Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

In Massachusetts, former Boston sportscaster Bob Gamere has pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with transportation and possession of child pornography. Federal prosecutors, who arrested the man that once called himself the Great Gamere, are now calling the former “Candlepins for Cash” host a “danger to the community.”

Magistrate Judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered that the 69-year-old former sports anchor be placed under house arrest and GPS anklet be attached to his leg. Gamere is also barred from answering the door if his grandchildren or trick-or-treaters come to his house unless there is another adult present.

According to the indictment’s charges, Gamere transported child pornography videos on two separate occasions in 2007. His computer at home also allegedly contains videos and images of child porn.

Federal agents found the images after they executed a search warrant of his house and took his computer. The government also claims that Gamere sent child pornography videos as e-mail attachments to a number of people. During the search, Gamere reportedly admitted that printed images of child porn found in his bedroom were his and that he had sent child pornography via e-mail.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation began actively investigating Gamere last year after he allegedly sent via e-mail a 10-minute video of a young girl having sexual intercourse with a man. He allegedly sent the footage using his wife’s AOL account and the screen name “GreatGamere.” Court documents, however, indicate that the FBI had been watching this screen name since 2005 when the sender distributed other videos of “prepubescent” minors having sex with each other and with adults.

Gamere is a former New York Yankees play-by-play announcer and television sports commentator for Channel 7. If convicted, he could spend up to 50 years in prison.

Internet Kiddie Pornography
Distributing child porn via the Internet is considered a criminal offense—even if the images do not explicitly show kids having sex with each other or with adults. A person could get arrested just for sending a photo or image depicting child porn to a friend.

Ex-Hub sportscaster busted for kid porn, BostonHerald.com, October 24, 2008

Former Boston Sportscaster Charged With Possession Of Child Porn, MyFoxBoston.com, October 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Laws Concerning Child Pornography, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The Protect Act of 2003, Department of Justice

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Posted In: Cyber Crimes , Sexual Crimes

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The Ten Commandments had a few things to say about interaction with one’s neighbors. It might have been helpful, however, had they mentioned what would later be named “the internet” and how it would play into things. At least, it might have helped a particular Andover couple.

Friday morning, Bill and Gail J., both 51 (hereinafter, the “Defendants”), were arrested and charged with criminally harassing their neighbors (hereinafter, the “Neighbors”) over the Internet because of a property dispute.

The harassment allegedly started with a fake advertisement on Craig's List for used golf carts and other items such as unwanted memberships to a national nudist association. You guessed it...the Neighbors were listed as the people to contact. It then escalated to fake reports of child abuse to state social workers, mysteriously opened bank accounts, and threatening emails and letters, prosecutors said.

The harassment took place over several weeks in March, authorities said. According to court records, the Neighbors began receiving dozens of harassing and threatening e-mails and phone calls. At one point, DSS social workers came to their home to investigate false claims that their 14-year-old son had abused a female at school.

The Defendants pleaded not guilty to counts of criminal harassment, identity fraud and conspiracy at their arraignment in Essex District Court, as they each stood by their individual attorney. Both lawyers said the Defendants are Tewksbury High School graduates who own a realty company and have lived in Andover for nine years. They are also parents of three teenage daughters.

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Posted In: Criminal Law , Cyber Crimes , Felonies and Violent Crimes , Misdemeanors , Sexual Assault , Theft Crimes , White Collar Crimes , Wrongful Convictions

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The US Senate has passed a bill that would update the country’s laws related to cyber crimes. The legislation, known as the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act is tougher on cyber criminals and gives victims of identity theft an opportunity to sue for damages.

The Bill Proposes:

• Making it a felony to install keystroke-monitoring programs or spyware on 10 or more computers regardless of damage. This is a major change, since many cases of cyber crime involve thousands of computers at less then $5,000 in damages per victim.

• Allowing federal courts to prosecute cyber crime defendants within their states of residence, rather than only if they used interstate communication to commit a cyber crime against a victim.

• Making it a crime to extort companies using cyber technology.

• Giving victims of identity theft the opportunity to obtain restitution for time and money lost in their efforts to recover from the cyber crime.

In Massachusetts, if you have been arrested for a cyber crime, it is important that you seek the counsel of a defense attorney that will know how to defend you against any charges.

Examples of cyber crimes:

• Internet fraud
• Cyber stalking
• Internet porn
• Identity theft
• Internet gambling
• Computer fraud
• Sexual solicitation via the Internet
• Computer hacking
• Planting Internet viruses

Senate Approves Bill to Fight Cyber-Crime, WashingtonPost.com, July 31, 2008

S. 2168: Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007, Govtrack.com

Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, USDoj.gov

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Posted In: Cyber Crimes

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Lori Drew, a Missouri mother, has been indicted in connection with a cyber taunting case that prompted a teenager to commit suicide in 2006. The federal indictment, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, says the 49-year-old mother and others used a MySpace account to pose as “Josh Evans,” a 16-year-old boy. The “boy” then pretended to have romantic feelings for 13-year-old Megan Meier.

Meier hung herself in her room after her online crush rejected her and told her the world would be better if she wasn’t in it.

Meier’s mother, Tina, found her daughter hanging by a belt in her room. She says that her daughter was insecure and suffered from depression.

If convicted, Drew could spend up to 20 years in prison for three counts of accessing protected computers to get information to inflict emotional distress, as well as one count of conspiracy. Her arraignment is in June.

According to law enforcement officials, Drew set up the account to find out what Meier was saying about her own daughter. “Josh” and Meier communicated for about a month before he broke up with her. Meier hung herself within an hour after the break up. She died the next day.

The indictment alleges that Drew deleted the MySpace account and told one of the teenagers to “keep her mouth shut.” However, the indictment also says that unnamed others (including a teenager) sent the last email message that led to Meier’s suicide.

Previous to the indictment, Missouri prosecutors said they would not file charges against Drew because she did not violate any laws. According to St. Charles Prosecutor Jack Banas, no one could have known that being mean to someone on the Internet could lead to suicide.

This year, however, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles began a grand jury probe to determine whether Drew and others defrauded MySpace by giving the company false information.

Mom indicted in deadly MySpace hoax, CNN.com, May 15, 2008

Alleged MySpace 'cyber-bully' indicted in teen's suicide, Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:

A town fights back in MySpace suicide case, Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2007

Cyberstalking, The National Center for Victims of Crime

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Posted In: Cyber Crimes , Federal Crimes

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