Latest news with #JosephGunter
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New Mexico man sentenced in kidnapping and rape case involving county minor
A New Mexico man was sentenced in federal court to 28 years in prison earlier this week, after previously pleading guilty to two charges related to the kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a 12-year-old Hartsgrove Township resident in 2023. Joseph Gunter pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity in February before Northern District of Ohio Judge Charles Fleming, court records show. The 28-year sentence handed down Wednesday by Fleming will be followed by lifetime supervised release with mandated conditions, court records show. Ashtabula County Sheriff William Niemi credited the hard work of Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department Detective Ryan Reece and assistance from a variety of agencies, including the FBI. 'I'm happy [Gunter] got what he got,' Niemi said. 'I think that is appropriate.' He said, to his knowledge, that was the maximum penalty in the case. The case began on Sept. 23, 2023, when the victim disappeared while walking in Hartsgrove Township. For more than 24 hours, law enforcement and volunteers searched the area, looking for the victim. Law enforcement got a break in the case when it was determined the victim had contact with a man on the internet, and details of who he was became evident. Numerous law enforcement agencies got involved in the case, Niemi said at the time. Detectives were able to get a license plate and description of the suspect's vehicle, and got a picture of it in Kentucky, which led to Gunter's arrest in Texas, Niemi said previously.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
New Mexico man who sexually exploited Ashtabula 12-year-old is headed to prison
[Watch previous FOX 8 I-Team coverage in the player above.] CLEVELAND (WJW) — A New Mexico man who drove more than 1,600 miles from that state to kidnap and sexually exploit a 12-year-old Ashtabula girl was sentenced Monday, June 30, to 28 years in prison. Joseph Gunter, 41, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in February to sexual exploitation of a child and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity, according to a news release from Carol Skutnik, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Local health care workers charged with Medicaid fraud The 12-year-old girl was reported missing the morning of Sept. 21, 2023, according to the release. A witness told authorities the girl had been communicating via a social media app with a person from Albuquerque, later identified as Gunter. Investigators said Gunter had been talking with the victim for months and the girl at one point deleted her account and made a new one to avoid him. Gunter reportedly found the new account and they began talking again. The morning of Sept. 21, 2023, the girl was out walking when Gunter drove up next to her and ordered her to get into his vehicle, threatening her with a gun, reads the release. He then took her out of state. When the girl didn't return home for two hours, her mother called deputies, the FOX 8 I-Team reported in 2023. On the drive to New Mexico, they stayed at multiple hotels where he 'proceeded to physically assault and repeatedly raped her,' reads the release. Planned Parenthood closes Cleveland facility; Cleveland Department of Public Health to fill gaps License plate-reading cameras spotted Gunter's car in Kentucky about 10 hours after she was reported missing, Ashtabula County Sheriff William Niemi told the I-Team in 2023. The alert went out to law enforcement officers nationwide. Authorities found Gunter's vehicle days later in Gray County, Texas, 'through a series of intensive and investigative efforts,' reads the release. They found the victim in his car as well as two firearms. 'We found her safe,' Niemi said. 'Thank God for that.' Upon his release, Gunter will be supervised for the rest of his life. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $5,000 into a fund that assists victims of child sexual abuse and $10,000 into a fund that assists human trafficking victims. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
