HIGH TECH CRIMES TASK FORCE - INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

GRANTS PASS, Ore., May 13 -- The City of Grants Pass issued the following news release:

In May 2010, the Medford Police Department received a report of a male juvenile being threatened and harassed via text messages. Upon interviewing the male juvenile victim, he disclosed that he had been asked to take nude pictures of himself and send them to a juvenile female. The male victim did take nude images of himself and send them to what he believed to be a juvenile female that was his age.

Quickly after sending the first pictures he began to receive more requests for pictures. The person sending text messages to the victim began threatening the victim via text message and told him if he didn't send more pictures, the suspect would send nude images of the victim to his family and friends. The suspect did send one nude image of the victim via Facebook to one of the victim's friends to reinforce the threats made. As a result of these threats, the juvenile male victim did take more pictures and videos of himself and provided them to the suspect.

The Medford Police Department requested the assistance of the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force in this investigation. The SOHTCTF provided technical and legal assistance in this case and a joint investigation began. Through the use of various investigative methods, it was determined that the person texting the male victim was not a female juvenile but an adult male identified as Francisco Acosta-Costillo DOB 12-27-1990 from 220 North Ivy Street #6 in Medford.

On December 16, 2010 a search warrant was executed at Acosta-Costillo's residence by members of the Medford Police Department and SOHTCTF. As a result of the warrant, several items of digital evidence were seized and submitted to the SOHTCTF's digital evidence forensic laboratory. A forensic examination of both the victim and suspect's digital media revealed messages between the two and recovered images and videos of the victim on Acosta-Costillo's computer.

On April 27, 2011 a Jackson County Grand Jury indicted Acosta-Costillo on 1 count of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, 4 counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, and 2 counts of Using a Child in Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct (a Measure 11 crime). On May 2, 2011 members of the SOHTCTF and Medford Police arrested Acosta-Costillo at his residence without incident and lodged him in the Jackson County Jail on $500,000 bail. Acosta-Costillo is also being held by the U.

S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an illegal alien. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com