Man Gets 10 Years for Child Pornography

Michael James Angus, 68, of Star, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Boise to 120 months in prison for possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Angus to be on supervised release for the remainder of his life and pay restitution to the victim. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, deputies from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, who are members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, began an investigation after a 10-year-old female reported that Angus had engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with her while her family was visiting at Angus’ home on October 30, 2011. The parents of the 10-year-old also expressed concern for the welfare of another child, an 8-year-old, who often spent time alone with Angus at his home.
Investigators identified the 8-year-old and contacted her. The girl, whom Angus had cared for off and on for several years, disclosed inappropriate contact by Angus, and told investigators that he had also taken pictures of her dancing, posing nude, and when she was in the bathtub.
Deputies executed a search warrant at Angus’ home and discovered child pornography, including sexually explicit images of the 8-year-old girl. The images were produced on at least four separate dates between July 2009 and September 2011, mostly in or around the bathtub in the master bedroom in Angus’ home in Star. Investigators also discovered hundreds of images of other minors that Angus had downloaded from the Internet. Of these images, according to the plea agreement, 66 are child pornography. The others included naturist (or nudist) images of children as young as 2 years of age, many of which would be considered “child erotica” to a person with a sexual interest in children.
As a condition of the plea agreement, Angus was required to meet with investigators and make disclosures, subject to polygraph verification, concerning any other minors with whom he may have engaged in inappropriate contact. Angus admitted engaging in sexual contact or other sexual behavior with a total of seven young females, age 10 or younger, including the two girls originally identified as possible victims.
“Protecting and rescuing children from sexual exploitation is a critical law enforcement function,” said Olson. “Tragically, in this case, Mr. Angus victimized several young girls before one family contacted law enforcement. I commend the Ada County Sheriff’s Office for its aggressive and thorough efforts to uncover the breadth of Mr. Angus’ criminal conduct. I commend the cooperative efforts of the FBI, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Peters and Jean Fisher from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, for their work in securing what may amount to a life sentence for Mr. Angus and a resolution that ensures his victims obtain justice without having to testify in open court.”
The case was investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Department, an affiliate of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, assisted by the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensic Lab. The case was prosecuted with the close cooperation of the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which had originally brought related charges against Angus. State charges will be dismissed as a result of Angus’ guilty plea and sentence in federal court.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit w Former U.S. Army Major Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Bribery Scheme Related to Department of Defense Contracts in Kuwait

A former U.S. Army major was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his participation in a bribery scheme related to his activities as a contracting official in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in 2005 and 2006, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
James Momon Jr., 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in the District of Columbia. In addition to his prison term, Momon was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and pay $5.8 million in restitution, jointly and severally with co-defendants.
Momon pleaded guilty on August 13, 2008, to two counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy.
According to plea documents, Momon, was involved in a criminal conspiracy to accept cash bribes from multiple U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contracting firms that supplied bottled water and other goods and services to U.S. military bases in Kuwait. In return, Momon assisted in the award of contracts as well as blanket purchase agreements (BPA)—contracts that allow DoD to order supplies on an as-needed basis at a pre-negotiated price. Momon agreed to accept approximately $5.8 million from his co-conspirators as payment for his actions, including $1.6 million in cash and luxury items.
According to plea documents, Momon took over contracting duties at Camp Arifjan from former U.S. Army Major John C. Cockerham, who served as a contracting official in Kuwait in 2004 and 2005. Cockerham, who solicited and received bribes from DoD contractors in exchange for contracts and BPAs for bottled water and other goods and services, pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy in February 2008 and was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison and ordered to pay $9 million in restitution.
To date, a total of 19 individuals have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial in the ongoing investigation of corrupt contracting at Camp Arifjan.
This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Peter C. Sprung, Eric G. Olshan, Edward J. Loya, Jr., and Timothy J. Kelly of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by special agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigation Command Division, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction.