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Kenyan teen arrested in US over alleged child sexual abuse material
A 19-year-old Kenyan national has been arrested in the United States on allegations of possessing child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
The suspect was taken into custody following an investigation by federal law enforcement agencies and has been charged with eight counts of possession of child pornography.
Reyvon Macharia was arrested on February 12, after officers executed a search warrant at his residence on Clover Hill Drive in Frederick, Maryland.
Macharia was arrested after the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about suspected child sexual abuse material on an online platform. Through investigative efforts, detectives linked the account to Macharia.
Numerous electronic devices were seized as evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.
Macharia was arrested at the scene and transported to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center.
The latest arrest comes days after another Kenyan living in the State of Minnesota is facing up to three decades in prison if he is convicted of the first-degree rape charges he is facing.
Brian Muinde Kimithi, a Kenyan student, has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the US.
Police in Minnesota apprehended Brian Muinde Kimithi, 19, after a woman alleged that she had been violently raped by the suspect, whom she claimed did not stop assaulting her, even when she asked him to stop.
The woman, who was described as an adult and a resident of St Joseph city, was allegedly attacked by the Kenyan, whom the authorities in Minnesota identified as a student at St John’s University in Collegeville.
Court papers showed that Kimithi, who was enrolled as a member of the university’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), faced first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the alleged rape of the woman in question.
Kimithi appeared before Stearns County Judge William Cashman and faced stringent bail terms that were set at $400,000, an equivalent of about Sh51 million in the current exchange rate. The judge said Kimithi will face no conditions of release if he can deposit the bond of $400,000 (Sh51.4 million).
The judge also told Kimithi that his bail terms would be reduced to $200,000, or Sh26 million, with conditions of release that include him not leaving the state or contacting the woman.
In 2024, another Kenyan national was jailed for 20 years for sexually assaulting a 70-year-old woman who was working as a receptionist in an apartment building last year.
In a statement, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Friday that Brian Kibiwot Chuchuney was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the assault.
The incident happened on December 17, 2023, when the victim worked a night shift.
According to official documents, Chuchuney, then homeless and undocumented, knocked on the complex’s window at around 4.30 am and a woman, mistakenly believing Chuchuney lived in the building, let him in.
Once inside, Chuchuney asked a few seemingly innocent questions, and if he could use the toilet, before asking for water.
Court papers show that when the woman went to get him water, Chuchuney followed the unsuspecting victim and attempted to sexually assault her. He then proceeded to sexually assault her.
In a further act of humiliation, the offender, the court established, stole the victim’s clothes before fleeing the scene.
Police tracked down Chuchuney and arrested him a few hours after the brutal attack.
Authorities said at the time that Chuchuney posed a significant threat to public safety. District Attorney Mitchell said his actions and lack of remorse clearly demonstrate he is a danger to the community.
“This defendant’s heinous actions and lack of remorse make it clear that he poses a significant danger to the community,” said Mitchell.
“Thanks to the work of Deputy County Attorney Maren Soreson, he will now spend decades in prison, facing the consequence of his actions.”
Chuchuney pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and two counts of attempted sexual assault.
His sentence included 20 years in prison for kidnapping and lifetime supervised probation for the attempted sexual assault charges.
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