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A Logan Township police investigation last year into suspected prostitution and human trafficking activity in Blair County resulted in a New York man's guilty plea last week in federal court.
While 59-year-old Mark Behrje pleaded guilty Sept. 17 to a federal charge of receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material, the case led to South Africa, where the investigation continues, Logan Township police stated on the department's Facebook account.
The Behrje case can be traced back to March 2025, when Logan Township police arrested Libo Shi, 51, at the Rodeway Inn, Altoona, as part of a human trafficking investigation.
The affidavit of probable cause in that case states that police were made aware of an illegal enterprise trafficking women of Asian descent in several cities throughout the country. Logan Township police found an advertisement for Asian women providing sexual services and an officer contacted the number listed to set up a meeting.
When Logan Township officers arrived at the meeting site -- the Rodeway Inn -- they detained Shi, who was identified through a New York state ID card showing she was a Chinese resident with a temporary visa and a U.S. Employment Authorization card, the report stated.
Police said she only spoke a "few simple words" of English and offered officers money to let her go.
During the investigation, officers obtained search warrants for the motel room and a cellphone found during the investigation.
A review of the phone revealed messages from a man in New York repeatedly seeking to purchase sexual access to girls he believed were 6 years old. Investigators traced the phone number to a Google account. Using that account information alongside public records, investigative databases and driver's license information, police were able to identify the man as Behrje and located his residence in New York, Queens County.
Logan Township police forwarded that information and supporting records to Homeland Security Investigations for follow-up in New York.
Shortly after, HSI agents and task force officers received a federal judicially authorized search and seizure warrant on Behrje's residence and electronic devices.
On April 23, 2025, that warrant was executed.
Case documents state that Behrje, after being given his Miranda warnings and signing a written waiver, said the messages with Shi were "role play" and "fantasy," and that he really wanted her to find him an adult who would pretend to be a child, admitting that he had met many sex workers who were willing to "pretend" with him. He also told police that at least once while role playing with a sex worker that he choked her until she passed out. He also admitted to calling phone sex lines and looking at "extreme" pornography but claimed that he did not look at child pornography or store any on his phone.
Documents filed with Judge Stephen L. Tiscione in the Eastern District of New York state that Behrje worked for the City of New York as a communications manager, a position with a significant IT component. This information was noted because Behrje attempted to conceal his criminal online activity through use of the dark web and VM, or virtual machines, to hide files within his computers, documents state.
The case file shows that investigators seized 62 electronic devices from Behrje, including multiple cellphones, SD cards, flash drives, hard drives and computers.
Despite his attempt to conceal his online activity, law enforcement agents uncovered more than 300 child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) that Behrje had sent and received, "including CSAM involving horrific sexual abuse of newborns and children involved in acts of bestiality," federal documents state.
On July 10, 2025, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Behrje with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and five counts of receipt and distribution of child pornography.
That same day, Behrje was arrested at his home in Nesconset, New York, court documents state.
The Behrje case had been working its way through the federal court system with a jury trial planned for Sept. 28, until Behrje on Sept. 17 entered a guilty plea to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. His sentencing is set for Jan. 20, 2027. The count carries a five-year minimum and 20-year maximum term of imprisonment.
Investigation continues
The investigation into Behrje also uncovered a yearslong string of communications between Behjre and a woman living in South Africa, federal court documents state.
The report contends that Behjre instructed the woman on how to use the dark web for CSAM and, in addition to sharing the sexual abuse material, the woman may have sexually abused her own children at Behjre's direction.
The investigation found that the woman does have toddler-aged children and works at a daycare.
In some of her conversations with Behrje, she states that she has "sold children" and discusses selling her own children to Behrje for $3,000.
"The government intends to continue investigating this conduct," the report states, noting that law enforcement anticipates a superseding indictment with additional charges against Behrje for the production of child pornography.
Shi, in the Logan Township case, pled guilty in December to a misdemeanor count of prostitution. She was sentenced to eight to 24 months in prison.