"Long-hunted molester gets 560 years in prison" January 14, 2012
PHOENIX - A man dubbed by “America’s Most Wanted’’ as one of the most prolific child molesters in Arizona history was sentenced yesterday to 560 years in prison for abusing eight boys.
Arthur Leon Vitasek, 47, was sentenced by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Reinstein after being found guilty in November of 26 counts that included sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, and public sexual indecency.
The charges stem from the molestation of eight boys from 7 to 15 years old in Phoenix and the suburbs of Paradise Valley and Mesa over a 15-year period beginning in 1990. Police suspect there are more victims.
Vitasek often targeted financially struggling single mothers, helping them with material items and showering their sons with gifts and attention, authorities said.
“This guy was a true classic predator,’’ Mesa police detective Steve Berry said yesterday. “You do want to get a maximum sentence on someone like that. You don’t want him to get another opportunity to hurt a child.’’
Vitasek was arrested in Texas in September 2006 after being on the lam for more than 18 months. “America’s Most Wanted’’ featured him on the program many times before his arrest.
Police in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie arrested Vitasek after a 16-year-old boy reported that Vitasek sexually assaulted him after they met on the Internet.
Grand Prairie police said that Vitasek was using a different name, Rich Loper, and that he admitted his real name only after a detective recognized him and repeatedly questioned him about his identity.
Vitasek told police that he was tired of being a hunted man.
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Further south:
Rep. Giffords will resign, concentrate on recovery
With tears and cheers, House bids goodbye to Giffords
Giffords, Tucson constituents say goodbye
Apathetic About Arizona Post
"Ariz. school district cuts ethnic studies" Associated Press, January 12, 2012
TUCSON - A school district in Tucson voted to dismantle its ethnic studies program after more than $1 million of monthly state funding was to be cut off in response to conclusions by Arizona’s public schools chief and a judge that the program violated the law.
The 4-1 vote Tuesday by the Tucson Unified School District means courses in the district’s Mexican-American studies program will cease immediately....
The judge ruled that the program violated state law by having one or more classes designed primarily for one ethnic group, promoting racial resentment and advocating ethnic solidarity instead of treating students as individuals....
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