Child Rescues & Investigations, August 2010

Note: The following cases are just a sampling of child rescue cases this month. In most cases, PROTECT does not identify criminal defendants who have not yet been convicted. They should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

TENNESSEE: A 23-year-old East Tennessee man is in custody, after police say they rescued a 2-year-old child from his house. Investigators were originally following the trail of child pornography trafficking. When they searched the suspect’s residence, they found images of him raping a two-year-old child at his home. He’s been charged with two counts of child rape. Tennessee investigators have greatly expanded their operations in recent years, thanks to state and federal funding secured by PROTECT.


ILLINOIS: A predator soccer coach has been convicted and ongoing sexual abuse of children stopped by federal ICE agents (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  The agents infiltrated a child pornography website and discovered 46-year-old Timothy Scholtes purchasing child sexual abuse images. Further investigation showed that Scholtes was a soccer coach and that he had taken and uploaded child pornography of one of his 10-year-old players. Court records say Scholtes had organized files on his computers of other children in the soccer league that he had targeted for sexual assault. PROTECT is working on Capitol Hill now to increase ICE resources.


VIRGINIA: Law enforcement investigators working in Chesterfield, Virginia say they have tracked a child pornography trader back through the Internet, rescuing a toddler. Charlottesville police observed the suspect online, triggering a raid on his home by state, federal and local officials. Authorities say the suspect admitted to sexually abusing a child in his custody, while changing her diaper. With the passage of "Alicia's Law" and other legislation, PROTECT has dramatically increased Virginia anti-child exploitation resources in recent years.


OKLAHOMA: Two children have been rescued from ongoing sexual abuse by an Oklahoma couple who took photographs of their crimes. A federal jury this month convicted Dean Leroy Freerksen III to prison, after he and his wife were charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old and 15-year-old girl.  Prosecutors say the couple had other victims, ranging in age from 7-17. This rescue is a reminder that child pornography evidence can convict predators when other evidence often can’t. The Oklahoman reports “Freerksen pleaded guilty to child stealing in 2005 in an incident in which a 15-year-old runaway girl was found lying unconscious under insulation in his attic.” During the past two years, PROTECT has won major increases in funding for Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces.


CALIFORNIA: “Throughout my life I was robbed of my youth and my innocence by this evil, pathetic man,” said a brave victim at a court hearing in California this month. Her testimony, along with cold, hard child pornography evidence, helped take a serial child rapist out of society, protecting untold potential future victims. Carlos Aguirre, Jr. was sentenced this month to 96 years in prison. The Associated Press reports: “Prosecutors say Aguirre began sexually assaulting his niece when she was 5-years-old and drugged and repeatedly raped two other girls who were 14 and 16-years-old. Authorities say they also found child porn on his computer, including an 18-minute video of one victim being raped by Aguirre and a 12-year-old boy.” PROTECT secured $2 million in state funding for California Internet Crimes Against Children in 2007, effectively doubling their funding.


NEW YORK: Child exploitation investigators discovered a 36-year-old man who worked with disabled children was also preying on them. Stephen DeProspero was originally arrested for possession of child pornography, but investigators found a digital camera containing a movie of DeProspero sexually abusing a 9-year-old, severely autistic boy.  That child, as well as any other current and future victims, will now be protected. PROTECT secured $1.6 million in 2009 Recovery Act funding to combat child exploitation in New York state.