Philadelphia Man Gets Long Sentence For Overseas Trip To Have Sex With Boy
by Mark Abrams, KYW Newsradio 1060
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An international, high-powered lawyer from Philadelphia -- convicted of traveling to Russia have sex with a minor (see related story) -- learned his fate today in federal court.
Before imposing the 15-year sentence on Kenneth Schneider and ordering him to pay $35,000 in restitution to the victim, Judge Juan Sanchez labeled him a "monster" and a man who made a child his "sex slave."
Prosecutors say Schneider, founder of the Apogee Foundation, traveled to Moscow in 1998 to offer assistance to any struggling students of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. They say he convinced the parents of a 12-year-old boy at that time to accept his sponsorship and let the boy live with him at an apartment near the school.
Schneider, 47, was convicted in October 2010 of traveling for the purpose of engaging in sex with a minor.
Judge Sanchez, in discussing the case and his rationale for the maximum sentence, said Schneider molested the boy over a six-year period, beginning in 2001.
Schneider's attorney is furious at the sentence and vows to appeal.
"The judge starts talking about 12-years-old and he's a predator," attorney Sam Stretton fumed. "There's not one bit of testimony on that -- there's not one jury finding on that."
But prosecutor Michelle Morgan says the sentence was on target. She says the victim, now 25, is living in Arizona and trying to put his life back together.
"My main and most sincere hope from today is that this will help the victim recover and move forward," she told KYW Newsradio.
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