|
PHILADELPHIA
— A Philadelphia man was sentenced
today to 15 years in prison on charges
of traveling for the purpose of engaging
in sex with a minor. The sentence was
the result of an extensive investigation
conducted by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI).
Kenneth
Schneider, 46, of Philadelphia, was convicted
by a federal jury on Oct. 1, 2010.
In the summer of 1998, Schneider,
founder and president of the Apogee
Foundation, traveled to Moscow, Russia,
where he told two ballet instructors at
the Moscow State Academy of Choreography
that he was willing to provide
"assistance" to students
attending the academy. The instructors
identified a 12-year-old student whose
family could no longer afford to pay his
board. Schneider convinced the boy's
parents to allow him to live with
Schneider in an apartment a few blocks
from the school. Between Aug. 22, 2000,
and Nov. 22, 2001, Schneider engaged in
a sexual relationship with the victim,
bringing him to Philadelphia for a
summer program in 2001, then returning
to Moscow with the victim in August 2001
to continue the sexual relationship.
Schneider was arrested March 27, 2010,
in Larnaca, Cyprus, and extradited
on May 28, 2010.
In
addition to the prison term, U.S.
District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez
ordered Schneider to pay restitution to
the victim in the amount of $35,000, pay
a fine of $20,000 and complete three
years of supervised release.
"This
investigation has exposed the disturbing
truth concerning those individuals who
believe they can victimize children
abroad and not be held accountable in
America for their very disturbing
actions," said John Kelleghan,
special agent in charge of ICE HSI in
Philadelphia. "HSI and our law
enforcement partners, here and around
the world, stand vigilant to protect the
most vulnerable among us, our
children."
"The
Department of Justice is committed to
protecting children from sexual
predators," said U.S. Attorney Zane
David Memeger, Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. "When a criminal,
such as this one, exploits a vulnerable
and innocent child for his own
gratification, we will take every step
to remove the criminal from the
community so that he cannot victimize
other children and so that other
potential criminals are put on notice
that the justice system will not
tolerate this type of behavior."
This
investigation was part of Operation
Predator, a nationwide ICE HSI
initiative to protect children from
sexual predators, including those who
travel overseas for sex with minors,
Internet child pornographers, criminal
alien sex offenders, and child sex
traffickers. ICE HSI encourages the
public to report suspected child
predators and any suspicious activity
through its toll-free hotline at
1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online
tip form. Both are staffed around
the clock by investigators.
Suspected
child sexual exploitation or missing
children may be reported to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, an Operation Predator partner,
at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
The
case was investigated by ICE HSI and the
FBI, with assistance from the
Investigative Committee of the General
Procuracy of the Russian Federation,
ICE's attaché in Moscow and Interpol.
U.S.
Attorney Memeger thanked the
Investigative Committee of the General
Procuracy of the Russian Federation,
without whose assistance the
investigation could not have been
completed.
This
case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Michelle Morgan and Vineet
Gauri.
|
