U.S. Department
of Justice
US v. Richard Alan Martz, Jr., et al
Six residents of Pennsylvania and one resident of North Carolina have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, fraud in connection with unlawful computer access, aggravated identity theft, and receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material. The sixteen-count Indictment named the following:
Richard Alan Martz, Jr., 33, Meadville, Pennsylvania
Dylan Michael Miller, 30, West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Christopher Clampitt, 33, Clemmons, North Carolina
Edward Grabb, 31, Jeanette, Pennsylvania
Michael Yackovich, 27, West Newton, Pennsylvania
Luke Robert Swinehart, 22, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Karlin Terrell Jones, 26, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
According to the Indictment presented to the court, the seven co-defendants conspired to hack into Snapchat accounts for the purpose of removing explicit images and videos depicting the victim account holders. After obtaining the explicit material, the co-defendants would then share the images and videos with each other and others online unbeknownst to the victim account holders.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Now that charges have been filed in federal court, victims of the charges filed are, entitled to the following rights, according to the Crime Victims' Rights Act, Title 18 United States Code section 3771:
1. The right to be reasonably protected from the accused;
2. The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused;
3. The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding;
4. The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding;
5. The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case;
6. The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law;
7. The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay;
8. The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy;
9. The right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement; and
10. The right to be informed of the rights under this section and the services described in section 503(c) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20141(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice.
Please understand that these rights apply only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus you may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which you are a victim was not charged. You may contact the Victim/Witness Coordinator if you have questions about the progress of your case, your rights or the services to which you are entitled, or how you can assert them during the proceedings. If you believe that a Justice Department employee has not provided you with these rights, you may file a complaint with the Justice Department’s Victims’ Rights Ombudsman. For more information, go to http://www.justice.gov/usao/resources/crime-victims-rights-ombudsman. If you have questions about filing a complaint against an employee, you may contact the Ombudsman by email at usaeo.VictimOmbudsman@usdoj.gov.
If you believe you are a victim in this case and would like to opt-in to receive case notifications or if you have any questions about your rights, please contact the Victim Witness Coordinator at usapaw.victimwitness@usdoj.gov.
The written information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case.