Federal Crimes

The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office arrested 31 suspects involved in an undercover online child sex crimes operation as part of “Operation Deja Vu.” These suspects, ranging from ages 20 to 80 and coming from 5 different counties, reportedly engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with people who they believed were minor children. As a result of the undercover operation, 33 cell phones, 10 vehicles, drugs, champagne, lubricants,…

President Donald Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act) on November 25, 2019, which makes it a federal crime to be cruel to animals. A conviction will result in a federal prison sentence of up to seven years and/or a costly fine. The following intentional acts against living non-human mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds are banned under the PACT Act: Crushing Burning Drowning Impaling Suffocating Inflicting serious harm Ted Deutch (D-FL)…

In 2016, the Ohio legislature passed HB 523, legalizing medical cannabis. The state intends to have a fully functioning medical marijuana distribution system up and running by September of 2018. Cole Memo Repealed However, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threw a wrench into legalized marijuana systems in Ohio and other states last week when he repealed an Obama-era policy—known as the Cole memo—of leaving law-abiding marijuana businesses alone in those particular states. Federal prosecutors are…