HAMBURG, N.Y -- Special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today arrested 33-year-old Ranier Gerow of Hamburg for distributing child pornography over the internet to a person he believed to be a 13 year old girl.

According to a criminal complaint, Gerow believed he was corresponding with a 13-year-old girl in an Internet chat room when in fact he was communicating with an ICE agent working undercover. During the course of the investigation Gerow began to ask sexually explicit questions and, as the case progressed, sent sexually explicit images to the agent posing at the teenaged girl.

The criminal complaint describes the images in graphic terms. The images include depiction of a sexual act between and adults and pre-pubescent female child, a female child posing nude and other explicit images of young girls.

Peter J. Smith, special agent in charge of ICE's office of investigations in Buffalo said, "This type of criminal behavior is very disturbing. This case is graphic example of why ICE places such a priority on Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to protect children from criminal alien sex offenders, child sex tourists, Internet child pornographers and human traffickers."

The investigation began in late April of this year and ICE agents arrested Gerow at his business this morning. In addition, agents executed a search warrant at his home in order to recover evidence in the investigation. Gerow is expected to have his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in the Western District of New York today. The suspect is charged with distributing visual images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252 (a) (2). The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 7,000 individuals nationwide, including more than 460 in New York.

ICE encourages the reporting of suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. Investigators staff this hotline around the clock.

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.

-- ICE --