Series of Coyote Attacks Have Greenville Neighborhood on Edge
As the number of sport hunters in this country continues to decline and urban sprawl continues to encroach on wild areas, people are increasingly experiencing interactions with wild animals that are acclimated to humans. Whereas it was once typical for coyotes to shun areas of human settlement for fear of the rifle’s crack, in recent years more and more suburban areas have seen populations of coyotes that not only have no fear of humans, but have learned that our garbage cans are easy pickings and our pets are easy prey.
Now one Greenville neighborhood is practically under siege by the “American jackal” and residents are at a loss on how to solve the problem:
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Residents of a Greenville County neighborhood say their pets are being attacked and even killed by unexpected predators, and they are warning others to protect their pets from the danger.
People who live in the neighborhood along Crestline Road say they feel like they’re under attack.
The fear began with the death of 15-year-old sheltie named Maggie. She was attacked and killed in her own driveway.
Maggie’s owners said they found their dog’s body covered in puncture wounds just ten minutes after letting her out one night in late February.
Neighbor Ruth DeVorsey said, “The idea that it was killed by coyotes is terrible.”
A border collie up the road was also mauled, but its owners heard the attack and intervened in time to save the dog.
DeVorsey said, “That’s two animals within four houses attacked on the same night.”
Apparently the coyotes are so settled in the area that people have heard the howl at night. Coyotes are not unusual in South Carolina, but our exploding population of transplanted urban folk not used to dealing with these varmints is exacerbating the problems associated with these animals. Trapping and hunting coyotes is necessary to control their populations close to civilized areas. Unfortunately the Disneyfied view of nature Americans now have changed the fundamental understanding of our relationship with predatory wild animals. Even the local experts are giving out bad advice:
Wildlife experts say coyotes are afraid of humans. Small pets are most at risk.
Tell that to Taylor Mitchell, a 19-year-old Canadian folk singer who was mauled to death by a pack of coyotes less than a year ago. Lone coyotes may indeed be afraid of humans and target small animals, but a pack will attack large animals including humans if an opportunity presents itself. An injured person alone, a person taking a nap by their favorite stream, a couple of teens hiding out in the woods to get high, all of these are targets of opportunity for the increasingly fearless coyote packs. Coyotes fear humans because we kill them, if we stop killing them in a couple of generations we see that fear dissipate and our contacts with these predators become more violent.
The same goes for many animals. Seattle, for example, has had a rash of raccoon attacks on dogs, cats, and people. In a recent case three raccoons came into a woman’s yard to attack her mini-pincher and when she screamed rather than flee one began attacking her. It was not rabid. Seattle has inadvertently created a raccoon population that does not fear humans, largely through so-called animal lovers encouraging the animals to live close to them by banning the harvesting of these creatures.
My advice to the Crestline Road area is to get yourself some dog food, snare wire (para-cord works in a pinch) and a book on trapping animals (like Dale Martin’s The Trapper’s Bible) and handle this problem before one of these coyotes kills one of your children.
At least we don’t have New Jersey’s black bear problem. Scientists there are warning that the population cannot be controlled without hunting, but who hunts in Jersey anymore?
YouthBASE Director Bobby Caples is a Filthy Pervert!
image of Bobby Caples via Greenville HD
I worked in after school programs for a while before becoming a full time Web content developer and there was nothing that we watched for more than perverts. I worked in YMCAs and we had strict rules in place to prevent even the hint of impropriety, including not letting adults be alone with children or groups of children, not allowing children to be alone with even multiple adults etc. We did this because it was well known that perverts showed up to get access children. I once had to hire a summer camp staff and there were several people who showed up that I wouldn’t hire because they set off alarm bells. They were too interested in kids (when I started working with children I just wanted a job that left me time to do my graduate course work and told the person interviewing me just that – I was hired on the spot) or had reservations about being fingerprinted. When you’re entrusted with other people’s children you cannot be too careful.
So reports that YouthBASE director Bobby Caples was just pinched molesting two children he was asked to care for (hopefully by family members and not by YouthBASE clients) makes me think either Caples is the most patient pervert ever or the YouthBASE staff is not as aware of who they work with as they should be:
GREENVILLE, SC- Greenville Police investigators have arrested the director of a youth program and charged him with committing lewd acts on minors.
Police arrested Robert Francis Caples, 29, of 14 Atwood St., Apt. 1, in Greenville, and charged him with two counts of committing a lewd act upon children under the age of 16, criminal sexual misconduct of a minor under age 11 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to a prepared statement from the Police Department, Caples may have sexually assaulted two children from June 2009-September 2009 while they traveled and resided with him.
The report states that at some point, the children went on a trip with Caples to Texas and when they returned, they told their grandmother that while they stayed with Caples at his home and on the trip, they slept in the same bed and bathed with Caples and did not want to do so. In a warrant obtained by the Greenville Police Department, Caples is also accused of inappropriately touching the children in private places.
The report says that Caples was asked to care for them by their mother.
The article goes on to point out that YouthBASE was a program for troubled children, who are a particularly vulnerable population. Many “troubled” youth have already experienced sexual abuse or exploitation and without proper support and therapy begin to internalize a sexualized identity and victim mentality that leads them into other abusive relationships. They come to expect and accept abuse and thus sexual predators seek out children like this.
So who was providing the therapy and guidance for the program? YouthBASE only lists one shrink on its website. Here’s Bobby Caples’ bio from the YouthBASE web page:
Bobby Caples, Ed.S., NCSP
Executive & Program DirectorBobby has 10 years of experience in after-school and community-based education programs. He has worked with several Boys & Girls Club organizations, the YMCA, The United Way of Greenville County, several Parks and Recreation Departments, faith-based organizations, schools, and other community-based organizations as a volunteer, employee, researcher, founder, director, and consultant. He has conducted research into the implementation of evidence-based behavioral strategies in community-based after-school programs. He holds a B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in African-American studies from the University of Virginia, as well as an M.A. and Ed.S. (Educational Specialist Degree) in School Psychology from the University of South Florida with interests in community-based education, reading intervention, and behavioral intervention. He is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, and is currently working on his dissertation for his Ph.D. in School Psychology. Bobby serves as the Executive & Program Director of YouthBASE, providing organizational leadership as well as program management, training, and consultation.
I’ll reiterate that YouthBASE lists no other therapists on their staff, thus kids needing counseling would be going to a man who is charged with molesting two children. As an aside, sociology degrees are like basket weaving degrees, throw in a “concentration” in African-American studies and what you have is someone who took the easy way through college. Not saying that is a sign of being a pervert, but it should make you question his ability to “implement evidence based behavioral strategies” whatever that means. What you have is a person who is not really interested in psychology finding an easy way to get a psychology credential. That’s a warning bell to me.
When you put your children into youth programs you must look at safety first. It is in vogue to look for places that are “creative” and “compassionate,” but the reality is you’re giving adults you don’t know access to children. Don’t be afraid to ask to observe the program before enrolling. Look to see if they have procedures in place to ensure children are not left alone with any one adult. You don’t know who you can trust, so you must be able to trust the program.
YouthBase hasn’t released a statement yet, and as of now Caples is being held on $40,000 bond.
John Wesley Speer of Marietta Admits to Child Rape
On the eve of Thanksgiving comes news for which we can all give thanks. John Wesley Speer, an admitted child rapist, is behind bars.
Speer turned himself in at Greenville County Law Enforcement Center and now faces five counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
71-year-old Speer told Greenville County deputies he sexually abused five children between 1982 and 1997. The victims were members of his family, some of whom accompanied him when he turned himself in.
Matt Armstrong, of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said it was unusual for someone to come to the sheriff’s office front desk, along with some of their alleged victims, and confess to a crime.
“It is a very rare incident that someone would take it upon their free will, basically to come in and talk to law enforcement about this matter,” he said.
Fox Carolina reports:
According to arrest warrants, Speer forced three girls and two boys to perform oral sex on him. The warrants also accuse Speer of performing oral sex on the children, some as young as four years old. Speer is also accused of forcing the children to have intercourse with him, according to the warrants
Speer is being held on $250,000 bond.
Mauldin Police Nab Benjamin James Threatt in Online Predator Sting
Have people just not seen Chris Hansen’s To Catch a Predator series, or are they just convinced they’re smarter than the other pervs?
Benjamin James Threatt, 20, of Lancaster was busted in an Internet predator sting last Thursday when he allegedly tried to solicit a Mauldin cop posing online as an underage girl. The sting was part of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).
Fred Cunningham of News Channel 7 reports:
Threatt is charged with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor. The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The ICAC says Threatt solicited sex on the internet from an individual he believed to be minor girl beginning in July. He was actually communicating with an undercover Mauldin Police officer.
Authorities have taken computer equipment from Threatt’s home into evidence and are holding him at the Greenville County Detention Center on $30,000 bond.
Sketch Released of Attempted Kidnapping Suspect
A sketch of the man suspected in a child abduction attempt near Welcome Elementary School has been released by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities also provided a rendering of the suspect’s arm tattoos.
The sketches are based on the near-prodigious observation skills and recall abilities of three young witnesses, ages 5, 9, and 10.
While many have expressed doubts concerning the unusually vivid details provided by the children, would the Sheriff’s Office have assigned a sketch artist to the case if they didn’t believe the story?