Arizona man charged with child sexual exploitation after multi-state investigation, says Portland Police Department
PORTLAND, Tenn. – An Arizona man is charged with child sexual exploitation after alleged online activity involving minors.
According to the Portland Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, detectives launched an investigation after receiving information about an alleged exploitation of minors.
Detectives say they identified multiple social media accounts and electronic evidence associated with 70-year-old David Velasquez, of Prescott, Arizona. Investigators coordinated a multi-state investigation with the Prescott, Arizona Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.
Investigators say they identified multiple minor victims across several states. Velasquez allegedly contacted an out-of-state victim who is 11.
According to PPD, the Prescott, Arizona Police Department executed a search warrant on Velasquez’s home on July 29. Investigators say they located evidence of Velasquez attempting to lure minors and child sexual exploitation material.
Velasquez was arrested and lodged at Yavapai County Jail. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated luring of a minor for sexual exploitation.
The investigation is ongoing.
PPD released the following statement
The Portland Police Department would like to thank the Prescott Police Department and all partnering law enforcement agencies for their professionalism and collaboration throughout this investigation. Cases involving the exploitation of children often require coordination across multiple jurisdictions, and this arrest demonstrates the importance of that partnership.
The Portland Police Department remains committed to aggressively investigating crimes against children and working with our law enforcement partners to hold offenders accountable, regardless of where they are located.
