Warren Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges
Babysitter Admits To Molesting Two-Year-Old, Agrees To 20-Year Sentence
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 26, 2009 |
A 21-year-old Warren man pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography in federal court today, Acting United States Attorney Terrence Berg announced. Berg was joined in the announcement by Andrew G. Arena, Special Agent-In-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit field office.
Joshua Andrew Dorothy was first identified by undercover FBI agents through undercover Internet Relay Chats (IRC). Using a fictitious screen name, Dorothy sought out others on the Internet claiming to have an interest in sex with children Dorothy also stated that he had child pornography to trade. On June 2, 2008, Dorothy transferred nearly 40 child pornography video files, depicting the sexual assault of children to an undercover FBI agent.
During an exchange of text messages with the undercover agent on May 28, 2008, Dorothy claimed to have had repeatedly sexually assaulted a two-year-old while babysitting for her. During a post-Miranda interview following his arrest on August 6, 2008, Dorothy confirmed that he had engaged in sexual contact with the child.
"This case demonstrates that we must vigilantly safeguard even the youngest children from the pernicious desires of predators," Acting U.S. Attorney Berg said. "The importance of undercover computer investigations is highlighted each time a child is protected from this type of continuing abuse."
Pursuant to the terms of his guilty plea, Dorothy will be sentenced to a mandatory term of 20 years imprisonment. Sentencing is set for April 27, 2009.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leonid Feller.