Idaho man indicted for sexually exploiting children in Alaska
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The following is a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice for the District of Alaska.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Anchorage returned an indictment charging a Bonner County, Idaho man with sexually exploiting children and production of child pornography in Haines, Alaska.
According to federal court documents, Christopher Panagiotou-Scigliano, 39, coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. He is also charged in Idaho’s First Judicial District Court with the sexual abuse of multiple child victims.
In 2015 Panagiotou-Scigliano moved from Idaho to a farm in Haines. After their arrival, Panagiotou-Scigliano allegedly arranged for several of the children he had been grooming and abusing in Idaho to visit his farm in Haines. When the children arrived Panagiotou-Scigliano allegedly continued grooming and sexually exploiting them by taking numerous sexually explicit images and videos of the victims. Law Enforcement also recovered additional images and videos of child sexual exploitation that appear to have been downloaded from the internet.
Panagiotou-Scigliano was taken into custody in Boundary County, Idaho, on July 23, 2021. He made an initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale of the U.S. District Court for Idaho, who ordered him detained without bail pending his return to Alaska. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years imprisonment, and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
If the public has any further information regarding Panagiotou-Scigliano’s activities, please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska and Acting Special Agent in Charge Adam Pierce of the FBI’s Anchorage Field Office made Monday’s announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is investigating the case. Also supporting the investigation are the Haines Police Department, the Bonner County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Office, the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office and the Alaska State Troopers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Klugman is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, click here.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.