ICE Homeland Security Investigations remains committed to public safety, hunting down online predators

OAKLAND, Calif. – After a two-week trial, David John Telles Jr., was sentenced Tuesday to serve 302 months in prison by a U.S. District Judge for sex crimes involving a minor.

Telles, 43, of Pleasanton, Calif., was convicted on October 29, 2018, of all counts in the indictment against him:

• Online enticement of a minor
• Travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place
• Engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by United States Homeland Security Investigations and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

“This and similar investigations illustrate that people like Telles really exist and target our most vulnerable members of society,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge (San Francisco and Northern California). “While kids may seek to locate imaginative monsters under their beds, we need parents to assist us with educating their children about the real monsters that are using the internet to enter their rooms through smartphones, tablets, and laptops.”

Evidence at trial showed that Telles spent weeks using an online game, a social media application, and his cellular telephone to groom the 14-year-old victim, who lived in England – telling her that she was his girlfriend and that he wanted to marry her. Telles then traveled to England in June 2014 with the intent to sexually abuse the victim. After arriving in England, Telles took the victim to two different hotels, where he sexually abused her over the course of two days. Police officers from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in England caught Telles and rescued the child.

“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to public safety, which includes protecting the children and youth of our communities who are most vulnerable to online predators,” added Spradlin.

Telles was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 13, 2013, on one count each of online enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b); traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b); and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c).

In addition to the prison term, Judge White also sentenced Telles to a 15-year period of supervised release. While on supervised release, Telles must register as a sex offender and must participate in sex-offender-specific treatment. Judge White also ordered Telles to have no contact with the victim without permission of the probation office. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately and will receive credit toward his sentence for the time he has spent in custody since his arrest by federal authorities on October 20, 2016.

If members of the public have any information relevant to suspected child predators or suspicious activity, they should contact Homeland Security Investigations through the toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or complete the online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

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