Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested and Charged with Crimes Relating to Sexual Exploitation of Minors

A Madison County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office detective, assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), was arrested this morning and charged via federal criminal complaint with four counts relating to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle of the Western District of Virginia, Colonel Steve W. Flaherty of the Virginia State Police and Acting Special Agent in Charge Division John J. Lenkart of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.

Bruce A. Harvey, 40, of Reva, Virginia, has been charged with two counts of transporting minors across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and two counts of interstate travel with minors with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The alleged criminal activity involved two minor female victims who had contact with Harvey while he worked as a karate instructor. The alleged criminal conduct occurred between 1998 and 2007.

Harvey, a former instructor at the Virginia Tong Leong School of Karate in Madison, had his initial appearance this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville and remains in custody pending further court action.

The charges contained in a complaint are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The investigation of the case is ongoing and being conducted by the FBI and the Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy S. Healey of the Western District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Lauren S. Kupersmith of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.

If you have any information about these crimes or information about a potential victim, please contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI. Investigators and victim specialists are available to assist you.

Former North Charleston, South Carolina, Police Officer Michael Slager Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Offense

Former North Charleston, South Carolina, Police Department (NCPD) Officer Michael Slager, 35, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights offense for his fatal shooting of Walter Scott, Jr. on April 4, 2015.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Beth Drake of the District of South Carolina, Special Agent in Charge Alphonse “Jody” Norris of the FBI’s Columbia Division, Solicitor Scarlett A. Wilson of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced today’s guilty plea, which took place in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.  The plea will resolve both the federal and the state cases pending against Michael Slager.  Prior to entry of the guilty plea, jury selection in the federal trial had been scheduled to begin on May 9, and a state trial had been set for August.

According to documents filed in connection with the guilty plea, Michael Slager, while acting as an NCPD Officer, willfully used deadly force on Walter Scott even though it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances.  Slager had stopped Scott’s vehicle after observing that a brake light was not working.  During the stop, Scott fled on foot and Slager pursued him.  During the foot chase, Slager deployed his Taser and Scott fell to the ground.  Scott managed to get off of the ground and again run away.  Scott was unarmed and running away when Scott fired eight shots at him from his department-issued firearm.  Five shots hit Scott, with all of the bullets entering from behind.  Scott died as a result of the injuries from Slager’s gunshots.    

“The Department of Justice will hold accountable any law enforcement officer who violates the civil rights of our citizens by using excessive force,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “Such failures of duty not only harm the individual victims of these crimes; they harm our country, by eroding trust in law enforcement and undermining the good work of the vast majority of honorable and honest police officers.  As our Department works to support the courageous and professional law enforcement personnel who risk their lives every day to protect us, we will also ensure that police officers who abuse their sacred trust are made to answer for their misconduct.”

“Our hearts are with the Scott family today.  They have persevered in their quest for justice for their loved one, and I hope that today brings them a measure of closure,” said U.S. Attorney Drake.  “I also want to thank both Solicitor Wilson of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel for their efforts to secure justice in this matter.”   

“The resolution of this investigation protects the integrity of law enforcement, maintains the confidence of the community, and ensures justice is served in a fair and impartial manner,” said Special Agent in Charge Norris.  “The cooperation between the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Charleston County Solicitor's Office, the Civil Rights Division, and the FBI Columbia Division was paramount in bringing this case to a successful conclusion.”

“This conviction is prime example of the strong results we can get when federal and state authorities work together,” said Solicitor Wilson.  “We are grateful for the Department of Justice for their role in obtaining justice for the Scotts with this conviction and in moving our community forward through their hard work.”

“SLED’s role in any criminal investigation is to discover the facts of the case and report them,” said Chief Keel.  “For the men and women of SLED, working closely with our partners in the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, today’s plea is the culmination of our collaboration.”

“This disposition is the product of the excellent work of state and local law enforcement. I am proud of the leadership of U.S. Attorney Beth Drake and the critical work of the FBI. The teamwork in this case represents the best in law enforcement,” added Attorney General Sessions.

Sentencing is set for XXXX.  Slager faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the federal civil rights violation, as well as a potential $250,000 fine. Both federal prosecutors and Solicitor Wilson will have the opportunity to address the Court at sentencing.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Columbia Division and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.  The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Klumb and Alyssa Richardson of the District of South Carolina and Special Litigation Counsel Jared Fishman and Trial Attorney Rose Gibson of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.  The state case is being prosecuted by Scarlett A. Wilson and the Office of the Solicitor of the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Pursuant to Executive Order on Public Safety, Department of Justice Releases Data on Incarcerated Aliens

President Trump’s Executive Order on Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Justice to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. The data in this release shows a significant prison population of incarcerated aliens.

“Illegal aliens who commit additional crimes in the United States are a threat to public safety and a burden on our criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “This is why we must secure our borders through a wall and effective law enforcement, and we must strengthen cooperation between federal, state and local governments as we strive to fulfill our sacred duty of protecting and serving the American people.”

Below is a summary of data collected under Section 16 of the Order, which directs “the Secretary [of Homeland Security] and the Attorney General . . . to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports” regarding the following subjects: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.

Information Regarding Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated Under the Supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Department’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a daily basis, BOP supplies this data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that data to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.

By way of satisfying the department’s first quarterly report of this data, below is information regarding aliens currently incarcerated under the supervision of BOP. This data is current as of March 25, 2017:

There are 45,493 foreign-born inmates currently in BOP custody, of which 3,939 are U.S. citizens (either naturalized or derivative). Of the remaining 41,554 foreign-born inmates (aliens):

          o Approximately 22,541 (54.2 percent) are aliens for which final immigration orders have been issued for their removal;

          o Approximately 13,886 (33.4 percent) are aliens who are under ICE investigation for possible removal;

          o Approximately 5,101 (12.3 percent) are aliens still pending adjudication (in other words, ICE has charged these aliens as removal cases, but a final disposition has not yet been reached); and

          o Approximately 26 (0.1 percent) are aliens who have been granted relief on the basis of asylum claims.

Information Regarding the Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated as Federal Pretrial Detainees

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is the Justice Department’s component charged with housing and care of federal pretrial detainees. USMS recently instituted a program to capture data regarding the immigration status of these detainees. During the prisoner intake process, USMS captures arrestee data such as place of birth, citizenship country and alien number (if available), in a system called the Justice Detainee Information System (JDIS).

At the department’s direction, USMS has begun providing ICE with complete data on all foreign-born detainees on a daily basis. The first of these data transfers to ICE took place on April 5, 2017, with a transfer of data associated with approximately 19,000 foreign-born detainees. ICE anticipates that its analysis of this data will soon be complete, and the department will then provide an updated status report.

Immigration Status of All Convicted Aliens Incarcerated in State Prisons and Local Detention Centers Throughout the United States

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) do not currently have a program that collects data regarding the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States. Neither the Department of Justice nor DHS can independently collect this data without the assistance of the other. To address this need, the Department of Justice is in the process of establishing such a program through its Office of Justice Programs (OJP), which houses the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS already collects some relevant aggregate data from state and local facilities and the department intends to permanently expand BJS’s data collection efforts in this area.