The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint interagency task force arrested five separate suspects on a total of 42 felony charges of encouraging child sex abuse late last week.
According to SOCET, investigations led the task force throughout the Rogue Valley including addresses in Medford, Central Point and Grants Pass. Total felony charges included 32 counts of 1st-Degree Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse, 10 counts of 2nd-Degree Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse, 16 counts of 1st-Degree Invasion of Personal Privacy and one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
The first arrest came when SOCET received a tip that a suspect was leaving his residence in the 60-block of Jeanette Avenue in Medford. The task force located and arrested 60-year-old Steven Wesley Rambo. Next, the task force located a suspect's vehicle near his residence in the 20-block of Washington Street in Medford. The task force arrested 45-year-old Michael David Robertson.
The task force then located and arrested 40-year-old David Anthony Pierce at his residence in the 1,000-block of NE Morgan Lane in Grants Pass. A cyber tip led investigators to his former residence on North River Road in Rogue River where numerous child exploitation images had been uploaded.
The next arrest came when 37-year-old Mark Joseph Harding of Central Point turned himself in at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. Previously, a cyber tip led investigators to his residence in the 800-block of South Haskell Street. The final arrest for the sweep came when investigators contacted 62-year-old David Michael Painter at his residence in the 2500-block of Rabun Way in Central Point.
All five men were lodged at the Jackson County Jail. Six local and federal law enforcement agencies assisted SOCET with Friday's arrests. SOCET is a joint interagency task force that started in June 2020 to combat child exploitation and human trafficking in Jackson and Josephine counties.
