11 Charged In Statewide Child Pornography Investigation
Des Moines, Iowa - On November 14, 2008, in an early morning action, Federal, State and Local law enforcement officers simultaneously served fifteen search warrants across the Southern District of Iowa, in a coordinated law enforcement investigation dubbed "Operation Wirebreaker". This investigation, coordinated through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) “Operation Predator” initiative, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety's Division of Criminal Investigation “Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force” (ICAC), has now resulted in 11 subjects, ten men and one woman, being federally indicted for child pornography charges, announced Matthew G. Whitaker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. 3 additional suspects were also charged on child pornography offences, not related to Operation Wire Breaker.
“By using the same technology tools that the purveyors of these images and videos of child sexual abuse employ, we have made a positive impact on the producers and consumers of this depraved content.” Said United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. “I truly believe that the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood is protecting children from future sexual abuse by taking individuals off the street that are interested in images and videos of child sexual abuse.”
“This investigation is evidence of ICE's resolve to search out those who use the Internet to sexually exploit innocent children,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Bloomington, Minn. “Some predators mistakenly believe that the anonymity of cyberspace shields them from scrutiny; in fact, their use of computers and the Internet have given us new tools to use in our enforcement efforts.”
"This has been a successful, multi-agency, collaborative investigative effort. Operation Wirebreaker demonstrates the commitment by the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa ICAC Task Force and our federal partners to work together to protect Iowa's children," said Director John Quinn of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
OPERATION WIREBREAKER CASES AND CHARGES:
1. Chad William Cunningham - Norwalk, IA Production, attempted distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
2. Ralph Edwin Johnson - Clemons, IA Distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, felon in possession of a firearm
3. Hugo Alberto Duran-Garcia - Des Moines, IA Distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
4. Matthew Collins - Council Bluffs, IA Distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
5. Jerry DeAngelo Valdez - Des Moines, IA Distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
6. Todd Allen Montgomery - Marshalltown, IA Attempted distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
7. Ramon Marcelo Valdez - Des Moines, IA Receipt and possession of child pornography
8. Christopher Robin Conger - Buffalo, IA Receipt and possession of child pornography
9. Brian Todd Tracy - Davenport, IA Receipt and possession of child pornography
10. Jennifer Abbott - Iowa City, IA Possession of child pornography
11. Benjamin George Lucas - Earlham, IA Possession of child pornography
NON WIREBREAKER CASES:
1. Jeremiah Thomas Windschitl - Council Bluffs, IA Production, receipt and possession of child pornography
2. Robert John Hawes - Des Moines, IA Distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography
3. Matthew Paul McArthur - Clive, IA Receipt and possession of child pornography
PENALTIES:
Production of Child Pornography: 15 years to life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine
Distribution, Attempted Distribution,Receipt of Child Pornography: 5 to 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine
Possession of Child Pornography : Up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine
Supervised Release: All of the above offenses are covered sex crimes and up to a lifetime term of supervised release may be imposed, at the Court’s discretion, upon conviction.
It Should be noted that a person would be considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The following are some of the agencies who have or are continuing to assist in this investigation: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (www.ICE.gov), Iowa Crimes Against Children’s Task Force (www.dps.state.ia.us/DCI/icac/ ), Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www.missingkids.com), Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence Bureau, The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Ames Police Department, Buffalo Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Council Bluffs Police Department, Davenport Police Department, Des Moines Police Department, Earlham Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department, Newton Police Department, Norwalk Police Department, Oskaloosa Police Department, Ottumwa Police Department, West Des Moines Police Department, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
STATUS OF DEFENDANTS: Defendants Ralph Edwin Johnson, Chad William Cunningham and Robert John Hawes are detained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending trial. Defendant Duran-Garcia escaped from a halfway house, is currently a fugitive from justice and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The remaining defendants, pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act, will receive a summons to appear in court and will be released on conditions that may include placement in a community corrections facility, electronic monitoring, no access to the internet, no contact with children and other such terms and conditions that the Court deems necessary to ensure the safety of the community and the defendant’s future appearance for court proceedings.
The Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional task force that investigates and prosecutes individuals who use the internet to expoit children. This ICAC Task Force is funded by a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and administered through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
ICE investigated this case as part of Operation Predator, a national initiative that protects children by investigating and presenting for prosecution pedophiles, Internet predators, human traffickers, international sex tourists, and other predatory criminals. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,500 child predators and sex offenders nationwide.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
As this is an open federal investigation, until further notice, the media is requested to direct any inquires on Operation Wire Breaker to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa’s Public Information Officer, Mike Bladel at (515) 473-9342. No other agency, except the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, is authorized to respond to your questions on this matter.