National Roundup

Oregon Nurse aide posted Facebook photos of patients PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- An Oregon nursing assistant convicted of taking graphic photos of elderly or disabled patients and posting them on Facebook was sentenced to jail and ordered to write an "insightful" apology. Nai Mai Chao, 26, served eight days in jail after a jury found her guilty of invasion of personal privacy late last month. She was released Friday. She was accused of taking disturbing photos of patients using bed pans and posting them on her Facebook page. The pictures date to April 2011. The pictures show at least two patients -- one of a patient lying down and another of the back of a patient's head. The rest of the pictures are of the contents of bed pans. Her Facebook friends commented on several pictures, expressing disgust or humor about the photos. Chao surrendered her nursing certificate in January and was fired from the Regency Pacific Nursing and Rehab Center in the Portland suburb of Gresham. Chao denied taking the photos but admitted posting them. The charge of invasion of personal privacy is a misdemeanor. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to write a 1,000-word apology to a patient that "should be an insightful look at why the defendant did what she did." If the essay doesn't meet that standard, the judge ruled, she could be charged with violating her two-year probation. She is also forbidden for two years from working in a job that would require her to care for children or the elderly. Chao did not answer a number listed for her in court documents on Wednesday. A court document notes that she does not have a fixed address. Maryland Police settle with abortion protesters ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- The Maryland State Police will pay $385,000 to nine anti-abortion protesters arrested in Harford County nearly four years ago. The Board of Public Works approved the settlement payment on Wednesday. Protesters claim police mistreated them in Bel Air in 2008. Police said motorists complained about their graphic posters, and protesters were arrested when they failed to follow orders to leave the county. Charges were dropped soon after the arrests. A lawsuit filed in federal court against Harford County, Bel Air and several police agencies on behalf of the protesters claimed that officers handcuffed 18 demonstrators without giving a reason for their arrests and three women were strip searched twice. Harford County settled with the group in 2010 but hasn't released details of the settlement. Virginia Special prosecutor named for 1996 Va slaying RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A special prosecutor will decide whether to retry a man in the 1996 slaying of a Culpeper woman. Media outlets report that a circuit judge appointed Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrough as special prosecutor this week. Morrough says the case is his top priority. Last month, a federal judge overturned Michael Wayne Hash's 2001 capital murder conviction. U.S. District Judge James C. Turk cited prosecutorial misconduct and said Hash's trial lawyers failed to provide an adequate defense. Hash was one of three people charged in the death of 74-year-old Thelma Scroggins, who was beaten and shot in her home. Hash was 15 at the time. One co-defendant was acquitted and the other pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Pennsylvania Cops: Pa. man used transmitter to track wife's sex ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (AP) -- Police have charged a western Pennsylvania man with hiding a remote listening device under his estranged wife's bed so he could avoid overhearing her sex life in person. Raccoon Township police say 66-year-old Wayne Comet Cripe's wife contacted them after finding the transmitter under her bed last month. The Cripes are separated, but still share a home with separate bedrooms. The Beaver County Times reports Thursday that Cripe acknowledged using the device, telling officers he put it there so he would know when his wife and her boyfriend were having sex. Police say Cripe was tired of overhearing his wife's lovemaking and tried to use the device, which he said didn't work, to determine whether "the coast was clear" before returning home. Cripe doesn't have a listed phone or an attorney listed in court records. New York NYC teacher's aide indicted on molestation charges NEW YORK (AP) -- A grand jury has indicted a teacher's aide at a Brooklyn elementary school on charges of molesting a boy and distributing child pornography. Taleek Brooks' federal indictment was unsealed Wednesday. Brooks was arrested last month after FBI agents said they found homemade child pornography on his computer. The indictment charges Brooks with sexually assaulting the boy in seven images found in the computer files. It alleges that the attacks took place in 2009 and 2010. Investigators believe the pictures were taken inside the school where Brooks worked. The Daily News says that according to court papers, FBI agents found Brooks in an Internet chat room last year saying he was "interested in black boys 10 years old and older." Brooks' attorney Michael Weil had no comment Thursday. Missouri St. Louis municipal court investigation widens ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis municipal court leaders are looking at 105 disposed cases that they say were altered by a former clerk, now that the clerk faces misdemeanor charges accusing her of changing paperwork to help two friends avoid traffic tickets and no-show arrest warrants. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the discovery does not necessarily mean that 33-year-old Shantia Holman is suspected of additional crimes. The closer look involves 105 files in which changes were made related to the disposition, which could mean anything from changing a faulty address to improperly erasing a case. Holman has denied any wrongdoing and says she will contest the charges in court and sue the city for defamation after she wins. Published: Fri, Mar 9, 2012