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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Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that separate undercover online investigations by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force have led to the arrest of two men who traveled to Dover-area locations to have sex with children.
“The Child Predator Task Force is working to weed out the most dangerous predators – those who seek to sexually assault our children,” Biden said.  “Thanks to legislation enacted this year which strengthens penalties against predators who travel to meet their victims we’re in an even stronger position to take them off the streets for longer periods of time where they can no longer hurt kids.”

In the first case, 49 year-old Steve A. Moore of the 30000 block of Adams Road in Dagsboro responded to the profile of a 13 year-old female on an online social dating site.  During communications with a Task Force detective who was posing as the girl, the subject indicated in explicit terms that he wanted to meet to have sex with the girl.  Ultimately a location, date and time was set to meet. Moore was subsequently arrested by the Child Predator Task Force and Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team yesterday, July 22, 2014, when he arrived at the agreed upon time at Tidbury Park, on South State Street in Dover.  Moore was taken to DSP Troop #3 for further investigation and a search warrant was executed at his residence, during which detectives seized two cell phones.   Based on the investigation Moore was charged with one count of Sexual Solicitation of a Child Under 18 and four counts of Obscenity. He was arraigned via videophone by JP Court #2 and was taken to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $70,000 secured bail.  The investigation, including the forensic examination of the cell phones seized during the search of Moore’s home, is ongoing.

In the second case, 51 year-old Mark A. Cavill of the unit block of Rafkind Road, Bloomingdale, New Jersey, responded to the profile of a 14 year-old female on an online social dating site.  During multiple communications with a Task Force detective who was posing as the girl, Cavill indicated that he wanted to meet to have sex with the girl, and a location and a date and time was set to meet.  On Friday, July 18, 2014, the Child Predator Task Force and Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team arrested Cavill when he arrived as agreed at a fast food restaurant on the 1700 block of North Dupont Highway in Dover.  As a result of the investigation Cavill was charged with one count of Sexual Solicitation of a Child Under 18.  He was arraigned via videophone at JP Court #2 and was taken to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.  On the day of his arrest investigators obtained a search warrant for his cell phone and a forensic examination of the device is ongoing.

Booking photos of both Moore:   and Cavill:         These two arrests are the first arrests made under the strengthened penalties established by House Bill 256, which was sponsored by Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Brandywine, and Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington, passed unanimously in the General Assembly, and signed into law last month.  This legislation makes it clear that a sexual predator is guilty of sexual solicitation of a child online whether the individual is soliciting an actual child or an undercover investigator whom the predator believes to be a child, and it elevates the offense from a Class C to a Class B felony in cases in which the predator actually travels to meet the individual he is soliciting online, whether the subject is a child or an undercover investigator.

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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden’s office announced today that a Newark man has been charged with dealing in child pornography following an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.

As a result of the Task Force investigation the Child Predator Task Force and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant on June 27, 2014 at a residence in the Harbor Club Apartments on Cheswold Boulevard in Newark. As a result of the search, a cellular smart phone, multiple computers and other digital media were seized.  During the search, one of the residents of the apartment, Anthony David Slater, age 35, was transported to Troop 2 for further investigation.  Based on the initial forensic results of the search, Slater was returned to his residence and the investigation continued.

A thorough forensic examination of the seized evidence by the DSP High Technology Crimes Unit ultimately revealed multiple images of child pornography and as a result of the ongoing investigation Slater was arrested yesterday, July 9, and charged with 25 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 $25,000 secured bail.

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

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Newark – The latest investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force into the online distribution of child pornography has a led to the arrest of a Newark man, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

“Thanks to the constant vigilance of our Child Predator Task Force we’re taking those who would harm our kids off the streets,” Biden said.

During its investigation the Task Force traced the distribution of child pornography to a residence in the unit block of Shields Lane in Newark.  Yesterday, 50 year-old Robert M. Metzger, the sole occupant of the residence, was taken into custody and was transported to DSP Troop #2 and the Child Predator Task Force, along with a uniformed Trooper from Troop #2, executed a search warrant at his residence.  During the search, investigators seized one laptop computer and additional digital media devices.

An initial forensic examination of the evidence seized during the search revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography.  As a result of the investigation Metzger was arrested yesterday and charged with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and was taken to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 secured bail

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

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