Macon Man Receives Life Sentence for Seeking Sex with 7-Year-Old Girl

RUSSELL E. WORSHAM, 44, of Macon, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester to serve the rest of his life in federal prison on the charge of using the Internet to attempt to entice a child to engage in sexual activity.

"This defendant trolled the Internet searching for child victims," said Sally Quillian Yates, United States Attorney. "His conduct was more than mere words. A brave victim testified during trial that from the time she was 9 until she was 12, this dangerous predator repeatedly sexually assaulted her. On the day of his arrest, the defendant intended to rape a 7-year-old girl. But for the hard work of the investigators, the defendant likely would still be out there, searching for his next victim. Today's sentence serves as a stern warning to those who might follow in this defendant's path. This office will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute those who use the Internet to victimize children."

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, "The FBI has, over the years, dedicated many investigative resources to child exploitation matters such as this through its Innocent Images and Crimes Against Children programs, with the overall goal of protecting young, vulnerable children from those who would exploit them and do them harm. Mr. Worsham is a child predator who will no longer be in a position to harm children and the FBI is proud of the role it played in removing this individual from our streets."

WORSHAM was sentenced to life in prison. WORSHAM was convicted of these charges on September 21, 2010, after a five-day trial.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: In October 2008, WORSHAM befriended a woman online whom he believed to have a 7-year-old daughter. This woman—actually an undercover FBI task force agent—told WORSHAM that she was willing to make her fictitious daughter available to WORSHAM for sex. Over the next three months, in hours of online chats, over two dozen e-mails, and five telephone calls, WORSHAM engaged in graphic and sexually explicit conversations about his planned rape of the 7-year-old girl. These online communications and telephone conversations culminated in WORSHAM arranging to meet with the mother and her 7-year-old daughter. Agents arrested him when he showed up for the meeting. Agents recovered crayons, a spanking tool, a web camera, a studded dog collar, and virtual child pornography from WORSHAM's van. During trial, a victim testified that when she was between the ages of 9 and 12, WORSHAM had repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

This case was investigated by agents and officers of the Atlanta Safe Child Task Force, which is led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Division.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kim S. Dammers and Ryan Scott Ferber prosecuted the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Georgia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Child Sex Abuse Offenses

Dwain D. Williams, age 37, a resident of Pelham, Georgia, was sentenced today (January 28) before the Honorable W. Louis Sands, United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Georgia, to life in prison for child sex abuse offenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and United States Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia.

Williams was convicted on Aug. 19, 2010, by a federal jury in Valdosta, Georgia, of one count of traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in illicit sexual conduct, one count of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact of a child under 12 years of age. The aggravated sexual abuse and the abusive sexual contact charges were committed while Williams was accompanying a member of the Armed Forces outside of the United States in violation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA).

At trial, the female victim testified that Williams had repeatedly raped her starting from when she was nine years old until she was 13.

“The law, not to mention human decency, demands that we protect innocent children, whether they be here or abroad, from predators like Mr. Williams”, said United States Attorney Moore.

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 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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leah McEwen of the Middle District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s CEOS. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Special Investigations for Moody Air Force.

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Former Hall County School Bus Driver Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

JOHN COOPER SPINKS, 41, of Oakwood, Georgia, a former bus driver for the Hall County, Georgia school system, was sentenced September 16 by Senior United States District Court Judge William C. O'Kelley to six years in federal prison for his convictions of distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “As a school bus driver, this defendant was in daily contact with the children of Hall County. While he was entrusted with our children by day, he was later searching for, downloading, and distributing sexually exploitative images of children at his home computer.”

SPINKS was sentenced to six years in federal prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. He was also fined $2,000. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to United States Attorney Yates and information presented during the guilty plea hearing on June 18, 2010, SPINKS distributed images of child pornography over the Internet to an undercover law enforcement officer who he encountered in a chat room named "#baby&toddlerlove." In January 2010, SPINKS was again found in a chat room known for trading images of child pornography. On March 25, 2010, federal agents executed a search warrant at SPINKS' home and seized a laptop computer and several other pieces of electronic media. SPINKS admitted to agents that he had searched for, downloaded, and viewed images of child pornography and that he had distributed child pornographic images over the Internet. FBI agents did in fact find hundreds of images of child pornography on his home computer.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Georgia Man Convicted of Child Sex Abuse Offenses

Dwain D. Williams was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Valdosta, Ga., on child sex abuse offenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney G.F. Peterman III of the Middle District of Georgia.

Williams was convicted of one count of traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in illicit sexual conduct, one count of aggravated sexual abuse, and one count of abusive sexual contact of a child under 12 years of age. The aggravated sexual abuse and the abusive sexual contact charges were committed while Williams was accompanying a member of the Armed Forces outside of the United States in violation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA). Williams faces a possible mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for his conviction.

At trial, the female victim, currently 15 years old, testified that Williams had repeatedly raped her starting from when she was 9 years old until she was 13, when she lived in Okinawa, Japan.

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 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.

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U.S. Department of Justice Announces Strategy to Enhance Efforts to Combat Child Exploitation

On Monday, August 2, 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Department of Justice’s National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, a series of initiatives aimed at combating the rising tide of child exploitation crimes. The National Strategy identifies several areas of particular concern for law enforcement and prosecutive agencies, including the increased availability of child pornography, the growth of online enticement of minors, and the flourishing child sex tourism industry. In related remarks, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler announced the creation of dozens of new positions for federal prosecutors dedicated to the handling of child exploitation cases.

“Protecting our children from these predators has been and will remain one of my office’s highest priorities. The Attorney General’s National Strategy will help us build upon a highly successful federal-local law enforcement partnership that has resulted in dozens of child exploitation prosecutions over the past two years,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “As these cases demonstrate, the threat facing our children is significant and comes from all corners of society. While our work has been effective and impacted the problem, there is, sadly, much more to be done.”

Atlanta FBI Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said, “The FBI is well suited to conduct the complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations that often arise in child predator and child exploitation matters. With the increased use of computers and the Internet as tools, these predators can emerge from any of the four corners of the map. The investigative network built by the FBI, in conjunction with its many and varied law enforcement partners, is critical to developing these cases for prosecution. The protection of America’s children is clearly a priority and the FBI is proud of the role it and its partners play in this effort.”

The FBI currently operates two task forces in the greater Atlanta metro area dedicated to investigating child sex crimes. The Safe Child Task Force, headquartered in Atlanta and with a unit based in Dalton, brings together investigators from the police departments of Alpharetta, Dalton, Duluth, Henry County, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Rossville, Roswell, and Sandy Springs and the sheriff’s offices of Catoosa County, Dade County, Newton County, and Whitfield County to target distributors of child pornography and online child predators. The Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH), which combats the commercial sexual exploitation of children at the local level, combines the resources of the police departments from Atlanta, Marietta, Sandy Springs and Gwinnett County.

In conjunction with the Attorney General’s announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announces the following developments in child exploitation prosecutions and investigations in the Northern District of Georgia:

Today, GREGORY HUNTER, 50, of Mt. Airy, Georgia, a former Baptist minister who conspired with another individual to produce pornographic webcasts of a 9-year-old girl, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to 18 years in federal prison, followed by supervised release for the rest of his life. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brent Gray.

Today, LAWRENCE PRUITT, 27, of Central Islip, New York, and MARVIS HARRIS, 27, of Columbia, South Carolina, were sentenced by United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr., for their roles in the sex trafficking of a minor. PRUITT received a sentence of 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release; and HARRIS received sentence of four years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. PRUITT, HARRIS, and a fugitive co-defendant advertised their victim on the Craigslist website and caused her to engage in commercial sex acts with approximately 13 men in just two days. Agents from the MATCH task force are continuing their hunt for the third defendant. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Moultrie and Nekia Hackworth.

Today, JAMES ROBERTS, 44, of Cumming, Georgia was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to eight years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for amassing a collection of over 100,000 images and videos of child pornography. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Steinberg.

This past weekend, on August 1, 2010, agents of the Northwest Georgia unit of the Safe Child Task Force arrested MICHAEL YOUNG, 46, of Dunwoody, Georgia, the manager of an Atlanta-based trucking company, when he arrived at a hotel in Ringgold, Georgia to have sex with a 12-year-old girl, a rendezvous he had arranged over the Internet. This was the unit’s 14th such arrest since May of this year.

Last week, on July 29, 2010, agents of the same Dalton-based Northwest Georgia unit of the Safe Child Task Force arrested JAMES LAMPRU, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, when he showed up at a hotel in Chickamauga, Georgia for a meeting with a 12-year-old girl expecting to have sex her. LAMPRU was employed as a security guard at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

Last week, MARK STEVENS, 42, of Marietta, Georgia, an IT specialist from Bull Realty, pleaded guilty to attempting to entice over the Internet an 8-year-old girl to have sex with him. STEVENS faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced before United States District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., on October 14, 2010. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert McBurney.

Also last week, on July 27, 2010, PHILIP EMANUEL, 45, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography, to include images in which he inserted the face of a neighborhood girl. EMANUEL faces a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced before United States District Court Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr., on October 6, 2010. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Brown.

Last month, on July 12, 2010, ADAM LEBOWITZ, 50, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to over 26 years’ imprisonment for producing child pornography and attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. LEBOWITZ was an emergency room physician at Grady Hospital. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, the Clayton County Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), with assistance from the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Computer Forensics Division and the Coweta County District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Moultrie and Rodney Bullard.

For the text of Attorney General Holder’s remarks announcing the National Strategy, please see http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100802.html. For the text of Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler’s remarks providing more specifics of the National Strategy, see http://www.justice.gov/dag/speeches/2010/dag-speech-100802.html.

In February 2006, the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Georgia Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography Using Hidden Videos in Store Bathrooms

/PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey Alan Wasley of Kennesaw, Ga., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for producing child pornography through the surreptitious videotaping of young boys using public restrooms in Atlanta-area establishments, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates.

Wasley pleaded guilty to production of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper on March 16, 2010. According to court documents and proceedings, Wasley was a church youth counselor and former performing magician who followed young boys in retail stores and children's attractions. Wasley admitted that when he observed young boys entering a restroom unaccompanied by an adult, he would also enter and secretly videotape the boys.

As described in court documents, in July 2008, Wasley victimized five and seven year-old brothers in the men's restroom of a store in Kennesaw, according to information filed with the court and discussed at the plea hearing. These boys reported Wasley's conduct to their mother, who in turn notified store security. According to court documents, store security and Cobb County police were able to identify a likely suspect from store surveillance footage. When store security observed this same individual in the store several days later, they followed him to his car and noted his car's tag number, which was linked to Wasley. A subsequent search of Wasley's home yielded a computer containing six videos Wasley admitted he produced of boys in public restrooms, along with thousands of additional images of child pornography that Wasley had downloaded from the Internet.

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Hall County School Bus Driver Pleads Guilty to Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography

JOHN COOPER SPINKS, 41, of Oakwood, Georgia, a bus driver for the Hall County (Georgia) school system, pleaded guilty June 18 in federal court in Gainesville to the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “As a school bus driver, this defendant assumed a position of trust with respect to the parents and children of Hall County. He betrayed that trust by distributing sexually exploitative images of children using his home computer. Thanks to the work of undercover FBI agents, the defendant has now pleaded guilty to the charges and faces serious consequences for his conduct.”

According to United States Attorney Yates and information presented during today’s guilty plea hearing: SPINKS distributed images of child pornography over the Internet to an undercover law enforcement officer who he encountered in a chat room named “#baby&toddlerlove.” In January 2010, SPINKS was again found in a chat room known for trading images of child pornography. On March 25, 2010, federal agents executed a search warrant at SPINKS’ home and seized a laptop computer and several other pieces of electronic media. SPINKS admitted to agents that he had searched for, downloaded, and viewed images of child pornography and that he had distributed child pornographic images over the Internet. On his computer, the FBI found numerous images of child pornography.

SPINKS faces a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $500,000. No sentencing date has yet been set by the court. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography

Galen E. Vanord, 53, of Millen, Georgia, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of distribution of child pornography. Vanord will be sentenced on August 27, 2010, by United States District Judge Henry Hudson. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment. As a result of this conviction, Vanord will also be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Michael F.A. Morehart, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office announced the plea.

According to court documents, Vanord was identified by law-enforcement officers during an undercover investigation of individuals trading images of child pornography over the Internet. Officers downloaded 600 images of child pornography and one video from Vanord. In the course of their investigation, agents seized Vanord’s computer, on which they found over 16,000 images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Aber Brumberg 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.

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Georgia Man Admits to Producing Child Pornography

Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 53-year-old Georgia resident pleaded guilty May 28 before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik to producing child pornography as an aider and abettor during November 2008.

Pfannenschmidt stated that Scott Swanson, of Hiwassee, Georgia, admitted to persuading a minor to create sexually explicit images of the minor and transmit them from Pennsylvania to Georgia via computer.

Swanson was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2009. Swanson’s charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Scranton Police, and the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office.

Pfannenschmidt noted that as a result of the guilty plea, Swanson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Pfannenschmidt noted that 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.

Pfannenschmidt noted that the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

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Northeast Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to His Role in Internet Child Molestation

GREGORY HUNTER, 50, of Mt. Airy, Georgia, pleaded guilty today (April 30) in federal court in Gainesville, Georgia, to coercing a 9-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct before a webcam for the purpose of transmitting a live depiction of the child and the graphic images over the Internet.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant conspired with the stepfather of a 9-year-old to have the child engage in sexually explicit conduct before a webcam. Our children deserve our protection, and those who abuse and prey on children deserve to go to prison.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “The national investigation which uncovered the victimization of this 9-year-old child as well as child predator Gregory Hunter reminds us that the Internet can be a dangerous place in that it provides access by these predators to our children. The FBI has many agents throughout the country dedicated to working with their local and state law enforcement partners regarding crimes against children matters and the value of the information sharing process in these investigations cannot be overstated.”

According to United States Attorney Yates and information presented in court: A national FBI child pornography investigation initiated in Oklahoma between 2008 and 2009 led agents to a number of subjects across the country, including HUNTER. Based on evidence gathered during the investigation, a federal search warrant was executed at HUNTER's home on February 3, 2009, and HUNTER was arrested. HUNTER acknowledged that in 2008 he began communicating via the Internet with a man in California regarding child pornography. The California man ultimately offered that his own stepdaughter, who at the time was 9 years old, was available for live, sexually explicit performances before a webcam in his home. On numerous occasions over the course of the next three months, HUNTER conspired with the stepfather to persuade and induce the girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of a live webcam session that he transmitted over the internet to HUNTER. During the sessions, HUNTER repeatedly made graphic requests of the girl and on at least one occasion suggested that the stepfather get the child “a little drunk” and engage in sexual intercourse with her.

In August 2009, in Sacramento, California, the stepfather was sentenced to 30 years in prison following his convictions in federal district court for producing, transporting, and possessing child pornography.

HUNTER is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Court Judge Richard W. Story, who has not yet set a date for the sentencing hearing. HUNTER faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the FBI.

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Army Colonel Charged with Producing Own Child Pornography

EDGAR PAGAN-TORRES, 41, of Peachtree City, Georgia, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography production and possession offenses. PAGAN made his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge on April 15, 2009 and was indicted this afternoon.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant allegedly sexually abused his own daughter and niece and then produced videos of his crimes, ‘mementos’ that he carefully organized into home video-style DVDs. This shocking and tragic conduct has no place in our nation’s military, nor anywhere else. I appreciate all the hard work the U.S. Army investigators did to bring this case to the FBI and to ensure that the Defendant now faces these very serious charges.”

“Today's indictment and continuing investigation clearly illustrates tremendous interagency cooperation with our global law enforcement partners,” said Brigadier General Colleen McGuire, the Provost Marshal General of the Army and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. “Working hand in hand with Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies in cross jurisdictional investigations, we are continually proving our commitment to investigate crimes impacting the Army, wherever they may occur.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the indictment and evidence in public record and in court: PAGAN was assigned to a military installation in Puerto Rico from 2004 to 2007. At that time, he and his family lived near PAGAN’s sister, who has a daughter the same age as PAGAN’s daughter. In 2008, a year after PAGAN and his family relocated to Peachtree City, PAGAN’s niece made an outcry alleging that PAGAN had molested her and his daughter. In 2009, family members passed this information to law enforcement in Puerto Rico, resulting in PAGAN’s guilty plea last month in Puerto Rico to criminal charges related to his niece’s molestation allegations.

At the same time the Puerto Rican authorities were investigating, agents from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigations Division based at Ft. McPherson seized various computers and digital media from PAGAN’s home in Peachtree City. Searches of these items revealed sexually explicit videos PAGAN had made involving his daughter and his niece. Some of the videos were made in PAGAN’s home in Puerto Rico and others were made in his Peachtree City residence. Many of the videos had been transferred from the original recording media to home video-style DVDs organized into chapters. Additional forensic work uncovered a large collection of child pornography PAGAN had downloaded from the internet.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division, and the Peachtree City Police Department.

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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography Using Hidden Videos in Store Bathrooms

/PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey Alan Wasley of Kennesaw, Ga., pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography related to surreptitiously videotaping young boys using public restrooms in Atlanta-area establishments, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates.

Wasley, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper to producing child pornography. According to court documents and information presented at today's plea hearing, Wasley was a church youth counselor and former performing magician who stalked young boys in retail stores and children's attractions. When Wasley observed young boys entering a restroom unaccompanied by an adult, he admitted he would also enter and secretly videotape the boys.

In July 2008, Wasley victimized five and seven year-old brothers in the men's restroom of a store in Kennesaw, according to information filed with the court and discussed at the plea hearing. These boys reported Wasley's conduct to their mother, who in turn notified store security. According to court documents, store security and Cobb County police were able to identify a likely suspect from store surveillance footage. When store security observed this same individual in the store several days later, they followed him to his car and noted his car's tag number, which was linked to Wasley. A subsequent search of Wasley's home yielded a computer containing six videos Wasley admitted he produced of boys in public restrooms, along with thousands of additional images of child pornography that Wasley had downloaded from the Internet.

Sentencing has been scheduled for June 10, 2010. At sentencing, Wasley faces a minimum mandatory prison term of 15 years, a maximum term of 30 years, a fine of up to $250,000 and the possibility of a lifetime period of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Cobb County Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert McBurney and Francey Hakes of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

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Georgia Selected As Site for Law Enforcement Training on Child Prostitution

/PRNewswire/ -- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) has selected Norcross, Georgia as the location for law enforcement training on child prostitution. The training, Protecting Victims of Child Prostitution, is scheduled for November 16 thru 20 and will be attended by 63 police, prosecutors and others from Georgia as well as California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, and Canada.

The Georgia-based non-profit organization, the Juvenile Justice Fund, is hosting the site for the training which will be held in Norcross as part of their "A Future. Not A Past," a state-wide campaign to stop the prostitution of children in Georgia by building a barrier between children and those who seek to harm them through commercial sexual exploitation.

"Child trafficking doesn't just happen on the other side of the world, it is happening right here in America," said Ernie Allen, President of NCMEC. "We are deeply grateful to the Juvenile Justice Fund for bringing this vital training to Georgia. It will enable us to rescue more children and represents an important step toward ending these insidious crimes."

NCMEC estimates that at least 100,000 children each year become victims of child prostitution in the United States. These kids are 21st century slaves, commodities for sale or trade, and often remain unseen by public agencies and the general public.

The NCMEC training includes an overview of the violence children encounter when subjected to child prostitution, investigative techniques, information on how to interview victims of child prostitution, how to prevent child victimization and resources that are available to law enforcement.

"We are committed to doing everything possible to end child prostitution in Georgia. We are grateful to NCMEC for bringing this critical training to Georgia, and are confident that it will strengthen Georgia's response to these crimes," said Kaffie McCullough, Campaign Director of "A Future. Not A Past."

The city of Atlanta and Fulton County have been leaders in the fight against child prostitution. In 2006 to combat child prostitution in the Atlanta Metro area, Mayor Shirley Franklin launched the 'Dear John' public education campaign. The campaign engaged local communities, schools, and the media on the issue and brought much needed attention to the victims of child prostitution as well as the 'Johns' who solicit these children. An earlier collaboration with the Juvenile Justice Fund, NCMEC and several other organizations included a major ad campaign that created greater public awareness about the problem of child prostitution.

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners implemented prevention and intervention efforts for the child victims of child prostitution and worked with local nonprofit organizations to address related issues such as temporary housing, medical care, and family reunification. Due to the success of the Fulton County program, the National Association of Counties (NACO) adopted the issue and developed guidelines for counties nationwide.

Georgia has been the location for a large number of NCMEC training programs. NCMEC first began offering training for law enforcement in 1997 with the creation of the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center. The training center is named for Jimmy Ryce, a 9-year-old Florida boy who was abducted and murdered in 1995. To date, around 266,360 law enforcement, prosecutors and others from all over the country have attended NCMEC law enforcement training.

This year the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children observes its 25th anniversary. NCMEC has played a role in the recovery of more than 138,500 children. Today more children come home safely than ever before. In 2008, NCMEC helped recover more children than any other year in the organization's 25-year history raising the recovery rate from 62% in 1990 to 97% today. And more of those who prey on children are being identified and prosecuted. Yet too many children are still missing and too many children are still the victims of sexual exploitation. There is much more that needs to be done.

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Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force Announces Arrest

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta, announces on behalf of the Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force, the following arrest:

Rocky Davis Jr., age 21, an EMT and fireman for Walker County, Georgia, was arrested on Friday, October 30, 2009 on state charges related to attempting to solicit a minor child for sex. Davis traveled to Catoosa County, Georgia after having engaged undercover officers/agents of the FBI’s Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force in a series of chats on the Internet.

Davis is currently incarcerated at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department jail.

he Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force consists of federal agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and officers from the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, Dalton Police Department, Dade County Sheriff’s Office, Rossville Police Department, and the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.

The public is reminded that all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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