April is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month in Texas, and has been proclaimed as such by the county judge in Cherokee County. Are citizens aware that another sex offense arrest has recently occurred by a registered sex offender on probation? County officials are most certainly ‘aware’ of it.
Posted in February 2008: District Attorney gives probation to Rusk, Texas infant molester; Cherokee County newspapers never reported it.
Criminal Docket; Case 16209 ; AGG SEXUAL ASSAULT CHILD
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs FOLMAR, KENNETH DEXTER (DOB: 02/08/1963)
Filed 08/23/2005 - Disposition: 11/16/2006: 8 years deferred adjudication in the 2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas
Victim's age: 1
(Source: Texas Offender Registry and Family Watchdog)
Now a registered sex offender on probation and living within the community has been arrested again for what has been reported as the sex assault of a child. And again the local newspapers have buried the story in a slew of Cherokee County arrests for the time period of March 24 through March 30, 2009. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress April 5, 2009)
Rusk, TX: Registered sex offender Kenneth D. Folmar, who had been on probation given to him by the Cherokee County District Attorney, has been arrested for another child sex assault charge. Or has he? Kenneth "Kenny" Folmar, now 46, was serving eight years deferred adjudication for the Aggravated Sexual Assault of a one-year baby girl. He had been arrested in 2005 from the earlier incident and had prior drug possession convictions. His bond has not been set (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress).
Kenneth Dexter Folmar
Apparently the decision has been made decades ago that it is in the interest of the county to roll out the Welcome mat to sex offenders, in order to pilfer their probation dues. Remember, it is never in the interest of the children in Cherokee County, despite the propaganda pieces designed to shift attention and blame elsewhere. The Tyler Paper reports that Cherokee County officials and the local CPS declare April as “Child Abuse Awareness Month.” No mention of the paltry budget Cherokee County’s Child Protective Services must compete with in the Commissioner’s Court, against stocked catfish ponds, paving private driveways and contributions to everybody's hush funds.
The lie is that Cherokee County officials actually want to decrease the incidents of child abuse and child rape within the community, when in reality it is a source of income for the county coffers. Why would the district court place an individual such as the one above on monthly probation without treatment -even for the sex assault of an infant complete with pictures probably, when they are totally cognizant of the recidivism rate? Is it because they are arrogant and simply don’t care? Or is it that they would rather play small town politicians by conducting Blue Ribbon ceremonies to convince voters that Cherokee County officials are not making a living off the [repeated] sex offenses within the community?
The other lie is that "prosecutors' caseloads are too large." If that were true, why are they signing up sex offenders and opening up halfway houses all across the county?
Kenneth Folmar's recent arrest and age of the alleged victim has of course been buried by local media outlets, as they always do when the actions of allies of elected officials are too unsavory to print. Because sex offender Kenneth Folmar was not originally incarcerated (but instead granted probation and thus making him a monthly payment depositor into Cherokee County’s Corrections and Supervision account) he was free to in essence repeat his offense. There's no telling what this guy has been doing.
Quite frankly, if convicted sex offenders are sent off to prison, they won't be making monthly payments to the county. Is this why the Cherokee County district attorney recommends probation rather than incarceration in order to keep sex offenders’ monthly supervision fees at the county’s disposal? Would those who join in for the propaganda on the Rusk courthouse steps manage to shrug off complacency about the district attorney’s motives if the child preyed upon was their own?
If Cherokee County prosecutors possessed even an iota of genuine morality, the most egregious sex offenders wouldn’t be able to enrich the county coffers with Probationers' payments because they would be in prison. Instead, prosecutors' actions clearly show they are willing to risk pedophiles’ repeat offending in order to ensure continued deposits of local sex offenders’ money into county-owned and operated bank accounts.
If Cherokee County news agencies and their supporters possessed even a smidgen of integrity, they would be demanding resignation letters instead of celebrating and "blowing bubbles" on the Rusk courthouse lawn (Source: Tyler Paper).
A quick search of Texas jail records shows the other Cherokee County sex offenders on probation who have recently violated their community supervision orders. Sex offenders in the area on probation who have been arrested and/or absconded as of April 10, 2009:
- “Gary” Michael Morrison, b. 10/24/1957 Alto TX, aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old female; currently in the Cherokee County TX jail.
- Matthew Isiah White, b. 10/01/1988 Bullard TX, indecency by exposure involving a 15-year-old female; failure to register in Smith County TX.
- Christopher Steven Golman, b. 10/03/1972 Gallatin TX, aggravated sexual assault of a disabled 39 year-old female. Arrested in 2000 by Smith County authorities for public intoxication; transferred to TDCJ Michael Unit.
- John Keith Glenn, b. 7/16/1982 Jacksonville TX, aggravated sexual assault of an 8-year-old female; failure to register.
- Kevin Lynn Hawes, b. 10/29/1963 Jacksonville TX, aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old; probation violation sentenced to TDCJ.
- Christopher Michael Hennessy, b. 9/16/1980 Jacksonville TX, sexual assault of a 15-year-old female; absconded and sentenced to TDCJ.
- Paul Arlen Taylor b. 9/30/1955 Jacksonville TX, indecency by contact of a 13-year-old female; incarcerated in TDCJ.
- James William Hammons, Sr. b. 9/21/1960 Rusk TX, 8 years probation in 1998 for aggravated sexual assault of a 13-year-old female in Cherokee County; in 2008 drug possession in Cherokee County -sentenced 2 years State Jail time by district attorney. Currently incarcerated in Orange County jail.
- Jason Bradley Fears, b. 11/17/1988 Bullard TX, 3 ½ years State Jail for sex assault of 7-year old male in Cherokee County; recent failure to register- verified by Smith County, TX.
(Source: online Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry)
This is how Cherokee County operates: County officials generating misinformation while the local newspapers ever so cleverly hide the factual sex offense statistics from the public. They would rather dance around the courthouse blowing each other kisses, days after another child has been molested under their collective noses and on their watch. Days after an innocent child is sewn up in the hospital, they'll blame the “harder economic times” for the "alarming rate of child abuse " instead of the current Cherokee County District Attorney deliberately setting the stage for repeat sex offenses. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress)
As a footnote, the Jacksonville Daily Progress published an unprepared and unrehearsed rebuttal for the initial light sentencing of Kenneth D. Folmar, citing a “probation violation” for the more recent incarceration. They also report Kenneth Folmar was sentenced to 50 years confinement for “violating” the terms of his probation. The original presiding judge who accepted the initial deferred adjudication also presided over the revocation.
The Daily Progress has not issued a correction notice for the Cherokee County arrests for the week of March 24 through March 30, which initially reported Kenneth Folmar’s arrest as “aggravated sexual assault of a child.” As opposed to yet another sex offender not mentioned in either article, but again buried within the Jacksonville Daily Progress’ list of Cherokee County arrests for the time period April 14 through April 20, 2009: Cheney La-Vaughn Carter, dob. 2/1/1966, sex assault of 15 yr. old girl; given 10 yrs. probation. Carter is currently sitting in Cherokee County, TX without bond for violation of his (sex offense) probation.
No spur-of-the-moment articles have been printed explaining the Cheney Carter probation revocation. The Kenneth Folmar story on the other hand, had been up to this point completely ignored and buried. Of course, like clockwork, the big lie the local media, the Cherokee County District Attorney and district court would have their loyal readers believe is that the victim is to blame for not being willing to go to trial. Even in the case of an infant.
According to district attorney Elmer Beckworth
I remember this case well. In talking with her myself, she was not able to talk about it at all, and when the case came to grand jury she was able to talk about it only minimally,” Beckworth said. “With her inability to talk about it, I knew we were on real shaky ground. We went ahead and took the plea because there was the huge likelihood of him being found not guilty or even possibly of a directed verdict. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress)
The DPS sex offender registry actually lists the female victim as being a one-year old infant. Who are you gonna believe? Sex offenses by their very nature are prosecuted everyday without the trial testimony of the victim, or in the case the district attorney is referring to – a toddler who was molested while she was an infant. So they postponed Folmar's indictment and dragged the case out until she learned how to baby talk? The offense occurred in 2002; Folmar was formally charged 3 years later.
Attention Daily Progress: You need to verify your timelines. You are being lied to again.
View the Kenneth Dexter Folmar sex offender registry and victim’s age at: https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/Portal/index.aspx for a comparison of Fact Versus Fiction. The Sex Offender Regristry reports everything down to the shoe size of the offender.
Instead of being honest and admitting the Kenneth Folmar molestation wasn’t of any political interest to the district attorney’s office in 2005, Elmer Beckworth discloses the State’s prosecutorial strategy:
The only reason people ever get probation for the aggravated sexual assault of a child is because the victim isn’t able to participate in the trial. It can be very aggravating as a prosecutor to be in a situation like this where the whole case falls apart because the victim’s ability to testify has been compromised. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress)
Sounds like excuse-making by the same people who offered these indigent offenders their original lenient plea bargains. These probationers were rushed through the Cherokee County court system for admitting their guilt and willingness to contribute to the county payroll via Adult Supervision fees. You, the lowly taxpayers are supposed to believe that Kenneth Folmar’s nondisclosed court appointed counsel worked out his initial probation agreement with the district judge without Elmer Beckworth's recommendations.
It is the prosecutor who offers "adjudicated probation," not the defendant's lawyer. Plus the defendant must agree to a guilty or no-contest plea. The conviction remains on the defendant's record and in the case of a sexual assault, the defendant agrees to be registered as a sex offender for life. In the case of Kenneth Folmar, he pleaded guilty and agreed to everything Elmer Beckworth offered him.
This type of justification for probated child molesters is more like a ‘How-to-Guide.’ Local sex offenders will be even more emboldened now if they heed the District Attorney’s advice: if their victims are young enough and afraid enough not to testify, then the district judge will agree to a probated sentence.
The district attorney is saying the statements from arresting officers, examining doctors, and CPS specialist investigating the sex offense of an infant in Cherokee County simply won’t pass the litmus test for going to trial. Or the statements from those who caught the perpetrator in the act. Or any forsenic evidence for that matter. As if hearsay, innuendos and complete fabrication of evidence has never been enough to summon a petit jury in Cherokee County, Texas.
The fact is the district attorney’s focus has been on parading fictitious bail requirements in Austin (according to the 'Faye Harris amendment') during the same time period the majority of the sex offenders were shunted through their plea bargains. And just like Michael Harris (the man on felony bond who murdered his wife because her protective orders were not enforced) these offenders have struck again repeatedly. It was in 2005 that Jacksonville police officer Larry Pugh was on patrol and raping women at gunpoint.
Again, which are you gonna believe? That a 3-year old victim was actually called to a Cherokee County grand jury to testify what happened to her before her first birthday? Or the District Attorney's advice to sex offenders on how to avoid prison?
The only reason people ever get probation for the aggravated sexual assault of a child is because the victim isn’t able to participate in the trial. (Quote from the Jacksonville Daily Progress.)
Project Got to Fool 'Em Again is in full deployment this Month.
