BishopAccountability.org

Man who provided boy victims to John Balyo gets prison

By John Hogan
WZZM
December 17, 2014

http://www.wzzm13.com/story/news/crime/2014/12/17/child-sexual-exploitation/20531089/

Ronald Lee Moser was sentenced Dec. 17 to 35 years in prison for possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child.

John Balyo is serving a 40-year prison term for sexually assaulting a boy introduced to him by Ronald Lee Moser

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM) – The Battle Creek man who provided a young boy for ex-Christian radio host John Balyo to molest was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison.

Today's sentencing in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids closes a chapter on one of West Michigan's most visible and egregious child sexual abuse cases that involved a bondage kit, hotel rooms and hundreds of images of child pornography shared freely on the Internet.

Balyo, the disgraced morning host on WCSG radio in Grand Rapids, was sentenced last week to 40 years in prison stemming from the same investigation that snared Ronald Moser.

Moser in August pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of children. He received 10 years on the first count and 25 years for the second count. The terms are to run consecutive.

In addition to prison, U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell ordered Moser to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim's family and placed him on lifetime supervised release once he gets out of prison at the age of 78.

Moser admitted to taking pornographic images of a 12-year-old boy at his Battle Creek home on June 5, the same day he was arrested by federal Homeland Security agents.

His cell phone contained 40 images of boys in various stages of undress and in bondage.

In a sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Paul L. Mitchell takes exception with statements by an unnamed government informant that Moser made $100,000 in two weeks from selling child pornography.

Instead, he paints Moser as a sympathetic, unsophisticated individual, himself a victim of sexual abuse as a child whose involvement in child pornography "lacks both sophistication and foresight.''

"When contrasted to his co-conspirator, Mr. Balyo, he comes in a sorry second,'' Mitchell wrote. "Mr. Moser, using the Internet, openly and notoriously invited responses to his website.

"Mr. Balyo responded by providing hotel rooms, clothing and sexual apparatus,'' the sentencing memorandum states. "Moser provided the victim.''

Possession of child pornography involving a pubescent minor is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Had the images shown a prepubescent boy, Moser would have faced up to 20 years in prison.

Sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child is punishable by a minimum term of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years.

Although Moser could have faced a maximum term of 40 years, sentencing guidelines did not recommend he spend four decades behind bars.

At his August plea hearing, Moser said he's known the 12-year-old victim for about five years and they attended sporting events together. Moser said the boy agreed to the photos after viewing images of other boys in similar poses.

Federal investigators say the 43-year-old Marshall High School dropout had an online user name of JAYBOY33 and posted a message that read: "Looking for people in or around Michigan that r in to kids.''

His online profile contained several albums; titles include "sweet body,'' "sexy boys,'' "very cute boy'' and "sweet young,'' federal court records show.

Homeland Security agents launched its investigation after finding the downloaded images on line back in May. Moser said his phone contained about 40 images in total, although only a handful were cited in the criminal indictment.

Following Moser's arrest in June, investigators discovered cell phone images of a recently pubescent boy lying face down on a bed with his hands and feet bound and his buttocks exposed.

Moser admitted to bringing a single article of clothing for the boy to wear in the photographs.

In a letter to the court, William and Charlotte Moser said their son has struggled ever since he was involved in a bicycle accident at the age of 12 in which he was thrown from his bike over a creek and into a tree, striking his head.

Moser's teachers forced him to sit and stare at a wall when he didn't remember to bring books to school, telling the class Ron was "too dumb to sit with the other students.''

He was unable to complete school and struggled as an adult to keep a job and maintain a normal life routine, the parents wrote.

"We pray that Ron can turn to God to be healed and redeemed,'' they wrote.




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