EVERETT — Three men, including two from Snohomish County and one from King County, were charged in U.S. District Court in Seattle with internet-related child sexual abuse crimes over the past two months.
In separate FBI investigations, the defendant in each case used the internet to contact victims or obtain child sexual abuse material, according to a United States Department of Justice press release on Monday.
“There is no place in society for those who prey on vulnerable victims – especially children,” said United States Attorney Neil Floyd in the release. “We all must be vigilant about protecting our children from those who seek to harm them via the internet.”
On Oct. 28, prosecutors charged Anatoli Tony Fefelov, 30, of Lynnwood, by criminal complaint with distribution of images of child sexual abuse and attempted enticement of a minor, the release said. Law enforcement became aware of Fefelov after a 13-year-old reported to the FBI National Threat Operations Center that a Discord user had allegedly harassed, coerced and threatened them to produce child sexual abuse material.
Upon further investigation, law enforcement identified another account allegedly linked to Fefelov, in which a Kik account was distributing child sexual abuse images, the release said. During a search of Fefelov’s residence, investigators located an electronic device allegedly containing images of child sex abuse.
On Nov. 12, the grand jury indicted Fefelov. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026, in front of U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin.
On Oct. 30, prosecutors charged Aqeel Ibn-Khalid Shareef, 28, by criminal complaint with the production of child sexual abuse material, the release said. This comes after Shareef was convicted of state sex crimes, including rape of a child, in January 2024 and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Following Shareef’s prison term, the Washington State Department of Corrections monitored him, the release said. In October, his community corrections officer contacted the FBI with concerns that Shareef had unauthorized electronic devices, the release said.
When officers from the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force arrested Shareef, they seized two unauthorized electronic devices. Investigators discovered those devices contained communications and sexual abuse images of a minor victim, the release said
On Nov. 12, Shareef was indicted. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026, in front of United States District Court Judge Kymberly Evanson.
On Nov. 21, Robert Anthony Fiore, 55, of Marysville, who is a registered sex offender with sex crime convictions out of California, pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse images, the release said. Law enforcement became aware of Fiore when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip Report from Dropbox that Fiore’s account had allegedly uploaded child sexual abuse material.
After serving a search warrant for Fiore’s electronic devices, investigators found 50 videos and 242 images of child sexual abuse, the release said. In a plea agreement, Fiore admitted to talking online with more than a dozen minors as young as 12 years old.
Fiore’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2026, by Judge Lin.
The FBI coordinated with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Seattle Police Department, the Marysville Police Department and the Washington State Department of Corrections during the investigation, the release said.
“Thanks to the hard work of FBI Violent Crimes Against Children squads and task forces across the country, we and our partners are holding predators accountable for the harm they inflict on young people, including by circulating images and videos depicting sexual exploitation of minors on the internet,” said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office, in the release. “Once online, this content is extremely difficult to remove and re-victimizes these children each and every time it is shared.”
These cases are part of the nationwide initiative, Project Safe Childhood, to combat “the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation,” the release said. The Department of Justice launched the initiative in May 2006.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan
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