Idaho man sentenced to 20 years for distributing child pornography
ORLANDO, Fla. – An Idaho man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Cocoa Beach and Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Charles Keith Rolfe, 60, of Heyburn, Idaho, was also ordered to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
"Crimes against our children will not be tolerated," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "As a result of our collaboration with HSI in Idaho, and the investigative work of our agents here at home, this child predator can no longer victimize innocent children.”
According to court documents, in the summer of 2013 Rolfe met an Orlando man, William Edward Osman, on an online social networking site. The two men soon began trading images of child pornography via a Mobile Messaging Application (MMA).
Special agents with HSI arrested Osman on charges related to the sexual exploitation of children Oct. 15, 2013. Agents seized his cell phone and identified Rolfe as one of the men with whom Osman had been electronically trading child pornography. After assuming Osman’s online identity, agents communicated with Rolfe in an undercover capacity. Feb. 28, Rolfe sent the undercover agents at least three videos containing images of child pornography via the MMA on his cell phone.
Rolfe was arrested on April 3. A subsequent search of his home and cell phones revealed that Rolfe possessed almost 900 images of child pornography, many of which depicted children under the age of 12. Rolfe pleaded guilty June 27. A restitution hearing for his victims is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2015.
Osman was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography Sept. 3.
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 10,000 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 2013, 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.
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