2 men sentenced in Montana to 20 and 30 years in federal prison in international child exploitation enterprise case

MISSOULA, Mont. — Two additional defendants were sentenced Thursday to 20 and 30 years in federal prison for their roles in an international child pornography network operated online, which was targeted by state and federal investigators and prosecutors.

This investigation, referred to as Operation Kingdom Conqueror, is an ongoing cooperative effort among the following agencies: Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); FBI; Montana Department of Criminal Investigations; Helena and Polson (Montana) police departments; Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; and the States of Jersey Police Department, Isle of Jersey.

Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirley, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release. Grovo has two prior convictions for failure to register as a sex offender. Joshua Petersen, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, was sentenced to 240 months in prison followed by 15 years supervised release. Eleven additional co-conspirators were previously sentenced in October 2014 for their respective roles. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of the District of Montana imposed the sentences.

According to court documents, in November 2009, an early participant in the conspiracy designed and created an online bulletin board that allowed members to exchange images, including child pornography. As the conspiracy progressed, additional members contributed to the design and operations of the board. Between Nov. 6, 2009 and March 19, 2012, members of the conspiracy used the online bulletin board to share pictures and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During that same time period, the participants agreed to use the online bulletin board to solicit additional images of child pornography, which they then shared and broadcast on the Internet. Thirteen defendants have been charged and convicted for their participation in this child pornography network.

All of the defendants were ordered to forfeit their computers and storage devices. All defendants are required to pay $29,859 restitution.

Trial Attorney Maureen C. Cain of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson of the District of Montana prosecuted this case.

This 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 12,000 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 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.