MICHAEL MEANY SENTENCED FOR USING INTERNET TO HARM CHILDREN
MICHAEL G. MEANY, JR., 40, of Metairie, Louisiana, was sentenced today for crimes against children, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. U.S. District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon sentenced MEANY to twenty-two (22) years imprisonment followed by a life term of supervised release, and MEANY will be required to register as a sex offender.
MEANY pled guilty to Travel With Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact With a Minor; Production of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors; Coercion and Enticement of a Minor; Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor; and Receipt of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors.
According to court documents, MEANY utilized personal computers, the Internet and cellular phones as facilities of interstate commerce to engage in communications with minors throughout the United States and abroad; including Louisiana, Maine, and Mississippi. MEANY communicated with minors using Teenspot.com, MySpace.com, Yahoo!, AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM), and Stickam.com. MEANY established profiles of 14 and 15 year old boys on MySpace.com and other Internet social networking websites in order to meet minor girls.
Additionally, according to court documents, MEANY claimed to have approximately 200 underage friends on MySpace.com. MEANY claimed he had sexually explicit communications with as many as 100 minor girls; several of whom sent him sexually explicit images.
United States Attorney Jim Letten speaking to today’s sentencing stated:
“Today’s twenty-two-year federal prison sentence will ensure that yet another dangerous predator will be denied any opportunity to endanger innocent children. Protecting the safety and innocence of all of our children is and will remain a top priority of our office, of the Department, and of our enforcement partners including ICE who will use every available tool under our Constitution and laws to prevent them from falling prey to such villains.”
Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans added:
“Too many children are victimized by predators that target the most vulnerable among us – our children. ICE-HSI is committed to apprehending and presenting for prosecution cases involving those who abuse our children and endanger their lives and well-being. We will continue working with federal, state and local agencies to ensure that those who try to hurt children are brought to justice.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, and Assistant U. S. Attorney Patrice Harris Sullivan.
