News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
Bassam Arif Al Zarkani, 33, of Dumas, Texas, who has been in custody since his arrest on a related state charge in April, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
David Anaya Garcia, 31, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was arrested July 2 on child pornography charges. He made his initial appearance in federal court July 6; a preliminary hearing and detention hearing are set for this week.
William Y. Maldonado, 36, of Peñuelas, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years and eight months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jose A. Fuste. In addition to the prison term, Fuste also sentenced Maldonado-Rivera to a 10-year period of supervised release.
On Dec. 2, 2014, HSI special agents arrested Edwin J. Santiago-Rivera, 26, a former member of the Puerto Rico National Guard, at his residence in the municipality of Villalba. The arrest spurred from information from the Puerto Rico Police Department’s (PRPD) Sex Crimes Division in Ponce regarding the transportation by Santiago-Rivera of a 14-year-old girl with the intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct.
On March 8, 2014, HSI special agents arrested Randy Charriez-Rolon, 30, at his place of work in Dorado after a preliminary investigation found that he transported an 8-year-old minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Summer is here, which means warm weather, outdoor fun and, most importantly, no school for children nationwide.
With their agenda for the next couple of months mainly deciding what beach they want to go to and how late they’ll be able to sleep in, kids all of a sudden have significantly more time on their hands. That free time, albeit fun, also leaves them vulnerable to threats from online predators looking to take advantage of their innocence and naivety.
Jonathan Michael Swearingen, 28, of Orange, Texas, pleaded guilty July 1 to possessing child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zachary J. Hawthorn.
Ronald Carey Shirley, 64, of Simi Valley, a certified public accountant who served as the chief financial officer for the California Angels baseball team in the 1990s, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter.
Steven Lesmeister, 38, of Harrison, was indicted June 4 on three federal felony charges for sending unprovoked lewd messages and videos to juvenile females in Virginia, New York and North Carolina in September 2014.
Zachary Knight, 20, lived in the U.S. Army War College housing area with his family when HSI special agents arrested him May 9, 2014, after they found videos of his sexual abuse he made with the victims.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah R. Saldaña and U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) Director General Keith Bristow officially signed an agreement June 25 in London to provide information on the travel of convicted child sex offenders between the two countries.
Jonathan Daniel Kutej, 34, from Tolar, Texas, was convicted in November 2014 on two counts of producing child pornography.
According to the criminal complaint, William Vergara-Alamo, 21, began text messaging with a 14-year-old girl, identified as Jane Doe, after she mistakenly called his cellphone. Within approximately two weeks of communicating with her, Vergara-Alamo asked Jane Doe to send him photographs of her and eventually, he started requesting sexually explicit photos.
On Oct. 30, 2014, HSI special agents received information from Puerto Rico Police Department’s (PRPD) Arecibo Sexual Crimes Division regarding Edgar E. Nieves-Hernandez, 40. According to the information, Nieves-Hernandez was in possession of sexually explicit images of a child 6 years old.
Keith Monroe Wallace, 53, of Eureka, entered his plea in federal court. Wallace admitted he knowingly possessed 600 or more images of prepubescent minors or minors under 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The images included depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct and other depictions of violence.
Tony Gustafson, 48, of Hastings, Nebraska, is also required to forfeit his computer, hard drives, a USB device, and 30 VHS tapes that were involved in the crime.
Todd Christian Hartman, 32, of Newport Beach, formerly served as a youth counselor for the Vineyard Church in Anaheim.
HSI special agents arrested Israel Berrios-Berrios May 13, 2014, at his residence in Naranjito following an indictment that charged him with transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity.
Gordon Bowers, 51, was sentenced June 18 by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove to 13 years in prison for receiving child pornography. Under federal law, Bowers must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. Following his release from prison he will remain under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years.
This year’s class is made up of 22 veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Guard from all over America – Connecticut, California, from Vermont to Florida, from North Carolina to Colorado. Some served in Iraq, others in Afghanistan, as an infantryman or tanker, as military police or photojournalists, as mechanics, repairmen, or engineers.
Ronny Lee Waldrip, 64, of Douglasville, Georgia, pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2014, to one count of sexually exploiting a minor outside the United States for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.
ICE HSI Southern Cone of the Americas Attaché Office co-hosted the event with the Buenos Aires Ministerio Publico Fiscal’s investigative unit known as Red 24/7.
Andrew Derrickson, 50, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, was charged via a New Jersey grand jury with the second-degree crimes of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13, attempted manufacturing of child pornography, distribution of child pornography (two counts), and storing or maintaining child pornography using a file-sharing program.
On May 6, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging both Brandon Tyler Hill, 29, of Colorado Springs, and Rhiannon Carnahan, 29, of Woodland Park, Colorado, both were charged with the following counts of production, and aiding and abetting one another’s production, of child pornography; and transportation, and aiding and abetting one another’s transportation, of child pornography.
Darwin Gilbert Gowen, 62, of St. Louis, Missouri, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.
Updated:
Subscribe to ICE News