Kevin Thompson (pastor)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Thompson is the pastor of the Bay Area Family Church, a Unification Church
congregation located in San Leandro
, California
. In 2006, he was indicted by a grand jury
for violating the Lacey Act
, a federal
law which criminalizes the sale and purchase of certain protected species. On January 22, 2007, Thompson was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and, according to Kevin V. Ryan, at that time the United States Attorney
for the Northern District of California
, five other persons, two of whom are members of the church, were charged with and pled guilty to participation in the shark smuggling operation. Thompson was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution
.
s (Triakis semifasciata) of less than 36 inches in length. Thus, after January 1994, it became unlawful under the Lacey Act to buy or sell leopard sharks of less than 36 inches in length.
. During that period of time, at least 465 leopard sharks were sold to companies in Miami
; Chicago
; Houston
; Romulus
, Michigan
; Milford
, Connecticut
; the Netherlands
; and the United Kingdom. Federal authorities learned of Thompson's involvement when pet dealers in Florida and Chicago were arrested and gave evidence against him.
, the founder and head of the Unification Church, was visiting the area, he explained the project to Moon, who became excited upon learning of it. Spokespeople for the church, however, have denied that the church knew of or condoned Thompson's activities. In a non-prosecution agreement with the government, the Unification Church agreed to pay $500,000 to a $1.5 million fund set up for the purpose of rehabilitating and restoring marine wildlife habitat in the San Francisco Bay
to further protect the leopard shark. $900,000 was added to the fund by the State of California and private environmental foundations. In March 2008, Thompson finished his sentence and was released from federal prison. In September 2008, he was attending the Unification Theological Seminary
in New York and had plans to write a book about his experiences.
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
congregation located in San Leandro
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 2006, he was indicted by a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
for violating the Lacey Act
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act of 1900, or more commonly The Lacey Act is a conservation law introduced by Iowa Rep. John F. Lacey. Protecting both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations, the Act most notably prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that...
, a federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
law which criminalizes the sale and purchase of certain protected species. On January 22, 2007, Thompson was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and, according to Kevin V. Ryan, at that time the United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Northern District of California
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San...
, five other persons, two of whom are members of the church, were charged with and pled guilty to participation in the shark smuggling operation. Thompson was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution
Restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court...
.
The Lacey Act
The Lacey Act prohibits selling or purchasing wildlife which was captured in violation of an underlying law or regulation. In January 1994, it became unlawful under California state law to capture leopard sharkLeopard shark
The leopard shark is a species of houndshark, family Triakidae, found along the Pacific coast of North America from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico...
s (Triakis semifasciata) of less than 36 inches in length. Thus, after January 1994, it became unlawful under the Lacey Act to buy or sell leopard sharks of less than 36 inches in length.
Shark smuggling
From 1992 through 2003, Thompson enlisted several young men to catch and sell juvenile leopard sharks (leopard sharks which were less than the minimum legal length) from the San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. During that period of time, at least 465 leopard sharks were sold to companies in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
; Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
; Romulus
Romulus, Michigan
Romulus is a suburban city of Metro Detroit, located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 census, an increase from 22,979 in 2000. Romulus is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and a General Motors plant that opened in 1976...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
; Milford
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
; the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
; and the United Kingdom. Federal authorities learned of Thompson's involvement when pet dealers in Florida and Chicago were arrested and gave evidence against him.
Connection of case with the Unification Church
In a 2003 sermon, Thompson mentioned that his fishing crew had spent a decade catching and selling juvenile leopard sharks to local pet stores. In the same sermon, Thompson stated that, when Sun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
, the founder and head of the Unification Church, was visiting the area, he explained the project to Moon, who became excited upon learning of it. Spokespeople for the church, however, have denied that the church knew of or condoned Thompson's activities. In a non-prosecution agreement with the government, the Unification Church agreed to pay $500,000 to a $1.5 million fund set up for the purpose of rehabilitating and restoring marine wildlife habitat in the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to further protect the leopard shark. $900,000 was added to the fund by the State of California and private environmental foundations. In March 2008, Thompson finished his sentence and was released from federal prison. In September 2008, he was attending the Unification Theological Seminary
Unification Theological Seminary
The Unification Theological Seminary , is the main seminary of the international Unification Church. It is located in Barrytown, New York and with an Extension Center in midtown Manhattan. Its purpose has been described as training leaders and theologians within the Unification Church. The...
in New York and had plans to write a book about his experiences.
Further reading
- Six Indicted in Scheme to Poach and Smuggle Protected California Leopard Sharks, United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
- Reverend Kevin Thompson: Moon knew about illegal shark catching, Audio excerpt of Thompson sermon, Freedom of Mind Center
- Prosecutors Net Leopard-Shark Smugglers, National Public Radio
- Unification Church to Pay $500,000 Into Wildlife Fund Over Pastor's Shark Poaching Conviction, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
- Shark poaching will cost Moon's church, Union-Tribune
- Thompson Shark Case, Account by a first hand observer.