from www.examiner.com – A Wheeling, Illinois man who allegedly took sexually explicit photos and movies of a young girl and traded the images online was arrested and charged in federal court Thursday, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

Darrick Boroczk, 32, of Wheeling, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and charged in a criminal complaint for enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Boroczk’s criminal activity began after agents executed a search warrant on April 16 at a residence in New Castle, Pennsylvania, during which thousands of sexually explicit images of children were seized.

The Pennsylvania State Police assisted in a forensic review of the images and noticed that one of the videos showed the face of a white male sexually exploiting a young girl who appeared to be about five years old. The Illinois State Police subsequently identified Boroczk as the male in the video. The criminal complaint alleges that he took the explicit videos and photos on November 10, 2006.

“Sexual predators who victimize children, among our most vulnerable citizens, must know that we will not rest until they are brought to justice,” said James Gibbons, acting special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago.

“These crimes are devastating to the victims. Simply put, we have an obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” he said.

ICE agents were assisted in the investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and ICE Cyber Task force officers from the Deerfield Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Wheeling Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Perconte, Northern District of Illinois, is prosecuting this case. If convicted, Boroczk faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

The investigation into Boroczk is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign national predators whose crimes make them deportable. Launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,600 individuals through Operation Predator.