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National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children®
Success Stories
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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