Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
In an unprecedented nationwide operation to protect children and mark April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announces Operation Restore Justice, a five-day, sweeping FBI initiative to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators across the country with all 55 FBI field offices participating, including FBI Boston.
Last week alone, the FBI arrested 205 subjects and rescued 115 children across the country during the surge of resources deployed for Operation Restore Justice. This was a joint effort with local, state, and federal partners to highlight our ongoing efforts to confront these crimes. The subjects arrested in this operation included those in positions of public trust – law enforcement, members of the military, and teachers. Others are your neighbors, proving criminal activity can be found in the most familiar places.
“There are few situations more urgent than when a child is physically at risk, and as ‘Operation Restore Justice’ has shown, child predators come in many different forms,” said James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “As horrific as these alleged crimes are, they are not rare. Make no mistake, FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force is committed to finding these child sex abusers, locking them up, and ensuring those they have victimized are safe and well-supported.”
“Protecting children from exploitation is among the most sacred responsibilities we have as law enforcement. Each case serves as a difficult reminder that child predators are embedded in our communities – often in roles that increase their direct exposure to or contact with children or allow them to hide behind a keyboard online. But make no mistake, we will uncover them, arrest them, and hold them accountable, no matter how long it takes or how far we have to go,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “As Child Abuse Prevention Month came to a close, Operation Restore Justice delivered a powerful and urgent message: protecting children is not just a worthy cause we recognize, it is a mission we carry out every day. We will not relent in our pursuit of those who exploit children, and we are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their tireless work to bring these predators to justice. This work will not stop.”
“Children are among the most vulnerable members of our society and can suffer the effects of sex abuse for a lifetime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Craig M. Wolff. “My deepest thanks to FBI Boston and its state and local partners for their efforts in identifying and arresting those who allegedly preyed on these vulnerable victims.”
As part of this operation, FBI Boston arrested and charged seven people, including:
- Jacob Henriques, of Boston, a former Assistant Director of Admissions at Emmanuel College, is charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Henriques is accused of soliciting an underage college applicant to engage in commercial sex with him.
- Registered sex offender David Fernandes III, of New York, is charged with allegedly sending obscenity to an 11-year-old in Massachusetts and being a registered sex offender when he did it.
- Registered sex offender Joseph A. Maile, of Presque Isle, Maine, is charged by criminal complaint for allegedly attempting to sex traffic a child, and enticement of a minor. Maile allegedly used social media accounts to offer various minors’ money to engage in sex acts with him.
- Level 1 sex offender Justin Ouimette, of Holyoke, Mass., who was previously convicted by the state for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), has been charged federally with possessing CSAM. According to the court documents, in July 2024, during a search of Ouimette’s residence and person, over 200 files that appeared to depict CSAM, including children as young as three years old, were allegedly located on Ouimette’s electronic devices. A search of Ouimette’s Dropbox resulted in the discovery of an additional 200 files allegedly depicting CSAM.
- Cess Frazier, of Boston, is charged with allegedly receiving child sexual abuse material. During a search of Frazier’s cell phone, approximately 100 media files that depicted CSAM were allegedly found saved in Telegram Messenger. The minor victims in the files are alleged to be between approximately three and 10 years old.
- Warren Messeck, of Agawam, Mass., is charged with allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material. During a search of his residence, the FBI recovered over 40 electronic devices including a laptop, hard drives and other electronic storage devices. A forensic examination allegedly revealed over 10,000 files depicting CSAM on six devices.
- Brandon Bendall, of Wareham, Mass., is charged with allegedly possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material. During a search of Bendall’s residence and cell phone, approximately 9,400 images and videos of CSAM, including images of children as young as infants being sexually assaulted, were allegedly located.
Throughout the entire month of April, including the weeks leading up to this surge, the FBI, along with our state and local law enforcement partners, arrested an additional 190 perpetrators on charges related to crimes against children. They are accused of various crimes including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking. With nearly 400 arrests in one month, these actions are the direct results of the FBI’s continued efforts to track down and stop sexual predators before they can harm more victims.
Here in the Boston Division, special agents and officers on FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force arrested 26 people last month, including:
- Level 3 Sex Offender Carl Norton, of Chicopee, Mass., who was previously convicted of attempted rape of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor, was charged federally for allegedly transferring obscene material to a minor female victim who he believed to be 12 years old.
- Level 2 Sex Offender Dache Barros, of Raynham, Mass., was charged by the Raynham Police Department with allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material following an investigation by FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force and the Boston Police Department.
- Daniel Debreczeni, of Duxbury, Mass., was charged federally with allegedly distributing child sexual abuse material. Debreczeni is accused of distributing three videos containing child pornography by posting the videos on a file sharing site. The children in the three videos appeared to be between approximately two, three and eight years old.
- David Kaufman, of Maryland, was charged federally for allegedly coercing and enticing an 18-year-old from Massachusetts to travel to his penthouse at the Four Seasons and engage in in sex acts with him, which he video-recorded. According to court documents, Kaufman has allegedly been victimizing teenage minors, paying them to travel and engage in sex acts with him.
- Sven Knudsen Ljaam, a physician employed at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Bedford, Mass., was charged federally for allegedly receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
- Shakera “Stacks” Pina, of Boston, was charged by the Boston Police Department for allegedly engaging in Human Trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, resisting arrest, and possession of a Class D Substance (Marijuana) with Intent to Distribute, following a joint operation between Boston Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit and FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force.
- Miguel Gietany, of Douglas, Mass., was arrested in Rhode Island on state charges following a joint operation with the Rhode Island State Police and the FBI. Gietany is charged with two counts of indecent solicitation of a child. He allegedly traveled to Rhode Island to have sex with whom he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Forces investigate these cases and coordinate and bolster efforts to counter all threats of abuse and exploitation that fall under FBI jurisdiction in our region– including the production, sharing, and possession of child sexual abuse material; domestic or international travel to engage sexually with children; sex trafficking, and the extortion of children to provide sexually explicit material of themselves. They also work to identify, locate, and recover child victims; and strengthen partnerships that are critical to prevent abuse and capture offenders.
The FBI also partners with the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation reported via its 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org. In further partnership and collaboration with NCMEC, the FBI launched the Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) in 2004 to identify individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children and the production of child sexual abuse material. To date, ECAP has identified 36 individuals.
This operation was the result of a dedicated and targeted effort, reflecting countless hours of work by hundreds of special agents, intel analysts, and other FBI personnel. It further highlights the FBI’s commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Bureau works relentlessly to investigate these crimes every day, this effort also serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prevention and community education.
For more information about the crimes investigated by the FBI as well as the variety of resources the FBI provides to protect and keep children safe, please visit:
As always, FBI Boston urges the public to remain vigilant and report any suspected crime against a child to 911 and local law enforcement immediately, as well as the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.