Crimes against Children 10-24-12

Cincinnati, OH
Martin Nathan Ross, 59, of Cincinnati was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 148 months in prison for possessing child pornography. Ross’s sentence was enhanced because he has been previously convicted of sex offenses involving minors. He was also sentenced to be under court supervision for the rest of his life.

In September 2011, an officer working in an undercover capacity was investigating activities on a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing network. During the investigation, the officer made contact with an individual using the screen name “Olderswohioguy” later identified as Ross. Ross offered to share folders with the undercover officer, which he did. Because these folders were password-protected, Ross had to provide the undercover officer with the password so he could gain access. One folder included numerous images and videos depicting child pornography. The videos in particular depicted children less than 12 years of age involved in various sexual acts.

Washington, DC
Patrick Henderson, 38, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to arranging for a sexual contact with someone he believed to be a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

According to the government’s evidence, on November 21, 2011, Henderson contacted an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force who had entered a social networking site. Over the next several days, Henderson engaged in online and telephone conversations with the undercover officer, whom he believed had access to an under-aged boy from Virginia. During this period of time, Henderson arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the boy.

Riverside, CA
A San Bernardino man pleaded guilty today in federal court to production of child pornography for filming his sexual conduct with a 13-year-old boy who lived near his residence.

Pedro Ruiz, who also used the name Peter Ruiz, 33, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of production of child pornography, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and could result in a sentence of as much as 30 years in federal prison.

In a plea agreement filed in United States District Court, Ruiz admits that in 2009, he produced sexually explicit videos and images of the 13-year-old victim, who lived only a few houses away from Ruiz. When federal authorities searched Ruiz’s residence in 2010, they found on his computer thousands of videos and images depicting what defendant knew was child pornography.

Rochester, NY
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Vogler, 31, of Rochester, New York, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 20 years’ supervised release by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who handled the case, stated that during the execution of a search warrant by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Task Force, at a residence Vogler shared with co-defendant Donald MacIntyre, law enforcement officers found devices containing child pornography. Vogler admitted to downloading images and videos of child pornography using a peer to peer file sharing program.

Philadelphia, PA
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 34-year-old Long Pond resident was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik to serve five years in prison for receiving child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Jonathan Brownlee, previously pleaded guilty to using a computer to download images of child pornography. The offense occurred during April through December 2009.

Brownlee was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2010 as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Delaware County Detectives, and Pocono Mountain Regional Police.

Omaha, NE
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Charles Phillips, Jr., age 43, of Macy, Nebraska, for his conviction for assault on a child resulting in substantial bodily injuries. Phillips was sentenced to 18 months’ incarceration, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Phillips was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,193.35.

On April 2, 2011, Phillips got into an argument with his girlfriend. The girlfriend’s 13-year-old girl yelled at Phillips to leave her mother alone. Phillips cursed at the girl and then went over and stomped on her head. The girl was briefly knocked unconscious, and her nose was broken. In addition, the girl suffered from headaches for several days after the assault.