News Releases and Statements

Just hours after federal authorities made a national announcement appealing to the public for leads in a child pornography case with ties to the Los Angeles area, the 'Jane Doe' suspect wanted in connection with that investigation was arrested outside an apartment complex in North Hills.

Dwayne Tucker, 26, of Bayville, N.J., was sentenced Friday in federal court to 22 years in prison. He previously pleaded guilty July 27, 2012, to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Jessica Shockley was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Shockley engaged in sexual activity with a 3-month-old child, took photographs of the sexual activity, and sent the images to an individual in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Lance Robert Fries, 43, of Tucson, was taken into custody at his attorney's North Tucson office without incident at approximately 1:45 p.m. Friday by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Fries faces potential federal charges of production of child pornography and is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court Monday.

One hundred twenty-three victims of child sexual exploitation were identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents during an international operation aimed at rescuing victims and targeting individuals who own, trade and produce images of child pornography.

Anthony Maurice Cottle, 23, of Owings Mills, Md., had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore Dec. 20 and was temporarily detained.

Joshua Paul Jordan, of Great Falls, Mont., was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison for various child pornography violations.

The nationwide search for a "Jane Doe" suspected child pornographer by ICE's HSI ended with the arrest of an Okaloosa County, Fla., woman, Corine Danielle Motley, on federal charges for child pornography production.

Keith Larson, 41, of Louisville, Colo., was arraigned Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard R. Lloyd on charges of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12, and traveling with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Rafael Polonia of Hazleton, Pa., was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Eight men were indicted on federal child pornography offenses following a joint investigative effort known as "Operation Blue Monday."

Roger Bates, 57, of London, Ark., pleaded guilty to federal charges of production of child pornography Aug. 13. In addition to the 60-year prison term issued Tuesday, he was ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. Bates is not eligible for parole.

Robert L. Hedrick, 61, of Brownsville, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen who handed down the 360-month prison sentence. Following is the breakdown of his prison sentences, which are all running concurrently:

ICE's HSI urgently needs the public's help to identify a suspected child pornography producer. The agency is seeking the arrest of an unidentified woman for producing child pornography and the rescue of a 4 to 5-year-old victim of sexual exploitation.

Adulfo De Aquino-Cancino, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to engage in the sex trafficking of two minors. The guilty pleas resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Kentucky State Police.

Phillip Edward Baker, 50, was sentenced to 135 and 120 months for the receipt and possession convictions, respectively. In addition, following a one-day bench trial Sept. 20, U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa sentenced Baker to 120 months in prison for accessing a child pornography website.

Garvin Cadogan, a Trinidad and Tobago man living in El Paso under an assumed identity, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. A forensics analysis of Cadogan's seized computer revealed the presence of more than 200 child pornography videos.

Agustin Rodriguez-Rodriguez was sentenced Friday to 90 years in prison for possession and production of child pornography. The investigation that led to this sentence was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Johnny Soza of Stafford, Va., was sentenced to 120 months in prison for enticing a 15-year-old girl in Canada to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

Michael Ferguson, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May and pleaded guilty in September. According to court documents, Ferguson admitted he was in possession of 10 images and two videos of child sexual exploitation when HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his residence.

A Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, man, Jose David Rivera-Torres, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison for possession of several hundred images of child pornography, some of which contained bestiality and bondage of minors.

Representatives from the 18 Virtual Global Taskforce member agencies attend discussions on the strategic direction for the VGT at the VGT Conference in Abu Dhabi. HSI's Ian Quinn is the newly appointed chair of the VGT.

Jose Hernandez-Velazquez, 54, of Van Nuys, was found guilty following a two-day trial. The charges are the result of a joint investigation initiated in March 2011 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Los Angeles and Delano police departments.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent from northeast Montana, Paul Anthony Rible, pleaded guilty Tuesday to child pornography charges.

Timothy Arthur Steinbarth, 50, pleaded guilty May 16 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced Dec. 10 to 46 months in federal prison.