News Releases and Statements

During the operation, the Washington ICAC Task Force conducted 51 investigations involving peer-to-peer networks and made 47 arrests. HSI, as part of the task force, conducted 11 search and seizure warrants; made six federal arrests, four state arrests, and one state arrest pending military charges; and identified/rescued one minor victim.

On April 19, James Marvin Reed, 62, pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

Andrew Craig Sustaita, 31, from Spring, Texas, who was a former Harris County sheriff's deputy, pleaded guilty March 15 to producing and possessing child pornography.

Gregory John Schaffer, 39, of Bayonne, NJ, was previously found guilty on all three counts of an indictment charging him with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was convicted following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares, who imposed the sentence Tuesday in Newark federal court.

Benjamin Jenkins, a/k/a “Rei,” a/k/a “Reithe8th,” a/k/a “Dani Domo, was indicted by a federal grand jury May 23 and ordered held in federal custody pending trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Timothy Allen Weaver, 36, from Dearborn, Montana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, to 500 months in federal prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and $3,000 in restitution to the victim.

Michael Lyle Blair, 64, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was also ordered to serve seven years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence, and he must pay restitution totaling $21,000. The defendant, who appeared at the sentencing on bond, was remanded into custody immediately after the hearing.

Nicolas Hamm, 26, from Corpus Christi, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after authorities found more than 22,000 child pornography images in his possession.

At sentencing May 14, Judge DeGiusti sentenced Harry Dean Wheeler Jr., 68, of Oklahoma City, to 120 months in prison. Upon release from prison, he must serve five years on supervised release.

Rogelio Castaneda, 61, and Jose Ivan Davila, 54, pleaded guilty, Jan. 23, in separate but similar cases.

The criminal complaint alleges that in July 2017, Manuel Diaz, 64, from Corpus Christi, printed photographs of nude children from a flash drive at a pharmacy. A subsequent forensic examination allegedly resulted in discovering more than 850 pornographic images and videos of children as young as 12 years old.

As part of Project iGuardian, HSI special agents in San Juan organized the Internet safety outreach for kids 12 to 16 years old to provide them with the necessary tools to make smart decisions when navigating in the Internet. HSI San Juan made the massive event possible by soliciting the support from Guaynabo Mayor Angel Perez-Otero and his team, as well as the Secretary of Puerto Rico’s Department of Education, Julia Keleher, who also attended the event Monday.

Joshua E. Poole, 40, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was arrested in Sheridan.  On May 2, 2018, Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal sentenced Poole to 60 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 60 months of supervised release; he was also ordered to pay $3,500 restitution to the victim, and a $100 special assessment.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Yaira Cotto-Flores, 28, of San Lorenzo, transported one of her English students March 1, 2016, to a local motel with the intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct. According to court records, the former teacher and the 14-year old student met at the beginning of the school year and the defendant gave the victim various gifts including an acne treatment kit, a neckband and a wristwatch.

Weston Scott Langwell, 26, of Amarillo, faces not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. He remains in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Aug. 8.