Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Cumberland County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 114 months in prison and six years of supervised release for conspiring with others to obtain and distribute several kilograms of cocaine and violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior conviction for conspiring to distribute cocaine. Lavinston Lamar, 40, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court on May 5, 2022.    

Source: United States Department of Justice News

OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday, JAMES “DOC” LOVE, 53, of Norman, Oklahoma, was sentenced for Tampering with a Monitoring Device and Method Required to be Maintained Under the Clean Air Act, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.

On September 20, 2021, Love was charged by a one-count Information with violating the Clean Air Act.  The Clean Air Act was enacted by Congress to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation’s air resources to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population.   On October 7, 2021, Love pleaded guilty to the Information and sentenced on January 23, 2023, to probation for twelve months by U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk.  Love was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

According to public record, Love owned and operated Southwest Diesel Service, a heavy-duty diesel engine full-service garage that was located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Love admitted that between February 2015 and April 2019, he directed his employees to modify the emissions control systems on heavy-duty diesel trucks.  Specifically, Love directed these employees to alter the emissions control components, including removing the diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and plating the exhaust gas recirculation systems (EGRs).   He then instructed others to reprogram the vehicles’ on-board computers so that the emissions control systems’ sensors failed to detect the alterations.  These modifications prevented the trucks from accurately recording the pollutants they discharged into the atmosphere. They also ensured that the trucks continued to travel on public roads despite operating illegally.

“Emissions controls protect all of us from harmful effects of air pollution.  However, Mr. Love put the health of the public at risk by manipulating devices intended to disable those emissions controls for financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Troester.  “We hope this case sends a clear message to others that this type of conduct has serious consequences.”

“The defendant put profits before public health by directing employees to bypass and disable the emission control equipment on heavy-duty diesel engines,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim Bahney.  “This sentencing demonstrates that EPA and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable those who violate laws designed to protect our communities from harmful air pollution.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Brown.  The investigation was conducted by the Oklahoma Environmental Crimes Task Force to include the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality’s Criminal Investigation Unit.

Reference is made to court filings for further information.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kelly M. Schultz, 45, of Antigo, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography.  The prison term will be followed by 20 years of supervised release.  Schultz pleaded guilty to this charge on August 23, 2022.

In March 2017, law enforcement determined that Schultz was posing as a teenage girl on-line in an attempt to get a teenage boy to send him sexually explicit images.  As part of that investigation, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home and seized approximately 150 CDs and DVDs.  During the analysis of these items, law enforcement found numerous images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

Judge Peterson found that the 10-year sentence was warranted based on Schultz’s pattern of sex offenses against children.  He previously was convicted of the sexual assault of a child. 

The charge against Schultz was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation; the Port Edwards, Markesan, Everest Metro, and Antigo Police Departments; and the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.  The Langlade County District Attorney’s office also assisted.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            CONCORD –Tyler Townsend, 28, of Dover was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison today for one count of sex trafficking of a minor, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2017 Townsend posted online advertisements offering a minor female for commercial sex acts on a now-defunct website.  The online account used to post the advertisements was linked to Townsend through email and phone records.  Townsend often dealt directly with prospective individuals who responded to the advertisements, negotiating terms and discussing prices.  He also frequently accompanied the minor female and collected the money that was paid by the individuals in exchange for sex with the minor female.

            “Preying on our community’s most vulnerable members—our children—is a horrific crime that we will not tolerate,” said U.S. Attorney Young.  “Our office will devote every available resource to stopping the sexual exploitation of children and pursuing justice on behalf of victims.” 

            “Townsend trafficked a minor, turning a profit on the exploitation of a young life. He orchestrated meetings with strangers for commercial sex, placing her in incredibly dangerous situations for his own monetary enrichment without concern for her welfare,” said Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “HSI continues in our commitment to pursue human traffickers and to connect survivors with the services they deserve. This outcome could not be achieved without the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Task Force and partnerships of the New Hampshire Division of Child, Youth and Family Services and the Manchester Police Department.”

            The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in collaboration with the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Manchester Police Department and the Dover Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kasey Weiland and Anna Dronzek.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Maine: A Canton man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor.

According to court records, in September 2019, Dale Carr, 51, began chatting online with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 13-year-old girl. Over the course of the next several weeks, Carr repeatedly asked the agent, who he believed was an underage girl, for sexually explicit photos and videos and expressed an interest in having sex with them. In October 2019, he sent the agent a close-up photograph of his penis.

Carr faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated the case.

Online enticement is increasing: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported an alarming 97.5% increase in online enticement reports between 2019 and 2020. “Online enticement” involves an individual communicating with someone believed to be a child via the internet with the intent to commit a sexual offense or abduction. This type of victimization takes place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. Learn more about online enticement, including red flags and risk factors, at www.missingkids.org/theissues/onlineenticement.

Project Safe Childhood: 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 Department’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 via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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