Greensboro daycare employee arrested on child exploitation charges

GREENSBORO, N.C. – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Winston-Salem and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation arrested Alyson Brooke Saunders Friday morning. Saunders faces the following state charges: four counts of indecent liberties with a minor, six counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of sexual offense with a child by an adult, and two counts of crime against nature.

In late February, HSI Winston-Salem received a tip from HSI London that an individual arrested on child pornography charges abroad had communicated online with Saunders. In response to that tip, HSI special agents conducted a consensual interview with Saunders and received consent to preview her electronic media. In March, Saunders admitted to exploiting and producing pornography of minor children. In addition to her confession, forensic analysis of electronic media also confirmed that Saunders produced and disseminated child pornography, which led to her arrest Friday.

During the investigation, Saunders was employed at Fellowship Day School in Greensboro. She was placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation.

Law enforcement have notified victims’ parents, and HSI victim-assistance specialists are available to connect victims’ families with resources and services.

If the public has additional information to share with law enforcement, they can call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or submit a tip online at ICE.gov/tips. The tip line is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Additional details are not available; this is an ongoing investigation.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 19,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2018, more than 3,000 (3191) child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 850 (859) victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

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-THE-LOST.

HSI is a founding member 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.