AG Paxton’s Law Enforcement Round Up

The Child Exploitation Unit made several noteworthy arrests last week.

In Jefferson County, Alan Wayne Kay, 52, was arrested for five counts of Promotion of Child Pornography. This case was referred as a NCMEC CyberTipline Report involving the upload of files of child pornography to a social media account. Investigators executed a search warrant at Kay's residence, and numerous devices were seized for examination by the Digital Forensic Unit. Kay was transported to the Jefferson County Jail without incident.

The Human Trafficking Unit made several noteworthy arrests last week.

In San Patricio County, the Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested five individuals in Mathis for Trafficking of Persons Under 18 Years of Age and Sexual Assault of a Child. These arrests stem from an investigation conducted by the Human Trafficking Unit. This case was received as a tip from the Polaris National Hotline, as well as a request for investigative assistance from the Mathis Police Department regarding a minor that made multiple outcries of being trafficked. During the course of the sex trafficking investigation, it was determined that Viviana Rivas trafficked the child to Francisco Silvas, who sexually assaulted her for the payment of narcotics. A separate offense occurred when Jason Morales arranged for the child to travel to his residence for the use of narcotics, where she was subsequently sexually assaulted by Michael Bentancur and Manuel Caranza Jr. During the assault, Bentancur displayed a weapon to the victim. Arrest warrants were issued for the five suspects and FAU executed the warrants. The following five suspects and their respective charges are listed below:

• 4/21, Viviana Vela Rivas, 34, Trafficking of Persons
• 4/21, Michael Anthony Bentancur, 37, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and Violation of a Court Order/Prohibited Substance Item in Community Corrections Facility
• 4/22, Manuel Carranza Jr., 37, Sexual Assault of a Child
• 4/22, Francisco Carranza Silvas, 34, Sexual Assault of a Child

• 4/22, Jason Morales, 35, Sexual Assault of a Child

The Fugitive Apprehension Unit made several noteworthy arrests last week.

In Anderson County, Luis Gilberto Castillo was arrested in Palestine on April 19. Castillo had an outstanding warrant for Harboring a Runaway issued by the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office. The Unit received a NCMEC Intake Report as a lead from the United States Marshals Service in Hidalgo County regarding a missing/endangered 13-year-old female child from Edinburg possibly in the Palestine area. During the investigation, it was reported that the missing/endangered 13-year-old female child was with Castillo. At the time of arrest, the child was not located with Castillo, and the investigation into her whereabouts is ongoing.

In Dallas County, David Gene Peterson was arrested in Rowlett on April 20. Peterson had an outstanding warrant for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child issued by the Rowlett Police Department.

If you suspect someone is producing or downloading child pornography, you can report it to NCMEC.
For more information on cyber safety, please visit: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/cyber-safety/.