Kansas man pleads guilty to distributing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. — A southwestern Kansas man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to multiple child pornography-related charges.

This guilty plea resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), and the Wichita Police Department.

Daren Richard Coen, 69, from Elkhart, Kansas, pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

Prosecutors told the court that Coen collected child pornography via the Internet using a computer file-sharing network. As part of an investigation, a Wichita Police Department detective downloaded child pornography from Coen’s computer using this file-sharing network. Investigators also found child pornography on Coen’s computer when they executed a search warrant at his Elkhart home in May 2015.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 29. For distributing child pornography, Coen faces a prison sentence of five to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. He faces up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession count.

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.