FDNY Medical Technician arrested for child pornography charges

NEW YORK — An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the Fire Department of the city of New York (FDNY) was arrested Feb. 14 for his alleged role in possessing and receiving child pornography. The arrest stems from a U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in New York investigation in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Alfred Pabon, 49, was arrested at his residence in the Bronx, New York. On the morning of his arrest, he had admitted to law enforcement that he had used his account to copy and forward images and videos containing child pornography as recently as within the last month. Pabon is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

“As alleged, Alfred Pabon frequented online chat groups for the explicit purpose of finding children and child pornography. In one his chats, Pabon allegedly expressed interest in taking a trip to Mexico in search of ‘something teenish’,”said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for SDNY. “Thanks to the work of Homeland Security Investigations, Pabon’s alleged predatory search for children and child pornography has been brought to an end.”

According to the complaint, from Nov. 2015 through Jan. 2017, Pabon, posted images and videos containing child pornography in chat groups of an online messaging application. The chat groups were used almost exclusively to trade child pornography, discuss child pornography, and/or discuss engaging in sexual activity with minors. In Dec. 2015, Pabon exchanged private messages through the online messaging application with an undercover HSI Special Agent. Through these exchanges, Pabon, using a particular account username indicated to the undercover agent that he was interested in a trip to Mexico and was looking for “something teenish”. Pabon posted an image of two girls, who appear to be prepubescent minors, posing nude on a bed as an example of the type of girls in whom he was interested. In Aug. 2016, a second undercover HSI Special Agent observed additional postings by Pabon in another online chat room, at least one of which appeared to include an image of child pornography. The second undercover agent later used a link that Pabon had posted to download approximately 33 videos, most of which contained child pornography.

This case is being prosecuted by the SDNY’s General Crimes Unit. The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 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.

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