A report from the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department in Wisconsin of a child being sexually exploited through Facebook, leads to a Grants Pass man’s arrest on federal child sex crime charges.
The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team began an investigation after receiving the information from the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department and through further investigation, additional child victims in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Louisiana were discovered.
Working with Wisconsin Rapids Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation, 28 year old Brandon Cody Gale, of Grants Pass, was identified and located before being arrested and charged with one count of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of children as well as one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to investigators, Gale stole a teenage male’s online photo to interact with his victims by posing as a teenage boy on various social media sites, including Facebook and Snapchat. He would then coerce his underage victims into performing sexual acts. Gale used the online account names of John Gunther, Marley Nukka, Antioch Baby, and Tony Montana.
It should be noted, the teenage male in the photographs is a victim of identity theft and volunteered to release his images in the hopes it will help identify any other potential victims.
Gale was transferred to the Josephine County Jail on June 1st from the Power River Correctional Facility in Baker City, Oregon where he was serving time on state charges for an unrelated incident.
Investigators are looking for other potential victims. If you have any information, call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (541) 774-8333.
