Chesterfield Township Man Among 255 Nabbed in Federal Child Predator Sting

A 34-year-old Chesterfield Township man was arrested in a far-reaching federal operation that netted 255 alleged child predators from across the United States and beyond.

Anthony Lucido, 34, faces child porn charges after federal agents visited his home on Jefferson in the township and recovered 211 images and nine videos deemed as child porn, authorities said. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and Internet Crimes Against Children task forces announced Monday the results of a five-week surge operation to crack down on online sexual exploitation. 

Sixty-one victims were identified in Operation iGuardian, ending June 30. Of the 61, four children were under 3, five were ages 4 to 6; 13 were ages 7 to 9; 10 were ages 10 to 12; 23 were ages 13 to 15 and six were ages 16 to 17. Forty-two were female and 19 were male, according to federal authorities.

Before his questioning last October, Lucido removed what he said he believed to be his computer hard drive and tossed it into a canal from a bridge. However that was the DVD player, not the hard drive, according to the federal complaint. 

Lucido gave permission for investigators to review the hard drive and admitted to looking at adult heterosexual and homosexual porn, bestiality and child porn as well as a model website that features girls under and over 18. He said he estimated he had about 200 images and 12 videos depicting child porn on his computer, searching sites with girls 12-15 years old for the past few years, the complaint states.

He allegedly acknowledged a "slight attraction" for his minor stepsisters but told investigators he never acted inappropriately with them. He also denied having sexual contact with minors, the complaint states.

Lucido was arrested and charged in June with knowingly possessing and receiving child pornography. He was released on a $10,000 bond. 

“Protecting our youth in the digital age requires all of us to be on the lookout for child predators abusing and extorting victims online,” ICE Director John Morton said in a prepared statement.

“Children and parents need to understand that not everyone online is who they say they are. Child abusers prowl social media looking for opportunities to force young people into sexual exploitation through guile, deceit and extortion. We want children to know that it’s wrong for any adult to solicit or pressure them for sex and that the law is on their side," Morton stated.

Two other Michigan men--from Hopkins and Wyoming--were also arrested with other suspects, including a former middle school teacher from California, a former cheerleading coach from Puerto Rico and a man from Mexico posing as a teenage girl to elicit provocative images from minors, authorities said.

The HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.