Minneapolis — A Saint Paul man will serve the next 24 years in prison for horrific crimes against children committed half a world away. Federal prosecutors allege that 42-year-old Jason Speed paid a woman in the Philippines to create child sex abuse material.
The case sparked a rescue operation for the victims.
The case was part of a nationwide effort called Project Safe Childhood, which focuses on child sexual exploitation. A prosecutor and an FBI agent, both from Minnesota, led the effort to rescue the children and hold the man responsible accountable.
A disturbing case in Saint Paul involves Speed engaging in an online relationship with a woman in the Philippines before paying her to sexually abuse and film two children.
“So what would happen is, sitting at his computer in Minnesota, he would send instructions and money and enable the abuse of these children over a number of years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Mattessich explained.
Mattessich and an FBI agent discovered the location of the abuse in the Philippines and coordinated with Filipino authorities, who moved in to rescue the children.
“There are two little kids in the Philippines who are safe because of Will, an extraordinary FBI agent, and international partnerships,” said Melinda Williams, Criminal Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.
She wants the public to know about their efforts to stop and prevent child sexual abuse.
“We’re specifically seeing a lot more sextortion,” Williams said.
According to Williams, the number of “sextortion” cases in Minnesota has increased dramatically over the last two years. This is where an adult predator poses as a teen online, persuades a child to send nude photos, and then extorts them with the threat of sharing them.
“In those cases, they are particularly dangerous because there is a very high rate of suicide amongst these very young children who feel like they have nowhere to turn,” Williams informed us.
Yue Vang was convicted by the US Attorney’s Office in a high-profile sextortion case. He’s currently serving 43 years in prison.
Speed will spend 24 years.
And in that case, their efforts extended far beyond the courtroom.
“It’s really a team effort that we’ve made a big team effort here in Minnesota and will continue to do.”
Another new trend that the US Attorney’s Office is focusing on prosecuting is predators who use AI to convert ordinary photographs into child pornography. They currently have one pending case and are concerned that there will be more.