An Indianapolis man who was wanted in Colorado was recently arrested and transported to the Porter County Jail on charges of child solicitation, vicarious sexual gratification and possession child pornography.
On Aug. 30, Portage Police Detective N. Heuberger obtained an arrest warrant for Daniel Roberts, a thirty-one-year-old male. Detective Heuberger had been investigating accusations that Roberts had been engaged in sexually oriented communications with a twelve-year-old juvenile female in the city of Portage via the Snapchat app. This relationship came to light after the child spoke with a school counselor and her phone had been provided to police for examination by a parent.
Police say it was clear in the conversations with the victim that Roberts was aware the person he was speaking with was a child and he encouraged her to commit sexual acts and provide him with pornographic images. Preservation letters were served to Snapchat, who cooperated with the investigation, and they provided identifying information for the account holder which led investigators to a home in Indianapolis, IN. In addition to the arrest warrant for Roberts, a search warrant for the home was also obtained.
On Sept. 3, 2024, Portage Police Detectives, along with officers of the Fishers Police Department, and members of the Indiana Cybercrimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force proceeded to the Indianapolis home (Indianapolis address but located in the jurisdiction of the Fishers Police Department) to execute the warrants. Upon their arrival, Roberts was found outside, and he fled from officers on foot. Roberts was chased down and taken into custody after a Taser deployment.
Portage Police Detectives recovered several electronic storage devices from the residence believed to contain additional evidence of crimes against children.
Portage Detectives transported Roberts to the Porter County Jail where he is being held on $70,000 bond. Roberts is currently wanted in Jefferson County Colorado for probation violation on the original charges of felony sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted felony sexual assault of a child.
Daniel Roberts has been charged with three counts of vicarious sexual gratification a level 4 felony, eight counts of child solicitation a level 5 felony, and four counts of possession of child pornography level 6 felony.
“We want to thank the Fishers Police Department for their assistance with this investigation as well as the ICAC Task Force, Portage Police said in a statement. “We encourage parents to talk to their children about online safety and have clear triggers as to when to end communications with certain people, such as requests for explicit selfies or sexually oriented conversations. Parents may install surveillance software onto their children’s electronic communication devices that send a warning when certain keywords are used. For more information on how to help keep your children safe while online please visit www.in.gov/isp/icactf/resources/“