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Man Pleads Guilty For Persuading Moms To Abuse Their Own Children
Steven Demink may face 15 years to life in prison for coercing mothers to sexually assault their own children.
A 41-year-old Michigan man faced a federal court for posing as a psychologist to coerce mothers to sexually assault their children as a supposed form of therapy. He also urged the mothers to send him photos and video of the “therapy sessions”.
Steven Demink pleaded guilty to six charges of sexual exploitation and may be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Seven additional charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain.
Arrested in October, Demink targeted single mothers, and promised a date if they followed his directed “therapy”. He used the alias Dalton St. Clair and proclaimed to be a single father of a 14-year-old girl. The former car salesman found moms online at dating websites, and then claimed he was a psychologist and promised his sex therapy would help their troubled children. For his professional photo, he used pictures of male models.
Between April 2009 and September 2010, Demink corresponded with mothers online in New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, New Hampshire and other states. He directed them to them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send photos through e-mail or a live web stream. The children were ages 3 to 15; seven children have been rescued. Three of the mothers have been arrested.
The Associated Press outlined the details of the assaults according to court documents:
According to the plea agreement, Demink engaged in online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her eight-year-old autistic son. He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera, prosecutors say.
“Demink intimated to these women that the result of the therapy would be healthier children,” the document said.
The arrested mothers include Rebecca Nail, who lived in New Hampshire when prosecutors say the crimes occurred. She pleaded guilty in December to producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced March 21 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va.
Candice Miller of Lee County, Fla., has pleaded not guilty to five counts and was being held without bond in Florida and faces a May 2 trial in federal court in Fort Myers, federal defender Martin DerOvanesian said. She also faces state charges connected to the case, he said.
One has to wonder what in the world these mothers were thinking. He did supposedly prey on lonely and distraught women who were desperate for answers to their children’s behaviors and they believed he was a professional psychologist. But it’s unfathomable to imagine a mother not only allowing but participating in the sexual abuse of her own child.
This story, while certainly extreme illustrates how mothers need to follow their intuition. It goes without saying they should contact licensed hospitals and medical organizations when seeking out doctors and other health professionals rather than websites. Yet even when the doctors are certified professionals in their field, they can still commit horrendous crimes. Just look at the case of Mel Levine, the pediatrician who is said to have abused dozens of children in his care.
Moms should go with their gut each and every time their child is concerned. If something initially seems off, it probably is.
Image: Yahoo
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10 Comments
Angela commented on Mar 01 11 at 10:25 pmSeriously? Instead of taking their children to an actual doctor or counselor they trusted the word of someone they had met on a dating website just because they claimed to be a psychologist? And it never sent up red flags when this supposed counselor told them to molest their children and send photos? I’m just in shock that anyone could be that stupid and blind!
Maggie commented on Mar 02 11 at 6:44 amI agree with the first commenter about taking advice from somebody on-line without checking their credentials. Even if you met him on a ‘professional-looking’ site, that’s no guarantee. But unfortunately, even if you met him at your local big-city hospital, that’s no guarantee. Today we recognize sexual abuse as, well, abusive, but what about physical torture? corporal punishment? What about parents whose baby is born with a so-called ‘birth defect’? The doctor says we need to operate now so the baby will never know the surgery was necessary. Circumcisions are still done routinely without anesthetic (partly because anesthetic can be dangerous in very young children). Just because the doctor says it’s necessary doesn’t make that true. Just look at all the ‘preventive’ tonsillectomies and appendectomies of the mid-20th Century.
Danielle Sullivan commented on Mar 02 11 at 7:10 am@Angela I agree but also wonder what state these moms were in when he found them. They must have been desperate and lacking some necessary faculties themselves. He seems to have befriended them first and then used his “medical credentials” to encourage them to listen to him. Absolutely stupid and horrific but like I said, they must have had issues to begin with in order for them to not check our his professional credentials, not to mention to do what they did.
@Maggie I’m in total agreement. No guarantee no matter where you find the docs. You just never know, so you always have to go with your gut, no matter what, and that’s AFTER you check and double check all credentials.
goddess commented on Mar 02 11 at 8:35 amIt is the absence of good judgment, common sense and an early warning system in these women that alarms me. seriously. If you can be persuaded to sexually touch/molest whatever- your own child- then you are totally useless as a aparent IMHO. They are culpable and in the end, 100% responsible for the abuse of their own children. The man is an accomplice, to be sure. But if you lack the judgment necessary to discriminate between therapy and sexual molestation and do not even know you are crossing boundaries? The kids need to be removed permananetly.
Amy commented on Mar 02 11 at 8:52 am@ Goddess, I agree. I am having a horrible time trying to wrap my head around this entire situation. I can not imagine anyone doing these things to their kid, I don’t care who told them to, common sense should have kicked in in the very beginning. Those poor kids, I hope they all are taken to homes where they know nothing but love and happiness. This whole thing not only makes me sick, it makes my heart hurt.
Manjari commented on Mar 02 11 at 9:17 amI agree that these moms are totally useless as parents. You don’t sexually molest your children, no matter who tells you to do it. Obviously that guy is a gross sicko, but the moms should also be prosecuted and should not be allowed around children.
Danielle Sullivan commented on Mar 02 11 at 9:21 am@Goddess: According to court documents, seven children were rescued but it doesn’t say further where they are now exactly, only that all children are currently safe. I’m not quite sure why ALL the mothers weren’t arrested. There have been others reports in other states but he hasn’t been convicted of them yet. The authorities were tipped off when one of the mother’s called the sheriff’s office and told them what was happening, saying “she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders. She said her daughter was “depressed and lonesome” after her divorce.”
@Amy I too can’t quite wrap my head around it all either. I say that they must have had prior mental incapacities or reached such a point of desperation, it completely clouded their ability to think. But it’s all speculation. I can’t fathom a mother hurting her children in that way just because someone told her to do it, even if he was a “psychologist”. I find it frightening that so many mothers went along with it.
goddess commented on Mar 02 11 at 11:03 amMe too Danielle!
pam commented on Mar 11 11 at 6:56 pmDanielle: It is all well and good to excuse the mothers by saying maybe they “had prior mental incapacities or reached such a point of desperation.” It just may be the case that the “psychologist” guy did as well. I do not condone what anyone did in these cases–the man or the mothers. But, if we are going to create excuses for crappy mothers who performed horrible sex acts on their own kids, lets give the guy who watched and directed it all the benefit of identical excuses. It is a sorry situation all the way around and, really, the only people here who deserve any consideration are the kids. But, fair is fair. If we are going to create reasons for the horrible and CRIMINAL behavior of the mothers–let’s recognize that maybe the man had those problems as well.
Diana commented on Nov 17 11 at 9:40 pmValid point Pam, and i so agree with you, there is no excuse for the deprave acts, All should be punished and held accountable, so tired of hearing oh she suffered from that or he is mentally challenged etc…my aunt is mentally slow yet she never EVER did crap like this. and if she did she would have been held accountable. something lacking today, why is it when someone does wrong it was not there fault, or they did not know…bull shit we keep changing things to appease the few, Statutory rape extended to 4 years age difference for the romeo and juliet clause…i’am pretty sure i and many others know the difference between a 12 year old and an 18 year old. what does a 12 year old have too offer an adult other then virginity , immaturity and being naive and easily molded to there liking till they are done with them moving on to the next hormonal victim..
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