A 63-year-old Davisburg man is facing charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 6-year-old girl.
Craig Steven Aleo, 63, was arrested July 7 and arraigned July 8 in 52/2 District Court after police in Springfield Township were advised of a federal investigation in which Aleo is charged with transporting, possessing, manufacturing, and receipt/distribution of child pornography.
According to reports, Springfield Township Det. Todd Hill was contacted by a special agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who informed him a search warrant was conducted March 27 for child pornography on a Davisburg home in the 12700 block of Carolyn Way.
While analyzing the items collected, agents discovered a mix of still images and a video on DVD of an unclothed female, approximately 6 years old. The agent requested Hill meet with them to conduct a CSC investigation.
Aleo was initially arrested March 26 after U.S. Customs agents discovered a laptop computer and several electronic storage devices in his possession when he and his wife were stopped at the border between Canada and New York.
Aleo was arrested and released in New York pending charges for possession and transporting child pornography; with evidence gathered during the search of his Davisburg home, ICE is charging Aleo with transporting child pornography, possession of child pornography, manufacturing child pornography and receipt/distribution of child pornography.
While ICE pursues federal charges, Springfield Township police are investigating the alleged act of criminal sexual conduct.
According to police reports, Aleo was positively identified as the man in the video after agents printed out a still image and compared it with his Michigan driver’s license photograph.
The voice on video was also identified as Aleo’s, and police were able to identify the scene of the alleged crime as Aleo’s Davisburg home through ‘unique identifiers? also seen in the filmed scene.
While Aleo was released on bond on the federal charges, he is currently held on $500,000 cash surety in Oakland County Jail on the Criminal Sexual Conduct charges out of Springfield Township.
According to a July 15 report in the Spinal Column, Aleo had been working for the Walled Lake Consolidated School District as a contract employee during the 2008-09 school year.
He notified the district on April 1 that he was under investigation for federal criminal misconduct including possession of child pornography images, and resigned from his contractual relationship with the district.