The Antelope Valley Times

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Palmdale suspects arrested in Internet child porn sting

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PALMDALE – Five suspects, two of them from Palmdale, were arrested in connection with the possession and distribution of child pornography over the Internet, authorities announced Friday.

Hundreds of photos and videos of children between 1 and 16 years old engaged in sex acts with adults were recovered by investigators during the six week investigation. The investigation is continuing and officials are trying to identify and help the child victims. The following is the press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Bureau:

A six week investigation by a Los Angeles County Cyber Crimes Task Force has culminated in the arrest of five suspects in a wide ranging case involving the possession and distribution of child pornography over the Internet.

On Wednesday October 23, 2013, and Thursday October 24, 2013, task force members served search warrants at homes in South Los Angeles, Palmdale and Fullerton, and businesses in the Cities of Baldwin Park, and Whittier. Evidence linking the suspects to the distribution of child pornography was recovered from each of the locations.

The first four suspects who were arrested are identified as 53-year-old Soraya Solimano of Palmdale, 72-year-old Jon Johnson of Fullerton, 43-year-old Mario Aburto of West Covina, and 19-year-old Rolando Garcia of South Los Angeles.

Rolando Garcia, Mario Aburto and Jon Johnson were arrested for suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography. Soraya Solimano was arrested for suspicion of possessing a controlled substance.

A fifth suspect, 52-year-old Gregory MacClean of Palmdale, was arrested Friday morning (10/25/13) for possession and distribution of child pornography. Suspect MacClean had previously fled when investigators attempted to contact him at his workplace in Whittier, and then failed to show up at a pre-arranged meeting with investigators. He then turned himself in on Friday.

In this case, investigators proactively sought out persons offering to distribute child pornography on the Internet. Once sources were identified, investigators then actively downloaded videos and photos from the sources.

After confirming it was illegal child pornography, investigators determined the locations from which the images were distributed, then linked them to the suspects who were doing the distributing. The arrests followed. The investigation is continuing.

Hundreds of photos and videos of children between 1 and 16 years old engaged in sex acts with adults were recovered by investigators. There is an ongoing effort to identify and help the children who are victims of these crimes, and who are believed to be located throughout the world.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective John Howard at (562) 619-5257. To remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

The Los Angeles County Cyber Crimes Task Force consists of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies, as well as members of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This investigation was conducted with the assistance of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Editor’s Note: According to LASD inmate records, Solimano was arrested Wednesday and released later that day. It was unclear Friday whether Solimano had been charged. MacClean, arrested Friday, remains jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail, according to LASD inmate records.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

14 comments for "Palmdale suspects arrested in Internet child porn sting"

  1. Sick [removed]…. They deserve time in prison, a lot of time. And, look at the name one of them has – MacClean???? How [removed] is that??

  2. Lets not be so quick to judge. One of the suspects was accused of “suspicion of possession of a controlled substance”. Nothing to do with child pornography. As for the others. Lets wait and see the evidence.

      • That was decisive, wasn’t it? Didn’t see that coming, poor Adrienne Barbeaux, short role for her.

    • Yes, the female was arrested on suspicion of… From the fb page looks like she is Macleans wife. He was investigated at his workplace and home. She may have not known her husband was into that and doing drugs to forget. Either way nothing we need here…

    • Dear God, tell me that is not their daughter in the picture?When did having a picture with your tongue hanging out become attractive to teenage girls?

      • Leave the Daughter alone especially since you don’t know her. If her parents are guilty that’s there vice alone, but leave the daughter out of it you common internet bully

  6. More “undesirables” in our once peaceful and law abiding valley. Is there an end? NOPE! Im out! I see this in that little town of Rosamond also! They have made it there to! One cant even go to a NORMAL day of shopping at Albertsons! They are all over! God bless the little ones exploited in this particular case. Adults that have this problem need to be put to sleep! Get them out of their nasty misery!