(Marie Edinger) FOX26 News has learned that the reason so many of the men arrested for child sex crimes were able to bond out of jail is because the bail schedule for their charges is set at just $5,000.
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by Marie Edinger, August 7th, 2020
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office requested one man, Thomas Binford, have his bail increased because he is already a registered sex offender, convicted of sexually assaulting a minor.
A judge set Binford’s bail at $500,000.
FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) —The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 34 Central Valley men who detectives say tried to solicit sex from children.
“Operation COVID Chat Down” was a multi-agency effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that spanned between July 20th and August 2nd.
FCSO says COVID-19 has pushed more kids to spend more time online, making them more vulnerable to predators. This year, there have already been nearly twice as many accused pedophiles arrested as there were in all of 2019.
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The 34 men arrested in ‘Operation COVID Chat Down’ range from 19 to 63 years old.
Detectives posed as 12 and 13-year-old children online to catch these men.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims says of them traveled into Fresno from elsewhere in the Central Valley, thinking they were meeting up with children.
Many were already convicted sexual predators.
One of them, for instance, 55-year-old Thomas Binford of Clovis, had been arrested before for sexually assaulting a child and is a registered sex offender.
He was arrested again in this sting operation for trying to meet with a child for sex. Detectives say when they got to his house, they found him with child pornography that included images of infant bondage and infant rape.
Detectives say another man who planned to have unprotected sex with a 13-year-old girl admitted to being HIV positive.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Midori Howo says that of the 34 men arrested, only 9 remain in jail.
22 bonded out, and 3 are out on pre-trial release.
Sheriff Mims says during the operation, 190 men continued talking with the detectives posing as children, even after the detectives said they were 12 or 13 years old.
Howo says many of those men who weren’t arrested asked for pictures after being told they were chatting with a pre-teen.
The DA’s office says that because children are spending more time online due to the coronavirus, they are more likely to encounter a predator. Additionally, they are more likely to be bored and easily convinced to meet up with that predator.
Another problem, Howo says, is that if kids aren’t in school, they don’t have anyone to tell about molestation by a family member.
“Good teachers will notice if something seems off,” Howo explained, “but that can’t happen over Zoom.”
34 Central Valley men were arrested for child sex crimes
Photo credit: Fresno County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Mims says each of these men traveled into Fresno County, where they were arrested.
“They were coming from Tulare County, from up North in Stockton, Merced County area, Kern County. We call this kind of case a ‘Traveler case’ They actually travel some distance to meet with these children, specifically to exploit them sexually.”
The charges the DA’s Office is considering include the following:
- Contacting a minor with the intent of a sexual event – maximum 4 years in custody
- Arranging a meeting with a minor to engage in a sexual act – maximum 4 years in custody
- Sending harmful material to a minor – maximum 3 years in custody
- Possession of child pornography – maximum 3 years in custody.
There are other factors that will affect those charges as well, like whether the person has previous convictions and whether they are found to meet the psychological definition of a pedophile – the legal standard for the term is different than its colloquial usage, Howo explained.
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Sheriff Mims adds that in California, people only have to serve 50% of their time.
“Even though it’s gratifying to catch these criminals that we’re talking about today, I can’t help but think about, ‘Who are we missing? How many children are being victimized by suspects like this, and we don’t know about them?'”
The Sheriff’s Office and the other agencies involved in the ICAC Task Force ask that parents monitor their kids’ Internet usage and keep an open dialogue about dangers like this.
34 Central Valley men were arrested for child sex crimes
Photo credit: Fresno County Sheriff’s Office
ICAC detectives say online predators often pretend to be someone else to lure children in and take advantage of them.
The Sheriff’s Office says you should report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement right away, or file a cyber tip through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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Tatum King, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security, says online enticement reports have increased by 93.3% between January and June 2020, versus the same period in 2019.
“ICAC detectives are well aware that suspects who view child pornography can easily progress to hands-on crimes against children,” said Sheriff Mims.
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