Deschutes County Man Indicted on Multiple Sex Charges

Charges include online sexual corruption of a child and furnishing sexually explicit materials to a minor.

Oregon Department of Justice Courtesy: upload.wikimedia.org

(SALEM, Ore.) - Oregon Attorney General John Kroger today announced the indictment and arrest of a Deschutes County man on multiple counts that include using the internet to target and attempt to sexually exploit a child.

“I am deeply committed to protecting our children from sexual predators,” said Attorney General Kroger.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Oregon Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit and the Washington State Patrol Missing and Exploited Children Task Force. Justin Eugene Ice is alleged to have engaged in sexually explicit communications with an undercover investigator posing as a 13-year-old girl. The communications occurred between November 19 and 28, 2009.

A Deschutes County grand jury on Tuesday indicted Ice on two counts of luring a minor, one count of online sexual corruption of a child in the second degree and one count of furnishing sexually explicit material to a child.

Ice was arrested this morning in his Deschutes County residence and booked into jail on the charges.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Tuttle is prosecuting the case.

Every criminal defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Oregon Department of Justice ICAC unit investigates and prosecutes predators who use the internet to target and sexually exploit children. The unit works with district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and regional task forces that investigate online predators. ICAC is the only program in Oregon that is equipped with the necessary resources to catch sex predators throughout the state. Budget cuts last year threatened to end the program in Oregon, but Attorney General Kroger made restoring the funds a top public safety priority. Last year, Kroger announced that the Oregon Department of Justice had received a $665,000 federal stimulus grant to keep the program operating.

Since 2005, more than 100 internet predators have been convicted as a result of ICAC’s work.

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Source: Oregon Department of Justice