EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? OJJDP
UNTIL THURSDAY, MAY 23,
2002 AT 2:00 P.M. EDT????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HONORS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FOR
EFFORTS
TO HELP MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Law enforcement officers involved
in six different cases instrumental in the recovery of and assistance to
abducted and abused children were honored today at a ceremony held at the
Department of Justice.? Undersheriff
Michael Sargeant and Sheriff William Barron from the Lake County Sheriff?s
Office in Polson, Montana, Special Agent Douglas Schreurs from the FBI Field
Office in Grand Island, Nebraska and Investigator Tony Cordova from the
Kearney, Nebraska Police Department received the Officer of the Year Award for
Missing and Exploited Children Investigations.
Their search efforts led to the recovery of Anne Sluti, a 17-year old
who was abducted from a shopping mall parking lot in Kearney, Nebraska.? Seven days later she was recovered in
Montana and reunited with her family through investigative work stemming from a
routine ?breaking and entering? call.
?Today we remember the valiant efforts of these fine,
dedicated professional men and women who steadfastly work to bring these cases
to successful conclusions,? said Associate Attorney General Jay Stephens, who
presented the awards.? ?But our work is
not over until all children are reunited with their families and every child is
safe.?
The Officer of the Year award presentation was part of
a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of National Missing
Children?s Day, which also honored two children with a Courage Award,
recognized ChoicePoint, Inc. with a Corporate Leadership Award and honored
Stephen Cullen as Volunteer of the Year.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) selected the
2002 honorees from 46 nominations.? A
list of the law enforcement honorees and information about their cases is
attached.
OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores presented Kelsey
Sauerer, a middle school student from Sartell, Minnesota, the First Place Award
in the 3rd Annual Missing Children?s Day Art Contest.? Her work, which was selected from nearly 200
submissions nationwide, was displayed
at
the ceremony and will be featured in missing children-related publications and
conferences.
Performing at the ceremony for the eighth year was The
Bells of Love, a children?s musical group from Syracuse, New York.? The group was originally formed in response
to the 1993 abduction and murder of Sara Wood, a 12-year-old girl from upstate
New York.
?We must send a clear message that the exploitation,
abuse, or abduction of a child will not be tolerated,? said J. Robert
Flores.?? ?We must use every legal tool
at our disposal to punish and deter these crimes, and we must never tire of
this fight.?
Today?s ceremony also highlighted a new OJJDP
publication: A Family Resource Guide on International Parental
Kidnapping.? This publication raises
public awareness and enhances the efforts of law enforcement, families, and
community members engaged in the protection of children.
OJJDP has numerous publications concerning missing and
exploited children, including an English and Spanish version of When Your
Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide, available through the Office of
Justice Programs (OJP) Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
and from OJJDP?s Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, Box 6000, Rockville, Maryland
20857.? The toll-free number is
1-800/638-8736.
Information about other OJP bureaus and program
offices is also available through the OJP Website.? Media should contact OJP?s Office of Congressional and Public
Affairs at 202/307-0703.
# # #
OJJDP
02125?????????????
After hours, contact: Mary Louise Embrey, 888-763-8947 (pager)
????????? 2002
OFFICER OF THE YEAR FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN
????????????????????????????????????????????????? INVESTIGATIONS
HONOREES
Undersheriff
Michael Sargeant
Lake
County Sheriff?s Office
Polson,
Montana
Sheriff
William Barron
Lake
County Sheriff?s Office
Polson,
Montana
Special
Agent Douglas Schreurs
FBI
Field Office
Grand
Island, Nebraska
Investigator
Tony Cordova
Kearney
Police Department
Kearney,
Nebraska
These
law enforcement officers participated in the safe return of a 17 year-old
abducted in April 2001 from a shopping mall parking lot in Kearney,
Nebraska.? An eyewitness alerted the
police immediately and a widespread national search was initiated by the FBI
and the Kearney Police Department.? Just
seven days after her disappearance, a call came into the Lake County Sheriff?s
office in Montana about a possible ?breaking and entering? of a cabin near the
caller?s house.? Undersheriff Sargeant
responded to the call with the awareness of the recent abduction.? After eight hours of careful negotiations by
Undersheriff Sargeant and skillful investigative work by Special Agent
Schreurs, Officer Cordova, and Sheriff Barron, the abductor finally emerged
from the cabin and surrendered to police.
The teenager was not far behind and appeared in good condition.? That same evening she was reunited with her
family in Nebraska.?
Inspector
April Hindin
U.S.
Postal Inspector
Tampa,
Florida
Detective
Sergeant Gary Klinger
Polk
County Sheriff?s Office
Bartow,
Florida
Detective
Charlie Gates, Jr.
Polk
County Sheriff?s Office
Bartow,
Florida
Detective
Sgt. Klinger and Detective Gates requested the assistance of Postal Inspector
April Hindin in a 2000 missing teenager case.
The parents reported their daughter missing to the Polk County Sheriff?s
Department in Mulberry, Florida.? The
Detectives conducted a thorough computer examination in the course of their
investigation, and determined that the teenager had been communicating with a
35 year-old male via the Internet and U.S. Mail for several months.? When Inspector Hindin joined the
investigation, she obtained federal search warrants for the E-mail and
uncovered the name of the man who had enticed the teenager to travel to Greece
to meet him.? The Detectives located
them in Greece and were able to take the teenager into protective custody and
arrest the perpetrator.? He remains
behind bars in Greece and is currently awaiting trial.
Detective
Scott Botkin
Bethany
Police Department
Bethany,
Oklahoma
Officer
Sean O?Connor
Brackenridge
Police Department
Brackenridge,
Pennsylvania
Detective
Botkin and Officer O?Connor were successful in reuniting a mother with her
daughter after five years of searching.
In June of 1996, the mother dropped her five year-old daughter off at the
home of her paternal grandmother while she went to work.? The grandmother notified her the child?s
mother later that day that she would not be returning the child.? The mother obtained the necessary legal
documentation and began a lengthy search for her daughter.? After several years, she learned her
original incident report was closed in 1997 for unexplained reasons.? She then contacted the Bethany Police
Department and Detective Botkin was assigned to the case.? Detective Botkin entered the child into the
National Crime Information Center and in August 2001, a lead came into the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children?s hotline.? The caller recognized the child on a
Wal-Mart poster and provided a current address for the abductor.? Detective Botkin made contact with Officer
O?Connor who verified the location of the child and learned that the abductor
was planning to travel to Colorado to meet the child?s father.? The abductor was arrested with her boyfriend
and charged with child abduction in Oklahoma.
United
States Postal Service
Headquarters
and Ft. Worth Texas Office
Ft.
Worth, Texas
Dallas
Internet Crimes Against
Children
Task Force
Dallas,
Texas
In
1999, United States Postal Inspectors discovered Landslide Productions, Inc., a
Forth Worth company operated and owned by Thomas and Janice Reedy.? The company offered Websites hosting child
pornography.? Forth Worth Postal
Inspector Robert Adams and Dallas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
Detective Steven Nelson teamed up to begin what would result in a child
exploitation case of unprecedented magnitude.
In terms of commercial gain, the task force of 45 officers and agents
were able to uncover the largest children?s exploitation case ever.? In one month alone, the company was taking
in more than $1.4 million in revenue.
The Reedys were convicted on 89 counts of conspiracy to distribute child
pornography and possession of child pornography.? Thomas Reedy was sentenced to an unprecedented sentence of life
in prison and Janice was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.? In August 2001, Attorney General Ashcroft
and Chief Postal Inspector Weaver announced the successful conclusion of
Operation Avalanche, a two-year investigation that dismantled the largest known
commercial children?s pornography enterprise.
The operation resulted in more than 110 offenders arrested to date for
trafficking in child pornography through the mail and via the Internet; the
identification, arrest and prosecution of numerous child molesters; and the
rescue of untold number of child victims.
Detective
Rodney Mosher
Salt
Lake City Police Department
Salt
Lake City, Utah
Detective
Mosher listened to the story of a distressed eight year-old boy, which involved
sexual abuse by an adult male, Mark Anthony Baca, and worked tirelessly to
obtain the necessary evidence for a successful conviction.? Through two different searches, Detective
Mosher was able to seize 75 videotapes, 24 photographs, and various sexual devices
and other evidence.? He was also able to
identify other victims.? He then
contacted members of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who
arrested Baca for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.? Baca was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on the charge of
Manufacturing Child Pornography to which he pled guilty.? After sentencing in the federal case, he
will be facing state charges, including seven first-degree felonies.
Special
Agent Bruce Bennett
FBI
Field Office
Seattle,
Washington
Detective
Shanon Anderson
Seattle
Police Department
Seattle,
Washington
Detective
Jeff Vortisch
Beaufort
Police Department
Beaufort,
South Carolina
While
working online undercover, Detective Vortisch determined that the
communications he had from ?Tbear? were those of a 40 year-old Merle Holdren of
Seattle, Washington. ?Holdren
divulged that he was operating an underage escort service that included 8-14
year-old girls, and that he planned to expand his operation into a marketable
child pornography video business. He wanted the undercover detective to be his
distributor.? Detective Vortisch
contacted Innocent Images in Baltimore, Maryland, who coordinated the efforts
of Detective Vortisch and Special Agent Bennett.? With the risk of children being in immediate danger, Special
Agent Bennett contacted the Puget Sound Area Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force and requested the assistance of Seattle Police Detective Shanon
Anderson.? The Task Force executed
search warrants for Holdren?s home, resulting in the seizure of
methamphetamines, a computer, volumes of child pornography, cameras with
undeveloped photos of Holdren molesting a small child in his house, and a shirt
similar to the one worn by the child in the photographs.? Detective Anderson obtained a signed confession
from Holdren?s girlfriend accounting months of sexual abuse of her
daughter.? Through persistent
investigation and numerous hours of searching, Detective Anderson also
identified the 15 year-old girl that Holdren described online as his
girlfriend. ?Detective Anderson filed an
18-count indictment, charging Holdren with crimes ranging from rape of a child
and sexual exploitation of a minor to the use of a controlled substance for the
rape of a child.? Holdren was given a
35-year sentence.