Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested two people in connection with an ongoing child exploitation investigation.
On May 13, detectives with the Special Victims Unit arrested Michael Palestino, 33, of Castle Pines.
A detective “received an email notification linking three National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTips with two attached ‘escalations’ associated with the Cyber Tips,”
The three tipline reports all came from the social media messaging application “Kik,” a messaging app that lets users chat and live stream.
Based on the content found in Kik messages, which included sexually explicit conversations about children, and media “depicting the alleged abuse,” Palestino was arrested on suspicion of the following charges:
Michael Palestino
Courtesy, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Michael Palestino
Courtesy, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Sexual Assault on a Child by One in a Position of Trust (Felony 3)
Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Felony 3)
Sexual Assault on a Child (Felony 4)
Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Felony 4)
Evidence from the investigation also led to the identification and arrest of 28-year-old Gianna Worley of Centennial, who was allegedly messaging with Palestino in the exchanges.
Gianna Worley
Courtesy, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Gianna Worley
Courtesy, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
On June, 4, Worley was arrested on one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Felony 3) and 11 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Felony 4).
Palestino is being held without bond at the El Paso County Jail. According to court records, he is being held in relation to a menacing case from early 2024.
According to a release from DCSD, he will be transported to Douglas County later. Worley is currently booked into the Douglas County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
The investigation is ongoing.
Sign Up For Free: Weekly 7
Catch up with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.