U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. |
219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 |
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April 30, 2002 Iowa Man Arrested in Internet Sting Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today the arrest of NICHOLAS FLORES GARCIA, age 41, of Davenport, Iowa. GARCIA was arrested late last night, without incident, by FBI Special Agents and Officers from the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department (CCSPD), Child Exploitation Unit, in Forest Park, Illinois. GARCIA will be charged in a criminal complaint filed later today in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of Interstate Travel-Sexual Abuse of a Minor, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, GARCIA is alleged to have traveled from his home in Davenport, Iowa to the Chicago area to have sexual relations with a fourteen year old girl that he met over the internet. In reality, the fourteen year old that GARCIA had traveled to meet was in fact a member of the CCSPD, Child Exploitation Unit. The officer had initiated contact with GARCIA on-line, approximately one week earlier, as part of the CCSPD's regular investigation of possible Child Sexual Exploitation. GARCIA, who has been held since his arrest last night, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ian H. Levin earlier today, at which time he was ordered held without bond pending his next scheduled court appearance on Thursday, May 2nd. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. EDITOR'S NOTE: A copy of the complaint filed against GARCIA is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645. |
