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Tag: Child exploitation

Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A former security guard for Jeffco Public Schools was arrested Monday over charges of child sexual abuse. Brian C. Richie, 67, was arrested by Longmont police and booked into the Boulder County jail. He faces several charges, including sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing videos, 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing photos, invasion of privacy for sexual gratification of a person under 15 and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, according to the jail log and Richie’s arrest affidavit. Richie’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages showed he was employed by Jeffco as a “patrol sergeant” from April 2015 to February 2026, when he ...
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Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges
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Arizona's Family, Approved, National

Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges

By Nicole Crites | Arizona’s Family Federal agents say 19-year-old Baron Martin targeted kids as young as 11, blackmailing them into acts of violence. PHOENIX (AZFamily) — When 19-year-old Baron Martin was cited for a fender bender in Tucson two and a half years ago, federal agents say he was already deep into the world of 764. Agents say Martin joined the online network in 2019 and is now tied to crimes that could keep him locked up for life. Behind closed doors from his keyboard in Tucson, detectives say he went by the name “Convict,” targeting kids as young as 11 in the U.S. and overseas. Agents say he blackmailed them to carve his name into their bodies, kill their pets and live stream acts of extreme violence. Timothy Courchaine, U.S. att...
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Colorado Human Trafficking Cases Reach Alarming High In 2025
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Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Human Trafficking Cases Reach Alarming High In 2025

By Derek Draplin | Just the News The analysis by Common Sense Institute Colorado uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. But the institute said the state’s data is undercounted due to data-entry lag, noting 2025 human trafficking numbers could end up exceeding record levels from 2023. Colorado saw “peak levels” for human trafficking in 2025 even without complete data for the year, a new analysis warns. The analysis by Common Sense Institute Colorado uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. But the institute said the state’s data is undercounted due to data-entry lag, noting 2025 human trafficking numbers could end up exceeding record levels from 2023. ...
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Colorado Lawmakers Weigh Justice and Unintended Consequences in Child Sex Solicitation Bill
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Weigh Justice and Unintended Consequences in Child Sex Solicitation Bill

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Colorado is among the top ten states in the country for human trafficking and most of the victims here are children. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says 64% of human trafficking survivors are under age 18 and, under current state law, some of their abusers receive probation. A bill by state Sen.s Byron Pelton and Dylan Roberts would change that. Roberts says the current law is failing children. "How do we hold buyers of children accountable for their crimes?" he said. Under the legislation, anyone convicted of crimes related to child solicitation would be sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison. State analysts say each year, an average of 25 of those offenders receive probation. READ THE F...
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16 Victims Identified in Disturbing Colorado Hypnosis Sexual Abuse Investigation of Former Teacher
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

16 Victims Identified in Disturbing Colorado Hypnosis Sexual Abuse Investigation of Former Teacher

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado A man who says he is one of at least sixteen victims in an elaborate and disturbing criminal ring that was busted in Colorado is hoping sharing his story could inspire other potential victims to come forward. On Tuesday, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced they had arrested former Colorado teacher and 39-year-old suspect, Patricio Illanes on Monday night. Illanes is facing 50 charges of sexual exploitation of a child after more than a decade of working with children. North Carolina resident Diego Pantojas told CBS Colorado he was 16 in 2022 when he joined communities online about hypnosis. But Pantojas says he quickly found himself in an inappropriate conversation with a man in his 30s in Colorado that was allegedly Illa...
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Justice Served as Colorado Child Predator Receives 84-Year Federal Prison Sentence
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The Western Journal, Approved, State

Justice Served as Colorado Child Predator Receives 84-Year Federal Prison Sentence

By Jack Davis | The Western Journal A 31-year-old Colorado man has been sentenced to 84 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of the sexual exploitation of minors. Austin Ryan Lauless, 31, was sentenced on Dec. 17, according to a Department of Justice news release. In addition to prison time, he faces a lifetime of supervised release. Lauless pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of advertising child sexual abuse material, and possession of child sexual abuse material, the Justice Department said. The release said the 84 American victims come from almost every state, and that victims from at least five foreign countries have been identified. READ THE FUL...
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Teen’s Suicide Highlights Rising Sextortion Crisis Targeting American Teens
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Approved, National, New York Post

Teen’s Suicide Highlights Rising Sextortion Crisis Targeting American Teens

By: Chadwick Moore | New York Post The afternoon that 15-year-old Bryce Tate was sextorted started off as a perfectly normal Thursday. The Cross Lanes, W. Va., sophomore came home from the gym on Nov. 6, scarfed down a plate of tacos prepared by his mom, then went outside to shoot hoops. At 4:37 p.m., he received a text message from a strange number. Three hours later, Bryce was found in his dad’s man cave — dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100% murder,” Bryce’s father, Adam Tate, told The Post. “They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE NEW YORK POST
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Colorado Justices Say Old Statute Didn’t Cover AI-Generated Child Pornography
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Justices Say Old Statute Didn’t Cover AI-Generated Child Pornography

By: Michael Karlik | The Denver Gazette Colorado law prior to 2025 did not criminalize, as a means of sexually exploiting a child, the use of artificial intelligence to generate nude images depicting real children, the state Supreme Court concluded on Monday. The legislature acted this year to clearly establish a crime for someone to have or share fake, yet “highly realistic,” images of children that are explicitly sexual. However, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a teenager’s 2023 creation of “deepfake” porn was also illegal at the time. No, it was not, the court concluded. “Unfortunately, it took our legislature time to catch up to the recent advances in generative-AI technology,” wrote Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. in the Oct. 13 opinion. Therefore...
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Aurora School Resource Supervisor Arrested in Federal Child Exploitation Probe
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Aurora School Resource Supervisor Arrested in Federal Child Exploitation Probe

By Jack Lowenstein | CBS Colorado Aurora Police Sgt. Aaron Bunch was arrested Wednesday after a warrant was served at a Denver home. Bunch faces charges for online sexual exploitation of a child, both Aurora Police Department and FBI Denver confirmed. According to APD's press release, Bunch was being investigated and subsequently arrested by FBI's "Child Exploitation Task Force" for charges that involve the electronic exchange of child exploitation material through the internet. The FBI confirmed a search warrant was being served at a home in the evening related to the case in a Denver community west of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Bunch was originally hired by APD in 2005. He was serving as a school resource officer supervisor. According to the release, "At...
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Pueblo Man Arrested After More Than 1,100 Child Exploitation Images Found
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The Gazette, Approved, Local

Pueblo Man Arrested After More Than 1,100 Child Exploitation Images Found

By Grace Brajkovich | The Gazette A 43-year-old Pueblo man was arrested Tuesday after being accused of possessing over 1,100 sexually explicit photos of children, ranging from “infants to teenagers,” according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. Matthew Phelps was arrested by detectives with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office after authorities were tipped off in May about “more than 1,100” images and videos of child pornography being downloaded to a device at his address in the 27000 block of Woburn Abbey. Detectives from the Sheriff Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit headed the investigation and were able to obtain a search warrant for Phelps’ address that was associated with the downloads. When serving the warrant, authorities say they found explicit images and vi...
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