Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday – 44
A pretty short post this week for the predators: 1 arrested; 1 sentenced; 1 LET GO!!
PC Pandora can help you to KNOW who exactly your kids are talking to online. Though the stories below involved undercover officers, too often kids are talking to predators and don’t know it. Not using PC Pandora is basically “assuming” your kid are safe… why would you leave the most important safety item to guessing…?
Here’s a rundown of the predators; the detailed stories follow:
- A 47-year-old man in Pennsylvania was arrested for sending live video of himself performing sex acts in front of his web-camera, along with pictures of male pornography, to a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl from Pittsburgh.
- A 47-year-old California man was sentenced to 36 years in federal prison for traveling to Alaska with the intent of sexually abusing two young children.
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dropped its prosecution of a New Mexico man accused of arranging over the Internet to meet an underage girl in Layton for sex after his attorney argued that the stress of the case could kill him!!! He also aargued that he went to meet the girl to see how Internet safety programs work and planned to ask the teen why she was sneaking around behind her parents’ backs. He denied that he would have participated in sexual activity with her and said he would have told her that the Internet is a “scary” place. WHAT A LOAD OF HORSE POOP!
May 14, 2009
City man accused of sending live porn video
By Janet Kelley, Staff WriterA Lancaster man called it “educational.”
The state Attorney General calls it a felony.
Jere A. Brandt Jr., 47, of 1389 Union St., was arrested recently in the latest sting of suspected Internet predators nabbed by the state Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit.
Investigators said Brandt regularly sent live video of himself performing sex acts in front of his web-camera, along with pictures of male pornography, to a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl from Pittsburgh.
Even though he said he was “old enough to be dad,” Brandt sent the sexually explicit videos and pornography pictures to the girl, describing them as “educational material.”
But, as has been the case with hundreds of men arrested by the Child Predator Unit, the teenage girl was in reality a special agent for Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office.
And when Brandt arrived last Friday at the prearranged location in Dauphin County, he was met by police officers instead of a teenage girl.
Brandt was charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor (one related to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and another related to indecent assault), plus 12 counts of unlawful contact (related to obscene or sexual performances), all of which are felony offenses.
Since its creation in January 2005, agents from the Child Predator Unit have arrested 212 men from across Pennsylvania and from as far away as Texas, Florida and Kentucky.
“So far this year, our agents have made 35 arrests — a nearly 50 percent increase compared to the same period last year,” Corbett said.
“As the weather continues to turn warmer and summer vacation season quickly approaches online predators are becoming increasingly active,” Corbett said, “and it is essential that parents and children understand this threat.”
Children’s use of the Internet increases when they are at home or on holidays from school.
According to the criminal complaint, Brandt began corresponding with the imaginary girl on an Internet chat room last August. They exchanged pictures — hers of a fully-clothed teenage girl, his webcam pictures showed him naked from the torso down.
Brandt masturbated in front of the computer camera several times, discussing various sexual acts and suggesting in graphic detail what sex acts they could do together, according to court documents.
Last month, according to the complaint, when the girl said she was coming to Harrisburg to visit a relative, Brandt said he wanted to meet her. but told her, “I am trying to figure a way out so we both don’t get in trouble you know.”
Corbett, in a prepared statement, encouraged parents to monitor how their children use the Internet, including: what websites they use, what social network sites they frequent, the importance of not sharing personal information with strangers, avoiding strangers who approach them online and reporting any contact with individuals who engage in sexual discussions or attempt to send graphic photos or videos.
“Online safety is something that should be regularly discussed by every family,” Corbett said, “because predators are out there right now, looking for kids who are lonely or vulnerable.”
Individuals with information about potential Internet predators can go online to the website at www.attorneygeneral.gov or call the Child Predator Hotline at 1-800-385-1044.
Internet safety tips and other information are available in the “Operation Safe Surf” and “Just for Kids” sections of the Attorney General’s website.
Also, organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations may contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Office at 1-800-525-7642 or via email at education@attorneygeneral.gov
Anchorage, Alaska – A California man who traveled to Alaska with the intent of sexually abusing two young children was sentenced Wednesday to 36 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Danny Michael Harvey, 47, of Lancaster, California, was convicted in November 2008, following a jury trial for attempted aggravated sexual abuse, attempted manufacture of child pornography, transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Evidence presented during the trial showed how an undercover ICE agent responded to an on-line post by Harvey in a pedophile-oriented chat room, seeking access to families or young females. After the agent posed as a grandfather with sole custody of his 5-year-old granddaughter and 4-year-old grandson, Harvey conveyed his strong desire to sexually abuse the young girl.
During subsequent on-line chats, Harvey sought assurances that the agent was not a law enforcement officer or part of any group that would report him for being a pedophile. He also wrote that he was willing to travel to meet the girl and make a video of the abuse. Less than a week later, Harvey bought an airline ticket to Alaska, a laptop computer with a video camera, and toys.
In August 2007, Harvey flew to Anchorage, Alaska. He was carrying a camera bag with numerous lenses and peripherals, a laptop computer and an iPod. When he deplaned, he was promptly arrested by ICE agents and Anchorage Police Department officers.
ICE agents who completed a forensic analysis of the electronics discovered his laptop contained 11 video clips of child pornography and songs celebrating the molestation of young kids. Some of these same pornographic clips and other child pornographic images had been previously deleted from his IPod.
“Today’s prison sentence should serve as a strong deterrent to anyone who would even consider sexually exploiting a child,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of ICE’s Office of Investigations for Alaska. “ICE is dedicated to investigating those who prey on innocent children and we will continue to work closely with the U.S. attorney’s office as well as our state, local and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that these predators are brought to justice.”
“We work hand in glove with agencies like ICE, the Alaska State Troopers, the Anchorage Police Department and other law enforcement who coordinate their efforts, as part of our office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,” said Karen L. Loeffler, U.S. attorney for Alaska. “We vigorously pursue, prosecute and convict individuals like Mr. Harvey, who prey upon society’s most precious and vulnerable resources, its children. Given this conviction, Mr. Harvey will remain off the streets for the next 36 years and will then be on lifetime supervised release once he is released in 2045. As a result, he will never again pose a danger to our children.”
During the sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline labeled Harvey a “practicing, unrepentant pedophile with a predilection for young girls…who sunk as low as a human being can.”
The charges against Harvey are the result of Operation Predator, an ongoing ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC).
Additional information about Operation Predator is available on the Web at www.ice.gov. ICE encourages the reporting of suspected child predators through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or www.cybertipline.com.
PSC was launched to increase federal prosecutions of violent sexual predators of children, and to reduce the number of Internet crimes against children including child pornography trafficking. As a part of PSC, the U. S. attorney’s office has teamed with state and local agencies and organizations to increase law enforcement presence on the Internet, and to educate the public about safe Internet use, thereby reducing the risk that children might fall prey to online sexual predators. For additional information on the PSC initiative, please go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dropped its prosecution of a New Mexico man accused of arranging over the Internet to meet an underage girl in Layton for sex after his attorney argued that the stress of the case could kill him.
At the request of prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups dismissed the case last week without prejudice, meaning the charge of enticement for illegal sexual activity could be refiled later.
The defense attorney for Reinaldo Canton, an Air Force major who is now retired, said his client has an aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition in which a tear develops in the large blood vessel branching off the heart.
Canton, 45, had agreed to a plea bargain but was taken to a hospital after he suffered severe pain while preparing to board a plane from New Mexico to Salt Lake City last summer for a court hearing, according to a motion to dismiss the case by defense lawyer Benjamin Hamilton. He said Canton was then diagnosed with the heart condition.
Continuing the case could increase his blood pressure and cause his death, which would violate his right to due process, Hamilton argued.
Prosecutors allege that Canton had a series of chats with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in the spring of 2007 and sent photographs of himself during these talks.
He allegedly suggested meeting at the Layton Hills Mall in April 2007 and returning to his Ogden hotel to have sex. The girl was actually an undercover adult agent, and Canton was arrested at the mall.
Canton has said he went to meet the girl to see how Internet safety programs work and planned to ask the teen why she was sneaking around behind her parents’ backs. He denied that he would have participated in sexual activity with her and said he would have told her that the Internet is a “scary” place.
