commonvoice.com
An Orange County, CA resident who allegedly exchanged child pornography over the Internet with men who sexually exploited their own children and a Salvadoran national convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting two teens are among the 32 individuals targeted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Orange County this past week as part of Operation Predator, a nationwide operation to protect children from those who sexually exploit them.
Michael Drake, 40, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court soon to face charges of possessing and distributing child pornography over the Internet. Drake, who was arrested by ICE agents on July 13, came under investigation after he emailed sexually explicit images of children to an undercover police officer in Florida who was posing as one of Drake’s former contacts. The Orange, California salesman was apparently unaware that his former contact had been arrested and jailed for molesting his own children.
In addition to Drake, nine other Orange County men are facing federal child pornography charges as a result of ICE investigations. The 10 ICE suspects are among 28 defendants caught up in a multi-agency sweep announced by the United States Attorney’s Office today that focused on Southland defendants accused of possessing and distributing child pornography.
Posted by katie at July 16, 2005