Posted on 10/30/2019 10:15:13 PM PDT by ransomnote
LOS ANGELES – An Aliso Viejo man was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison for traveling to China to engage in illegal sexual activity with a 16-year-old boy who was under his care and supervision at the time.
Ezequiel Christopher Barragan, 53, was sentenced by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr., who said that Barragan abused his positions of trust to gain access to victims.
Barragan pleaded guilty in October 2018 to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. He previously taught middle school and high school students, coached youth baseball, and at one-time was a court-appointed mentor and foster parent for abused or neglected children.
Barragan admitted in his plea agreement that in August 2009 he traveled from the United States to China with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. While in China, Barragan engaged in illicit and sexually explicit conduct with the 16-year-old victim. Barragan admitted he produced child pornography with the victim during this time.
In his plea agreement, Barragan admitted that, on numerous occasions between 1998 and 2012, he traveled from the United States to foreign countries where he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with boys between the ages of 13 and 16 years old. He also admitted he often gave his victims food, cash and goods.
This matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, which received substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Damaris Diaz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
Excerpt: In his plea agreement, Barragan admitted that, on numerous occasions between 1998 and 2012, he traveled from the United States to foreign countries where he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with boys between the ages of 13 and 16 years old. He also admitted he often gave his victims food, cash and goods.
That is one sick dude who will not enjoy his punishment. Good going DOJ. But, where does the Postal Service come in on this? Was this perv using mail?
It is easy to condemn this behavior, but I will point out that even on this conservative forum there are those who defend pornography and prostitution.
It was recently uncovered that one of the prominent and most watched videos on PornHub (apparently a very big player in online porn) turned out to be an underage girl in her mid-teens who had been kidnapped. The video was both child porn and forcible rape (i.e. not merely statutory rape).
Those of us who are tempted by pornography need to realize that real lives are destroyed by it. Probably most on this forum would never do what the man in this article did, but many may engage in illicit activities that they wrongly believe are harmless. Still others may engage in such activity (e.g. prostitution) out of compulsion even though they know it is wrong and harmful. If so, they should be aware that there is help in the form of support groups (e.g. 12-step SA or 8-step CR) to get clean.
Porn and prostitution destroy lives. This includes both buyers and sellers. Sometimes it leads to extreme cases such as the one this article addresses.
Good post
Is it your opinion that all porn destroys lives?
I’m not asking to start a debate. Some folks do feel that way. You are entitled to your opinion and your perspective.
“Is it your opinion that all porn destroys lives?”
I’d go further and describe it as an observation. It destroys individual lives, families, communities, and civilization.
One of the biggest lies that fosters addictions to lust, perversion, and sex abuse is that these things are harmless. Another is that it is our right to do these things.
Allowing porn in our society has led us from being a nation of strong communities and families to the open perversion and sexual violence that has characterized all ready-to-fall societies since Sodom.
“He previously taught middle school and high school students, coached youth baseball, and at one-time was a court-appointed mentor and foster parent for abused or neglected children.”
Gotta LOVE our schools!!!
Thank you. My views are somewhat different, but I still wanted to read what you said. I need to remember many people agree with you.
To reverse the current trend of porn’s presence or mindset would be next to impossible. But not impossible.
The main factors that held this impulse in check for so long had to do with what is and is not acceptable from a Godly view of the secular world. Many are unchurched these days, or have attended schools that taught them to be distrustful of all organized religion, especially the Christian religion.
Societal trends come and go. I am still hopeful that this outlook will survive and even flourish in the future.
Most of our new immigrants come from such cultures.
There are a lot of young people these days who enjoy Christian Rap (I know..) and Christian Country Music.
Many believe in the kindness and wisdom of The Bible, in spite of what the schools try to drum out.
They just don’t get talked about much these days.
Castrations on the county square at noon would stop the majority of this.
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