News Releases

64-year-old Kansas man sentenced to 5 years for possessing child pornography

TOPEKA, Kan. — A local man was sentenced in federal court Monday to five years in prison for possessing child pornography. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

John D. Roach, 64, of Topeka, was convicted on one count of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors presented evidence that Roach used his father's credit card to purchase access to a Russian website that distributed child pornography. Investigators followed an electronic trail to Roach's home in Topeka where they found more than 600 images of child pornography and 41 movies containing child pornography on his computer, drives and CDs.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are 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.