Two Houston Men Plead to Child Pornography Charges

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that two men, Victor Saavedra and Keith Hernandez, both plead guilty to receipt of child pornography.

The case against Saavedra, 55, of Houston, was initiated when a concerned mother in Pennsylvania reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that her 14-year-old daughter had been asked to send nude pictures of herself to someone. NCMEC and the Texas Attorney General's Office identified the person as Victor Saavedra. A search of his residence and computer revealed the existence of another teenage girl from Canada who had been sending the defendant, at his request, images and movies of her nude and masturbating. Today, Saavedra entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Ewing Werlein Jr., admitting he had met minor girls online in a Yahoo! checkers room and that he had asked them to send "regular and pornographic" pictures of themselves to him and they did. Saavedra admitted that on or about Sept. 26, 2006, he possessed a computer containing approximately 1,000 images and movies of child pornography.

Hernandez, 24, of La Marque, also pleaded guilty May 15, 2008. He was charged with possessing a computer that contained 2,044 images and 153 movies of child pornography, including pictures of babies and toddlers being sexually assaulted. A Texas Attorney General’s Office investigator was working undercover in a chatroom and was approached by someone who directed her to look at a Yahoo! profile that contained child pornography. The investigator saw the child pornography and identified the profile as belonging to Keith Hernandez. A search of Hernandez' computer revealed the presence of disturbing images and movies of young children being victimized sexually and physically.

Both men face a maximum 20-year term of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine.

ARTHUR VANMOOR SENTENCED TO 210 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR SELLING FAKE CANCER CURE

The Department of Justice announced on Friday that Arthur Vanmoor was sentenced by United States in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to a term of 210 months in prison and a term of 3 years of supervised release. This action follows Vanmoor’s conviction on January 18, 2008, by a federal jury sitting in Fort Lauderdale of 19 separate counts that included Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Misbranding of Drugs and the Introduction of Unapproved New Drugs into Interstate Commerce.

Vanmoor hired individuals to create and write content for web sites with names such as www.cancercure.org and www.migrainemiracle.com to promote his products, “Cancer Control” and “Migraine Miracle,” by falsely claiming, among other things, that the products were FDA approved drugs guaranteed to cure numerous forms of cancer and migraine headaches. Vanmoor further arranged for the web sites to contain fake articles purportedly written by doctors. These fake articles were accompanied by pictures of people dressed like doctors holding the products as well as fictitious patient testimonials recommending the products.

In December of 2005, the United States Attorney’s Office obtained a temporary restraining order against Vanmoor and others prohibiting the continued promotion, advertisement, production, shipment, and/or sale of “Cancer Control,” “Migraine Miracle,” “Flu Fighter,” and any other non-FDA-approved drugs in interstate commerce. Vanmoor nevertheless continued to maintain his web sites and calling lines after the entry of the temporary restraining order. The court in the civil case found Vanmoor to be in civil contempt, and in January 2006 the United States indicted Vanmoor for criminal contempt as well as conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, misbranding of drugs and the introduction of unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce. In August 2007, Vanmoor was extradited to the United States from the Netherlands to face the charges in this case.

MARYLAND MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS FOR PRODUCTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced Stephen Michael Gayer, age 37, of Perry Hall, Maryland, today to 25 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Gayer has remained in custody since his arrest on federal charges on October 3, 2007.

"Taking pictures of a child engaged in sexual conduct is a federal crime," said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Thanks to the coordinated work of state and federal authorities, Stephen Gayer will remain in prison for the next 25 years, where he no longer will be able to abuse children."

According to the statement of facts presented to the court as part of his guilty plea, in March 2006, Gayer induced "KS," a minor female of fifteen years of age, who was in Gayer's care, to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that Gayer could take pictures of that conduct. Gayer then saved the digital pictures on a media card and uploaded them onto his computer.

On May 6, 2006, Gayer had two minor female children, both under the age of twelve,"LW" and "AW," staying at his home. That night, while they were sleeping, Gayer took down their pajama pants and took pictures of the girls' genitalia, which he had caused to be lasciviously exposed.

On August 6, 2004, Gayer had two minor females, "MB" and "MP," who were both under the age of twelve, staying at his home. While the girls were at his home, Gayer gave them alcohol to drink, then instructed them to get undressed and engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he photographed with a digital camera. During the investigation, law enforcement agents discovered a safe in which Gayer had placed several of the pictures that he took of "MB" and "MP."

On August 6, 2004, Gayer had two minor females, "MB" and "MP," who were both under the age of twelve, staying at his home. While the girls were at his home, Gayer gave them alcohol to drink, then instructed them to get undressed and engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he photographed with a digital camera. During the investigation, law enforcement agents discovered a safe in which Gayer had placed several of the pictures that he took of "MB" and "MP."

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Baltimore County Police Department for their investigative work and expressed appreciation to Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and his office for alerting federal authorities about the violations and coordinating the prosecution of the case.

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Members of the FBI's S.A.F.E. Team arrested Ivan Carcelen, 56, of Glendale, CA. Carcelen has been charged by the District Attorney in Los Angeles with possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct.

Carcelen is currently employed as a special education teacher at a middle school within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

FT. LAUDERDALE MAN SENTENCED TO 110 MONTHS FOR IDENTITY THEFT

Marc Cherisme was sentenced on April 7, 2008, to 110 months in prison for his role in a wire fraud scheme. Michael Rosidor, a co-defendant was previously sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Both defendants were also ordered to pay restitution.

According to the Indictment, the defendants conspired to unlawfully enrich themselves by fraudulently and without authorization using the personal and financial information of other individuals. Using the account holder’s personal identification information, the defendants contacted numerous investment firms and financial institutions, purporting to be the account holder. The defendants then requested the financial institutions or investment firms to wire transfer funds into bank accounts or credit cards that they controlled, even though such transfers were not authorized by the true account holders. Monies were wired through the defendants’ accounts in the United States and the Dominican Republic. Through this scheme, the defendants attempted to defraud individuals of approximately $3.5 million.

LONGVIEW MAN SENTENCED IN EAST TEXAS METHAMPHETAMINE RING

The Department of Justice announced that a 28-year-old Jason Ray McCain has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for drug violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

MCCAIN pleaded guilty on August 2, 2007 to being involved in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, an ongoing investigation began in January 2003 into the distribution of methamphetamine in East Texas. The operation has resulted in numerous undercover purchases and seizures of both drugs and guns. A federal indictment was returned by the Grand Jury on February 6, 2007 charging 16 individuals, including McCain, with federal drug crimes.

Maine Man Sentenced for Transporting and Shipping Child Pornography

Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced that Adam Stone, 29, of Maine, was sentenced on April 7, 2008, in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, to 210 months of imprisonment and 5 years supervised release for the federal crime of transporting or shipping child pornography by computer. Stone pleaded guilty on January 9, 2008.

Court records reveal that in June 2005, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting on information received from an undercover detective from the Wheaton Police Department in Illinois, executed a search warrant on Stone’s residence in Caribou, Maine. A computer forensic examination of seized computer hard drives revealed 192 pornographic images of children and six pornographic videos of children. The undercover investigation conducted by the Wheaton Police Department had shown that the defendant had posted many of those images to a Yahoo! photo album and had made the images available to others to view and download. One of the individuals to whom the defendant had distributed child pornography was the undercover detective from the Wheaton Police Department who had posed as a fifteen-yearold girl .


United States Attorney Silsby praised the investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Caribou Police Department and the Wheaton, Illinois Police Department.