Child Predator Task Force Investigations Lead to Rape Charges Against Two Delaware Men

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that ongoing Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigations into the possession and distribution of child pornography have led to the arrest of two Delaware men on rape charges.

 

“These arrests demonstrate that those who possess child pornography and have access to kids pose an increased threat of sexual offenses against children,” Biden said, “These cases underscore how important the work of the Child Predator Task Force is to taking sexual predators off the streets and keeping our kids safe.”

 

On January 6, 2014, Terry C. Adgate, age 65, was arrested for three counts of unlawful sexual penetration 3rd degree and one count of attempted unlawful sexual intercourse 2nd degree. Adgate was initially the subject of a Child Predator Task Force investigation into the possession of child pornography, and that investigation led to his August, 2012 arrest on multiple counts of dealing in child pornography. Adgate, who has remained incarcerated since his August, 2012 arrest, pled guilty to three counts of dealing child pornography and was sentenced in November, 2013 to 5 years in prison. Shortly before his sentencing on pornography charges an adult victim was discovered who reported to Task Force Detectives that Adgate sexually assaulted her when she was a child over a period of several years during the 1990s. Adgate resided on the 900 block of Saltere Road in Clayton, Delaware from approximately 1985 until his 2012 arrest, and previously resided in New Castle County from approximately 1968 until 1985. Detectives are urging anyone with information that may assist investigators in determining whether Adgate committed additional crimes during that time to contact Detective Kevin McKay at the Delaware Child Predator Task Force at 302-741-2775.

 

Last week’s arrest follows the January 1, 2014 arrest of Charles H. Hurd, Jr., age 48, for three counts of unlawful sexual contact with a child. The charges stemmed from an ongoing Child Predator Task Force investigation into the distribution of child pornography that resulted in his June, 2013 arrest on 25 counts of dealing in child pornography. Hurd has remained incarcerated since his June, 2013 arrest and awaits trial on those charges. The ongoing investigation revealed evidence that Hurd sexually assaulted an 11 year old female on multiple occasions in 2013 at his residence in the 800 Block of Woodline Drive in Middletown, resulting in his January 1 arrest on the additional charges. Detectives urge anyone with any information that may assist the ongoing investigation to contact Investigator Dennis Campbell of the Child Predator Task Force at 302-741-2769.

 

Booking images of Terry Adgate and Charles Hurd, Jr. are below.

 

adgate booking image

 

 

Hurd Booking Image

 

###


Biden announces indictment of Newark man for sex offenses against children and sentencing of Kent County man on child pornography charges

As a result of the ongoing Child Predator Task Force investigation, on November 25 the Attorney General’s office secured the 144-count indictment from the New Castle County Grand Jury.  It charges Figura with 71 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child for producing child pornography between 1998 and 2007, and 71 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography for compiling and/or distributing those files.  In addition, the indictment charges Figura with 1 count each of Rape 2nd Degree and Unlawful Sexual Contact for physically assaulting two of these young victims in 2007.

 

Figura has remained incarcerated on $1.5 million cash bail since his December 19, 2012 arrest.  A booking image from his 2012 arrest is attached.  Read the December, 2012 press release announcing Figura’s arrest on child pornography charges at https://news.delaware.gov/2012/12/20/newark-man-charged-with-distributing-child-pornography/.

 

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the State bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

Biden also announced that this morning, James Davis, who pled guilty to four counts of Dealing in Child Pornography on September 25, 2013, was sentenced by Kent County Superior Court Judge Robert B. Young to 8 years in prison.  Davis, age 50, of Magnolia, was arrested by the Delaware State Police on October 18, 2012 on multiple counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  The ongoing investigation ultimately revealed that Davis maintained a collection of more than 1,000 images of child pornography on his computers and other digital storage devices.

Booking Image Figura

# # #


New Castle man arrested on child pornography charges

Wilmington – A proactive undercover online investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force into the distribution of child pornography has led to the arrest of a New Castle man, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

 

“Thanks to the proactive undercover investigations initiated by our Child Predator Task Force we’re weeding out dangerous predators who victimize our kids,” Biden said.

 

After undercover detectives received files containing child pornography from a subject in Delaware, investigators tracked the source of those files to a residence in New Castle.  On November 21 detectives executed a search warrant at the residence, located in the 600 block of Central Avenue, and seized one computer, multiple digital storage devices, and numerous pages of printed material containing child pornography.  During the search, 65 year-old Thomas E. Noble, AKA Thomas Guyer, AKA Walter Guyer, the owner of the residence, was taken to DSP Troop #2 for further investigation.

 

As a result of the investigation detectives arrested Noble on November 21 and charged him with 26 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via videophone by JP Court #2 and was taken to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $520,000 secured bail.

 

The Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigation continues.  A booking image of Noble is below.

 

 

 Noble -  Booking Image

# # #


Biden supports financial restitution for victims of child pornography

Delaware AG signs onto multistate brief filed with U.S. Supreme Court

 

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden has joined 33 of his colleagues in arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that federal law allows victims of child pornography to recover full financial restitution from predators who produce, posses, or trade sexually explicit images of children.

 

“Child abuse, especially abuse related to child pornography, can have significant and long-lasting effects,” said Biden, who as Attorney General created the state’s Child Predator Task Force to track down and arrest those seeking to prey on kids, and successfully pushed for increased penalties for the possession of child pornography. “Victims deserve full restitution to help them recover.  It is the right thing to do and we believe it is the law.”

 

The Attorneys General made their argument in a “friend of the Court” brief filed Wednesday in the U.S. Supreme Court case Paroline v. Amy Unknown, urging the nation’s highest court to uphold a 2012 federal appellate court ruling that ordered a convicted child pornographer to pay restitution to a victim depicted in images he possessed.  In the case before the Court, the victim was raped as a young girl by her uncle who took photos of the abuse and traded the pornographic images online with others, including Doyle Randall Paroline.  Paroline pled guilty in 2009 in federal court to one count of possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of children and was sentenced to two years in prison. Among the images of child pornography found on Paroline’s computers were those depicting Amy’s sexual abuse, and Amy’s counsel sought financial restitution from the defendant.  That request was denied by federal District Court but, on appeal, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Amy was entitled to full financial restitution from Paroline under the federal Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 1994.  The Supreme Court is currently considering Paroline’s appeal of this ruling.

 

Images depicting child sexual abuse are often traded through online networks for months or years after they are produced, contributing to significant and ongoing harm to victims and extended treatment.  Restitution can help recover an array of these costs, including medical care, psychological care, other therapy and rehabilitation, housing, lost income, transportation and child care.  The courts have rarely awarded victims of child pornography full restitution, often finding that the victims cannot prove exactly what losses resulted from an individual pornographer’s actions.  Biden and his fellow Attorneys General believe that the federal law has clear language mandating full restitution by predators who victimize and re-victimize children.

 

The states signing the brief, in addition to Delaware, are: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, , Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington State, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

# # #

 

 


Wilmington man arrested for posting child pornography online

Wilmington – The Delaware Child Predator Task Force arrested a Wilmington man yesterday on child pornography charges after a multi-state investigation revealed he posted images of child pornography online, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

 

“This arrest demonstrates that we are working effectively with law enforcement partners from across the country to track down predators wherever they are and taking them off the streets,” Biden said.

 

The Task Force investigation was initiated after it received a report from North Carolina authorities who had initiated an investigation into an unknown subject who had posted multiple nude images of a middle school-age girl online.  When North Carolina investigators determined the subject was located in Delaware the case was referred to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force which continued the investigation, identified the subject as 27 year-old Brahim M. Kelley, and secured a warrant for Kelley’s arrest.  Yesterday, November 14th, members of the Child Predator Task Force, along with a uniformed Trooper from DSP Troop #6, took Kelley into custody and executed a search warrant at his residence on White Hall Circle in Wilmington.  During the search, multiple computers, a cell phone and numerous digital storage devices were seized.

 

Based on the online investigation Kelley was charged yesterday with 25 counts of dealing in child pornography, was arraigned via videophone by JP Court #11, and was taken to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $375,000 secured bail.  The Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigation, including an examination of the evidence seized at Kelley’s residence yesterday, continues.

 

A booking image of Kelley is below

Kelley Booking Image

 

# # #