Crimes against Children 6-25-12

Dallas, TX
Matthew Rodriguez, 21, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 210 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, following his guilty plea in January 2012 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Rodriguez has been in custody since his arrest in November 2011.

According to documents filed in the case, Rodriguez admitted using the Internet and file sharing software to transmit and share images of child pornography. When FBI agents executed a search warrant at his residence in Dallas in March 2011, they seized his laptop computer. A forensic analysis of that computer located 675 images and 138 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Rodriguez further admitted that some of the images and videos included images of prepubescent minors and material that depicted sadistic images of prepubescent minors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Minneapolis, MN
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Sean Johnson, age 21, of Lower Brule, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on June 20, 2012 and pled guilty to count one of an indictment that charged him with sexual abuse of a minor. The maximum penalty upon conviction is any term of years up to 15 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The conviction stems from the time frame of November 2011 to February 2012, when Johnson and the minor victim met and began communicating via text messages. In February 2012, Johnson admitted to having sex with the minor victim three separate times.

Nationwide
Hundreds of FBI special agents partnered with thousands of local police officers, deputy sheriffs, state troopers, and other law enforcement personnel throughout the United States this past week, arresting those responsible for exploiting underage children through prostitution. The sixth iteration of Operation Cross Country, a three-day law enforcement action, led to the recovery of 79 children. Additionally, 104 pimps were arrested by local and state law enforcement on a variety of prostitution related charges.
“Child prostitution remains a major threat to children across America,” said Kevin L. Perkins, acting executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “It is a violent and deplorable crime, and we are working with our partners to disrupt and put behind bars individuals and members of criminal enterprises who would sexually exploit children.”
Operation Cross Country is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative that was created in 2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), to address the growing problem of domestic child sex trafficking in the United States.

New Haven, CT
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Todd Parrilla, 48, of Stonington, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. In pleading guilty, Todd Parrilla, a medical doctor who had a pediatric practice in southeastern Connecticut, admitted that he possessed more than 100,000 images and videos of child pornography.

“This defendant possessed and distributed tens of thousands of images and videos portraying the sexual abuse of children,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein. “This is a heinous crime. That it was committed by a pediatrician, whose profession is committed to the well-being of children, makes it especially disturbing. I commend the FBI and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force for investigating this matter and the tireless work they do every day to investigate these crimes and protect children from exploitation.”

Sacramento, CA
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Crimes Against Children Unit and its state and local law enforcement partners are pleased to announce the recovery of six children who were being victimized as prostitutes in the Chico, Redding, Sacramento, and Vallejo areas. The number of minors recovered locally is one of the highest in the nation, making this local achievement one of Operation Cross Country VI’s top success stories.

The Sacramento Division of the FBI and multiple local and state law enforcement participated in the operation from June 19 through June 23, 2012. In addition to six juveniles recovered in Sacramento, multi-agency teams also arrested six pimps during the three-day operation. The local efforts account for nearly eight percent of the children rescued during Operation Cross Country VI.