Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Pornographic Images and Videos of Children

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Matthew Lawrence Gamret, 28, of 111 Kentmoor Drive in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on January 16, 2012, Gamret possessed visual depictions, namely, images and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Judge Diamond scheduled sentencing for January 30, 2013, at noon. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Gamret.

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 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

Claycomo Man Indicted for Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

KANSAS CITY, MO—David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Claycomo, Missouri man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Jason Romdall, 33, of Claycomo, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri.

Today’s indictment alleges that Romdall received child pornography on March 26, 2012. Romdall is also charged with being in possession of child pornography, in addition to and apart from the images in the first count, on March 28, 2012.

The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Romdall to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including a Samsung cellular phone.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by U.S. Probation and Parole and the FBI.

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 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

Canadian Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Christian Yvon Lapierre (47, a Canadian citizen residing in Jacksonville) to 77 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The court also ordered Lapierre to serve seven years of supervised release following his release from prison and to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, an investigator with the Florida Attorney General’s Office conducted an undercover operation to identify individuals using the Internet to share child pornography. The investigator was able to identify an Internet protocol (IP) address located in Jacksonville that was sharing files depicting child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the Internet service account for this IP address resolved to Lapierre’s Jacksonville residence.

A federal search warrant was executed at Lapierre’s residence, and law enforcement officers seized two computers and other digital media. Lapierre was inside the residence when the search warrant was executed. During an interview, Lapierre advised that he had two computers: one desktop and one laptop. He admitted that he was the one who downloaded files using the particular software program and that he had some videos showing kids on there, as well as some “teen stuff.” Subsequent forensic analysis revealed that Lapierre’s computer media contained five videos and one image depicting child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the former Child Predator Cybercrime Unit of the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

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 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

Middlesex County Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography

TRENTON, NJ—A Middlesex County man pleaded today to distributing images and videos of child pornography over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jacob Rios, 24, of Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Rios admitted to knowingly distributing child pornography between March 3, 2011, and July 11, 2011, using GigaTribe, a peer-to-peer network. Rios created accounts on GigaTribe through which he downloaded pictures and videos of child pornography. He placed those pictures and videos into the shared directory of his GigaTribe accounts, thereby sharing them with other GigaTribe users.

As part of his guilty plea, Rios agreed to forfeit the laptop and hard drives that he used to commit the offense. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

The distribution of child pornography count to which Rios pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for January 3, 2013.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Squad, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Darren M. Gelber Esq., Woodbridge, New Jersey

Bethlehem Man Sentenced for Making Threats on His Facebook Page

PHILADELPHIA—Anthony Elonis, 28, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 44 months in prison for four counts of interstate communication of threats in connection with postings he made to his Facebook page. Among the threats that Elonis posted were threats against his wife, Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, the Berks County Sheriff’s Department, and an unidentified kindergarten class in the Bethlehem area.

Among the threats that Elonis posted was the following:

“That’s it, I’ve had about enough

I’m checking out and making a name for myself

Enough elementary schools in a ten mile radius

to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagined

And hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a Kindergarten class

the only question is...which one?”

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel also ordered three years of supervised released, ordered Elonis to have no contact with his victims during that time, and to get mental health treatment. Computer monitoring will also be a condition of release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.