Sex Trafficker of Minors Found Guilty by Federal Jury

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Mississippi

Criminal Used Gun, Drugs, Violence to Force Minors to Have Sex in Exchange for Money

Jackson, Miss. – After a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, a federal jury in Jackson found Willie Charles Blackmon, Jr., 36, of Jackson, guilty on Thursday of two counts of sex trafficking minors through force, fraud, maintaining and harboring the minors for commercial sex acts, and two counts of advertising and promoting prostitution, announced United States Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

Beginning in July 2014 and continuing through March 2016, agents with the Jackson FBI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, FBI New Orleans Violent Crimes against Children Task Force, Clinton Police Department and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated Willie Charles Blackmon, Jr.’s prostitution ring. Blackmon purchased a runaway minor for $500 and recruited runaway minors for prostitution. Blackmon knew the minors would engage in commercial sex acts with men for money. Blackmon would rent rooms at local hotels in Jackson and Vicksburg for the minors for days at a time. Blackmon kept most, if not all, of the money earned by the minors from the sex acts. The evidence showed that Blackmon would physically harm the minors and threaten them by holding a gun to their heads if they did not perform or if they disrespected him. He also provided drugs to the minors.

"This criminal deserves the harshest punishment under the law for harming, threatening and drugging children to do unspeakable things for money. I commend our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, as well as our prosecutors and support staff, for bringing this monster to justice and rescuing these victims. I would ask the public to help us by continuing to be vigilant to these crimes that occur all around us and promptly reporting any suspicious activity to law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.

Judge Carlton Reeves will sentence Blackmon on March 4, 2019 at 9:00 am. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, and fines of up to $1 million.

This case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, FBI New Orleans Child Exploitation Task Force, Clinton Police Department and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Glenda R. Haynes and Keith French prosecuted the case. 

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the 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 individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Topic(s): 

Project Safe Childhood

Component(s): 

USAO - Mississippi, Southern

Convicted in child porn case, rogue priest still preaches as he crafts his own narrative

Brandie Kessler and Dylan Segelbaum, York Daily Record

The general's report comes after years of state and local law enforcement uncovering cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic church.

Nate Chute, IndyStar

The Catholic church kicked him out. He is among 301 "predator priests" named by a grand jury. But he still leads a Catholic church in York County.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News investigation shows how he has tried to discredit the conviction.

He tells supporters various stories about why he was convicted of a crime.

Harry Spencer realized that he was home.

He’d grown uncomfortable with the direction of the Catholic Church, particularly since Vatican II. The doctrines had changed. The Mass had changed. So had all the traditions and rituals.

Then, about seven years ago, Spencer started going to what would become St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church in Lower Windsor Township. It offers a traditional Latin Mass. The Rev. Virgil Tetherow, also known as Father Gabriel, leads the church.

“I have never met a priest that I’ve felt more comfortable with in his religiosity and his ability to teach the religion of the Roman Catholic faith,” Spencer said. “I love my religion. And Father Tetherow is a true Catholic priest.”

But that is not what the Catholic church says.

In fact, Tetherow “is not recognized as a priest, is prohibited from presenting himself as clergy and is not associated with the Diocese of Harrisburg,” said Mike Barley, a spokesman for the diocese, who encouraged the faithful to not attend Tetherow's services.

Tetherow, 54, is among 301 “predator priests” named in the recent landmark grand jury report that details widespread sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania. He was arrested in 2005 after police found child pornography on two computers and he later pleaded guilty to criminal use of a communication facility.

In a statement provided to the grand jury, he maintains his conviction isn't what it seems and that the grand jury report distorts the public record. He’s never been accused of physical sexual abuse of children.

Many of the clergy named in the almost 900-page report are dead. But Tetherow, who declined to be interviewed, is still actively running a church — and there’s nothing, and apparently no one, that can prevent him from doing so. A York Daily Record/Sunday News investigation based on dozens of interviews, Right-to-Know Law requests, court records and secret canonical letters reveals how he’s been able to weave a narrative to discredit the conviction and keep loyal followers in his flock.

READ: 'Punished' for being sexually abused in York County: Jehovah's Witnesses' culture of cover-up.

Virginia Man Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Traveling to Haiti and Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct

A Virginia man was sentenced today to 276 months in prison, to be followed by a life term of supervised release, for traveling from the United States to Haiti and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen of the Western District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., announced.

James Daniel Arbaugh, 40, of Stuarts Draft, Virginia, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, to one count of traveling in foreign commerce from the United States to Haiti in or about 2016 to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18 before U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth K. Dillion of the Western District of Virginia, who sentenced him earlier today and remanded him to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

“James Arbaugh was a wolf in sheep’s clothing: he posed as a selfless missionary when in reality he was exploiting his position to prey on and sexually abuse vulnerable children in one of the most impoverished areas of the world,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Today’s sentencing is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to hold sexual predators like Arbaugh accountable for their deplorable crimes.” 

“The defendant abused his position of trust to prey on vulnerable victims, and their lives will never be the same,” said U.S. Attorney Cullen.  “As this case indicates, our office is committed to working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to identify and vigorously prosecute those who exploit children.”  

“This kind of heinous and evil activity has no place here, abroad or in-transit,” said Special Agent in Charge Lechleitner. “Those seeking to commit such abhorrent crimes and evade detection cannot hide from our highly skilled and dedicated investigators.”

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Arbaugh has lived in Haiti for approximately 15 years and has traveled regularly back to the United States during that time.  According to statements made by the Court during Armbaugh’s sentencing hearing, during his time in Haiti, Arbaugh traveled as a Mennonite missionary regularly visiting remote towns and villages, where he would befriend and groom children in these communities.  Arbaugh admitted that in 2016, while in Haiti, he engaged in illicit sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 by touching the minor’s genitals under the minor’s clothing.

The investigation of the case was conducted by HSI and the Harrisonburg Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Shoop of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeb Terrien of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc..

Topic(s): 

Project Safe Childhood

Component(s): 

Criminal Division

Criminal - Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section

USAO - Virginia, Western

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Virginia Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography on Tor Network Forum

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, May 7, 2018

A Purcellville, Virginia man, who was a member of a website dedicated to the advertising and sharing of child pornography on an online anonymous network, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations HSI Washington, D.C. made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Nikolai Bosyk, 40, a repair shop owner, was charged on Oct. 17, 2017, and pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2018.  According to admissions made in conjunction with the guilty plea, Bosyk was a member of an online bulletin board dedicated to the sharing of child pornography, that operated on the TOR anonymity network. Bosyk admitted to downloading child pornography, from that website and other places on the Internet.  A forensic review of his laptop discovered thousands of images and videos of child pornography. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the High Technology Investigative Unit (HTIU) of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

CEOS Trial Attorney Lauren E. Britsch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith III of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc

Trinity Mount Ministries

Man Sentenced to 480 Months in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing Boys and/or Producing Child Pornography

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Forney Man Sentenced to 480 Months in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing Boys and/or Producing Child Pornography of at Least Ten Boys

DALLAS — Kevin Scott Morris, 45, of Forney, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 480 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, following his guilty plea in December 2017 to one count of enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.   

According to the factual resume and criminal complaint filed in the case, from at least 2009 through the time of Morris’ arrest in this case in 2016, Morris held himself out to parents and children as a member of law enforcement, a photographer, and a film director.  In so doing, he convinced at least ten children and their parents to allow him to photograph the children, film the children, and even travel with Morris for the purpose of film and photography sessions that his victims thought would lead to modeling or acting careers.  During these “sessions,” Morris built up the trust of, and groomed, several boys who he then sexually abused and/or used to create child pornography.

Law enforcement learned of Morris’ abuse when one of his victims made an outcry that Morris had sexually abused him when he was thirteen years old.  When Morris was arrested, law enforcement uncovered numerous videos and images of Morris sexually abusing several other children.  In addition, Morris possessed child pornography that he did not produce, including videos of toddlers being sexually abused and a video of a prepubescent boy being raped with his hands tied behind his back.

Morris and the government entered into a plea agreement, in which both parties agreed to the term of imprisonment. 

The 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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood leverages federal, state and local resources to better investigate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.  Project Safe Childhood also prioritizes identifying and rescuing victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The FBI, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cypress Police Department in California investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie prosecuted.

Department of Justice

Project Safe Childhood

Trinity Mount Ministries