Milton Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

CONCORD, NH—John Allen Wright, 46, of Milton, appeared in United States District Court today and pled guilty to six counts of sexual exploitation of children in violation of federal law, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

In February, 2011, a member of New Hampshire’s Internet Crimes Against Children (NH ICAC) Task Force initiated an undercover investigation to locate and identify individuals possessing and trading images of child pornography through file sharing networks. Information obtained as a result of the investigation led to the issuance of a search warrant for Wright’s residence in Milton, New Hampshire. In the course of the search, computers and peripherals were seized and forensic examination revealed several videos depicting Wright sexually assaulting minor children who were passengers aboard his school bus. The initial search also revealed thousands of child sexual assault images that had been downloaded from the Internet. A subsequent federal search warrant yielded further evidence linking Wright to the production of the videos.

The defendant has been in custody since his indictment in October 2011. He will remain detained pending sentencing scheduled for December 20, 2012. The defendant faces a minimum mandatory prison term of 15 years on each of five counts of the six-count indictment and a total maximum prison term of up to 160 years.

This case is being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. 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 (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In addition to the NH ICAC Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New London Police Department, the Dover Police Department, and the Kittery (ME) Police Department contributed valuable time and effort to this investigation and prosecution.

Second Brother in Fast Food Restaurant and Grocery Store Armed Robbery Crew Sentenced to 205 Months in Prison

NEWARK, NJ—Anthony Lindsay, a member of an armed robbery crew which targeted fast food restaurants and local groceries in northern New Jersey, was sentenced today to 205 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Lindsay, 27, of Paterson, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before then U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway on February 2, 2010, to two counts of an indictment against him: one count of robbing the Dunkin’ Donuts in Elmwood Park, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the robbery. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

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

Anthony Lindsay; his brother, Adonijah Lindsay, 25, also of Paterson; and others participated in a string of six robberies throughout northern New Jersey in January 2006. In addition to the Dunkin’ Donuts robbery, the Lindsay brothers robbed at gunpoint a local grocery store in Jersey City, a deli in North Bergen, a Domino’s Pizza in Hoboken, a Popeye’s Chicken in Lodi, and a Burger King in Little Falls. During the Domino’s Pizza and the Burger King robberies, the employees and customers were forced at gunpoint into the restrooms by the Lindsay brothers.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Anthony Lindsay to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $4,391 in restitution, to be distributed as appropriate to the fast food restaurants and stores.

Adonijah Lindsay pleaded guilty to the same charges on February 2, 2010, and received the same sentence on February 1, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent In Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence. He also thanked the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and police departments in Paterson, Little Falls, Jersey City, Dover, Hoboken, Elmwood Park, and Lodi, for their important work in this case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rodney Villazor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Frank Arleo, Esq., West Orange, N.J.