Investigation initiated by Maryland Task Force leads to Delaware arrest

Georgetown – Following a two-state investigation into the distribution of child pornography, the Delaware Child Predator Task Force has arrested a Laurel resident on 25 counts of dealing in child pornography, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

“The threat predators pose doesn’t stop at the state line.  That’s why we work together with our local, state, and federal partners to keep kids safe in Delaware and across the nation,” Attorney General Biden said.

On Thursday, January 5, members of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force along with Delaware State Police Troopers and a federal Homeland Security agent executed two search warrants following an investigation into the distribution of child pornography.  The warrants were obtained based on a referral from the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force which, through an undercover online investigation, tracked the transmission of images of child pornography from a residence and place of business in Delaware.  One warrant was executed at the residence of William W. Barrall, age 50, at 7026 Shell Bridge Road in Laurel, where two computers and other digital media were seized.  An additional warrant was executed at Barrall’s place of employment, Mountaire Farms in Millsboro, whose management was cooperative in the investigation.  A computer and other digital evidence were seized from this location.

Preliminary forensic analysis of the computers revealed numerous files containing child pornography.  Barrell, who was traveling outside Delaware when the search warrants were executed, turned himself into Delaware authorities and was arrested on 25 counts of dealing in child pornography on Friday, January 6.  After arraignment at JP Court #2 he was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $250,000 bail.  Detectives have learned Barrall is no longer employed at Mountaire Farms.

A mug shot of Barrall is attached.

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Wilmington – Following President Barack Obama’s announcement today that he has named Richard Cordray as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden issued the following statement:

“As the Attorney General of Ohio, Richard Cordray established himself as one of the nation’s leading consumer protectors. I am confident he will continue those efforts on behalf of consumers across the nation as the new Director of the CFFB.”

As Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Cordray will spearhead the agency’s mission to protect the best interests of American consumers by ensuring they are treated fairly by lenders and given all the information they need to make positive financial decisions.

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WILMINGTON — Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden released the following statement today regarding the Delaware Department of Insurance’s approval of the proposed affiliation between BlueCross BlueShield Delaware and Highmark, Inc., which is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
“This affiliation is a bad deal for Delawareans and should not have been approved. BlueCross Shield of Delaware has a veritable monopoly on healthcare in our state, covering approximately 400,000 Delawareans.  Delawareans’ healthcare will be run out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Executives in Pittsburgh will determine the cost and quality of the health care Delawareans receive. Delaware granted tax breaks to BCBSD for 75 years. Now BCBSD is taking the $45 million in reserves it accumulated as a result of that subsidy to Pennsylvania. The Insurance Commissioner should have at least required that an independent foundation, not one controlled by BCBSD and Highmark, be established to ensure that the $45 million in reserves stay in Delaware for the benefit of Delawareans.”
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 Georgetown – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his office has secured an indictment against Leslie Laughlin, age 46, of Milton, charging her with Endangering the Welfare of a Child and other crimes for providing her daughter with prescription narcotics.  Her daughter died in July 2011 from a drug overdose.

 “This young woman’s avoidable death is a tragic testament to the danger of prescription drug misuse and abuse,” said Attorney General Biden.

On July 15, 2011, emergency personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive 17 year-old girl at a Milton-area residence.  The teenager died from what was determined to be a narcotic overdose.  The investigation, conducted by the Delaware State Police Troop 4 Major Crimes Unit, revealed that Leslie Laughlin, the girl’s mother, had on multiple occasions provided her with several narcotic drugs that had been prescribed to Laughlin.  Toxicology testing conducted after her daughter’s death revealed the presence of drugs that investigators determined Laughlin provided to her daughter, as well as significant amounts of other prescription narcotics.

The December 5 indictment charges Laughlin with 5 felonies, including 1 count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, 3 counts of Delivery of a controlled substance, and 1 count of delivery of a non-controlled prescription drug for providing her daughter with Vicodin and Xanax, commonly used to control pain, and Soma, a muscle relaxer.

On December 7, Laughlin turned herself in to State Police Troopers, was arraigned in Superior Court and released on $5,000 unsecured bail with pretrial supervision.

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.  Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the state bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 Wilmington – Today, Attorney General Beau Biden announced that his office has filed two complaints calling on the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and the Secretary of State to immediately suspend the medical license and controlled substances registration of Rodney Baltazar, D.O. and to schedule a hearing to ultimately revoke his license and registration. 

“This individual allegedly abused his medical credentials to engage in serious criminal activity with serious consequences,” said Attorney General Biden. “An immediate suspension of his medical license and controlled substances registration is the only way to protect the public from further potential harm.”

The Attorney General’s complaints, filed on December 5 and December 9, state that in April 2010, Baltazar was indicted in federal court in Florida on 20 counts of using his Delaware controlled substances registration to illegally distribute anabolic steroids.  Baltazar was later indicted in federal court in Missouri in September 2011 on five counts of distributing more than $1.3 million worth of steroids and human growth hormone using his Delaware controlled substances registration. Additionally, Baltazar was disciplined by the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct in October 2010 for violating a court order to repay student loans.

Citing these charges along with Baltazar’s failure to report them to the Board within 30 days as required by Delaware law, the complaints contend that his actions present an imminent danger to the public health and safety warranting an immediate temporary suspension of his license and controlled substances registration. Stating his illegal actions are detrimental to both the public health and the medical profession, the complaints cite Baltazar’s use of his Delaware controlled substances registration to issue prescriptions for dangerous drugs for non-therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, without conducting patient examinations and for no legitimate medical reason. He is also alleged to have deliberately failed to maintain records of his activity.

The temporary suspensions would go into immediate effect pending a final hearing on the complaints.

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