Wyoming Man Pleads Guilty to Extortion and Producing Child Pornography

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—United States Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today that Richard Lee Minch, 48, of Wyoming, Michigan, has pled guilty to charges that he attempted to extort money from a business by threatening to shoot the employee and that he produced images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Minch agreed to make restitution to the victims and forfeit his photographic and computer equipment.

Minch will be sentenced by the Honorable Janet T. Neff, U.S. District Court Judge, at a date to be determined. At sentencing, the defendant will be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a combined maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, a maximum of a lifetime term of supervised release, and fines totaling $500,000.

From November 2, 2008 through January 15, 2009, Minch made scores of threatening and harassing telephone calls to stores, restaurants, and tanning salons, located in more than ten states. If a female employee answered the business phone, Minch claimed that he had a gun pointed at her and others from outside the building and threatened to shoot if she did not follow his instructions. Minch sometimes demanded money and then asked sexually suggestive questions of the victim to include having the victim describe her body or the clothing she was wearing. In some instances, Minch demanded the female victim perform a sexual act on herself or someone else.

In addition, Minch made calls to minor girls who advertised babysitting services on “craigslist.” Through an elaborate ruse, he convinced a 13-year-old girl that he was a CIA operative and she followed his instructions to take naked photographs of herself.

Minch has an extensive prior criminal history.

1. In 1979, Minch was convicted of indecent exposure after an incident where he blocked the path of a young woman walking with her baby, exposed his penis and began masturbating.

2. In 1984, Minch was again convicted of indecent exposure for exposing his penis to two 14-year-old girls outside of Wyoming High School.

3. The same year, Minch, then 24 years old, sexually molested a 6-year-old child.

4. In January 1992, Minch was convicted for Attempted Criminal Sexual Conduct in the third degree after he stole a young woman’s purse and jacket and then attempted to lure her into a wooded area claiming he had found her belongings. Minch was found hiding in the woods nearby possessing a ski mask, handcuffs, gloves, wire cord, a plastic gun, a knife, a jar of Vaseline, and various sex toys.

5. In June 1994, Minch was convicted of felony extortion and indecent exposure for calling a Mother Hubbard convenience store, claiming to have a gun trained on the store, demanding money, and then instructing the female attendant to commit sexual acts on herself. Police located Minch pulled up next to a pay phone, masturbating in his car. Having violated his probation from the 1992 conviction, Minch was sentenced to prison on August 9, 1994, and was discharged on June 25, 2005.

6. On October 1, 2005, less than four months later, Minch was convicted of trespassing in an area where there had been complaints of a male exposing himself and masturbating while wearing a ski mask. Upon arrest, police found a ski mask in his car.

7. In November 2005, Defendant was convicted of failure to register as a sex offender.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI, the FBI Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Independence Ohio Police Department, Kent County Sheriff’s Department, and Grand Rapids Police Department, with the cooperation of countless law enforcement authorities across the United States. Prosecution of this case is assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru.