iL_weReo
2012-01-08 04:06:50 UTC
Former Boy Scouts leader sentenced to 95 years in prison on child
pornography charges
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A former Gerber Boy Scout Camp director was
sentenced to 95 years in federal prison for filming young boys
dressing in a YMCA locker room and for a having a massive collection
of child pornography. The sentence is the result of an extensive
investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
(ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Scott Allan Herrick, 40, of Twin Lakes, Mich., surreptitiously
videotaped boys as they were dressing in the boys' locker room in the
YMCA in Muskegon, Mich., where Herrick was a swim instructor. He also
kept a massive collection of 100,000 images of child pornography with
him at the Gerber Boy Scouts Camp in Twin Lakes. He was convicted at
trial of three counts of attempting to produce child pornography. On
the first day of trial, Herrick pleaded guilty to two counts of
distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child
pornography.
Chief U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney, who presided over the trial
and sentencing, explained that the sexual exploitation of children by
using institutions like the Boy Scouts and the YMCA, "tears at the
social fabric of our country." Judge Maloney warned others who would
use their positions of trust with children for sexual exploitation,
"you will be punished severely."
In addition to being the camp director, Herrick also worked as a pool
safety instructor for third-grade children at the YMCA in Muskegon.
Herrick was trading child pornography online and was discovered during
a series of undercover FBI operations. In July 2010, ICE HSI and FBI
special agents executed a search warrant on the Gerber Boy Scout Camp
and discovered evidence of child pornography. He was arrested and has
been held in custody since that time.
"Herrick used and abused his position of trust in organizations
dedicated to the health and welfare of children to satisfy his own
perverse sexual interest in young boys," said U.S. Attorney Donald A.
Davis, Western District of Michigan. "My office sought and secured
firm punishment for this appalling violation of community trust and
childhood innocence. My office places a high priority on child
exploitation cases, which will mean very long and well deserved time
in prison for offenders like Herrick."
That's a whole lotta months!
pornography charges
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A former Gerber Boy Scout Camp director was
sentenced to 95 years in federal prison for filming young boys
dressing in a YMCA locker room and for a having a massive collection
of child pornography. The sentence is the result of an extensive
investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
(ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Scott Allan Herrick, 40, of Twin Lakes, Mich., surreptitiously
videotaped boys as they were dressing in the boys' locker room in the
YMCA in Muskegon, Mich., where Herrick was a swim instructor. He also
kept a massive collection of 100,000 images of child pornography with
him at the Gerber Boy Scouts Camp in Twin Lakes. He was convicted at
trial of three counts of attempting to produce child pornography. On
the first day of trial, Herrick pleaded guilty to two counts of
distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child
pornography.
Chief U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney, who presided over the trial
and sentencing, explained that the sexual exploitation of children by
using institutions like the Boy Scouts and the YMCA, "tears at the
social fabric of our country." Judge Maloney warned others who would
use their positions of trust with children for sexual exploitation,
"you will be punished severely."
In addition to being the camp director, Herrick also worked as a pool
safety instructor for third-grade children at the YMCA in Muskegon.
Herrick was trading child pornography online and was discovered during
a series of undercover FBI operations. In July 2010, ICE HSI and FBI
special agents executed a search warrant on the Gerber Boy Scout Camp
and discovered evidence of child pornography. He was arrested and has
been held in custody since that time.
"Herrick used and abused his position of trust in organizations
dedicated to the health and welfare of children to satisfy his own
perverse sexual interest in young boys," said U.S. Attorney Donald A.
Davis, Western District of Michigan. "My office sought and secured
firm punishment for this appalling violation of community trust and
childhood innocence. My office places a high priority on child
exploitation cases, which will mean very long and well deserved time
in prison for offenders like Herrick."
That's a whole lotta months!