Last of 21 defendants sentenced in Montana for their roles in an international child pornography network of predators

MISSOULA — The last of 21 defendants was sentenced Thursday for sexually exploiting children via two international online bulletin boards where members advertised, distributed, viewed and received images depicting child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana announced the sentence.  This investigation is a cooperative effort between the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, the Helena Police Department, and the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Operation Kingdom Conqueror was initiated in 2011.  FBI agents and officers from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICACTF) received a tip regarding a potential child pornography suspect.  In early 2012, the FBI obtained a search warrant for the residence of Paul Wencewicz in Polson, Montana.  During their search, agents discovered that Wencewicz was operating an online bulletin board where members advertised and traded sexually explicit images of young girls.  The bulletin board was named Kingdom of Future Dreams (KOFD), and was created by Wencewicz in 2009.  Between November 2009 and March 2012, Wencewicz and other members of the bulletin board sexually exploited hundreds of girls, both domestically and internationally, by trading images and videos of them.

Through their investigation, agents discovered that the KOFD bulletin board was housed on a server in the Isle of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands of the United Kingdom.  Through cooperation with local police, state and federal agents were able to track down members of the bulletin board who resided in the United States and to obtain search warrants for their residences.  Searches were conducted by federal officers in the following other 11 states:  New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, Washington, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas and California.  The KOFD conspiracy identified 13 defendants in the United States in addition to Wencewicz of Polson.  Through their investigation of the KOFD defendants, agents learned that eight of the 14 defendants were also members of a second child exploitation bulletin board called the Dark Moon, which involved a highly complex encryption scheme.  Agents gained access to the board in April 2013 and identified additional members.

The final defendant sentenced Jan. 7 as part of the operation in Missoula is Shawnston Beaudoin, 31, of Kennesaw, Georgia.  Beaudoin pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge Sept. 30, 2015.  If called upon to prove its case at trial, the United States was prepared to demonstrate that Beaudoin became an active member of Dark Moon in October 2012.  He remained an advanced member of the board until April 2013.  During that time he posted to the advanced-member section of the board.  His posts included URL hyperlinks and preview images of child pornography.  He also requested child pornography from other members, and responded to and commented on other members’ postings.  Chief U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen presided over the sentencing.

As a result of this investigation and prosecution, the following individuals were also convicted of Conspiracy to Advertise Child Pornography and sentenced to federal prison:

• Paul Wencewicz, 49, from Polson, Montana, was sentenced to 220 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Scott Long, 55, from Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 200 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Steve Humiston, 58, from Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced to 210 months and lifetime of supervised release, and $5,000 fine, $29,859 restitution;
• Phillip Morris, 43, from Jeffersonville, Indiana, was sentenced to 216 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Tony Bronson, 55, from Gary Indiana, was sentenced to 224 months BOP, 10 years of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Jeffrey Woolley, 55, from Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 180 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Charles Crosby, 45, Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced to 210 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• John Johnson, 59, from Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced to 180 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Joseph Purificato, 25, from Mount Vernon, Missouri, was sentenced to 180 months, 10 years of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Ian Nosek, 44, from Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced to 216 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• Robert Krise, 67, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced to 180 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution;
• John Merchberger III, 48, from Dayton, Maine, was sentenced to 220 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine;
• Daniel Brown, 27, from Taylors, South Carolina, was sentenced to 180 months and a lifetime of supervised release;
• Marc Edoria 24, Sacramento, California, was sentenced to 180 months, 10 years of supervised release;
• Tony Gustafson 49, from Hastings, Nebraska, was sentenced to 200 months and a lifetime of supervised release;
• Ryan Hatfield 26, from Mount Washington, Kentucky, was sentenced to 180 months and 10 years of supervised release;
• David Woods 37, from Corfu, New York, was sentenced to 180 months and 15 years of supervised release; and

The following defendants were convicted at trial for participating in a Child Exploitation Enterprise and Conspiracy to Advertise Child Pornography and were sentenced as follows:

• Joshua Petersen, 45, from Prescott, Arizona, was sentenced to 220 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution; and
• Steven Grovo, 35, from Shirley, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 220 months, a lifetime of supervised release, and $29,859 restitution.

Richard Pitts, 28, from Cathedral City, California, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Child Pornography and was sentenced to 84 months and 15 years of supervised release.

“The predators on these illicit websites glorified the sexual assault of little girls and encouraged each other to share images of this terrible abuse," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. "For the victim children, this trauma lasts the rest of their lives.  Thanks to the great partnership among federal, state and local law enforcement, these criminals will be punished for their vile crimes and prevented from harming other children."

“This collaboration of federal and state law enforcement agencies demonstrates the power of the ICACTF and the concerted strength we can bring to bear against these types of child predators when we combine forces,” said Michael Cotter, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana.  “These operations succeeded in bringing to justice a group of dangerous and sadistic individuals, some of whom had committed prior sex offenses against children.  As a result of the operations, one threat against Montana’s children—and children everywhere—has been dismantled.  We will continue this successful collaboration and our efforts to protect our children and our communities into the future.”

Other federal agency Task Force partners expressed a similar commitment. “The FBI is dedicated to protecting the most innocent amongst us,” said Eric Barnhart, Special Agent in Charge.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at home and abroad to identify, locate, and arrest individuals who prey on children and then attempt to hide their illegal activities behind a veil of technology.

State law enforcement agencies were similarly committed to successfully concluding operations.  “Bringing closure to this massive investigation sends a message to the cyber child pornography criminals,” said Bryan Lockerby of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation. “There is no place to hide and no place where we can’t get you.”

Prosecutors for the United States are Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson along with Maureen C. Cain with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation & Obscenity Section.  

The Judgments in this case are the product of diligent work by the very dedicated and skilled professionals who were involved in Operation Kingdom Conqueror and Operation Moon Runner.  Protection of the public is one of our primary missions in these cases.  Children within the United States as well as around the world are safer because these boards have been taken down.  As long as children continue to be sexually exploited through the use of the Internet and these bulletin boards, this office will remain committed to that mission,” concluded U.S. Attorney Cotter.