News Releases and Statements

Daniel Huzinec, 26, of Buffalo, NY was convicted of receipt of child pornography after sharing photographs of male children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a peer-to-peer website.

Matthew Stoney Olson, from Circle, Montana, was previously convicted at trial of receiving and possessing child pornography.  In early 2015, Olson routinely received child pornography by downloading it via a peer-to-peer sharing network.  During that time, HSI special agents became aware of these downloads and obtained a search warrant for Olson’s home. 

Christian Clews, who owned and operated his horse ranch in an affluent suburban north San Diego community, pleaded guilty to two counts of child pornography in July but remained free on bond. He was immediately taken into custody by U.S. Marshal’s at the conclusion of the hearing.

HSI special agents arrested Alfredo Maysonet-Galarza, 57, of Toa Alta, after a joint ICE HSI and DHS OIG investigation revealed that during 2015, Maysonet-Galarza used a well-known peer-to-peer file sharing program to advertise for sharing certain videos and images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Michael Ray Sepulveda, 39, from Silver City, New Mexico, must also register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

James Daniel Arbaugh, 40, faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 30 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

Since 2014, HSI Bogota has prioritized the investigation of child exploitation/child pornography in Colombia and has conducted extensive training for the CNP and prosecutors.  However, Colombia did not have a cyber forensics laboratory dedicated to analyzing electronic media, which caused a delay in investigations. Now, with the help of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), this state of the art lab will streamline investigations and eventually be used to assist other countries in the region in child exploitation investigations.

Dylan Heatherly, 34, of Lemon Grove, Calif. and William Staples, 57, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, were convicted Thursday of multiple child exploitation crimes, including conspiracy offenses, after a seven-day jury trial.

HSI Philadelphia was alerted by HSI Portland, Maine, that Jack Russel Bristol, 61, scheduled to travel from Philadelphia to the Philippines for the purposes of the sexual abuse of minor children.

An Indiana man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to more than five years in prison for hiring a pimp to transport a minor across state lines for prostitution. An Indiana man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to more than five years in prison for hiring a pimp to transport a minor across state lines for prostitution. 

The investigation into Kimball Hoff, 61, began in October 2015 when HSI special agents received information regarding child pornography being downloaded and shared from a specific internet protocol address. On Oct. 27, 2015, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Hoff’s Pima County residence.

John B. Alwood, 54,  was identified by HSI Delaware as having accessed an online conferencing application in order to gain sexual gratification by viewing child pornography with other men.

Brian Tate, age 35, previously pleaded guilty to traveling to a hotel to engage in sex with a six-year-old female. Between October 17, 2016 and November 9, 2016, Tate used the internet to arrange for the minor to be brought to the hotel to meet him for sex.

Jon Anthony Terry, 28, of Rockwall, Texas, is currently in custody on a related criminal complaint. A date has not yet been set for him to make his initial appearance.

Hakeem James Hughes, 28, allegedly coerced and enticed a minor to engage in sex acts for the purpose of making visual images of those acts in Feb. and April 2014. The two-count indictment charges Hughes with production of child pornography on separate dates.

Actor Mark Wayne Salling pleaded guilty Monday to a federal offense of possessing child pornography and specifically admitted that he possessed approximately 25,000 images of children engaged in sexual conduct.

Ronald Feder, 30, of Skokie, Illinois, was arrested Dec. 7 after he handed an undercover agent a thumb drive containing child pornography, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in federal court in Chicago.

Linzi Ladawn Shifflett, 29, from Cleburne, Texas, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 60 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for producing child pornography.

HSI Chicago special agents began investigating Robert J. Kasanda, 59, of Darien, Illinois, after receiving a lead from WPD.  Kasanda was discovered possessing numerous explicit images of children under the age of 12 being sexually assaulted, and images and videos depicting violence being inflicted upon children.

A former Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to possessing and distributing child pornography, and to failing to register as a sex offender. The offenses stem from two separate cases.

Jason Lee Randall, 33, of Mesquite, Texas, pleaded guilty to producing, transporting and possessing prepubescent child pornography; he also pleaded guilty to penalties for registered sex offenders.

U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings remanded Michael Doerr, 45, from San Angelo, Texas, into immediate custody to begin serving his sentence.  Doerr pleaded guilty in August 2017 to one count of receiving child pornography.

Timothy Paul Malone, 39, of River Oaks, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children. Malone faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 90 years, a total of $750,000 in fines and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Malone has been in custody since the time of indictment in September 2017.