Tag Archive for: child

Southern District of Texas | Gymnastics coach gets max in disturbing child pornography case

/in


GALVESTON, Texas – A 55-year-old McKinney resident has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Darren Frank McCoy pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2022, admitting he was previously a gymnastics and cheerleading coach in Texas and Alabama. He had recorded teens in various stages of undress without their knowledge or consent and had unlawfully transported those images and videos as well as disturbing images of child pornography.

Today U.S. District Judge Jeffery V. Brown ordered him to serve a total of 240 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a 10 years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard from one woman whom McCoy recorded while she was a minor. She discussed how her life has been seriously impacted by McCoy’s conduct, describing how he stole her childhood experiences without her even knowing it and that she feels rage, anger and sadness and lack of empathy toward him. Another victim described how McCoy sexually abused her from the time she was 12 until the age of 18. She detailed how she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.  McCoy was a gymnastics coach to these women.  

“Darren McCoy is the definition of a predator,” said Hamdani. “We encourage our children to engage in sports, believing that they will be safe when doing so. Instead, these athletes were betrayed. This so-called coach surreptitiously recorded teens and sexually abused a minor for several years. Hopefully, knowing the only bars he will see now are behind a federal prison cell will give his victims some long-awaited peace.”

On Nov. 30, 2019, McCoy had been on a cruise ship which docked in the Galveston Port of Entry. Authorities sent him to secondary inspection after learning of a prior child pornography investigation from 2015.

There, they found images of child pornography on his laptop which led them to seize other electronic devices including his phone which also yielded numerous pornographic images.

They also found nine videos on McCoy’s flash drive which appeared to be taken with a hidden camera. These videos, which appeared to be taken approximately a decade…

Source…

Northern District of Iowa | Man Who Possessed Child Pornography Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison

/in


A man who possessed over 3,500 photographs and 25 videos of child pornography was sentenced today to more than 5 years in federal prison.

Stephen Gruber, age 60, from Sumner, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 13, 2022 guilty plea to possession of child pornography.

At the guilty plea, Gruber admitted he possessed child pornography on his computer between November 2016 and March 2017.

Gruber was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Gruber was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment.  He was also ordered to make restitution.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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.”

Gruber is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Liz Dupuich and investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sumner Police Department.. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-cr-2054.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Source…

Computer chip makers must provide child care, other benefits if they want federal funding

/in


Biden gives remarks at Ohio groundbreaking of Intel computer chip facility

President Joe Biden highlighted a rare bipartisan down payment boosting U.S. manufacturing as he visited the Ohio groundbreaking of a new Intel computer chip facility on Sept. 9, 2022.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department is opening the application process for computer chip manufacturers to access $39 billion in government support to build new factories and expand production.

All companies seeking the funds will need to show how they plan to develop a local workforce, with firms getting $150 million or more also required to provide affordable and accessible child care for their workers.

The funding is part of the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last August. Grants, loans and loan guarantees are meant to revive domestic production of computer chips.

Computer chip

FILE – An open smartphone lies in front of an LED wall showing a chip. (Lino Mirgeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

It’s aimed at sharpening the U.S. edge in military technology and manufacturing while minimizing the kinds of supply disruptions that occurred in 2021, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when a shortage of chips shut down factory assembly lines and fueled inflation.

Gina-Raimondo.jpg

FILE – Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on Sept. 06, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“This is fundamentally a national security initiative,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said as the application process began Tuesday. “We are not writing blank checks to any company that asks.”

The money is meant to support private investment in new factories and can be clawed back if companies use it on stock buybacks instead. Major companies such as Intel, TSMC, IBM, Micron and Texas Instruments have already launched aggressive expansions tied to the support, which will total $52 billion when coupled with funding for research.

Raimondo said that any company that receives support cannot expand its manufacturing capacity in foreign countries that are a source of national security concerns, a restriction that would appear to apply to China. Nor could recipients…

Source…

Somersworth Man Sentenced to 66 Months for Distribution and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials | USAO-NH

/in


            CONCORD – Mark E. Butler, 46, of Somersworth, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for distribution and possession of child sexual abuse materials, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, between June and September 2021, federal and state law enforcement officers investigated the online child sexual exploitation activities of the defendant, Mark E. Butler, who used various social media applications to share child sexual abuse materials. For example, on September 23, 2021, Butler distributed a one-minute video depicting a prepubescent child engaged in sexual conduct to an undercover agent. On October 13, 2021, investigators executed a federal search warrant to seize electronic devices used by Butler to distribute and possess child sexual abuse materials. Butler admitted that he used the internet to obtain child sexual abuse materials. Subsequent forensic analysis of Butler’s Apple iPhone and evidence obtained from a cloud storage service provider confirmed Butler’s use of several social media applications, emails, and text messages to send child sexual abuse materials to other individuals.

            In addition to his sentence, Butler was sentenced to five years of supervised release following his release from prison and a $6,000 restitution payment.

            “Protecting children is a paramount priority and those who engage in child exploitation will be prosecuted and we will seek significant sentences as demonstrated in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Young. “This case is another example of the collaborative work our law enforcement partners engage in to identify and prosecute those who possess and distribute child sexual abuse materials.” 

            “Butler possessed and distributed child exploitation materials and his sharing of this material perpetuates a cycle of abuse. Homeland Security Investigations and our partners will continue to pursue individuals who are involved in any part of the child exploitation cycle,” said Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New…

Source…