"In 2020, Lester took sexually explicit photos of an 8-year-old child and distributed them to multiple individuals online using Whisper, a social media application that allows users to post and share photo and video messages anonymously," the release said. "When interviewed by police, Lester admitted to using Whisper and other social media applications to meet people and solicit child pornography."  Lester also admitted that she sent photos of the child in hopes that others would send her pictures of child sex crimes in return, the release said.  On July 6, 2023, Lester violated her release conditions by using...

An Oregon man is facing several charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Fresno. Police arrested 51-year-old James Ellis back on December 30. Officers say he had contacted the girl through a social media app about a month ago before making plans to meet up with her over the weekend. He picked up the victim from her home and took her to a parking lot, where police say he assaulted her. A family member tracked her location through her cell phone, and found Ellis's vehicle. Ellis then drove off with the...

Investigators also said 34-year-old Stephen Ayon sought out minors through messaging mobile applications. According to an affidavit for probable cause filed on Monday in Hamilton County, Ayon has been charged with:  One count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Level 6 felony One count of child solicitation, a Level 4 felony One count of child seduction, a Level 4 felony One count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony One count of promotion of child sex trafficking, a Level 3 felony One count of vicarious sexual gratification, a Level 5 felony - Ayon spoke...

John Shores was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted enticement of a minor. The judge decided to release the 54-year-old before the trial with GPS tracking. Another condition of his release was to have no contact with any children, including his family. According to court documents, he was in possession of four different cellphones, and he used the Whisper app to request child pornography or to trade pictures for child pornography. Court documents said Shores was texting an 11-year-old girl, asking for sexually explicit photos. He also asked a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old...

A former Boy Scouts leader has been charged with sexually abusing a minor in Salem over several years. Prosecutors charged Terry J. Heck, 56 of Salem, on Friday with first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree online sexual corruption of a child and luring a minor, according to court documents. The charges allege that Heck subjected a boy to sexual contact between January 2017 and July 2023.  The victim was 11 years old when the abuse began.

Bowen, 34, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor, signing a judicial confession before his sentencing on Tuesday, according to information from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.