(U.S. DOJ) Steven L. Johnson, 56, of Covington, Louisiana, and Michael Larrieu, 18, of Gretna, Louisiana, were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in New Orleans, for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to the indictment, Johnson knowingly received and possessed images of child pornography that he obtained over the internet. FBI agents executed a federal search warrant on his Covington residence on March 12, 2007. Johnson is charged with possessing both computer files and hardware that allegedly contained images of child pornography and images from his home computer. An arrest warrant was signed by a U. S. District Magistrate Judge and the FBI is actively looking for Johnson.

Michael Larrieu, who was also indicted, is charged with one count of Possession of Child Pornography. According to the indictment, during the execution of a federal search warrant by FBI agents on October 11, 2006, Larrieu was found in possession of computers and other computer media that allegedly contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Recently, two other defendants were charged with federal crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children and the proliferation of child pornography. They are Jerry Lucas, age 41, of New Orleans and James Rutkofske, age 40, formerly of New Orleans.

Lucas, who was indicted on February 22, 2007 for production and possession of child pornography, was arrested by FBI agents on February 15, 2007. Lucas remains in federal custody awaiting trial which is scheduled for April 23, 2007.

Further, on March 6, 2007, James Rutkofske pled guilty to Possession of Child Pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2007 by United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey. Rutkofske was charged after he was found in possession of child pornography by FBI agents who responded to a tip from a local computer store. FBI agents subsequently obtained federal search warrants and seized Rutkofske’s computer and other computer media that was found to contain images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.

If convicted, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five (5) years imprisonment a maximum of twenty (20) on the Receipt of Child Pornography charge. Lucas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen (15) years in federal prison. Johnson, Larrieu, Lucas, and Rutkofske can be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to ten (10) years on the Possession of Child Pornography counts. All four defendants face a life term of supervised release, sex offender registration, and are required to provide DNA samples to authorities.

U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

These prosecutions are being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian Klebba.

Retrieved March 27, 2007 from http://nyjtimes.com/Stories/2007/25YearsForChildProstitution.htm

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:09 PM | Permalink

From the New York Jewish Times

(U.S. DOJ) Robert Lewis Young of Detroit was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for running a criminal operation prostituting adults and children, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Steven J. Murphy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan announced.

Following the 25-year sentence in federal prison, Young will face five years of supervised release for operating a prostitution ring spanning from Michigan to Hawaii. Young recruited and directed females – including minors – to engage in prostitution. Young transported women and children and facilitated their transportation across state lines by car and airplane. Young reaped substantial financial benefit and laundered the proceeds of his illegal prostitution activities with the help of co-conspirators.

Young’s sentencing comes after his plea of guilt to 26 offenses including sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, transportation for prostitution, sexual exploitation of children, possession and interstate distribution of child pornography, threatening interstate communications, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, felon in possession of a firearm, money laundering, and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering. In addition, Young was also convicted of producing and distributing child pornography for his use on a Web site to advertise the availability of his prostitutes including a 17-year-old-girl he exploited.

As part of his sentence, Young was also ordered to forfeit property gained through and used in furtherance of his crimes including computer equipment, furs, clothing, jewelry, electronics and cash.

Young’s co-conspirators have also been convicted of their role in the prostitution operation. Young’s Honolulu associates, Mark Luke White and Hae Sun Kim face sentencing later this year. Jeffrey McCoy, one of Young’s co-defendants pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Hawaii earlier this year. A second Detroit associate, George Abro, who laundered the proceeds and assisted in the prostitution ring, pleaded guilty to federal offenses in October 2006 and will be sentenced later this year as well. A Chicago dentist, Dr. Gary Kimmel, is under indictment and charged with financial offenses related to his support of Young's organization and is scheduled for trial in September 2007.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, Michigan State Police, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS, the Detroit Major Crimes Task Force, the Detroit Police Department, and the Macomb County Enforcement Team.

In Hawaii, the investigation was led by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force comprised of members from the State Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Honolulu Police Department with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter of the District of Hawaii.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kayla Bakshi of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney John O’Brien of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter for the District of Hawaii.

In the spring of 2003, the Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section of FBI headquarters, in partnership with CEOS and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, initiated the Innocence Lost Initiative, designed to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution. To date, the Innocence Lost Initiative has resulted in 275 open investigations, 697 arrests, 160 informations or indictments, and 136 convictions in the federal and state systems.

Retrieved March 31, 2007 from http://nyjtimes.com/Stories/2007/25YearsForChildProstitution.htm

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:01 PM | Permalink

Film security details being investigated

03/30/07, By Brendan McCarthy, Staff writer

New Orleans police officials have reassigned a high-ranking veteran and launched an investigation into several other officers in connection with payroll issues regarding off-duty details, a department spokesman said. Capt. Joe Waguespack Sr., the former head of the Homicide Division and most recently the head of a juvenile crime division, was reassigned to a communications office desk job earlier this week, said Deputy Chief Marlon Defillo, head of the Public Integrity Bureau.

Defillo said his office is investigating criminal charges of malfeasance and payroll fraud. At issue is the work of Waguespack and others working off-duty security details for the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a movie starring Brad Pitt that is being shot locally.

Waguespack, a veteran of three decades, was in charge of overseeing the details for several months, according to Defillo. Waguespack's attorney, Frank DeSalvo, said he is confident Waguespack will be cleared. "I'm convinced that there is no criminality or payroll fraud here," DeSalvo said. "He worked for every hour in which he got paid for by the city."

Investigators are looking into whether Waguespack and others were working details while on the clock for the NOPD, Defillo said.

A complaint prompted the Public Integrity Bureau, the office responsible for investigating complaints against police officers, to examine the payroll matter. The bureau now is cross-checking months worth of time sheets and detail logs, Defillo said. "We are in the early stages of the investigation, and we are sifting through a tremendous amount of documents," he said. "The investigation is ongoing."

The internal inquiry comes amid a rocky week for the NOPD. Officials announced Wednesday that two officers had been fired, and another suspended for 100 days, for their roles in two unrelated incidents. In one case, a uniformed officer allegedly hit a handcuffed man and lied during an ensuing investigation. In the other incident, an off-duty officer allegedly beat a man in a bar fight, and his supervisor interceded in the follow-up investigation.

Staff writer Walt Philbin contributed to this report.
Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3301.

Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1175233335128610.xml&coll=1

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 11:09 PM | Permalink

03/30/07, from WDSU TheNewOrleansChannel.com.

NOPD Subjects Officers To Integrity Checks

During the fever pitch of Mardi Gras, as New Orleans police officers watched the crowds, another arm of the department was watching the officers: The Public Integrity Bureau was setting up stings that only a dishonest cop would fall for.

"During Mardi Gras, we ran 101 integrity checks, and some of those things go from giving an officer a wallet full of money, sending them to a scene where you have a house with drugs in it and money, weapons -- and we're very happy to say during Mardi Gras, every officer did in fact pass these integrity checks," Police Superintendent Warren Riley said. He told WDSU NewsChannel 6 that another officer was targeted in the French Quarter just before Mardi Gras.

"We had information that Hispanic males were being robbed or money taken from them, and we ran an integrity check on an officer four times," Riley said. "The first three times he didn't do anything. On the fourth time, he in fact took half that person's money. He was booked and terminated."

According to the chief, integrity checks are intense, with some officers being checked as many as six times a month. Those who pass get a letter of congratulations; those who do not get fired.

"It only takes a handful to ruin this department. One of the things I want more than anything is for the public to have confidence in this police department," Riley said.

Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/wdsu/20070330/lo_wdsu/11442122&printer=1;_ylt=Am9JHL71vnamjYT4sNYR1m5F7xsC

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 11:04 PM | Permalink

By Mike Carter, Jennifer Sullivan, Jonathan Martin and Natalie Singer, Seattle Times staff reporters

Questions over the credibility of two decorated Seattle police officers have led to the dismissal of one felony drug case and threatened the prosecution of at least 17 others, including federal drug and gun charges, authorities said Thursday. Officers Gregory Neubert and Michael Tietjen are under investigation for allegedly lying in written reports and during questioning by department detectives, according to a law-enforcement source who is familiar with the case.

The issue has forced prosecutors to send letters to defense attorneys in cases in which Neubert and Tietjen are potential witnesses, alerting them to the possibility of problems with the officers' integrity.

The officers have not commented. The president of their union says the whole issue is "blown out of proportion."

But what began as an omission in a police report on a small-time drug bust in downtown Seattle in January has turned into a crisis of credibility for the Police Department. Besides the dismissed drug case, another has been postponed and a third likely will be, as an internal police investigation is conducted.

"An officer's credibility in one case can affect the outcome of another," said federal Public Defender Thomas Hillier II. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Redkey, who is prosecuting a drug and firearms case that might be affected, called the situation "highly unusual."

Neubert, 42, is a 14-year veteran with a record of commendations but a history of controversy. Defense lawyers have publicly accused him of lying under oath in past criminal cases, allegations he has denied. Most prominently, he was cleared of wrongdoing in one of the city's most controversial police shootings of the past decade. Neubert has twice sued critics for defamation, both times unsuccessfully.

Bicycle partners
Tietjen, 31, joined the department in 2000. As partners on the downtown bicycle patrol, he and Neubert were named "officers of the year" for the department's West Precinct last year.

Attempts to contact Neubert and Tietjen Thursday were unsuccessful. Both officers remain on duty and have not been disciplined.

During a news conference Thursday, Deputy Police Chief John Diaz said the department would not release any information about the internal investigation. But he acknowledged a need to complete it quickly because of the looming trials in many of the cases. "I really caution people not to jump to conclusions," Diaz said.

Drug arrest
The investigation centers on the late-night arrest on Jan. 2 of George "Troy" Patterson, 26, at the corner of Third Avenue and Pike Street downtown.

According to a sworn statement in Patterson's criminal case, which has been dismissed, Neubert said he and Tietjen watched Patterson through a telescope from a vantage point in a building nine stories above the street. Patterson, who uses a wheelchair, sold drugs to a woman, Neubert alleged.

The officers descended to the street and found "crumbs" of crack cocaine in Patterson's lap, Neubert alleged. Patterson is a convicted felon with a history of drug abuse. Patterson was arrested and jailed for a few hours before being released pending formal charges. In an interview Thursday, Patterson said that after he was released, he immediately complained about the arrest to the Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability. He alleges that the officers planted the drugs and roughed him up. During his recitation of the events, Patterson said, he mentioned that the officers had briefly handcuffed and detained another man. According to officials familiar with the case, that fact was missing from the officers' report. Yet Seattle police policy requires that all instances when people are detained by officers must be detailed in writing.

Detectives were assigned to investigate the discrepancy, and discovered that a surveillance camera on a nearby Walgreen's drug store had taped the arrest. The tape supported Patterson's version of events, according to one source familiar with the investigation. The source also said detectives questioned Neubert and Tietjen and they again failed to acknowledge that there even had been a second man detained, the source said. Police have not released the tape.

The second man
Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, said he has viewed the videotape, and he acknowledged that Neubert and Tietjen indeed detained the other man and failed to report it. However, O'Neill blames defense attorneys for blowing the incident out of proportion. He says they dislike Neubert and Tietjen because they are aggressive and effective officers, making about 50 arrests a month. O'Neill said the detention of the second man was not related to Patterson's arrest, so the officers weren't required to disclose it.

However, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has undertaken the highly unusual move of alerting defense attorneys in 17 cases -- including two being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office -- that Neubert and Tietjen are under investigation and that the outcome could impact those cases. In addition, the felony drug charge filed against Patterson stemming from the arrest was dismissed earlier this month "in the interest of justice," a prosecutor wrote in King County Superior Court documents.

Patterson's public defender, Ramona Brandes, described the dismissal as sudden. She said she had no hint of anything unusual in the case until a deputy prosecutor asked the court to dismiss the charges, citing questions about the evidence. A week later, defense attorneys in King County began receiving letters alerting them to the internal investigation and questions that came up in Patterson's case.

Sunil Abraham, a staff attorney for The Defender Association, a public-defense agency in Seattle, said his office has received several of the letters. Abraham said he believes the department should release the videotape of the incident so the public can "make a judgment for themselves."

Ethical, legal obligations
Hillier, the federal public defender, said prosecutors likely sent the letters because they are ethically and legally obliged to disclose any information that might raise questions about the character or truthfulness of prosecution witness. For example, Hillier said, a defense attorney would be allowed to use information about an officer's dishonesty in one case to question their credibility in another.

Redkey, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting a federal case in which Neubert and Tietjen are key witnesses, said the defendant, Hubert Isabel, was set for trial Monday. He could face up to 10 years behind bars if convicted. Instead, Redkey said he now will go before a federal judge today and agree to delay the case until the internal police investigation is over.

Neubert joined the Seattle police in 1992 after a stint in the Air Force. After only three years on the force, he shot a suspected drug dealer inside a McDonald's restaurant downtown. Neubert said he thought the man's cigarette lighter was a gun. The man survived. Neubert was cleared of wrongdoing. Then in 2001, Neubert and his partner, Officer Craig Price, stopped a black man named Aaron Roberts for driving erratically in the Central Area. Price fatally shot Roberts after Roberts allegedly grabbed Neubert's arm and dragged the officer down the street with his car. The incident ignited charges of racism against the Police Department, but Neubert and Price were cleared both by a county inquest hearing and internal police review.

Roberts' family filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the officers and the department. Neubert countersued, claiming Roberts' widow should pay for the treatment of his injuries. Both lawsuits were dismissed. Even so, in the wake of Roberts' shooting, defense attorneys alleged that Neubert has been dishonest in criminal cases.

One prominent Seattle defense lawyer, Jackie Walsh, says she caught Neubert lying on the witness stand during the trial of a man accused of trying to run down Neubert with his car. After Walsh presented evidence that Neubert's recollection of the event was impossible, a jury dismissed one charge and deadlocked on another. Neubert sued Walsh for accusing him of lying. The lawsuit was dismissed.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com
Seattle Times reporter Steve Miletich and news researchers Miyoko Wolf and David Turim contributed to this report.

Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003642657&zsection_id=2002111777&slug=spd30m&date=20070330

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 10:59 PM | Permalink

Allegedly stole cocaine, methamphetamine from evidence locker

03/30/07, By Susan Kaufman, The Register-Mail

A 23-year former lieutenant with the Galesburg Police Department was charged with official misconduct and two drug charges Thursday afternoon. David W. Hendricks, 48, turned himself in at the Knox County jail at 2:14 p.m. after a warrant was issued.

Jail booking sheets detail one drug charge as possession of over 15 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony punishable by four to 15 years in prison. The second drug charge is possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine, a Class 2 felony punishable by one to three years in prison.

The official misconduct charge carries a sentence of two to five years in prison. According to court files, the official misconduct charge accuses Hendricks of committing theft of cocaine and methamphetamine from the police department evidence vault. Hendricks was put on paid administrative leave in late September, then resigned from the department on Dec. 22, 2006.

A three-month investigation in-to Hendricks conducted by the Illinois State Police was turned over to a special prosecutor in January 2007. Police Chief David Christensen said although the investigation took time, he is satisfied with the outcome. "The investigation was handled properly and done by the numbers," Christensen said. Christensen said he could not comment on the department's past or current procedures of checking in narcotics to the evidence locker due to the ongoing criminal case but said this was an isolated occurrence. "I believe in the integrity of our evidence room," Christensen said. "He (Hendricks) took advantage of his position."

Christensen said Hendricks' pension status is dependent on the outcome of the criminal case. "There are rules in place for employees convicted of certain charges," Christensen said. "His pension status is out of our hands at this point."

According to Knox County jail officials, Hendricks arrived at the jail with a lawyer and was freed after he posted 10 percent of a $15,000 bond. Hendricks is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 9 a.m. April 30.

Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://www.register-mail.com/stories/033007/MAI_BCPUP9QM.GID.shtml

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 10:54 PM | Permalink

By Bill Bryan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 03/30/07

Police Chief Joe Mokwa vowed Thursday to probe rumors that high-ranking officers might have used World Series tickets seized from scalpers, and said the inquiry will look at other sporting events too. "I'm adamant that I'll protect the integrity of the department," Mokwa told the Post-Dispatch. "I will follow any innuendo or accusation, even communicated gossip."

The chief said some scalpers alleged improper conduct by police regarding tickets at sporting events besides last October's World Series, but he was not specific.

Rumors about who used the tickets began circulating after the newspaper reported that internal affairs officers were investigating allegations that eight undercover vice-narcotics detectives kept some 30 tickets — out of more than 100 seized.

Since tickets are now scanned at Busch Stadium and not torn in half, it was possible to use them without visible change and file them as evidence after the games. A complaint by a scalper who claimed to have overheard officers talking about using confiscated tickets set off an investigation.

It is a violation of St. Louis ordinance to resell tickets at more than face value. Mokwa said all eight officers accused in the scheme will be questioned a second time.

Police sources say the eight already gave sworn statements that tickets went to friends and family but not to anyone in the department. There are no allegations that any officer resold a seized ticket, the sources said.

Internal affairs has received at least one photograph allegedly showing a person sitting in a seat for which the ticket had been seized, officials said.

Chris Goodson, president of the police board, agreed that the department's integrity is as stake. "It's always at stake," he said Thursday. "I think it's too early to say that it has taken a hit. That's  why it's so important that we demand and expect the chief to do a full investigation."

Mokwa said the findings might be sent to Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce as early as next week, for consideration of criminal charges.

bbryan@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8950

Retrieved March30, 2007 from http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Cnews%5Cstories.nsf&docid=F28EB0A33E6AE90E862572AE00100AEA

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 10:47 PM | Permalink

sun-sentinel.com, 03/27/07

A third-grade teacher was arrested at his home for transmitting child pornography via computer, police said on Tuesday. Michael A. Postma, 26, was booked at the Broward County Jail on 38 charges of transmission of child pornography by electronic device, promoting sexual performance by a child, and possession of child pornography.

He was arrested on Monday after a federal search warrant was served at his house, police said. Plantation police, the FBI and the Internet Crimes Against Children South Florida Task Force, or LEACH, said photos saved on Postma's seized computer hard drive contained child pornography.

Postma works as a third grade teacher at Oakland Park Elementary, police said. The case unraveled when an undercover detective notified Plantation Police that he had posed as a minor and had chatted with Postma via the Internet since December 2006.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-328childporn,0,5306602.story

Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:35 PM | Permalink

03/27/07, From WLTX.com News

On Monday an Aiken man was arrested in an undercover Internet sting by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. Deputies arrested 39-year-old James Marion Boozer, III of 201 Longleaf Court in Aiken on Friday. Boozer was arrested on one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

According to arrest warrants, Boozer began communicating with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl over the Internet on March 16, 2007. Deputies say he actually was communicating with an undercover Aiken Sheriff's Deputy.

Investigators say Boozer further arranged to meet the "teenager" for sex at a predetermined location in Aiken County. Deputies arrested Boozer upon his arrival at the location.

Deputies executed a search warrant at Boozer's residence on Friday, and resulted in the seizure of a computer and computer-related items. Boozer was assigned a $30,000 bond at a hearing held Monday morning.

This is the 67th arrest since the Internet Predator law was passed in April 2004.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is a member of the Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.

Retrieved March 27, 2007 from http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=48131

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 05:19 PM | Permalink

From Billingsgazette.com
By Matthew Mead, U.S. Attorney for Wyoming

There is much for us to be thankful for in Wyoming, including a high quality of life, world-class recreation, wide open spaces and other benefits of living in the West. With so many wonderful things for us to enjoy in our beloved state, it is difficult for some to hear that Wyoming, like the rest of the United States, is confronted with a deluge of child pornography - pictorial images of children being criminally and sexually abused.

Exploiting children through child pornography is a serious federal and state crime. Predators who target children should be prime targets for law enforcement, and they are. Predators who target children should pay a high price in terms of time spent behind bars, and they usually do. In the past, such crime was committed primarily by sending sexually explicit photographs of young children through the mail. Now, in the computer age, this crime is committed mostly via Internet transmission of images. The Internet, for all the good it does, has unfortunately served to break down barriers that at one time served as deterrents to child pornographers. The deterrence provided in the real world - by parental and community scrutiny and by law enforcement officers patrolling the streets of our towns - is suppressed in a virtual world of anonymity and secrecy.

Soliciting kids online

Statistically, about one in seven kids will receive an unwanted sexual solicitation online. While this is a frightening number, perhaps more troubling is the fact that only one in three kids will report such encounters, which means the number is actually higher. The National Center for Victims of Crime estimates that 61 percent of rape victims are less than 18, and 29 percent are less than 11. Of those arrested for possession of child pornography many have images of children enduring bondage, sadistic sex, including videos depicting child pornography with motion and with sound. The magnitude of the problem is shocking and, given the technology of today, there is no easy solution. With a few clicks of a mouse, predators can engage in the exploitation of children anonymously. They can transmit the most disturbing images of young children far and wide to bounce around cyberspace for a very long time. In Wyoming, the least populated of all states, we investigate hundreds of child pornography cases.

Child pornography is about awful images of graphic sexual assault of children under 12, including images of 3- to 5-year-olds, toddlers or even infants. And, as difficult as it may be to write and read and talk about such matters, it has to be done.

Despite the obstacles presented by the way child pornography is distributed in this day and age, aggressive measures are being taken to combat it. The Internet Crimes Against Children task force program (ICAC) is one of those measures. ICAC is a federally funded program which seeks to identify child exploiters via their medium of choice, the Internet, so they can be brought into the criminal justice system. The state of Wyoming has such a program, and it is renowned for its efforts and accomplishments. The head of that program is Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Flint Waters. Agent Waters is nationally and internationally known for his work in this area. Recently, Agent Waters traveled with First Lady Laura Bush to France to address the problem with leaders from around the world.

On a national level, Project Safe Childhood is a new initiative of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney's Offices, designed to put child exploiters even more in law enforcement's cross hairs. That initiative in my office includes community outreach and education efforts, as well as prosecution to the full extent of the law. Project Safe Childhood is a vital new initiative which my office is pursuing and will continue to pursue relentlessly.

How to protect kids

There is a lot being done but much still to do. To the readers of this column, regardless of your background, your career, or who you are, you can help. You can help by educating your own kids, grandkids, or other relatives. You can help by learning more about the problem and by speaking out in your communities. You can find out more about the problem and ways to tackle it by going to the Web site for Project Safe Childhood at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

Retrieved March 27, 2007 from http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/03/27/opinion/guest/55-internet.txt

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:42 PM | Permalink

03/23/07, CBS

Undercover Internet investigations during the past 9 months by police in Fort Collins have resulted in a total of 11 arrests, officers said. Detectives have filed charges against seven of those suspects since the middle of March when two weeks of undercover investigations started.

During the operation, undercover detectives go online and visit various chat rooms, posing as underage boys and girls. Some of their conversations were sexually explicit and in one case the suspect met an undercover detective posing as a juvenile female, according to police. Fort Collins police started the operation after people complained of inappropriate computer e-mails being delivered to a child in the city.

A Fort Collins police detective assumed the online identity of the child and continued conversing with the suspect, Jeffery Bandach, 43. Through e-mail, Bandach arranged to meet the child near her home, police said. He instead met police detectives and was arrested. In January 2007, Bandach pled guilty to Internet sexual exploitation of a child and child abuse and was sentenced to 20 months in jail and 20 years of sex offender probation.

Since that time, Fort Collins police have acquired computer equipment and received specialized training enabling detectives to conduct undercover investigations online. Fort Collins police have also joined the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force which allows access to federal government funding for training and equipment. Several detectives now have undercover identities and regularly conduct online investigations.

"Predators should know that any day of the week the child they believe they are having a sexually explicit conversation with could actually be a police detective in Fort Collins," said Craig Horton, a sergeant in the unit.

Fort Collins police provided the following list of arrests since the investigations began nine months ago.

Jeffery Bandach
D.O.B. 9-24-63
Resident: Fort Collins, CO
Screen name "jimmywil75@aim.com"
Date of offense: June/July 2006
Date and location of arrest: July 17, 2006, Fort Collins, CO
Conviction: Internet sexual exploitation of a child and Child abuse

Stacy Kroner
D.O.B. 10-24-88
Resident: Centennial, CO
Screen name "daman43002002"
Date of offense: October/November 2006
Date and location of arrest: November 13, 2006, Centennial, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (2 counts), and Internet luring of a child (2 counts)

Scott Cortelyou
D.O.B. 01-05-54
Resident: Conifer, CO
Screen name "sixcar982000"
Date of offense: August 2006 - January 2007
Date and location of arrest: January 23, 2007, Lakewood, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child and Internet luring of a child

Richard Harl*
D.O.B. 07-17-68
Resident: Aurora, CO
Screen name "rdharl"
Date of offense: October 2006 - January 2007
Date and location of arrest: January 22, 2007, Denver, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (3 counts) and Internet luring of a child (3 counts)
*Registered sex offender

James Leroy Hatton
D.O.B. 07-10-60
Screen name "bigtruckbigred"
Resident: Greeley, CO
Date of offense: October/November 2006
Date and location of arrest: March 6, 2007, Greeley, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (2 counts)

Wai Yip Ngai
D.O.B. 02-20-79
Screen name "garyn79"
Resident: Fort Collins, CO
Date of offense: February - March 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 15, 2007, Fort Collins, CO
Charges: Internet luring of a child and attempted sexual assault of a child

Michael Luckey
D.O.B. 9-23-81
Screen name "luck4210"
Resident: Fort Carson, CO
Date of offense: March 15 and 16, 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 21, 2007, Fort Carson, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (2 counts) and Internet luring of a child (1 count)

Troy Elwood Fanning
D.O.B. 11-21-77
Screen name "tfanman29"
Resident: Loveland, CO
Date of offense: February 23, 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 22, 2007, Loveland, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child

Travis Mese
D.O.B. 11-3-83
Screen name "chevyguy42023"
Resident: Fort Morgan, CO
Date of offense: March 14, 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 20, 2007, Fort Morgan, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child and Internet luring of a child

Billy Gilmore
D.O.B. 6-25-60
Screen name "jomanjiman"
Resident: Thornton, CO
Date of offense: February 23, 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 21, 2007, Thornton, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (2 counts) and Internet luring of a child (2 counts)

John Walter Meyer
D.O.B. 8-15-70
Screen name "a111fyg667"
Resident: Thornton, CO
Date of offense: March 13, 2007
Date and location of arrest: March 21, 2007, Thornton, CO
Charges: Internet sexual exploitation of a child (2 counts) and Internet luring of a child (2 counts)

Retrieved March 26, 2007 from http://cbs4denver.com/crime/local_story_082140122.html

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 04:01 AM | Permalink

By Alison Beshur. The Daily Times, 03/23/07

Jonathan Ward Brooke, a 54-year-old Kerr-ville veterinarian, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for online solicitation of a minor. It took the 12-person jury took nearly four hours to deliberate. On Wednesday, the jury convicted Brooke of the second-degree felony, which carries a punishment of between two and 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

After Brooke’s sentence was read, David Sergi, Brooke’s attorney, turned to Brooke to try to comfort him. Sergi declined to comment. Family members sat teary-eyed. Just minutes before, they had relayed comments of support to Brooke. “Stay strong,” said one family member. Brooke was arrested July 13, 2005, in the parking lot of a Jack-in-the-Box in Buda, Texas. He arranged to meet a minor there through several online chats. The girl turned out to be an investigator in the cyber crimes unit of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Brooke also faces a charge of possession of child pornography in Kerr County and charges of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child and attempted sexual performance by a child in Hays County. Trial dates are pending in those cases.

During the sentencing phase, Sergi called 18 people to testify. They included Brooke; his wife, Chantal Brooke; his ex-wife, Linda Thurier; his 24-year-old daughter, Julie Brooke; his sister, Victoria Van Dooren; a computer forensics expert; three psychologists; several long-time friends; two veterinarian friends; a new friend from a men’s sexual support group in San Antonio; and the secretary of the First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville.

All of the defense witnesses asked the jury to grant Brooke probation instead of jail time. Angela Goodwin, an assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General’s Office and lead prosecutor in the case, argued Brooke should get a minimum of 10 years in prison. She said his online solicitation had escalated from adult sexual conversations in 1998 to Web cams of him performing a sex act in 2000, and ultimately, to the setting up of a meeting with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in 2005.

Goodwin told jurors that Brooke had “deceived” and “lied” to the people who were closest to him. She said Brooke “concealed” a part of his life and still believed he hadn’t done anything wrong — a sign he wasn’t rehabilitating.

She asked the jury to consider the images of partially nude teenage girls and dozens of bestiality videos found on Brooke’s computer. Goodwin also asked jurors to think about the list found on top of Brooke’s computer that noted personal information for the investigator’s online profile and three other teenage girls.

But the defense argued Brooke was a good candidate for rehabilitation and presented psychological evaluations that called Brooke a “low-risk” offender. “He’s not a rapist, not a child molester,” said John Matthew Fabian, a forensic and clinical psychologist. “He’s a noncontact sex offender.”

In his report, Fabian said, Brooke used the Internet as an avenue to deal with his unhappiness, loneliness, boredom and sexual release. His sexual behaviors suggested some elements of paraphilia sexual disorder and a hypersexual disorder. Chantal Brooke, Jonathan Brooke’s wife, testified the couple had grown apart and become were more like roommates after their move to Kerrville. She cried as she asked the jury to let him be a part of the community.

“He’s a good person,” Chantal Brooke said. “A good person with a good heart. ... He’s an excellent father. He loves the children dearly.” Thurier, his ex-wife, testified that she had traveled from Canada with serious health problems to tell the jury he had been an excellent father to their now 24-year-old daughter.

But Goodwin asked Thurier about the drugs the couple had used while they were married and Thurier testified they had used marijuana and cocaine and experimented with heroin and methamphetamines.

Kerrville Daily Times

Retrieved March 26, 2007 from http://dailytimes.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0222db07304e37e1

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:54 AM | Permalink

By Zach Church and Stephanie Chelf, Staff Writers, Eagle-Tribune

Methuen, Massachusetts - Four top police officers who reaped overtime rewards from a federal Homeland Security grant are also the Methuen Police Department's biggest overtime earners in the last five years.

Money from the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Homeland Security grant wasn't supposed to go to ranking officers in the department. But Capt. Kristopher McCarthy, Lt. Kevin Mahoney, Sgt. Michael Havey and Capt. Randy Haggar were paid thousands of dollars in overtime. Now the Justice Department is demanding repayment of the $30,000 that it says was improperly spent.

An Eagle-Tribune analysis of police payroll records since fiscal year 2002 shows a pattern of five-figure overtime payments to the four superior officers. In fact, more than 18 percent of the department's overtime money in the last five fiscal years went to McCarthy, Mahoney, Havey and Haggar.

Combined, the four officers earned more than $600,000 during that period. Last year, their combined total was just under $150,000. The analysis looked at overtime pay from government sources, including city coffers and federal and state grants. It does not include private police detail pay. None of the four returned messages seeking comment for this story.

Federal investigators last fall subpoenaed all records related to federal grant spending by Methuen police during the past five years, including payroll. The Justice Department won't say what it is investigating.

Overtime leader
In the last five years, McCarthy has made more in overtime than any other officer in the department by far. He earned more than $50,000 in overtime in the last fiscal year alone. His base salary and other payments pushed his total earnings last year to $169,713. That was more than the salary of police Chief Joseph Solomon, who made $154,866.

During the five-year period, McCarthy, Mahoney, Havey and Haggar each brought in more than $120,000 in overtime pay and were consistently at the top of the police payroll.

It's not unusual for police officers to top the public employee pay list, thanks to overtime, detail pay, longevity pay and perks like the annual bonus paid for college degrees.In Gloucester, for example, the top earner last year was police Lt. Jerris Cook. His base pay was $58,234, but overtime, detail and other forms of pay pushed his gross pay over $142,000.

Beverly's top wage earner was police Capt. John DiVincenzo, who made $148,772, including more than $46,000 in overtime and detail pay. Salem, Mass., police Capt. Paul Tucker led that city's pay list by earning $134,279, including $7,867 in overtime.

Total overtime
Methuen spent $906,298 on police overtime pay in the last fiscal year. About 17 percent of that came from state and federal grants. By comparison, Lawrence spent $1.9 million on police overtime in the same period. Just under 35 percent of that was paid by grants.

Overtime represented just under 12 percent of Methuen police payroll spending in fiscal 2006. In Lawrence, it represented just over 14 percent. Methuen has 104 officers, compared to Lawrence's 161.

Generally, senior officers make more overtime than newer officers. That's because their overtime rate increases as they climb the ranks and their salary increases.

Lt. Michael Wnek, head of the Methuen police supervisors union, which represents ranking officers, would not comment for this story.

Solomon and Deputy Chief Joseph Alaimo are not eligible to receive overtime. Solomon did make $35,176 in overtime during fiscal 2002, before he became chief.

Federal investigators raised questions about Methuen's COPS grant last month, sending Solomon a letter outlining concerns about how the money was spent.

McCarthy, Mahoney, Havey and Haggar collectively received more than $10,000 in COPS program overtime. The Justice Department gave the city $50,000 for the program, and Methuen paid nearly $17,000 in matching funds required by the grant.

Havey made more COPS money than any other officer. The $5,874 he made over two years represents nearly 9 percent of the $67,000 in COPS money. In a letter to the Justice Department, Solomon defended the use of the grant to pay overtime to supervisory officers, who include captains, lieutenants and sergeants.

Now-defunct consulting agency Crest Associates was paid to secure and administer the COPS grant for Methuen. Crest came under federal investigation soon after.

Founder Richard St. Louis, a former Methuen resident, committed suicide in February 2004 and the company folded. Solomon in his letter said those events contributed to the confusion over grant spending rules.

Solomon did not return a call for comment on this story. Mayor William Manzi plans to appeal the Justice Department's demand for repayment of $30,000.

But he has also taken the first steps to discipline Solomon, saying the chief was in charge when the money was misspent. A hearing that could lead to disciplinary action is scheduled for April 2.

http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_084115643/resources_printstory

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:47 AM | Permalink

03/26/07, from www.thisislondon.com

Scam: PC Shaun Pennicott became obsessed with collecting the points which he could then turn into air miles. A long-serving policeman's career is in ruins after he was convicted of a scam involving Tesco Supermarket Clubcard points. Officer Shaun Pennicott, 42, racked up 75,000 points after discovering a loophole on self-service tills at his local store. The married father-of-two found a scrap of paper could be inserted into the machine instead of a coupon offering bonus points - and that he could do this several times with each purchase.

Over two months he made 154 transactions at a Tesco Extra in Watford, Hertfordshire. On one occasion he bought a newspaper and used the 'voucher' three times to earn 450 points.  Customers normally receive a point for every pound spent on Tesco goods or services.

One point is worth a penny if used to buy shopping - but Pennicott took advantage of a scheme to convert every £2.50 worth into 600 airmiles with British Airways. The scam was unearthed when Tesco staff contacted police after their computers flagged up the enormous amount of points on his Clubcard account.

Pennicott claimed he had planned to bring the loophole to Tesco's attention and his transactions were intended to prove the risk of 'substantial abuse'. But he was found guilty of eight charges of going equipped to cheat and was ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service and pay £3,300 in fines and prosecution costs. Hertfordshire police have also been told to expect a letter of resignation from the disgraced officer.

Judge Michael Kay described the officer's defence as 'preposterous'. "You were so greedy you would do virtually anything to obtain Clubcard points and turn them into air miles," he said. "You regularly travelled abroad and that is what attracted you."

Luton Crown Court heard customers are meant to scan vouchers at self-service tills before 'posting' them through a slot in the machine. But while the scanner would read a bar code, there was nothing in the slot to recognise the difference between the voucher and a piece of paper. This allowed the voucher to be used repeatedly - either on the same occasion or on later visits.

Pennicott, who joined Hertfordshire Police in 1992, was let in on the secret when he struggled to use a voucher at one of four self-service tills shortly after they were introduced at his his local store in November 2005.

A supervisor came over to help and ended up resorting to the loophole - which was common knowledge among staff - inadvertently setting the policeman on his spree. Astonishingly, during the trial Tesco admitted it had known about the loophole for some time but had not introduced measures to stop it. Operations manager Kay Clements said: "We have calculated the loss and it is not enough to warrant the investment of putting [an electronic] reader in every machine."

Prosecutor Samantha Leigh said Pennicott was 'obsessed with Clubcard points'. She mentioned a promotion in September 2005 where customers received 150 points if they bought three Birds Eye meals. Over a three-day period, Pennicott legally bought more than 750 of the cheapest meals, earning nearly 38,000 points.

Hertfordshire police said they had been told Pennicott's resignation letter would arrive this week. If he changes his mind and decides to fight for his job, sources said he would be sacked after being disciplined for criminal conduct. After the case, Chief Superintendent Jeremy Alford said: "I expect police officers to be honest and act with integrity. Shaun Pennicott did not live up to the standards I expect."

Retrieved March 26, 2007 from http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23390381-details/'Obsessed'%20PC%20ran-up%2075,000%20points%20using%20Tesco%20clubcard%20scam/article.do

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:45 AM | Permalink

By Bonnie Hobbs, 03/22/07, The Connection Newspapers

Steve Franklin Garrison got a gigantic break. Sentenced in October to five years in prison for three counts of possession of child pornography, the Chantilly man only had to actually serve five days in jail. The rest of his sentence was suspended, and Garrison, 54, was placed on supervised probation for three years. Before learning of his fate that day in Fairfax County Circuit Court, he apologized for his actions.

Garrison acknowledged that he'd put his marriage of 35 years in jeopardy and vowed to the judge, "No matter what I have to do to get my life back on track, I'll do it." Now, though, it seems as if that train headed for the straight and narrow somehow veered off path. Fairfax County police have again arrested Garrison and charged him with two counts of possession of child pornography. And this time, he's facing a revocation hearing during which some or all of his previously suspended jail time could be reinstated. Garrison and his wife have three children and live at 4312 Poplar Branch Drive, in the vicinity of three schools: Greenbriar West Elementary, Rocky Run Middle and Chantilly High.

Since January 1998, he was employed by Fairfax County as a master building inspector. Then he learned to use the Internet. And as his attorney, John T. Graham, explained at Garrison's sentencing, "From ages 50-54, he became conversant in the use of the Internet [to view] both adult and child pornography." Eventually, authorities shined a light on Garrison's newfound interest. And on Oct. 6, 2005, he was arrested by the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C., Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. He resigned his job with the county four days later.

Garrison pleaded guilty May 9, 2006 in Circuit Court, before Judge Marcus Williams, returning Oct. 13 to learn his punishment. Graham told the court his client was receiving treatment for his problem from two doctors and noted that he'd never engaged in physical contact with minors. "He's undergone a complete transformation and been honest and aboveboard with everyone," said Graham. "He's not the type of person to do this kind of thing, and he's never going to repeat it again."

But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Kyle Manikas was concerned about the seriousness of the charges and troubled by Garrison's behavior. "This wasn't a one-time event," he said. "It was done repeatedly, over a three- to four-year period."

He then asked Williams to sentence Garrison to "some active jail time and a substantial period of probation" so he'd have some time hanging over his head if he ever gets into trouble again." Manikas also recommended that Garrison be ordered into sex-offender treatment requiring periodic polygraph tests.

Williams sentenced Garrison to five years in prison on each of his three charges, running the sentences concurrently. He then suspended all but five days and placed Garrison on supervised probation for three years. The judge also ordered him to receive sex-abuse evaluation and treatment and to continue with the therapy programs he's already begun. "I'm suspending [most of your sentence] because you have no prior record," Williams told Garrison. "But the court is concerned about the nature of this crime, so that's why the court has ordered the evaluation and treatment to continue."

Fast forward to March 5 of this year — less than five months after his sentencing — and Garrison is back in hot water. Det. Craig R. Paul — with the Child Investigations Unit of the police department's Criminal Investigations Bureau — presented details in a March 7 affidavit for a warrant to search Garrison's home for evidence of child-pornography possession. Paul wrote that he received information March 5 from Garrison's probation officer. According to the detective: "When Mr. Garrison learned that he was going to have to submit to a court-ordered polygraph as part of his compliance in his sentence, he [allegedly] admitted to his probation officer that he had downloaded a video of child pornography." The detective stated that Garrison reportedly told his probation officer he'd downloaded it from a computer in his home, around Feb. 20, and that it showed "a 12- to 14-year-old female giving oral sex to an adult male."

Furthermore, wrote Paul, Garrison allegedly admitted searching online for child pornography by using a particular term used by people who are stimulated by seeing sexual activity between adults and children. Police arrested Garrison Feb. 28, charging him with two counts of possession of child pornography. His revocation hearing is scheduled for this Friday,

March 23, in Circuit Court. Until then, he's being held without bond in the Adult Detention Center. Meanwhile, police searched his Chantilly home March 7 for two hours and seized more than two dozen items, including two computers and associated software and accessories, two cameras, a multitude of VHS tapes, CDs, CD-Roms, an alleged pornographic book and 10 alleged pornographic videotapes.

Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=79200&paper=62&cat=104

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 12:15 AM | Permalink

Honolulu Starbulletin.com, Vol. 12, Issue 82, 03/23/07, By Crystal Kua, ckua@starbulletin.com

In response to a series of drug and gambling cases that nabbed Honolulu police officers in the past couple of years, Police Chief Boisse Correa wants to start a new unit aimed at nipping bad behavior in the bud. Citing a similar unit formed in Los Angeles, Correa discussed the proposed creation of a "Quality Assurance Detail" in presenting his department's $189.5 million operating budget request for next fiscal year to the City Council's Budget Committee. Correa also told the committee yesterday about future plans to create a 25-member Homeland Security Division and to carve out a new police district -- District 9 -- along the Waianae Coast.

Before former police officer Harold Cabbab began serving a 14-year federal prison term for drug charges, he told Police Chief Boisse Correa there might have been a way to prevent his behavior from spiraling out of control.
"He felt that if someone had caught him and disciplined him or told him, 'We're watching you,' it would've stopped him," Correa said. "It might have saved him."

The Honolulu Police Department's proposed $189.5 million operating budget for next fiscal year includes a request for seven positions -- a captain, lieutenant, four detectives and a senior auditor -- to create a new Quality Assurance Detail within the Internal Affairs Division. This comes in response to recent federal gambling and drug cases in which Honolulu police officers were arrested.

"Like many big organizations, you need another unit checking the quality to ensure excellent service to the community and to identify and correct any kind of procedural or system failures that you may have or to ensure that you detect troubled employees and make sure that your employees are adhering to the highest professional standards," Correa told the City Council Budget Committee yesterday.

But some questioned whether the additional officer positions might be better served patrolling beats. "What's the trade-off in putting four more people in quality assurance rather than putting them (on patrol) in Pearl City?" asked Councilman Gary Okino, who represents Pearl City. "Let's say you have all the officers you want and you have a bad reputation," Correa responded. "It's very, very difficult to recuperate. That's what we're trying to prevent."

After the budget presentation, Correa said that the goal is not to target officers, but the unit could follow up, for example, on complaints that officers in a certain district were not using seat belts by monitoring officers' behavior and making recommendations for change. "I want the integrity to be maintained. I do not want our officers to be sent off to the federal penitentiary," Correa said. "When they slip, we want to catch it early. If they have problems, we want to know about problems to prevent them from escalating to a different level."

Sgt. Stanley Aquino, chairman of the Oahu Chapter of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said the department has already begun discussions with the union over the new unit. SHOPO's main concern is protecting the contract rights of officers should these quality assurance checks lead to discipline, Aquino said.

"If it's called for to check the integrity of the department in following policies and procedures, that's OK; but if they're targeting officers, that's a different story," Aquino said.

Aquino said he believes that the unit is redundant because Internal Affairs already has the ability to do what the new unit would be doing. "With better training by supervisors, we may not need this unit." Correa also talked about future plans to expand the department, including eventually creating 25 positions in the next couple of years for a new Homeland Security Division that would assist the department in keeping keep up with federal homeland security mandates. The department, however, is looking to start with seven positions.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin | www.starbulletin.com

Retrieved March 23, 2007 from http://starbulletin.com/2007/03/23/news/story02.html

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 11:36 PM | Permalink

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 06:23 PM | Permalink

By Kit Bradshaw, TCPalm.com, 03/20/07
 
Jupiter, Florida - Police Chief Frank Kitzerow has recommended 22-year veteran officer Jeffrey Sprauer's employment be terminated in an Internal Affairs investigation report to Town Manager Andy Lukasik that was released Monday.

Surrounding a traffic stop for suspicion of DUI, Sprauer committed conduct unbecoming an officer, did not report misconduct to his supervisor, committed a misdemeanor, was untruthful and was untruthful in an official proceeding, Kitzerow wrote in his conclusion to the 21-page document and recommendation to Lukasik.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer told Kitzerow he will not prosecute any of Sprauer's future cases because of the untruthfulness violation, the police chief said in his conclusion.

"Officer Sprauer violated the public trust, the law, failed to comply with established Jupiter Police Department Policies, compromised his integrity and compromised his ability to perform the essential job functions relating to honesty," Kitzerow wrote.

Sprauer, whose Dec. 20 traffic stop with no arrest soon prompted a Stuart Police Department policy change toward future suspected cases of DUI, will remain on administrative leave until April 20, when a predetermination meeting will be held. By April 26, Lukasik must decide whether to agree with Kitzerow to fire Sprauer, not to terminate the officer or amend the chief's recommendation.

At 11:41 p.m. that Wednesday, Stuart police did not arrest Sprauer, but instead gave him two citations -- failure to maintain a single lane and failure to have his driver license -- and allowed him to be taken home, following a videotaped sobriety test in which Sprauer could not recite the alphabet and was shown to have difficulty keeping his balance. No Breathalyzer test was administered, according to reports.

This decision not to arrest the officer created an uproar in the Stuart community, resulting in a change of policy. Now, Stuart officers are mandated to arrest all individuals suspected of DUI infractions.

Sprauer told Internal Affairs investigators in Jupiter in January that he had had at least nine drinks in a span of a little more than five hours that night before he was stopped at U.S. 1 and Grumman Boulevard on suspicion of driving while under the influence, according to the report. He told Stuart police he had not had any alcoholic beverages that evening, according to the police report.

"Between the hours of 6:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Officer Sprauer advised he consumed either four (4) or five (5) twelve ounce bottles of Budweiser beer and one shot called a 'Nassau' while bowling (Stuart Lanes)," the Internal Affairs report says. "After bowling, they went to the Sakura Restaurant for dinner. While there, Officer Sprauer consumed four (4) Vodka and Cranberry drinks. This was between 9:30 and 11:30 p.m., according to Sprauer's testimony in the Internal Affairs investigation. He was with two companions.

"In total, Officer Sprauer advised he consumed either nine (9) or ten (10) alcoholic drinks within five and one-half (5.5) hours," the report said. "(The predetermination meeting) will be the opportunity for Jeff and his attorney to share any additional information and for me to ask any questions," said Lukasik on Monday. "I will be making my decision within four working days of this meeting. I can sustain the chief's recommendation and terminate Jeff's employment, overturn the chief's recommendation or alter it in some way."

In his report, Kitzerow wrote: "After careful review of all the facts and circumstances, taking into consideration Officer Sprauer's actions as they relate to his ability to effectively continue as a Jupiter Police Officer, I am recommending his employment with the Town of Jupiter be terminated."

"It's a very tough thing all the way around," said Kitzerow by telephone shortly before the report was released Monday. "But you have to do what you believe is the right thing."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Alcohol Consumption Calculations, a male weighing 200 pounds who consumes the equivalent of nine alcoholic beverages over a five hour period would have an approximate BrAc of .1139%. The legal level of impairment is .08%.

Sprauer told Stuart police he had not had any formal education in regard to field sobriety tests, although a review of Sprauer's records show that he had completed several DUI and Breathalyzer training courses from 1985 through 2001.

"In essence with a sustained violation of untruthfulness, Officer Sprauer will be ineffective as a police and witness in criminal or traffic court of law due to a lack of credibility. Mr. Barry Krischer, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, advised me that he will not prosecute any of Officer Sprauer's future cases due to this sustained untruthfulness violation," Kitzerow stated in his report.

Lukasik said the Feb. 15 report was released when the town's attorney said the internal investigation report and Kitzerow's recommendation to the town manager could be made public before Lukasik's final decision.

Contact: kit.bradshaw@scripps.com

Retrieved March 21, 2007 from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-320jupitercop,0,2926562.story?track=rs

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 05:02 AM | Permalink

New Orleans - A former New Orleans police officer pleaded guilty today to one count of malfeasance in office and was sentenced to one year in jail. The sentence was the result of a plea agreement between the district attorney's office and Donald Baptiste.

The charge stemmed from a sting operation conducted by the police department's Public Integrity Bureau following citizen complaints alleging he had taken money from arrested subjects before bringing them to jail.

The operation caught Baptiste removing 251 dollars in marked money from an informant and failing to turn the money in, police said.

Baptiste was ordered to begin his sentence on April 16th 2007.

The Associated Press.
Retrieved March 21, 2007 from http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=6249739

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 05:01 AM | Permalink

By Kassie Korich, 03/16/07

Bremerton, Washington - Command Master Chief of Naval Base Kitsap Edward E. Scott was arrested Friday morning for second-degree attempted rape of a child and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

The arrest comes after a month-long undercover investigation by Bremerton Police detectives and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). “It’s a serious and unfortunate incident,” said Tom Danaher, spokesman for Naval Base Kitsap. “We are here to support his family.”

While online communicating from his computer at work, 43-year-old Scott engaged an undercover agent in sexually explicit conversations. “The conversations became very graphic” stated a Bremerton Police Department news release. “After extensive communication, Scott requested to meet. Scott provided graphic detail of specific sex acts he wanted to perform, and which he wanted children to perform as well.”

Scott was taken into custody 5 a.m. yesterday after he arranged to meet at a Bremerton motel. He was arrested and booked into jail. He is currently charged with communication with a minor for immoral purposes and second-degree rape of a child. His bail is set at $500,000.

Scott’s initial court appearance is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday, March 19, at Kitsap County Superior Court. Scott worked at Naval Base Kitsap for about a year, according to Danaher and was a senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer. “We’ll fill that position immediately,” Danaher said.

Scott joined the Navy in 1982 with assignments at Naval Telecommunications Station Pacific, Wahiawa, Hawaii; Naval Telecommunications Station Western Pacific, Guam; Naval Facility Whidbey Island; Naval Training Center, San Diego; and Recruit Training Command, also in San Diego, according to Naval Base Kitsap’s Web site www.nbk.navy.mil.

Scott also served as command master chief aboard the USS Camden and the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
 
Central Kitsap Reporter

Retrieved March 19, 2007 from http://www.centralkitsapreporter.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=93&cat=23&id=855109&more=

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:22 PM | Permalink

March 16, 2007. From WFTV.com

Palm Bay, Florida - Palm Bay police arrested a registered sex offender and children's author outside the Palm Bay Library. Police believe he was prowling for children. Ronald Schaaf has been arrested three times for sexually assaulting children and cops think he's still going after young kids. He violated a Brevard County ordinance that prohibits sex offenders from going near parks and playgrounds.He was arrested Thursday coming out of the library, about 50-feet from the Turkey Creek Sanctuary park. "I am very concerned. It scares me as a parent," said Bill Ladow, a parent. Parents like Ladow are concerned because violating a county ordinance is only a misdemeanor. Schaaf will likely make bail and get out of jail. Palm Bay police said they will be watching him closely and if he goes near a park again, he will be arrested.

Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://www.wftv.com/news/11269491/detail.html

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 03:17 PM | Permalink

03/12/07, By John Agar, The Grand Rapids Press

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Former Wayland firefighter Matthew Cook, fired for accessing child pornography at the fire station three years ago, is due in court this week for allegedly trying to hire a prostitute to help him kidnap and rape a young girl, police said in court records.

"Cook advised that he was looking to have sex by force with a 12-year-old female," Detective Matthew Kubiak wrote in an affidavit.

A probation report said Cook solicited a prostitute at South Division Avenue and 36th Street to "help him lure, kidnap and rape a 12-year-old Jane Doe" from a bus stop. "Cook wanted to pay (her) for her help but he didn't have the money presently, but would have it in a week." "He told her he was looking for someone 9 to 14 years old," Grand Rapids police Capt. Jeff Hertel said. The prostitute, worried that Cook might actually try to assault someone, then told police.

Cook, 27, is charged with solicitation of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13, and trying to commit gross indecency with the prostitute and a "12-year-old Jane Doe." Both are five-year felonies. He is also charged with being a sexually delinquent person, which carries a penalty of one day to life.

A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Wyoming District Court. Cook, arrested earlier this month, is held on $500,000 bond.

Hertel credited the prostitute for coming forward. Cook never found a victim. "Somehow, he wanted her help. I'm not sure what she was supposed to do for him," Hertel said.

Wayland Police Chief Dan Miller said his city has an open case from last year on Cook, who allegedly accessed porn in the Wayland public library. "He was on a chat line and the complainant said he was looking at young naked females on the library computer," he said. Miller did not know if the images were minors.

The state police computer crime lab in Lansing is investigating the 2006 incident to determine the sites he accessed, said Miller. Allegan County sheriff's detectives are also investigating allegations that Cook molested a young girl, court records said. Cook joined the volunteer fire department in 1998 and was fired in 2004, Miller said.

Send e-mail to the author: jagar@grpress.com

Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-35/1173710799130390.xml&coll=6

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:31 PM | Permalink

On December 22, 2005, the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children (AZ ICAC) Task Force received the first in a series of seven reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding child pornography that was being trafficked through Google. Technicians at Google had discovered disturbing images of child pornography on their computer servers and reported the images to NCMEC in accordance with federal law.
 
An unknown offender had posted unlawful images to five different groups within Google. The groups had the following titles:

Pedophilia-Pics
Hardcore
Preteen photos
Preteen-bestiality-and-anything-taboo2
Homemade_vid_pthc, (note: among pedophiles, pthc means pre-teen hardcore)

Researchers at NCMEC conducted a preliminary investigation and learned that the computers facilitating the trafficking belonged to the City of Phoenix and that the offender used the email address,”ugofif@yahoo.com” and the screen name, “Billy Corgan”.
 
Investigators quickly suspected that the screen name Billy Corgan was an alias after learning that the real Billy Corgan is a prominent musician.
 
An Intenet Yahoo profile posted on-line for “ugofif” indicated that his listed interests included:

Preschool
Strangers with Candy
Kinki Kids
PT Cruiser (note: among pedophiles, PT stands for “pre-teen”)
Kinder-und Jugendhilfe
Babyz
All in the Family

AZ ICAC investigators learned that the computers used by “ugofif” were part of the vast Phoenix library system including 13 branch libraries located throughout the 516 square-mile city.
 
Computer experts know that computers connected to the Internet can be identified by an Internet protocol (IP) number, also known as an IP address. An IP address is similar to a telephone number in that the number can be traced through subpoena to a particular location or vicinity.
 
Investigators learned that the IP numbers associated with “ugofif” were shared between every public-access computer throughout the entire citywide library network and investigators initially could not identify which single library computer was the one used by “ugofif”.
 
Working in an undercover capacity on the Internet, an investigator contacted “ugofif” and developed information that he was trafficking child pornography for sale. He used a monetary brokerage service that is designed to protect the anonymity of buyers and sellers.
 
Investigators leaned that "ugofif" had used Phoenix public library computers on hundreds of occasions. Because the library does not log nor retain basic user information, the investigation would have stalled except for one unusual IP address that appeared in the long listings of hundreds of identical library addresses. The unusual IP address did not match the IP addresses associated with the library.
 
Investigators researched the unusual IP address. They found that it was associated with a computer e-mail kiosk at a convenience store in Phoenix. The store was not far from the main downtown public library. The convenience store has a small podium-like stand with a computer attached that permits users to insert money and then log-in and check email. Fortunately for investigators, the store also maintains a video tape recording system that preserves images of customers. Investigators retrieved video tapes from the store that depicted a person using the computer at the same date and time that the IP records had indicated “ugofif” had been there.
 
The convenience store video showed images of an unidentified person – probably “ugofif”, but investigators still did not know his true identity. Using the images, investigators then began covert surveillance at the downtown branch of the library, looking for the person in the picture. The library has dozens of computers located on three different floors of the building.
 
On December 30, 2005, a person resembling the man depicted on the store video was observed using a library computer at the downtown library. Covert surveillance was conducted for two hours as the man moved about and used seven different library computers. Initial surveillance could not confirm that the person was in fact "ugofif". The library did not require users to provide any proof of identity in order to use the computers and investigators later learned that the computers have software set to eliminate evidence shortly after a patron departs.
 
When the man left the library, investigators followed afoot. A few blocks from the library he was detained temporarily under a pretext and he presented identification with the name Taurean Allmon. Allmon said that he was transient and living at the nearby homeless shelter.
 
A search warrant was prepared for the purpose of seizing the seven library computers that had been used by Allmon. The purpose of the seizure was to attempt to determine with certainty whether or not Allmon was “ugofif” – also know as “Billy Corgan”. On January 5, 2006,