Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast UniversityMissing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
This courtroom sketch shows Ghislaine Maxwell, center, seated in court at defense table between two US Marshals seated in foreground, watching proceedings in her sex abuse trial in New York, Friday Dec. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams) One was an aspiring musician looking for her big break in show business. Another was a model striving for a leg up in British society. A third was a struggling middle school dropout. The last was an impressionable high school student. All were drawn into Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit as teenagers and now have also testified as key accusers in the sex-abuse trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. The women’s testimony in federal court in Manhattan, at times emotional, offered sordid details about allegations Maxwell groomed them to participate in sexual massages with Epstein. The defense says Maxwell is being made to take the fall for Epstein, who died by suicide awaiting his own sex-abuse trial in 2019. The first three women testified as Jane, Kate and Carolyn – first names or pseudonyms intended to protect their privacy. The last was Annie Farmer, who took the witness stand using her real name. Here is what they said during two weeks of testimony for the government, which rested its case Friday. The defense is set to begin its own case next week: JANE Jane spelled out an alleged pattern of deception by Maxwell that would be echoed by the others. She said she was 14 when she met Maxwell and Epstein at a music camp where Epstein was a benefactor. Maxwell showered her with attention in a way that left her vulnerable the moment she was first instructed to follow Epstein into his pool house in his Palm Beach, Florida estate in 1994, she said. When he began to sexually abuse her, “I was frozen in fear,” she said. “I’d never seen a penis before.” Prosecutors wanted evidence that Maxwell was a direct participant. Jane gave it to them by claiming Maxwell and Epstein fondled her together. When a prosecutor asked her why, as the defense pointed out, she didn’t initially reveal everything about her experiences with Epstein in initial interviews with law enforcement, she said fighting back tears: “Because it was too difficult – too difficult emotionally, too difficult on every level.” KATE Like the others, Kate recalled Maxwell praising and encouraging her, before Epstein sexually abused her during interactions that started in the early 1990s when she was 17. The British woman described being intrigued by Maxwell, the daughter of a media mogul, and wanting to be her friend. She also testified about seeing Epstein naked for the first time after Maxwell stood next to him and asked her to massage him – and about feeling ashamed when it was over. But there was a twist to her testimony when the judge ruled in favor of defense arguments that she shouldn’t be allowed to testify about details of any sexual contact with Epstein. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan set that limit on her testimony because she was 17 when she first interacted with Epstein in Maxwell’s London home – the minimum age of consent in Britain. The same applied to later visits to Epstein’s Florida home when she was 18. Kate still may have struck a blow for the government with her account of an interaction with Maxwell after a sexual massage with Epstein. Maxwell “asked me if I had fun” and told her: “You are such a good girl.” CAROLYN A key role for Carolyn was to provide testimony about what prosecutors called “a pyramid of abuse,” allegedly encouraged by Maxwell. While 14, she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein’s Florida home in the early 2000s. Word spread that he was offering $100 bills for massages. When an older schoolmate offered an introduction, Carolyn said she took the bait. She testified she made her age known, but that didn’t dissuade Maxwell and Epstein, she said. Epstein, she said, masturbated and fondled her “every time” they got together. He also wanted her to bring along “any friends that were my age or younger,” she said. She said she found a friend for a threesome with Epstein. When it was over, “I was paid $600 and my friend was paid $300.” Why? “Because I brought her.” She would learn that she hit her expiration at age 18 when Epstein, rather than hire her for massages, asked her to bring younger girls. “And that’s when I realized I was too old,” she said. ANNIE FARMER Farmer, now 42, is a psychologist who had told her story publicly before the trial through civil litigation against Epstein and in media interviews. She repeated how Epstein and Maxwell led her to believe they could be mentors, only to betray her trust. On the stand, she walked the jury through her history with Epstein while 16 and in high school in 1996. She described how she was creeped out when Epstein held her hand at the movies in New York; when Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch; and when Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed with her and pressed himself against her. Feeling helpless, she made an excuse to go to the bathroom and hid there, thinking she “wanted to be in there long enough that this situation would be over,” she said. The defense tried to rattle Farmer by suggesting she exaggerated her allegations in a $1.5 million claim awarded by a compensation fund set up for victims of Epstein by saying Maxwell had “groped” her and that Epstein had rubbed his genitals against her. Farmer pushed back. Her goal all along, she said, was to see Maxwell “held accountable for the harm she’s caused.”