GRAND RAPIDS, MI U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced that Duane Richard Forrest, age 48, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, was sentenced to a total of 50 years for photographing and videotaping his sexual exploitation of two boys in their early teens. He was also ordered to pay $10,200 in special assessments.
“The trauma of sexual abuse can last decades, even a lifetime,” said Birge. “Mr. Forrest’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and the enduring harm caused when offenders record and preserve their abhorrent exploitation of minors in visual media. Thanks to a partnership between Homeland Security Investigations and Chippewa County, Mr. Forrest was caught and will never be able to victimize the young again.”
U.P. man gets 30 years for sexually abusing 9-year-old
Updated Apr 09, 12:17 PM;
Posted Apr 09, 12:17 PM
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SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – An Upper Peninsula man is sentenced to 30 years in prison and other penalties for sexually abusing a 9-year-old child in 2018.
Ralph Fletcher Hepner Jr., 53, of Sault Ste. Marie, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney to 360 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and no contact with the victim, U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced in a news release.
Hepner pleaded guilty in December to the charge of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years old, authorities said. The charge stems from an incident that happened in early 2018 at Hepner’s home on the Sault Ste. Marie Reservation. Law enforcement became aware of it after the victim reported the abuse to a relative. An extensive investigation followed and a federal grand jury later indicted Hepner.
Operation Home Alone: 10 ‘Potential Child Predators’ Arrested in South Carolina
Ten potential child predators have been arrested following an extensive online child exploitation investigation in South Carolina dubbed “Operation Home Alone” that involved 14 state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Ten men aged 25 to 60 from the Charlotte and Chester areas were arrested in the sting which involved a local police officer posing as an underage female, the York County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on April 5.
One of the suspected child predators is a 48-year-old registered sex offender in North Carolina who was released from federal prison in November last year and went off house arrest on March 1.
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GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced that Ralph Fletcher Hepner, Jr., 53, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 360 months’ imprisonment for abusive sexual contact with a child under the age of twelve.
In addition to the prison term, U.S District Judge Paul L. Maloney ordered Hepner to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison and to have no contact with the victim.
“The federal penalties for hands-on sexual abuse of a child under twelve are severe because the crime is so awful,” said U.S. Attorney Birge. “While children are resilient in many ways, they are robbed of their innocence and the trauma from this sort of offense endures for years. This sentence sends a strong deterrent message and will keep the victim and other potential victims safe from Hepner for years.”