Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Surprise, Arizona, man pleaded guilty yesterday to production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, from summer of 2021 through March 2022, Elliott Velez, 38, used social media platforms to engage in sexually graphic conversations with girls under the age of 18. During these conversations with the victims, Velez would instruct them to engage in sexually explicit conduct, take photos or videos, and send them to him. Velez would give explicit instructions on what he wanted them to do and who he wanted them to do it with, including other underage individuals. Velez would use a recording device on his phone to ensure that he could keep these videos and images without the victim’s knowledge. Velez is an active duty servicemember who was located in Newport News during the time of his conduct.

Velez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison per count, not necessarily consecutively. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Heath is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Child Exploitation Task Force (NCETF), as part of Project Safe Childhood. The NCETF is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Chesapeake Police Department, Hampton Police Division, and Newport News Police Department. Assistance in this matter was also provided by federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children. Tips regarding child exploitation can be provided to the task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-28.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Christopher Lamont Stimpson, Jr., 24, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,660 in restitution by United States District Court Judge Edward G. Smith for robbing a Lancaster County puppy breeder and his family at gunpoint in order to steal five French Bulldog puppies in October 2020.

In April 2022, the defendant was convicted of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), and interstate transportation of stolen goods in connection with the robbery. Evidence presented at trial proved that in order to gain access to the puppies, dogs with a total value of more than $23,000, Stimpson posed as a customer seeking to purchase five French Bulldog puppies, only to pull out a gun, point it at the victims, and steal the animals. One of the victims recorded the registration of the defendant’s getaway vehicle, which was traced back to a rental company in Greensboro, North Carolina. A customer of the breeder who had also been interested in purchasing one of the puppies later discovered an Instagram posting which featured a video and a photograph of the puppies, as well as photographs of Stimpson. In December 2020, the defendant was arrested in North Carolina.

“The defendant threatened a family at gunpoint inside their own home in order to greedily and callously steal vulnerable, living creatures,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “ Our Office is committed to prosecuting dangerous, armed criminals, no matter where they may run and hide. We are thankful to our law enforcement partners here in Pennsylvania and in North Carolina for their assistance in bringing Stimpson to justice.”

“This was a frightening armed robbery that saw the victims menaced at gunpoint,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The fact that puppies were the property taken renders this crime more unusual, but no less serious. Christopher Stimpson made the very bad decision to come to Pennsylvania and take these pups by force, and this sentence holds him accountable for his actions.”

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ephrata Police Department, and the Greensboro (NC) Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Miller.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

INDIANAPOLIS – Patrick Kearney, 40, of Saddlebrook, Arizona, was indicted by a federal grand jury for interstate stalking, transmitting threats via interstate communications, and making harassing telephone calls to an Indianapolis couple.

As alleged in the indictment, Kearney has engaged in a stalking and harassment campaign targeting a woman who had rejected his pursuit of a romantic relationship while they attended college together in the early 2000s. The victim graduated from college and never saw Kearney again. Beginning in September 2019, nearly twenty years later, Kearney began sending the woman letters and packages through the U.S. mail telling the victim she should have died in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, that she should eat poison, and that she should go to hell. Kearney also repeatedly called the victim at all hours and left profane and insulting voicemails on the victim’s cell phone.

When Kearney learned that his victim was engaged to be married—after finding the victim’s wedding website online—he began harassing and threatening the victim’s husband as well. Between October 2019 and September 2022, Kearney placed approximately 404 phone calls to the victims’ cell phones and left at least 155 voicemails. Kearney sent the victims multiple packages containing insect poison and pornographic material.

On October 12, 2022, Kearney appeared in federal court in Arizona and was then transported to the Southern District of Indiana. Kearney made his initial appearance in federal court in the Southern District of Indiana on November 17, 2022. On November 23, 2022, Kearney was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

If convicted on all nine counts alleged in the indictment, Kearney faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment on each of the first three counts, and a maximum penalty of up to two years imprisonment on each of counts four through nine, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any prison term.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Rodney Hopkins, Inspector of Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Detroit Division, made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Kelsey L. Massa, who is prosecuting this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BENTON, Ill. – On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, Ashley McKinney, 39, of Belleville, Illinois, was 
sentenced to 54 months in federal prison for Identity Theft, Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire 
Fraud, and Money Laundering.
According to court documents, for almost a year, Ashley McKinney defrauded elderly women in 
southern Illinois with the help of her co-conspirator, Erica Rose. They were true partners in 
crime. Rose abused her employment as an in-home caretaker and stole the identities of her elderly 
clients. Then she passed the stolen information along to McKinney to attempt to drain their bank 
accounts through counterfeit checks and fraudulent purchases. As an example, McKinney tried to buy 
a used Tesla online after stealing the identity and savings of an 86-year-old woman from 
Belleville, Illinois. When the deal fell through because the Tesla had mechanical problems, 
McKinney bought herself a Mercedes Benz instead. After she took possession of the vehicle, the 
victim’s bank stopped payment on the counterfeit check and the online car dealer repossessed the 
luxury vehicle. The pair were caught after numerous families reported identity theft to police 
shortly after Rose was caring for their loved one. In each case, McKinney was found committing 
fraud with the identity.

Rose was previously sentenced to prison in May 2021.

“While identity theft is always a serious crime, it’s particularly troubling when victims are 
elderly,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Crowe. “The crimes in this case went beyond 
financial loss. They impacted whole families during already difficult times. We will always 
prioritize holding defendants accountable who prey on vulnerable victims.”

The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Edwardsville Police Department, Belleville 
Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Ludlow man has been arrested for a child pornography offense.

Robert Avrett, 41, was charged with distribution of child pornography. Avrett was arrested on Nov. 21, 2022 and was detained following an initial appearance yesterday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Katherine A. Robertson.

According to the charging document, Avrett was identified as the owner of a Kik messenger account that shared numerous videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to an undercover law enforcement agent. The CSAM Avrett allegedly distributed depicted the sexual exploitation of minor victims as young as approximately three-years-old. During search of Avrett’s residence on Nov. 21, 2022, Avrett admitted that he was the operator of the Kik messenger account and that he used the account to share and receive CSAM. 

The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine G. Curley of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.