Attorney General Tom Horne Indicts Child Sex Predator

Phoenix, AZ (Thursday, January 23, 2014) – Attorney General Tom Horne is today announcing the indictment of Roger Forney for 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony. Forney pled guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections. Upon his release from prison will be placed on lifetime probation and required to register as a sex offender.

Horne stated: “Forney had sexually explicit pictures of young boys. The taking of these pictures was a horrible assault on the boys. We must destroy the demand for those pictures, so it will no longer be profitable or tempting to abuse children in this way.”

On October 21, 2012, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) responded to a complaint from a concerned resident at an apartment complex. The concerned Samaritan had discovered several garbage bags in a dumpster that contained sketch drawings depicting graphic bondage and sexual activity of young boys. Printed pictures of young boys that were sexually exploitive were also found. Once on scene, MCSO located a laptop computer that had been destroyed amongst and also left in the garbage. MCSO was able to salvage the hard drive and conducted a computer forensic examination of its content. The examination revealed hundreds of images of young boys in sexually explicit images. MCSO was able to identify the defendant, Roger Forney, as the owner of the property based upon items found in the dumpster and documents on the laptop computer.

On October 23, 2012, MCSO executed a search warrant at Forney’s residence where they found another computer with images that were sexual in nature. After being Mirandized, he admitted to destroying the laptop and sketch drawings found in the dumpster because an FBI warning popped up on his computer, causing it to lock up. The computer forensics completed by MCSO determined that the defendant downloaded malware and that the FBI had nothing to do with the warning. During the interview the defendant also admitted he was sexually attracted to young boys between the ages of three and twelve.

On October 29, 2012, the State Grand Jury indicted Roger Forney for 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony. The defendant entered a plea agreement to a count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony and Dangerous Crimes against Children and to a count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony. On January 10, 2014, Roger Forney was sentenced to 15 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections and upon his release from prison will be placed on lifetime probation with sex terms and computer usage terms. Roger Forney will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Assistant Attorney General Joseph Waters handled this case.