Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden’s office announced today that a Newark man arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force last December following a proactive undercover online investigation into the distribution of child pornography received a ten-year prison sentence this morning.

During the Task Force investigation, detectives obtained multiple files containing child pornography from a subject in Delaware. After the source of the files was tracked to the residence of Andrew J. Alvarez on Leader Drive in Newark, Task Force detectives, along with a uniformed Trooper from DSP Troop #6, executed a search warrant at that location and recovered more than a dozen computers and multiple digital storage devices. A forensic review of the seized evidence detectives discovered 304 videos and images containing child pornography, some depicting children as young as two years of age. As a result of the investigation, Alvarez was arrested on December 5, 2013 and charged him with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography. The continuing investigation revealed that Alvarez was a member of an online peer-to-peer network that he used to download child pornography and through which images that he maintained would have been accessible to other predators.

Alvarez pled guilty earlier this year to two counts of Dealing in Child Pornography. Today at sentencing in New Castle County Superior Court, Resident Superior Court Judge Richard R. Cooch sentenced Alvarez to a ten year prison sentence. Judge Cooch indicated that he imposed a sentence far above the minimum four years required by law in order to protect the public, reduce offenders’ access to collections of child pornography through online networks, and send a clear message that the State of Delaware will not tolerate those who are participate in the distribution of child pornography.

Alvarez has been held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center since his arrest in lieu of $1.25 million secured bail. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Abigail Layton, co-director of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.

Biden’s office also announced today that a separate online investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force into the distribution of child pornography resulted in the arrest of a Millsboro man earlier this month. During its investigation, detectives identified a residence in the 32000 block of Long Neck Boulevad in Millsboro, and executed a search warrant at that location on September 4. During the search a resident of the address, Luke C. Morley, age 21, was identified and taken to DSP Troop #4 and detectives seized a Samsung smartphone belonging to the suspect. A forensic review of the device revealed multiple files containing child pornography, and as a result of the investigation Morley was charged with eight counts of Dealing in Child Pornography. He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and was taken to Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $200,000 cash bail. The Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigation continues. A booking image of Morley is attached

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Georgetown –A Georgetown man has been arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for dealing in child pornography, Attorney General Beau Biden announced Monday, August , 18th.

“Predators beware.  Our Child Predator Task Force has the resources to track you down and take you off the streets,” Biden said.

A Child Predator Task Force investigation into the distribution of child pornography images through online social media identified a subject, 32 year-old Georgetown, DE resident Paul Douglas Fry.  On July 30, 2014 detectives made contact with Fry at his residence in the 200 block of Wilson Street.  Fry voluntarily surrendered an iPad and smartphone at that time, and a warrant authorizing a search of the devices was obtained.  After a subsequent forensic examination revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography Fry was arrested by Task Force Detectives on August 15, 2014 and charged with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via videophone by JP Court 2 and was taken to Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $250,000.00 secured bail.

The Child Predator Task Force investigation continues.  A booking image of Fry is attached.

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Advocates praise Delaware Child Predator Task Force’s 200-plus convictions

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that the state’s Child Predator Task Force has surpassed the 200-conviction milestone.

Biden worked with legislators, state agencies and law enforcement agencies to create the Child Predator Task Force shortly after he took office in 2007. It is the first of its kind in Delaware to be dedicated solely to identifying and arresting those seeking to prey on children.

“Nothing is more important than protecting our kids, and that’s why I promised to create a task force focused on nothing else except keeping kids safe,” Biden said. “The Child Predator Task Force brings together prosecutors, investigators and police to stop the worst of society from hurting kids. Delaware’s children are much safer because of the Task Force’s work.”

Under the supervision of State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings and direction of Deputy Attorney General Abigail Rodgers Layton, the Task Force includes four Department of Justice investigators and nine forensic examiners (two from the Department of Justice, six from the Delaware State Police and one from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) and two paralegals. The General Assembly approved funding in June for an additional DOJ prosecutor.

The Task Force also teams with local law enforcement agencies and the federal government when a case calls for such cooperation. The task force uses the latest technology to track the trade of child pornography images and to detect predators lurking on the Internet trying to find new victims. The Task Force investigators conduct online undercover investigations, posing as a child, to draw out predators and stop them before they can hurt another child.

“Protecting children is all of our responsibility and requires all levels of government working together,” Biden said. “Predators can use the Internet to come into the child’s home through the computer – the Child Predator Task Force stops them.”

The Task Force notched its 200^th conviction in June when Paul V. Nonne, of Kenton, pled guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of dealing in child pornography. He will be sentenced Aug. 14. The Task Force has since secured three additional convictions, bringing its current total to 203.

“What do General Biden’s 200 convictions really mean for Delaware children and families? Because over half of all convicted child predators have an average of 19 actual child victims in a lifetime, it means hundreds of children rescued immediately and potentially over 3,800 future assaults prevented,” said Camille Cooper, director of legislative affairs for the National Association to Protect Children. “That’s real justice.”

In addition to the Task Force’s 201 convictions, it has also achieved the following:

• The rescue of 120 children who were either suffering abuse or being groomed for future victimization. Earlier this year, for example, the Task Force executed a search warrant as part of an investigation into the distribution of child pornography and found that there was a young boy whom the suspect had adopted. Authorities believe the suspect was sexually abusing his adopted son and have removed the child from the home and are getting him the help he needs.
• A 33-year prison sentence, the longest the Task Force has secured, handed down last Friday to John M. Figura. He was convicted in May of taking pornographic photos of children he was caring for, possessing a collection of more than 1 million images of child pornography and sexually abusing a child. Last year, a member of a Sussex County child pornography ring was sentenced to 28 years in prison after being convicted thanks to the work of the Child Predator Task Force.
• Working with members of the General Assembly to strengthen state laws protecting children and give law enforcement more tools to go after predators, including minimum mandatory sentences for the possession of child pornography and legislation this year that toughened penalties for predators who attempt to solicit victims online.
• In addition to significantly strengthening law enforcement’s work against predators, Biden has also teamed with Prevent Child Abuse Delaware and the YMCA to shine a bright light on the problem of child sexual abuse. Biden and the organizations have brought the Darkness to Light Foundation’s “Stewards of Children” training program to Delaware. Since 2011, approximately 14,000 Delawareans have been trained to know how to recognize the signs that a child is being abused and trained to understand the importance of reporting that information.

“The Child Predator Task Force is to be congratulated for their tireless work on behalf of Delaware’s children.  The success that they have had apprehending sex offenders has helped to make our communities safer places for our children,” said Karen DeRasmo, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Delaware. “It is equally as important to be persistent and intentional in educating, both children and adults, on how to prevent child abuse. Our collective goal, as demonstrated through our partnership around the Stewards of Children program, is to prevent abuse from ever happening in the first place.”

The Department of Justice reminds the public that Delaware law requires that any adult or organization who “knows or in good faith suspects” that a child is being abused to immediately call the state’s Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-292-9582.

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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.

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Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force has a led to the arrest of a Felton man who now faces charges that he dealt in child pornography.

“Our Child Predator Task Force puts police and prosecutors side by side to track down those who seek to hurt our kids,” Biden said.

As part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the Internet, the Child Predator Task Force and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant on March 21 at a residence on Vineyard Lane in Felton. 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.

During the search, a person of interest, Stephen M. Parsons, age 25, a resident of the Vineyard Lane address, was taken into custody.  Parsons was subsequently charged on March 21 with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and is being held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 secured bail.

The Child Predator Task Force investigation continues.

A booking image of Parsons

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