Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Organizing Trips for Pedophiles in Thailand

NEWARK, N.J., May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John Wrenshall, 63, pleaded guilty today to inviting sex tourists to travel to his home in Thailand in order to abuse young boys, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman announced.

Wrenshall pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to conspiracy to engage in sex tourism, conspiracy to produce child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:

Wrenshall admitted that from at least as early as January 2000, he arranged trips to his home during which U.S. citizens and others paid him to engage in sexual acts with Thai boys.

Wrenshall, a Canadian citizen, was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey in August 2008 after authorities learned that New Jersey resident Wayne Nelson Corliss had traveled to Wrenshall's  home to engage in illegal sexual acts with minor boys.  Wrenshall was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport in December 2008 by London's Metropolitan Police Service, with agents of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and was extradited to the United States in July 2009 to face the New Jersey Indictment.

Corliss, formerly of Union City, N.J., was the first of Wrenshall's clients identified by law enforcement officers.  In May 2008, Interpol released a sanitized photograph of a man sexually abusing young Thai boys to media outlets in the United States and abroad, and made a global appeal for information that could identify the offender depicted in the photo.  Within 48 hours, and acting on information obtained from individuals who recognized the offender as Corliss, ICE, coordinating with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), located and arrested Corliss in Union City, New Jersey.

The release of Corliss' photo represented only the second time that Interpol has made such a public appeal to identify a suspected child predator.  Interpol and ICE are partners in the Virtual Global Task Force, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies committed to joint, international enforcement efforts designed to keep children safe from sexual predators around the world.

Three of Wrenshall's U.S. clients – Corliss, Burgess Lee Burgess and Mitchell Kent Jackson – have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced on sex tourism and related charges.  On Nov. 19, 2009, Corliss was sentenced in the District of New Jersey by U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. to 20 years in prison.  The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey referred Burgess and Jackson to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Alabama for prosecution.  Each were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kristi Dubose to 78 months in prison.  CEOS partnered in the prosecution of Corliss and assisted in the Alabama cases.

At his sentencing, Wrenshall faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to engage in sex tourism; a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to produce child pornography; and a maximum of 15 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.  Sentencing is scheduled for August 16, 2010.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Cavanaugh will consult the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors.  The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining the sentence.  Parole has been abolished in the federal system.  Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

U.S. Attorney Fishman stated: "John Wrenshall admitted today that he created a den for sexual predators determined enough to travel the world to victimize young boys.  He invited others to commit and film horrifying acts in his home, where a child's innocence could be bought for a price.  We are dedicated to working with our global partners, as we did here, to find and prosecute those who perpetuate the scourge of sex tourism."

"ICE investigates sex tourism aggressively with the help of our international offices and law enforcement partners," said Peter T. Edge, Special Agent-in-Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Newark, New Jersey. "This case demonstrates our international resolve to ensure that those who prey on societies most vulnerable – our children – do not go unpunished."

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited ICE Special Agents, under the direction of Special Agent-In-Charge Edge, with the investigation leading to today's plea.  He also thanked Interpol for its vital role.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vartan of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Newark.  Michael Yoon, former Trial Attorney for CEOS, also prosecuted the case. 

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice