http://www.wboc.com/story/36674308/trial-begins-for-co-defendant-in-mitchells-martial-arts-sexual-abuse-case
Leah Wright Found Guilty in the Mitchell's Martial Arts Sexual Abuse Case
Posted: 10/24/2017 18:54:00 -04:00
Updated: Oct 25, 2017 6:34 PM EST
By Kylie Winkler
Connect
Zachariah Justice Bennett and Leah Corinn Wright Zachariah Justice Bennett and Leah Corinn Wright
SALISBURY, Md.- The second day of Leah Wright's trial took place Wednesday morning. After Wright took the stand to testify for nearly an hour and a half, jurors deliberated and found Wright guilty on three accounts of sexual abuse of a minor. But the judge is deferring her sentencing 60 days, following a mental health and sexual offender evaluation.
Back in August 2016, two Salisbury martial arts instructors were arrested following accusations that they sexually assaulted young students.
The alleged victim took the stand in the Wicomico County Courthouse on Tuedsay, describing in detail the three sexual encounters she had with Wright and the other defendant, 26-year-old Zachariah Justice Bennett, back in 2014 when she was just 14-years-old.
Bennett, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor back in June 2017. His sentencing is scheduled for November, court records show.
Wright is accused of acting as a lookout for Bennett while he engaged in sexual relations with the victims. She's also accused of acting as a lookout on another occasion, using a cellphone as a warning.
In Tuesday's courtroom testimony, the alleged victim said she started attending Mitchell's Martial Arts when she was 7-years-old.
She said she grew closer to Wright over the next few years, even describing their relationship as close as sisters. So when she went to Wright with questions about intimacy, she trusted the answers.
Both girls worked at the Martial Arts studio together, under the supervision of Bennett. There were no cameras in the rooms in which these sexual encounters took place, according to courtroom testimony.
Melody Mitchell, the owner of Mitchell's Martial Arts, also took the stand Tuesday. She claimed she was not aware that any of these incidents were taking place at her business.
Wright's trial is expected to continue at least through Wednesday.
Leah Wright Found Guilty in the Mitchell's Martial Arts Sexual Abuse Case
Posted: 10/24/2017 18:54:00 -04:00
Updated: Oct 25, 2017 6:34 PM EST
By Kylie Winkler
Connect
Zachariah Justice Bennett and Leah Corinn Wright Zachariah Justice Bennett and Leah Corinn Wright
SALISBURY, Md.- The second day of Leah Wright's trial took place Wednesday morning. After Wright took the stand to testify for nearly an hour and a half, jurors deliberated and found Wright guilty on three accounts of sexual abuse of a minor. But the judge is deferring her sentencing 60 days, following a mental health and sexual offender evaluation.
Back in August 2016, two Salisbury martial arts instructors were arrested following accusations that they sexually assaulted young students.
The alleged victim took the stand in the Wicomico County Courthouse on Tuedsay, describing in detail the three sexual encounters she had with Wright and the other defendant, 26-year-old Zachariah Justice Bennett, back in 2014 when she was just 14-years-old.
Bennett, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor back in June 2017. His sentencing is scheduled for November, court records show.
Wright is accused of acting as a lookout for Bennett while he engaged in sexual relations with the victims. She's also accused of acting as a lookout on another occasion, using a cellphone as a warning.
In Tuesday's courtroom testimony, the alleged victim said she started attending Mitchell's Martial Arts when she was 7-years-old.
She said she grew closer to Wright over the next few years, even describing their relationship as close as sisters. So when she went to Wright with questions about intimacy, she trusted the answers.
Both girls worked at the Martial Arts studio together, under the supervision of Bennett. There were no cameras in the rooms in which these sexual encounters took place, according to courtroom testimony.
Melody Mitchell, the owner of Mitchell's Martial Arts, also took the stand Tuesday. She claimed she was not aware that any of these incidents were taking place at her business.
Wright's trial is expected to continue at least through Wednesday.
http://www.wgmd.com/second-mitchells-martial-arts-employee-charged-with-rape-of-a-minor/
Second Mitchell’s Martial Arts Employee Charged With Rape Of A Minor
By Jonathan Taylor -
October 17, 2016
Salisbury,MD.
Leah Wright, another Mitchell’s Martial Arts employee has been arrested and charged with 21 counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Zack Bennett who was arrested over the weekend was taken into custody and charged with first degree Rape, Child Abuse, Sexual Solicitation of a Minor, and many other charges. Bennett has admitted that Wright took turns with a victim performing sexual acts on him. Wright also served as a lookout while Bennett was involved in his activities. These acts occurred inside of Mitchell’s Martial Arts in Salisbury according to victims and statements from Bennett
Second Mitchell’s Martial Arts Employee Charged With Rape Of A Minor
By Jonathan Taylor -
October 17, 2016
Salisbury,MD.
Leah Wright, another Mitchell’s Martial Arts employee has been arrested and charged with 21 counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Zack Bennett who was arrested over the weekend was taken into custody and charged with first degree Rape, Child Abuse, Sexual Solicitation of a Minor, and many other charges. Bennett has admitted that Wright took turns with a victim performing sexual acts on him. Wright also served as a lookout while Bennett was involved in his activities. These acts occurred inside of Mitchell’s Martial Arts in Salisbury according to victims and statements from Bennett
http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2016/10/18/details-emerge-second-employee-arrested-mitchells-martial-arts/92364490/
Second Mitchell's Martial Arts employee arrested
Henry Culvyhouse , [email protected] 4:04 p.m. EDT October 18, 2016
Leah Wright
(Photo: Image by Wicomico County Detention Center)
A female employee arrested yesterday in connection with a sexual abuse scandal at Mitchell's Martial Arts has been accused of helping a male instructor sexually assault a teenage girl.
Leah Corinn Wright, 21, of Old Princess Anne Road in Princess Anne, was charged Oct. 17 in Wicomico County District Court with 21 offenses, many sexual in nature. Wright's co-defendant, 24-year-old Zachariah Justice Bennett, was charged Oct. 13 with 27 offenses in connection with the abuse of three teenage students at the facility located at 1305 S. Division Street in Salisbury.
Wright, according to charging documents, "took turns" with one of the victims in performing a sexual act on Bennett. A few weeks after the incident, investigators say Bennett acted as a look out for Bennett while he had sex with the victim inside a bathroom at the center. The duo used their cellphones as a warning system, according to the documents.
Statistically speaking, females rarely are accused of sex crimes.
According to the 2015 Uniformed Crime Report released by the FBI, about 3 percent of arrested rape suspects were female. The FBI definition of rape was expanded in 2013 to include male and female offenders and victims in order to reflect some various forms of sexual assault not previously covered in the first 80 years of the reports's publication.
Locally, females make up the minority of sex offenders registered in Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties. Out of the 161 convicted sex offenders registered in Wicomico County, only eight are female, according to the online registry. Worcester County, with 75 registered sex offenders, has only two women listed on the registry. Only one woman is a registered sex offender in Somerset County.
READ MORE: Mitchell's instructor charged with sexually abusing teens
The Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking is a federal program created to enforce sex offender registration requirements on behalf of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The federal act was passed in order to add uniformity to how states, territories and Indian reservations run publicly accessible sex offender registries.
According to a research brief issued by the office, there is no one reason as to why people commit criminal sexual acts. When looking at female offenders, the brief states that they are less likely than their male cohorts to re-offend, but are more likely to be an accomplice or co-conspirator in a sexual assault. They may be coerced into the sexual offense and are motivated by "fear and dependence upon the co-offender," according to the brief.
Female offenders acting as an accomplice are also more likely to report a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse, the brief states. Solo female perpetrators, such as a teacher who abuses adolescent male students, are less likely to report abuse during childhood, according to the brief.
Bennett and Wright, as of Oct. 18, were being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center without bond and a $150,000 bond, respectively. Bennett, according to online court records, is due in court Nov. 10 for a preliminary hearing, while Wright is scheduled to appear on Dec.1 for her preliminary hearing.
Wicomico County authorities have not uncovered any additional victims in the Mitchell's Martial Arts sex abuse case as of Oct. 18, according to Lt. Rich Weisrberg of the sheriff's office. However, Weisrberg urged anyone with any information pertaining to the case to contact the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center at 410-713-3497.
410-845-4639
Twitter: @hculvyhousedmv
Second Mitchell's Martial Arts employee arrested
Henry Culvyhouse , [email protected] 4:04 p.m. EDT October 18, 2016
Leah Wright
(Photo: Image by Wicomico County Detention Center)
A female employee arrested yesterday in connection with a sexual abuse scandal at Mitchell's Martial Arts has been accused of helping a male instructor sexually assault a teenage girl.
Leah Corinn Wright, 21, of Old Princess Anne Road in Princess Anne, was charged Oct. 17 in Wicomico County District Court with 21 offenses, many sexual in nature. Wright's co-defendant, 24-year-old Zachariah Justice Bennett, was charged Oct. 13 with 27 offenses in connection with the abuse of three teenage students at the facility located at 1305 S. Division Street in Salisbury.
Wright, according to charging documents, "took turns" with one of the victims in performing a sexual act on Bennett. A few weeks after the incident, investigators say Bennett acted as a look out for Bennett while he had sex with the victim inside a bathroom at the center. The duo used their cellphones as a warning system, according to the documents.
Statistically speaking, females rarely are accused of sex crimes.
According to the 2015 Uniformed Crime Report released by the FBI, about 3 percent of arrested rape suspects were female. The FBI definition of rape was expanded in 2013 to include male and female offenders and victims in order to reflect some various forms of sexual assault not previously covered in the first 80 years of the reports's publication.
Locally, females make up the minority of sex offenders registered in Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties. Out of the 161 convicted sex offenders registered in Wicomico County, only eight are female, according to the online registry. Worcester County, with 75 registered sex offenders, has only two women listed on the registry. Only one woman is a registered sex offender in Somerset County.
READ MORE: Mitchell's instructor charged with sexually abusing teens
The Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking is a federal program created to enforce sex offender registration requirements on behalf of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The federal act was passed in order to add uniformity to how states, territories and Indian reservations run publicly accessible sex offender registries.
According to a research brief issued by the office, there is no one reason as to why people commit criminal sexual acts. When looking at female offenders, the brief states that they are less likely than their male cohorts to re-offend, but are more likely to be an accomplice or co-conspirator in a sexual assault. They may be coerced into the sexual offense and are motivated by "fear and dependence upon the co-offender," according to the brief.
Female offenders acting as an accomplice are also more likely to report a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse, the brief states. Solo female perpetrators, such as a teacher who abuses adolescent male students, are less likely to report abuse during childhood, according to the brief.
Bennett and Wright, as of Oct. 18, were being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center without bond and a $150,000 bond, respectively. Bennett, according to online court records, is due in court Nov. 10 for a preliminary hearing, while Wright is scheduled to appear on Dec.1 for her preliminary hearing.
Wicomico County authorities have not uncovered any additional victims in the Mitchell's Martial Arts sex abuse case as of Oct. 18, according to Lt. Rich Weisrberg of the sheriff's office. However, Weisrberg urged anyone with any information pertaining to the case to contact the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center at 410-713-3497.
410-845-4639
Twitter: @hculvyhousedmv