Crimes against Children 8-22-12

Rapid City, ND
A man accused of possessing child pornography in Pennington county faces 200 years in prison.

Gary Whiting is charged with 8 counts of possessing, distributing or manufacturing child pornography, stemming from a July investigation.

In April of 2008, prosecutors say Whiting was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor in Minnesota, and has another felony from 2007.

Rapid City, ND
A Rapid City man has pleaded not guilty to three counts of possessing child pornography.

Jeremy Morrison faces 45 years in prison for allegedly possessing, distributing and manufacturing child pornography in July. 

Minneapolis, MN
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Batesland man was indicted by a federal grand jury for engaging in a sexual act with a child less than 12 years old.

George American Horse, age 60, was indicted on July 24, 2012, for aggravated sexual abuse. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on August 14, 2012 and pled not guilty to the indictment. The penalty upon conviction is a minimum of 30 years and up to life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.

Minneapolis, MN
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Oglala, South Dakota man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 between 2007 and 2010 at Allen, South Dakota.

Norman Yellow Hawk, age 46, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 24, 2012, for aggravated sexual abuse. He appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on August 13, 2012 and pled not guilty to the indictment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.

Springfield, IL
A Belleville man pled guilty in federal court on August 21, 2012, to a three-count indictment charging him with enticement of a minor (count one), transfer of obscene matter to a minor (count two), and transportation of child pornography (count three), the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Jack C. Baldwin, Jr., 46, faces a term in prison of not less than 10 years up to life, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five years to life on count one. On count two, Baldwin faces a term in prison of not more than 10 years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. Finally, on count three, Baldwin faces a term in prison of not less than five years but not more than 20 years, and a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five years to life. In addition, upon his release from prison, Baldwin must register as a sex offender as a condition of his supervised release.

The violation charged in count one occurred between December 10 and December 13, 2011, when Baldwin persuaded an 11-year-old minor to send him pictures of his/her nude genitalia via a cellular telephone. The violation charged in count two occurred on December 10, 2011, when Baldwin sent the 11-year-old a close-up picture of his erect nude penis. Finally, the violation charged in count three occurred on December 13, 2011, when Baldwin, using a cellular telephone, sent the photo of the 11-year-old’s nude genitalia from his cell phone account to his e-mail account.

This 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Philadelphia, PA
The United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Blaine R. Handerhan, a former Mount Carmel Borough Police officer, was sentenced today in federal court before Senior United States District Court Judge William W. Caldwell for possession of child pornography. Judge Caldwell sentenced Handerhan to a 96-month term of imprisonment and ordered that he pay $75,000 in restitution. Handerhan was taken into custody following the sentencing to begin serving his prison sentence.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Blaine R. Handerhan, age 56, of East Pennsboro, Pennsylvania, was indicted in October 2010 and pleaded guilty in October 2011.
The charges against Handerhan stem from an investigation into the distribution of child pornography by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Handerhan was identified by investigators and a search warrant was executed at his residence. His computer was seized and an analysis of it conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police identified 147,070 images and 1,252 video files of child pornography.

Boston, MA
A Whitinsville lawyer, who is also a Boy Scout leader and part-time middle school teacher, was arrested at his home this morning, charged with possessing child pornography and enticing children.

Andrew J. Myers, 34, has been charged by complaint with possession of child pornography and use of the Internet to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity. He will appear in U.S. District Court in Boston today for an initial appearance, at 3:00 p.m., before Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal.

According to the affidavit, the investigation was initiated when law enforcement officials from the Larimer County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office contacted the Northbridge, Massachusetts Police Department regarding an ongoing child exploitation investigation. The Colorado authorities were investigating a complaint from a Colorado mother who reported that her 12-year-old son had been communicating via e-mail and Skype with a male who identified himself as 33-years-old. In those communications, the 33-year-old male attempted to entice the boy to engage in sexual acts over Skype (a web streaming video service). The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office later identified the 33-year-old male as Myers and solicited the assistance of the Northbridge Police Department.

Houston, TX
A 20-year-old Nederland, Texas man, who now lives in Houston, has pleaded guilty to child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Lehi Sorenson pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography today before U.S. Magistrate judge Keith F. Giblin.

According to information presented in court, on January 12, 2011, federal officials executed a search warrant at Sorenson’s residence in Nederland, Texas. Several computers and digital storage were seized during the search and found to contain more than 1180 images of child pornography. Some of the material would be considered sadistic or masochistic and some depicted prepubescent children under the age of 12. An information was filed on August 8, 2012, charging Sorenson with possession of child pornography.

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.