March 10, 2008

Wisconsin man gets 10 years in prison for arranging sex with 8-year-old girl
Made online arrangements for Colorado mother to bring daughter to Kenosha for sex

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - A Kenosha man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Thursday for arranging to bring a Colorado woman and her fictitious 8-year-old daughter to Wisconsin so that he could have sex with the girl. This sentence resulted from a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Milwaukee Police Department-Criminal Investigation Bureau High Technology Unit.

Dennis Lee Metallo, 47, was sentenced March 6 by the Honorable Rudolph T. Randa, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, to 120 months imprisonment followed by lifetime supervised release for the following crimes: attempting to entice a minor, attempting to cause the transport of a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity, and distributing child pornography.

Metallo engaged in numerous on-line computer chats with an undercover police officer from Colorado, who posed as a woman named "Marsha." During these contacts, Marsha told Metallo that she had an 8-year-old daughter. Metallo discussed, in sexually explicit terms, his preference for contact with minor children and he suggested meeting Marsha and her daughter so that he could have sex with the girl.

During their computer contacts, Metallo sent Marsha numerous images and video files containing child pornography and told her to show them to her daughter to prepare the child for sexual activity. Metallo formulated a plan for Marsha and her daughter to fly to Wisconsin for a sexual encounter, which Metallo indicated he would photograph. ICE agents arrested Metallo Dec. 27, 2006, at Mitchell International Airport as he awaited the arrival of Marsha and her daughter on an inbound flight from Colorado.

ICE agents seized Metallo's car at the airport, which contained an overnight bag with sex toys and a digital camera, and subsequently learned that Metallo had booked a motel room for the next several days at an area motel. Numerous images of child pornography were also recovered from Metallo's home computers.

"The Department of Justice is committed to the prosecution of those who abuse our children and endanger their lives and well-being. We are dedicated to working with federal, state and local agencies to ensure that those who try to hurt children are brought to justice,� said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic, Eastern District of Wisconsin.

"Too many children are victimized by child molesters and predators who make contact through the Internet," said Brian Falvey, resident agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Milwaukee. "ICE is committed to apprehending and prosecuting those who abuse our children and endanger their lives and well-being. We will continue working with federal, state and local agencies to ensure that those who try to hurt children are brought to justice."

Metallo was arrested as part of Operation Predator, a national ICE initiative that protects children by investigating and presenting for prosecution pedophiles, Internet predators, human traffickers, international sex tourists, and other predatory criminals. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 10,900 child predators and sex offenders nationwide, including 299 in Wisconsin.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Penny Coblentz and Jonathan Koenig, Eastern District of Wisconsin, successfully prosecuted this case.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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