A Tysons man who got arrested for allegedly possessing illegal guns is now also facing child pornography charges.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Tuesday) that its detectives have obtained warrants charging 31-year-old Craig Strasbourger with three counts of possessing child sexual abuse material, one count of soliciting a minor, and one count of possessing animal sexual abuse material.
Police say they started investigating Strasbourger after getting a tip in September from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about “sexual communication with an underage individual from Kentucky.”
The communications came from an internet provider address that was traced to Strasbourger’s home on Robin Way Court, according to the FCPD.
Strasbourger was first arrested on Nov. 16 after police found four rifles that had been “unlawfully modified” while searching his residence. He was charged with four counts of unlawful possession of the firearms, which were described as “illegal machine guns” in the FCPD’s initial news release.
During the search, detectives also found “various computer devices” that were evaluated, leading to the new porn charges, according to police.
After the gun charges, Strasbourger was released on a $4,000 secured bond, but he was arrested again on Monday (Nov. 27) and is now in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. A preliminary court hearing on all charges has been scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024.
Fairfax County police confiscated multiple machine guns last week from a Tysons man who was suspected of sending sexual messages to a juvenile.
Detectives began investigating Craig Strasbourger, 31, after receiving a tip in September from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, which gets reports of child sexual exploitation incidents, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The tip indicated that Strasbourger “was suspected to be engaging in sexual communication with a juvenile from Kentucky,” the FCPD said in a news release on Friday (Nov. 17).
Detectives and the department’s SWAT team executed a search warrant for Strasbourger’s house on Robin Way Court on Thursday (Nov. 16), leading to his arrest.
“During the operation, detectives confiscated four illegal machine guns and various electronic devices from the premises,” the FCPD said.
Strasbourger has been charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a machine gun. He was initially held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center but later got released on a $4,000 secured bond, according to police.
Additional charges could be filed in connection with the electronic devices, which are being reviewed by detectives, the police department said.
Machine guns are allowed in Virginia, but they must be registered with the Virginia State Police. Under the Uniform Machine Gun Act, possession for an “offensive or aggressive purpose” is a Class 4 felony, which carries potential sentences of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
The FCPD didn’t immediately elaborate on what made the machine guns found at Strasbourger’s house illegal, but the state law says an aggressive or offensive purpose is presumed if:
- The gun isn’t registered
- Shells are found in its “immediate vicinity”
- The person has been convicted of a violent crime
- Or the person doesn’t own or rent the property where the gun was found
Per Fairfax County General District Court records, Strasbourger is scheduled to appear for an arraignment at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 27 and a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2024.
A Groveton Elementary School teacher is facing indecent liberties and child pornography charges after allegedly exposing himself to a child this weekend — an incident that police say may not be his first.
James William Nugent II, 27, of Alexandria “lured” a juvenile into his Toyota Sienna van in Fort Hunt’s Stratford Landing neighborhood early in the afternoon on Saturday (Oct. 21), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release yesterday (Wednesday).
“The victim ran away and contacted the police,” the FCPD said, noting that the victim wasn’t injured.
Officers responded to the intersection of Camden Street and Wittington Blvd at 1:30 p.m.
According to the police department, detectives identified Nugent as the van driver based on surveillance footage shared by a community member and a nearby license plate reader. The FCPD partnered with Flock Safety to install automated license plate readers last November, expanding its test of the devices this spring through Oct. 31.
Nugent was arrested yesterday morning. During a search of his residence, detectives found “numerous child sexual abuse material,” the FCPD said.
He has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a child, an offense that applies to situations involving victims under 15 years old, and 13 counts of distributing child pornography.
“Through our detectives’ investigation, they believe Nugent exposed himself to at least four additional victims near Stratford Elementary School within the past two weeks,” the FCPD said. “Detectives would like to speak to anyone who has information about this case or may have been a victim.”
The department advises anyone with potential information to call 703-246-7800, option 3, or submit a tip through Crime Solvers.
Nugent is currently employed by Fairfax County Public Schools as a resource teacher at Groveton Elementary School, which is almost five miles away from where Saturday’s exposure incident occurred.
“The victim in the case is not affiliated with his employment,” police said.
FCPS declined to comment on the case, directing inquiries to the police department. Nugent is still listed as a resource teacher in Groveton Elementary’s staff directory.
The Fairfax County Police Department has bolstered its presence in Franconia today (Wednesday) after a man reportedly tried to abduct a child near Island Creek Elementary School yesterday.
The encounter occurred at 4:15 p.m. when a 10-year-old was walking on Morning View Lane to get to a playground, police said:
A suspect, described as a black man, 40-years-old, 6’1”, thin and bald, was reported to have grabbed the victim by the arm. The child was able to pull away and quickly run back to the school. The suspect was wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans and had a black backpack.
Officers with the assistance of our K9 and helicopter searched the area, but the man was not found. Detectives are continuing to investigate, and our Franconia District officers will have an increased presence in the neighborhood.
Fairfax County Public Schools had no comment, stating that the case is being handled by the police.
This spring, the FCPD investigated incidents in Reston and Lorton where “suspicious” buses had tried to pick up children at school bus stops. Detectives later determined that no criminal activity had occurred, as both vehicles were in the area for “normal business.”
Photo via Google Maps
(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) A Vienna man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl at a local park.
The suspect, Celvin Aragon Flores, met the victim online through a social media app and then “engaged in a sexual encounter with her at a park in Vienna,” the Town of Vienna Police Department says.
The sexual assault was reported to the VPD on Monday (May 15), though the department’s weekly recap suggests the assault occurred around 8 a.m. on April 16.
“Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Section, dedicated to this case, conducted interviews with the victim and witnesses, coordinated a forensic rape examination, and obtained search warrants,” police said.
Arrested yesterday (Thursday), Flores has been charged with sodomy, rape, aggravated sexual battery and animate object penetration. Additional charges are expected “as the case progresses,” according to the police department.
The VPD said it has notified victim services personnel and Child Protective Services, which “will provide the necessary assistance and ongoing support for the victim.”
When asked about the age of the victim, who’s identified only as a juvenile, and the name of the park, police said they were unable to disclose that information.
“Due to this case being an active investigation, we must abide by certain protocols to ensure the integrity of the case,” VPD public information officer Juan Vazquez said.
A D.C. woman has been arrested for allegedly abducting a kid from the Cox Discovery Cove at Tysons Corner Center.
Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department’s Tysons Urban Team were called to an outdoor play area — described as having a “sailboat design” — at 5:47 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) for a report of a missing 3-year-old child, police said in a news release today.
Using mall security camera footage, the officers “quickly” identified Jane Pyo as the suspect.
Officers observed Pyo walk towards the mall, stop, converse with the child, take the child’s hand and walk into the mall. Pyo was observed picking the child up and going down an escalator with the child in her arms. TUT officers located Pyo and the child inside the Coastal Flats Restaurant. Pyo assaulted officers when they approached but were able to take her into custody.
The kid didn’t experience any injuries and was reunited with their family, according to the FCPD.
Pyo has been charged with abduction, possession of burglarious tools, assaulting law enforcement and trespassing. She also had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in Fairfax County court, police said.
She is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
A Reston woman who teaches at James Madison High School was arrested yesterday (Thursday) for reportedly having a sexual relationship with a student.
The student “disclosed an inappropriate sexual relationship” to school administrators, who notified law enforcement on Wednesday (April 12), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release today (Friday).
“Detectives were notified and assumed the investigation,” the FCPD said. “Detectives determined Allieh Kheradmand, 33, of Reston had unlawful contact with a student over the past several months.”
Kheradmand works at Madison as a learning disabilities teacher. She has been employed by Fairfax County Public Schools since 2016, according to police.
She has been charged with four counts of indecent liberties by a custodian of a student, a felony offense in Virginia. She’s currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, per the FCPD.
Kheradmand has been placed on administrative leave, FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid and Madison principal Liz Calvert said in a message to families and staff.
“In Madison and across FCPS, our primary responsibility is the safety and security of everyone who enters our doors,” Reid and Calvert wrote. “This is something we take very seriously. As educators, we are entrusted with the wellbeing of the children in our care every day. It deeply affects us when someone appears to have broken that trust.”
The FCPD advises anyone with information about this case, or other possibly related incidents, to contact its detectives at 703-246-7800, option “4.” The department also accepts anonymous tips by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.
The full message from FCPS is below.
Madison High School Families and Staff,
We need to inform you that Fairfax County police have announced that a teacher at Madison High School has been arrested and charged with four counts of indecent liberties by a custodian of a student. The employee has been placed on administrative leave.
In Madison and across FCPS, our primary responsibility is the safety and security of everyone who enters our doors. This is something we take very seriously. As educators, we are entrusted with the wellbeing of the children in our care every day. It deeply affects us when someone appears to have broken that trust. Please contact Fairfax County Police Major Crimes Bureau if you have any information you would like to share at 703-246-7800, option 3.
If you have specific concerns about your student, please contact our main office or your child’s school counselor. You can find your child’s school counselor on our website. School staff will support students in any way they need.
Sincerely,
Liz Calvert
Principal
Madison High School
Dr. Michelle C. Reid
Superintendent
Fairfax County Public Schools
Fairfax County police have arrested a 40-year-old woman from Alexandria who allegedly stole a vehicle with a girl in the backseat on Sunday (Jan. 15).
According to police, the woman was connected to a second vehicle theft incident in the 6200 block of Little River Turnpike in Annandale that occurred around 6:50 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday).
Officers in the area for a separate investigation were approached by a driver who said their 2012 Honda Pilot was stolen while they were inside a restaurant. They had left the SUV running.
“The victim returned, and the SUV was missing,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
A 2012 Honda Accord was stolen from a parking lot in the same block around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. That car had a 6-year-old girl in the backseat, who was waiting while her stepfather went into a restaurant to pick up food, police reported.
The girl was located in D.C. less than an hour later and reunited with her family, but police didn’t find the stolen sedan.
According to the FCPD, the driver of the stolen SUV tracked a phone that had been left in the vehicle and traced it to the 80 block of South Bragg Street, just inside Alexandria’s city limits. Officers were notified just before midnight yesterday.
“Our officers and the City of Alexandria Police Department found the vehicle and saw a woman exit the SUV,” the department said. “The woman, Tanisha Hall, was immediately taken into custody.”
The officers also located the missing Accord nearby and “discovered evidence linking Hall to the abduction.”
Hall has been charged with two counts of grand larceny, abduction, credit card theft, obstruction of justice, and giving a false identity to law enforcement officers. She is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
The FCPD says that anyone with information about the two incidents can contact its Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, or submit anonymous tips through Crime Solvers by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.
Police have seen an increase in vehicle theft calls around the county, often involving Hyundai or Kia models, according to the FCPD.
“Our officers and Auto Crimes Enforcement Unit have increased their presence throughout the county. We are also asking for our community’s help to reduce auto theft,” the department said, advising people to park in well-lit areas, lock all doors, and never leave their vehicle unattended, among other tips.
A 5-year-old girl who was in the backseat of a sedan when it got stolen Sunday night (Jan. 15) has been reunited with her family, Fairfax County police say.
Detectives believe the girl’s stepfather stopped at a parking lot in the 6200 block of Little River Turnpike that evening, leaving his 2012 Honda Accord running while he went inside a restaurant to pick up food, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
When the man came out of the restaurant, he found that the car was gone. The girl had been waiting in the car’s backseat.
Officers responded to the scene at 6:30 p.m.
“Our helicopter and officers from around the county saturated the area while detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau began the Amber Alert process,” the FCPD said. “A lookout for the car and the child were quickly provided to surrounding jurisdictions.”
The girl was found in downtown D.C. by two community members, who called the Metropolitan Police Department to the intersection of 13th Street and E Street NW around 7:18 p.m.
Fire and rescue personnel were brought in to determine that the kid was unharmed, and the FCPD helped reunite her with her family, according to yesterday’s news release.
The suspect allegedly fled in the stolen Accord, which is still missing.
Detectives continue to search for the stolen 2012 gray Honda Accord with Maryland plates 94667CJ. The car has a black hood with damage to the front and back end. The suspect is described as a black male with dark curly hair. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web – Click HERE. Download the ‘P3 Tips’ App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.
Photo by Henry Bright/Twitter
A Herndon man could face up to 15 years in prison for the production of child pornography, according to authorities.
Vincent Joseph Sarikey, 34, appeared in court yesterday (Monday) for allegations that he attempted to groom minors, pushed them record themselves partaking in sexual activities, and engaged in “sexually exploit discussions” with at least two people who identified themselves as minors, the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Sarikey faces at least 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are usually less than maximum penalties.
Authorities believe the suspect encouraged at least two minors to produce sexually explicit materials and send them to him. Sarikey then allegedly provided the pictures to another individual who shared an interest in the minors, according to court documents.
Authorities say they found “hundreds of images and video of child sexual abuse material” on Sarikey’s electronic devices.
“These exchanges took place on several social media platforms, including Telegram, Twitter, and Discord under the monikers “John Lugne,” “@JLugne,” and “triadus#9325,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its news release.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the issue. It’s charged with bringing federal charges against individuals who engage in human trafficking or the exploitation of children.
Photo via Google Maps
