Multi-Agency Task Force in Jackson County Nets Arrests in Child Abuse Material Cases

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — A Joint Child Exploitation Task Force comprising members of the multi-agency Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team  (SOCET) swept across Jackson County yesterday, netting five suspects in multiple unrelated child porn cases. Over 800 child porn images were seized, and the suspects are facing 39 felony charges.

Jackson County Child Porn Suspects Arrested

Investigations by the SOCET joint inter-agency task force culminated in a day of arrests yesterday as law enforcement swooped in on suspects in five separate cases relating to the distribution of child porn images, encouraging child sex abuse.

Visiting each home separately on search warrants issued after investigations into tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about  Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), the following arrests were made over the course of the day:

• 46-year-old Kevin Lee Bratton of Eagle Point: The task force located and arrested Bratton, who had over 100 CSAM images, at his home in the 400 block of Stevens Road in Eagle Point on 10 felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.
• 34-year-old Shale Tiercel Pagel of Ashland: Law enforcement arrested Pagel on five felony counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse at his home in the 80 block of Pine Street in Ashland after finding 682 CSAM images.
• 40-year-old David Richard Lubina of Medford: Lubina was arrested in connection with 13 images of CSAM at a traffic stop in White City after he could not be found when police executed a search warrant at his former residence in the 1100 block of Gate Park Drive in Medford. He is charged with six felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.
• 39-year-old Brandon Scott Matlock of Eagle Point: Arrested in connection with 15 CSAM images in his possession at his residence in the 6500 block of Shadow Glen Road in rural Eagle Point, Matlock is charged with nine felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.
• 19-year-old Margarito Baldazo Banuelos II of Medford: Banuelos was arrested at his residence in the 200 block of Ivy Street in Medford. He is charged with four felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and three felony counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse after being found with 12 CSAM images. An earlier NCMEC cyber tip had led investigators to his former residence in the 500 block of Talent Avenue in Talent, where evidence was located.

All five were lodged at the Jackson County Jail.

A sixth suspect, 45-year-old  Erik Thiel Rowe, who had two CSAM images in his possession after investigators served a search warrant in a converted school bus on a property in the 6500 block of Rogue River Highway in rural Grants Pass near Rogue River, is currently in custody at Taney County Jail in Missouri.

He will be extradited back to Oregon to face two charges of first- and second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. Rowe also has an outstanding felony warrant for a probation violation for second-degree sex abuse.