Iowa Child Predator Sentenced

An Iowa man was sentenced Thursday, January 31, 2013, to 20 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving images of child pornography and transmitting obscene material to a minor under the age of 16 years old. 

The sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Jupiter Police Department.

According to court documents, Eric Runyan, 31, of Earlham, Iowa, used an online social networking application to contact and initiate a chat with a 9-year-old girl in Jupiter, Fla.

Runyan, using his screen name Hard_n_big2000, asked the victim, "How old u?"
The 9-year-old immediately responded, "10 … Leave me alone."

Runyan continued to chat with the victim and sent the child a picture of his genitals. He then proceeded to ask the 9-year-old to take and transmit sexually explicit images of herself, which she did. When the 9-year-old tried to end the conversation, Runyan sent her threatening text messages, saying that he would ruin the 9-year-old's iPhone. He also threatened to find and kill her.

When the 9-year-old reported the incident to her parents, Jupiter Police Department detectives and HSI special agents were able to determine that the communications originated from Runyan's home.

Runyan was arrested and confessed to his involvement in the crime. He stated that he used his iPod Touch to communicate with the 9-year-old victim, transmit the images of himself to her and receive the sexually explicit images of the child.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

Texas Child Predator Sentenced for Enticing a Minor

A south Texas man was sentenced Wednesday, January 23, 2013, to 11 years and three months in federal prison for enticing a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Pharr Police Department (PD).

Teofanes Salas-Campos, 40, Mission, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to 135 months in prison. He pleaded guilty Sept. 17, 2012 that he intended to have sex with a minor for money. After he completes his prison term, Salas-Campos will also serve a five year term of supervised release, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

During Wednesday's court hearing, evidence presented indicated that Salas-Campos had taken a photograph of the victim on her cell phone which showed sexually explicit conduct. The sentence was enhanced because the minor victim was only 14 years old at the time, and because there was a commission of a sex act.

According to court documents, in April 2012, Pharr PD contacted HSI concerning the solicitation of a minor for sexual purposes. Special agents recovered a cellular telephone that was being used by a 14-year-old girl to receive messages from men requesting sex in exchange for money. Posing as the minor, special agents began conversing with the unknown men via text messages on the cellphone.

During this investigation, two others were arrested and charged separately with enticing a minor. Felipe de Jesus Ponce-Torres, 24, of Mexico, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Micaela Alveraz who sentenced him in November 2012 to 10 years in prison. Jose Luis Garcia-Saldivar, 28, also of Mexico, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa, and will be sentenced May 9.

In their respective guilty pleas, all three men admitted they intended to have sex with an individual whom they believed was a minor, and that they were going to pay the minor between $80 and $100.

All three men have been and will remain in custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Juan Villescas, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.

Indiana Man Sentenced for Child Exploitation

A man from Indiana was sentenced Tuesday, January 22, 2013, to serve 34 years and four months in federal prison for attempted coercion and enticement (to engage in unlawful sexual activity with a minor child), and distributing child pornography.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Walsh, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Kumar Kibble.

Following his prison sentence, Steven Raines, 35, of Fort Wayne, Ind., was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve a life time on supervised release. Raines appeared at the hearing in custody, and was remanded immediately after.

Raines was first charged by Criminal Complaint July 2, 2012. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver July 9. He pleaded guilty Oct. 24. And he was sentenced Jan. 22.

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on April 1, 2012, an HSI special agent based in Glenwood Springs, Colo., was chatting online in an undercover capacity. Specifically, the special agent's undercover persona was that of a single mother of two daughters under the age of 16. The undercover special agent (undercover) entered a chat room, accessible by anyone, whose topic focused on sex with children. While in the chat room, the undercover engaged in a chat with an individual who expressed interest in having sex with the undercover and her two minor children. The individual went on to say that he had been searching for 20 years for someone like the undercover who would provide sexual access to her children, and that he discovered that he was a "pedo" when he was 15. He also said that he had been previously accused of molesting a child to whom he had access, and that he previously attempted to meet someone like the undercover in person, but the person failed to show up.

The individual continued chatting and emailing with the undercover by using his smart phone for the next three months. He told the undercover that he did not have a computer. Eventually investigators identified the individual as 35-year old Steven Raines, who lived in Fort Wayne, Ind. As the chats between Raines and the undercover progressed, Raines began to send pictures, some of which depicted child pornography. Eventually Raines and the undercover began to make plans for him to travel to Colorado in order to have sex with, or rape, the two young girls. The defendant's main interest, however, was the child who was under the age of 6. He discussed wanting to father a child with the undercover. Raines also discussed other children he knew from church or his neighborhood, in whom he had a sexual interest and with whom he attempted to have some sort of contact.

As the travel plans were finalized, Raines stated that he was going to bring his child pornography collection with him to Colorado in order to "teach" the girls, and stated an interest in producing child pornography with the undercover and the two minor girls. The content of the child pornography he was bringing featured mostly prepubescent females engaged in sexual acts and included sadistic or masochistic conduct. During the communications between Raines and the undercover, he made statements about both of his children, and about sexually molesting a minor child to whom he had access, and that he produced images of child pornography of him sexually abusing that child.

The defendant began his travel to Colorado June 29, 2012. He sent texts to the undercover throughout the trip. On June 30, near Topeka, Kan., the defendant's van broke down. He rented a vehicle to complete his journey. On June 30, the defendant arrived at a residence in Garfield County, Colo., which was the address provided to him by the undercover. After arriving, he was taken into custody. Special agents and officers seized Raines' cell phone, which has the capacity to take photographs and video. The phone contained about 130 still images and 84 videos of child pornography. During a lawful search of Raines' home, special agents and officers found various discs containing child pornography. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children identified 23 known series of child pornography featuring real child victims among the images the defendant had on his cell phone and in his email.

"Sexually exploiting children carries extraordinarily severe penalties - decades in federal prison, followed by a life term of supervised release," said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. "It is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice to protect children by prosecuting predators such as Raines."

"This significant prison sentence removes another child predator from the streets for decades to come, which helps protect children everywhere," said Kumar C. Kibble, special agent in charge of HSI Denver. "Unfortunately, there are many predators like Steven Raines who pretend to lead normal lives. But our HSI special agents, partnering with other law enforcement agencies, go to extraordinary lengths to help protect and rescue these child victims, while also targeting and prosecuting those who prey on them."

This case was investigated by HSI and the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. HSI Indianapolis and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Fort Wayne, Ind., also played an important role in this investigation and prosecution.

Raines was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Heldmyer and ICE Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lillian Alves, with support from Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts Wolak.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Awarded by his for Assistance in Operation Holitna

A local federal prosecutor, who has a well-earned reputation for successfully prosecuting cases investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Boston, received top honors from the agency Friday, January 18, 2013. He was honored for his outstanding professional achievements as a leading member of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Yoon was recognized for his contributions to federal child exploitation prosecutions, particularly Operation Holitna. His work with HSI, focused on child exploitation investigations, has resulted in the arrests of numerous child predators worldwide.

Operation Holitna is an ongoing HSI-led investigation that originated in Boston in 2010. In November 2010 the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts and HSI Boston arrested Robert Diduca on child pornography production charges. He was convicted and subsequently sentenced in June 2012.

Forensic analysis of Diduca's computer led investigators to the Netherlands where a Dutch national was arrested and charged with production, distribution and possession of child pornography, as well as the sexual abuse of 87 minors. Since the launch of this worldwide operation, more than 160 children have been rescued and 50 perpetrators arrested worldwide.

"The grim reality is that online child exploitation is a very real part of our modern lives and it is going on throughout the world, right now, on a grand scale," said ICE Director John Morton. "Thanks to the expertise of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Yoon - who has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to prosecuting these types of cases - child predators are being brought to justice each and every day. Michael's dedication to the cause ultimately led to the discovery of the largest case of child exploitation in Dutch history."

"During his time in the Major Crimes Unit, Michael demonstrated unwavering commitment to prosecuting child exploitation cases," said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, District of Massachusetts. "It was Michael's extraordinary ability to balance the complexity of a constantly expanding case - that demanded the collaboration of national and international law enforcement agencies - which led to the prosecution and sentencing of Robert Diduca and a vast network of online child sex offenders. We are fortunate to have such a passionate and dedicated prosecutor working on our team."

His expertise on prosecuting these cases continues to this day, as Operation Holitna continues to arrest pedophiles who are sexually abusing children and producing child pornography in Europe, Asia and North America.

HSI special agents, who have worked closely with Assistant U.S. Attorney Yoon for years stated:

• "There was never a day or night that Michael wouldn't respond to calls from HSI Boston for assistance - even at 2:30 in the morning. His efforts were constantly going above and beyond the normal expectations special agents have of federal prosecutors."
• "He is the most responsive assistant U.S. attorney I have ever worked with in my career. When working with Mike, there was never any doubt we were one team."
• "Mike has a unique blend of legal experience - with an investigator's mindset - which fit perfectly with the goals of Operation Holitna. Without his guidance and support, I am certain that we wouldn't have achieved the many successes over the past two years."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Yoon has been assigned to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts since 2010. From 2005 to 2010, Yoon worked as a trial attorney in Washington for the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. He has been recently reassigned to the U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Operation Holitna, and other New England-based investigations that protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers, are run out of HSI's state-of-the-art forensic laboratory in Boston. This facility, located in the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, assists federal, state and local law enforcement authorities in New England with a wide range of forensic investigative support in cases that are often complex, and require significant examination and analysis.

The forensic lab prepares investigators as they team with other state and local investigative experts, as well as prosecutors throughout New England. Several other federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have expressed their support of efforts to strengthen investigative techniques to remain competitive with the ever-changing world of scientific technology. The lab employs the latest technology to collect evidence and track the activities of individuals and organized groups who sexually exploit children through the use of websites, chat rooms, newsgroups and peer-to-peer trading. As Internet access continues to expand, the forensic lab brings the full range of HSI computer and forensic assets together in a single location to combat such Internet-related crimes.

These types of investigations are part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Social Security Employee Charged with Viewing Child Pornography at Work

A 49-year-old federal employee from Lynnwood made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday, January 9, 2013, on child pornography charges following his arrest at the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in Seattle.

Thomas Joseph Barrett, a senior case technician with the SSA, is accused of using his government computer to view child pornography. According to the complaint filed in the case, the SSA obtained evidence of inappropriate Internet use during work hours by the defendant in November 2012. A review of Barrett's Internet history and an examination of his computer's hard drive produced evidence that he had viewed child pornography. Investigators also found that he had accessed news stories about the penalties for possessing and distributing child pornography. Barrett has been placed on indefinite leave by the SSA.

The case is being investigated by the SSA's Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Washington State Patrol. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington is prosecuting.

Accessing child pornography with intent to view is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.