Murfreesboro, Tenn. – The Murfreesboro Police Department’s newly established Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit has arrested a local man on child pornography charges. Detectives also collaborated with Homeland Security Investigations to arrest a Texas man and dismantle a potential child pornography ring in Texas.
On July 9, detectives arrested 44-year-old registered sex offender Edward Van Epps of Murfreesboro. The arrest followed a search warrant executed at the Knights Inn on S. Church Street. Van Epps faces charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor, with additional charges pending.
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The arrests stem from a two-month investigation initiated by ICAC Detective Jenna Petersen, following a cybertip. The investigation revealed that Van Epps was in communication with a Texas man and was receiving sexually explicit photos of young girls.
“As a detective working Internet Crimes Against Children cases, the number one goal is to save children,” Petersen stated. “The newly created unit in our Special Investigations Division at MPD is dedicated to protecting our children in the community and online.”
With assistance from Homeland Security in Nashville, Homeland Security Investigations Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigation Task Force in Texas, and the Cameron County (TX) District Attorney’s Office, 33-year-old Juan Gabriel Mendoza was arrested in South Texas this past weekend. Mendoza is charged with two counts of sexual performance by a child after being accused of producing and exchanging child pornography. Two young girls were rescued and are safe.
Mendoza is currently held at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center in Texas on a $300,000 bond. Van Epps remains in jail at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on a $175,000 bond, with a hearing scheduled for July 22 in Rutherford County General Sessions Court.
Source: Read Original Release
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