U.S. man convicted of going to Moldova to have sex, August 3

U.S. man convicted of going to Moldova to have sex

AP WorldStream
Friday, August 03, 2007 1:59:00 PM
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A wealthy motel owner from New Jersey was
convicted Friday of traveling to eastern Europe to sexually assault
impoverished boys in exchange for money and gifts.

Anthony Mark Bianchi, 44, was found guilty of virtually all the
charges he faced in federal court.

Bianchi was convicted of having sex with or attempting to have
sex with four boys on foreign soil, including in the isolated
Moldovan village of Trebujeni, in exchange for money, food, liquor,
trips and gifts.

During the three-week trial, most of which was heard through
translators, several Moldovan boys testified that Bianchi assaulted
them in small boarding houses where he stayed during his trips.

Mark Geragos, the high-profile lawyer representing Bianchi, said
his client enjoyed traveling to offbeat destinations and had no
ulterior motives for giving the boys gifts.


He said prosecutors had insufficient evidence to support their
allegations. He also told jurors that young witnesses gave
conflicting statements or were "lying through their teeth" on the
stand.

Bianchi's case is among more than 50 that have been brought
under a largely untested 2003 U.S. law, known as the Protect Act,
designed to thwart "sex tourism" by trying suspected overseas
child predators in U.S. courts.

About 50 people, including Bianchi, have been charged to date
under the law. About 30 of the defendants have been convicted.

The logistics of bringing victims and witnesses to a U.S.
courthouse raises constitutional issues that legal scholars expect
will reach the U.S. Supreme Court.