, and police are investigating two other possible victims. Each boy was about 5 or 6 at the time, police said, and in each case, the abuse lasted from 10 to 15 years.

Christopher B. Mayweather. - Provided/BND

The victims are not students at the school, and the abuse did not take place at the school or the YMCA.

Police said Mayweather met three of his victims about 15 years ago when he went swimming at the YMCA. He met the fourth victim separate from the YMCA.

Mayweather befriended the children and their families, and in some cases, became a babysitter for the family.

"In fact, he would even buy these children iPods and CDs and those types of things to get these children to trust him and to get the family to trust him," Johnson said. "These are families that trusted this individual to even baby-sit their children. ... I strongly suspect ... that more people may come forward."

The Sheriff's Department began its investigation in early March when one of the victims, who is now a teenager, reported incidents of sexual abuse. In this case, the assaults occurred at various locations near Belleville, including along Winslow Road, Glen Addie Boulevard and Warrensburg Drive.

Investigator Matthew Jany looked into the matter and identified more victims, some whom now live outside Illinois.

Mayweather was arrested Tuesday morning. He remained at the St. Clair County Jail on Friday on $500,000 bail set by St. Clair County Associate Judge Ellen Dauber.

In recent years, Mayweather became a part-time swim instructor at the YMCA of Southwest Illinois Downtown Belleville branch.

YMCA officials learned Thursday of Mayweather's arrest and immediately suspended him from all duties at the YMCA.

"The safety of those we serve is our primary concern. All YMCA staff undergo a thorough background check prior to employment. We will monitor this situation and take further action as appropriate," YMCA of Southwest Illinois President Jorge Perez stated in a news release.

Mayweather remained employed by District 118 as of Friday afternoon.

"As long as he's in custody, he's not in a situation that he's available to be at work. If he's released in any capacity at all prior to the conclusion of the case, we will be recommending immediate suspension of the employee," said District 118 Superintendent Matt Klosterman.

"We will do what we need to to ensure he's not on school district property prior to the conclusion of the case at hand," Klosterman added.

Mayweather has worked as a custodian at Jefferson Elementary for nearly two years. Before that, he was a substitute custodian for District 118 for more than two years.

"To my knowledge, we've had no reports of any specific concerns regarding this employee while he was working with us," Klosterman said.

Klosterman said officials administered a background check on Mayweather before he was used as a substitute custodian, and then again before he was hired.

The background checks did not show "any indications to any prior offenses of any sort," Klosterman said.

"Our primary concern is and always has been the safety and welfare of our students," Klosterman said in a letter to parents Friday.

Police said Mayweather has worked at other schools, but the names of the schools were not immediately available.

Police are asking that any victims, or anyone with information about the suspect, call Jany at the Sheriff's Department at 277-3504, ext. 5712.

Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee at jlee@bnd.com or 239-2655.

COMMENTS

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2010/03/27/1191534/school-custodian-faces-sex-charges.html#ixzz0jO8giSXJ

School Custodian, YMCA Instructor Charged With Sex Abuse

 

BELLEVILLE, IL - (KTVI - FOX2now.com) - A school custodian and community swimming instructor is facing child sex abuse charges and police say he met some of his victims at work. Christopher Mayweather, 37, of Belleville is facing five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault. Police say the investigation started earlier this month when a teen accused Mayweather of abusing him since the age of six. During the investigation police found more victims, including some out of state.

The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department says Mayweather may have met some of his victims while working as a swim instructor at the Belleville Y.M.C.A fifteen years ago. He also worked as a custodian at Jefferson School in Belleville, but it is not believed he met any of his alleged victims at the school.

The five charges Mayweather is facing reflect alleged crimes against two children. Suspected crimes against two other kids are still being investigated. Mayweather is being held on $500,000 dollars bond.

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Update on Kraig Monroe

March 5^th, 2010, 3:00 PM

Update on the Kraig Monroe (Aggravated Battery to a Child) investigation:

• The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office has taken the charges against the victim’s mother under advisement and she has been released from the St. Clair County Jail.  Sheriff’s Investigators are working closely with the State’s Attorney’s Office to follow up on further investigation related to her involvement.
• The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office issued a search warrant for Kraig Monroe’s residence to be further processed by Illinois State Police Crime Scene.  ISP and Sheriff’s Investigators are at the residence now (110 Princeton Drive, Belleville) conducting that search warrant.
• The mother was issued and served with an Order of Protection issued through St. Clair County Courts to prevent contact with the child. 
• This morning I, along with Sheriff Mearl Justus, Sgt. Dan Stockett, Inv. Scott Toth and Capt. Don Sax (Belleville) participated in a conference call with Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Supervisors and the case agent.  “DCFS was very concerned and everyone who participated in the conference call agreed it was a productive meeting towards changing procedures and improving communications between DCFS and Law Enforcement,” said Capt. Steve Johnson.  Further meetings and possible policy changes by DCFS were also discussed.
• Kraig Monroe remains in the St. Clair County Jail with a $500,000.00 bond.

----------------------------------------------------------

Capt. Steve Johnson
Chief Investigator
St. Clair County Sheriff's Department
700 North 5th Street
Belleville, IL 62220

'How can you describe it other than hell?' Man charged in beating of 2-year-old girl

BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat

Police have a St. Clair County man in custody after a 2-year-old girl was beaten so badly that she may have to eat from a feeding tube for the rest of her life.

Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of 110 Princeton Drive near Belleville, was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery to a child.

Monroe was watching his girlfriend's daughter while the girlfriend was at work, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson.

County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson talks about the charges against Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of unincorporated Belleville. Monroe was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery of a child. - Zia Nizami/BND

Man charged in beating of two year old. Fox 2 video

 

St. Clair County man charged in connection with beating 2-year-old girl

 

News-Democrat

Police have a man in custody after a 2-year-old girl was beaten so badly that she will only be able to eat from a feeding tube for the rest of her life.

Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of unincorporated Belleville was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery of a child.

Monroe was watching his girlfriend's toddler daughter while the girlfriend was at work, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson.

Kraig A. Monroe - Provided/BND

Over the course of several days, Monroe is accused of punching the baby in the stomach to silence her crying, Johnson said.

The girl was vomiting and going in and out of consciousness when she was taken to Memorial Hospital about 10 a.m. Monday. By 4 p.m. that day, the girl, who was in critical condition, was transported to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis.

On Thursday, she underwent surgery to remove her bowels and her intestines. If she survives, she will be on a feeding tube the rest of her life, Johnson said.

The girl also suffered from various other injuries: a broken leg, a broken arm and clumps of hair had been pulled out from her head.

Monroe is being held at the St. Clair County Jail on $500,000 bail.

The girl's mother also has been taken into custody, though she has not been charged, Johnson said.

Daughter of 'Jane Doe' learns about mother; killer 'could still be out there,' she says

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER AND GEORGE PAWLACZYK - News-Democrat

Katie found and lost her mother in one day.

Katie is the daughter of Summerfield's "Jane Doe," who was strangled and left in a cornfield outside the small village. She remained unidentified for more than 21 years until in January 2008 an FBI fingerprint recheck revealed she was 27-year-old Eulalia Pholia Mylia Chavez Wilcomer.

"I was at work and I waited until I got home and I Googled it," said Katie, who asked that only her first name be used to protect her and her adopted family. "I was like, 'Oh, my God!' So I found out who she was and that she was murdered in the same day."

A 1983 police photo of Eulalia Pholia Mylia Chavez Wilcomer. - Provided/BND

Katie, now 32, learned the name of her mother, who gave her up for adoption in California when she was an infant, from her mother's high school friend in 2008, then learned through a computer search that her mother was found in an Illinois cornfield near a small town called Summerfield, strangled, mutilated and unidentified for decades.

The news of her mother's murder brought fear, said Katie.