Ohio man sentenced in Colorado to 18 years in federal prison for enticing a minor victim to produce child pornography

DENVER — A Ohio man was sentenced Wednesday to serve 18 years in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release for coercing and enticing a minor, and attempting to produce child pornography.

This sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, District of Colorado, and Acting Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Denver.

Rande Brian Isabella, 60, of Hubbard, Ohio, was indicted by a federal grand jury May 20, 2014. On Oct. 7, 2016, following a 11-day jury trial, he was convicted of coercing and enticing a minor, and one count of attempting to produce child pornography. The jury acquitted Isabella on two other charges. U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello sentenced Isabella to 216 months in federal prison May 24, 2017. Isabella, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.

According to the facts presented at trial, between September and December 2013, Isabella communicated via phone and online with a 14-year-old girl in Colorado. Through these communications, he misrepresented his age to her and repeatedly asked her for pictures as their conversations became increasingly sexual in nature. Ultimately, he was able to persuade the girl to send him a naked photograph of herself. Isabella told the girl that he was her boyfriend and asked her to stay with him if he traveled to Colorado. He sent her a photograph of his own genitalia, and encouraged her to respond in kind. She sent him more pictures of herself, some sexual in nature, before she lost her phone. The girl’s mother found her phone and discovered her conversations with Isabella. The mother then sought the help of law enforcement, and HSI began investigating the Isabella’s online activities.

During the course of this investigation, federal agents determined Isabella’s identity and address. A search warrant was then obtained and executed at his home in Ohio. HSI special agents seized his phone and two of his computers. On his phone, they found the communications with the girl and photographs of her that he had saved. On his computer, a forensic analyst found that Isabella had Googled the girl shortly after they began communicating and that he had visited her Facebook profile, looking at her friends and photos. He also visited three different website pages which showed that the girl had competed in 2012 in middle school track races. After viewing those pages, Isabella continued to communicate with the girl and saved to his phone the nude image she sent him. Evidence was also introduced at the trial and at the sentencing hearing that Isabella had communicated with three additional girls and possessed nude images of those minors.

“These folks are the worst kind of predators,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “But thanks to HSI and our elite prosecutors, they learn as Mr. Isabella did that there are another class of predators above them in the food chain.”

Isabella was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alecia Riewerts and Celeste Rangel, District of Colorado.

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.