Recent child exploitation sentencings remind parents to talk with children about internet safety

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan reminds parents to talk with children about the dangers of the internet and how to stay safe. Earlier in the week US. Attorney for the western district of Michigan Mark Totten announced two sentencing cases involving upper peninsula residents charged with sexual crimes against children. Each was sentenced to spend more than ten years in federal prison. Child sex crime cases prosecuted in the Federal District Court of Western Michigan are supported by Project Safe Childhood. The program was started to increase effective communication and combine efforts of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement. The project also provides resources to parents and children to start the conversation about staying safe online. Those interested in learning more about the sentencing of two Upper Peninsula men for sex crimes against children or want to learn about various resources to talk with your child about Internet safety can find more details below.

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announces two Upper Peninsula men have been sentenced for sexual crimes against children in separate cases.

On Wednesday the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan announced 19 year old Kelton Salowitz of Curtis was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for child exploitation. Salowitz pleads guilty to coercing a 12-year-old girl into sending him explicit images of herself over the application Discord. The minor lives outside of Michigan. Evidence showed Salowitz attempted to coerce a second child to do the same.

On Thursday the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan announced Brandon Lavoy was sentenced to 135 months for possessing child pornography. Lavoy came to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Michigan State Police after investigators discovered end-to-end encrypted messages between Lavoy and another individual. Within the communication between Lavoy and the other person, he provided identifying information about two minors and sought to have one of them raped. The FBI traced the messages back to Lavoy before executing a search warrant on his home. At this residence police seized his phone and computer, discovering a collection of child pornography.

Law enforcement investigations into child sex crimes are supported by Project Safe Childhood. The project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Justice, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement. The program supports investigations and provides various resources for parents and children who want to start the conversation on how to stay safe online, and the dangers of exploitation. Learn more about Project Safe Childhood and resources for starting a conversation here.