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U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation


In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. 219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

 

 

October 27, 2000

SEXUAL PREDATOR ARRESTED AT O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Assistant Director in Charge James V. DeSarno, Jr., Los Angles, California, and Special Agent in Charge Kathleen L. McChesney, Chicago, Illinois, announced today the arrest of Michael Dean Garvey, an Illinois native, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. He was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Bucharest, Romania. Garvey had been charged in Los Angeles on 10/17/00 in a federal criminal complaint with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. He was expelled by Romanian authorities after his United States passport was revoked.

The fugitive complaint and arrest warrant were issued after Garvey had failed to appear for sentencing after pleading no contest in Los Angeles County to Attempted Lewd Act on a Child; and, after pleading guilty in San Diego County to Exhibiting Harmful Matter with Intent of Seducing a Minor. Garvey also failed to appear for trial after being charged in Placer County with Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a Minor. Investigation by the Southern California Regional Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team located in Garvey in Bucharest.

Garvey was initially arrested by the SAFE team on 9/9/98 after he has arranged online to meet a minor female for sex. The minor female was actually an FBI Agent assigned to the FBI's Innocent Images National Initiative at Los Angeles. The FBI's Innocent Images Initiative focuses upon individuals who indicate a willingness to travel for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity with a child; individuals who produce and/or distribute child pornography through on-line services; and individuals who post illegal images onto the Internet and on-line services.

An examination of Garvey's arrest was a collaborative effort by Interpol's United States National Central Bureau, Washington D.C. and, Interpol's station at Bucharest; the FBI's Legal Attaches Office, United States Embassy, Bucharest; the United States Department of State; under the auspicious of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative; and, with the exceptional cooperation of Romanian law enforcement authorities.

The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative focuses, among other issues, on combating the trafficking in children and women, and sexual exploitation in that region.

The SAFE Team is an FBI administered Crimes Against Children Task Force comprised of investigators from the California Bureau of Investigation; the California Department of Corrections, Parole and Community Services Division; the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; the Los Angeles Police Department; and, the Orange County Sheriff's Department.




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