ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. — A 42-year-old Maryland man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison after fleeing the country when he was previously being arrested for soliciting a minor.
John Raff, 42, of Perryville, was arrested in Maryland in 2014 and extradited for an ongoing Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NOVA-DC ICAC) investigation. Raff was allegedly attempting to sexually solicit someone he believed to be a minor.
After his arrest, he posted bond and fled to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Rockingham Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office and Virginia State Police, along with the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, INTERPOL, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and Egyptian authorities, were able to locate him and secure his extradition back to the U.S.
In November 2023, Raff pled guilty to three felony counts of use of a communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children and three counts of failure to appear in court. He was sentenced in Rockingham County Circuit Court on Friday to 75 years in prison, with 36 years suspended.
"This case should send a clear message to criminals who think they can flee justice," said Rockingham County Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alycia Eldridge. "Thanks to the steadfast determination and coordination between my office, the Virginia State Police NOVA-DC ICAC Task Force agent, the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the United States Marshals Service, INTERPOL, and Egyptian authorities, we were able to successfully secure the arrest and extradition of a sexual predator back to Virginia to be held responsible for his crimes.”
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