On July 17, 2018, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and the Portland FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force conducted a joint operation with assistance from the Columbia Gorge Major Crimes Team and Hood River County District Attorney’s Office, to identify and apprehend individuals seeking to commit sexual acts with minor children. The operation resulted in the arrest of five males ranging in age from 16 to 44 years of age. All suspects were lodged at NORCOR. The arrestees’ identities, ages and charges were as follows (Juvenile’s name withheld per ORS 419A.255) -
Brandon David Backman, 44, Hood River, OR
Online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree
Francisco Ramirez Rendon, 27, The Dalles, OR
Online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree
John Grover Morgan III, 30, Rhododendron, OR
Online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree
Luring a minor
Daniel Garcia, 23, The Dalles, OR
Online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree
Luring a minor
Juvenile Male, 16, White Salmon, WA
Attempted sodomy in the first degree
Online sexual corruption in the first degree (ORS 163.433) is a Class B felony in Oregon and requires that a person knowingly uses an online communication to solicit a child to engage in sexual contact or sexually explicit conduct and intentionally takes a substantial step toward physically meeting with or encountering a child.
Portland FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force consists of FBI agents and task force officers from the Beaverton Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, the Tigard Police Department, the Hillsboro Police Department, and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI’s CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children, as well as recovering underage victims of sex trafficking and child pornography.
The Columbia Gorge Major Crime’s Team includes detectives from The Oregon State Police, The Dalles Police Department, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Police Department and Hood River County Sheriff’s Office.