Guilty plea entered in exploitation By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:22 PM PST
SAN DIEGO — A Bloomington man who was arrested two years ago at the Calexico Port of Entry in connection with sexually exploiting a child pleaded guilty Wednesday here in federal court.
Earl Venton Buchanan, 65, also agreed to forfeit his home that was used to commit one count of the offense when he entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Louisa S. Porter.
Buchanan, who faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years in federal prison, is scheduled for sentencing March 2.
At the hearing, Buchanan admitted to producing a sexually explicit video featuring him molesting a minor child between the ages of 5 and 7 in the bedroom of his San Bernardino County home.
He also admitted to transporting the videotape from California to Arizona to Mexico and then back to California.
Lauren Mack, spokeswoman with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said federal authorities could not positively identify the boy who appeared on the tape.
Detectives suspected that Buchanan rented property to low-income families, gained their trust and then molested their children.
On July 3, 2006, Buchanan was arrested when he tried entering the U.S. with a 5-year-old boy. News reports said the boy hailed from Riverside County and was sitting on his lap when Buchanan was returning from Mexico.
Federal authorities said the boy is not related to Buchanan but could not confirm whether he was the one victimized by Buchanan in the videotape.
Since he could not provide enough identification for the child, or confirm his guardianship, Buchanan was instructed to drive his 1992 Ford Econoline van to a secondary area of the west Port of Entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
Officers found the videotape inside Buchanan’s vehicle along with other evidence tied to his case that included hotel receipts.
" cut his privets off,, hang him by his toe nails dripping in honey over an ant hill.....to many "A" holes play the system and our kids end up on the short end...week after week we read about this kind of acts and never is there any thing done to keep it from being repeted....slow death is needed!!!!!!!!!!! "
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salsas wrote on Nov 27, 2008 9:56 PM: