Massachusetts ICAC Task Force - Wilbraham man admits to child pornography
From The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. 05/29/07. Contact Beth Stone. (617) 727-2543
Boston- A Wilbraham man admitted to facts sufficient with a guilty finding on charges he attempted to send pornographic material to a person he believed to be a child, who was actually an undercover Pennsylvania detective. Lane Weinberg, 24, of Wilbraham, admitted to facts to find him guilty of one count each of attempting to disseminate material harmful to a minor and possession of material harmful to a minor with intent to distribute. Palmer District Court Judge Patricia T. Poehler continued the case without a finding for five years and placed a number of restrictions on Weinberg including that he stay away from schools, daycares and playgrounds, avoid online chatrooms, have no contact with children under the age of 18 and wear a GPS monitor. The Commonwealth had requested that Weinberg plead guilty to the charges and serve 90 days in jail.
According to authorities, in late September 2006, officials in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania contacted the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force about an Internet chat they were involved in with Weinberg. Weinberg had engaged in a sexual conversation online with a detective with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, whom he believed to be a 12-year-old girl. Weinberg expressed his desires in very graphic terms before sending a pornographic image of himself consisting of a photograph of a portion of his naked body. Through a subpoena, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office identified an Internet protocol address for the photo sender in Wilbraham and contacted the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force who referred the matter to the Attorney General's Office for investigation.
Criminal complaints issued and Weinberg was arrested on the charges on October 13, 2006. At the time of his arrest, Weinberg was employed as a youth worker at two separate agencies in Springfield and State Police notified the Department of Social Services about the case.
Today, Weinberg admitted to sufficient facts and was placed on probation by Judge Poehler. The prosecutor assigned to this case was Assistant Attorney General Matthew Shea. The case was investigated by State Police assigned to the Attorney General's Office with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
Retrieved June 3, 2007 from http://www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cfm?pageid=986&id=1903