Copyright 1999 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
View Related Topics
October 7, 1999, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: METRO; Pg. B02
LENGTH: 813 words
HEADLINE:
CRIME & JUSTICE
BODY:
MARYLAND
Couple Pleads Not Guilty in Baby Case
A Bethesda
couple charged with lying about the disappearance of their 5-month-old baby
pleaded not guilty yesterday before a federal judge in Tampa who urged them to
get separate lawyers.
"There are pitfalls and dangers in being
represented by joint counsel," U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo warned
Marlene and Steve Aisenberg, both 36. He tentatively scheduled trial for
December.
The couple said their infant daughter, Sabrina, vanished from
her crib Nov. 24, 1997, as the family slept in their home in a subdivision 15
miles east of Tampa.
In an indictment returned by a federal grand jury
Sept. 9, the parents were charged with conspiracy and various counts of lying to
investigators about Sabrina's disappearance. The Aisenbergs discussed the baby's
death and what story to tell authorities, according to the indictment.
No body has been found, and officials said they do not know what
happened to Sabrina or where she is. Her parents remain free on $ 25,000 bond
each.
Teen Gets 7-Year Sentence for Rape
A
Charles County Circuit Court judge sentenced a 17-year-old La Plata youth to
seven years in prison yesterday for the second-degree rape last fall of a fellow
student in a La Plata High School restroom.
Judge Christopher C.
Henderson called Henry Aaron Downs, who was tried as an adult, a "sexual
predator of female students in our public schools" before handing down a 20-year
sentence and then suspending 13 years. Downs must serve 3 1/2 years before
becoming eligible for parole. He also was sentenced to five years' probation.
According to testimony at his trial, Downs and the victim remained after
school on Nov. 6, 1998--he to watch a football game, she for band practice.
Downs was convicted of raping the victim, then, 16, after forcing her into a
bathroom and locking the door. Downs has maintained that the girl consented to
sex.
The sentence is "pretty much what we expected," said Dolores Downs,
Henry's mother. "We're just going to file the appeal and go from there."
THE DISTRICT
Man Arrested in Sexual Assault of
Teen
A man has been arrested in connection with the sexual
assault of a 15-year-old girl at a park in Northeast Washington, U.S. Park
Police said yesterday.
John Hicks, 22, of no fixed address, was charged
Monday with first-degree child sexual abuse, Sgt. Robert MacLean said.
The girl was attacked at 11:30 p.m. Saturday at River Terrace Park, near
Anacostia Avenue and East Capitol Street NE, police said. Officials said the man
had offered her a ride hours earlier in the 3400 block of Benning Road NE.
14 AIDS Protesters Arrested
Fourteen AIDS activists were arrested yesterday
when they lay down in the middle of lunchtime traffic in downtown Washington to
call for the manufacture and sale of more affordable AIDS drugs
for impoverished nations.
Chanting "Pills cost pennies. Greed costs
lives," about 300 protesters and members of ACT UP, an AIDS
activist group, marched from Farragut Square to the office of U.S. Trade
Representative Charlene Barshefsky at 17th and G streets NW.
Health
officials in countries such as South Africa say they want to
provide more access to AIDS treatments. But U.S. pharmaceutical
companies see some laws in these countries, which allow cheaper imports or
locally produced generic drugs, as an infringement on their patent protections.
Thomas Tripp, a spokesman for Barshefsky's office, said there are
compromises that can be made to both protect "intellectual
property and support sound public health policy."
VIRGINIA
Student Held After Alleged Threats
A senior at West Springfield High School has been arrested after
he allegedly brought threatening signs into the school's halls, and police said
yesterday that he was being held in the county's juvenile detention center.
A search warrant filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court yesterday said
that the 17-year-old was first spotted approaching other students Sept. 20 with
a sign that said, "I am going to punish you, that is my reward." Principal David
Smith said the student was given a warning and a letter was sent home detailing
the incident.
On Sept. 30, students and administrators found
computer-generated signs posted on the school walls that threatened violence,
authorities said. Police investigated and linked the student to the signs, and
Fairfax school officials suspended him. Smith then addressed the students over
the school intercom and mailed a letter to parents assuring them that the school
was safe.
Fairfax police said they arrested the student the next day and
charged him with a felony count of communicating threats of death or bodily
injury and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. The student is not
being identified because he is a juvenile.
LOAD-DATE: October 07, 1999
