An Elmira woman who is already facing local child sexual assault charges is now among four people from two states charged federally for a reported broader conspiracy.
Grace E. Balthazor, 33, of Elmira, and Devin G. LaValley, 37, of Burlington Flats (Otsego County), were each charged July 2 with predatory sexual assault against a child and use of a child in a sexual performance, both felonies.
New York State Police at Horseheads said the arrests resulted from an investigation into the sexual assault of a 1-year-old female victim and the video recording of the incident.
Now Balthazor, LaValley and two others face federal child exploitation charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Balthazor with conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and sexual exploitation of a child, and charged LaValley with conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.
Also charged as part of the investigation were Melissa McDougal, 29, of Altmar (Oswego County), who was charged with conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and distribution of child pornography, and Roxanne Clark, 43, of Bristol, Vermont, who was charged with receipt of child pornography.
The criminal complaints allege LaValley conspired with McDougal and separately with Balthazor to video record the sexual abuse of two minor children. The defendants then allegedly exchanged the depictions of that abuse over the internet.
The complaints further allege LaValley later distributed some of the depictions he created with McDougal and Balthazor to Clark via an online social networking application as part of messaging between the two regarding their mutual interest in sexually abusing children.
The charges are the result of an investigation by New York State Police and the Buffalo field office of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle is prosecuting the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“The allegations in the criminal complaint are horrific. The child victims in this case are now safe thanks to the great work of HSI and the New York State Police,” said acting U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III. “These depraved defendants will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and my office will seek the maximum sentence that can be imposed.”
If the suspects are convicted, the conspiracy and sexual exploitation charges carry a term of between 15 and 30 years in federal prison, while the charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography each carry a term of imprisonment between five and 20 years.
Each charge also carries a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life. The defendants would be required to register as sex offenders upon their release from prison.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira woman, 3 others face federal charges after Homeland Security, police investigations
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
