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Chicago Woman Arrested for Selling Fraudulent Identity Documents to Illegal Aliens
A woman was arrested Wednesday, February 13, 2013, on charges she allegedly sold fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens. These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigra

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Criminal Aliens Deported for Child Sex Abuse Charges

Two Utah felons separately convicted of sexual abuse of a child were deported Thursday, January 31, 2013, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Andres Sanpedro-Jeronimo, 30, formerly of Magna and Angel Adrian Jaurequi-Lopez, 24, formerly of Orem, were removed from the Salt Lake City area to Mexico after completing prison terms at correctional facilities in Utah.

In 2006, Sanpedro-Jeronimo and two other co-defendants pleaded guilty in Utah’s 3rd District Court to committing the 2004 sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl. Prosecutors said the trio took turns sexually abusing the girl all the while documenting the crime on film. They were turned in to police by a store clerk when they had the film developed. Sanpedro-Jeronimo was sentenced to a term of one to 15 years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in connection to the photos. He was sentenced to 60 months, which was served consecutively with his state term.

Jauregui-Lopez was arrested in November 2011 by local police for sexually abusing a young girl. He was convicted in Utah’s 4th District Court in 2012 of sexual abuse of a child and sentenced to a term of one to 15 years. Being illegally present in the U.S. and having been deported three times before, Jauregui-Lopez was charged and convicted of the federal crime of illegal reentry of a previously removed alien. He served 69 days in federal prison before being deported again Thursday, January 31, 2013.

“Every day ERO officers track criminal aliens serving prison terms in Utah to ensure they are immediately taken into ICE custody when they are released,” said Thomas E. Feeley, acting field office director for ERO Salt Lake City. “These are individuals who have proven to be a danger to Utahans and it is ICE’s top priority in the interest of public safety to effect their removal from the U.S.”

ERO’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP) identifies potentially deportable aliens incarcerated in jails and prisons throughout the United States. CAP officers interview and review inmates’ biographical information. Although ERO initiates removal proceedings against criminal aliens through CAP, these individuals may remain in prison or jail to complete their criminal hearings or sentences. Under CAP, ERO uses a risk-based approach to make determinations about the detention and arrest of criminal aliens, with priority given to cases involving individuals deemed to be a security or public safety threat.

Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to International Child Predation

A western Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Tuesday, January 15, 2013, for coercing and enticing a minor and possessing child pornography. The guilty plea is the result of an extensive investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jeffrey W. Herschell, 54, of Washington, Pa., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David Stewart Cercone in the Western District of Pennsylvania. According to the statement of facts entered into the record by the government, and agreed to by the defendant, Herschell sent money to the Philippines in February 2010 for a live, online sex show that included a 12-year-old minor female engaging in sexual activity. Herschell also admitted to possessing child pornography videos at his Pennsylvania residence. Herschell was previously indicted Sept. 12, 2011.

At sentencing, Herschell faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison on the coercion and enticement charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison on the child pornography possession charge. Herschell also faces a term of supervised release of five years to life following his prison sentence. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Sentencing has been scheduled for May 28, 2013. Judge Cercone deferred acceptance of the plea agreement until Herschell’s sentencing hearing.

This case was investigated by HSI Philadelphia and HSI Manila, Philippines. HSI received significant assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation (Philippines) and the Philippine National Police.

This investigation is 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.

New Jersey Child Predator Sentenced to Life in Prison

A Pemberton, N.J., man was sentenced Monday, January 7, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to life plus 10 years in federal prison. The man was convicted in May 2012 on charges of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual acts with a minor, aggravated sexual assault, enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography. The man was previously convicted on three occasions in the state of New Jersey for crimes against children, including child pornography and aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. The sentence is the result of an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Donald J. Jones III, 48, was arrested by HSI special agents and the Rhode Island State Police April 8, 2011, after he traveled by bus from Philadelphia to Providence, expecting to meet with an 8-year-old girl and her father.

Jones communicated for nearly three weeks via the Internet and by phone with a person he believed was the girl’s father, when in fact he was communicating with federal agents assigned to the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

“As prosecutors, we have no higher calling than to aid parents in protecting their children,” said U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha, District of Rhode Island. “Accordingly, I am very pleased with the life sentenced handed down today, which ensures that a remorseless, recidivist pedophile has been brought to justice. Spending the rest of his life in prison ensures that he will never, ever harm another child.”

“Today’s life sentence demonstrates the serious consequences that await those who would sexually prey upon and exploit children,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of HSI Boston. “Criminals with this kind of depravity in mind should know that we are ever vigilant. For every tactic taken to evade law enforcement, we will adapt our strategies to find them and prosecute them. Through our partnerships with state, local and other federal law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island, HSI will continue to police cyber space to investigate child predators and ensure that they feel the full weight of the law.”

“In addition to preventing this particular pedophile from further targeting any more children, a life sentence sends a clear message to others that may choose to follow in the same path he did,” said Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police. “I commend the prosecutors, troopers, local police and federal agents for their continued vigilance in tracking, arresting and prosecuting those who prey on our children.”

“A life sentence demonstrates the serious consequence that awaits those who sexually exploit innocent children,” said Kevin M. Niland, U.S. Postal Service inspector in charge. “The Postal Inspection Service will to continue to aggressively identify, target and arrest those who dare prey on our children.”

According to the government’s evidence presented at trial March 21, 2011, Jones posted a message on an adult Internet forum seeking a parent willing to allow him to have sex with their pre-pubescent child. The message was discovered by a postal inspector assigned to the Rhode Island ICAC who responded, posing as the father of an 8-year-old Rhode Island girl.

Jones and the agent exchanged numerous emails which evolved from the parent purporting to have an interest in allowing Jones to have sex with his daughter, to Jones at first describing and then emailing videos of child pornography in an effort to depict his intentions. They also had numerous telephone conversations, including conversations during which a female Providence Police officer posed as the young girl.

The government presented evidence to the jury that Jones purchased clothing for the young girl and mailed them to the person he believed to be her father. Jones also purchased and brought with him a nightgown and underwear for the young girl to wear.

On April 8, 2011, federal agents watched as Jones boarded a bus in Philadelphia and traveled to New York and then on to Rhode Island. Jones was arrested by federal and state law enforcement agents as he stepped off the bus in downtown Providence.

According to the State of New Jersey sex offender registry, Donald J. Jones III is a level two child sex offender, convicted in 1993 on charges of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Both offenses were against a female under the age of 13. Jones was sentenced today to a consecutive 10 year federal prison sentence for committing a new sex offender crime while being required to register as a sex offender.

Providence Police, special agents from HSI New Jersey and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the investigation.

The Rhode Island ICAC is a Department of Justice grant-funded program administered by the state police, and is comprised of six state police detectives, detectives from the Providence, West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick, Johnston and Pawtucket police departments, and federal officers from HSI and the United States Postal Inspectors’ Office. The objective of the ICAC is to form strong working relationships among federal, state and local law enforcement in order to effectively and efficiently prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute online child exploitation and child pornography crimes.

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.

ICE Deports U.K. National for Child Sexual Assault

A Briton wanted for indecent assault on a child by United Kingdom authorities was deported Tuesday, November 27, 2012, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Lawrence William Farrington, 54, was escorted by ERO officers on a commercial flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London’s Heathrow International Airport, where he was turned over to British police.

U.K.authorities issued a warrant for Farrington’s arrest in February in connection with a child sex assault investigation ongoing since at least the late 1990s. Farrington was apprehended by ERO officers earlier this month near his residence in Wasilla, Alaska, based upon an outstanding deportation order.

Farrington was ordered deported in 2009 while he was incarnated in federal prison for Social Security fraud and aggravated identity theft. The deportation order required Farrington to obtain a valid passport upon his release and return to the U.K. When he did not, Farrington was convicted in 2010 of failing to depart and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

“The Wasilla community is safer now that this convicted felon and accused child predator is where he belongs: in the hands of U.K. authorities,” said Bryan Wilcox, acting field office director for ERO Seattle, who oversees Alaska operations. “ICE will not allow criminals to use the U.S. as a sanctuary from justice. Through smart and effective immigration enforcement, ICE is deporting more criminal aliens like Farrington than ever before.”

Farrington was detained by ICE shortly after the U.K. issued a new passport in his name, enabling officers to carry out his deportation. He was transported from Alaska to Washington state and held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma until his removal.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 500 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE’s Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

ICE and HSI Send Warning to International Child Predators

American tourists, with twisted overseas travel plans to engage in child sex tourism, may think they are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. However, they should know that it is a priority for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to apprehend and prosecute U.S. citizens who engage in sexual acts with minors in foreign countries.

Millions of American citizens travel abroad on a regular basis. While the vast majority of them are law abiding, some commit sexual crimes against minors in foreign countries. Each year, over a million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. Child sex tourism involves people who travel from their home country to another and engage in commercial sex acts with children. Child sex tourism is a shameful assault on the dignity of children and a form of child abuse and violence. For the minors involved, these acts have devastating consequences, which may include long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism and possibly death.

Tourists engaging in child sex tourism often travel to developing countries looking for anonymity and the availability of children in prostitution. The crime is typically fueled by weak local law enforcement, corruption, the Internet, ease of travel and poverty. These sexual offenders come from all socio-economic backgrounds and may hold positions of trust. Previous arrests for child sex tourism involving U.S. citizens have included: a pediatrician, a retired Army sergeant, a dentist, a Peace Corps volunteer and a university professor.

In 2003, the United States strengthened its ability to fight child sex tourism by passing the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act (PROTECT Act) and the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Reauthorization Act. These laws carry penalties of up to 30 years in prison for engaging in child sex tourism. In the nine years since these laws were strengthened, HSI special agents have arrested 93 suspects on child sex tourism charges.

“Our message is clear to all U.S. citizens: We take these crimes seriously,” said Peter Vincent, director of HSI’s Office of International Affairs. “If you dare abuse a child abroad, we will find you, send you back to the United States and prosecute you for your crimes. You might be out of the country, but you are not out of reach of U.S. law enforcement.”

HSI has 73 offices in 47 foreign countries around the world that serve as the agency’s liaison to counterparts in local government and law enforcement. HSI’s attachés abroad are critical in investigating these crimes.

Recently, Jesse Osmun, 33, a former Peace Corps volunteer, was sentenced in Hartford, Conn., to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing four girls, all under the age of 6, while he was a volunteer in South Africa. He never expected that HSI special agents would arrest him for crimes he committed nearly 8,000 miles away from his Connecticut home. HSI’s office in Connecticut– working collaboratively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut – has had two other recent cases involving child sex tourism. Edgardo Sensi was sentenced in January to 85 years in prison for production of child pornography and sexual tourism offenses related to his sexual abuse of minor girls in the United States and Nicaragua. Douglas Perlitz was sentenced in December 2010 to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing 16 minor victims over the course of a decade in Haiti.

“I am proud to partner with HSI in prosecutingU.S.citizens who abuse children abroad,” said U.S. Attorney David B. Fein, District of Connecticut. “I am hopeful that the cases we have successfully prosecuted in Connecticut will serve as a deterrent to others who would partake in these illegal acts. The Department of Justice will continue to devote resources to protecting children worldwide.”

HSI’s Child Exploitation Investigations Unit investigates the trans-border, large-scale production and distribution of images of child abuse, as well as individuals who travel abroad to engage in sex with minors. The unit 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. These investigative activities are organized under Operation Predator, a program managed by the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit.

“If you are molesting children, I advise you to turn yourself in and get help,” added Vincent. “The law will catch up to you no matter where you are. If you continue your crimes against children, you should always be looking over your shoulder because we will hunt you down to the ends of the earth in order to protect innocent children from being violated. There will be no refuge for child sexual predators who believe that they may victimize children outside the United States. No place is too distant or too remote to escape the attention of HSI.”

Guilty Plea for Canadian Man in Child Enticement Case

Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a Canadian man pleaded guilty Thursday, October 11, 2012, to coercion and enticement of a 14-year-old girl he met online, in violation of federal law. The Pennsylvania State Police and the University of Delaware Police Department assisted in the investigation.

David Gellad, 44, of Rosemere, Quebec, pleaded guilty at a hearing in the United States District Court, District of Delaware. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced Gellad’s guilty plea.

According to court documents, Gellad began an online relationship with the victim in October 2010. They communicated through the victim’s iPod Touch, using Facebook, AOL Instant Messenger and FFM, a photo sharing application. Between March and June 2011, Gellad traveled from Montreal to Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware on two occasions to meet the victim in person. In March 2011, Gellad flew from Montreal to Philadelphia International Airportand then met the victim for what she told HSI special agents was a sexual encounter in her southeastern Pennsylvania residence. In June 2011, Gellad traveled from Montreal to southeastern Pennsylvania and then drove the victim to a Marriott hotel in Newark, Del., where, she told HSI special agents, they engaged in sexual conduct.

Shortly after the June 2011 encounter in Newark, Del., the victim’s father found text messages between the two on his daughter’s iPod Touch and notified the Pennsylvania State Police. Gellad was subsequently charged with federal child exploitation crimes in June 2011. On July 23, 2011, Gellad was arrested as he attempted to re-enter the United States at the Highgate Springs Port of Entry, in Swanton, Vt. He has been in federal custody since his arrest.

“This case has exposed the unsettling behavior of an individual who believed he could cross our nation’s border to victimize children, and return home to his country without being held accountable for his actions. He was wrong,” said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI will continue to utilize its broad authorities to target those individuals that pose direct threats to our communities.”

“Once again, we see someone crossing the forbidden bright line that protects children under the age of 18,” said Oberly.” As long as there are criminal predators seeking out our children to satisfy their perverse desires, there will be appropriate prison space to house these predators for years. I especially thank the investigating agencies involved in this case and Assistant United States Attorney Ed McAndrew for their successful prosecution of this case.”

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-DHS-2ICE 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, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipeline.com.

ICE Target Operation SOAR Removes 50 Convicted Alien Sex Offenders

Following a five-day Texas-wide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, 50 convicted alien sex offenders and other criminal aliens were arrested by officers with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).  ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also assisted with this operation.  Twenty four of those arrests occurred in the north Texas area.

The goal of this operation, dubbed “SOAR” (Sex Offender Alien Removal), was to identify, locate and arrest aliens who have convictions for sex crimes, especially sex crimes against children.  This is the first statewide operation that specifically targeted this criminal element. This operation was coordinated with ERO’s 16 Fugitive Operations Teams throughout Texas, and Texas DPS.  Four Fugitive Operations Teams operated from Dallas and north Texas.

ERO’s Operation SOAR began Saturday, September 8, 2012, and ended September 12, 2012. 

“This operation was specifically designed to target and arrest criminal aliens who have been convicted of sex crimes,” said Simona L. Flores, field office director for ERO Dallas.  “By removing these criminal aliens from our streets and our country, we immediately improve public safety in these communities.”  Flores oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the state of Oklahoma.

“DPS is proud to have worked together with ICE in this successful operation to target and apprehend ruthless criminals who prey on Texans,” said Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw. “These types of coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies at all levels are critical to protecting our communities and keeping criminals off our streets.”

Of the 50 men arrested throughout Texas, 47 had felony convictions, and 40 had convictions for sex crimes.  One criminal alien residing in Houston had been convicted of murder.

Of the 24 men arrested in north Texas, 15 had prior convictions for sex crimes such as:  indecency with a child, sexual conduct; unlawful sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child; sex offense against a child, fondling; and sexual battery of a minor.  Other previous criminal convictions of those arrested in north Texas also include the following:  possessing marijuana, evading arrest, drunken driving, alien smuggling, and aggravated robbery.

Seven of those arrested in north Texas had been previously removed from the country and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. 

All those arrested during operation SOAR in north Texas include men from the following countries: Mexico (19), Sudan (2), Laos (1), Nicaragua (1), and Vietnam (1).   Those arrests occurred in the following communities: Dallas (11), Cleburne (3), Amarillo (2), Caddo Mills (1), Fort Worth (1), Garland (1), Lubbock (1), Mesquite (1), Perryton (1), Plano (1) and Waxahachie (1).  

Following are criminal summaries of three men arrested in north Texas during this operation:

  • A 44-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas.  He had been convicted in 1989 in California of unlawful intercourse with a minor and sentenced to 365 days confinement and 60 months’ probation.  After completing his prison sentence, he was deported and illegally re-entered the United States.  He was again deported in November 1999, and is again being processed for deportation.
  • A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas, Texas.  He had served six years in prison following his 1996 conviction in Houston, Texas, for indecency with a child – sexual contact.  He was deported in 1999 and again in 2003.  He faces charges of failing to register as a sex offender, and will be deported again after he completes any criminal proceedings against him.
  • A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 9 in Caddo Mills, Texas.  He was convicted in March 2006 in Dallas County, Texas, for aggravated sexual assault of a child, and was sentenced to 10 years confinement, probated for 10 years.  As an alien convicted of an aggravated felony, he is eligible for deportation. 

These arrests were coordinated with ICE’s National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives – aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by federal immigration courts. ICE’s Fugitive Operations Teams give top priority to cases involving aliens who pose a threat to national security and public safety, including members of transnational street gangs and child sex offenders.

ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Criminal Alien and Child Predator Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

A citizen and national of El Salvador and a member of the MS-13 street gang who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Fairfax County, Va., was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison Friday, August 31, 2012, for illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.

The case of illegal re-entry was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

According to court documents, Salvador Portillo, 30, illegally entered the United States and was removed by ICE Oct. 8, 2003. Thereafter, Portillo again illegally reentered the United States.

On Dec. 26, 2010, he sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in Fairfax County, Va. He was subsequently convicted of rape and sodomy in Fairfax County Circuit Court and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The 12 month sentence for illegal re-entry will follow the completion of the sentence term imposed by Fairfax County.

Portillo pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry July 23.

ICE Target Operation Arrests 28 Criminal Aliens in Wisconsin

As part of U.S.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the  removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 28 convicted  criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during  a five-day operation in northeastern Wisconsin which ended Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

This operation was  conducted by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Fugitive Operations teams in Milwaukee.

Of the 28 arrested, 26 had prior convictions for crimes, such as: sexually assaulting a minor, theft, possessing cocaine, domestic abuse, carrying a concealed weapon, battery, criminal trespass and drunken driving. Four of the 28 were immigration fugitives who had been previously ordered to leave the country but failed to depart; all of those are convicted criminals in addition to having outstanding deportation orders. Four of the 28 – also all convicted criminals – had been previously deported and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony.

Following is the  nationality breakdown of the 27 men and one woman arrested: Mexico (23), Laos (3) and Honduras (2). The arrests were made in the following northeast Wisconsin communities: Appleton (3), Bailey’s Harbor (1), Casco (4), Fond de Lac (1), Gillette (1),  Green Bay (6), Manitowoc (5), New London (1), Oshkosh (1), Reedsville (1), Sheboygan (2), Two Rivers (1) and Wrightstown (1).

Following are summaries of two individuals arrested during this operation:

  • A 25-year-old Laotian national was previously convicted of two counts of sexually assaulting a minor, fleeing an officer and theft. He was arrested Aug. 17 in Oshkosh and is currently in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
  • A 21-year-old Mexican national has an extensive criminal history that includes convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, battery using a dangerous weapon, criminal damage to property, domestic abuse and resisting law enforcement. He was arrested Aug. 21 in Sheboygan and remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

“The  results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE’s ongoing commitment to strengthening and protecting public safety,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director of ERO Chicago. “By focusing our efforts on arresting and removing convicted criminal aliens, we immediately improve the safety of our communities.”

These  arrests were coordinated with ICE’s National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives — aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by federal  immigration courts. ICE’s Fugitive Operations teams give top priority to cases involving aliens who pose a threat to national security and public safety, including members of transnational street gangs and child sex offenders.

Texas Man Gets Life Sentence for Producing and International Distribution of Child Pornography

A Fort Bliss, Texas, man was sentenced to life in prison Friday, July 13, 2012, for producing and distributing child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Robert Cuff, 49, pleaded guilty in December 2011 to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. Cuff, a command master chief in the United States Navy, was assigned as the senior enlisted advisor to the Joint Task Force North at Fort Bliss at the time of his arrest. Evidence showed he joined and participated in the Dreamboard child exploitation bulletin board while stationed at Fort Bliss.

At sentencing, the court found that not only had Cuff participated in a child exploitation enterprise, he had also engaged in a pattern of activity involving the sexual exploitation of a 5-year-old child.

Jonathan Mayer, 29, of Newport, Tenn., and Shane Micah Turner, 33, of Roy, Utah, were also sentenced in connection with their participation in the Dreamboard bulletin board. Each received a sentence of 17 ½ years in prison followed by lifetime supervised release, as a result of both defendants pleading guilty to conspiring to advertise child pornography. The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks.

United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley stated, “These defendants, and people like them, who advertise, participate, distribute or exploit children to access child pornography work hard to evade law enforcement and disguise what they are doing. Their sole purpose is to view children hurting for their own sexual satisfaction. We agree with the court’s statement that this defendant was much like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; to those who knew him in the military, he appeared to be an outstanding sailor, but as the judge stated, this defendant had a dark side involving the advertising of child pornography and the rape of a young child.

We want people who get engulfed in this type of disturbing behavior to know that they will face serious consequences for their actions. Our office will continue to vigorously prosecute this type of criminal activity to the fullest extent of the law. We want the community to know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice, along with our federal, state and local partners, are committed to protecting children from these vile criminals.”

“Cuff and the other conspirators of the nightmare called Dreamboard mistakenly believed that they could commit unspeakable crimes against children and evade detection by law enforcement,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. “Criminals with this kind of depravity in mind should know that we are ever vigilant. For every tactic taken to evade law enforcement, we will adapt our strategies to find them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.” Parmer oversees HSI activities in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

To date, 42 out of 72 individuals have been convicted for their participation in an international criminal network, known as Dreamboard, which was dedicated to the sexual abuse of children and the creation and dissemination of graphic images and videos of child sexual abuse throughout the world.

The charges against these defendants were a result of Operation Delego, an ongoing HSI investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. Dreamboard was a private, members-only, online bulletin board created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of very young children in an environment designed to avoid law enforcement detection. Operation Delego represents the largest prosecution to date in the United States of individuals who participated in an online bulletin board conceived and operated for the sole purpose of promoting child sexual abuse, disseminating child pornography and evading law enforcement.

All 72 defendants were charged with conspiring to advertise and distribute child pornography, and 50 were also charged with engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. Out of the 72 charged defendants, 55 have been arrested in the United States and abroad. Forty-one individuals have pleaded guilty and one defendant was convicted after a four-day jury trial. Twenty-eight of the 41 individuals who pleaded guilty have been sentenced to prison and received sentences ranging from 15 years to life. Thirteen of the 72 charged individuals remain at large and are known only by their online identities. Efforts to identify and apprehend these individuals continue.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial of defendant John Wyss, aka “Bones,” Dreamboard members traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting children 12 years of age or younger, often violently, and collectively created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse. The international group prized and encouraged the creation of new images and videos of child sexual abuse. Numerous Dreamboard members sexually abused children, produced images and videos of the abuse, and shared the images and videos with other members of Dreamboard.

Dreamboard members employed a variety of measures designed to conceal their criminal activity from detection by law enforcement. Members communicated using aliases or “screen names,” rather than their actual names. Links to child pornography posted on Dreamboard were required to be encrypted with a password that was shared only with other members. Members accessed the board via proxy servers, which routed internet traffic through other computers so as to disguise a user’s actual location and prevent law enforcement from tracing Internet activity. Dreamboard members also encouraged the use of encryption programs on their computers, which password-protect computer files to prevent law enforcement from accessing them in the event of a court-authorized search.

Membership was tightly controlled by the administrators of Dreamboard, who required prospective members to upload child pornography portraying children 12 years of age or younger when applying for membership. Once they were given access, members were required continually to upload images of child sexual abuse in order to maintain membership. Members who failed to follow this rule would be expelled from the group.

The bulletin board included rules of conduct, printed in English, Russian, Japanese and Spanish. The rules required prospective members to upload material depicting children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit activity. Approved members were required to observe strict posting rules designed to encourage members to disseminate large quantities of child pornography, thwart efforts by law enforcement to identify members of the board, and encourage members to sexually abuse children in order to produce new material for the board. The board rules also required members to organize postings based on the type of content. One particular category was entitled “Super Hardcore.” The rules for that category described in graphic language that the only posts permitted were those involving adults having violent sexual intercourse with “very young kids” who were being subjected to both physical and sexual abuse and were obviously “in distress, and or crying.”

Operation Delego involved extensive international cooperation to identify and apprehend Dreamboard members abroad. Through coordination amongst ICE; the Department of Justice; Eurojust, the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit; and dozens of law enforcement agencies throughout the world, 20 Dreamboard members across five continents and 14 countries have been arrested to date outside the United States, including two of the five lead administrators of the board. Those countries include Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. Numerous foreign investigations related to Operation Delego remain ongoing. The location and arrest of Dreamboard members abroad have led to the capture and investigation of other global targets.

Evidence obtained during the operation revealed that at least 38 children across the world were suffering sexual abuse at the hands of the members of the group. Efforts by federal, state, local and international law enforcement to locate and identify the victims of sexual abuse and exploitation by Dreamboard members are ongoing.

The investigation was conducted by HSI, the Child Exploitation Section of ICE’s Cyber Crimes Center, CEOS, CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit and 35 ICE offices in the United States and 11 ICE attaches offices in 13 countries around the world, with assistance provided by numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and throughout the world.

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-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.