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United States of America v. Steven Tsaitsios
Date: 03-24-2025
Case Number:
Judge:
Court: The United States District Court for the District of Maine
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Portland
Defendant's Attorney:
Click Here For The Best Portland, Maine Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory
Click Here For The Best Portland, Maine Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory
Description:
Massachusetts Man Caught in HSI Investigation into Online Child Predators Pleads Guilty to Sending Sexually Explicit Images
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor.
According to court records, in May 2023, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent in Portland began posing as a 13-year-old girl on Facebook as part of an investigation to identify potential child predators looking to travel to meet minors for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual contact. While on the platform, the undercover agent received numerous friend requests from adult men, including from Steven Tsaitsios, 60.
Within the first few conversations, Tsaitsios asked "Kim†her age, and "Kim†told him she was 13. He told the undercover agent that he was 45 years old and lived in Massachusetts, providing his cell phone number so that "Kim†could communicate with him. Tsaitsios communicated with "Kim†for approximately a month during which time he sent two sexually explicit images of himself. The images were later recovered from his phone and sexually explicit conversations were recovered from his Facebook account. In an interview with investigators, Tsaitsios admitted to messaging and having conversations with "Kim†and that he believed her to be a minor.
HSI investigated the case.
Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2023, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received more than 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included nearly 187,000 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts and 36 million reports of child sexual abuse materials. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org/. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
Portland, Maine criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor.
Massachusetts Man Caught in HSI Investigation into Online Child Predators Pleads Guilty to Sending Sexually Explicit Images
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor.
According to court records, in May 2023, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent in Portland began posing as a 13-year-old girl on Facebook as part of an investigation to identify potential child predators looking to travel to meet minors for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual contact. While on the platform, the undercover agent received numerous friend requests from adult men, including from Steven Tsaitsios, 60.
Within the first few conversations, Tsaitsios asked "Kim†her age, and "Kim†told him she was 13. He told the undercover agent that he was 45 years old and lived in Massachusetts, providing his cell phone number so that "Kim†could communicate with him. Tsaitsios communicated with "Kim†for approximately a month during which time he sent two sexually explicit images of himself. The images were later recovered from his phone and sexually explicit conversations were recovered from his Facebook account. In an interview with investigators, Tsaitsios admitted to messaging and having conversations with "Kim†and that he believed her to be a minor.
HSI investigated the case.
Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2023, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received more than 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included nearly 187,000 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts and 36 million reports of child sexual abuse materials. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org/. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
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Defendant's Experts:
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About This Case
What was the outcome of United States of America v. Steven Tsaitsios?
The outcome was:
Which court heard United States of America v. Steven Tsaitsios?
This case was heard in The United States District Court for the District of Maine, ME.
Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. Steven Tsaitsios?
Plaintiff's attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Portland. Defendant's attorney: Click Here For The Best Portland, Maine Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory.
When was United States of America v. Steven Tsaitsios decided?
This case was decided on March 24, 2025.