A weekly tab of what’s going
on in the courts.
By Logan Beck
For BigTrial.net
A Souderton, PA man’ fate was sealed on July 13 and will serve 15 years in prison for distributing and possessing a mass amount of child pornography.
Ian Ranberg, 50, was initially arrested in 2013 after he allegedly received images of child pornography in May, August and September of that year. In 2014, Ranberg pled guilty to distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.
The investigation began as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative created to combat the growing child sexual abuse and exploitation across the nation.
In total, law enforcement collected hundreds of thousands of child pornography images from various electronic devices including external hard drives from Ranberg’s home.
As part of his sentence, Ranberg also faces 10 years of supervised release, restitution of $25,000, and a $400 special assessment.
Cheaters never win...instead, they get 10 years probation.
Evelyn Cortez, 61, “promoted a culture of cheating on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams,” according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
These tests, known as the PSSAs, are administered to assess language arts and mathematics skills in children from grades 3-8.
Prior to her arrest, Cortez served as the principal of Cayuga Elementary School in Philadelphia. She is the first defendant from Cayuga being sentenced.
In May 2014, Cortez was arrested after rumors emerged that she and other educators from Cayuga changed answers, provided students with correct answers, and reviewed the PSSAs before submitting them.
Cortez supposedly entered classrooms during the test, and tapped her pencil indicating that a student needed to change an answer in the test booklet. She also is accused of reprimanding teachers who did not participate in the PSSA cheating, as well as students who refused to change their answers.
Cortez faces seven years probation for tampering with evidence and criminal conspiracy, three years of consecutive probation on a perjury charge, 100 hours of community service, and also had her teaching certificate revoked.
Juanita L. Berry, 48, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, faces five years in prison after selling millions of dollars worth of telecommunications equipment.
From 2008-2011, Berry worked as a consultant for a telecommunications company in Indiana, beginning as a sales representatives and eventually moving up in the ranks to vice president. She worked in both the Levittown, Pennsylvania office and the Dayton, New Jersey office. The company installed and removed electronic circuit boards ranging in price from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
On the side, Berry owned a company known as J. Starr Communications Inc., and used that company to commit a fraudulent crime. Berry sold new and used cards from the company as if they were her own, and pocketed the earnings amassing $3.5 million.
In addition to five years in prison, Berry faces three years of supervised release and a restitution of $3.4 million.