Members of alleged “vast child exploitation enterprise” indicted in Northern District of Florida

From the Department of Justice news section:

A federal grand jury in Pensacola returned a 35-count indictment on March 4 against 12 individuals who allegedly engaged in a criminal enterprise involving the advertisement, transportation, and shipment of child pornography over a two-year period. The Department of Justice called the group a “vast child exploitation enterprise.”

The indictment alleges the 12 men participated since August 2006 in a scheme to proliferate child sex abuse images to the organization’s membership. Until the group was dismantled by law enforcement, members of the group utilized Internet newsgroups – or large file-sharing networks where text, software, pictures and videos can be traded and shared – to traffic in illegal images and videos depicting prepubescent children, including toddlers, engaged in various sexual and sadistic acts. The group utilized sophisticated encryption methods to avoid detection and traded over 400,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse before being dismantled. The charges were developed after law enforcement infiltrated the group.

The indictment charges the 12 defendants with numerous federal crimes, including engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy, advertisement of child pornography, transportation of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and obstruction of justice. Charged in the indictment are: Michael Berger, 33, of Mechanicsville , Va.; James Freeman, 47, of Santa Rosa Beach , Fla.; Ruble Keys, 55, of Medford , Ore.; Gary Lakey, 54, of Anderson , Ind.; Marvin Lambert, 33, of Indianapolis , Ind.; Neville McGarity , 40, of Medina , Texas; John Mosman, 46, of Waterbury, Conn.; Warren Mumpower, 63, of Spokane , Wash.; Raymond Roy, 54, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; Erik Wayerski , 46, of Round Rock, Texas; Warren Weber, 56, of Boise , Idaho ; and Ronald White, 59, of Burlington , N.C. If convicted of these offenses, each defendant faces a prison sentence of at least 20 years, up to a maximum of life imprisonment, in addition to applicable statutory fines.

Two additional defendants associated with this case were arrested on criminal complaints on February 29, 2008 . They are Stepan Bondarenko, 38, of Philadelphia, Pa. and Daniel Castleman, 43, of Lubbock , Texas.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Goldberg of the Northern District of Florida and Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Queensland , Australia Police Service, with the assistance of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) Child Pornography Unit in Germany , the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom , and the Toronto , Canada Police Department.

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