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Topic: Are more arrests coming in child porn case?
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Otter Lake man faces child pornography charges after Homeland Security probe

Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
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on April 16, 2014 at 7:00 PM, updated April 16, 2014 at 8:11 PM


FLINT, MI -- An Otter Lake man is facing federal charges after authorities say he allegedly had 6,000 images and 900 videos of child pornography, including videos of sexual acts being performed on toddlers.

The man, who has not yet been indicted or arraigned, was charged in a complaint unsealed Wednesday, April 16, in Flint U.S. District Court that accuses him of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Homeland Security Investigations officials began investigating the man after he allegedly downloaded a video Feb. 4, 2013, which showed a young child being sexually abused by an adult, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint.

Officials were able to obtain a search warrant for a home associated with the IP address used to download the video, according to the affidavit.

Investigators allegedly discovered more than 900 videos and 6,000 images of child pornography on the man's computer, the affidavit states.

The suspect allegedly admitted to investigators that he downloaded and shared the materials through a peer-to-peer file sharing program.

No attorney is listed in court records for the suspect.

There is no new court date scheduled in the case.

The charges carry a sentence of 5-20 years in prison if convicted.
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:38 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Rumors have been flying for months that pending arrests were coming through surveillance efforts of customs and Homeland security.
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:40 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Homeland Security charges 14 with operating child ...


www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-child-pornography...

Mar 18, 2014 · In Washington, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson leaves a news conference after speaking about an investigation into a child pornography …
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Otter Lake man faces child pornography charges after ...




Otter Lake man faces child pornography charges after Homeland Security probe
www.mlive.com/.../2014/04/otter_lake_man_faces_child_por.html

Apr 16, 2014 · An Otter Lake man is facing federal charges after authorities say he possessed child pornography, ... child pornography charges after Homeland Security ...
..

DHS: Joint DHS-DOJ "Operation Protect Our Children" Seizes ...


www.dhs.gov/.../02/15/...our-children-seizes-website-domains-involved

The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice announced the execution of seizure warrants ... to target sites that provide child pornography. ...
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Secretary Johnson Highlights Results of Operation That ...


www.dhs.gov/news/2014/03/18/...operation-dismantled-underground-child

... Department of Homeland Security ... Secretary Johnson Highlights Results of Operation That Dismantled Underground Child Exploitation Enterprise on Tor Network.
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Departments of Justice, Homeland Security Announce Child ...


www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/departments-of-justice...

Departments of Justice, Homeland Security Announce Child Pornography File-Sharing Crackdown Law Enforcement Initiative Targets Child Pornography Over Peer-to ...
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Virus Scam Removal ...


guides.yoosecurity.com/remove-us-department-of-hom

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Virus ... totally locked up the screen and on my computer it says Homeland Security caught me viewing child pornography, ...
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Homeland Security busts child porn ring on Tor network - CNET


www.cnet.com › Internet

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announces results of operation that dismantled underground child exploitation enterprise on Tor network.
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Homeland Security says Internet making child porn trading ...


www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/homeland-security...child-porn-/nfNDx

Federal agents in Charlotte said they're stepping up their investigations into child pornography. Child exploitation cases make up the biggest caseload for Homeland ...
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Homeland Security Charges 14 With Operating Child ...


www.nationalmemo.com/homeland-security...child-pornography-website

By Daniel Rothberg, Tribune Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON — Fourteen men have been charged with operating a child pornography website with 27,000 members and …
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Project iGuardian warns Gretna teens: Once sexual image ...


www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/04/project_iguardian_warn_gretna...

Although authorities arrested Johnson and other members of his massive child pornography ring, ... Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security ...
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Homeland Security reports capture of child porn suspect ...


www.kcbd.com/story/25010290/homeland-security...child-porn-suspect

Homeland Security reports capture of North Texas child porn suspect Posted: ...
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Homeland Security investigators raid home for child porn ...


www.kvia.com › News
5 days ago
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided an East El Paso home Friday morning. It happened on the 11000 block of Skipper Street. It was part of a federal ...
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Computer-generated avatar lures in pedophiles as ...




Computer-generated avatar lures in pedophiles as technology battles child porn
www.dallasnews.com › … › Technology › Technology Headlines

Apr 16, 2014 · “There’s limitless potential for technology to help solve the problem” of child pornography, ... Army and the Department of Homeland Security…
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Homeland Security busts child porn ring on Tor network ...


news.cnet.com › Internet & Media

Mar 18, 2014 · Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announces results of operation that dismantled underground child exploitation enterprise on Tor …
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Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:42 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

CNET›
Internet›
Homeland Security busts child porn ring on Tor network


Homeland Security busts child porn ring on Tor network

An underground Web site, with more than 27,000 members and hosting more than 2,000 explicit videos of minors, is shuttered with 14 of its alleged operators arrested.

by Dara Kerr

@darakerr
/March 18, 2014 6:00 PM PDT

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announces results of operation that dismantled underground child exploitation enterprise on Tor network.


The US Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it has arrested 14 men who were allegedly operating a child pornography Web site on the anonymous Tor network.

The arrests were the culmination of one of the agency's largest ever online child exploitation investigations -- dubbed "Operation Round Table." The authorities have identified 251 victims who were exploited on the site. The majority of the victims, 243, were male and their ages ranged from 3 to 17; they were identified as being from 39 US states and five foreign countries.

The underground subscription-based Web site was allegedly led by Jonathan Johnson, 27, of Abita Springs, La. According to Homeland Security, he admitted to creating fake female personas on social networks to lure in male children and convince them to record explicit videos of themselves.

"Never before in the history of this agency have we identified and located this many minor victims in the course of a single child exploitation investigation," US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy director Daniel Ragsdale said in a statement. "Our agency is seeing a growing trend where children are being enticed, tricked and coerced online by adults to produce sexually explicit material of themselves."

According to Homeland Security, the site was up from June 2012 to June 2013 and had more than 27,000 members and 2,000 videos. These members were able to share videos of the minors freely because of Tor's ability to conceal online users' identity and location.


The Tor network is known for being used by criminals to conduct online transactions. In 2012, the Feds shuttered an online drug market known as "The Farmers Market" that used Tor to allow dealers to anonymously sell LSD, ecstasy, and narcotics to buyers. And, just last fall, US authorities seized the infamous Silk Road online black market bazaar that also used Tor.
All of the 14 men arrested in Operation Round Table are in federal custody. Johnson was arrested on June 13, 2013, and if found guilty faces 20 years to life in prison. Homeland Security said it anticipates more arrests, along with further identification of victims, as investigators continue to sort through and analyze the more than 40 terabytes of data seized in the bust.


About the author


Dara Kerr, a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area, is fascinated by robots, supercomputers and Internet memes. When not writing about technology and modernity, she likes to travel to far-off countries. See full bio


Damion48
Mar 24, 2014

@bmwr606 The Dept of Homeland Security is not a terrorist protection/hunting agency. It is all branches of law enforcement under one government agency to help protect Americans from common street level crimes to thwarting terrorists seeking to repeat 9/11. Because law enforcement agencies no longer have to go it alone and can now pool resources and technology as well as manpower, then it is much easier to find and shutdown predator sites like these. While some may complain about the Fed Government being too big, this is one area where we should be spending taxpayers money.



paulej
Mar 19, 2014
I can't help but think somebody must be half perveted to actually count the number of victims. Is it not sufficient to just write up the report with "dozens" of victims and call it a day?



Damion48
Mar 24, 2014

@paulej I work with victims of sexual exploitation and the reason law enforcement counts each victim is because they have to investigate each case to see who is exploiting the child victim. If a child is being sexually abused and exploited by a caregiver, parent, or someone close to the victim, then that child needs to be protected. So the answer to your question is yes, they need to count each victim and they need to report it, and if you are in such self denial about what is happening here in the USA that you don't want to know how many innocent children are being victimized, then you are a part of the problem. It is time for you to wake up and to care, and look around you because you will be surprised by how much you are missing by walking thru life with the blinders of conceit on. You never know, you might even be able to make a difference in a child's life who is in danger.


Mark_The_Banker
Mar 18, 2014

Most people forget the TOR network was developed by the US government (navy) .... Is it really secure.... Doubt it


paulej
Mar 19, 2014

@Mark_The_Banker it's likely secure, but easily identifiable. Consider that if you issue thousands of requests, those are going to go through the nodes on the TOR network to the host with the content. With visibility across all nodes, traffic patterns can emerge. I suspect the NSA or FBI have tools to see these traffic patterns. They don't need to break the encryption.

If it's a highly visited site, they can likely just look at all of the incoming traffic. Volume on TOR likely means something illegal. If it were legal, the owners would have it in the open selling ads.



Patrick_hush
Mar 18, 2014

Am glad the child porno site was taken down.

I'd love to know how law enforcement identified the alleged operators of the site. In the Silk Road episode, the security of the Tor network itself was not breached (if memory serves).

Finally, why is this within Homeland Security's purview? Here is a department that was created after the 9/11 attack to provide a nexus through which different agencies can share info about terrorist threats, and to provide an interface through which the public can be informed of such threats. Today, Homeland Security goes after child pornography rings and takes down websites that are suspected of violating copyright law.






lloyd1981
Mar 18, 2014


@Patrick_hush

You seem to be able to express yourself a bit better than a lot of folks posting here; surprised that you had to ask such a question considering the answer is only a few clicks away.

From the DHS home page:

"The vision of homeland security is to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards.

Three key concepts form the foundation of our national homeland security strategy designed to achieve this vision:
•Security,
•Resilience, and
•Customs and Exchange.


In turn, these key concepts drive broad areas of activity that the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) process defines as homeland security missions. These missions are enterprise-wide, and not limited to the Department of Homeland Security. These missions and their associated goals and objectives tell us in detail what it means to prevent, to protect, to respond, and to recover, as well as to build in security, to ensure resilience, and to facilitate customs and exchange.

Hundreds of thousands of people from across the federal government, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, the private sector, and other nongovernmental organizations are responsible for executing these missions. These are the people who regularly interact with the public, who are responsible for public safety and security, who own and operate our nation’s critical infrastructures and services, who perform research and develop technology, and who keep watch, prepare for, and respond to emerging threats and disasters. These homeland security professionals must have a clear sense of what it takes to achieve the overarching vision articulated above."
The Core Missions
There are five homeland security missions:
1.Prevent terrorism and enhancing security;
2.Secure and manage our borders;
3.Enforce and administer our immigration laws;
4.Safeguard and secure cyberspace;
5.Ensure resilience to disasters;

https://www.dhs.gov/our-mission
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:58 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Allegedly young boys were seen being brought into the US from mexico and it was determined they were being used for sex with American men and pornography purposes. Some names have been floated around. Busts started mid March.
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:02 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Homeland Security charges 14 with operating child pornography website


Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson
In Washington, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson leaves a news conference after speaking about an investigation into a child pornography operation in which young boys were reportedly targeted online by men and tricked into creating sexually explicit videos of themselves. (Brendan Simalowski / AFP/Getty Images / March 18, 2014)




By Daniel Rothberg

March 18, 2014, 1:22 p.m.



WASHINGTON -- Fourteen men have been charged with operating a child pornography website with 27,000 members and more than 2,000 videos, federal law enforcement officials announced Tuesday.

The investigation, one of the largest online child exploitation probes ever launched by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, found 251 victims in 39 states and five foreign countries.

In most cases, young boys were targeted online by the men and tricked into creating sexually explicit videos of themselves, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

"Operation Round Table," the name given to the investigation, started with the June 2013 arrest of the network's alleged creator, Jonathan Johnson, 26. According to the statement, he acknowledged enticing young boys by assuming female personas on social networks and pressing other men to follow suit.

Most victims were male between 13 to 15 years old, officials said. Two victims were 3 years old or younger.

In a news conference Tuesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said the alleged perpetrators targeted "the most innocent, most vulnerable members of our society with no regard for the immediate or lasting harm they cause to the victims and their families."

Led by ICE and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the investigation identified victims in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Belgium.

From June 2012 until June 2013, the child pornography site operated on Tor, an underground network that directs Internet traffic through relays to ensure user anonymity.

As authorities pour through more than 40 terabytes of data, they say more arrests are likely. Officials also cited more than 300 open investigations into possible website subscribers.

In addition to Johnson, authorities have charged 10 men in the Eastern U.S. District of Louisiana believed to be largely responsible for running the scheme and producing pornographic materials. Three men were also charged in Colorado, New York and Wisconsin.

While ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale said arrests play a vital role, he also said law enforcement must employ other strategies to curb an increase in child exploitation.

"Our agency is seeing a growing trend where children are being enticed, tricked and coerced online by adults to produce sexually explicit material of themselves," Ragsdale said in a statement. "While we will continue to prioritize the arrest of child predators, we cannot arrest our way out of this problem: Education is the key to prevention.”

Twitter: @danielrothberg

daniel.rothberg@latimes.com



Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times




As an editor and reporter, Michael Muskal has covered local, national, economic and foreign issues at three newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. @latimesmuskal


;
Matt Pearce, a University of Missouri graduate, has previously written for the Kansas City Star, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The New Inquiry and The Pitch. @mattdpearce


http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-child-pornography-arrests-20140318,0,3801146.story#ixzz2z9WAfqmf
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:13 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Fed Tactics on Trial in Porn Case
Updated: Thu 6:32 PM, Apr 17, 2014

By: Brian Mastre - Email


The FBI is on trial, caught in the middle of allegations that it stepped out of bounds by sending what was essentially a virus to unsuspecting computer users.

One of the targeted websites had 10,000 images of child pornography. It had 5,600 members and 24,000 postings on the message boards with categories that include babies and teenage girls.

At issue is how the government did it and why some attorneys believe this could be an affront to all of us.

Over the course of the day, 17 attorneys for 17 defendants filed into a courtroom as local FBI representatives explained how the Bureau tracked down dozens of child pornography suspects.

It's a case that has spanned the globe. Servers were seized in the Netherlands and dozens of arrests were made in the United States.

Law enforcement tracked down people online who, investigators say, had done their homework in trying to remain anonymous.

The FBI identified 25 users from Utah to Pennsylvania and states all over the country.

The key break in the case started in Sarpy County - in Bellevue. In November of 2012, FBI agents in Omaha arrested Aaron McGrath. From a server farm in Bellevue, he served as administrator of three websites that advertised and distributed child pornography.

The sites were only available through an anonymous network called TOR, where it was easy for users to cover their tracks online.

After his arrest, the FBI kept Aaron McGrath's child porn websites running and planted their own computer code, like a virus. The feds had never used this technique before the Bellevue case.

When someone clicked the link to those websites, the virus would navigate the layers of secrecy and anonymity so the FBI could trace and pinpoint the specific computers where child pornography was accessed. That search warrant process is under fire in federal court.

Glenn Shapiro represents a child porn suspect from Utah and Shapiro said, “It doesn't matter if it's jaywalking, murder, child porn or anything in between. It’s for protection of all society that the rules are followed by everybody."

New world technology has met old world rules. A judge will decide if the FBI met the rules of law when it came to sending the virus to those computers.

While the government operated the Bellevue child porn sites for three weeks in 2012 The actual raids of people's homes and seizure of computers didn't happen until four months later. Attorneys are questioning whether the feds followed what's known as the 30-day standard.

Aaron McGrath, the Omaha man who administered the websites, is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:23 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

With all of the new technology at the disposal of the federal agents, just how many will be indicted under this new investigation?
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:25 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Feds arrest 14 in huge child porn bust; 4 E. Texas children among hundreds of victims

Posted: Mar 18, 2014 4:05 PM EDT


Updated: Mar 18, 2014 11:14 PM EDT



By Marshall Stephens - bio | email


The underground website was a hidden service board on the Tor network and operated from about June 2012 until June 2013, at which time the site contained more than 2,000 videos and had more than 27,000 members. (Source: ICE)
The underground website was a hidden service board on the Tor network and operated from about June 2012 until June 2013, at which time the site contained more than 2,000 videos and had more than 27,000 members. (Source: ICE)

WASHINGTON D.C. (KLTV) - Fourteen men are in federal custody accused of operating a child pornography website, announced Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday. The effort is one of the largest online child exploitation investigations in the history of ICE, involving victims across the United States and the world.

Investigators have identified 251 minor victims in 39 states and five foreign countries. Of those 251 from the United States, special agents from Dallas identified 15 victims throughout north Texas as part of this operation. Five of these victims were identified from Dallas; four from Tyler; three from Lubbock; two from San Angelo; and one victim was identified from Amarillo.

The majority of victims, 159, were 13 to 15 years old. Fifty nine victims were 16 and 17; 26 victims were 10 to 12; four victims were 7 to 9; one victim was 4 to 6; and two victims were 3 years old or younger. All victims have been contacted by law enforcement and U.S. victims offered support services from HSI victim assistance specialists.

"Never before in the history of this agency have we identified and located this many minor victims in the course of a single child exploitation investigation," said ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale. "Our agency is seeing a growing trend where children are being enticed, tricked and coerced online by adults to produce sexually explicit material of themselves. While we will continue to prioritize the arrest of child predators, we cannot arrest our way out of this problem: education is the key to prevention."

"A lot of these victims did not realize they were victims. They had no idea the individuals on the other side of that camera were actually recording them," said David Marwell, Special Agent in Charge of ICE HSI in Dallas.

Johnson says fourteen men were running the website on the Darknet's Onion Router, also known as Tor. They have been arrested and charged as part of a conspiracy to operate a child exploitation enterprise, following an extensive investigation that spanned three continents.

The website's primary administrator, Jonathan Johnson, 27, of Abita Springs, La., has been charged with operating a child exploitation enterprise. He admitted to creating multiple fake female personas on popular social networks to target and sexually exploit children. Authorities say he also coached other child predators in his inner circle to do the same. Jonathon Johnson has been in federal custody since his arrest June 13, 2013, and faces 20 years to life in prison.

The underground website was a hidden service board on the Tor network and operated from June 2012 to June 2013. By June 2013, the site had more than 2,000 videos and more than 27,000 members. The website shared webcam videos of mostly juvenile boys enticed by operators of the site to produce pornographic material.

Tor enables online anonymity, directing web traffic through a volunteer network consisting of thousands of relays to conceal a user's location.

The investigation was dubbed ‘Operation Round Table' and began with the arrest of Jonathan Johnson by USPIS and HSI. Further computer forensic analysis by HSI revealed Jonathan Johnson to be the creator and administrator of the underground website. Ten additional individuals have been arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana as the primary operators, contributors and producers of material for the child exploitation enterprise:

•Daniel Nolan Devor, 39, of Brunswick, Ga., charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, distribution of child pornography and receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors
•John C. Foster, 44 of Tipp City, Ohio, charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors
•Aung Gaw aka Michael Gaw, 25, of Fremont, Calif., charged with receipt of child pornography
•Vittorio Francesco Gonzalez-Castillo, 26, of Tucson, Ariz., charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography
•Sean Jabbar, 32, of Minneapolis, Minn., charged with receipt of child pornography
•Christopher Jamieson, 30, of Douglassville, Ga., charged with receipt of child pornography
•Andrew Korpal, 29, of Granger, Ind., charged with receipt of child pornography
•Nicholas Saine, 27, of Seattle, Wash., charged with receipt of child pornography
•Christopher Schwab, 25 of New Orleans, charged with production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography
•Stanley Zdon, III, 27, of Tuckerton, N.J., charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography

More than 300 investigations have been opened into potential subscribers of the website: 150 in the United States and 150 overseas. Investigators anticipate ongoing arrests and additional identification of victims as they continue to examine and analyze the more than 40 terabytes of data seized.

"If this touches a household and these caregivers have these conversations with their kids, that's the only way we're going to make this problem go away," Marwell said.

Additional Links

Authorities seeking child porn producer thought to be in N. Texas area with child victim

unidentified child predator (Source: ICE)


Last fiscal year, 2,099 child predators were arrested by HSI on criminal charges related to the online sexual exploitation of children. In 2012, 1,655 child predators were arrested, 1,335 were arrested in 2011, and 912 were arrested in 2010. Since 2003, HSI has initiated more than 29,000 cases and arrested more than 10,000 individuals for these types of crimes.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Tips can also be made through HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app, which can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/1eixbIM. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
Post Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:36 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

ICE arrests 57 during 4-day operation targeting criminal aliens ...
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1403/140311grandrapids.htm - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

Mar 11, 2014 ... As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing ... Arrests

Michigan - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/index.htm?top25=no&year=all&month=all&state=23&topic=all - 73k - Cached - Similar pages
1/11/2013, Grand Rapids, MI, ICE arrests 97 during 4-day operation targeting
Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:53 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

News Releases


March 11, 2014

Grand Rapids, MI

ICE arrests 57 during 4-day operation targeting criminal aliens, immigration fugitives in West Michigan




GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing efforts to focus agency resources on the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 57 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and other immigration violators were arrested during a four-day operation in West Michigan.

This operation concluded March 6 and was conducted by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) teams from Grand Rapids and Detroit.

Of the 57 arrested, 54 individuals had prior convictions for crimes including some of the following violations: criminal sexual conduct against a minor, felony assault with a weapon, felony carrying a concealed weapon, larceny, and drug possession. The remaining three were priorities for arrest as egregious immigration violators.

Following is the nationality breakdown of the 53 men and 4 women arrested: Mexico (32), Guatemala (18 ), Cuba (1), Saudi Arabia (1), Sudan (1), Jamaica (1), Zambia (1), Bosnia (1), and Brazil (1).

Arrests were made in 16 West Michigan communities: Grand Rapids, Holland, Wyoming, Niles, Kentwood, Berrien Springs, West Olive, South Haven, Grand Junction, Covert, Shelby, Coldwater, Muskegon, Sturgis, Benton Harbor and Lansing.

Following are summaries of three individuals arrested during this operation:
A 63-year-old Cuban man has convictions for firearms offenses and burglary. He was arrested March 2 at a residence in Grand Rapids and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
A 28-year-old Guatemalan man has prior convictions for criminal sexual conduct against a minor and failing to register as a sex offender. He was arrested March 2 at a residence in Grand Rapids, and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
A 35-year-old Mexican man has a prior conviction for criminal sexual conduct and larceny. He was arrested March 2 at a residence in Grand Rapids, and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.

"The arrest and removal of criminal aliens from the community has a direct and tangible impact on public safety in communities in West Michigan," said Rebecca Adducci, field office director for ERO Detroit, which covers Michigan and Ohio. "Our continued focus on targeting criminal aliens and egregious immigration violators also ensures the very best use of limited agency resources."

In fiscal year 2013, ICE conducted 368,644 removals nationwide. Eighty-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.

ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.


You may also visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or access this news release on your mobile device.
Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:57 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.
Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:59 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Police chief, rabbi among 71 nabbed in child porn bust - USA Today
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/21/child-porn-nyc-internet/9367471/ - 94k - Cached - Similar pages
2 days ago ... A police chief, a rabbi and a Boy Scout leader are among at least 70 men and one woman arrested on charges of trading in child pornography ...

Police chief, rabbi, Boy Scout leader among 70 men, 1 mother ...
www.nydailynews.com/...70-men-1-woman-busted-child-porn-probe-feds-article-1.1800227 - Similar pages
2 days ago ... A shocking investigation resulted in the arrests of 71 “twisted individuals” who swapped thousands of sick kiddie porn images on the Internet ...
Rabbi, Scout leader, cop among 71 arrested in child porn bust | New ...
nypost.com/2014/05/21/71-arrested-in-huge-nyc-child-porn-bust/ - 80k - Cached - Similar pages

2 days ago ... NEW YORK — Seemingly respectable members of the mainstream — a police officer, a paramedic, a rabbi, an airline pilot, an architect, a Boy ...
New York child porn ring included rabbi, police officers, source says ...
www.latimes.com/...-na-nn-70-people-arrested-child-porn-new-york-20140521-story.html - 151k - Cached - Similar pages

1 day ago ... Among them, a rabbi, a boy scout leader and a police chief. ... The arrested include a rabbi, police officers and a Little League coach, source
Post Sat May 24, 2014 5:53 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Police chief, rabbi among 71 nabbed in child porn bust

Federal authorities announced the arrest of at least 70 people in the New York area accused of downloading child pornography. Among them, a rabbi, a boy scout leader and a police chief. (May 21) AP

Marisol Bello and Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY 10:19 p.m. EDT May 21, 2014

NEW YORK — Two police officers, a rabbi, a registered nurse, a nanny and a Boy Scout den leader are among 70 men and one woman arrested on charges of trading child pornography in what federal officials say is one of the largest-ever roundups in the New York City area.

The arrests included a woman charged with producing and distributing child pornography involving her own child and a man who used hidden cameras to secretly film his naked stepdaughter.

Still another defendant was already on bail following his arrest last year on charges that he used the Internet to direct women to record sex acts with young children. Court papers allege he "indicated the last video he had downloaded and viewed depicted a mother sexually abusing her 3- or 4-year-old child."

One had been convicted and sentenced for raping someone younger than 11 years old.

'THE DARK WEB': Untangling cybercrime

The arrests were part of a federal investigation that resulted in the seizure of nearly 600 desktop and laptop computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations said in a press release Wednesday. Some of those possessed libraries with thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children.

At a press conference announcing the 71 arrests, officials laid out tools used by the suspects to acquire the illicit materials.

On a long table, 22 hard drives, 5 tablet computers, 7 discs, 4 SD cards and one laptop sat as evidence of wrongdoings. A large map with red dots showed that the suspects were from all over New York state and parts of New Jersey.

A poster board displayed photos, names and occupations of five men arrested as part of the operation: Brian Fanelli, a former police chief; Samuel Waldman, a rabbi; Yong Wu, a police officer; Jonathan Silber, a Boy Scout leader and Little League baseball coach;and Aaron Young, a paramedic.

pornographers
A board displaying images of five men arrested on child pornography charges in the New York City area.(Photo: Yamiche Alcindor)
At a press conference, James Hayes, the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations New York office, said officials are certain there will be more charges against the 71 people arrested and possibly more arrests.

"These defendants came from all walks of life," Hayes said. "Many of these defendants are well-educated and successful."

None of the victims in the images found on the computers has been identified, Hayes said.

The expansion of the "Dark Web," where pedophiles hide using websites that encrypt their computers' identifying information, has fueled an explosion of child pornography.

"The sheer volume of confirmed and suspected instances of individuals engaging in the sexual exploitation of children … is shocking and the professional backgrounds of many of the defendants is troubling. We can no longer assume that the only people who would stoop to prey on children are unemployed drifters," Hayes said. "Clearly, this criminal activity has reached epidemic proportions."

The sheer volume of confirmed and suspected instances of individuals engaging in the sexual exploitation of children … is shocking and the professional backgrounds of many of the defendants is troubling.
James Hayes, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
He said the announcement of 71 arrests should send a message to predators: "that they are going to be identified and found."

Child pornographers have a compulsion to trade images and videos like baseball cards. The more graphic the image, the more they trade it. That leads investigators to convoluted cases where one defendant leads to another who leads to others.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown emphasized that the children pictured in pornographic images are victimized in serious crimes.

"These are real children involved in despicable acts," Brown said. "Each time an image is viewed, traded, printed, or downloaded, the child in that image is victimized again."

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said, "This case underscores the crucial importance of internet surveillance initiatives by law enforcement to protect children from sexual predators."

This case started with the arrests of a police chief and a rabbi who had been using peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to exchange images, Hayes said.

He said the investigation began because officials, after making several child pornography arrests, became concerned about the number of people in the New York area actively searching for sexual images of children.

"Our investigation revealed that at any given point in time there are as many as 3,000 users searching for pornographic images of children on a variety of peer-to-peer networks," Hayes said.

Hayes said investigators went on peer-to-peer networking sites and pretended to be users looking for images and videos. They came across search terms like, "real child rape," "mom daughter family sex," and "3-year-old gets it every way imaginable."

STORY: N.Y. police chief faces child pornography charges
STORY: File-sharing network key in police chief's child porn arrest

In January, investigators arrested Fanelli, the police chief of suburban Mount Pleasant, N.Y. He pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges of knowingly receiving and distributing child pornography.

Court papers allege that Fanelli, 54, told investigators that he taught sexual abuse awareness classes to elementary and middle school students. He said he began looking at child porn as research for the classes and that it grew into a "personal interest." Court documents say two of his computers had 126 graphic video and photo files of children as young as 7 engaging in sex acts with other children and adults.

Investigators say they caught Fanelli by using software available only to law enforcement that identifies IP addresses of computers that have downloaded files known to be child pornography. Agents used the software to match Fanelli to a computer that shared sexually explicit images of children.

Two months later, HSI agents arrested Waldman, 52, a Brooklyn rabbi and Judaic studies instructor at a girls' seminary. The rabbi home-schooled his children and others. Court documents showed investigators found at least three graphic videos on Waldman's computer.

Given the positions of public trust held by Fanelli and Waldman, federal officials said investigators ramped up their investigation into other pornographers the men may have been in touch with.

STORY: Child porn sting: Local scout leader, nurse among 70 arrested

A torrent of arrests followed in April and May, several of which were of defendants with high-profile positions in the community, federal officials said.

The arrests included Kenneth Gardner, a registered nurse at Westchester County Medical Center and Eduardo Salcedo Urzola, a nanny.


It was startling to find evidence that a woman made lewd videos of her son, Hayes said.

"It's very rare for us to identify women who are involved in this type of crime," he said.

In total, investigators nabbed people in all five boroughs and the surrounding suburbs to the north of the city, in Long Island and in New Jersey.

Those arrested are between 20 and 60 years old. They traded photos of children as young as 2.

Some face federal charges and others state charges. Hayes said officials in some cases decided to partner with local police departments to ensure that suspects would be arrested and charged as quickly as possible.

Agents are still examining the computers and other devices for evidence — an arduous task that could result in more arrests, HSI said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will review the images to try to identify children using databases of known victims.

Bello reported from McLean, Va.
Post Sat May 24, 2014 5:56 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Clandestine websites fuel 'alarming' increase in child porn
Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY 7:01 p.m. EDT May 15, 2014
An estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. are believed to be "consistently trading illegal images'' involving children at any one time.

1a_2__Dark_Web_19
(Photo: Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Most vile images are most valued commodities
Policing this part of the Internet has become a global effort
Specially designed software helps pinpoint U.S. activity

WASHINGTON — Often, as the homemade videos begin streaming across the computer screen, unwitting children appear holding homemade placards bearing the pseudonyms of the macabre films' makers.

The makeshift message boards represent claims of credit for the ghastly images that follow: children, some pleading for help, being sexually abused in torturous ways by parents, relatives or others. Among the worst: infants used as toys for the videographers' and viewers' sexual gratification.

The cache of images are among the most vile, yet valued, commodities on what is known as the "dark Web.'' It is an ever-expanding part of the Internet where Drew Oosterbaan, chief of the Justice Department's unit investigating crimes against children, says purveyors of the material have found social status based on their continued and escalating activities.

Last year, more suspects were arrested for child exploitation crimes — 7,386 — than at any time in the past five years, according to Justice Department records gathered from 61 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces across the nation.

WEB CHILD PORN ARRESTS INCREASE
Arrests recorded by Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force:
2009201020112012201302,0004,0006,0008,000
Justice Department
Frank Pompa, USA TODAY
That number, however, is dwarfed by an estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. who are believed to be "consistently trading illegal images'' involving children at any time, says Brad Russ, who oversees federally funded training programs for hundreds of investigators assigned to the national task forces. The enormous number of participants, Russ says, is based on the downloads of known prohibited videos and photographs that can be tracked to individual computers.

The universe of known images has ballooned since 2002, the year of the creation of the Child Victim Identification Program, which serves as a national repository for information on young victims, says John Shehan, executive director of the Exploited Children Division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

More than 100 million images and videos of suspected child abuse have been referred to the program housed within NCMEC to assist in criminal investigations and for the purpose of locating child victims, Shehan says.

"It is alarming,'' Russ said of the numbers, adding that suspects increasingly try to shield their activities from law enforcement.

They cloister themselves behind encrypted IP addresses and password-protected sites where they have found "validation, acceptance and encouragement'' to find new victims, Oosterbaan says.

Drew Oosterbaan
Drew Oosterbaan is chief of the Justice Department's child exploitation unit.(Photo: Jay Westcott for USA TODAY)
"I signed up ... because I feel at home here,'' one suspected pedophile wrote to fellow members of a notorious child pornography clearinghouse in a message recovered by federal authorities. "I am a pedophile and I have been sexually attracted to children rather than adults for 30 years now. My life is pretty lonely because I have no friends who are like me where I live. That's why I'm happiest when I am ... with people just like me. Thank you for the company, my fellow friends. Keep safe and may God bless you.''

A separate suspect posted a sonogram photograph of an unborn child, along with the message: "I have a new baby about to be added to the game.''

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

When criminal charges were announced against 11 men last November in Indianapolis, the case represented a significant break in a suspected long-running child pornography ring. It also underscored the daunting challenges now facing investigators who police the dark Web.

For at least 12 years, federal prosecutors say, the 11 suspects, operating from bases in Indiana, Florida, California, Alabama, New York, Texas and Virginia, ran online chat-rooms where huge collections of child pornography were shared among members, representing Canada, Switzerland and other parts of the globe.

Before their arrests, according to court documents, the suspects found temporary havens protected by "data encryption software'' and password-protected sites "available exclusively to members of the conspiracy.''

"This conspiracy allegedly stretched across the country and around the world, using sophisticated techniques to hide the orchestrated abuse of dozens of child victims,'' Indiana U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett said when the charges were made public.

In fact, after all of the image caches were recovered, federal authorities said the number of victims numbered "nearly 100 children around the world'' whose ages ranged from infants to early teens, according to court documents.

One of the defendants, a 61-year-old Indianapolis man, already has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison. Eight have agreed to plead guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Two others, a 42-year-old Florida man and a 55-year-old Alabama man, are awaiting trial.

The case bears the hallmarks — including the extremely young nature of the victims and growing masses of material — that have become the norm in recent investigations.

"What I've seen is an evolution in the intensity and volume of their conduct,'' Oosterbaan says. "There is a greater demand for extreme material. ... For some, their social status is based on production (of new images), which serves as a powerful stimulus for the actual abuse of children.''

Law enforcement authorities and child safety advocates say it is difficult to quantify the size of the illicit commercial market for child pornography and the access it brings to actual encounters with children. While some of it is produced for profit, others provide it as a form of status or to win acceptance within groups.

"There is a commercial incentive for some of this,'' Oosterbaan says, adding that he would not be comfortable assigning a dollar value to it.

Shehan, of NCMEC, says that while the identification and arrest of the image-makers and distributors is important, it is only the beginning of an even more time-consuming — and often frustrating — effort to locate the victims featured in the images and videos.

"When you finally recover the material, you are always left with the same question: Where in the world are these children?'' Shehan says.

Since the creation of the Child Victim Identification Program 12 years ago, 5,400 victims have been identified. The number, Shehan says, may represent only a fraction of the actual number.

"There could be thousands of others that we're still looking for,'' he says.

CYBER-POLICING TOOLS

Among the most powerful tools law enforcement is using to break distribution rings and start the tracking of child victims is software that allows authorities to virtually map the locations of suspects.

The technology, known as ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Cops, tracks the coding of images recovered in previous investigative operations that have been downloaded to individual computers.

During a recent demonstration of the technology, authorities were able to zero in on suspects who are actively downloading material in their local jurisdictions at any time of day or night.

One recent afternoon, the locations of possible suspects were depicted by icons blinking like warning lights across a large computer screen, from Scranton, Pa., to Los Angeles.

SUSPECTED CHILD EXPLOITATION CRIMES
Reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline rise:
200920102011201220130100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Frank Pompa, USA TODAY
In Pennsylvania, for example, the online activity linked to the suspected transmission of child pornography and/or solicitations for sexual encounters involved more than 2,000 individuals.

And of the 114 arrests of porn distribution suspects in Pennsylvania last year by state authorities, the technology aided in the identification of about 80% of them, officials said.

"It is one of the most effective tools available to law enforcement,'' Russ says.

Russ says one of the least-discussed challenges that authorities are confronting is the emotional toll that prolonged exposure to the horrific images can exact on investigators involved in the daily pursuit of offenders and victims.

Of the hundreds Russ has helped train, "I don't know how many are still out there,'' he says.

Oosterbaan, too, acknowledges the emotional damage that some investigators risk.

"There is real courage here,'' the Justice official says, motioning to the staff of investigators ensconced in a warren of offices located on the sixth floor of a downtown office building a few blocks away from the Justice Department. "I worry about it.''

So concerned about the potential emotional harm, he once planned to withhold graphic images from Alberto Gonzales when the then-attorney general requested a full briefing on the unit's operations in 2005.

Oosterbaan ultimately relented when Gonzales' aides persisted. Later, Rebecca Gonzales, the attorney general's wife, recalled in an interview that the nation's top law enforcement officer arrived home shaken after the briefing.

"He didn't cry, but it was close," she says. "That was a terrible day.''

When Oosterbaan took over the unit in 2002, he took unusual care to protect himself.

Drew Oosterbaan
Drew Oosterbaan(Photo: Jay Westcott for USA TODAY)
"There are many ways you can protect yourself and one of the ways I can is not to look,'' he says of the very images that represent some of the strongest evidence in criminal cases that his office oversees. The official says he opts instead for verbal briefings on the cases his office prosecutes.

"I had to find a way to deal with it,'' he says.

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