Balyo Fed ‘morbid and Sadistic Fascination’
WOOD
In a court document discussing the sentencing of a former Christian radio host who admitted to sexually assaulting children, federal prosecutors call John Balyo a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and describe a series of disturbing photographs found in his storage unit. In July, Balyo pleaded guilty to federal charges of child pornography possession and sexual exploitation of a child after raping and taking explicit photographs of a 12-year-old boy in Kalamazoo County in April. He is expected to be sentenced next month. In a memorandum filed with the U.S. District Court on Wednesday, federal prosecutors laid out their reasoning for their sentencing recommendations.The document starts by describing Balyo’s positive reputation as a Christian radio host with WCSG whose “voice filled the cars of families commuting to work and school with their children,” a recently married man, a wedding photographer, a volunteer with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, a former camp counselor, and a missionary who worked with children. “No on ever reported any misgivings or indiscretions about Balyo,” the memo reads. “But he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” The document then takes a sharp turn to describe the items federal investigators found in Balyo’s Plainfield Township storage unit.
In that unit, the document says, was the “bondage kit” Balyo used on the three occasions he sexually assaulted the victim in the federal case. The kit contained “duct tape, 4 pairs of handcuffs, parachute cord, nylon rope, 107 zip ties, a set of rubber gloves, two lengths of 18-inch chain, and a padlock,” the document says. Also in the unit were pornographic images of children, news articles about kidnapped, killed and sexually abused children, children’s obituaries, articles on the BTK killer, and notebook paper on which children’s names and fantasies were written. Also in Balyo’s unit was an “anatomically-correct male child-sized mannequin” wearing a blond wig, “which he kept tied up inside a dog crate,” the memo says. Federal agents found photos of Balyo pointing a gun at the mannequin, which was tied up to a post in a basement, and using its feet to masturbate. “The series of photographs ended with Balyo wrapping the mannequin in a carpet or tarpaulin, as if to bury it,” the memo reads. The document also describes how Balyo met Ronald Moser, the man who arranged for Balyo to meet the victim. The pair met online in November of 2013 after Moser posted child porn on a site with a message looking for people in Michigan who were interested. Balyo responded and the pair discussed their preferences. Prosecutors say Balyo met Moser and a child victim, who was around the age of 12, three times: On April 19 and May 9 at a hotel in Kalamazoo and on May 17 at a hotel in Battle Creek. All three times, Balyo took explicit photos of the boy, both men sexually assaulted the victim, and Balyo paid the boy. Moser was arrested on June 5. After that, the memo says, Balyo took several days off work and then took his computer and some memory drives to a friend’s house. Balyo himself was arrested at a Christian music festival in Gaylord on June 20. After his arrest, according to the memo, Balyo called his boss and asked someone to go to his car, break the window if necessary, find a piece of paper with a phone number on it, call the number and tell “Don” to “make alternate arrangements for his heart medication.” The so-called “Don” was the person with whom Balyo had left his computer and memory drives. That person turned the items over to authorities. On the computer, authorities found the explicit photos of the 12-year-old victim. “Balyo operated under the radar, living a double life. On the outside, he was a law abiding, charitable, upstanding citizen. He was able to gain people’s trust, leading no one to suspect anything was amiss,” the sentencing memo reads. “But underneath the surface, he was feeding a morbid and sadistic fascination with children, creating and accumulating pedophilic materials, rehearsing a sexual kidnapping fantasy with a gun and a child-size mannequin, and meeting clandestinely in hotel rooms with young boys in bondage. Balyo’s three meetings with Victim 1 resulted in sexual exploitation and degradation of a child in the most depraved ways.” The day after Balyo’s arrest, Cornerstone-owned WCSG cut ties with him. Balyo, 34, was originally scheduled to b e sentenced on the federal charges he faces on Dec. 5, but proceedings have been rescheduled for Dec. 11. Prosecutors recommended a maximum sentence of 50 years in a federal prison, and $8,500 in restitution to the victim and his family for medical and psychological care, attorney fees and other losses. Balyo already pleaded guilty to a separate state charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct out of Calhoun County for the meeting with the victim at the Battle Creek hotel and earlier this month was sentenced to between 25 and 50 years in a state prison. In August, Moser pleaded guilty to federal charges. He also faces charges out of Calhoun County.
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