ICE arrests West Texas 1st grade teacher on child pornography charge

PECOS, Texas — A federal magistrate on Tuesday ordered a West Texas 1st grade school teacher detained without bond on charges of possessing child pornography.  

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents are investigating this case.

Javier Carlos Arteta Franco, 57, has been in custody since Aug. 19 when HSI special agents based in Alpine, Texas, arrested him at his apartment in Fort Stockton, Texas.

According to court records, HSI Alpine special agents executed search warrants at his apartment, where a preliminary review of Arteta's laptop computer revealed files containing child pornography. Arteta told special agents he had downloaded child pornography from the Internet for about a year, and that his laptop contained video and image files containing child pornography.

Arteta, a teacher at Alamo Elementary School in Fort Stockton, remains in federal custody awaiting trial.

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 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 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.

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.