Chester County, Pa., man charged with child sex tourism

PHILADELPHIA - An indictment was unsealed Feb. 4 charging John Charles Ware in a case of child sex tourism, announced U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Philadelphia.

Ware, 47, of Oxford, Pa., is charged with: two counts of transporting a minor in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, involving two minors; one count of transporting one of those minors in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity; two counts of attempting to transport a minor in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, involving two additional minors; production of child pornography and the receipt and possession of child pornography. He was arrested Feb. 4.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 15 years, a $1,750,000 fine, a mandatory 5 years supervised release to lifetime supervised release, and an $700 special assessment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.

This HSI investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE 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.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.