p2pnet.net News:- The FBI has named five men from more 65 people arrested and charged with crimes as a result of a "child pornography file-sharing crackdown".

Investigators and agents from the participating agencies used several techniques – including undercover work – to, "infiltrate the P2P networks and identify those who have distributed and taken possession of child pornography images," says a Department of Justice statement here.

Involved were the DOJ, FBI, Department of Homeland Security’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces.

The examples given to "illustrate the scope of the P2P law enforcement operation" are as follows:

• Investigators in California, working with the Wyoming Department of Justice, identified a P2P client named Pedokiller. Jimmy Richard Morrison, a 40-year-old male who lived with his parents, had countless images of underage girls on the wall of his bedroom. A search of his computer revealed thousands of images of child pornography, along with photos and videos from actual victims. Morrison admitted knowingly distributing images of child pornography, and when asked why he used the P2P network to distribute images, he replied, "Because the cops are in the chat rooms." Morrison was indicted in the Federal District Court of Wyoming for distribution of child pornography, and also charged with other criminal offenses in California. The suspect is in custody in Wyoming pending trial.
• Following a P2P investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol, Jeremiah Zalesky of Lincoln, Nebraska, was arrested on state charges of sexually assaulting a child after evidence developed that Zalesky allegedly molested the young daughter of a couple with whom he had been staying. A subsequent search of his computer found 10 images of child pornography.
• An FBI investigation in New York led to the identification of a subject who allegedly distributed, received and possessed child pornography using P2P networks. The investigation also found that the subject, Matthew Fling, allegedly molested two girls, ages 6 and 8, during the past four years. An examination of the subject’s computer revealed hundreds of child pornographic images and movies. In February 2004, Fling was indicted in the Northern District of New York on federal charges child pornography charges, and he was arrested in March 2004. State Police officials are handling the sexual abuse allegations.
• Earlier this week, a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, indicted 28-year-old Stephen Alan Gardner on charges of distributing images of child pornography from his home computer, and possession of child pornography. According to court documents, a file containing movies depicting children being sexually assaulted had been made available for sharing from a computer at Gardner’s home using a P2P software program. Gardner is currently being held without bond in the Harris County, Texas, jail on charges filed in the state of Colorado involving the sexual assault of a six-year-old child.
• During the course of a multi-state investigation, ICE agents in Arizona received child pornography from a peer-to-peer application user who they later identified as 19-year-old Marlon Winston. During the investigation, Winston indicated that he started using peer-to-peer applications to access music, but later moved on to images and movies of child pornography. Winston used simple search terms to find the materials, and noted that his habit grew by "just clicking" image after image. Winston was arrested in December 2003, and pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in February of this year. On May 12, 2004, Winston was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years’ supervised release. Winston will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

Hopefully, the task force will eventually dedicate the same kind of intensive effort to other Net venues such as irc, IM and the thousands of easy-to-find and readily accessible websites that are equally, if not more, dangerous to children.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 15th, 2004 at 12:52 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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