Sex offender arrested for distributing child porn
A convicted sex offender who’s on parole for having sex with minors was arrested Wednesday afternoon by federal agents for allegedly distributing child pornography over the internet.
The Department of Justice said 25-year-old Andrew Harrison Fowler of Murrieta was free on bail at the time of his arrest. He had previously served prison time in San Diego County after being convicted of three counts of having unlawful sexual intercourse with girls between the ages of 13 and 17, according to the release.
The new charge came to light after a criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court. Fowler’s employer in Corona suspected he was accessing child pornography and reported the information to his parole officer.
According to the Department of Justice, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault and Felony Enforcement team (S.A.F.E.) served a search warrant to access Fowler’s Hotmail account. Investigators discovered Fowler had sent emails containing child porn.
The investigation revealed Fowler exchanged numerous images of child pornography with two other individuals and was actively soliciting sexual encounters on Craigslist. Officers also discovered that Fowler had used aliases to disguise his identity and hide his online activities from his parole officer.
Authorities said if Fowler is convicted for distributing child pornography, as a result of his prior conviction for having sex with minors, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years.
Fowler was scheduled to make his initial federal court appearance in Riverside Thursday afternoon.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
