A California man has been arrested for allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos from two individuals he thought were 14-year-old girls.
Thomas Gissell, 27, of Moorpark, Calif., has been arrested by the newly formed Ventura County Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, according to a March 7 news release.
“We are committed to protecting our children by educating them about online predators, as well as focusing on proven enforcement and prosecution strategies,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in the release. “Law enforcement partnerships are key to combating exploitation crimes that have harmed too many children, and we will continue to vigorously prosecute these terrible crimes.”
Gissell allegedly contacted and solicited sexually explicit photos from undercover police officers acting as adolescent girls on social media platforms, the release reported. He has been charged with attempted enticing of a minor, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum punishment of 10 years in federal prison.
After receiving information about Gissell's activities, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office launched an investigation, according to the release. Gissell was arrested Feb. 7 and an investigation revealed he had been receiving child sexual abuse material through online chats with several victims across the country.
“The FBI has worked seamlessly with our local law enforcement partners to address criminal violations of child exploitation and human trafficking throughout both Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and has recently formalized that collaboration by creating an official task force to maximize resources,” Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI Los Angeles field office, said in the release. “This task force will utilize tools at the local and federal level to address crimes affecting vulnerable children and victims of sex trafficking and to hold offenders accountable.”
Gissel made his initial appearance March 6, and is currently scheduled to be arraigned April 11, according to the release. Until then, he has posted a secure $1 million bond and has been ordered to be freed. He will be placed under house arrest with GPS monitoring and has been ordered to have no contact with minors and prohibited from access to internet-connected devices.
