Five Defendants Sentenced for Participation in International Child Exploitation Enterprise

WASHINGTON and PENSACOLA, FL—Five U.S. defendants convicted for their activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise were sentenced today in the Northern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Rita M. Glavin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Thomas F. Kirwin and FBI Executive Assistant Director J. Stephen Tidwell announced.

The defendants had pled to multiple charges, including engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; transporting child pornography; and receiving child pornography.

The defendants sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier today were Ruble Keys of Spokane, Wash., John Mosman of Waterbury, Conn., Raymond Roy of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Eric Wayerski of Leander, Texas, and Warren Weber of Boise, Idaho. Seven additional U.S. defendants also indicted in the case were convicted on Jan. 14, 2009, following a six-day jury trial. Those defendants will be sentenced on April 14, 2009.

According to a 40-count superseding indictment handed up on March 19, 2008, the defendants were members of a highly-sophisticated international network. The group was a well-organized criminal enterprise whose purpose was to proliferate child sex abuse images to its membership during a two-year period.

According to their plea agreements, members of the illegal organization used Internet newsgroups - 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. Specifically, an Australian constable who infiltrated the group in August 2006 testified about how group members employed a complex system of pseudonyms, screening tests for new members and sophisticated encryption methods to avoid detection. He also testified that the group traded more than 400,000 images and 1,000 videos of child sexual abuse before it was dismantled by law enforcement.

Ruble Keys was sentenced today to 204 months in prison. Keys pleaded guilty on May 6, 2008, to four counts related to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; and receiving child pornography. Keys testified for the government at the January 2009 trial of co-defendants.

John Mosman was sentenced today to 164 months in prison. Mosman pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2008, to four counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; and receiving child pornography. Mosman testified for the government at the January 2009 trial of co-defendants.

Raymond Roy was sentenced today to 360 months in prison. Roy pleaded guilty on Dec. 29, 2008, to five counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; transporting child pornography; and receiving child pornography.

Eric Wayerski was sentenced today to 365 months in prison. Wayerski pleaded guilty on Aug. 13, 2008, to six counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; transporting child pornography; receiving child pornography; and obstruction of justice.

Warren Weber was sentenced today to 180 months in prison. Weber pleaded guilty on April 17, 2008, to five counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; transporting child pornography; and receiving child pornography. Weber testified for the government at the January 2009 trial of co-defendants.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. Attorney David Goldberg of the Northern District of Florida and Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of CEOS. The case is being investigated by the Innocent Images Unit of the FBI and the Queensland, Australia, Police Service, with the assistance of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) Child Pornography Unit in Germany and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom.