MISSISSIPPI MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO LURE A MINOR TO HAVE SEX AND FOR TRANSMITTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Martin C. Carlson, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Scranton has indicted a Biloxi, Mississippi resident on charges of using the internet to attempt to persuade a minor to travel from Pennsylvania to Mississippi to engage in illegal sexual conduct and transmitting child pornography. The charges resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Scranton Police Department.

The three-count indictment alleges that Withberto Velazquez, age 33, used the Internet from March 2007 to November 2007 to attempt to lure a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct, to attempt to persuade the minor to travel from Pennsylvania to Mississippi to engage in illegal sexual acts, and to transmit child pornography.

Velazquez appeared in court for his initial appearance and arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt and was ordered to remain in prison without bail pending trial in the case.

Carlson noted that if Velazquez is convicted of the charges, he faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and up to life imprisonment for attempting to lure a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct, a five-year mandatory minimum sentence and up to 20 years in prison for transmitting child pornography, and up to a life term of supervised release following any prison sentence.

Carlson noted that the investigation and prosecution of Velazquez is part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Carlson noted that Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

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An indictment and criminal information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proved the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.