A tip from the Danish national police, Rigspolitiet, has led to the arrest of an American man wanted internationally for sex crimes against a child.  

Believing that an online video showing an adult male molesting a young boy had originated in North America, Rigspolitiet informed the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (ISI) and Canadian officials. An evaluation of the video revealed that it was produced in the US and HSI sent out a notice to be on the lookout for the suspect and released a ‘John Doe’ photo.

HSI was then notified by a television viewer who had seen the photo during a story broadcasted by the ABC-TV affiliate in Washington, DC, WJLA-TV, last week.  Acting on that tip, HSI and local officials were able to identify and arrest 36-year-old Timothy Valdez of Modesto, California. Valdex will now stand trial in a US federal court.

The recent development comes in the wake of ‘Operation Icarus', a European-wide bust led by Danish domestic intelligence agency PET last year. That operation led to the arrest of 112 suspects across Europe, including 19 in Denmark. At the time, investigators said there would be additional arrests as investigation turned to the manufacturers of the material and the perpetrators of the filmed assaults.

The US Embassy in Denmark called the arrest “an example of great co-operation between US and Danish law enforcement” in a statement on Facebook.