Four Awarded For Aiding Victims

News Article

By Mike Stancik

With a theme of engaging communities and empowering victims, Loudoun County wrapped up National Crime Victims' Rights week with a ceremony to recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help others.

Roger Canaff, an attorney and author whose goal has been to eradicate violence against women and children, was a guest speaker for the Friday morning event at the Loudoun County Courthouse. Twenty years after the passage of the Victims' Bill of Rights Act, Canaff spoke of creating an environment where predatory behavior can be eliminated.

"There must always be two adults if a child is present, allow transparency within the organization by being open and bringing in outside people, and be willing to work with civil authorities," Canoff said. "Formal organizations, such as schools, little leagues, and churches, can unwittingly provide a cover and steady stream of trusting victims."

He noted that predators "don't look like those depicted in movies such as Hannibal Lecter," but are more mundane and able to lie easily to create a false cover "so it's just as complex."

A host of elected representatives and law enforcement officers were on hand to hear Canoff speak. Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10) spoke about the increase of human trafficking in the area, the task force created to address an increase of heroin use, and efforts to target resources to eliminate those crimes.
"The "see something, say something' initiative is a great initiative which everyone should follow," she said.

Following the two speeches, four individuals were presented with awards by the Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office: Leesburg Police Officer Mirza Kadric, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Detective Thomas F. Butler III, Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office Investigator Chris Doyle, and Michael DeSantos as the citizen recipient.

Kadric, whose family escaped war conditions in Bosnia in the late 1990s, was recognized for his efforts to help victims.

"From everyone we spoke to, it was unanimous that Mirza should receive this award," said Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Gigi Lawless, who presented the awards. "Every case he works he goes above and beyond the call of duty by showing initiative and following up on things. His heart is really in it."
DeSantos, an Ashburn resident, was highlighted as the citizen recipient of a Victims' Services Award for his part in helping a girl who was being assaulted. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Russet Perry said DeSantos responded to a knock on his door from an assault victim. He chased off the suspect and then provided testimony that helped prosecutors secure a guilty plea.

"Mr. DeSantos rose above and beyond in respect of the crime to help," Perry said.
Butler and Doyle received awards for work relating to cell phone data in two major cases, something Comstock said she wants to concentrate her efforts on going forward.

Butler was part of a case in which a basketball coach was convicted of sexual crimes against a minor who was on one of his teams. Lawless said the girl had deleted many text messages, but Butler was able to recover them on her computer, and found additional software programs to recover evidence and organize the text messages.
Ultimately, the coach received a 15-year prison sentence as well as 80 years of suspended time and indefinite probation upon release.

Doyle's work in recovering text messages and GPS information came in a homicide case that ultimately resulted in a life sentence for the defendant. Nicknamed the "Pitbull" by Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Alejandra Rueda because he's "unbelievably thorough and quick to react," Doyle was able to pin the defendant and his girlfriend near the scene of the crime, then traced their getaway through GPS tracking abilities.

There was never any confession, eyewitnesses, or physical evidence.
"There might not have been any convictions if not for the tremendous effort of Chris putting in hundreds of hours of work," Rueda said.

Comstock, who chairs a House subcommittee on research and technology, said she wants to hear more from technology experts in terms of crime prevention.

"I'd like to get our resources together to further monitor those tools that criminals use, there's so much information out there that can be used to limit crime," Comstock said.

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