Orange County Arrests by SAFE Team; Photos of Men Accused of Sexual Contact with Minors to be Released

Three Orange County men arrested in the past two weeks are accused of crimes against children, announced Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, which includes Orange County, and oversees the SAFE Team, a multi-jurisdictional task force focusing on crimes against children.

SAFE Team (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement) investigators have found evidence indicating that, in at least two cases, defendants in unrelated cases may have victimized minors not yet identified, and are urging victims or parents of minors who believe their minor children may have had unlawful contact with the defendants, to come forward. Photographs of two of the defendants are being released for that purpose.

In one case, the District Attorney in Orange County charged David Brown, 34, of Lake Forest, with oral copulation of a minor, intercourse with a minor, and digital penetration of a minor. Brown, an alleged online predator, whose profile on his social networking site portrayed him as a 22-year-old male, allegedly used the Internet to engage in instant relay chat (instant messaging) with high school girls. Through this medium, Brown allegedly met a 15-year-old female and engaged in a four-month sexual relationship with her. Law enforcement officials became aware of Brown’s conduct when he was found on the campus of a local high school attempting to contact the victim. Investigators with the SAFE Team conducted a search warrant at Brown’s residence and subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Brown. Brown surrendered to the court on June 17th. He was released on $100,000 bond.

In a separate case, Richard Chaney, 23, of Costa Mesa, is charged with contacting a minor online with the intent to commit oral copulation of a minor, as well as intercourse with a minor, rape of an unconscious victim, digital penetration and oral copulation of a unconscious victim. In early June, an alleged victim of Chaney’s contacted the SAFE team and informed him that her 14-year-old daughter met Chaney online and had engaged in live video sexual acts with him, and that Chaney met with the victim in person and had sexual intercourse with her. A search warrant issued in Orange County state court in June 2009 and served at Chaney’s apartment, led to evidence of alleged crimes against the victim, as well as evidence of a second victim who was unconscious at the time of the sexual assault. Investigators also found numerous videos of unidentified victims at the location.

In the final case, Brock Jackson, 21, of Santa Margarita, is charged federally with possession and receipt of child pornography. In December 2009, officers with the Fullerton Police Department, who were conducting an investigation relating to a vehicle theft, discovered that their subject possessed images of child pornography on his laptop computer. In January 2009, the Fullerton PD contacted the SAFE team to assist in their investigation. Evidence obtained from the subject’s laptop revealed hundreds of videos in which children were being sexually exploited, as well as approximately 6000 images of child pornography. Jackson was taken into custody today by a detective with the Fullerton Police Department and a member of the SAFE Team. Jackson will be afforded an initial appearance before a federal Magistrate in U.S. District Court in Orange County today.

In cases where evidence of contact with minors is uncovered, the SAFE Team may issue a photo of the defendant, in order to identify additional victims should they exist. Today, the SAFE Team is making the photos of Brown and Chaney available, and is urging anyone who may have been victimized to contact the SAFE Team in Orange County at 714 542-8825, or 24 hours per day at 310 477-6565.

The SAFE Team in Orange County is made up of agents and officers with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. In addition to FBI agents in Orange County, SAFE Team members include agents with the California Department of Justice, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, investigators with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Postal Inspection Service, officers with the Costa Mesa Police Department and prosecutors with the United States Attorney's Office and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, as well as a host of part time law enforcement agencies, including the Fullerton Police Department, which investigated the Jackson case and brought it to the attention of the SAFE Team.

The SAFE Team is part of the Orange County Cyber Crime Task Force, whose mission is to investigate violations of federal and state law including the sexual exploitation of minors including but not limited to sex crimes, child pornography and child abduction, and to prosecute those violations in federal and state court.