Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced that a Newark man indicted last year for producing and distributing child pornography pled guilty for his crimes yesterday.

In December, 2012 a proactive online undercover investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force into the distribution of child pornography resulted in the arrest of John M. Figura and his indictment by the New Castle County Grand Jury on 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  During its ongoing forensic examination of the hundreds of thousands of files containing child pornography seized from Figura, Child Predator Task Force detectives determined that Figura produced approximately 100 images of child pornography found in his possession.  Moreover, these images depicted three elementary school-ages girls who were positively identified and were known by Figura.  As a result, in November, 2013 the Attorney General’s office secured an additional indictment charging Figura with 71 counts each of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Dealing in Child Pornography for producing child pornography between 1998 and 2007 compiling and/or distributing those files.  In addition, the November indictment charged Figura with 1 count each of Rape 2nd Degree and Unlawful Sexual Contact for physically assaulting two of these young victims in 2007.

Yesterday morning Figura, age 44, pled guilty in New Castle County Superior Court to 9 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography, 1 count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, and 1 count of Unsolicited Sexual Contact 2nd Degree.  Figura faces a minimum 20-year prison term when sentenced by Judge M. Jane Brady on August 1, 2014.  Figura has remained incarcerated on $1.5 million cash bail since his December 19, 2012 arrest.

Yesterday’s conviction follows the arrest of three individuals by the Child Predator Task Force over the past month – two on child pornography charges, and the re-arrest of a third defendant for rape.

• On April 16, a result of the investigation into the distribution of child pornography images and videos online, the Child Predator Task Force, assisted by a uniformed member of DSP Troop #6, executed a search warrant at a residence on the 500 block of Stenning Drive in Hockessin.  During the search detectives identified a person of interest, who was taken to DSP Troop #2 for further investigation, and detectives recovered six computers, several external hard drives and other assorted electronic evidence.  A forensic preview of the evidence revealed multiple files containing child pornography. As a result, investigators arrested the person of interest, Daniel M. Tessier, age 52, and charged him with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography. Tessier was arraigned via videophone by JP Court #2 and was taken to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $250,000 secured bail.
• On April, 2, as part of an investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the Internet that was initiated after receiving a referral from Pennsylvania authorities, the Child Predator Task Force and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant at a residence on the 23000 block of East Trap Pond Road in Georgetown.  Investigators made contact with a person of interest, Jason A. Carboni, age 42, the sole resident of the Trap Pond Road address, when he departed the residence that morning and he was taken to DSP Troop #4 for further investigation.  As a result of the search warrant, multiple computers and other digital media were seized and taken to the DSP High Technology Crimes Unit for forensic analysis. A forensic preview revealed that a seized computer contained multiple images of child pornography.  Carboni was subsequently charged with 13 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and is being held in lieu of $260,000 bail.
• On April 3 Stephen M. Parsons, age 25, was rearrested on rape and other charges stemming from an ongoing Child Predator Task Force investigation.  Parsons was originally arrested on March 21 on 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography as a result of a Task Force investigation into the distribution of child pornography.  The ongoing investigation revealed evidence that Parsons sexually abused a child under his care as well as pornographic images depicting that child.  As a result, Parsons was rearrested at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, where he was being held on the March 21 charges, for the additional charges of Rape 1st Degree (3 counts); sexual abuse of a child by  a person in trust (1 count), continuous sexual abuse of a child (1 count), sexual exploitation of a child (4 counts), unlawful sexual contact with a person under 13 (5 counts).

“Those who collect and distribute child pornography are predators, and tragically our experience has demonstrated that the predators who possess these horrific images and videos all too often also commit physical crimes against kids,” Biden said.  “That’s why our Child Predator Task Force is hard at work every day acting to take these criminals off the streets and keep our kids safe.”

Booking images of Figura (top left), Tessier (top right), Carboni (bottom left), and Parsons (bottom right) is below.

# # #

Print