On child pornography charges, a Alabama man was sentenced to 160 years in prison, according to WAAY.
A federal judge sentenced Benjamin Walter, 41, to prison for “using internet applications to seek images and live transmissions of the violent sexual abuse of Filipina children as young as 5 years old.”
On Oct. 5, 2021, Walter was found guilty of four counts of manufacturing and attempting to make child pornography, as well as one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.
Additional information is available in a press release issued by United States Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.”
According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, Walter used two web service provider profiles, as well as message and webcam apps, to locate women in the Philippines who were willing to sexually assault their own children and family members.
Walter’s requests to these women covered nearly three years and included instructions to arrange for the gang rape of small kids and various forms of sexual assault on several young children.
Walter transmitted money to the Philippines in $25 to $50 intervals for the movies, photos, and live broadcasts using Moneygram, Western Union, and other money remitters.
Along with the live webcam shows, Walter sent and received emails including pictures and videos of small kids performing sex activities with adult men.
This probe and prosecution were conducted as part of a joint FBI and Homeland Security Investigations operation in the Philippines that targeted consumers and dealers of these kinds of webcam shows.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Huntsville Field Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Charles Schmitz and Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), as well as Assistant United States Attorney R. Leann White of the Northern District of Alabama.
