Man charged with molesting infant
Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 8:29 AM EST (1329 GMT)
SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A man was being held without bond on federal child pornography charges after agents on Monday said they seized images from his home showing him performing sex acts on a 2-month-old girl.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said the girl is one of the youngest sexual assault victims they have ever encountered.
The suspect was arrested at his home Thursday after the agents said they found explicit video images showing him engaging in sex acts with the infant, who is now 8 months old.
The suspect is alleged to have distributed the images over the Internet, where they were recovered during a child pornography investigation in Detroit. The agents said they traced the images to his e-mail.
Authorities raided his El Dorado Hills home and seized computer equipment, a digital camera, and infant's clothing and bedding.
Larry M. Jeffs, 41, remains in the Sacramento County Jail, charged with producing and distributing child pornography. If convicted, he faces a maximum 50 years in prison.
The continuing Detroit investigation is part of the government's Operation Predator, which targets child sexual predators worldwide, including subscribers to Internet child pornography Web sites.
Since it began in July, the sweep has brought more than 2,000 arrests nationwide.
