Quick Intervention Prevents Future Abuse of Children
On May 4, 2009, the CyberTipline received a report from a popular social networking site regarding one of their users, who had allegedly uploaded sexually explicit images of children to his profile. In compliance with Federal law, the company provided incident information, including the suspect’s screen name, e-mail address, and Internet Protocol (IP) address.
An analyst with NCMEC's Exploited Children Division (ECD) conducted Internet searches of the suspect’s e-mail address and located an online profile that listed the suspect as a 17-year-old male in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The analyst then reviewed the reported IP address, which resolved to an Internet Service Provider in Alaska. Based on these two consistencies, the analyst forwarded the CyberTipline report to the Alaska Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC), an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funded program out of the Anchorage Police Department, for investigation.
Upon receipt of the report, the Alaska ICAC immediately initiated an investigation and involved the Unalaska Police Department, whose jurisdiction included Dutch Harbor. Investigators quickly identified the suspect as a 17-year-old local resident. With cooperation from the Alaska ICAC and the Anchorage Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Unalaska Police Department arrested the suspect and seized his computer. Upon preliminary forensic analysis, law enforcement observed approximately 2,500 suspected images of child pornography. During the subsequent interview, the suspect confessed to possession of child pornography and admitted to having an active interest in abusing young children. The suspect also said he had begun taking sexually suggestive pictures of himself with young boys. At the time of his arrest, the suspect was living with his 5-year-old sister and his mother, who was an occasional caretaker for other children. However, law enforcement has no information that the suspect molested any victims.
The suspect, who will be tried as a juvenile, presently faces state charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. Additional charges are pending.
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