Several honored for work Case resulted in decades in prison for pornographer
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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"Child sex predators become foster parents," Robert Balfe, of the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas, said about a child pornography case. "That's horrific and shocking, but it's not surprising. Child sex predators will intentionally put themselves in a place to commit that crime."
What was surprising to Balfe was the cooperation among local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies that led to the conviction of a foster parent for producing and transporting child pornography in Arkansas and Oregon.
"In my term (about four years ), I've never seen so many different agencies come together."
The U. S. attorney was talking about Brian Bergthold, 45, a foster parent from Bella Vista, who was sentenced for child pornography Aug. 21 by U. S. District Court Judge Jimm Hendren to 70 years in federal prison. Bergthold also received 40 years in an Arkansas prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two boys. In addition to the conviction, he was fined $ 75, 000. Also, Assistant U. S. Attorney David Ferguson and paralegal Cindy McKinney managed to see that Bergthold had to forfeit his house. The assets will be sold and the profit divided among the agencies involved, Balfe said. Balfe spoke at a press conference Oct. 2 in Bella Vista to honor all those who brought the case to trial and conviction. He gave plaques to 20 individuals in appreciation of their work on the case.
Three women - Debra McDougal, Barb Shrum and Stephanie McLemore - were responsible for starting the investigations into Bergthold's activities with the children under his care, Balfe said. "Without Debra, Barb and Stephanie, he'd still be out there. "McDougal first learned about Bergthold at the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center, where she worked. She was playing cards with a boy who had been picked up after running away from Bergthold's home, where he had been placed in foster care. The boy told her "the guy was a freak," McDougal said. That's when her miniature detective kicked in, and she got a paper and pencil to write down what he told her. The boy told her Bergthold was serving alcohol to the kids and taking them into his locked bedroom. After listening to the boy, McDougal called the Child Abuse Hotline to report the foster parent. Balfe said she was adamant that the people there do something about
Shrum, a Bella Vista police detective, got the call to check on Bergthold.
She became alarmed at the video cameras everywhere in the house and the doors inside that had special cyber locks that required fingerprints to unlock, Balfe said.
Shrum then talked to McLemore of the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and asked for a search warrant. McLemore listened to the detective and secured the document.
During the search, Shrum found a VHS tape that contained movie images of two minors engaged in sexual intercourse, according to a press release from the U. S. Attorney's Office.
When Shrum watched the videos, she saw kids that looked very young.
"I'm finding stuff. I'm finding kids. "
Eventually, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County would also become part of the investigation.
The Bella Vista Police Department is used to working with other local agencies, Capt. Ken Farmer said. What impressed him was that the men from Fort Smith would drive all the way up here.
When McDougal received her plaque, she thanked Shrum for believing in her and "the kid who actually told."
"The children are the heroes," said Beverly Engle of the Children's Advocacy Center when she and her staff received their plaques.
When Shrum received her plaque and the accompanying applause, she looked at the others in the room and said," I couldn't have done it
She also said Bella Vista Police Department Lt. Tim Cook and detective Mark Kugler deserved recognition for helping her.
The whole case moved very fast, Shrum said, and she credited all the cooperation from other agencies.
"They got the fastest plea agreement they ever had - five months," she said.
The U. S. attorney credited two workaholics, Shrum and Ricky Gabbard, senior agent for the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Fort Smith, for going to Washington and Oregon to find other young victims.
ICE was involved because besides being responsible for enforcing immigration laws, the agency works to prevent drug trafficking, financial fraud and child exploitation, Balfe said.
All child-exploitation cases have the highest priority, said Michael A. Holt, special agent in charge of ICE in New Orleans. But this one was special to him because he was raised by foster parents.
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