Ohio man gets prison time for stealing human bones

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man convicted of stealing and
selling human skulls and skeletons from a medical college was sentenced
Tuesday to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $85,000 in
restitution.
Weston Moquin, 29, who was an anatomical assistant in
the anatomy lab at Ohio University in Athens, pleaded guilty to
stealing human remains, autopsy saws and other items from the school,
reaping profits from online sales.
Federal Judge James Graham handed down Moquin’s sentence at a hearing in Columbus.
Defense
attorney Keith Yeazel that Moquin get probation, saying he’s a
first-time, nonviolent offender who stole to support a painkiller
addiction he developed after a back injury.
"Mr. Moquin is an
individual who understands his substance abuse had made a complete mess
of his and his family’s life," Yeazel wrote in a court record seeking
probation for his client.
"I don’t think you need to put him in prison to rehabilitate him," Yeazel said Tuesday ahead of
Moquin’s sentencing.
Federal
prosecutors had asked for Moquin to serve 27 months in prison, arguing
that he abused a position of trust and damaged Ohio University’s
reputation.
"As a result of the theft and attendant publicity, the
body donor program received many inquiries and it is unknown, and
probably unknowable, whether people decided against such a donation
based on defendant Moquin’s actions," prosecutors Deborah Solove wrote
in court documents.
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