Nikole Babb, nbabb@cherryroad.com

The El Dorado Police Department announced on Friday afternoon that they’ve arrested an El Dorado man on 23 counts of child sexual exploitation.

On September 12, the El Dorado Police Department and Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children, (ICAC), executed a search warrant after investing into a cyber tip they received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip alleged the El Dorado man, identified as Peter Ferley of El Dorado, of exploiting children using electronic devices.

Upon executing the search warrant and investigation, the agencies were able to arrest Ferley and book him into the Butler County Jail on 23 counts alleging sexual exploitation of a child.

The agency noted that Ferley was already a registered sex offender. According to public court records, he was arrested and convicted in Butler County in 2011 for a felony. He was originally charged with two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 18, three counts of sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 18 and one count of electronic solicitation of a child under the age of 18.

Ferley later pled guilty to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child under 18 while the other counts were dismissed. He was discharged from Community Corrections in 2014.

“The El Dorado Police Department is dedicated to investigating these crimes to aid in the protection of children in our community,” said the agency in a press release. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Kansas ICAC Task Force.”

Cyber tips can be made at https://www.missingkids.org/ or via phone at 1-800-843-5678

You can contact El Dorado Crime Stoppers through https://www.p3tips.com/community/mobile/index.htm, download the app, or call 316-321-1080 with information.