Third Defendant Pleads Guilty to Interstate Transportation of Stolen Vehicles

Conspiracy Involved Approximately 60 ATVs with a Value in Excess of $360,000

LAKE CHARLES, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Luis B. Calixto, Sr., 46, of Houston, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Lake Charles before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to one count of interstate transportation of stolen vehicles.

Calixto and two co-defendants, Shaun Cody Gauthreaux, 28, and Allen Joseph Morehead, Jr., 26, both of Kinder, Louisiana, were all charged in December 2011 with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles. According to court documents, FBI agents began investigating an organized theft ring involving all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that were stolen and transported to the home of Calixto in Houston. The stolen ATVs were linked to cases in Calcasieu, Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Jefferson, Vernon, and Sabine Parishes in Louisiana, and Harris, Newton, and Hardin Counties in Texas. Law enforcement identified a total theft of approximately 60 stolen ATVs/outdoor vehicles valued at approximately $363,000. The thefts occurred between March 2010 and August 2010.

Calixto’s two co-defendants previously pled guilty in federal court. Shaun Cody Gauthreaux pled guilty on March 19, 2012, and Allen Joseph Morehead, Jr., plead guilty on April 10, 2012, both to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles.

At sentencing, Calixto faces a term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years; Gauthreaux and Morehead face a term of imprisonment of not more than five years. All defendants face a fine of not more than $250,000 and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The sentencing date for Calixto is scheduled for December 13, 2012; Allen Morehead on October 18, 2012 and Shaun Gauthreaux on October 25, 2012.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lake Charles Resident Agency; Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Vehicle Crimes Unit; Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office; Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office; Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office; Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office; Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office; Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office; Harris County Sheriff’s Office; Newton County Sheriff’s Office; Hardin County Sheriff’s Office; and the Houston Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. McCoy.

Three Defendants Arrested for Allegedly Transporting Minor Girls from Iowa to Chicago to Engage in Prostitution

CHICAGO—Three defendants have been arrested in Iowa and Ohio on federal charges filed in Chicago for allegedly engaging in sex trafficking of three minor girls they transported earlier this year from Iowa City to Chicago for prostitution, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendants were each charged with one count of conspiracy to transport minors across state lines to engage in prostitution in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The charges allege that the defendants knew that coercion, force, and the threat of force would be used to cause the victims to engage in commercial sex acts.

Defendant Malik McKee, 19, and his sister, Shuntina McKee, 23, both of Iowa City and formerly of suburban Country Club Hills, Illinois, were arrested yesterday in Iowa City. The third defendant, Willie Woods, 41, of Toledo, Ohio, and formerly of Iowa City, was arrested Friday in Toledo. The government is seeking to have all three defendants transferred to Chicago in custody to face the charges here.

The arrests and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The FBI and CPD conducted the investigation, in coordination with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement authorities in the Southern District of Iowa and the Northern District of Ohio also provided assistance.

According to the complaint, the investigation began on April 25, 2012, when one of the victims—Minor A, who was 14 at the time—snuck out of a room at a hotel in the 9100 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago after others were asleep and called her mother in Iowa. The girl’s mother called the Chicago Police and officers responded to the hotel and contacted federal authorities.

The complaint states that online advertisements posted on various Internet sites in Chicago and elsewhere, hotel records, bus records, and other evidence show that the defendants acted as pimps and posted online ads promoting prostitution of the three victims—Minors A, B, and C, all from Iowa and ages 14, 16 and 16, respectively, at the time. In April this year, Malik McKee and Woods allegedly purchased bus tickets for the victims and transported them from Iowa City to Chicago to engage in prostitution. All three defendants allegedly benefitted financially from the charged conspiracy.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Church and Bethany Biesenthal.

Sex trafficking of minors carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tennessee Man Arrested for Attempting to Have Sex with Minor

ATLANTA—Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin announces, on behalf of the Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force, the following arrest:

Brad Jones, 27 years old, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, was arrested without incident on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, in Ringgold, Georgia by agents and officers from the FBI-led Safe Child Task Force after he traveled there to meet a minor child for purposes of having sex.

Jones came to the attention of law enforcement over the Internet wherein he began a series of “chats” with undercover agents/officers regarding his desire to have sex with a minor child.

Jones was transported and processed at the Catoosa County Detention Center on state charges of attempted child molestation and violation of the Computer Pornography Act.

The public should be reminded that the above are merely allegations and the all persons are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Tennessee Man Arrested for Traveling to Georgia for Sex with Minor

ATLANTA—Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin announces, on behalf of the Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force, the following arrest:

Robert Murphy, 45 years old, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was arrested without incident on Saturday, August 18, 2012, in Ringgold, Georgia by agents and officers from the FBI-led Safe Child Task Force after he traveled there to meet a minor child for purposes of having sex.

Murphy came to the attention of law enforcement over the Internet wherein he began a series of “chats” with undercover agents/officers regarding his desire to have sex with a minor child.

Murphy was transported and processed at the Catoosa County Detention Center on state charges of attempted child molestation and violation of the Computer Pornography Act.

The public should be reminded that the above are merely allegations and the all persons are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Massachusetts Woman Charged with Traveling to West Virginia to Have Sex with a Minor

Defendant in Custody Pending Trial

CLARKSBURG, WV—A woman from Massachusetts has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly traveling to West Virginia to have sex with a minor, according to United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.

CARISSA HADS, age 25, of Quincy, Massachusetts, was named in a one-count indictment this week charging her with traveling in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The indictment charges that on February 23, 2012, HADS traveled from Massachusetts to north central West Virginia to have sex with a minor. Court documents indicate that HADS posed as an 18-year-old man on a social media website and also took steps to change her appearance in order to deceive the victim as to her true identity. HADS met the alleged victim online in 2010 and the two communicated for over a year before the first in-person meeting took place.

HADS traveled at least three times from Massachusetts to visit the alleged victim and was arrested at the Pittsburgh International Airport by FBI agents on May 25, 2012 on one of her visits to the area. A federal magistrate judge has ordered that HADS be detained pending trial after finding that she is danger to the community as well as a flight risk.

If convicted, HADS faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant. HADS is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

“The West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is to be commended in how it conducted this investigation,” said Ihlenfeld. “After the tip was received, immediate steps were taken to ensure the safety of the victim and to make sure that the suspect was held accountable.”

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn A. Morgan, Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.