Memo: Balyo’s Co-conspirator ‘extremely Sorry’

WOOD
December 16, 2014

http://woodtv.com/2014/12/16/memo-balyos-co-conspirator-extremely-sorry/

The man who arranged meetings for sex between former Christian radio host John Balyo and a boy around the age of 12 is scheduled to be sentenced in a federal courtroom in Grand Rapids on Wednesday.

Ronald Moser, 43, pleaded guilty in August to possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child. Moser admitted that he and Balyo took graphic photos of the boy at Moser’s Battle Creek home and that he then put those photos on the Internet.

The prosecution’s pre-sentencing memorandum has been sealed, but Moser’s defense attorney’s has not. In the memo, defense attorney Paul Mitchell says that claims by an unnamed source that Moser took one of his 4-year-old children on extended semi-truck trips are “incredible” and untrue. Mitchell also said statements claiming Moser made $100,000 in two weeks from selling child porn is “equally incredible.”

Mitchell goes on to say Moser is “a largely unsophisticated defendant. At 43 years of age he can hardly be described as having been a success in life; indeed the opposite is true, as evidenced by his appearance in this court.”

“When contrasted to his co-conspirator, Mr. Balyo, he comes in a sorry second,” the report continues. “Mr. Moser, using the internet, openly and notoriously invited responses to his website. Mr. Balyo responded by providing hotel rooms, clothing and sexual apparatus. Mr. Moser provided the victim.”

Mitchell wrote that “Moser is extremely sorry and ashamed, as he will tell the court.”

Mitchell also said Moser claims he was “repeatedly molested as a child.”

“This is not surprising given what we now know about the cyclical nature of child sexual abuse. The sins of the father are visited on the sons over and over again, with sickening inevitability. This of course does not excuse Mr. Moser, but does explain,” the document says.

Mitchell said Moser is receiving some support from his family members, who are also “having a hard time dealing with these events.”

A letter from Moser’s parents says that after a bicycle accident, head injury and near-death experience when he was 12, Moser “struggled” and that as an adult he has had difficulty keeping a job and “maintaining a normal life routine.”

His parents wrote that Moser is a good man and often helps people he doesn’t know. They said they don’t condone what he has done, but asked the judge to show some leniency in sentencing.

“We pray that Ron can turn to God to be healed and redeemed,” they wrote.

A handwritten letter from Moser’s daughter said he was a good and loving father who often played with his children.

“When all is done, we simply ask for a sufficient sentence that is no greater than necessary to comply with U.S.C. 3553(a)(2),” Mitchell’s sentencing memo concludes.

That code requires that sentences reflect the seriousness of the offense and provide just punishment, act as an adequate deterrent to crime and protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.

The investigation into Moser led authorities to Baylo, who last week was sentenced to 40 years in a federal prison for sexually assaulting and taking photos of the 12-year-old boy in Kalamazoo County in April. In a related case in Calhoun County, Balyo was sentenced in November to 25 to 50 years in prison on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.