Ex-pediatrician gets 22 years for part in sex ring
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A former New York pediatrician was sentenced Friday to nearly 22 years in prison on charges of traveling to Mexico and Honduras to engage in sexual acts with underage boys.
Sean Irving, 56, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court on five counts of committing sex offenses against children in incidents uncovered by an investigation by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) code-named Operation Predator.
Irving, who practiced pediatrics in upstate Orange County, was a patron of a resort called Cabrillo Vista del Mar in Acapulco, Mexico, where homeless orphans and others living on the streets had sexual activity with adults in exchange for shelter, food, clothing and gifts, according to court papers.
Boys involved in such activities were as young as 6, prosecutors said. Irving, in letters and diaries of his that were introduced as evidence, discussed his sexual interest in boys between the ages of 6 and 12.
The former resort manager, a U.S. citizen currently incarcerated after a conviction in Texas for possessing child pornography, testified about communications he had with Irving before his visits and recounted some of Irving's activities with young children at the resort.
Photographs from one of his trips to Acapulco and pornographic movie files found on Irving's home computer were also produced at the trial.
"They are horrendous crimes for the victims, many of whom become permanently traumatized," said ICE spokesman Dean Boyd.
Since April three Americans have been arrested under the Protect Act of April 2003 that doubled penalties for what is called international child sex tourism from 15 years to 30 years imprisonment, said Boyd, adding there are numerous other cases in the pipeline.
Irving was not subject to the stiffer punishment because his case predated the change.
In October, a man traveling to the Philippines where he was planning to have sex with girls aged 9 and 12 was arrested at a Los Angeles airport before leaving and agents found pornographic materials and 100 pounds of chocolates in his luggage, Boyd said.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
