A 50-year-old New Brunswicker who traveled to Ohio to “meet” a teenage girl was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the United States for producing child pornography.
Joseph Haggerty was arrested in August when US agents received information that the man from St. Stephen had requested images of nude minors, according to the office of the United States Attorney in Ohio.
The New Brunswicker had taken a plane to Cleveland and the police had followed him to Linden Park, a suburb of Rocky River, where he was scheduled to meet a teenager.
The girl told US federal police that she started talking to Joseph Haggerty through a messaging app in December 2016, and that she had continued this relationship on Skype. In August, she had made her family believe that she was going camping for the weekend, when she actually wanted to go to the hotel with the Canadian.
The US agents contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who found at Joseph Haggerty pictures of a naked Ohio minor, and the coordinates of another minor, from Texas that one. Canadian police have also found evidence linking him to other potential youth victims.
Joseph Haggerty was charged in November, in Saint John Provincial Court, with the production and possession of child pornography and child luring. An arrest warrant is still in effect in Canada, confirmed Tuesday the RCMP in New Brunswick.
Melissa Marner is a seasoned journalist with nearly 12 years under her belt. While studying journalism at Boston, Melissa found a passion for finding local stories. As a contributor to Cleveland Post Gazette, Melissa mostly covers human interest pieces.
