On November 13, 2019, a 14-year-old girl went missing from her middle school in Lubbock, Texas. Through a thorough but rapid investigation, law enforcement accessed devices, online accounts, GPS data, and eventually located the child with her abductor, Thomas John Boukamp, in Alden, Michigan. The child was rescued, but the investigation uncovered a year of horrific messages between Boukamp and the child, a suicide attempt, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and inevitably the abduction. While in Michigan, the child endured extensive sexual and physical abuse at Boukamp's hands. This presentation will discuss the investigation including working with federal, state, and local partners in multiple jurisdictions and obtaining evidence to locate a missing child and to be used at trial; mental health challenges to prosecution including claims of autism spectrum disorder; and prosecuting a federal child abuse and exploitation case with a minor victim and a pro se defendant.
Learning Objectives:
Assess how to quickly investigate a missing child case involving federal, state, and local partners among multiple jurisdictions while obtaining and preserving evidence for prosecution
Prepare and understand how to combat an incompetency defense including dealing with defense claims of autism spectrum disorder
Prosecute a child victim case with a defendant who represents himself, including how to best handle defendant's review of evidence, pretrial preparation, and trial itself
