FARGO - U. S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on April 11, 2016, Simon William Riley, 21, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom, pled guilty before Judge Ralph R. Erickson to one charge of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and two charges of Advertising Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors. All three charges carry a minimum-mandatory sentence of 15 years’ incarceration and a maximum sentence of 30 years’ incarceration.
This case came to the attention of law enforcement after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified members of the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that a website on the Tor Network contained child pornographic images of a girl located in Fargo, North Dakota. Subsequently, ICAC task force members identified the 13-year-old victim who told law enforcement that she sent the sexually explicit images to another female via Kik Messenger. In reality, this “female" was Simon Riley, an adult male. After Riley obtained these images, he posted advertisements on the website found on the Tor Network. The advertisement contained a link to a file-sharing site where other Tor users could access the images depicting the victim. Law enforcement determined that the victim’s images were accessed on more than 20,000 occasions by Tor users located throughout the world.
Through further investigation, the ND Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigation agents identified Simon Riley in the United Kingdom as the individual responsible for posting the above-mentioned advertisements. Based upon information provided to them by the ND ICAC task force, the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom executed a search warrant at Riley’s residence on Sept. 10, 2015. Foreign law enforcement recovered evidence at Riley’s residence which linked him to the user account that posted the advertisements on the Tor Network and which contained a link to a separate file-sharing site which contained the victim’s images.
Riley was later arrested on Sept. 11, 2015, while vacationing in Orlando, Florida.
Judge Erickson has set sentencing for July 13, 2016, at the U. S. District Court, Fargo, ND.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations in Grand Forks, ND, as well as the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Fargo Police Department.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl is prosecuting the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the nation, Project Safe Childhood, in conjunction with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems, or computer technology to sexually exploit children. The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces engaging in proactive investigations, forensic investigations, and criminal prosecutions. Project Safe Childhood also helps to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
