ICAC Task Forces Make Arrests Across the U.S.
6/22/2017
The National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is proud to announce that its members across the country arrested approximately 1,012 child exploitation offenders and conducted approximately 1,245 community presentations on Internet safety, during the months of April and May as part of “Operation Broken Heart IV.”
Operation Broken Heart IV included more than 3,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from 61 ICAC Task Forces. These agencies conducted coordinated and simultaneous investigations with the goal of arresting as many child sexual exploitation offenders as possible during this two-month period. The 61 ICAC Task Forces throughout the United States made the arrests, then collected and shared the statistics with the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in Washington, DC.
The national crackdown targeted offenders who: (1) possess, manufacture, and distribute child pornography; (2) engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; (3) engage in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (commonly referred to as child prostitution), and (4) engage in child sex tourism (traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually abusing foreign children).
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and its affiliate agencies throughout the state were responsible for 32 arrests and 35 community outreach presentations to more than 2,900 individuals. Notable arrests and/or indictments in Ohio during Operation Broken Heart IV included the following cases:
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Russell Conrad (Morristown, OH)
On April 4, 2017, 31-year-old Russell Conrad of Morristown, OH was arrested by the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office based on a child pornography investigation initiated by the Brunswick Police Department (Medina County). Brunswick Police referred the investigation to Belmont County and the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Conrad’s residence. Conrad admitted to sharing child pornography and to masturbating to the material. The Belmont County Sheriff’s Office conducted an on-scene forensic triage of Conrad’s computer and located more than 40,000 files of known or suspected child pornography. Conrad was arrested without incident and pled guilty to three (3) counts of Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor. On June 12, 2017, Conrad was sentenced to eight (8) years in prison and classified as a Tier II sex offender.
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Clarence Workman (Columbus, OH)
On April 6, 2017, 66-year-old Clarence Workman of Columbus, OH was arrested by the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force based on a child pornography investigation and search warrant executed at his residence. Workman was interviewed and partially admitted to downloading child pornography and stated that he would engage in sexually explicit online conversations posing as a teenage girl. During a forensic examination of Workman’s electronic devices, it was discovered that Workman was using a relative’s identity to portray the teenage girl online. Investigators additionally discovered hundreds of images were Workman would take facial images of his relative and superimpose them on pornographic images of children engaging in sexual activity. Workman was arrested and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography and indicted on these charges on May 30, 2017 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
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John Mobasseri (Russell Township, OH)
On April 11, 2017, 39-year-old John Mobasseri of Russell Township, OH was indicted by a federal grand jury on one (1) count of Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography and one (1) count of Possession of Child Pornography following an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; Cleveland Field Office and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Mobasseri was identified as the subject of the investigation during a March 2017 search warrant executed at his residence after an on-scene forensic triage found hundreds of child pornography files on a laptop computer and USB drives belonging to Mobasseri. A forensic examination conducted by Homeland Security Investigations found more than 23,700 images and 840 videos of known or suspected child pornography. This case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.
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Robert Arias, pictured left (Broadview Heights, OH)
On April 14, 2017, 53-year-old Robert Arias of Broadview Heights, OH was arrested by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with the assistance of the Broadview Heights Police Department, based on a Cybertip received by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). This Cybertip, originally submitted to NCMEC by Google, indicated that a Google user had uploaded an image of child pornography to a Google service. The investigation determined that this activity occurred at Arias’ residence in Broadview Heights and a search warrant was executed on April 14, 2017. Arias, a registered sex offender, was interviewed during the search warrant and admitted to possessing child pornography. An on-scene forensic triage of a cell phone belonging to Arias located multiple folders containing child pornography. Arias was arrested without incident and indicted on sixteen (16) counts of Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor, nine (9) counts of Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity Oriented Material or Performance and one (1) count of Possessing Criminal Tools. On June 15, 2017, Arias appeared before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick and pled guilty to sixteen (16) counts of Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor, three (3) counts of Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity Oriented Material or Performance and one (1) count of Possessing Criminal Tools. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 12, 2017 at 9:00 am.
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Jonathan Smith, pictured left (Euclid, OH)
On May 16, 2017, 26-year-old Jonathan Smith of Euclid, OH was arrested by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with the assistance of the South Euclid Police Department, based on a child pornography investigation initiated by Special Investigators with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. During the course of the investigation, the task force was able to download more than eighty (80) files of known or suspected child pornography with an emphasis on violence and sadomasochism involving minor children. Smith was identified as a suspect on May 16, 2017 when the task force executed a search warrant at his Euclid residence and discovered a computer in his bedroom actively searching for child pornography files. Smith agreed to be interviewed and admitted to downloading and possessing child pornography. An on-scene forensic examination of Smith’s computer and an external hard drive found known child pornography search terms and files containing child pornography. Smith was arrested without incident and indicted on twenty-one (21) counts of Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor, two (2) counts of Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity Oriented Material or Performance and one (1) count of Possessing Criminal Tools.
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is run under the direction of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and funded in part by a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Since its inception in 1999, the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has initiated more than 9,000 investigations, been responsible for the arrest of more than 2,260 child exploitation offenders and has provided more than 2,000 community outreach presentations to more than 184,000 individuals.
Contact: Ryan Miday, Director of Communications and Public Policy. Phone: 216.443.7488 or Email: rmiday@prosecutor.cuyahogacounty.us