News Releases and Statements

Rafferty pleaded guilty July 15, 2014, and in addition to the prison term, the federal judge ordered three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.

Former Illinois State Rep. Keith Farnham faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 47, of Turlock, appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. In addition to 30 years’ incarceration, Judge England sentenced the defendant to a lifetime of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Metcalfe previously pleaded guilty to both receiving and distributing child pornography.

Adney Allen, 51, was arrested late on Nov. 26 after a tipster notified local police of his fugitive status.

Special agents with HSI’s Child Exploitation and Cyber Crimes unit tracked down Joseph Townsend, a 27-year-old Philadelphia resident, and discovered he possessed thousands of child pornography images.

According to court records, Harold Schrader allegedly possessed child pornography on a computer, and allegedly participated through willful blindness in a fraud scheme involving soliciting overseas loans that were never repaid.

According to court documents, in August 2013 the parents of the female victim advised the Fresno County Sheriff's Office they had discovered text messages on a cellphone suggesting their daughter was engaging in sexual relations with someone from out-of-state.

Trevion Lechay Ethridge, 23, of Newton, Texas, was sentenced to 280 months in federal prison for producing child pornography by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Ethridge pleaded guilty to the charges June 3. Judge Clark further ordered that 10 years of Ethridge’s federal sentence run concurrent with any state sentence that may result from pending state charges for sexual assault and online solicitation of a minor.

Rassie Cleveland Martin, 57, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report; a sentencing date will be set after that report is completed.

Michael Tway Smith, 66, of New York, was arrested and charged in Camden federal court with traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Smith was arrested in Maple Shade, New Jersey, where he was expected to meet the girl.

Nicholas Todd Freed was arrested by an HSI Task Force Officer Jan. 28 as he was attempting to claim a package containing anabolic steroids at the Deep Ellum Postal Center in Dallas. Pursuant to the arrest, law enforcement discovered Freed possessed a counterfeit U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) credential and badge.

Donnie Waldo Jr., 47, of Dover, Arkansas, was charged by criminal complaint Nov. 10; he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver Nov. 17.

U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered Nicholas W. Schofield, 26, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who has been on bond, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons Jan. 25.

Randy Way Wesson, 28, from Hurst, Texas, made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton in federal court in Fort Worth Nov. 21.

Jeffrey Wyatt Savell II, 35, is in custody. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography.

James Fudge, 47, of Temple, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. to 108 months in federal prison. Fudge must also serve five years of supervised release, and pay a $1,000 fine. On Sept. 18, Fudge pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and sharing child pornography with others via the Internet.

Those arrested include 12 Koreans, three Sri Lankans, two Vietnamese citizens, one Indonesian and one Thai national. The arrests were made in Seoul, Busan and Ulsan.

Joseph Rajkumar, 44, formerly of Farmington, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 in Hartford federal court to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. The charge stems from Rajkumar's sexual relationship with a student while he was a teacher at Miss Porter's School in Farmington.

On July 14, a jury convicted Robert Harold Scott Jr. on multiple counts involving the production of child pornography and online enticement.

Justin Turcheck, 29, of Abilene, Texas, is currently in federal custody. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings revoked his pre-trial release last month finding that Turcheck had violated his conditions of release.

Charles Keith Rolfe, 60, of Heyburn, Idaho, was also ordered to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Roxanne Merrell, 35, of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, was charged with two counts of producing child pornography. Merrell was arrested by law enforcement authorities Nov. 5; she made her first court appearance Nov. 7.

According to the criminal complaint, Rene Roberge, 47, of Quebec, sent an email Oct. 9, to an undercover agent through a social networking site, in which he requested to meet with the agent and the agent's 14-year-old son. Roberge chatted with the undercover agent and stated he would travel to Florida to meet the undercover agent and the agent's son.

Cesar Urena Valverde, 31, of Trenton, was initially arrested Oct. 22, 2013, when HSI special agents and detectives executed a search warrant at his home and seized computers and hard drives containing images and videos of child pornography.

Michael T. Laursen, 47, was the subject of a multiagency investigation, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He was convicted at trial in May.