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Homeland Security Investigations

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FBI, Homeland Security Join 'High-Level' Probe Into Missing Student In Dominican Republic FBI, Homeland Security Join 'High-Level' Probe Into Missing Student In Dominican Republic
FBI, Homeland Security Join 'High-Level' Probe Into Missing Student In Dominican Republic The search for missing Virginia college student Sudiksha Konanki has escalated into a major international investigation, with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) now assisting Dominican authorities, officials announced. The Dominican Republic Attorney General’s Office confirmed that it has assembled a high-level joint task force to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from Chantilly who vanished in Punta Cana last week. Authorities say they are exploring all possibilities. "The prosecuting authority is conducting extens…

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by Zak Failla
News
Missing American Sudiksha Konanki Vanishes During Beach Walk In DR Missing American Sudiksha Konanki Vanishes During Beach Walk In DR
Missing American Sudiksha Konanki Vanishes During Beach Walk In DR The search is on for a University of Pittsburgh student from Virginia who vanished while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. An "exhaustive" international search involving the US and Dominican Republic officials has been launched for Chantilly native Sudiksha Konanki, 20, who has not been heard from since last week. Konanki was reported missing on Thursday, March 6, while vacationing with five friends at a resort in Punta Cana, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Konanki, a citizen of India and permanent US resident, has not been seen since around 4:15 a.m. that …

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by Zak Failla
Sports
$39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX $39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX
$39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX Authorities confiscated $39.5 million worth of counterfeit sports merchandise ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. More than 214,500 items were seized in the year-long crackdown, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a news release on Wednesday, Feb. 5. "Operation Team Player" targeted fake jerseys, hats, jewelry, and other memorabilia being sold to fans. Led by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the operation involved Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and major sports leagues.  The initia…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Boston University-Educated Radiologist Facing Child Porn Charges In Pennsylvania: Feds Boston University-Educated Radiologist Facing Child Porn Charges In Pennsylvania: Feds
Boston University-Educated Radiologist Facing Child Porn Charges In Pennsylvania: Feds A University of Pittsburgh Doctor and Professor Of Pediatric Radiology has been indicted on child pornography charges, according to a release by the US Department Of Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 4.  Dr. Ashok Panigrahy, 53, of Pittsburgh, was caught transporting "material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor in interstate commerce, as well as possessed material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor," in Nov. 2022, as stated in the USDOJ release.  The material included images of the raping of children under the of 12 and/or prepubescent, according to federal court documents obt…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
'Serial Predator' From Mass Tries Paying For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl: Here's His Sentence 'Serial Predator' From Mass Tries Paying For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl: Here's His Sentence
'Serial Predator' From Mass Tries Paying For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl: Here's His Sentence A registered sex offender from Massachusetts with a previous conviction will spend over a decade in prison after trying to pay who he thought was a child sex trafficker for sex with a 14-year-old girl, officials said. Middlesex County resident David Cannon of Lexington, age 61, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to pay for sex with a teenager, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Tuesday, April 9.  According to federal officials, in November 2022, Cannon replied to an online advertisement that offered commercial sex with two young gir…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Lynn Sex Trafficker Used Pandemic To Force Women Into Prostitution: Feds Lynn Sex Trafficker Used Pandemic To Force Women Into Prostitution: Feds
Lynn Sex Trafficker Used Pandemic To Force Women Into Prostitution: Feds A 34-year-old Lynn man is accused of exploiting vulnerable women who were newly unemployed, homeless, or unable to find work during the Covid-19 pandemic and forcing them into a life of prostitution and sexual servitude under unmitigated violence, authorities said.  Anthony Coleman faces three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of transporting a person for purposes of prostitution, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He was arrested on Friday, March 29.  Investigators said Coleman used the chaos that followed the Covid-19 lockdowns to coerce t…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Toddler Sex Assault: Man Who Filmed Himself Abusing Child Gets 25 Years In Jail Toddler Sex Assault: Man Who Filmed Himself Abusing Child Gets 25 Years In Jail
Toddler Sex Assault: Man Who Filmed Himself Abusing Child Gets 25 Years In Jail A 25-year-old Taunton man who admitted to sexually abusing an 18-month-old in his care and filming the assault will spend the next 25 years in federal prison, authorities said.  Cody Mercure pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A judge sentenced him on Tuesday, April 25. He'll spend 15 years on probation following his release, officials said.  “It is challenging to find the words that capture just how abhorrent and destructive this conduct was," said Uni…

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by Josh Lanier