The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office  reported Tuesday during a special press conference, that  12 people were arrested, including a Folsom man, as part of an investigation that spanned two-weeks investigating those suspected of downloading child pornography.  

Michael Bradford Stealey, 45 of Folsom was one of those arrested, according to the Sheriff’s Department’s release, as more than 12 different agencies took part in the operation across the region as part of the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. 

The Task Force is comprised of 18 local agencies, which include the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Rancho Cordova Police Department, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Citrus Heights Police Department, Sacramento Police Department, San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office, Elk Grove Police Department, Folsom Police Department, Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Roseville Police Department, Rocklin Police Department, Placer County District Attorney’s Office, El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol (CHP) – CCIU, California Department of Justice, Sacramento County Probation, Vacaville Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Sacramento.

The Task Force is continuing to investigate and asks anyone who thinks their child might have interacted with the below to call the sheriff’s office at (916) 874-5115.

Those listed as being arrested on various charges include the following: 

Michael Bradford Stealey, 45 of Folsom

Santos Abraham Sanchez, 35 of Sacramento

Gary Paul Gauthier, 63 of Sacramento

Christopher Kent Bowman, 38 of Citrus Heights

Josh Steven Sevilla, 40 of Citrus Heights

Joseph John Deangelis, 53 of Elk Grove

Joshua Alan Akins, 35 of Lodi

Marc Kevin Floresca, 32 of Cameron Park

Matthew Todd Berg, 50 of Roseville

Robert Owen Gunwall, 35 of Roseville

James Stanely Skaggs, 60 of Isleton

Thomas Rider Plowright (No additional information)

Detectives arrested those who were determined to have downloaded and be in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), some suspects charged with a variety of other charges, according to the report. Some of those charges include:

• PC 311.11(a) – Possession of Child Pornography (Felony)
• PC 311.1(a) – Distribution of Child Pornography (Felony)
• PC 311.4(d) – Production/Manufacturing of Child Pornography (Felony)
• PC 288(a) – Lewd act with a child under the age of 14 (Felony)
• PC 288(b)(1) – Lewd acts with a minor by force or fear (Felony)
• PC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm
• PC 30305(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of Ammunition

According to the Sheriff’s Department, “many of the targeted suspects were found to be in possession of horrendous CSAM files that depicted sexual images of infants and toddlers who were forced to engage in sexual abuse, including some that involved bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM).” Tens of thousands of CSAM images and videos were recovered during this operation, where one suspect had over 5TB of CSAM. Detectives also recovered videos and images of unknown suspects urinating on infants and toddlers.

One suspect, Josh Sevilla (40, Citrus Heights), was also identified as a suspect in a “hands-on” offense with a minor. At the conclusion of the investigation, Sevilla was charged with 12 counts of PC 288(b)(1) – Lewd acts with a minor by force or fear, eight counts of PC 288(a) – Lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14, and PC 311.11(a) – Possession of Child Pornography.

The Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force is committed to protecting our children and our communities. ICAC Detectives will continue to deploy proactive investigative techniques to identify suspects who are downloading and sharing CSAM and participating in the continual physical and mental abuse of children.

If you think your children or children you know may have spent any time around these individuals, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at 916-874-5115.