FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN

CONTACT: Natalya LaBauve
(415) 436-7055

Natalya.LaBauve@usdoj.gov

FORMER SUBSTITUTE TEACHER AND COACH SENTENCED TO 51 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT FOR TRAVELING TO HAVE SEX WITH A MINOR

OAKLAND – United States Attorney Scott N. Schools announced that Ronald Sherman, 45, of Durango, California, was sentenced today to 51 months imprisonment for traveling from Colorado to California to engage in sex with a minor. According to the plea agreement, in early 2004, Mr. Sherman began a relationship over the Internet with a girl who he later learned was 16 years old. He then traveled from Colorado to a hotel in Concord, California, where the two engaged in various sexual acts. Several months later, he traveled from Colorado to a San Francisco hotel, again to engage in sexual acts with the minor. Mr. Sherman is a former high school substitute teacher and wrestling coach.

Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen also sentenced Mr. Sherman to a five-year term of supervised release. In addition, Mr. Sherman will be required to register as a sex offender. The Court will determine at a later time the appropriate amount of restitution for the victim, who is currently receiving psychological counseling.

The investigation, part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood, is a result of the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. Project Safe Childhood is a national initiative launched last year by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at combining federal, state and local law enforcement resources in order to bring more online child exploitation prosecutions, and to educate the public about the dangers that the Internet poses to children.

Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan-Kelly, the District’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, and Assistant United States Attorney Merry Jean Chan, prosecuted the case, with the assistance of victim witness specialist Deb Kusber and legal assistant Cynthia Daniel.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 06-00043-DLJ