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Raymond Berger Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Enticement
Albuquerque, NM – Raymond Berger, 32, of Albuquerque, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. Berger was arrested on May 26, 2013, by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on an indictment charging him with enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to court filings, Berger initiated a text messaging relationship with a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl on May 2, 2013, when he responded to an Internet ad that included a photograph of a minor. The ad was placed by an Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officer who represented to Berger that he was a 12-year-old girl.
Over the course of several days, Berger made multiple solicitations for a sexual relationship with the girl and made arrangements to meet with her in a parking lot on May 6, 2013. Berger was arrested by APD officers when he arrived at the parking lot.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough announced Berger’s guilty plea, which was also supported by 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of HSI, Chief Allen Banks of the APD, and Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.
Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the DOJ, was also involved in the case. The initiative aims to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The case was also brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.
Raymond Berger will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees as part of Project Safe Childhood. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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