Public’s help sought in child porn case Yuma man who babysat at home arrested after hundreds of images found
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are asking for the public’s help to identify any possible additional victims in an ongoing child sexual exploitation investigation involving a local child care provider.
Aaron Turk, 31, of Yuma, who provided babysitting services at the residence he shared with his girlfriend, was rearrested Thursday morning by HSI special agents after a forensic examination of his electronic devices revealed more than 500 images of child pornography.
Investigators have already identified multiple victims who were allegedly sexually abused by the defendant. Turk is currently in custody and made his initial appearance in federal court on Friday morning. This case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Turk was originally arrested on one count of possession of child pornography and one count of sexual exploitation of children after HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at his home in the 11400 block of S. Organ Pipe Drive in the early morning hours of June 15.
During the service of that search warrant agents seized Turk’s cellphone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, three hard-disk drives and two thumb drives. A week later Turk was released and required to wear an ankle monitoring device pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
When the forensic examinations were done on Turk’s electronic devices, investigators found hundreds of images, including six images and a video that appeared to have been created by Turk that allegedly showed him sexually abusing a girl approximately 2 years of
age.
Based on the additional images, HSI executed another federal search warrant at Turk’s home, where he was rearrested. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“Given this individual’s access to children and the nature of the allegations in this case, we believe there is a possibility there are unidentified juvenile victims,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Arizona. “We encourage anyone in the Yuma area who may have information that could be relevant to the case to come forward.”
Members of the public who have information related to this case are urged to contact the local Yuma HSI office at 928-341-7700. HSI victim-witness specialists will be available to assist any parent or guardian should they need victim-related resources.
According to federal court records, in January HSI in Calexico, Calif., detected someone who was using file-sharing software to publicly distribute child pornography over the internet.
An investigation revealed that the individual’s Internet Protocol, or IP address, was from a Time Warner account allegedly assigned to Turk. Because his address was out of Calexico HSI’s area of responsibility, the investigation was transferred to HSI Yuma in February.
The investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 16,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.
In fiscal year 2016, more than 2,600 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 800 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing-impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.