Thursday, February 28, 2019

Ohio Man Charged with Traveling to Pennsylvania for Sex with a Minor


PITTSBURGH – An Ohio resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The one-count indictment, returned on February 19 and unsealed on February 22, named Jeffrey Judd, 60, Vienna, Ohio, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, Judd, on June 1, 2017, knowingly traveled in interstate commerce from Vienna, Ohio, to Hermitage, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a minor.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hermitage Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Milwaukee Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Robbery of Walgreens


United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger has announced that last Friday, United States District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced Lamont Walker to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after Walker pled guilty to attempting to rob a Walgreens store and brandishing a gun during the attempted robbery.

At his plea hearing, Walker admitted that he attempted to rob the Walgreens store located at 2826 North Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Milwaukee, on August 22, 2018.  He further admitted that he brandished a loaded 9mm handgun after entering the Walgreens. Walker fled the store without having obtained any money or other property and was involved in a foot chase with police officers, during which he threw the handgun onto the roof of Pete’s Fruit Market. Officers recovered the firearm. Walker was on state supervision at the time he committed the attempted robbery and faces revocation.

Walker’s sentence includes a 7-year mandatory minimum sentence on the charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. This sentence must run consecutive to any other sentence, including a state revocation sentence.    

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force and the Milwaukee Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Margaret B. Honrath.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Miami Beach Resident Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity


Jay Walter Sall, 54, of Miami Beach, was sentenced, on February 21, 2019, to a total of 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to the court record, Sall communicated with an undercover FBI agent by text messages. In those text messages, Sall solicited and paid for the agent to record sexual intercourse between the agent and the agent’s purported 9-year-old daughter. During the course of the investigation, the FBI also learned that Sall had been secretly recording three other females, two of which were minors at the time of the recordings.

On November 29, 2018, Sall pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.  On February 21, 2019, the Honorable K. Michael Moore sentenced Sall to 240 months in prison, 15 years of supervised release, payment of a $50,000 fine, and registration as a sex offender for life.

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.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the FBI and FBI Miami Child Exploitation Task Force in this matter.  She thanked the Miami Beach Police Department for their assistance.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes.