Cuyahoga Falls man sentenced in kid porn
A Cuyahoga Falls man was among eight men sentenced in a Michigan federal court for taking part in an international child pornography production ring, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced last week.
Caleb Young, 38, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Young and the other defendants were ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to each of the identified victims, reaching a total of over $1 million.
According to court records, the eight men worked together from 2012 through 2017 to lure juvenile girls to an unmonitored video chat website and then sexually exploit them.
The men recruited the victims from common social media platforms by pretending to be teenage boys interested in chatting with the girls in real time. Once the victims arrived in the chatrooms, the group — all pretending to be teenagers — worked together to build trust and convince the children to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web cameras. The group targeted hundreds of minors, some as young as 10 years old. other people were injured in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon on Route 42 in Madison County, the State Highway Patrol said.
The patrol and fire rescue squads were called just after 2 p.m. to Route 42 about a half-mile south of Route 40 in Deer Creek Township northeast of London.
David E. Flowers, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Flowers was driving south on Route 42 when his SUV was struck head-on by a northbound pickup that had gone left of center, the patrol said. The truck’s driver was Michael M. Michael, 63, also of London.
Justin L. Whitehead, 32, of Springfield, who was driving an SUV behind Flowers, attempted to avoid both vehicles but was also struck by Michael’s truck, which rolled onto its side. Whitehead’s SUV went off the right side of the road into a ditch.
Michael was taken by helicopter in critical condition to the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. Whitehead was taken to Madison Health in London; his condition was unknown.
The investigation continues. for days in a wooded area near a freeway.
Alvaro Torres, 39, and Heather Pica Torres, 36, each face a fifth-degree felony of cruelty to companion animals under Goddard’s Law, and a minor misdemeanor of having an unlicensed dog, according to Willoughby police.
Officers responded Dec. 4 for a call about a loose dog in the area near the St. Clair Street extension off of State Route 2, east of Erie Road, Willoughby police said in a Facebook post.
Officers found a friendly, but afraid, pit bull mix running loose in the wooded area. The dog, who was taken to the Lake County Dog Shelter and named Lucy, looked like she had been abandoned for days in the near-freezing weather, police said.
Investigators learned Dec. 7 that Lucy lived at a home on River Bend Drive in Willoughby and were able to identify the Torreses as the owners.
A Willoughby Municipal Court judge set bond Thursday morning for each defendant at $5,000, court records show.
Lucy successfully underwent surgery Tuesday, the shelter said. The veterinary clinic will continue to monitor her condition over the next few days.
The Torreses are expected to appear in court Dec. 20 for a preliminary hearing, Willoughby Municipal Court records show.