Wisconsin man charged with producing child pornography

MADISON, Wis. — A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned an indictment Wednesday charging a Wisconsin man with producing child pornography.

This indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Wood County (Wisconsin) Sheriff’s Office, and Plainfield (Illinois) Police Department.

Adrian Jaimes, 21, from Nekoosa, Wisconsin, is charged with using and persuading a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  The indictment alleges that on Aug. 10, 2015, Jaimes persuaded a minor to transmit images of the minor’s genitals to Jaimes via the Internet. The indictment also charges Jaimes with receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on Sept. 18, 2015.

Jaimes was originally charged in a complaint filed in the Western District of Wisconsin June 10.  Jaimes made his initial appearance in federal court that day and a detention hearing was held June 14, after which the court ordered that Jaimes be detained in custody.

If convicted, Jaimes faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison on the first count, and a mandatory minimum penalty of five years on the second count.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman, Western District of Wisconsin, is prosecuting this case.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.