| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
OAKLAND – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced today that the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen, United States District Judge, sentenced Leonard B. Auerbach, 62, formerly of Orinda, California, to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography.
On August 29, 2008, Mr. Auerbach pleaded guilty to producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(c). In his plea agreement, Mr. Auerbach admitted that between September 2004 and April 2007, he traveled to Costa Rica to engage in a sexual relationship with a minor victim who was born in April 1992. Mr. Auerbach also admitted that he took sexually explicit photographs and videos of the victim and transported them back to the United States, where they were recovered by federal law enforcement when they executed a search warrant on his Orinda home in August 2007. Court documents indicate that Mr. Auerbach fled to Cuba in April 2008, but was apprehended by Cuban authorities and expelled to the United States.
“Child sex tourism is a despicable, but growing, global problem that must be stopped,” said Mr. Russoniello. “We must have zero tolerance for sex predators who travel abroad and exploit their economic advantage by sexually abusing children in the Third World. Hopefully, Mr. Auerbach’s lengthy sentence today sends a powerful message to any Americans who are contemplating similar crimes.”
"This sentence should serve as a stern reminder for child sex predators who mistakenly believe they can escape justice by sexually abusing children beyond our borders," said Julie L. Myers, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE. "As Mr. Auerbach discovered when he fled the country hoping to evade prosecution, international sex tourists are increasingly finding they have no place to hide. ICE will continue to work closely with its law enforcement counterparts nationally and internationally to target those who sexually exploit our children, robbing them of their innocence and their youth."
Judge Jensen also ordered Auerbach to pay a $200,000 fine and to forfeit an additional $270,000, the latter figure representing proceeds from the sale of a Costa Rican beach house that Auerbach used to commit the crimes. The court also ordered him to make restitution in the amount of $178,000 as follows: $78,000 to the minor victim and $100,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”). NCMEC is a private, non-profit organization created by Congress in 1984 to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation help find missing children, and assist victims of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals who serve them. In serving this mission, NCMEC assists law enforcement agencies in maintaining records and data relating to child pornography cases such as this case.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), beginning in early 2007. Andrew S. Huang is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lead Legal Assistant Cynthia Daniel. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Johnson and Stephanie Hinds are assisting with the financial penalties and restitution that are part of the plea agreement and sentence.
Further Information:
Case No. CR 08-367
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