Internet Watch Foundation

IWF has received the following feedback from the US CyberTipline about a report the hotline team passed on to them. It proves the immense value of co-operation between hotlines in achieving prompt and effective action against those who use the Internet to exchange child pornography.

 

"Congratulations to the UK IWF, ECU Analyst K. Burke and the KS ICAC TF involved in this well coordinated effort!

On April 6th, the Exploited Child Unit received a CyberTipline report from from the U.K. Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) regarding child pornography posted to an Egroups club. They believed that the person who posted the material was located in the United States.

ECU Analysts confirmed that the club contained many illegal images. ECU Analysts then located two email messages sent to the club containing multiple images of graphic child pornography which were posted by the same suspect. After running various internet searches on the suspect and determining the internet service provider being used by the suspect was located in Wichita (KS), the report was sent to the Sedgwick County (Kansas) Exploited and Missing Children Unit, an OJJDP-funded Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

 

Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the local Internet Service Provider and determined the suspect to be located in a small town outside of the county. Sedgwick County initiated online communication with the suspect and quickly received child pornography from the suspect via email. Sedgwick County investigators contacted local law enforcement in the town of Eldorado and learned the suspect was already under investigation for child pornography. Within the same two week period, local Eldorado police had received a complaint from the suspect's wife who claimed to have witnessed the suspect showing computer images of child pornography to a 11 year old girl she was baby-sitting.

 

In a joint effort, Sedgwick County investigators and the local police served a search warrant on April 20th and seized the suspect's computer where they found many images of child pornography. The suspect was arrested and provided a full confession to police. The suspect will be charged in Butler County (KS) with approximately 200 counts of Possession of Child Pornography as well as Promotion of Obscenities to A Minor. In Sedgwick County, the suspect will be charged for each of the email messages he sent containing illegal images adding up to 13 counts of Distribution of Child Pornography."