Delaware man pleads guilty in child pornography case

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Lewes, Delaware man pleaded guilty to one count of accessing with intent to view child pornography depicting a prepubescent child engaged in sexually explicit conduct in U.S. District Court of Delaware, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Delaware.

John B. Alwood, 54, was identified by HSI Delaware as having accessed an online conferencing application in order to gain sexual gratification by viewing child pornography with other men.

Alwood is being detained until sentencing where he faces a sentence range of 37 to 46 months in prison. Alwood also faces a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will leave no stone unturned to find those who commit the terrible crime of being in possession and viewing child pornography,” said Marlon V. Miller, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims of these horrendous crimes, and my sincere appreciation goes out to those men and women who relentlessly investigate and prosecute these cases.”

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 16,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2016, more than 2,600 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 800 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predatorsmartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.