Man arrested for female circumcision denied bail

LOS ANGELES - A judge denied bail Tuesday for a man charged with agreeing to circumcise two young girls, after a prosecutor said the man might also be indicted for producing child pornography. Todd Cameron Bertrang, 41, was arrested Friday, along with his 24-year-old girlfriend, Robyn Faulkinbury, following what authorities said was a yearlong investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Aveis said in court Tuesday that Bertrang may face additional charges involving child pornography authorities allegedly found on his computer. Also, there is an outstanding warrant for Bertrang's arrest on state fraud charges, and he could face charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Aveis said. Police said they found six guns at Bertrang's home, despite a prior conviction for perjury. In denying his bail request, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Woehrle ruled there was too little information to determine that Bertrang is not a flight risk. In a statement read in court by his attorney, Bertrang said he is involved in piercing and body modification, but not female circumcision, a traditional procedure in some African cultures that may involve the removal of the clitoris or all the external genitalia. "I kept telling them it was a federal crime and wrong," he said of the FBI agents who posed as an Egyptian couple who wanted their 8- and 12-year-old daughters to have the procedure. "I refused them for 14 months. I never agreed to any such thing and have never done such a thing." The FBI investigation was sparked by a tip that Bertrang had circumcised a 10- or 11-year-old girl, according to an arrest affidavit. Bertrang and Faulkinbury were charged with conspiracy to violate the federal Prohibition of Female Mutilation Act of 1995, which outlaws the removal of certain sexual organs on girls under 18 unless it is medically necessary and only then if performed by a licensed medical practitioner. Both are set to be arraigned on Feb. 2.