UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY ANNOUNCES RETURNED INDICTMENTS
INVOLVING THE SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF
CHILDREN
RALEIGH – Tuesday, United
States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced
that in a single session last week, a federal
grand jury handed down five separate indictments
for crimes involving the sexual abuse and
exploitation of children. The defendants charged
were TRAVIS DITTRICH, formerly of Pender County,
CHRISTOPHER MARK SURLES of Rocky Mount, RUSSELL
BIATHROW of Fayetteville, DANIEL CARL SHERWIN of
Elizabeth City, and SCOTT ALEXANDER FRANTZ,
formerly of Willow Springs.
Though the cases are similar and every case
involves child pornography, the crimes charged
cover a broad range of conduct, a variety of
defendants and are unrelated factually:
· All five defendants’ cases include
charges involving the receipt and possession of
child pornography.
· The five defendants cover the Eastern District
of North Carolina from some of its easternmost
areas to its westernmost, and several communities
in between.
· The indictments are based on investigative
work done at every level of law enforcement
– local, state and federal. Every one of the
following agencies served as the lead
investigative agency in at least one case: the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North
Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the
Pender County Sheriff’s Office, the
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Nash
County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rockland
County, New York, Sheriff’s Office.
· SHERWIN is charged with eleven counts of
making homemade child pornography.
· FRANTZ is charged with advertising and
soliciting child pornography for trading, as well
as transmitting child pornography over the
Internet.
· SHERWIN has a previous conviction for child
exploitation crimes.
· SURLES has a prior conviction related to child
sexual abuse.
Mr. Holding commented, “Although I am
appalled by the increasing frequency with which
our office is faced with child sexual abuse and
exploitation cases, I have every intention of
seeing to it that we dedicate the prosecutorial
resources necessary to combat it effectively.
Every child in every picture is a victim that our
office intends to fight for with every means at
our disposal. The Eastern District of North
Carolina is hostile territory for anyone who
considers the sexual abuse of a child an
acceptable form of entertainment, and I intend to
do everything within my power to keep it that
way.”
These indictments mark a grim milepost in Project
Safe Childhood, a program launched by
then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and
implemented in the Eastern District of North
Carolina with the intention of combating
childhood sexual abuse by ensuring that criminals
who exploit children are effectively prosecuted
by making full use of all available law
enforcement resources at every level.
“Neither our office nor any law enforcement
agency acting alone can deal with a problem of
this magnitude,” said Holding. “Our
success in Project Safe Childhood has been built
on the consistent cooperation and sharing of
resources not only between federal agencies, but
between investigators at every level. Our
community has every right to be concerned about
this problem, but it can also be proud and
reassured that it has been blessed with such a
well-functioning team of investigators
district-wide who consistently put the protection
of our children first.”
An indictment contains allegations that a
defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant
is presumed innocent until and unless proven
guilty in court.
For more information about this important
national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov
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