Gabriel Espinoza, Social Media Child Exploitation, IA 2018

Gabriel Espinoza, 23, of Marshalltown, Iowa, is going away for 25 years after being convicted of sexually exploiting a 10-year-old girl through social media. On March 1, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose handed down the stiff sentence, ensuring Espinoza will spend decades behind bars — followed by another 25 years under federal supervision.

The case exploded in March 2017 when law enforcement in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, uncovered that the young victim had been targeted and sexually exploited online by Espinoza — a registered sex offender. Within days, the Iowa ICAC Task Force tracked him down and made the arrest. But investigators didn’t stop there. They soon uncovered Espinoza had also victimized another minor girl in Minnesota, deepening the scope of his predatory behavior.

Multiple agencies converged on the investigation, including the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa State Patrol, Marshalltown Police Department, Ankeny Police Department, and Iowa Division of Intelligence. The breadth of the response underscores the urgency federal and state agencies place on protecting children from online predators.

Meanwhile, two other predators were also sentenced in related cases under the DOJ’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. Gaspar Jose Francisco, 27, of Osceola, was sentenced on December 8, 2017, to 14 years in prison by Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger for enticing and attempting to entice a 13-year-old girl into illicit sexual activity using social media. He will serve an additional five years under supervised release.

On November 17, 2017, Jordan Adolfo Turner, 25, of Muscatine, received a 20-year sentence — also from Judge Ebinger — for receipt of child pornography. The FBI received a tip from a concerned Iowa citizen alleging a 13-year-old boy was being exploited online. Investigation led to Turner, who was found to have solicited and received nude images from seven other Iowa minors. He will face 10 years of supervised release after prison.

All cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa under the DOJ’s national Project Safe Childhood, launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation through coordinated law enforcement and public outreach. Anyone with knowledge of child abuse is urged to call the 24-hour Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821 or report tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.com.