WINONA, Minn. – A Lewiston man in jail since July on charges of soliciting massive numbers of lewd selfies from children online has been turned over to federal agents. Valentin Silva Quintana, age 29, was transported to St. Paul for a new arraignment before a federal magistrate. The original arrest was without resistance July 6 at the man’s house in Lewiston. There had been a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Winona County sheriff’s internet crimes investigator developed forensic data on online activity that included at least one local victim and dozens elsewhere in the nation and also internationally. It was uncertain whether there was commercial exploitation or whether the solicitation was more a hobby, albeit perverse, among collectors. The charges against Quintana specified solicitation, distribution and possession of child pornography The investigation eventually expanded to include resources of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and later of the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Unsettled still is whether the Winona County charges will be superseded by federal charges.
Quintana. Winona County had charged him with 60 online contacts with chidren under 14 for photos, although, police said, there probably there were more. Also charged with first-degree criminal sexual penetration.