Boston Sexual Abuse Lawyer Blog

George H. Lunt, 27, of Plymouth, Mass, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his transportation and possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Field Office.

Lunt was sentenced by United States District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr in Boston.

On March 15, 2011, Lunt pleaded guilty to two counts of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. In pleading guilty, Lunt admitted to possessing thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including depictions of prepubescent children and toddlers and sadistic conduct. Lunt admitted to distributing graphic depictions of child sexual abuse through online peer-to-peer file-sharing software.

The case arose from an FBI investigation of individuals sharing and trading child pornography over the Internet. 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 United States 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, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, see www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

A Massachusetts man whose case led to the discovery of a massive child sex abuse case in the Netherlands has been charged with distributing child pornography, according to court documents.

Robert Diduca, 47, was a member of an online forum for those with a sexual interest in children. He came to the attention of law enforcement last year when he sent a pornographic image of a child via e-mail to investigators of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), who alerted Massachusetts State Police.

Diduca was arrested at his home in Milford, a town in Worcester County of Massachusetts, in early November 2010. During a search of his computer storage devices, investigators discovered some 10,000 images and videos of young children engaged in sexual acts.

One of the images recovered from Diduca's computer showed a two-year-old boy whose diaper had been opened to expose his genitalia, and one video showed an adult man sexually abusing a two-year-old boy. Investigators determined that the photos and videos did not appear to have been made in the United States and shared an edited image on Interpol's secure system for international law enforcement officials in order to help identify the victim.

As a result, Dutch police soon recognized the material was of Dutch origin and requested additional photos to help in the investigation. An edited photo of the victim was eventually shown on Dutch television on December 7 after which someone recognized the child and called police.

Hours later, police in the Netherlands arrested 27-year-old Robert Mikelsons who confessed to sexually abusing dozens of young children while being employed at two Amsterdam nurseries between February 2007 and January 2010. He also offered his services through several websites. Mikelsons is believed to have abused at least 85 young children.

Diduca, who remains in custody, previously pled not guilty to similar charges. If found guilty, he faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, followed by up to lifetime supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

A freshman state lawmaker defended this week statements he made earlier in the week that suggested that illegal immigrants who are raped should be afraid to contact police, saying that his remarks were "misportrayed'' in a newspaper article.

Asked if he felt rape victims living in Massachusetts illegally would be afraid to report the crime if the state endorsed a controversial federal immigration policy, state Representative Ryan C. Fattman, a Sutton Republican, said, "My thought is that if someone is here illegally, they should be afraid to come forward,'' according to an account published Wednesday in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

The Boston Globe reports that in another statement, Fattman said that in response to hypothetical scenarios posed by a Worcester reporter about immigration, "I responded that I was not concerned with hypothetical situations, but rather real-life situations affecting people who properly obtain their immigration status. I do and always will feel compassion towards victims of violent crimes.

"I believe that a victim of any crime should not be afraid to come forward to law enforcement officials.''

Fattman, 26, came under fire from advocates for immigrants and sexual assault victims.

Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said in a statement that Fattman's comments were "the latest ugly illustration of how the immigration debate has sunk to a new low'' and were "an insult to basic human dignity.''

In the same statement, Mary Lauby, executive director of Boston-based Jane Doe Inc., said Fattman "owes all victims of sexual violence ... a thorough and sincere apology.''

Fattman said he supports the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, a resource center for victims. He said in e-mail that all survivors of rape are entitled to the services of victim advocates, regardless of their immigration status.

Fattman gave the interview to the Telegram & Gazette after Governor Deval Patrick said on Monday that he would not endorse the federal Secure Communities program, an initiative slated for nationwide implementation in 2013 in which fingerprints of every person arrested will be sent to the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Suspects living in the United States illegally will face possible deportation under the program. Patrick and other critics of the initiative say it may encourage ethnic profiling and discourage immigrants from reporting crime, among other pitfalls.

An official with the US Department of Homeland Security told the Boston Globe Monday that Patrick's refusal to sign on to the program will do little to forestall its expansion in the state in 2013.

The Archdiocese of Boston says four inactive priests have been defrocked over decades-old allegations of child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley announced Monday the removal of Robert F. Daly, John Keane, Robert Knapp and Benjamin McMahon.

None had been in active ministry since the 1980s. Their whereabouts have not been disclosed.

The archdiocese says Keane pleaded guilty in 2008 to indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and had been absent without permission since 1989.

Daly took leave in 1984 and was accused later. Knapp was accused in 1985 and has been absent without permission since 1988. McMahon took leave in 1986 and was suspended when he was accused in 1991.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests says the Catholic church should keep accused clergy members away from the public, not simply dismiss them.