Law enforcement agencies seek public's help to identify additional victims in Phoenix child exploitation case
PHOENIX – On Tuesday, Feb. 12, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Casa Grande and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office arrested 45-year-old Scott Buckley of Las Vegas, Nevada.
The investigation started in November 2018 when Buckley logged into a social media application and initiated a conversation with a Pinal County Sheriff’s undercover detective, who was posing as a minor. The undercover detective was upfront about being underage. Buckley quickly began having inappropriate conversations and sending lewd pictures and videos of himself to the detective. The suspect offered to exchange money for nude pictures and sexual acts and indicated he was willing to purchase a bus ticket from Phoenix to Las Vegas to engage in sexual acts. Buckley admitted this was not the first time he had reached out to minors on social media and disclosed to having sex with a 16-year-old when he used to live in Phoenix.
Investigators have already identified multiple victims who were allegedly victimized by the defendant. He is currently in custody facing several charges related to child exploitation including enticing a minor for sexual acts. This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
“Given this individual’s predatorial nature and the allegations in this case, we believe there are additional unidentified juvenile victims,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Arizona. “We encourage anyone in the Phoenix area who may have information that could be relevant to the case to come forward.”
“This investigation is still very active and we are looking for other possible victims,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb. “Parents, we hope you talk to your children tonight about cyber danger. These predators are bold and they think they will get away with it. We are very glad he is off the streets tonight.”
Buckley used his full name for one of his online profiles, but law enforcement believes he had other user names, for example, “need_you_princess”.
Members of the public who have information related to this case are urged to contact the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office at 520-866-5111. HSI victim-witness specialists will be available to assist any parent or guardian should they need victim-related resources.
The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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