Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FARGO – Interim United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced that on June 9, 2022, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter D. Welte sentenced James Duane Vanraden, age 48, Moorhead, MN, to 17 ½ years in federal prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child and Distribution of Materials Containing Child Pornography. Chief Judge Welte also sentenced Vanraden to a lifetime period of supervised release.

Investigation revealed that on or about December 4, 2019, and continuing until on or about July 16, 2020, Vanraden attempted to solicit a perceived 10-year-old girl for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Specifically, on December 4, 2019, an Undercover Officer (UC) with law enforcement began a proactive Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation and posted an advertisement on Craigslist searching for a “tutor” for his 10-year-old daughter. Vanraden responded to the Craigslist post and thereafter Vanraden and the UC began communicating via an encrypted platform. Over the ensuing seven months, Vanraden sent the UC child pornography and further arranged to engage in commercial sex with his perceived 10-year-old daughter. Eventually, Vanraden arranged for the UC to receive a $200 payment from a third party via Venmo, a mobile payment application, in exchange for the sexual activity.

On February 8, 2022, Vanraden pleaded guilty to knowingly Attempting Sex Trafficking of Children under the age of 14 and Distributing Materials Containing Child Pornography.

This case was investigated by the West Pargo Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, with Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Puhl assigned to the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the nation, Project Safe Childhood, in conjunction with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems, or computer technology to sexually exploit children. The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces engaging in proactive investigations, forensic investigations, and criminal prosecutions. Project Safe Childhood also helps to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that CHRISTOPHER S. EVANS, age 25 of Fort Pierce, Florida, was charged with transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Evans appeared for an arraignment hearing on May 31, 2022, before United States Magistrate Judge Kelly H. Rankin and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A trial has been set for July 7, 2022, before Chief United States District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl.

If convicted, Evans faces ten years to life imprisonment; five years to life of supervised release; up to a $250,000 fine, and a $5,000 assessment according to the Justice of Victims of Trafficking Act.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This crime is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Roosevelt Utah Police Department, Cheyenne Police Department, and the Uinta County Wyoming Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie I. Sprecher is prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Case No. 22-CR-00062-SWS

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man admitted his role as a shift supervisor of a drug trafficking organization and conspiring to distribute over one kilogram of heroin, over 280 grams of crack, and unspecified amounts of cocaine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Christopher Vasquez, 31, of Camden, pleaded guilty on June 9, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to his role as a shift supervisor and manager in a drug trafficking conspiracy that was based on the 400-500 block of Pine Street in Camden.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court

Vazquez admitted that he operated as a “shift manager” in the drug-trafficking organization, supervising and directing the street-level sellers who were involved in distributing controlled substances to customers. From January 2018 to Nov. 28, 2018, he met with conspirators who were involved in the scheme and discussed the operations and management of the drug trafficking organization. He also provided drugs to street-level sellers.

Eighteen other members of the drug-trafficking conspiracy previously have pleaded guilty in this case.

The count to which Vasquez pleaded guilty carries a mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for scheduled for Oct. 13, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gabe Rodriguez; the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer; the Camden County Sherriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Gilbert L. Wilson; the Cherry Hill Police Department, under the direction of  Acting Chief Larry Robb; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas. He also thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Homeland Security for their assistance.

This case is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara A. Aliabadi and Patrick C. Askin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WAYCROSS, GA:  A Coffee County man was found guilty on all counts after a two-day trial in federal court for possessing and distributing child pornography.

Ashley Marshall Carter, 41, of Douglas, Ga., was found guilty by a U.S. District Court jury on one count of Distribution of Child Pornography, and one count of Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, up to 20, along with five years to life of supervised release and substantial financial penalties and restitution and registration upon release as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our office and our partner law enforcement agencies make it a priority to identify and bring to justice those who would victimize children,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “This guilty verdict by a jury of his peers ensures Ashley Carter will be held accountable for his crimes.”

As described in court, a task force officer working with Homeland Security Investigations identified electronic transfers of images of child exploitation originating from Carter’s Douglas address. During a subsequent search in February 2021, Carter was arrested after investigators removed multiple electronic devices from the home and identified thousands of images of child pornography.

Sentencing will be scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood after completion of a presentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.

“Finding, arresting and prosecuting those who are involved in the creation, collecting and or distribution of these disturbing images of child exploitation is one of our highest priorities, because of the devastating effects it has on our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure these predators face justice and that our children are protected.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Candler County Sheriff’s Office, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland and Jeremiah L. Johnson.

This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood. Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.