HSI Philadelphia case leads to child predator’s 262-month prison term
PHILADELPHIA — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) case led to the conviction and nearly 22-year federal prison sentence Nov. 26 for a child pornographer.
Special agents with HSI’s Child Exploitation and Cyber Crimes unit tracked down Joseph Townsend, a 27-year-old Philadelphia resident, and discovered he possessed thousands of child pornography images.
“This criminal’s sentence is an example to those who think they can hide behind a computer and commit these heinous crimes,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Philadelphia. “HSI will continue to relentlessly seek out and capture anyone who abuses or exploits children.”
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 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
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. 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.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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.
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