Fighting for Rutherford County

Murfreesboro Police Department newly created Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit detectives have arrested a Murfreesboro man on child pornography charges. Detectives also assisted Homeland Security Investigations with arresting a Texas man and dismantling a possible child porn ring in the Lone Star state.

Detectives arrested registered sex offender, 44-year-old Edward Van Epps of Murfreesboro on July 9 after a search warrant was served at the Knights Inn on S. Church Street. Van Epps is charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor. Additional charges are pending.

A cybertip led to a two-month investigation headed by ICAC Detective Jenna Petersen. The investigation reveals Van Epps was in communication with a Texas man and receiving sexually explicit photos of young girls.

“As a detective working Internet Crimes Against Children cases, the number one goal is to save children,” Petersen said. “The newly created unit in our Special Investigations Division at MPD is dedicated to protecting our children in the community and online.”

With the assistance of Homeland Security in Nashville, Homeland Security Investigations Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigation Task Force in Texas, and the Cameron County (TX) District Attorney’s Office, Juan Gabriel Mendoza, 33, was arrested in South Texas this past weekend. He’s charged with two-counts of sexual performance by a child after being accused of producing and exchanging child pornography. Two young girls were rescued and are safe.

Mendoza is being held at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center in Texas on a $300,000 bond.

Van Epps remains in jail at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on a $175,000 bond. A hearing is scheduled for July 22 in Rutherford County General Sessions Court.