Oregon man arrested, accused of sexual exploitation of Sonora 14-year-old

An Oregon man was arrested on federal charges on suspicion of the sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old Sonora girl.

The case was initiated by the Sonora Police Department but turned over to the FBI after a Sonora officer discovered other potential victims throughout the country, authorities said.

The girl’s mother contacted police in November after she found sexually explicit messages between her daughter and the suspect, according to an arrest affidavit. The two had met on Instagram.

Sonora Officer Scott Mallon spent several weeks writing multiple search warrants and reviewing documents. He identified David Ernst Otto, 48, as the suspect through his IP address and later confirmed Otto’s location in the town of Tigard, about 13 miles southwest of Portland.

Through searches of the Instagram accounts of the girl and Otto, Mallon found pornographic images of the girl that Otto had repeatedly asked for, according to the affidavit. Mallon also found “highly sexual” conversations between Otto and the girl as well as child pornography from other potential victims, the affidavit says.

Due to the wide range of jurisdictional considerations, a decision was made to contact the FBI to assume the remainder of the investigation, according to Sonora police.

On Jan. 31, Otto was arrested at his home and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on a U.S. Marshals hold. He was indicted on federal charges two weeks later and on Thursday appeared in federal court in Portland, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual exploitation of children.

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Oregon man arrested, accused of sexual exploitation of Sonora 14-year-old."