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Child Exploitation

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Meta's Community Notes To Use Tech From Elon Musk's Social Media Platform Meta's Community Notes To Use Tech From Elon Musk's Social Media Platform
Meta's Community Notes To Use Tech From Elon Musk's Social Media Platform Meta's new Community Notes system will be based on algorithms developed by billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform, the company said. Meta will begin testing the crowdsourced program that aims to prevent misinformation on Tuesday, Mar. 18, the tech giant said in a blog post on Thursday, Mar. 13. The move comes as Meta replaces its third-party fact-checking program in the US for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Community Notes are part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's broader shift toward what he calls "free expression" on the company’s platforms. "We’re going to take time to …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Teachers Among Seven Arrested in Virginia Online Predator Sting: Police Teachers Among Seven Arrested in Virginia Online Predator Sting: Police
Teachers Among Seven Arrested in Virginia Online Predator Sting: Police A Virginia high school teacher is among seven men facing felony charges after being caught in an undercover sting operation targeting online predators in Fairfax County, authorities announced. Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau and Child Exploitation Unit launched a multi-day operation aimed at identifying individuals using online platforms to arrange illegal encounters with minors, resulting in seven arrests.  The suspects, ranging in age from 24 to 50, arrived in Fairfax County expecting to meet underage victims but were instead met by law…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
NY Teacher Arrested For Sex Crime Charges Out Of VA: State Police NY Teacher Arrested For Sex Crime Charges Out Of VA: State Police
NY Teacher Arrested For Sex Crime Charges Out Of VA: State Police A 45-year-old teacher from Amherst, NY (Erie County) has been arrested for sex crimes stemming from Virginia, authorities said. Geoffrey J. Testa was arrested on a warrant for multiple felony child exploitation charges out of Fairfax, VA on Friday, Jan. 31, the New York State Police said. Testa is a teacher at Amherst Central High School. He was processed and taken to Erie County Holding Center on the arrest warrant awaiting extradition. Anyone with information can contact the NYSP at 585-344-6200

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Meta Drops Fact-Checking Program Ahead Of Trump's White House Return, Company Says Meta Drops Fact-Checking Program Ahead Of Trump's White House Return, Company Says
Meta Drops Fact-Checking Program Ahead Of Trump's White House Return, Company Says Meta is dismantling its third-party fact-checking program in the U.S. and aims to bring back political content as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, the company said. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the changes in a video statement on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, will replace its fact-checking program with a Community Notes system similar to the one implemented on X (formerly Twitter). Zuckerberg said the new system's goal is to reduce bias and restore free expression. "Fact-checkers have be…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Former Prison Guard Sentenced For Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds Former Prison Guard Sentenced For Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds
Former Prison Guard Sentenced For Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds A former prison officer at the Coffeewood Correctional Center in Virginia will spend decades in prison after paying a minor in exchange for multiple sexually explicit images and video, officials say. Davey Jonathan Sisk, 30, of Culpepper, pleaded guilty over the summer to federal charges in connection to child exploitation and child porn possession, authorities announced. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, prosecutors announced that Sisk has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. According to court documents, between June 2023 and February, Sisk used the social media app "Telegram" to coerce another pe…

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by Zak Failla
News
Harrisburg Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: USDOJ Harrisburg Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: USDOJ
Harrisburg Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: Usdoj A 54-year-old Pennsylvania man has been sentenced after admitting to taking a 5-year-old girl for sex in Virginia and New York, the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, Sept. 25.  John Oathout, of Harrisburg, PA, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes in Syracuse, NY on Friday, Sept. 20. He'll serve 25 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release, and he'll be a registered sex offender for the remainder of his life, according to the USDOJ release.  Oathout admitted to taking the 5-year-old girl on trips out of state w…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Former Prison Guard Admits To Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds Former Prison Guard Admits To Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds
Former Prison Guard Admits To Child Exploitation, Child Porn Offenses In Virginia: Feds A former prison officer at the Coffeewood Correctional Center in Virginia is facing decades in prison after paying a minor in exchange for multiple sexually explicit images and video, officials say. Davey Jonathan Sisk, 29, pleaded guilty this week to federal charges in connection to child exploitation and child porn possession, authorities announced. According to court documents, between June 2023 and February, Sisk used the social media app "Telegram" to coerce another person to create and send him illicit photos or video of minors. During that time frame, one of the children was 3 and t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Creep Seeking Sex With Minor Makes 6th Arrest In Undercover Fairfax County Sting: Cops Creep Seeking Sex With Minor Makes 6th Arrest In Undercover Fairfax County Sting: Cops
Creep Seeking Sex With Minor Makes 6th Arrest In Undercover Fairfax County Sting: Cops A 26-year-old northern Virginia man has been arrested for trying to arrange sexual acts with a person whom he believed was a minor, authorities announced. Sattar Ahmed Khan was arrested at his Manassas home on Wednesday, April 17, by members of the Fairfax County Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit following their ongoing investigation in last month's traveler operation, police said. On April 3, police announced the arrests of five other men who came to Fairfax County looking for sex with a child they'd met online, but were instead greeted by police who swiftly took them into c…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Five Men Seeking Sex With Children Arrested In Fairfax County: Police Five Men Seeking Sex With Children Arrested In Fairfax County: Police
Five Men Seeking Sex With Children Arrested In Fairfax County: Police Five men who came to Fairfax County looking for sex with a child they'd met online were greeted by police, who swiftly took them into custody. "The offenders came to Fairfax County with the intention of committing a sex act with the minor, only to discover Child Exploitation Unit (CEXU) detectives and Street Crimes detectives waiting for them," county police said in a release.  The five men ranged in age from 24-53 and were charged with a total of 12 felonies. They are: Steven Morales, 30, of Woodbridge: arrested and charged with Solicitation of a Minor and Attempted Indecent Libert…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Missing Teen Found In Home Of Virginia Abductor Charged With Child Abuse Material: Police Missing Teen Found In Home Of Virginia Abductor Charged With Child Abuse Material: Police
Missing Teen Found In Home Of Virginia Abductor Charged With Child Abuse Material: Police A teen who has been housed in Virginia after going missing from New York has been reunited with her family, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. On Sunday, police say that detectives from the agency's Missing Person and Child Exploitation Unit were advised that a teen missing from New York may be in the county.  That tip led investigators to a home in the 7300 block of Sportsman Drive in McLean, where the minor was found with 20-year-old Muammer Steve Demir, who is accused of driving north in August last year and bringing the child back to Virginia. Demir was arrest…

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by Zak Failla
News
Man Who Photoshopped Naked Prepubescent Girls Into Photos Around His Virginia Home Sentenced Man Who Photoshopped Naked Prepubescent Girls Into Photos Around His Virginia Home Sentenced
Man Who Photoshopped Naked Prepubescent Girls Into Photos Around His Virginia Home Sentenced A Fairfax County man will spend years in prison for downloading millions of images and videos of child exploitation, including child sexual abuse material and computer-generated videos depicting the violent rape of children, federal authorities announced. James Andrew Whitney, 62, has been sentenced to seven years behind bars after admitting to downloading, and creating projects where he would photoshop prepubescent children into photos around his home and narrated sexual encounters between them and himself. According to prosecutors, Whitney sought out and downloaded video an…

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by Zak Failla
News
Predator Who Sent Nude Pic To FBI Agent Posing 9-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Cops To Crime Predator Who Sent Nude Pic To FBI Agent Posing 9-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Cops To Crime
Predator Who Sent Nude Pic To FBI Agent Posing 9-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Cops To Crime A 30-year-old man from North Carolina who made an illicit deal with an undercover officer posing as the father of a 9-year-old girl Virginia has admitted to the crime. William "Willy' Alexander Korthals, 30, of Beaufort, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted transfer of obscene matter to a minor after he targeted minors online, including one in Virginia - or so he thought. Federal authorities say that Korthals sent at least one nude photo to an employee of the FBI who he believed to be a 9-year-old girl, not an undercover agent investigating his actions online.  According to court …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds
Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds The 20-year-old District man who sexually abused four middle school-aged girls over an eight month period will have more than a decade behind bars to reconsider his actions. Social media doomed Luis Quevedo, of Northwest DC, who was sentenced by a judge to 12 years in prison for preying on young girls he met and terrorized over the Internet with bad intentions in mind. Prosecutors say that between August 2022 and April 2023, Quevedo "engaged in a pattern of behavior wherein he contacted middle school aged girls - strangers to him - via social media with the intention of luring the…

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by Zak Failla
News
Former Swim Instructor In VA Preyed On Prepubescent Victims Online: Feds Former Swim Instructor In VA Preyed On Prepubescent Victims Online: Feds
Former Swim Instructor In VA Preyed On Prepubescent Victims Online: Feds Mark Black, the former board president of the Arlington Aquatic Club who found himself on the wrong side of the law, has admitted to conspiring to sexually exploit several children in Virginia, federal authorities announced. Black, 50, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to produce child pornography and coercion and enticement for his role in targeting children to exploit with others through the Internet. According to court documents, between January 2018 and October 2021, the Arlington resident was a member of two online groups dedicated to exploiting children.  "The go…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Former FBI Contractor From Arlington Had Teen Boys Send Nudes, Then Threatened Suicide: Feds Former FBI Contractor From Arlington Had Teen Boys Send Nudes, Then Threatened Suicide: Feds
Former FBI Contractor From Arlington Had Teen Boys Send Nudes, Then Threatened Suicide: Feds A former FBI contractor in Virginia has found himself on the wrong side of the law after allegedly grooming young boys online. Brett Janes, 26, has been charged with sexually exploiting at least a dozen children he contacted through Discord and Snapchat, then threatening suicide if the boys stopped talking to him, federal authorities say. The Arlington resident allegedly would advise the children that he worked for a US intelligence agency before making the threats and then enticing his underage victims to do his illicit bidding. Janes’ alleged victims include a 13-year-old boy he met on a…

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by Zak Failla
News
Grooming Church Youth Group Leader In VA Gets Prison Time For Sex Abuse Of Minors Grooming Church Youth Group Leader In VA Gets Prison Time For Sex Abuse Of Minors
Grooming Church Youth Group Leader In VA Gets Prison Time For Sex Abuse Of Minors A former Virginia church youth group leader will spend the better part of a decade behind bars for using his position to prey on young girls, federal authorities announced. Charles Willoughby III, 39, of Norwalk, a group leader at the New Life Worship Center, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor over the course of more than five years between 2006 and 2012. Prosecutors say that Willoughby routinely groomed underage teenage girls who were part of the church’s youth program in order to attempt to sexual…

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by Zak Failla
News
Predator Sentenced For Using Social Media To Trade Explicit Images For Vapes With VA Teens Predator Sentenced For Using Social Media To Trade Explicit Images For Vapes With VA Teens
Predator Sentenced For Using Social Media To Trade Explicit Images For Vapes With VA Teens Authorities announced that a North Carolina man has been sentenced to time in federal prison after admitting to using social media platforms and traveling over state lines to exploit teenage boys in Virginia. Jonathan Avery Shumate, 54, of Warrensville, N.C. has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of coercion and enticement of minors. Prosecutors say that Shumate used both Snapchat and Grindr to contact teenage boys attending Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County, and offered to provide vapes and vaping materials in exchange for t…

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by Zak Failla
News
FBI: Groomed-For-Sex Indiana Girl, 15, Rescued After Paterson Man Pays Uber To Bring Her To NJ FBI: Groomed-For-Sex Indiana Girl, 15, Rescued After Paterson Man Pays Uber To Bring Her To NJ
FBI: Groomed-For-Sex Indiana Girl, 15, Rescued After Paterson Man Pays Uber To Bring Her To NJ A 22-year-old Paterson man showered a 15-year-old Indiana girl he'd met online with money, gifts and compliments before paying an Uber driver to bring her to him for sex, federal authorities said. Arnold Castillo "groomed" the girl, gaining her trust and alienating her from her family and other support systems before convincing her to leave Lawrence, IN, for New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Southern Indiana charged. Castillo "paid and arranged for an Uber driver to pick up the minor and transport her across state lines to him," alleges to an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Former Maryland Priest Who Sexually Abused Underage Parishioner Gets 22 Years In Prison Former Maryland Priest Who Sexually Abused Underage Parishioner Gets 22 Years In Prison
Former Maryland Priest Who Sexually Abused Underage Parishioner Gets 22 Years In Prison A former Maryland priest has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a minor he met through his church and producing nude images of other minors, the US Attorney’s Office for Maryland reports. Fernando Cristancho, 65, of Bel Air, was a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, worked as a priest in Baltimore County and at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Harford County from 1999 to 2002. During his time at St. Ignatius, Cristancho became involved with three victims, ages 11-13, all whose families were members of the congregation. He started getting spending time wit…

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by David Cifarelli