CARLISLE, Pa. — A Central Pennsylvania police detective was instrumental in the federal prosecution of a suspect for the sexual exploitation of a minor, the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.
Det. Trent Mellott of the Upper Allen Township Police Department used administrative subpoenas and facial recognition to help identify multiple victims in several U.S. states and Canada, the DA's Office said.
After the victims were identified, the case was referred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to the DA.
Investigators eventually charged Jordan Valle, 26, of Schenectady, New York with the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.
Valle pled guilty to one felony count of each offense in U.S. Court for the Northern District of New York.
As part of his plea, Valle admitted that he posed as a computer hacker online and threatened to delete or take over social media accounts belonging to several victims between the ages of 10 and 15 years old if they did not send him sexually explicit photos and videos, prosecutors said.
Several children complied with his demands and sent him sexually explicit videos, according to prosecutors.
Valle was also found to be in possession of child pornography obtained from the internet saved onto a file in his home computer, prosecutors said.
Valle will be sentenced in August. He faces a minimum prison term of 15 to 30 years for the count of sexual exploitation of children and up to 20 years in prison for the possession of child pornography count. He also will also be required to serve at least 5 years and up to a life term on supervised release after his imprisonment term ends, at which time he will be required to register as a sex offender, according to prosecutors.
Valle also will be required to forfeit the devices he used to commit the offenses to the United States and must pay restitution to his victims.
"We'd like to congratulate Detective Mellott and the Upper Allen Township Police Department for their excellent work on this case," Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack said.
