March 7, 2008

Former CBS technician sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for enticing a child to engage in sexual activity

MIAMI - A former CBS technician, of Boonton Township, New Jersey, was sentenced here Monday to 10 years' imprisonment to be followed by 15 years of supervised release following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Daniel J. Barron, who was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida covering a Miami Dolphins football game, entered an America Online chat room on Sept. 29, 2007 and began to correspond with an undercover police officer posing as the father of an eleven-year-old girl. During Internet communications, Barron repeatedly expressed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the child.  Barron made plans to meet the father and his fictitious 11-year-old daughter.  Barron later traveled to the meeting location in order to engage in sexual activity with the child.

On October 25, 2007, a Ft. Pierce Grand Jury returned an Indictment charging Barron with persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing a person under 18 to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to do so, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b).

Assistant United States Attorney Rinku Talwar handled the prosecution of the case.

This case was part of Operation Predator, a comprehensive ICE initiative aimed at those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign national predators whose crimes make them deportable. Since the initiative was launched in July of 2003, there have been nearly 11,000 individuals arrested nationwide.

ICE encourages the reporting of 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 & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

-- 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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