Case highlights for 2015
In January of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC Investigators intercepted images that were uploaded to the internet from a residence that depicted young infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Investigators conducted additional research and learned the suspect living at the home had been arrested in 1982 for sexual assault of a minor and kidnapping. Also in 2008, the suspect was an investigative lead when a witness found a 2 year old child leaving his trailer with her diaper off. ICAC investigators conducted surveillance and discovered the suspect is a security guard and lived at the residence alone. A search warrant was served at the house and the suspect was interviewed. During the interview the suspect admitted to the images and he also admitted he took pictures of young children in his neighborhood that were standing on the corner. The suspect admitted he was sexually attracted to young children. The suspect also admitted to the 1982 incident and stated the incident in 2008 was a misunderstanding. During the on-scene computer examination, forensic examiners located hundreds of images of young children on the computer. Suspect was booked on 10 counts Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
In January of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, received several cybertips of two young boys being sexually abused. Suspect was chatting with multiple other child molesters. They were discussing meeting and having sex with her children. Investigators from Internet Crimes Against Children rescued two young children after intercepting images over the internet that depicted a toddler being sexually abused by an adult female. Upon further examination of the images, investigators discovered the children were actively being sexually abused. Detectives conducted extensive and exhaustive investigation into the night and located the residence where the images were sent. Detectives located and rescued the two children, ages 3 and 6, and arrested an adult female. Detectives interviewed the offender and she admitted to molesting the two victims taking pictures of the abuse and creating child pornography. She also admitted to distributing the images. The offender also discussed choking the 3 year old until he became unconscious and was concerned not to kill him. Detectives served a search warrant on the home and located additional images of the children being sexually victimized. Offender was also in possession of other images of different children being sexually abused. The offender was booked on child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor.
In February of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC Investigators intercepted images that were uploaded to the internet from a residence that depicted young infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Investigators conducted additional research and learned the suspect living at the home was a registered sex offender and had gone to prison for a prior child molestation arrest. A search warrant was served at the house and the suspect was interviewed. During the interview the suspect admitted to the images, he also admitted he is still very much sexually attracted to children. Suspect was booked federally on 10 counts Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
In February of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC Investigators intercepted images that were being traded over the internet from a residence that depicted young infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Investigators conducted additional research and learned the suspect was living alone in the apartment. Next door were a number of young children living and playing in front of his apartment. A search warrant was served at the apartment and the suspect was interviewed. During the interview, the suspect learned what the warrant was for and invoked. Evidence was located in the home and showed the offender was the person committing the crimes. In addition, the computer was on and downloading videos and images as the warrant was served. During a forensic preview, over 25,000 videos and pictures were identified on the computer. A neighborhood canvas was conducted to determine if any children were seen at the suspect’s house. Suspect was booked on 10 counts Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
In March of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC investigators served a search warrant in regards to a child pornography and child molestation investigation. During the investigation, detectives recovered images and conversations between the offender and another adult in regards to molesting a 3 year old boy. Upon further investigation at the house, detectives recovered additional evidence that depicted young children being sexually abused. The victim has been identified and located during a previous investigation. Suspect was interviewed by detectives and admitted to the possession of the images and directing the other adult to sexually abuse the victim. Suspect was booked into the Maricopa County Jail, charged with one count of Child Molestation, One count of Sexual Conduct with a minor and ten counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
In March of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC investigators intercepted images that were uploaded to the internet from a residence that depicted young infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Investigators conducted additional research and learned the suspect living at the home has a prior arrest for weapons and has a 2 year old son. ICAC investigators conducted surveillance and discovered the suspect is a construction worker and travels around the state. A search warrant was served at the house and the suspect was not home. Investigators discovered the suspect was in Prescott. During the scene examination, a large amount of videos and images of young infants were located. The suspect fled the area. Information was obtained the suspect had a handgun and is on the run. Suspect was apprehended in Texas and extradited back to Arizona. Suspect was arrested and booked for 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
In March of2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC investigators identified a suspect who uploaded over 300 images depicting infants being sexually abused. The images were of children under 6 months old. Investigators conducted additional follow-up and identified a residence. A warrant was served at the residence and the suspect was identified. Investigators interviewed the suspect and he admitted to being sexually attracted to the images and the age of the kids. The suspect told investigators he knows what he is doing is bad but can’t stop. Evidence was found at the house and the suspect was booked on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
In May of 2015, during an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Phoenix Police and the FBI Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, ICAC investigators identified a subject from Dropbox who was uploading images of young children being sexually abused. This was a very complex case involving a number of social media websites, Dropbox and other digital evidence. Investigators worked to identify the suspect and an address he was uploading the images from. During further examination, it was determined the subject appeared to be taking pictures and molesting a young girl around 3-5 years old, in addition to the other child porn images. Investigators learned the subject might be in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Phoenix ICAC investigators flew to Lake Havasu City and served the warrant at the residence with support from Lake Havasu City Police. The suspect was interviewed by ICAC investigators and he confessed to molesting the child from age 3 to 5. In addition, he produced numerous images and videos. Additional victims have been identified. The suspect was the babysitter for three families with small children. The suspect also admitted to molesting the victim on a weekly basis. The scene was searched and biological evidence was found as well. Suspect was booked on numerous sex crimes/crimes against children.