News from February 2023
By Press release submission | Feb 22, 2023
A federal grand jury in Boston returned an indictment today charging a Massachusetts man with a federal hate crime.
By Press release submission | Feb 22, 2023
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to resolve allegations that the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
By Press release submission | Feb 22, 2023
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the City of Lansing, Michigan, that will resolve the department’s religious accommodation and retaliation lawsuit.
By Press release submission | Feb 22, 2023
A former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officer pleaded guilty in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee to one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting an arrestee in January 2021.
By Press release submission | Feb 22, 2023
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks at the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
U.S. federal law enforcement arrested two U.S. citizens and a legal permanent resident living in South Florida and one U.S. citizen living in Tampa pursuant to criminal complaints on charges relating to their participation in the events leading to the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti. Following the arrests, a South Florida grand jury returned a third superseding indictment charging these four individuals, along with seven others previously arrested and charged in the United States for their alleged roles in the plot.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco traveled to London this week to reaffirm and build upon the strong partnership between the United States and Great Britain in countering threats to our national security.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
Joint Venture in More Than 10 Cities Will Enforce U.S. Laws Protecting U.S. Advanced Technologies from Illegal Acquisition and Use by Nation-State Adversaries
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
The Justice Department announced today 49 awards to states, territories, and the District of Columbia as part of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that James Allen Randall (70, Orange Park) has been arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint with receiving child sex abuse materials and accessing with the intent to view child sex abuse materials.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
A former youth pastor has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
A Brantley County man faces up to 20 years in prison after admitting he distributed images of child sexual exploitation.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington has sentenced Dominic Shapiro (33, Forrest Hills, New York) to 10 years in federal prison for attempted coercion or enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Andrew Wolf, age 42, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today before United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 38 years and 10 months in prison, 5 years supervised release, $800 special assessment, $40,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, $150,000 in assessments under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, and a $50,000 in fines for multiple child exploitation offenses in connection with his scheme to manipulate and catfish children online, including his own middle school students.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
United States District Court Senior Judge Francisco A. Besosa sentenced Wilberto Ramos-Candelaria to 24 years and 5 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for production of child pornography and for soliciting and receiving the child exploitation material via the internet and social media applications. Ramos-Candelaria was charged in a federal Superseding Indictment on August 14, 2020 and plead guilty on September 30, 2022.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
A Memphis woman pled guilty to advertising a minor for commercial sex, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
Eric Darrell “Butch” Smith, 52, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 82 months in prison for sexually assaulting a girl in the laundry room of a Northwest apartment building in which they were both living, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that John Wade Burton, 66, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was convicted on February 15, 2023, following a jury trial of possession of child pornography. Because of a prior conviction, Burton faces a potential statutory imprisonment range of between 10 and 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system. Burton’s sentencing hearing will take place on May 15, 2023.
By Press release submission | Feb 21, 2023
Mark Totten, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, announced that on Tuesday Virgil Chandler Knowles III, 47, of Vicksburg, Michigan was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker also ordered Knowles to spend 10 years on supervised release after his confinement.
