Local, state, and federal cooperation leads to the arrest of a suspected active child predator.
On June 4, 2024, members of Portland Police Bureau’s Child Abuse Team (CAT) who are assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit received a tip that a teenage girl in Portland was in online communication with a 60-year-old man who lived out of state. Some of the communication included explicit images.
Upon further investigations, the ICAC Unit learned that the man was driving from his home in Texas, to Portland, and that he had already rented a house for a week with the intention of taking the juvenile to the home.
Due to the serious and immediate nature of the situation, the looming danger to the child, and because the suspect lived out of state, ICAC Investigators partnered with Homeland Security Investigation’s Child Exploitation Group. Together, they tracked down the suspect while he was still driving to Portland. PPB reached out to partner agencies and, together with Oregon State Police, HSI Child Exploitation Group, the Dalles Police Department and PPB School Liaisons, coordinated a plan to arrest the suspect before he could make contact with the girl.
On July 6, 2024, 60-year-old Steven Worth Ellis was intercepted in the Gorge by Oregon State Police Troopers and taken into custody. He was booked into federal custody by the US Marshals and is charged federally with the crimes of Interstate Travel to Engage in Sexually Explicit Conduct with a Minor, Production of Child Pornography, and Online Enticement of a Minor.
The Portland Police Bureau would like to thank its federal, state, and local partners for their willingness and ability to assist at a moment’s notice, and their dedication to helping us keep our children safe from dangerous predators.
Photo description: Two OSP Troopers arrest the suspect near his vehicle
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