Carroll man charged federally with sexual exploitation of children

Carroll man charged federally with sexual exploitation of children  Carroll Daily Times Herald

Carroll man charged federally with sexual exploitation of children

A Carroll man arrested on child pornography charges

A Carroll man arrested Wednesday on child pornography charges is now facing a federal charge of sexual exploitation of children, with federal court documents revealing details of the investigation.

Arrest and Charges

  • Lucas Knowles, 47, of Carroll, was arrested after a search warrant was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Carroll Police Department on Wednesday at his home at 615 McCoy Dr.
  • He was originally charged with possession of depiction of a minor in a sex act, but a motion to dismiss that charge has been filed in favor of federal prosecution.
  • Knowles is now facing a federal charge of sexual exploitation of children, which carries a penalty of no less than 15 years and no more than 30 years in prison.

Investigation Details

  1. Federal court documents within the case reveal in December 2015, the Carroll Police Department received a report of Knowles’s alleged activity by his now ex-wife.
  2. A co-worker of Knowles’s ex-wife informed her that Knowles had child sexual abuse materials on his work computer.
  3. His ex-wife stated she broke into Knowles’s office and located several files containing child sexual abuse materials.
  4. She met with law enforcement in February of 2016 to provide those materials, which she copied to a thumb drive.
  5. Knowles claimed that other individuals in his office were potentially the owners of the material.
  6. A legal representative of Knowles’s ex-wife contacted the FBI in February of 2016, and a hard drive owned by Knowles was provided to the FBI, which contained child sexual abuse materials.
  7. The hard drive contained three videos depicting minor females engaging in sexually explicit activity.
  8. In March of 2016, Knowles’s ex-wife went to the Carroll Police Department to provide law enforcement with several electronic devices she obtained from Knowles’s place of employment.
  9. The FBI forensically reviewed the devices and located several instances of child sexual abuse materials and bestiality.

Reopening of Investigation

  • In October of this year, the FBI received an online tip alleging the sexual abuse of a minor by Knowles.
  • The tipster reported they located child sexual abuse materials on Knowles’s Microsoft One Drive account after accessing his personal computer located in the basement of his residence.
  • An FBI special agent verified the materials contained child sexual abuse materials, some of which appeared to be self-produced by Knowles.
  • The agent determined that the location data on the materials was consistent with being taken at Knowles’s residence.

Additional Findings

  • During the execution of the search warrant on Wednesday, officials located a computer in the basement of Knowles’s residence, which contained child sexual abuse materials.
  • Knowles admitted to accessing child sexual abuse materials since 1996 and confessed to creating child sexual abuse materials approximately three weeks ago with a minor female victim.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

  • SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

  • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

  • Indicator for Target 5.2: Number of cases and percentage of women and girls subjected to sexual exploitation or trafficking.
  • Indicator for Target 16.2: Number of victims of child abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 5: Gender Equality Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. Number of cases and percentage of women and girls subjected to sexual exploitation or trafficking.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children. Number of victims of child abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence.

Based on the article, the issues highlighted are connected to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Under SDG 5, the specific target identified is to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual exploitation and trafficking. Under SDG 16, the specific target identified is to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence against children. The article mentions cases of child sexual abuse materials and the admission of creating such materials with a minor victim. The indicators mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards these targets include the number of cases and percentage of women and girls subjected to sexual exploitation or trafficking (Indicator for Target 5.2) and the number of victims of child abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence (Indicator for Target 16.2).

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Source: carrollspaper.com

 

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