July 16, 2020

USA: 13 People Arrested In Florida Child Sex, Human Trafficking Investigation. An FBI Operation Dubbed Operation Kick Boxer Leads To Arrest Of Distributors, Makers Of Child Sex Abuse Materials

MSN
written by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
Wednesday July 15, 2020

More people have been arrested in a major investigation involving allegations of child sex abuse and human trafficking in Tallahassee.

So far, at least 13 people have been arrested in the operation, according to Leon Circuit Court records. The arrests started Monday and continued Tuesday.

Court personnel mentioned during a Tuesday hearing that the cases are the result of a Tallahassee Police Department investigation dating back to 2018. At least one of the cases also involved the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

TPD and prosecutors have not commented on the investigation, which remains shrouded in secrecy.

None of the defendants' names or mug shots were included in the Leon County Sheriff's Office's daily booking report, and the agency's online inmate search function has not worked for days. Arrest records detailing the allegations are unavailable.

Here are the latest defendants charged in the probe:
  • Terrance Faulk, 38, four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16; three counts of human trafficking involving commercial sexual activity on a incapacitated child.
  • Ivan Lopez, 28, lewd and lascivious exhibition with a victim under 16.
  • Michael Wooten, 42, two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16 years of age; unlawful use of a communications device; and failure to register as a sex offender.
The defendants are expected to have their first court appearance today via closed circuit TV from the Leon County Detention Facility.

According to court records, Faulk was sentenced in May to three years of probation in a robbery and battery case. Lopez has a history of arrests on theft charges.

Wooten, a sex offender required to register his whereabouts, was convicted in 2002 on a child sexual battery charge and sentenced to about two and a half years in prison.
Fox6 News, Milwaukee local
written by Staff
Monday July 6, 2020

MILWAUKEE — An FBI operation dubbed Operation Kick Boxer has led investigators to identify and arrest distributors and manufacturers of child sexual abuse materials — and to recover child victims of sexual abuse.

Officials indicated in a news release on Monday, July 6 that the operation has resulted in dozens of arrests across the country, as well as in other countries including Canada, United Kingdom, Romania, and France. The operation has also located and recovered 18 children from being sexually exploited.

Operation Kick Boxer relied on more than 63 law enforcement agencies working on FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces in each of the Bureau’s 56 field offices and via the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices throughout the world. The sweep included undercover operations and led to the opening of over five dozen federal and international criminal investigations.

Agents and analysts at FBI Milwaukee worked closely with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to coordinate and de-conflict these law enforcement operations.

In all, approximately 65 suspected distributors, manufacturers and hands-on offenders have been identified by law enforcement, arrested, and/or are in the process of being formally charged.

FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Robert Hughes issued the following statement:
“The FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the individuals who exploit them. Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive sexual exploitation occurring in their homes by people they trust.”
Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz also commented:
“We are pleased to have our federal partners working with us on this priority operation. We recognize children are the most vulnerable population we serve and protecting them will always be of greatest importance to law enforcement.”
👇 BONUS RELATED NEWS 👇


CBS Philly published October 11, 2017: Radnor Township Board President Arrested On Child Porn Charges. 100 of graphic images involving children, some 2 to 4 years old, were found on his computer.

CBS Philly published October 23, 2017: Delaware County Official Resigns From Position Following Child Porn Arrest

CBS3 Philly
written by Staff
October 23, 2017

NEWARK, N.J. — Authorities say a New Jersey corrections officer has been charged with receiving images of child sexual abuse.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that 37-year-old Stephen Salamak was arrested at his home in Lodi.

Salamak has been suspended with pay from his job as a corrections officer at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway.

Prosecutors say an undercover officer first made contact with Salamak after he posted on Craigslist that he was looking for women and moms “that are into Cheese Pizza,” a reference to child pornography.

After police executed a search warrant on his email, prosecutors say they found an email with five attachments showing nude images of young girls.

Prosecutors say he admitted his crime after a search of his home.

It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney to comment on his behalf.

****************************

CBS3 News, Philly local
written by Staff
September 17, 2019

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Former Radnor Township Board of Commissioners President Philip Ahr was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Ahr pleaded guilty in February to child pornography charges.

Detectives say they found multiple chat logs between Ahr — who created online aliases like “DaddyX” and “DaddyXX” — and individuals dating back to 2013.

Authorities say Ahr shared and sought graphic images of children while at his home, at work and on a government-issued iPad.

“The defendant’s days of exploiting his position of trust in our community for his perverse gratification are over,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams. “Child sexual exploitation is appallingly pervasive, exacerbated by the easy availability of online file sharing, and it demands an aggressive response. We stand ready with our federal partners to identify and prosecute individuals that perpetuate this abuse.”

UPDATE 7/16/20 at 11:01pm: Added info below. Wow. Just watched this video. Had to share.

The Guardian published June 29, 2018: The Trap: the deadly sex-trafficking cycle in American prisons. The Trap investigates how prisons and jails across the United States have become recruiting grounds for human traffickers, who are targeting incarcerated women and trafficking them out of correctional facilities and into pimp-controlled prostitution

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 6:52 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)