FBI Offers $25,000 Reward in Missing Girl’s Case

The FBI is now offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the location or return of Erica Lynn Parsons.

Photograph taken circa 2011	Age-progression photograph

Erica was reported missing by a relative on July 30, 2013. The relative advised investigators he had not seen Erica since November 2011 when she was 13 years old. Erica’s adoptive parents say the girl went to stay with relatives in the Asheville, North Carolina area and that they have not seen her since. Sheriff’s investigators have determined the information the parents provided was not true.
The reward was announced at a news briefing this afternoon in Salisbury, North Carolina. “The FBI, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, and the SBI are confident our agents and investigators will uncover the details needed to lead us to Erica, but we are facing a difficult task because of the amount of time that has passed since she was last seen and when law enforcement was notified,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Deron Roberts.
Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten said, “We know there is someone who can help us; now is the time to come forward. We also want to hear from anyone who had contact with the Parsons family in November 2011. We’ve said previously that was the last time that Erica was seen.”
If you know where to find her, call the Rowan County Sheriff’s at 704-216-8700 or FBI Charlotte 704-672-6100.

Manufacturer and Distributor of Child Pornography Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison

PROVIDENCE, RI—David Crisostomi, 38, of East Providence, Rhode Island, was sentenced on Wednesday to 35 years in federal prison for using a prepubescent minor to manufacture child pornography and for possessing and distributing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. also ordered Crisostomi to serve lifetime supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Crisostomo pleaded guilty on March 12, 2013, to three counts of production of child pornography and one count each of possession and distribution of child pornography. At the time of his guilty plea, Crisostomi admitted to the court that on at least three occasions he participated in the recording of child pornography with a prepubescent minor and that he downloaded and shared child pornography with others.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha commented, “A child’s innocence, once taken, can never be fully recovered. The defendant preyed on the most vulnerable and the most deserving of our protection. Every day of his very long sentence is warranted. I want to thank all those who helped bring this defendant to justice, in particular the men and women from various law enforcement agencies who make up the Rhode Island State Police ICAC and the FBI, who consistently demonstrate extraordinary leadership in this critical area.”
According to information presented to the court, on January 6, 2012, an undercover agent from the FBI’s Innocent Images Operations Unit observed that a user later identified as David Crisostomi was online and was sharing two folders containing child pornography. Three days later, an undercover agent observed that Crisostomi was online and was now sharing four folders containing child pornography.
On February 16, 2012, agents from the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force executed a federal search warrant at Crisostomi’s residence and seized numerous images and videos depicting child pornography; computers; and other electronic devices.
Crisostomi has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on February 16, 2012.
Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, commented, “The underlying facts uncovered in this investigation resulted in this sentence. For more than the next three decades, this defendant will not be a threat to any children, which is comforting. I commend the investigators from the State Police ICAC Task Force, the FBI agents, and the prosecutors for bringing a predator to justice.”
“Mr. Crisostomi will sit for 35 years where he belongs,” said Vincent Lisi, the FBI Special Agent in Charge who is responsible for the FBI in Rhode Island. “The public should know we have many deeply committed special agents actively searching for individuals of Mr. Crisostomi’s kind. For others like him, his sentence should be a clear warning that there is nothing more important to the Rhode Island State Police, United States Attorney’s Office, and FBI than ensuring the safety and protection of our children from those who harm them. We spare no effort when innocent children are manipulated or harmed by adults.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

Baltimore Man Indicted on Charges Related to the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

ry 30, 2014

District of Maryland (410) 209-4800

BALTIMORE,—A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Richard Ho Lee, age 32, of Baltimore, today with production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, receipt of child pornography, and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“When an adult profits from sex with a child, that is human trafficking, period,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Children cannot consent to have sex for money, and any adult who encourages or profits from sexual exploitation of children faces a lengthy term in federal prison.”
According to the five count indictment, on five occasions in September and October 2011, while Lee and the victim were in Baltimore, Lee purchased sex from the victim, who was only 16 years old. On October 31, 2011, Lee paid for a bus ticket for the victim to travel to Panama City, Florida, where Lee met her. Lee took the victim to a condo he had rented in Panama City and allegedly provided the victim with marijuana and alcohol. According to the indictment, Lee continued to have sex with the 16-year-old victim and encouraged her to engage in prostitution. From about December 22, 2011 to January 4, 2012, Lee placed at least 15 advertisements for the victim in the “escorts” and “body rubs” sections of an adult website. Lee used his personal credit card to pay for the advertisements, which stated, among other things, that the victim was an adult. Lee took provocative photographs of the victim in lingerie and underwear that he had purchased for the victim and attached some of the photos to the advertisements. Lee allegedly rented a second condominium where he told the victim to engage in prostitution. The indictment charges that the victim had sex with customers and agreed to provide Lee with a percentage of her earnings.
On January 9, 2012, Lee purchased a bus ticket for the victim, which she used to travel from Florida back to Maryland. In January 2012, Lee produced a counterfeit North Dakota state driver’s license for the victim, which indicated that she was 22 years old and which Lee knew to contain the personal identifying information of another person. In May 2012, Lee allegedly took pornographic photographs of the victim inside his residence in Baltimore, some of which he sent via e-mail over the Internet.
According to the superseding indictment, in June 2012, federal agents recovered Lee’s laptop computers and an external hard drive that contained more than 600 images of child pornography, including images that depicted minors less than 12 years old and portrayed sadistic and masochistic conduct. Further, the laptop contained pornographic photographs that Lee had taken of the victim. In addition, the indictment alleges that Lee’s computer contained templates designed to be used for the production of counterfeit state driver’s licenses.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for production of child pornography and for transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; a maximum of 20 years in prison for receipt of child pornography; and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft. An initial appearance will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The task force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Crooks, who is prosecuting the case.

El Paso County Man Pleads Guilty to the Sexual Exploitation of Children

DENVER—Kenneth Wayne Hugo, age 37, of El Paso County, Colorado, pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn recently to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Hugo is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Blackburn on May 22, 2014. The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion. Hugo was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on August 6, 2013. He pled guilty on January 22, 2014.
According to the stipulated facts contained in his plea agreement, this investigation began as an offshoot of an Australian investigation into citizens distributing child pornography. This investigation led authorities to Texas. As a result of a search warrant executed in Texas, federal authorities found a computer that contained evidence of e-mails being exchanged with an individual in Colorado Springs, Colorado, namely, Kenneth Hugo. On January 23, 2013, the FBI and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Hugo’s residence. During the execution of the search warrant, agents and deputies found images depicting prepubescent and toddler aged females being sexually penetrated. It was determined that Hugo started his collection by utilizing a Russian-based image-sharing website to download child pornography images and videos. He also used this website to meet online other like-minded individuals. Hugo also posted images on the site for others to download.
During the subsequent investigation, authorities learned that the defendant had inappropriate sexual contact with prepubescent minor females. When minor children slept over at his house during the summer of 2012, Hugo would wait until the minor girls were asleep, sneak into their room, pull down the covers, pajamas, and panties, and fondle them, all the while taking pictures using his cell phone camera. Forensic analysis of the items seized during the search warrant revealed 1,600 images of child pornography on the desktop computer and over 4,200 images on the laptop computer. The laptop also contained all the images Hugo had taken using his cell phone of the girls during the sleepovers. An external hard drive contained over 4,000 images of child pornography, and a thumb drive contained approximately 290 such images.
Hugo was arrested on January 23, 2013, by state authorities for the sexual assault of three minor girls. Hugo pled guilty to the sexual assault of those girls in state court and was sentenced in November 2013 to an indeterminate term of imprisonment in the Colorado Department of Corrections of four years to life.
The defendant faces not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of children. He also faces a fine of not more than $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Spencer.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “Resources.”

Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

JACKSONVILLE—United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced James Daniel Kasper (29, Jacksonville) to 20 years in federal prison for using a child to produce child pornography. Kasper was also ordered to serve a 20-year term of supervised release, following his incarceration, and to register as a sex offender. Kasper has been held in the custody of the United States Marshals Service since his arrest on March 20, 2013, in Jacksonville.
According to court documents, in February 2013, law enforcement officers in Tennessee arrested a registered sex offender on child pornography charges. Further investigation revealed that several hundred e-mails had been exchanged between this individual and others, many of which contained attached images and videos depicting child pornography. Investigators determined that one of the e-mail accounts belonged to James Daniel Kasper and that Kasper had uploaded images of child pornography over the Internet and sent them to others by e-mail, via a website whose server is outside of the United States.
On March 20, 2013, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Kasper’s apartment located on Sunbeam Road in Jacksonville. During this search, agents seized a laptop computer and a thumb drive. Meanwhile, two agents contacted Kasper at his place of employment in Jacksonville. When interviewed, Kasper stated, among things, that while babysitting a 9-year-old child, he used his smart phone to produce sexually explicit photos of the minor child. After taking the photos of the child, Kasper uploaded the images over the Internet onto a particular website and sent them to others via e-mail. Kasper also stated that he used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to search for child pornography on the Internet.
The thumb drive seized at Kasper’s residence contained at least 49 images of child pornography that were produced by him. Evidence from Kasper’s e-mail accounts were introduced during the sentencing hearing. The evidence showed that Kasper had traded images of child pornography, which he produced, over the Internet. In one particular e-mail, Kasper stated that two of the pornographic images that he produced of the victim child were “just a sample of my own work.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

El Paso County Man Pleads Guilty to the Sexual Exploitation of Children

DENVER—Kenneth Wayne Hugo, age 37, of El Paso County, Colorado, pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn recently to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Hugo is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Blackburn on May 22, 2014. The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion. Hugo was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on August 6, 2013. He pled guilty on January 22, 2014.
According to the stipulated facts contained in his plea agreement, this investigation began as an offshoot of an Australian investigation into citizens distributing child pornography. This investigation led authorities to Texas. As a result of a search warrant executed in Texas, federal authorities found a computer that contained evidence of e-mails being exchanged with an individual in Colorado Springs, Colorado, namely, Kenneth Hugo. On January 23, 2013, the FBI and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Hugo’s residence. During the execution of the search warrant, agents and deputies found images depicting prepubescent and toddler aged females being sexually penetrated. It was determined that Hugo started his collection by utilizing a Russian-based image-sharing website to download child pornography images and videos. He also used this website to meet online other like-minded individuals. Hugo also posted images on the site for others to download.
During the subsequent investigation, authorities learned that the defendant had inappropriate sexual contact with prepubescent minor females. When minor children slept over at his house during the summer of 2012, Hugo would wait until the minor girls were asleep, sneak into their room, pull down the covers, pajamas, and panties, and fondle them, all the while taking pictures using his cell phone camera. Forensic analysis of the items seized during the search warrant revealed 1,600 images of child pornography on the desktop computer and over 4,200 images on the laptop computer. The laptop also contained all the images Hugo had taken using his cell phone of the girls during the sleepovers. An external hard drive contained over 4,000 images of child pornography, and a thumb drive contained approximately 290 such images.
Hugo was arrested on January 23, 2013, by state authorities for the sexual assault of three minor girls. Hugo pled guilty to the sexual assault of those girls in state court and was sentenced in November 2013 to an indeterminate term of imprisonment in the Colorado Department of Corrections of four years to life.
The defendant faces not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of children. He also faces a fine of not more than $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Spencer.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “Resources.”

Norfolk Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

NORFOLK, VA—James L. Belsha, 41, of Norfolk, Virginia, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for receipt of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis.
Belsha pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography on August 21, 2013. According to court documents and proceedings, Belsha was initially identified when law enforcement discovered him sharing child pornography on the Internet via a peer-to-peer file sharing computer program. Pursuant to a search warrant, Belsha was found to be in possession of more than 650 explicit videos of the sexual abuse of minors. Law enforcement also discovered that Belsha had a previous conviction in 1992 for crimes against nature in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court. The 1992 conviction involved the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old minor when Belsha was a Boy Scout leader.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.

Virginia Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct and Possession of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON—Kaylan Joseph Cureton, 25, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced today to four years in prison on federal charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Cureton pled guilty in August 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert L. Wilkins. Upon completion of his prison term, Cureton will be required to serve six months of home confinement. He also will be placed on 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender for 15 years.
According to the government’s evidence, on May 24, 2012, Cureton contacted an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force who had entered a social networking site. Over the next several days, Cureton engaged in online e-mail, instant message, text message, and telephone conversations with the undercover officer, whom Cureton believed was the father of an under-aged child. During this period of time, Cureton arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child. He traveled from Richmond to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C., where he was arrested.
Upon execution of a search warrant on Cureton’s residence, members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force recovered a USB drive containing numerous videos of child pornography.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave, and Chief Lanier praised the MPD detectives and special agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.

Jury Convicts Cincinnati Man of Producing Child Pornography

CINCINNATI—A U.S. District Court jury today convicted James O. Napier, 39, of Cincinnati of producing child pornography involving an 11-month-old infant and an approximately 9-year-old child and placing the videos and images on the internet.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and agencies in the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the verdict returned today following a trial that began January 13 before Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott.
Trial testimony showed that in November 2009 Napier used an 11-month-old infant for sexual gratification, molested the infant, and made a video recording of it before placing it on the internet. Other testimony showed that as recently as November 2012, Napier sexually exploited a girl who was approximately 9 years old and produced videos of those acts.
FBI agents began investigating Napier based on information from the FBI Office in Phoenix that Napier was advertising the sale of child pornography on a website. FBI agents arrested Napier on January 18, 2013. He has been held without bond.
After less than one hour of deliberation, the jury convicted Napier of nine counts of production of child pornography, each punishable by at least 15 and up to 30 years in prison. The jury also convicted Napier of one count each of transportation of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. Each of those crimes is punishable by at least five years and up to 20 years in prison. Judge Dlott will schedule a date for sentencing.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Stewart commended the investigation by FBI agents and investigators with the Greater Cincinnati ICAC, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Muncy and Ben Glassman, who are prosecuting the case.
Agencies participating in the Greater Cincinnati ICAC, in addition to FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, include the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil, and the police departments in Amberley Village, Blue Ash, Cincinnati, and West Chester.

Cincinnati Man Indicted for Producing Child Pornography Involving a Child He Babysat

CINCINNATI—A federal grand jury has charged Caleb Zachary Storey, 30, Cincinnati, with one count each of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography, alleging that he took sexually explicit photographs of a child he babysat.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Cincinnati, announced the indictment returned today.
FBI agents and members of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force began investigating Storey when an image traceable to an address where he babysat was recovered during a child pornography investigation in Georgia. The image was of a 3-and-a-half year old prepubescent male who was naked from the waist down and had an adult male’s hand in the picture. Agents obtained a search warrant for Storey’s apartment and conducted preliminary forensic exams of some items of computer equipment where they found images of child erotica and child pornography.
The FBI arrested Storey on January 8 based on a criminal complaint. He has been in custody since his arrest.
The indictment charges Storey with one count of production of child pornography, punishable by at least 15 and up to 30 years in prison, and one count of possession of child pornography, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
The FBI Child Exploitation Task Force includes the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations (RECI) unit from Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil’s Office and the Cincinnati Police Department.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the FBI agents and task force officers who are investigating the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy who is representing the United States in this case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Child Sex Trafficker Sentenced to Nine Years' Imprisonment

BATON ROUGE, LA—Acting United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that U.S. District Judge James Brady sentenced Erick Banks, age 32, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 108 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to traffic a child in the commercial sex trade. Banks was also sentenced to five years’ supervised release after imprisonment and ordered to pay the victim $1,200 in restitution.
During his guilty plea hearing last year, Banks admitted that in January 2011, he enticed the victim, a 15-year-old girl, to engage in acts of prostitution. Several days earlier, the victim ran away from a Baton Rouge home for teenage girls. Banks placed several ads on an online service often utilized by those in the commercial sex trade. Banks used the moniker “Sinsational” or “Blonde Bunny” to describe the victim in the ads. Banks instructed the victim how to engage in telephone conversations with potential customers and how to determine if a customer was a law enforcement officer.
On January 27, 2011, in five separate transactions, the victim engaged in sexual activity in exchange for money. Each of these transactions was coordinated by Banks and occurred in a hotel in Baton Rouge. The victim was paid approximately $1,200, all of which Banks took from her.
Acting United States Attorney Walt Green stated, “We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable, young teenagers, and hope this significant sentence serves notice to others inclined to engage in such despicable conduct. We appreciate the strong work of the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department and commend the Middle District Human Trafficking Task Force for its efforts in educating law enforcement and the public in general about this issue. We are also inspired by the courage of the victim in this case and hope it inspires other victims of sex trafficking to come forward.”
This investigation was conducted by the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Susan C. Amundson.

Metairie Man Charged with Crimes Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Children

DORVIN ECHEVERRIA-ZELEDON, age 24, of Metairie, Louisiana, was charged in a one-count indictment today for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
If convicted, ECHEVERRIA-ZELEDON faces up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He can also be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Polite reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case is being investigated by special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.

Louisville Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Online Enticement of a Minor and Production of Child Pornography Offenses

LOUISVILLE, KY—A Louisville Man who pleaded guilty to violating federal child exploitation laws was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release this week, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Simpson, III, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Marvin Duane Monk, age 46, Monk pleaded guilty to a two-count Indictment returned by a federal grand jury on October 2, 2012. Monk was previously charged in a September 6, 2012 criminal complaint.
According to court records, on August 19, 2012, Monk’s spouse discovered that he had been engaging in sexual activities with her minor daughter in their Louisville residence. Monk left the residence in Louisville and moved to a hotel in Clark County, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, he took the minor from Louisville to Indiana with him. Not knowing where her daughter was, the mother contacted the Louisville Metro Police Department and filed a missing person report. She also filed for and received an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) against Monk in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The EPO included an order that Monk have no contact with either his wife or the minor stepdaughter.
Two days later, the mother learned that Monk and her daughter were staying at a motel in Clarksville, Indiana. Clark County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the motel where they found Monk and the minor.
Monk subsequently admitted to law enforcement officers that he brought his stepdaughter to Indiana from her home in Louisville. Monk also admitted to engaging in a sexual relationship with the minor and to recording the sexual activity. The Clark County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant on the motel room. Evidence seized included a video recorder, videotapes, and cellular telephones.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Louisville Metro Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit, Louisville Division of the FBI, and Clark County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab.

Southern Indiana Man Listed on the National Registry of Sex Offenders Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

LOUISVILLE, KY—A Georgetown, Indiana man listed on the National Registry of Sex Offenders was sentenced in United States District Court on January 9, 2014, by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II, to 10 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for possession of child pornography announced David J. Hale, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
James W. Dotts, Jr., 38, was subject to supervised release from the Southern District of Indiana, which began on February 13, 2012, as a result of a conviction for possession of child pornography. On February 12, 2013, Dotts admitted to downloading over 500 computer image files and approximately 12 movie files depicting child pornography onto a computer at his employer's facility located in Louisville, Kentucky. He admitted to defeating his employer's security software, downloading the images from the Internet, saving the images to the computer, and transferring the images to a USB thumb drive that he carried back and forth from home to his job site. Dotts admitted that he began downloading adult pornography in June 2012, then began downloading child pornography in January 2013.
A search of Dotts' locker at his place of employment resulted in the discovery of four high-capacity thumb drives. Dotts admitted that the thumb drives contained images of non-nude children, which he had downloaded from the Internet. The USB drives and the computers used to download the child pornography were seized by the FBI for forensic analysis. The forensic analysis revealed five images of child pornography located on one of the computers and approximately 270 images of child erotica. At the time those files were downloaded, Dotts was the only employee with access to the computers.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Spencer McKiness and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

Two Jacksonville Men Indicted for Human Trafficking Crimes

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return by a grand jury of two indictments charging individuals in Jacksonville, Florida, with human trafficking offenses. The first indictment charges Clive Sephas Nelson (23, Jacksonville) with the commercial sex trafficking of a minor female, between on or about November 29, 2013 through on or about December 15, 2013, in the Middle District of Florida. Nelson was indicted on January 15, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The second indictment alleges that, between in or about December 2012 through on or about May 31, 2013, in the Middle District of Florida, Erick George Brooks (29, Jacksonville) committed commercial sex trafficking of an adult female through force and threats of force, fraud, and coercion. The indictment against Brooks was returned on November 14, 2013. He was arrested on December 4, 2013, and is awaiting a trial, currently scheduled for February 3, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
Both cases resulted from investigations conducted by a joint human trafficking task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Both offenses are charged under the Federal Human Trafficking Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1591, part of the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act passed by the United States Congress, in 2000.
On December 31, 2013, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring the month of January 2014 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In that proclamation, the president noted, “As we work to dismantle trafficking networks and help survivors rebuild their lives, we must also address the underlying forces that push so many into bondage. We must develop economies that create legitimate jobs, build a global sense of justice that says no child should ever be exploited, and empower our daughters and sons with the same chances to pursue their dreams.”
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
These cases were investigated by the FBI and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. They will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mac D. Heavener, III.

Columbia County Man Indicted on Federal Charges of Receiving Child Pornography

JACKSONVILLE—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that a federal grand jury in Jacksonville has returned an indictment against Samuel Franklin Crews (31, Lake City), charging him with three counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet. Crews faces a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than five years, up to 20 years in federal prison on each count, and a potential life term of supervised release. Crews was arrested on December 31, 2013, in Lake City, and has been ordered detained pending his trial in March 2014.
The indictment alleges that between on or about April 28, 2013 through on or about April 30, 2013, in the Middle District of Florida, Crews knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct over the Internet.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "Resources."

Maryland Man Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison for Traveling to the District of Columbia to Have Sex with Under-Aged Child

WASHINGTON—John Vanathayan, 42, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today to 100 months in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Vanathayan pled guilty in November 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was sentenced today by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Upon completion of his prison term, Vanathayan will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 19, 2012, Vanathayan contacted a citizen on a telephone chat line. During the course of the conversation, Vanathayan requested that the citizen provide a female child, between the ages of 6 and 9, for the purpose of sex. The citizen agreed to try to comply with the request. Instead, the citizen contacted MPD and reported the communication. An MPD officer, along with FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, began to investigate. During the course of the investigation, Vanathayan arranged with the citizen to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a child. On July 20, 2012, Vanathayan traveled from Silver Spring to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C. When Vanathayan arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute people who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave, and Chief Lanier praised the MPD detectives and special agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Julieanne Himelstein, who prosecuted the case.

Member of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries Sentenced to Life in Prison for Offense Involving Sexual Abuse of a Minor

FORT SMITH, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Douglas James Christopher, 60, of Valparaiso, Indiana, was sentenced today for knowingly transporting a minor from Oklahoma to Arkansas with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Christopher was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The sentencing took place before the Honorable P.K. Holmes, III in United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “This defendant, like others involved in the Alamo organization, engaged in horrendous conduct involving sexual abuse of a minor child. I appreciate the tireless work of law enforcement and our office to bring sexual perpetrators to justice. We will not rest in our efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who abuse our children.”
Fort Smith Police Detective Kris Deason stated, “Today Douglas Christopher was sentenced in federal court to life in prison for his horrendous crimes against a young child, which took away her innocence and trust. This had an impact on her and her entire extended family that will not quickly fade away. Life in prison is the only just and appropriate sentence for him, and he will not be able to victimize anyone again.”
“Today’s life sentence sends a very strong message to those who would transport children across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity,” stated Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Howard S. Marshall. ” I am so proud of the agents and officers, victim specialists, and attorneys who worked so diligently on this very difficult case that involved such heinous crimes.”
According to court records, Christopher, a member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, previously resided at an Alamo compound located in Muldrow, Oklahoma. In September 2008, a law enforcement raid of Alamo’s compound in Fouke, Arkansas, caused Alamo satellite-compound residents to go into hiding. Christopher and other followers relocated to Valparaiso, Indiana. While living in Oklahoma, Christopher was assigned to stand watch at properties under the organization’s control. One location, on Division Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas, was known as the “mechanic’s shop.” Beginning around June 2003, Christopher began transporting a minor, whose mother he had married in 2000, from the family’s home in Oklahoma to the mechanic’s shop for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse. Specifically, in August 2008, when the minor was 13 years old, Christopher transported the minor to the mechanic’s shop where they then had sexual intercourse in a van parked inside the shop. Shortly after this trip, the minor and siblings were taken into protective custody in response to the federal investigation of Tony Alamo.
This case was investigated by the FBI Special Agent Timmy Akins and Fort Smith Police Department Detective Kris Deason. Assistant United States Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case for the United States.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Announce the Arrest of Australian Man for Extorting Minors into Creating Child Pornography

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced criminal charges against Mark Anthony Warren for engaging in a scheme to lure minor children over the Internet into engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which Warren secretly recorded and threatened to disseminate unless the minor children produced and sent him additional sexually explicit videos. Warren was charged with production and receipt of child pornography and extortion. Based on information provided by the FBI, Warren was arrested yesterday in Australia by the New South Wales Police Force and charged with related offenses.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “As alleged, Mark Anthony Warren used social media and phony profiles to ensnare his minor victims and later force them into engaging in sexually explicit acts that he recorded. Warren allegedly believed he could hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and use special computer software to escape detection, but he was sorely mistaken. Protecting minors from individuals who prey on and attempt to exploit them is a high priority of this office, and thanks to the outstanding efforts of FBI agents and our prosecutors, Warren will be made to answer for his alleged crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos said, “Warren was arrested today for allegedly developing unsuspecting male minors into subjects of his self-directed production of child pornography. Posing as a teenager himself, he coerced them into engaging in sexually explicit conduct and later tormented them with the threat of releasing proof of this conduct to their families and friends. Once removed, the virtue of innocence can never be restored. The exploitation of minors is a cause of great concern, and the FBI will continue to go after networks of online pedophiles and other sexual predators who use the Internet to sexually exploit children.”
According to the allegations contained in the criminal complaint unsealed today:
From at least November 2013 to December 2013, Mark Anthony Warren used multiple false identities and posed as a teenage girl in order to trick, coerce, and extort minor male victims into producing child pornography at his direction. In particular, Warren created bogus accounts on various social media websites using false identities and posing as various teenage girls and a teenage boy. Using these bogus accounts, Warren contacted male minors, including a 14 year-old in New York, New York, and, posing as a teenage girl, engaged them in sexually explicit discussions via online chats. During these chats, Warren showed the minor males a pornographic video of a young woman whom Warren claimed to be and simultaneously secretly video recorded the minor males engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
After making these secret pornographic recordings of his minor victims, Warren contacted them again online and threatened to publish the videos to the victims’ families and friends unless the victims created additional pornographic videos of themselves and uploaded them to a particular website accessible by Warren. Warren provided the victims with specific, detailed instructions about the sexually explicit videos they were to make at his direction. He further threatened that if the minor male victims went to law enforcement, the victims would be arrested and charged with child pornography crimes. Warren also told his victims that he used particular computer software to obscure his identity and that he was beyond the reach of law enforcement.

* * *

Warren, 49, of New South Wales, Australia, is charged with one count of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He is also charged with one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; as well as one count of extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the New South Wales, Australia Police Force and the Australian Federal Police. Mr. Bharara added that the investigation is continuing.
The FBI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through their switchboard at (212) 384-1000. It is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800- 843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Eun Young Choi and James Pastore are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Monmouth County Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

TRENTON, NJ—Special agents of the FBI arrested a Monmouth County man at his home this morning after discovering alleged images of child sexual abuse on his computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Layne Bracht, 31, of Highlands, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possessing child pornography. He made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois H. Goodman in Trenton federal court and was remanded without bail.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Oct. 28, 2013, Bracht allegedly distributed on the Internet via peer-to-peer file-sharing software, through which other users had access, a video and images depicting child sexual abuse. Special agents of the FBI executed a search warrant this morning at his residence in Highlands, seizing digital evidence that contained numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct. The digital evidence seized included three files previously downloaded from Bracht by law enforcement agents working in an undercover capacity on the peer-to-peer network.
In 2006, Bracht was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, a charge to which he subsequently pleaded guilty. On April 2, 2008, U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas sentenced Bracht to 30 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. As a previously convicted sex offender, Bracht faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the possession offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Christopher Grammicioni, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabiana Pierre-Louis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Brian P. Reilly Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton

Warren County Man Admits Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse Over the Internet

NEWARK, NJ—A registered sex offender who was formerly employed at a law office in Paterson, New Jersey admitted today to distributing images of child sexual abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kevin Rease, 33, of Hackettstown, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh in Newark federal court to Count One of an indictment charging him with distributing images of child pornography.
According to documents filed in the case and statements in court:
Rease admitted that on Feb. 12, 2013, he made images and videos of child sexual abuse stored on his work computer available for others to download via an online peer-to-peer file-sharing network. On that date, an undercover law enforcement agent successfully downloaded videos of child sexual abuse from Rease through the file sharing network.
Rease has a prior federal conviction for transportation of child pornography as well as prior state convictions for luring, sexual assault by sexual contact, and endangering the welfare of a child.
As a previously convicted sex offender, the distribution of child pornography count to which Rease pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 28, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division.
Defense counsel: William B. Ware Esq., Chester, N.J.

Hudson County Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

NEWARK—A Hudson County, New Jersey man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for distributing images and videos of child sex abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jonathan Martin, 24, of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Short Hills, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to count one of an indictment charging him with knowing distribution of child pornography. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Martin admitted that on April 30, 2012, he made images and videos of child sexual abuse that were stored on his home computer available for others to download via an online peer-to-peer file sharing network. On that date, an undercover law enforcement agent successfully downloaded from Martin 15 images files of child pornography via the file sharing network.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Martin to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $35,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Robert Cowan, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Teen died after drinking liquid methamphetamine

A Mexican high school student died from drinking highly concentrated liquid methamphetamine at a San Diego border crossing in an attempt to persuade inspectors that it was only apple juice, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.

Cruz Marcelino Velazquez, 16, volunteered to take "a big sip" at the San Ysidro port of entry Nov. 18, the report said. He was then handcuffed and taken to a security office, where he began screaming in pain, said something about "the chemicals," and shouted, "My heart! My heart!" in Spanish, it added.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's report gives no indication that inspectors asked him to drink the liquid and doesn't say if they had an opportunity to stop him when he volunteered. Velazquez died hours later at a hospital from acute methamphetamine intoxication.

Jackie Wasiluk, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees ports of entry, had no immediate comment on the findings

San Ysidro, the nation's busiest border crossing, has emerged as a major corridor for smuggling methamphetamine in the past five years as Mexico's Sinaloa cartel has increased its presence in the area. To avoid detection, crystal methamphetamine is dissolved in water and disguised in juice bottles, windshield wiper fluid containers and gas tanks. It is later converted back to crystals.

Children are caught with methamphetamine several times a week at San Diego crossings, an "alarming increase," Joe Garcia, assistant special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in San Diego, said in an interview last year. They are typically paid $50 to $200 a trip.

Velazquez, of Tijuana, raised the suspicions of an inspector in a pedestrian lane, who poured a capful of liquid on a counter because he thought it would immediately crystallize if it was methamphetamine, according to the autopsy report. The inspector smelled fruit and returned the boy's two bottles after the liquid didn't crystallize.

Inspectors also raised questions about whether Velazquez had been working in the U.S., which would violate terms of his visitor's visa, and ordered him to a separate area.  After he was asked again about the bottles, he drank the liquid.

The liquid in both bottles later tested positive for methamphetamine and the capful that the inspector poured on the counter eventually crystallized.

The inspector who poured the capful "was educated by his supervisor that this was not a proper or safe test for detecting methamphetamine," the report says.

Reports: 3 teens admit assaulting NorCal girl who later killed herself

Three teenage boys have admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Northern California girl who later committed suicide after photographs of the attack were circulated to some classmates, according to published reports.

The San Jose Mercury News first reported the case, soon followed by the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday.

In September, two 16-year-old boys admitted in Santa Clara County Juvenile Court to participating in the sexual assault and possessing photos of the girl, Audrie Pott, the newspapers reported, citing documents and other sources. Both crimes are felonies.

In addition, a 17-year-old boy admitted to the same two felonies, the papers said.

The boys' names have not been released, but two were ordered to serve 30 days - during weekends - in juvenile detention, and the third was sentenced to 45 consecutive days. That is in stark contrast to the maximum 10-year sentence they might have received as adults.

The Mercury News cites sources close to the case as saying the two with the 30-day sentences have finished serving them, and the third is in the midst of his 45-day term.

Their sentences are also more lenient than those imposed on two 16-year-olds in Steubenville, Ohio, who received one and two years in juvenile detention, respectively, in a case that has been widely compared to the Pott case.

Audrie Pott hanged herself on Sept. 10, 2012, eight days after attending a party at a friend's house in Saratoga, Calif. After drinking Gatorade laced with alcohol, she fell asleep and later woke with her pants off and with lewd comments scribbled all over her body.

In the week following the party, Audrie learned that cellphone photos had been taken of her during the assault and shared through text messages, her family said.

In April 2013, students at the high school Pott attended told the campus newspaper that a photo from the night of Pott's alleged rape did not go "viral," but rather was seen by an estimated 10 people.

According to the Saratoga High School Falcon, two unnamed male students said the only people who saw the picture in question were at the party where the alleged rape occurred.

"The media said the pictures were all over," one student told the Falcon. "That's not true."

The three defendants have been sued by Audrie's parents, Lawrence and Sheila Pott.

The Mercury News reports that, "New court records also indicate that two of the boys -- months after Audrie killed herself but before they were arrested in April 2013 -- were found with additional photos of naked girls on their phones. Both boys admitted to extra felonies of possessing or controlling sexual photos of girls under 18."

"In a statement released last week," the newspaper continues, "the Pott family lawyer, Robert Allard, alluded to those charges, saying, 'It has become quite clear to us that the suspects refuse to accept responsibility or show remorse for their actions. The fact that they have not learned their lesson is demonstrated by the fact that two of these young adults, even after Audrie's death, have continued to engage in 'slut shaming' other young women through, for example, the dissemination of nude photographs."'

"We cannot publicly comment on any aspect of any criminal proceedings involving these young men," Allard said in a statement Tuesday.

Christopher Arriola, Santa Clara County's supervising deputy district attorney for juvenile justice, said he was also prohibited from commenting on the case.

Calls and e-mails to the boys' lawyers Tuesday were not returned, the Mercury News said.

Teen who shot 4, including 2 ATF agents, is killed by cops, police say

A teen on a two-day crime spree was shot and killed by Ardmore, Okla. police Thursday night after shooting  at least four people, including two agents of the Bureau of Alcochol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Ardmore officers say.

None of the injuries suffered by the people shot by Henry Jackson, 18, was life-threatening, authorities say.

CBS Sherman, Texas affiliate KXII-TV cites police as saying Jackson shot a 19-year-old woman as she was leaving her Ardmore home Wednesday night. They say she was in the back seat of a friend's car when Jackson approached wearing a black hoodie and ski mask and knocked on the window before shooting her in the arm. She was taken to a hospital in good condition.

On Thursday, KXII reports police say, Jackson got into a scrape with an unnamed person who he shot in the hip. That person was airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital and has since been released.

While Ardmore officers were searching for Jackson, two ATF agents who happened to be nearby found a vehicle Jackson was believed to be in and Jackson opened fire on the agents, injuring both, police say.

One was treated at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Thursday night, Ardmore officers were searching a neighborhood where they believed Jackson was hiding when, authorities say, Jackson was spotted in a silver Ford Taurus.

According to police, the officers gave chase, Jackson began shooting, and the officers fired back, hitting Jackson several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Ardmore officers weren't hurt.

Girl, 4, Fatally Shoots Boy, 4, at Detroit Home

A 4-year-old girl accidentally shot her 4-year-old cousin to death with a loaded rifle that she found under a bed at a relative's Detroit home, police said Friday.

The girl was playing and watching TV on Thursday afternoon with the 4-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister when she found the gun, police Sgt. Michael Woody said. He said she picked up the weapon, pointed it at the boy and shot him once in the chest.

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Woody said. A man who lives at the home on the city's west side was the only adult there at the time and is believed to a grandfather, Woody said. It wasn't immediately known whether the gun belonged to him.

An investigation is ongoing and the Wayne County prosecutor's office will determine whether charges should be brought, he said.

"It's a tragic incident," Woody told The Associated Press. "It's really not anything more than that. There was no malicious intent. There was nothing there to suggest that the grandfather put those children in harm's way, but the investigation will continue."

The boy's name wasn't immediately released.

Woody said the shooting reinforces the need for those with guns to keep them secure — especially when there are children around.

"This is a very senseless ... incident that could have been avoided," he said.

On Thursday night, investigators went in and out of the brick house. Police cars blocked traffic. Neighbors told the Detroit Free Press that they didn't hear a gunshot.

"I was just devastated," said 77-year-old neighbor Dorothy Jameson. "I was wondering why two 4-year-olds have access to a gun in the first place."

Dennis Queensbury, who told The Detroit News that he has a concealed pistol license, said gun owners need to secure their firearms.

"I have three children: 16, 9 years old and 20," Queensbury said, after watching officers at the scene. "But I have a gun lock. You have to have a lock and safes, and be careful."

Investigation busts online sex abuse ring targeting children in Philippines

 Investigators have busted an international pedophile ring that charged people money to watch live online broadcasts of Filipino children being sexually abused, authorities said.
Under way since 2012, the operation has resulted in the arrest of 29 people, 11 of them from the group in the Philippines that facilitated the abuse, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said in a statement Wednesday.
Some of the people who arranged for the abuse, which was filmed on webcams, were from the children's own families, it said.
Fifteen children between the ages of 6 and 15 have been rescued in the Philippines, the British agency said.
The investigation was a joint effort between the NCA, the Australian Federal Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The operation began after British police found "indecent videos" on computers at the home of a registered sex offender.

The ensuing investigation eventually uncovered the abuse being carried out in the Philippines and people in other countries who were involved in the pedophile ring, the NCA said.
Seventeen arrests were made in Britain, the agency said, resulting in five convictions.
"This investigation has identified some extremely dangerous child sexual offenders who believed paying for children to be abused to order was something they could get away with," said Andy Baker, deputy director of the NCA's Child Exploitation and Online Protection command.
"Being thousands of miles away makes no difference to their guilt. In my mind, they are just as responsible for the abuse of these children as the contact abusers overseas," he said.

Children's rights advocates say that cyber-sex crimes can be difficult to track down because the private nature of the technology allows crimes to take place in a venue that law enforcement can't easily access, making it harder to gather evidence against perpetrators.
Conditions in the Philippines -- such as widespread poverty, an established sex trade, a predominantly English-speaking, technologically-literate population and widespread Internet access -- have made the country vulnerable to such abuse.
"A vast and comparatively wealthy overseas customer base has led to organized crime groups exploiting children for financial gain," the NCA said.
The British agency cited online conversations in which two of the men convicted under the investigation, Timothy Ford and Thomas Owen, discussed ways to travel to the Philippines to engage in direct abuse of children.
In one webchat, Ford, who uses a wheelchair, proposed that Owen could behave as his carer as way to avoid being caught, the agency said.
Ford was sentenced to eight and half years in prison in March; Owen was sentenced to seven years in prison in July.
The NCA said more than 37,500 pounds ($61,000) had been paid through the crime network in exchange for viewing the abuse of children.
Three other separate investigations are under way into the live-streaming of child sexual abuse and have identified 733 suspects worldwide, the agency said.

"CHEER PERFECTION" MOM ACCUSED OF RAPING TEENAGE BOY

An Arkansas mother who appeared on TLC’s show “Cheer Perfection,” a reality TV show that follows young cheerleaders in competition, has been arrested and charged with raping a teenage boy, reports CBS affiliate KTHV.

Police in Sherwood, Ark. say they received a call on Nov. 27 from the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline alleging Andrea Clevenger, 34, sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy in her Sherwood home.

A subsequent investigation reportedly revealed at least three separate incidents involving various acts of sexual intercourse between Clevenger and the teen, police say. Two of the events allegedly occurred in October 2013 in Clevenger's vehicle, while the third incident was said to take place on Nov. 8 at Clevenger's home.

The teen's parents reportedly told police they had found inappropriate images on the teen's phone. Officers were able to use software to obtain the memory information from the phone. That data showed that there had been 32 explicit images, which the teen said were sent to him by Clevenger, according to the station.

A police affidavit obtained by the station says the alleged victim’s mother told police in a written statement that she and Clevenger had a conversation following the Nov. 8 incident. In that conversation, the mother said that Clevenger admitted to the acts and then said the teen "doesn't act 13 (years old)."

Police said Clevenger surrendered to the court Tuesday and was released on bond with GPS monitoring. She is charged with one count of rape and one count of engaging children in a sexually explicit conduct for use in a visual or print medium.

Clevenger was on the "Cheer Perfection" reality series as the mother of one of the competitive cheerleaders in a group from Sherwood, Ark.

Madeleine McCann Cops Poised to Make Arrests in Her Disappearance

London police appear poised to make an arrest in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the girl who was 3 when she vanished while on a Portuguese vacation with her family nearly seven years ago.

The arrests of a trio of alleged burglars who had been active in the neighborhood would be the result of Operation Grange, the reopening of the McCann investigation three years ago.

"We can confirm that a second International Letter of Request has been sent to the Portuguese authorities by the Crown Prosecution Services this week... in connection with Operation Grange,'' Scotland Yard told ABC News in a statement. The authorities would not discuss any further details.

The McCann family spokesman refused to comment about the investigation.

"I'm afraid we are saying nothing about any aspect of Operation Grange whilst the police work continues, least of all about any tabloid speculation surrounding it,'' the spokesman told ABC News.

Scotland Yard is reportedly working with Portuguese police to find, detain and question three men believed to be burglars who were operating in the area where Madeleine and her family were on vacation in Portugal.

After pouring over records containing hundreds of cell phone numbers used during the time Maddie vanished, police found a high number of calls were made between these men in the hours after her disappearance.

Last year, Scotland Yard said one of their significant lines of inquiry was the four-fold increase in burglaries in the resort where the McCanns had been staying, peaking in April 2007. Madeleine disappeared in May 2007. Two of the burglaries took place in April in the apartment block where the McCann family was staying. In both of the April burglaries entry was gained via a window.

Madeleine was just days away from her fourth birthday when she vanished from her hotel room bed while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were immediately named suspects by Portuguese police, but were eventually cleared.

For the past seven years since her disappearance, the McCanns have campaigned to keep her name and picture in the news, most recently making a heartfelt plea to anyone who has any information on her disappearance on Britain's version of America's most wanted late last year. The show featured a re-enactment of the most detailed sequence of events the night she went missing, generating more than 300 phone calls and 170 emails with specific lines of inquiry relating to Maddie's case.

Last July, when Scotland Yard decided to move from a review to an investigation, Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believed there is a possibility she is alive.

''There is no clear, definitive proof that Madeleine McCann is dead, so on that basis I still genuinely believe that there is a possibility that she is alive,'' Redwood said.

China gives doctor death sentence for stealing, selling babies

A Chinese court on Tuesday convicted a doctor of baby trafficking and sentenced her to death with a two-year reprieve, after she admitted in court that she stole babies from the hospital where she worked and sold them.

Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician, told parents their newborns had congenital problems and persuaded them to give them up, according to the Weinan Intermediate People's Court in Shaanxi.

In China, suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment after two years.

The case exposed a baby trafficking ring that operated across several provinces centering on Zhang. According to online postings by the court, she sold the babies to human traffickers, who then resold them at higher prices. In a July case, Zhang pocketed 21,600 yuan ($3,600) when she passed a baby boy to a human trafficker, who resold the child for 59,800 yuan ($9,900) to a couple in central China's Henan province.

Altogether, Zhang sold seven babies to middlemen who resold the babies in central and eastern China between November 2011 and July 2013, the court said. Six of the babies were either returned or rescued by police, but one that was voluntarily abandoned by its parents and sold for 1,000 yuan ($165) in April later died.

Zhang worked in Fuping county in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

Child trafficking is a big problem in China, despite severe legal punishments including the death penalty. Families who buy trafficked children are driven partly by the traditional preference for male heirs, a strict one-child policy and ignorance of the law.

The case has added to public frustration with China's medical profession over rampant bribery and other abuses.

4-year-old boy in luxury apartment found dead; baby sitter arrested

A baby sitter was arrested after a 4-year-old boy was discovered dead on Wednesday in a luxury New York City apartment building, according to the New York Police Department.
The child was found unconscious and unresponsive with visible bruising, cuts to his arms and legs and burns to his body, said Detective Markowski. (NYPD policy is not to give out the full names of its detectives).
He was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital in New York.
In a new conference, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the boy suffered "horrific injuries sustained over period of days."
The 28-year-old baby sitter has not been charged, according to NYPD Detective Ort. She did not confess to killing the boy, but police said she made statements to them that she abused the child.
Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, said the office is looking into the cause and manner of the death.

Child Sex Trafficker Sentenced to Nine Years' Imprisonment

BATON ROUGE, LA—Acting United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that U.S. District Judge James Brady sentenced Erick Banks, age 32, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 108 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to traffic a child in the commercial sex trade. Banks was also sentenced to five years’ supervised release after imprisonment and ordered to pay the victim $1,200 in restitution.
During his guilty plea hearing last year, Banks admitted that in January 2011, he enticed the victim, a 15-year-old girl, to engage in acts of prostitution. Several days earlier, the victim ran away from a Baton Rouge home for teenage girls. Banks placed several ads on an online service often utilized by those in the commercial sex trade. Banks used the moniker “Sinsational” or “Blonde Bunny” to describe the victim in the ads. Banks instructed the victim how to engage in telephone conversations with potential customers and how to determine if a customer was a law enforcement officer.
On January 27, 2011, in five separate transactions, the victim engaged in sexual activity in exchange for money. Each of these transactions was coordinated by Banks and occurred in a hotel in Baton Rouge. The victim was paid approximately $1,200, all of which Banks took from her.
Acting United States Attorney Walt Green stated, “We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable, young teenagers, and hope this significant sentence serves notice to others inclined to engage in such despicable conduct. We appreciate the strong work of the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department and commend the Middle District Human Trafficking Task Force for its efforts in educating law enforcement and the public in general about this issue. We are also inspired by the courage of the victim in this case and hope it inspires other victims of sex trafficking to come forward.”
This investigation was conducted by the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Susan C. Amundson.

Claim Filed for Girl Run Over After Plane Crash

The parents of a teenage girl who was run over and killed by two emergency vehicles after an Asiana Airlines crash have filed a claim against the city of San Francisco, saying rescuers were reckless and poorly trained.

In legal forms filed this week in San Francisco, attorneys for the parents of 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan say firefighters who first saw the girl after the July 6 crash should have examined her and moved her somewhere safe. Firefighters told investigators they assumed the girl was dead and hurried on toward the damaged aircraft.

An autopsy revealed Yuan was alive before the vehicles hit her.

In all, 304 of the 307 people aboard the plane survived after the airliner slammed into a seawall at the end of a runway during final approach for landing.

The impact ripped off the back of the plane, tossed out three flight attendants and their seats, and scattered pieces of the jet across the runway as it spun and skidded to a stop.

Yuan was one of three Chinese teens who died; one died during the crash, and another later in the hospital.

In their claim, attorneys at the Los Angeles law firm Kreindler and Kreindler representing Yuan's parents name 37 specific airport, fire and police department employees, saying they and others "breached their duty of care." They do not specify damages.

In an obituary, Yuan was described as a champion athlete who excelled at literature, playing piano, singing and public speaking. Her given name means "wish come true" in Chinese.

It is still unknown how Yuan got out of the plane, but the claim says she was possibly taken out by rescuers. Interviews for an ongoing National Traffic Safety Board found Yuan was covered with foam and struck twice — once by a fire rig spraying foam whose driver had seen and driven around her earlier in the chaos, and again 11 minutes later by a second truck that was turning around to fetch water.

Her death has prompted new training for firefighters who work at San Francisco International Airport, including 40 to 80 hours of advanced instruction at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

"There are many lessons to be learned here," Assistant Deputy Chief Dale Carnes, who oversees the San Francisco Fire Department's airport division, said during a NTSB hearing in December. "We are developing strategies to lessen the potential for firefighting vehicles impacting accident victims."

Claim Filed for Girl Run Over After Plane Crash

The parents of a teenage girl who was run over and killed by two emergency vehicles after an Asiana Airlines crash have filed a claim against the city of San Francisco, saying rescuers were reckless and poorly trained.

In legal forms filed this week in San Francisco, attorneys for the parents of 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan say firefighters who first saw the girl after the July 6 crash should have examined her and moved her somewhere safe. Firefighters told investigators they assumed the girl was dead and hurried on toward the damaged aircraft.

An autopsy revealed Yuan was alive before the vehicles hit her.

In all, 304 of the 307 people aboard the plane survived after the airliner slammed into a seawall at the end of a runway during final approach for landing.

The impact ripped off the back of the plane, tossed out three flight attendants and their seats, and scattered pieces of the jet across the runway as it spun and skidded to a stop.

Yuan was one of three Chinese teens who died; one died during the crash, and another later in the hospital.

In their claim, attorneys at the Los Angeles law firm Kreindler and Kreindler representing Yuan's parents name 37 specific airport, fire and police department employees, saying they and others "breached their duty of care." They do not specify damages.

In an obituary, Yuan was described as a champion athlete who excelled at literature, playing piano, singing and public speaking. Her given name means "wish come true" in Chinese.

It is still unknown how Yuan got out of the plane, but the claim says she was possibly taken out by rescuers. Interviews for an ongoing National Traffic Safety Board found Yuan was covered with foam and struck twice — once by a fire rig spraying foam whose driver had seen and driven around her earlier in the chaos, and again 11 minutes later by a second truck that was turning around to fetch water.

Her death has prompted new training for firefighters who work at San Francisco International Airport, including 40 to 80 hours of advanced instruction at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

"There are many lessons to be learned here," Assistant Deputy Chief Dale Carnes, who oversees the San Francisco Fire Department's airport division, said during a NTSB hearing in December. "We are developing strategies to lessen the potential for firefighting vehicles impacting accident victims."

Dutchman Accused of Filming 400 Nude Children

Prosecutors have accused a Dutch man of abusing around 400 boys and girls aged 12-14 he met in online chat rooms, coercing them into committing sexual acts via webcam. Victims have so far been identified in the Netherlands, the U.S., Belgium and Spain.

Prosecution spokesman Evert Boerstra said the suspect was arrested in July but prosecutors only revealed the scale of his alleged crimes at his trial Friday. Under Dutch law, he has not yet entered a plea, and is identified only as "Michel S."

A string of child abuse cases have horrified the Netherlands in recent years, including the 2012 conviction of Latvian-born Dutchman Roberts Mikelsons for physically abusing 67 children, including infants. Mikelsons filmed and distributed his acts, leading to 83 additional child pornography arrests around the globe.

Lawyer: Brain-dead teen Jahi McMath 'improving' under 'optimistic' doctors' care

nder the care of "optimistic" doctors, Jahi McMath -- whom a judge and other doctors have declared brain-dead, over her family's objections -- is "improving" days after her release from an Oakland, California, hospital, her family's lawyer said.
Attorney Chris Dolan detailed some of what's happened to the 13-year-old girl since her release Sunday from Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland. Specifically, he said that after initially "doing poorly she is stabilizing," having had tracheotomy and gastrostomy tube procedures.
"She is doing very well and getting the treatment she should have gotten 28 days ago," Dolan said, referring to what happened to Jahi after a December operation.
"Doctors are optimistic that her condition has stabilized and that her health is improving from when she was taken from (the Oakland hospital)."
The family hasn't said where the eighth-grader currently is. Dolan has declined to say if she had been transferred to another facility and, if so, to describe that facility.
Instead, they have chosen to lay low as they continue their efforts to care for Jahi. Dolan said the family needs to "heal up from this whole experience" and have "some quiet time" away from media questions.
"(The) family is seeking to focus attention on Jahi," added the lawyer.
CNN could not independently verify Dolan's account about what's happened to the young California teen. Still, his account's upbeat nature adds yet another level of intrigue to what's been an emotional and complicated story.
Jahi underwent a December 9 operation at the Northern California hospital to remove her tonsils, adenoids and extra sinus tissue.
Opinion: Let parents decide if teen is dead
Doctors had recommended the surgery to treat pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that made her stop breathing in her sleep and caused other medical problems.
The teen girl was alert and talking to doctors after the procedure, even asking for a Popsicle because her throat hurt. That was a relief in some ways because she'd expressed concerns to her family about the surgery, fearing she would never wake up from it, her uncle has said.
Due to privacy laws, hospital officials have not been able to discuss Jahi's case in detail.
In the hospital's intensive care unit, however, the girl started to bleed, her family has said, and she went into cardiac arrest. Days later, she was declared brain-dead. A judge later sided with the hospital in declaring her dead.
The family, however, did not agree.
That conflict played into a weeks-long battle between the hospital, which wanted to remove Jahi from a ventilator, and her family, who believed she was showing signs of life.
The entire ordeal fueled a sweeping national debate about what legally and ethically constitutes death.
Some medical ethicists have said the case has fed into a misperception that "brain death" is not death; that somehow, the body can live on, and that is life.
It's also sparked fierce emotion, and that is another reason the family is keeping quiet about where the girl will be taken.
"We've had people make threats from around the country," Dolan, who said he and the girl's uncle have received such threats, has told CNN. "It's sad that people act that way."

Swearing toddler in 'thug' video taken into protective custody

A Nebraska toddler who repeated a slew of profanities in an online video has been taken into child protective custody, Omaha police said Wednesday.
While authorities found nothing criminal in the video, officials from the Omaha police's Child Victim Unit and the Nebraska Child Protective Services took the infant and three other children into custody on Wednesday, the police department said on its Facebook page.
The joint investigation found safety concerns, the statement said.
CNN learned of development through Twitter.
In the video, the diapered child is bombarded with obscenities and racial slurs by the adults around him.
The African-American toddler knocks down a chair and gives nearly as good as he gets, responding to some of the comments with an upraised middle finger and telling one of the adults at one point, "Shut up, bitch." The adults laugh and prompt him to repeat other crudities.
Just another day on the Internet -- until the police union in Omaha, Nebraska, posted the clip on its website to highlight what it called the "cycle of violence and thuggery" the community faces.
Police union draws fire over swearing toddler 'thug' video
The Omaha Police Officers Association came under fire from the city's police chief, the ACLU and at least one community leader. They say the move needlessly antagonizes the city's minority communities, who make up about a quarter of Omaha's 409,000 residents.

Sgt. John Wells, the union's president, said the video was "disturbing" and "offensive."
"The focus here isn't on any particular ethnic group. The focus here is on the troubling behavior towards this child," Wells said. "This behavior is going to potentially lead this child down a path that is completely unhealthy."
On the website where the video is hosted, the union said the clip came from "a local thug's public Facebook page."
"We here at OmahaPOA.com viewed the video and we knew that despite the fact that it is sickening, heartbreaking footage, we have an obligation to share it to continue to educate the law abiding public about the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessly trapped in," the police union wrote in a post accompanying the video.
"Now while we didn't see anything in this video that is blatantly 'illegal,' we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint," it added.
Wells said one of the adults mentions a local street gang in the video.
"That is why when we talk about the culture, the criminal culture, that this is to try to break the cycle and deal with the culture of violence and the culture of gang activity," he said.
But in a city where police officers' treatment of minorities led to lawsuits, criminal charges against two officers and the firings and reassignments of several others in the past year, critics say the video is poking at raw wounds. Willie Hamilton, president of the community activist group Black Men United, said the union "crossed a line by doing this."
"For them to take a video out of context -- a 2-year-old who doesn't have the brain capacity to know what's going on -- and to say that this child, because two adults acted inappropriately, is going to end up in a life of crime is totally inappropriate," Hamilton said.
And the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, which filed an excessive-force suit against the Omaha Police Department on behalf of an African-American family on Monday, said the union's use of "racially charged language" was "very disconcerting."
Police Chief Todd Schmaderer tried to distance his agency from the controversy in a statement issued Tuesday, saying that the union's website and Facebook page are separate from those of the Omaha Police Department and that he has little authority over the public statements of union members.
"With that background and understanding, I want to make it explicit and clear that the views expressed on the OPOA Facebook page do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Omaha Police Department," Schmaderer said. "I strongly disagree with any postings that may cause a divide in our community or an obstacle to police community relations."
Wells said union members have turned the video over to the department's child victim unit, which will work with child-welfare agencies to investigate the circumstances. He said the organization "didn't think we'd get this big of a reaction."
"Hopefully, the impact is, it gives law-abiding citizens what law enforcement deals with on a daily basis, and it sort of throws back the blinders that these type of problems are going on," he said. "And we can have a very frank and open discussion on how to tackle these issues and come up with solutions."

Target worker helps in capture of alleged abductor of girl, 7

An employee at a Target store in Pittsburg, in the San Francisco Bay area, is being credited with helping authorities find a man accused of kidnapping a 7-year-old girl from her Antioch, Calif. home, reports CBS San Francisco station KPIX-TV.

Shoplifting prevention specialist Roxanna Ramirez said she spotted a man in the store Friday who authorities wound up arresting that night on suspicion of kidnapping the girl.

“He was just being weird. Like, his activities were not normal,” Ramirez told KPIX.

Ramirez said she wrote down the license plate number of the man’s car as his behavior became even more bizarre after he left the store.

“He was pacing back and forth. He was changing his clothes in the parking lot. He started messing around with his backpack,” Ramirez said. “And at one point, he was sitting in the car, shaking his steering wheel.”

The suspect, identified as David Douglas, is quoted as admitting he kidnapped the girl, but now claims it was a cry for help.

In a jailhouse interview, Douglas told a reporter for the Bay Area News Group that he used a stick and not a gun when he abducted the girl from her home. He also said he did not sexually assault the girl, claiming he drove her around to try to calm her down. Douglas said he even took her to a McDonald’s and bought her some chicken nuggets, which she refused.

At the moment police caught him at the Anitoch Marina, Douglas said, he was telling the little girl that he was an angel, and was awaiting further instructions from God.

After an Amber Alert was issued, police said they were able to catch Douglas because Ramirez called them with his license plate number.

“I’m happy that the girl is with her family. I’m happy that she gets to live the childhood that she deserves. I hope she puts this tragic thing behind her,” Ramirez said.