Total of Four Defendants Plead Guilty in Connection with Widespread Child Exploitation Conspiracy

Four defendants have now pled guilty in connection with a multi-jurisdictional child exploitation conspiracy that included the trafficking of child pornography produced during the conspiracy. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone, and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.

The defendants involved in the case are:

            Devin LaValley, age 38, of Burlington, New York;

            Melissa McDougal, age 30, of Pulaski, New York;

            Grace Balthazor, age 34, of Elmira, New York; and

            Roxanne Clark, age 45, of Bristol, Vermont.

As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted to their respective involvement in a years-long child exploitation conspiracy and the trafficking of child pornography produced during the conspiracy. LaValley admitted that, years ago, he began intimate relationships with both Balthazor and McDougal, both of whom had access to children. LaValley admitted to then conspiring with both women to get close to the children in their care for the purpose of sexually abusing the children and creating photos and videos depicting that abuse. McDougal and Balthazor also admitted to conspiring with LaValley to abuse the children for the purpose of creating child pornography. LaValley also admitted that after he created the child pornography with McDougal and Balthazor’s assistance, he then distributed the child sexual abuse material to Clark, another woman with whom LaValley had an intimate relationship. For her part, Clark admitted to receiving the child pornography LaValley, McDougal, and Balthazor had produced as part of online communications with LaValley in which she and LaValley discussed their mutual interest in sexually abusing children.

At sentencing, LaValley, McDougal, and Balthazor face a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in federal prison and maximum sentence of 30 years for the conspiracy charge. The receipt and distribution charges to which Clark and LaValley have pled guilty carry a mandatory minimum term of five years in federal prison and maximum terms of 20 years. Each charge carries a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated, “I commend HSI and the New York State Police for the incredible investigative work that led to these four convictions. I also want to acknowledge the urgency with which HSI and State Police identified and arrested the various defendants, several of whom lived in other districts. The result of their diligent work was the identification and protection of multiple children who likely would have continued to be victimized by the defendants had it not been for the dedicated agents and investigators involved. My office remains steadfast in its commitment to work closely with our federal, state, and local partners to do whatever we can to protect our communities from the threat posed by individuals, like the defendants here, who seek to harm the most vulnerable among us.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone said, “Those who exploit children and trade in images of their abuse inflict profound and lasting harm on victims, families, and entire communities. These guilty pleas hold all four defendants accountable for their roles in a calculated, years-long conspiracy that preyed on vulnerable children and perpetuated their victimization through the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material. HSI Syracuse and our law enforcement partners will pursue every available lead to identify predators, disrupt child-exploitation networks and safeguard children in our communities.”

NYSP Superintendent James stated, “Child predators will go through extreme lengths to exploit children and conduct the most reprehensible of acts. As we fight for the victims and all those affected, we hope the justice brought forth provides a sense of peace that these individuals will never commit a crime like this again. I thank our State Police members, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations for their consistent, proactive work on this case.”

HSI and NYSP investigated the case with the assistance of the Office of the Vermont Attorney General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.