Fairfax County police confiscated multiple machine guns last week from a Tysons man who was suspected of sending sexual messages to a juvenile.
Detectives began investigating Craig Strasbourger, 31, after receiving a tip in September from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, which gets reports of child sexual exploitation incidents, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The tip indicated that Strasbourger “was suspected to be engaging in sexual communication with a juvenile from Kentucky,” the FCPD said in a news release on Friday (Nov. 17).
Detectives and the department’s SWAT team executed a search warrant for Strasbourger’s house on Robin Way Court on Thursday (Nov. 16), leading to his arrest.
“During the operation, detectives confiscated four illegal machine guns and various electronic devices from the premises,” the FCPD said.
Strasbourger has been charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a machine gun. He was initially held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center but later got released on a $4,000 secured bond, according to police.
Additional charges could be filed in connection with the electronic devices, which are being reviewed by detectives, the police department said.
Machine guns are allowed in Virginia, but they must be registered with the Virginia State Police. Under the Uniform Machine Gun Act, possession for an “offensive or aggressive purpose” is a Class 4 felony, which carries potential sentences of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
The FCPD didn’t immediately elaborate on what made the machine guns found at Strasbourger’s house illegal, but the state law says an aggressive or offensive purpose is presumed if:
- The gun isn’t registered
- Shells are found in its “immediate vicinity”
- The person has been convicted of a violent crime
- Or the person doesn’t own or rent the property where the gun was found
Per Fairfax County General District Court records, Strasbourger is scheduled to appear for an arraignment at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 27 and a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2024.
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