A 54-year-old man from Turtle, North Dakota was sentenced to 50 years of imprisonment on Monday after being convicted of exploiting a minor from the Philippines
US Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on October 31, 2016, Calvin Bernhardt, 54, Tuttle ND, was found guilty following nearly four days of trial on charges of:
- Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor,
- Attempted Receipt of Materials Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor,
- Counterfeit Currency,
- Tampering with Witness or Evidence, and
- Attempted Travel with Intent to Engage in Sexual Acts with a Minor.
Approximately between September 2015 and March 2016, Bernhardt persuaded a 14-year-old minor from the Philippines to engage in and produce images of sexually explicit acts via the internet. Bernhardt further induced the minor to send him explicit or sadistic and masochistic images.
Once he became aware of an investigation into his illegal conduct, Bernhardt contacted the mother of the victim in the Philippines and instructed to delete any of his images on the minor's cellphone and further told the mother not to talk to the United States Federal Law Enforcement officials in the Philippines.
Communications between Bernhardt and the victim revealed an attempt to arrange a meeting with the minor in a Philippine hotel with the intent of engaging in sexual acts with her.
Assistant United States Attorney Gary Delorme stated:
"The United States and the District of North Dakota will not tolerate this kind of conduct and victimization of children over the internet regardless of where the victim is located. People engaging in this kind of conduct should expect to be vigorously prosecuted in this District."
The invetigative team on this case was composed of the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations in Bismarck; Homeland Security Investigations-Manila, Philippines; and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
In May 2016, local authorities rescued the girl and arrested her mother in Pasig City.
Sources: ABS-CBN | News Dakota
Images: News Dakota | Miss Open
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