McLaughlin sentenced

After testimony from federal officials describing decades of sexual abuse, Richard "Rick" Ellsworth McLaughlin was given the maximum possible sentence.

U.S. District Judge Rob Junell sentenced the former publisher of the Winkler County News to 10 years in federal men's prison in Butner, N.C. McLaughlin, 62, pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of child pornography Sept. 24.

The Butner facility offers treatment for sex offenders and the mentally ill, Junell said.

In addition, McLaughlin, a former Odessa American reporter, will face 20 years of supervised release when he leaves prison. He will not be allowed around firearms or alcohol or other intoxicants and will need permission from a probation officer to access the Internet or contact anyone under 18.

Just before the sentence was laid down, McLaughlin addressed the judge. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles with a few hairs combed over the top of his mostly bald head, his own attorney called him a "62-year-old frail old man," something Junell took offense to.

"You were doing well until you got there," Junell said.

When he spoke, McLaughlin apologized to his family, friends and victims of child pornography. He also apologized for his actions causing "sensationalized publicity" which brought a "scandal-seeking media" descending upon Kermit.

"Although I didn't create the images, I participated in my own small way," he said.

McLaughlin cited his work with Lions and Rotary clubs, as well as the Kermit Chamber of Commerce and having cared for his ailing mother as reasons for leniency.

"I have come into no contact at any time with a real or recognized person," he said. "I have shared no images with others."

McLaughlin said, if he were to be released earlier, it would allow him to work with church and charitable groups like the Red Cross.

"Certainly, a National Public Radio program to read newspapers to the blind has my name all over it," he said.

Afterward, a victim impact statement from a Minnesota man who accused McLaughlin of molesting him was read.

"It is obvious to me that Mr. McLaughlin cannot take personal responsibility," he wrote.

Junell said he gave McLaughlin the maximum sentence because of the 34 videos, totaling 625 minutes, containing child pornography found on his computer - each of which he read out the length of and parts of the titles, including words like "Gay," "Boy," "11" and "Brazil Kids."

"This is a serious crime," Junell said. "Child pornography is not a victimless crime."

Junell said he didn't take into account testimony by FBI investigators Dina Morales and David Sutherland, as well as U.S. District Attorney John Klassen, who said McLaughlin had a long history of abusing children.

But he said an increased sentence was warranted because of the amount of child pornography found. Under federal guidelines, every video clip of longer than five minutes counts as finding 75 still images.

Morales, the FBI's lead investigator in the case, recounted discussions with McLaughlin's ex-wife, in which the woman told the agent he had been charged with "commission of a lewd act of a child under 14" and "contributing to the delinquency of a minor." Prosecutor Kerry Fleck said the case was pardoned for an unknown reason.

McLaughlin's ex-wife claimed to find her husband in his underwear with a "9-year-old freckled boy," Morales said.

"She asked them what they were doing, and she recalled Mr. McLaughlin saying they were working out," Morales said.

When called to the stand, Klassen talked about a call he'd received from a Minnesota man who was a family friend of McLaughlin, who'd heard about the case on the Internet.

The man told of a camping trip he took while in his early teens with his brother and the man he called "Uncle Rick," where McLaughlin touched him inappropriately, Klassen said.

Morales also discussed reports from Kermit, where she said a former Winkler County News employee saw McLaughlin involved with child pornography 11 years ago.

"She told me she knew he was into child pornography, because there was talk about it in the office," Morales said. "Others in the office were intimidated."

Morales said the employee reported the case to the Kermit Police Department, but the department didn't press charges because Internet child pornography was still new and the department lacked resources.

She also said a Kermit police officer once approached McLaughlin's home to find a young male running off behind the house. Shortly afterward, the officer told her he found McLaughlin in boxer shorts crouching behind a car in his driveway. McLaughlin told the officer he had gone outside because he heard dogs barking.

Officers were never able to find the boy, Morales testified.

"All of this clearly shows that Mr. McLaughlin has a pattern of over three decades of exploiting children," attorney Fleck said.

But defense attorney Richard Alvarado argued that those testifying had no way of knowing if the people they spoke with were credible.

"Any of them could have been brought before the court, but they weren't," he said.

He even raised the possibility of the man from Minnesota calling Klassen and making up a story.

"With all your resources, in a town of 5,000 - Kermit, Texas - you could not find one person who said Mr. McLaughlin molested them, is that correct?" he asked Morales.

"That's correct," she replied.

At one point, Junell admonished Alvarado for continuing to argue after the judge ruled that the name of one of the accusers shouldn't be admitted in court.

"Don't shake your arms at me, Mr. Alvarado," Junell said. "Put your arms down."

"Just for the record, Mr. Klassen shakes his arms and lifts his arms," Alvarado responded.

After his client was led off by federal marshals, Alvarado said the reasons Junell gave for issuing the sentence were sufficient.

"I appreciate the fact that he didn't consider all the hearsay that was produced by the government," he said.

Still, he said he'd have to talk with McLaughlin before deciding whether or not to appeal the sentence.

Klassen said he was happy with the closure of the case, which started when McLaughlin was arrested outside his Kermit home Aug. 7.

The amount of child pornography found on McLaughlin's computer was among the larger amounts found in the area "for some time," Klassen said.

He said McLaughlin's problems likely went beyond that.

"There were a number of other instances that certainly lead one to believe that Mr. McLaughlin has had pedophilic issues for some time," Klassen said.

Klassen said it was difficult talking to the now 48-year-old man who claimed McLaughlin molested him.

"It's hard when you're talking to a man in his mid-40s, who ends up, in his mind and his emotions, rocked back to when he was 12 years old," he said.

Klassen said he understood why Alvarado was questioning investigators' findings.

"He's doing his job," he said. "Mr. Alvarado's an excellent lawyer."