Crimes against Children 5-30-12

Kansas City, KS
A Kansas City, Kansas man has pleaded guilty to taking a 16-year-old girl across state lines so she could work as a prostitute, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Otis Warren, 26, Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. In his plea, Warren admitted that in November 2010, he transported a girl identified as AR, who was 16 years old at the time, from Kansas City, Kansas to Kansas City, Missouri, so she could work as a prostitute.

Investigators with the Prairie Village Police Department working undercover agreed to pay $250 an hour to have sex with the girl. Driving a blue Cadillac, Warren dropped the girl off at a house in Prairie Village. Police followed Warren when he drove away. They stopped him and arrested him. Investigators learned Warren kept the majority of the girl’s money while she worked for him.

New Haven, CT
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Jose Miguel Ortiz, 33, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 8, 2008, during an interview with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at his Waterbury residence, Ortiz admitted that he used an Internet file sharing program to view and possess images of child pornography. On that date, agents removed from the residence the family computer, a separate hard drive, and 27 compact discs. Subsequent analysis of the computer and related items revealed between 150 and 300 images of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On August 11, 2011, Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

Buffalo, NY
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Kevin Martis, 23, of Lancaster, New York, who was convicted of enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 78 months in prison U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura O’Donnell, who handled the case, stated that the defendant used the Internet on two separate occasions to attempt to encourage a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old to engage in sexual activity. Martis initially contacted the minor victims through Facebook. Police were alerted by the parents of the minor victims. Law enforcement also found over 600 images of child pornography on the defendant’s computer, which included images of children under the age of 12.

“This case shows the important role parents can play in keeping their children safe,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Thanks to the involvement of the parents, law enforcement was able to prevent this defendant from seriously harming two children.”