Dr. Frank Kardasz, November 5, 2008

Modern cell phones often come equipped with cameras that can be used to capture images. Young people often use their cell phone cameras to snap pictures of friends, families and special occasions. Images taken with cell phone cameras can be easily shared between users who can quickly send images to one another.

Unfortunately, sometimes cameras are also used to snap images of nudism or sexual exploitation. An increasing number of complaints are being received by law enforcement involving improper or illegal images taken and trafficked via cell phone.

Parents, please monitor your child's use of a cell phone camera.

Young people, please think about the consequences of taking and sharing pictures taken with a cell phone camera.

Remember that once an image is released to others or into cyberspace, it is irretrievable. Pictures can be shared and duplicated across cyberspace and the image might not ever be erased.

Please think before you snap-a-pic.

------------------------------------------------------

The following story by Laura Legre discusses the situation nationwide.

Students trading nude photos not isolated incident

By Laura Legere. The Times-Tribune.com. 11/12/08

Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania area students caught trading sexually explicit pictures of classmates are part of a growing trend. But unlike many teenage fads, what may have seemed like a harmless act could leave them facing life-altering legal consequences.

Incidents of similar trading of nude images by high school students — either by cell phone, e-mail or social networking Web sites — have been reported in at least 12 other states, including New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Utah and Georgia.

John Shehan, director of the exploited children division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said this year alone his organization has received more than 100 reports of child exploitation involving a cell phone. That number includes cases of exploitation by both adults and minors.

In Tunkhannock, police confiscated five cell phones from students between the ages of 11 and 17. One of the phones contained about 100 pictures, according to Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. He said “some of the girls” in the pictures were also taking the photos, which likely showed females between the ages of 14 and 16.

The punishment for teens taking, sending or receiving such photos can often be very adult. In Texas in October, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on child pornography charges after he received a nude picture of an eighth-grade student on his cell phone.

In Utah, a 16-year-old boy was charged with a felony for sending nude photos of himself over a cell phone to female classmates.

In May, a Wisconsin teen who posted nude pictures of a 16-year-old girl on his MySpace page was charged with possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation.

Pennsylvania students who trade nude images could be charged with sexual abuse of children, unlawful contact with a minor, or criminal use of a communication facility, all of which are felonies punishable by up to seven years in jail.

That point was made repeatedly to the ninth- and 10th-graders gathered in the Abington Heights High School gym Wednesday to hear about the dangers of such behavior. Although there have not been any reported incidents of students trading nude photos in the district, assistant superintendent Thomas Quinn, Ph.D. said, “It certainly would be naive to think it couldn’t happen here.”

Lackawanna County Deputy District Attorney Frank Castellano told the teens that taking, possessing or distributing pictures of people under the age of 18 constitutes child pornography in Pennsylvania, whether or not the person taking the photos or sharing them is a minor. “Please don’t think that you are immune from this type of prosecution or this type of arrest simply because of your age,” he said. “It makes no difference.”

Assistant District Attorney Robert Klein said students who receive nude images should immediately delete them. He emphasized images conveyed by cell phone often end up on the Internet and are spread widely. The legal and social ramifications of such an act can limit a person’s ability to get into college, join the military or get a job for the rest of his or her life, he said.

High School Assistant Principal Michael Beamish put the possible repercussions in even more personal terms, referring to the “tarnish” a pornography charge would have “on your family name.” “Everybody, take a minute and think about what your grandparents would feel if you were in court being prosecuted as a sex offender,” he said.

Nils Frederiksen, spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office said law enforcement and prosecutors determine the charges to file when teens trade nude photos based on the individual circumstances of each case. But, he cautioned, “If you are sending sexually explicit material to someone under the age of 18, you are facing a potential felony charge.”

Mr. Shehan, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said prosecutors’ dilemma whether to “prosecute or try and educate or seek counseling” is very difficult, and will become more prevalent as the issue continues to spread. “A lot of damage is done when an image like that is taken and shared and essentially becomes available to the world,” he said. “Teenagers have a different mentality than adults do. A momentary lapse of judgment can have a lifetime of repercussions.”

But Daniel Macallair, executive director of the California-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonprofit that advocates alternatives to juvenile incarceration, said the focus on the strictest criminal punishments is not the best way to address the issue. “Labeling some teenager who does something stupid as a lifetime sex offender solves no problems,” he said. “It will create more problems than it will solve.” He encouraged a community-wide response to the incident that involves parents and schools, but not the criminal justice system. “Are you trying to push someone to the margins of society for the rest of their life, is that the goal here?” he said. “And have we really thought this through?”

Retrieved November 17, 2008 from
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2008/11/12/news/doc491b83902cae9324790271.txt

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 09:38 PM | Permalink

Dr. Frank Kardasz. September 15, 2008

The information below pertains to an incident from the state of Washington concerning liability for failure to investigate a report of unlawful images.

Background

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) sends cybertips to the 59 nationwide ICAC Task Forces on a daily basis. Cases are also sent to the FBI, ICE, or US Postal Service depending on the perceived original jurisdiction of the case. The sad case described below was the result of tips sent to the Seattle, Washington ICAC Task Force in 2003.

Seattle Washington ICAC

In 2003, the Seattle, Washington ICAC Task Force received a NCMEC cybertip accompanied by two unidentified images of a boy being abused. The initial report indicated that the possessor of the images used the screen name, "fosterdad". The source of the images was determined to be a computer in Tacoma, Washington.

The case was first received and documented by the Seattle ICAC and then sent to their Tacoma affiliate for investigation. Seattle is the statewide recipient and clearinghouse for incoming NCMEC cybertips and has a computer virtual private network connection with NCMEC for the purpose of receiving incoming complaints.

In this case, Seattle preserved their case assignment log indicating that they sent the investigation to Tacoma. Washington state law requires that cases of child abuse must be reported to the Washington Child Protective Services agency. The NCMEC Cybertip in this case was not reported to the Washington CPS.

A conscientious and dedicated NCMEC analyst was alarmed by the images and contacted Tacoma PD to follow-up on the first report. The analyst was advised by a Tacoma detective that the images were not prosecutable. It was later leaned that the detective may have been less than truthful in this statement.

Then, a few months later, in a second cybertip, additional images from the same offender were reported to NCMEC. The second cybertip report was more thoroughly investigated by the Tacoma detective and in March, 2004 the offender, Ronald Young, a state-certified foster-parent, was arrested. It was discovered that he had molested several of his foster children over a long period of time and had photographed them and shared the images via the Internet. The same Tacoma detective who handled the original investigation also handled the subsequent arrest. He was initially lauded as a hero for his work on the case and later vilified after the initial delays were uncovered.

Washington Lawsuit

In 2006, a victim’s rights attorney filed suit on behalf of the foster children against Tacoma PD, Seattle PD, and Washington Child Protective Services. The suit alleged in part, that there was deliberate indifference in failing to investigate the original cybertip. CPS was sued for failing to investigate the background of foster-parent Young.

Washington Damages

Recognizing their difficult positions, Tacoma PD and the State of Washington CPS quickly settled with the plaintiffs. Although the Seattle ICAC had documented the fact that they sent the case to Tacoma - Seattle also paid. City of Seattle attorneys recognized that if they did not settle they would be the only defendant left in front of a jury that would likely be looking for someone to blame.

Total payout was reported as 10.5 million. The City of Seattle / Washington ICAC Task Force paid 1.9 million of the total. The Seattle ICAC Task Force now has the policy of notifying CPS on all of their investigations and an improved policy for following up on the cases they receive.

Key Points

The Washington situation is a tragic reminder to those investigative agencies who dismiss child pornography investigations as trivial that there are true victims behind the images, and that those victims may have lawyers. Child pornography is not just one picture of a baby in a bathtub that was created overseas and circulates the Internet among a few pedophiles who do not live in your city. It is a big problem, it cannot be ignored, and improved law enforcement efforts are needed.

Due to the high workloads and limited resources available for Internet crimes against children throughout the United States it is possible that a case similar to the one in Washington will occur, or has already occurred in other jurisdictions.

Recommendation

Law enforcement agencies must recognize that unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors are serious crimes worthy of significant investigative efforts and the devotion of increased resources.

Selected News Reports from the Washington Case

The following reports from various news sources begin with a story that describes the fine work of the Tacoma, Washington ICAC investigators.

Detectives Add High-Tech Tools to Law Enforcement Arsenal

05/07/04. By Jeffrey M. Barker. Seattle Post-Intelligence Reporter

Tacoma - In a Police Department office here lighted largely by computer-screen glow, two detectives chase technology. They're helping law enforcement catch up with the gadgets that now pervade our daily lives: the Internet, digital cameras, computer chips that are found in everything from cell phones to a car's engine. Just a few years ago, police ignored or fumbled with those things. In many places, they still do.

But they are the pieces of evidence detectives now need to convict criminals. Take, for an example, Ronald Harold Young, the Key Peninsula foster father charged in March with 44 counts of child rape, molestation and exploitation. He was found at the end of a cybertrail that included anonymous Internet bulletin boards, search warrants of Internet service providers and seizure of hard drives and cameras. It was a trail blazed by Detectives Richard Voce, 46, of the Tacoma Police Department and Greg Dawson, 45, of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The two make up the county's computer crimes unit.

"I don't have a computer science degree," said Dawson, a former Army aviator who bought his first computer - a Commodore 64 - in 1982. "I just wanted to play games -- flight simulators and things like that." Computers crowd his office. Connecting cables hang from walls. A child-pornography case brought Dawson to computer detective work. The case involved a man who took his hard drive filled with illegal pictures to a computer store for maintenance.

Same story for Voce. "I did a couple cases that just pushed me in this direction," he said, sitting in his dark office, hunting and pecking on his keyboard. Hanging on the wall behind him, a fake street sign reads "Pervert Parking Only." "He's what we call a natural," Dawson said of Voce.

Voce said that before 1999, he didn't know much more about computers than the average person who has one at home. Now, he teaches a three-hour class on computer crime at the local police academy. The class covers the rise of identity theft, fraud cases, proper seizure of a computer - all stuff that had never been discussed before during basic police training.

In most police departments across the country, the trail would have gone dead long before reaching Young, said Frank Clark, a former detective who works with the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office and started the computer crimes unit here. He also founded Computer Technology Investigators Northwest, a cooperative that helps train detectives and puts them together with private-sector computer experts.

When Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg -- then the county's prosecutor -- hired Clark away from a pioneering computer crime unit in Fresno, Calif., computer evidence here wasn't being properly investigated. "They (Pierce County detectives) were seizing a number of computers," Clark said. "They just didn't know what to do with them."

He said most departments simply don't have officers trained in computer forensics. And because of that, fraud and child pornography - the bulk of what Voce and Dawson deal with - are going unaddressed. The Seattle Police Department does not staff any full-time computer detectives.

The only full-time computer forensics lab in this state, other than Pierce County's, is run by the Washington State Patrol. Clark said departments should have at least one computer detective for every 200,000 residents. "If you gave me five people tomorrow, I could keep them busy, and more," Dawson said, adding that once detectives are trained to look for computer crimes, they find more and more.

On the flip side, just because many cities are not looking for the crimes, and therefore not prosecuting them, it doesn't mean they don't have a high-tech crime problem. "If I don't have a drug unit, I don't have a drug problem in my town. The same can be said of high-tech," Dawson said. Clark agreed, saying Pierce County doesn't have more fraud and illegal pornography cases than other region -- "we just work 'em."

The Pierce County/Tacoma lab gets about 40 tips annually like the one that led to Ronald Young, the detectives say.

And Dawson and Voce said there are more people out there who are able to commit crimes from the mostly anonymous comfort of their homes, rather than having to seek out child pornography in dark alleys and through regular mail. "The Internet is a wonderful, wonderful tool," Dawson said. "But it's got a dark side -- it's a delivery system that wasn't there just a few years ago."

Detectives investigate bomb threats, which often are made through e-mail; improper use of private companies' computers; check fraud; and identity thefts. Dawson and Voce also help other detectives on more traditional cases. In a homicide, for example, a death threat or other evidence might be found on a computer.

That's the kind of slip-up that might not be found in the course of non-computer police work. "But you can afford to be stupid right now," Dawson said, "if there are no cops out there to catch you."

Reporter Jeffrey M. Barker can be reached at 206-870-7852 or jeffreybarker@seattlepi.com

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/172341_vprofile07.html

Online Postings Describe Struggle with Sexual Urges

03/31/04. Mike Carter, Michael Ko and Jonathan Martin. Seattle Times staff reporters.

Police say a Pierce County foster dad charged with molesting and photographing young boys in his care posted messages in an Internet newsgroup catering to Christian pedophiles, saying he struggled "minute by minute" with his urges and describing himself as a "boylover that has devoted my life to boys and introducing the love of Christ to them."

Tacoma Police Detective Richard Voce yesterday confirmed that 41-year-old Ronald Harold Young used the Internet identity "Homeanon" to write of his battle with his sexual urges for children, and counseled other struggling pedophiles in a "Christian" forum on religion and their pedophilia.

Young also used that identity to post dozens of pornographic photographs in another pedophile-oriented newsgroup, police said. Many of the pictures were of his foster children, and some were so graphic that they offended others in the group. Young, a licensed foster parent, was arrested last week at his house in Home, on the Key Peninsula, and has been charged with 30 counts of first-degree child rape, eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of first-degree child molestation. Voce said detectives believe the pseudonym Homeanon refers to Young's residence in Home, as well as his desire to remain anonymous.

According to some members of his family, Young became "super-religious" in recent years, right around the time he applied for and received a foster-parent license from the Department of Social and Health Services.

On Dec. 1, 2003, Homeanon joined a debate in a "Christian" pedophile newsgroup over whether there is biblical justification for pedophilia or homosexuality. "Married for over 20 years, I still find boys attractive in a lustful way and can only remove those thoughts with praises to our loving God," he wrote. He concluded, after a lengthy analysis, that "homosexual desire is unnatural because it causes a man to abandon the natural sexual compliment God has ordained for him — a woman."

In another posting Jan. 16, Homeanon responded to a pedophile who opined that a man who has sexual urges for children should confront his temptations. "I do not think an alcoholic should hang out in a bar, a boylover probably should not take on a Boy Scout troop without examining his true motives," Homeanon wrote.

Charging papers state that the first pornographic photos of some of the six foster children in Young's care — clearly showing a sex act — were posted to the Internet by Young under another identity, "fosterdad," on Sept. 10, 2003, more than two months before he posted his missive on the Christian forum.

On Sept. 16, 2003, Homeanon appeared in another newsgroup that caters to pedophiles. A few days later, he wondered in that newsgroup "how safe is this. to post or not to post. That is my dilema. Much to lose."

About every six weeks, Homeanon posted a series of photographs, some with a theme and many of sex acts between men and boys, or other degrading acts involving children.

In several of the postings, Homeanon wrote that he hadn't taken the pictures. "Please note that I have only posted these Beautiful pictures and that I DO NOT know these boys," he wrote Dec. 2, 2003.

The charges against Young state that police have recovered the camera that took the photographs and have identified Young and some of the foster children in the photographs. Homeanon's appearance in one group created quite a stir. While many of its members urged him to keep posting new photographs, a few took offense at some of the more graphic photographs.

In a posting in February, one group member complained about a photograph that appeared sadistic. "I posted that pic," responded Homeanon, who added that the "photographer would NEVER hurt this boy."

Voce, the Tacoma detective, said Young "may be telling the truth" about a longtime battle with sexual urges. Homeanon and the photographs appeared late last summer, Voce said. Young, he said, found solace in the pedophile newsgroups. "It's common that people like this will seek validation. And what better place to find it than among those with similar likes and dislikes?" he said.

Richard Packard, the president of the Washington state chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, reviewed some of Homeanon's writings. He said the use of religious language shows an attempt to create a moral justification for behavior Young knew to be wrong. "To me, it's indicative that there is a struggle and an awareness of the wrongfulness. His use of the term 'boylover' is a frequently used term among homosexual pedophiles to pasteurize their behavior, to turn it into something that's kinda nice," he said.

Efforts to treat offenders rise or fall on their willingness to abandon the religious moralization, Packard said.

DSHS spokeswoman Kathy Spears said the agency would not comment on Young's case or release records until the conclusion of police and DSHS investigations, which could take several weeks. Spears said DSHS does not have the manpower to monitor Internet activity in its 6,300 licensed foster homes.

Meanwhile, records show that Ronald Young's stepfather was involved in a child-molestation case in 1989. Harold Young pleaded guilty to two counts of child rape in Skagit County Superior Court and was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.

Police and prosecutors said Harold Young raped his two step-granddaughters (the children of Ronald Young's older sister) between January 1988 and January 1989, when the girls were 11 and 7 years old. At the time, Harold Young and his wife were managing the Skagit Valley Mobile Manor, a mobile-home park.

"He used his status as a grandfather and then scared my daughters with his threats if they told me or anyone else," the girls' mother wrote in a statement filed with the Skagit County prosecuting attorney in December 1989. "It has left a lasting effect on me and both my daughters. They will have to grow up with this haunting them, and I feel it will keep them from leading a normal adult life when it comes to marriage and children."

Roy Jamison, who has lived at the Mount Vernon mobile-home park for 17 years, said that he knew the Youngs and that Ronald took over as manager at the park for a couple of years after Harold was arrested.

Ronald Young's mother, who lives in Alabama, said her husband's case has "nothing to do with Ronald."

Seattle Times staff reporter Christine Willmsen contributed to this report. Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com

 

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040331&slug=foster31m

Child-Sex Case Jolts Family, Small Community

3/27/04. The Seattle Times

Tacoma - Ronald Harold Young, the Pierce County foster parent charged yesterday with 44 crimes of child pornography and rape involving six boys in his care, gave his family the impression that taking in broken children was his personal "ministry."

Young, 41, became "super-religious" about two years ago, said his 25-year-old niece, who only gave her first name as Bev. She said Young presented himself as "a good, God-fearing Christian of all things, super foster dad."

For most of his adult life, he told family members he was an atheist, said a woman who identified herself only as Young's sister and Bev's mother. One day, she said, "he started wearing a cross and preaching." Neither Young's sister nor his niece knew what caused the transformation. About that time, in July 2002, Young and his wife received a license to become foster parents.

Young said little yesterday before pleading not guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to child rape, molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor. He is being held on $2 million bail in the Pierce County Jail.

In charging papers, Pierce County prosecutors said that by September 2003, Young was engaging in sexual acts with the six boys, ages 5 to 7, taking hundreds of digital pictures and sending them all over the world via the Internet.

In fact, tips that sparked the investigation came from Europe and the United States. Investigators overseas found child pornography originating from the Tacoma area under the e-mail address fosterdad@hotmail.com. The e-mail address was connected to Young, who was arrested about 7:15 a.m. Thursday.

Young has had at least five other foster children who no longer lived at his home, and detectives are talking to them about whether they were victimized. Prosecutors said Young has contacted foster children after they've left his care.

The attorneys believe the boys, who lived with Young from December 2002 until three weeks ago, were molested. Young has no known criminal history. Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said investigators last night were trying to determine if Young previously went by a different name and had been charged or convicted of a sex crime under that name.

Young spent at least the past five years in Home, a sleepy community in northwest Pierce County in the middle of the Key Peninsula. Neighbors said Young raised two of his own boys. One is in the Air Force, and the other still lives in the area. Jane Coby, a cashier at the Home Country Store, recalled that Young came by about once a day to buy cereal and milk.

Young used to be a contractor, but recently, he was a full-time foster parent who did odd jobs. State officials say foster families are paid $366.31 to $514.95 per month for a child whose needs are average.

Linell Warnes, another cashier at the Home Country Store, said Young was "very nice, very quiet, very well-mannered. He was always correcting (his boys) firmly: 'No, you can only get one thing.' 'No, you don't behave like that.' "

Unrest in Home, court

But few people in Home had sympathy for Young yesterday. Many wished him harm or said he should die. Young's sister said his family "is not standing by him." "I don't want none of it, he's a sick bastard," she said. "What we have to say is he's very sick and we don't condone it." Young's niece, Bev, was so upset after the court hearing yesterday that she charged at Young's wife in the crowded hallway. Bev, who was restrained by her mother, accused Young's wife of wrongly supporting him.

retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Young_Ronald_483770550.aspx

The Stranger

03/31/04. David Schmader. Index Newspapers, The Stranger (weekly column).

Speaking of sex crimes and cyberspace: Today brought some fascinating background to the case of Ronald Young, the 41-year-old Key Peninsula foster father charged last week with 30 counts of first-degree child rape, eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and six counts of first-degree child molestation.

Today the Seattle Times reported on the spooky postings left by Ronald Young over the years on the Internet. Tacoma police have confirmed that Young used the name "Homeanon" to write of his battle with his sexual urges for children and to post photographs of sex acts between men and boys. According to the Times, Young's anguished testimonials took place primarily in newsgroups catering to Christian pedophiles, with "Homeanon" (detectives believe the pseudonym refers to Young's residence in Home, WA, and his desire to remain anonymous) detailing his "minute by minute" struggle with his urges, and characterizing himself as a "boylover that has devoted my life to boys and introducing the love of Christ to them." More disturbingly, "Homeanon" also posted dozens of pornographic photographs, many featuring Young's foster children, sometimes in settings so graphic they reportedly offended other pedophiles in the newsgroup.

Ronald Young remains in a Tacoma jail pending $2 million bail.

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=17762

Child Abuse Tips Gain Priority for Tacoma and Seattle Police

07/10/08. Stacey Mulick. TheNewsTribune.com

Tacoma and Seattle police have started making changes in how they handle Internet child abuse tips after issues with their policies surfaced in a lawsuit involving eight boys whose foster father sexually abused and photographed them.

Allegations about how the departments handled the abuse tip were part of the lawsuit, whose $11 million settlement was announced Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Tacoma City Council approved payment of its portion of the settlement – $7.6 million.

Basically, the departments are strengthening their processes for tracking the tips they receive so they’re quickly reviewed and passed on to the appropriate agencies. Among the changes:

• Tacoma police now have a written policy on how tips on Internet child sex crimes are received, logged and assigned to a detective.

• Seattle police have a more efficient way to track when they send tips to other police agencies.

“We are very saddened for the victims and disappointed about our performance in this case and have taken every measure to avoid this from happening again,” Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said Wednesday. Tacoma police also are conducting an internal investigation of how detective Richard Voce handled the case, which was not begun for at least two months or as many as five after the department received the abuse tip.

Voce, a member of the computer crimes unit, remains on duty. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in 2004 he told The News Tribune that his heavy caseload prevented him from investigating the tip sooner.It’s a “systemwide issue, and there are a lot of moving parts to it,” Ramsdell said. “It’s very complicated, and these cases are very complex.”

Photos Posted on the Internet

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of eight boys sexually abused and photographed in 2003 and 2004 by their foster father, Ronald Young, in his Key Peninsula home. Hundreds of photos were posted on the Internet. Young later was convicted and sentenced in the case.

In the lawsuit, attorneys for the boys, who were between 5 and 12 at the time, alleged Seattle and Tacoma police officers failed to follow state law by not reporting the suspected abuse to the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The suit also claimed that Tacoma police failed to act quickly on the tip. As the case sat untouched, the boys continued to be abused. Tacoma police “did act on it but did it very, very slowly,” said Jack Connelly, an attorney for the boys. “The problem with this case is everyone sat on it and nobody was acting very quickly.”

In addition to the $7.6 million Tacoma has agreed to pay to settle the suit, the City of Seattle will pay $1.9 million and the state $1.5 million. The state has paid $500,000 on behalf of Young’s wife, Wendy, who was accused of negligence for failing to be a proper foster parent.

A judge still must approve the settlement; no hearing has been scheduled.

Police Notified in 2003

The case began in September 2003 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found sexually explicit photos that had been uploaded on the Internet by someone with a computer in the Tacoma area. The center told the Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that the person who posted the photos used the names “fosterdad” and “homeanon.”

At the time, the Seattle task force was the clearinghouse for such tips in Alaska and Washington. The nine-member task force, created in 2001, passed tips to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for further investigation. In the Young case, Seattle police contended they sent the tip to Tacoma police in September 2003. Tacoma police said they received it in December 2003. No records confirm when it was sent and received.

Voce, who is assigned to a joint computer crimes unit with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, didn’t start investigating the tip until February 2004, after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted Tacoma police directly.

Investigators obtained search warrants and arrested Young, a state-licensed foster parent, in late March. The boys were removed from his home. Young later pleaded guilty to eight crimes related to the case. He was sentenced in April 2005 to 26 years in prison.

A lawsuit against the state on behalf of the victims was filed in 2005. Seattle and Tacoma were added in December 2006.

Policies Reviewed

After Tacoma was added to the lawsuit, the Police Department hired outside consultants to review its policies for handling the Internet crime tips and to make recommendations. “We didn’t have a clean process” for handling the tips, Ramsdell said Wednesday.

In March, Tacoma police commanders met with the consultants and, based on their input, put a new written policy in place. Under it:

• Internet tips are routed through a supervisor, who logs them, reviews them and assigns them to a detective.

• The supervisor also monitors the progress of the investigation.

• Both the detective and supervisor are responsible for alerting state social workers to possible child abuse allegations.

“We do that to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and to ensure that these are the done way they should be,” Ramsdell said.

The Seattle Police Department and its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force also has made changes. The task force now is a six-member team of Seattle police officers responsible for taking the tips and doling them out to agencies in Washington only. It now forwards tips using certified mail. “Our record keeping wasn’t what it should have been,” Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has developed software that tracks tips as they are forwarded to law enforcement agencies for investigation. Seattle police also plan to talk with the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about whether any other steps need to be taken. They also will be meeting with state Department of Social and Health Services officials to “see if there are better ways for the agencies to communicate,” Whitcomb said.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268. blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://www.thenewstribune.com/331/v-lite/story/409021.html

Tacoma, Seattle Settle Foster Father Abuse Lawsuit

Tacoma -The cities of Tacoma and Seattle have agreed to settle a lawsuit over the sexual abuse of eight children in foster care for a total of $10.5 million. The cities were added as defendants to a lawsuit filed in 2005 in Pierce County Superior Court against the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The state agency was accused of failing to adequately screen Ronald Young before licensing him as a foster father and then of failing to properly monitor children in his custody. Young pleaded guilty in 2004 to multiple counts of child rape and sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison.

The Tacoma City Council on Tuesday approved a $7.6 million payment to settle the lawsuit. The remaining $2.9 million would come from Seattle. The settlement is subject to approval by a judge. Tacoma is paying the larger share because it had the greater exposure, City Attorney Elizabeth Pauli told The News Tribune newspaper.

Young's wife, Wendy Young, was added as a defendant at the same time as Tacoma and Seattle, and a $500,000 settlement in her case was reached in February, court records show. Wendy Young was accused of negligence for failing to provide proper foster parenting but not of participating in sexual abuse.

The state licensed the Youngs as foster caregivers in July 2002. They cared for 11 children until Ronald Young's arrest, and sheriff's officials said Young abused at least eight of the boys. At the time of his arrest, Young was staying home with the children while his wife worked as a baker in a grocery store.

Prosecutors said Young posted pornographic pictures of his foster children, ages 5 to 12, on the Internet. The photos were traced to Washington state in September 2003 by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which notified Seattle police, Tacoma lawyer Jack Connelly said.

Investigators in Seattle were legally obligated to notify state Child Protective Services within 24 hours, Connelly said in 2006, but instead sent the information to police in Tacoma after determining that Young was from Pierce County .

Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson said a police officer on duty at the time the information was received "failed to recognize the serious nature" of it, so the case was not immediately investigated. More than five months later, in early March 2004, Tacoma started a criminal investigation and Young was arrested on March 25, 2004. Anderson said Tacoma has improved its process for handling reports of sexual abuse, but a detailed investigation is continuing. "The lesson we have to learn is that we always have to be vigilant about children, and this underscores it," he said.

Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008041776_apwafostercareabuse1stldwritethru.html

Seattle Settles Foster Care Abuse Lawsuit

07/10/08. Associated Press

Tacoma – The cities of Tacoma and Seattle have agreed to settle a lawsuit over the sexual abuse of eight children in foster care for a total of $10.5 million.

The cities were added as defendants to a lawsuit filed in 2005 in Pierce County Superior Court against the state Department of Social and Health Services. The state agency was accused of failing to adequately screen Ronald Young before licensing him as a foster father and then of failing to properly monitor children in his custody.

Young pleaded guilty in 2004 to multiple counts of child rape and sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison.

The Tacoma City Council on Tuesday approved a $7.6 million payment to settle the lawsuit. Another $1.9 million would come from the city of Seattle and the remaining $1 million would come from the state of Washington. The settlement is subject to approval by a judge. Tacoma is paying the larger share because it had the greater exposure, City Attorney Elizabeth Pauli told the News Tribune newspaper.

Young's wife, Wendy Young, was added as a defendant at the same time as Tacoma and Seattle, and a $500,000 settlement in her case was reached in February, court records show. Wendy Young was accused of negligence for failing to provide proper foster parenting but not of participating in sexual abuse.

The state licensed the Youngs as foster caregivers in July 2002. They cared for 11 children until Ronald Young's arrest, and sheriff's officials said Young abused at least eight of the boys. At the time of his arrest, Young was staying home with the children while his wife worked as a baker in a grocery store.

Prosecutors said Young posted pornographic pictures of his foster children, ages 5 to 12, on the Internet. The photos were traced to Washington state in September 2003 by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which notified Seattle police, Tacoma lawyer Jack Connelly said.

Investigators in Seattle were legally obligated to notify state Child Protective Services within 24 hours, Connelly said in 2006, but instead sent the information to police in Tacoma after determining that Young was from Pierce County.

Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson said a police officer on duty at the time the information was received "failed to recognize the serious nature" of it, so the case was not immediately investigated.

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=252307

Father of Sex-Abuse Suspect was Abuser: State had no Sure Way to Know That About Accused Child Rapist

03/30/04. Jennifer Langston and Rugh Teichroeb. Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporters.

Mount Vernon - The father of a man who now faces more than 30 counts of child rape involving foster sons in his care was himself a child rapist, according to court records.

Fifteen years ago, Harold Edgar Young pleaded guilty to second-degree child rape after two of his granddaughters accused him of sexual molestation, prompting residents of the mobile-home park he managed to draft a petition to keep him away. Court documents in the case also say Harold Young may have molested his own stepdaughters.

State child-welfare officials said yesterday that they could not discuss Harold Young's son, Ronald Harold Young, who was charged last week in Pierce County with raping his foster children. The case, they said, is under investigation. Nor would they say whether they knew about his father's conviction.

But it is clear that if child-welfare officials knew about the conviction before licensing Ronald Young as a foster parent, he, his wife or someone else close to the family would have had to tell them. The state does check the criminal background of prospective foster parents, but depends on those people to tell them about other parts of their lives that court checks wouldn't reveal. The state has no authority to delve into the criminal background of the families of prospective foster parents.

"If someone is going to be devious and deceitful, we don't have perfect safeguards," said Nancy Zahn, who oversees the licensing of foster homes and other children's facilities for the state Department of Social and Health Services.

DSHS officials said that such information as his father's conviction would not necessarily have ruled out Ronald Young as a foster parent, although it would have prompted more questions. "You can't make the assumption that the child of a sex offender will be a sex offender," Zahn said. What occurred was hardly a secret in the Young family.

The mother of the girls who Harold Young abused had little sympathy for her brother Ronald Young at his arraignment last week. He is accused of posting hundreds of pornographic images on the Internet of himself and six foster boys engaged in a range of sexual acts.

Ronald Young, a seemingly devout born-again Christian who was studying to be a minister, and his wife began caring for abused and neglected children in their rural Key Peninsula home in the summer of 2002.

The state expanded the family's license from three to six children last year. Prospective foster parents not only undergo criminal background checks but are also asked specific questions about their family histories, including whether they were abused as children and whether any relatives are sex offenders, Zahn said. "Certainly that isn't information that we'd just ignore," Zahn said.

An applicant who is related to a convicted sex offender might still be granted a foster care license on the condition that the relative not have any access to children placed in the home, Zahn said. During the screening process, prospective foster parents also provide three personal references. One of those three references can be a relative. Those references are asked about whether the applicant has any history of domestic violence or abuse. "People are usually very forthcoming if they have any concerns," said Paula Bentz, who also works in the licensing division.

DSHS can ask applicants to undergo a psychological evaluation, parenting evaluation or even a sexual-deviancy evaluation, Bentz said. An applicant who refuses can be denied a license. But there are also limits on what DSHS can uncover during the screening process. Applicants must give their permission for criminal background checks to be done, and such checks can't legally be run on relatives who don't live in the home, Zahn said. And the screening process depends to a large part on the honesty of the applicant, she said.

Identifying pedophiles is difficult, said Lucy Berliner, director of the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress. "We're really lousy at it. We don't have a way to do it yet," Berliner said. But she hopes DSHS re-examines its screening process in light of this incident, including looking at whether relatives should routinely be interviewed.

In Harold Young's child rape case, court documents from 1989 do not mention any relationship with a son. But two of his grandchildren, ages 7 and 11, told police their grandfather would take off his clothes and molest them. The eldest grandchild said he warned her that if she ever told anyone, she wouldn't live to see her next birthday, according to court documents. The girls' mother and two aunts described similar abuse from their stepfather after he moved into their home, according to statements in the court record from the late 1980s.

In December 1989, Harold Young entered a guilty plea in Skagit County Superior Court, despite his insistence that he did nothing wrong and that he was the target of a vendetta against him. He was sentenced to 34 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Roy and Carolyn Jamison, who lived in the Skagit Valley Mobile Manor in Mount Vernon, were among those who signed a petition to keep Harold Young from coming back to the manufactured home park that he and his wife managed. Residents circulated the petition after Young was charged. They said Harold Young had a low tolerance for children, constantly yelling at them for riding bicycles in the street or for setting up badminton nets in their own yards.

"There were a lot of kids at the time," said Carolyn Jamison. "We didn't want him back -- after hearing that you didn't want anyone else's kids getting molested." Harold's wife and Ronald's mother said this weekend that she and her husband started a new life in Alabama seven years ago and wouldn't comment on any prior sexual abuse accusations in the family. "We're leading a new life here," she said. "It would crush (Ronald) if the whole family was dragged into the mess."

P-I reporters Jake Ellison and Jeffrey M. Barker contributed to this report. P-I reporter Jennifer Langston can be reached at 425-252-5235 or jenniferlangston@seattlepi.com

Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/166922_fosterfolo30.html

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 09:24 PM | Permalink

Dr. Frank Kardasz, August 15, 2008

An Arizona newspaper recently printed a controversial article about a photographer who publicizes pictures of her own children posing nude.  The article included a chronology of dozens of nude images of the photographers’ pre-pubescent children ranging in age from less than one year to ten years.  The children were not posed in sexually suggestive positions and were not engaged in sex acts.  Although genitals were visible in the pictures, the specific focuses of the images were not zoomed on the child’s genitals.

The published images were probably not unlawful according to present United States Supreme Court standards.  The Court might consider the images to be lawful pictures of nudity or art.  The images probably did not violate the difficult-to-measure-and-enforce community obscenity standard.  The pictures might fall outside the legal definitions of images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.  The photographer appears to be attempting to straddle the sometimes-confusing borderline between art and illegality, at the expense of her children.

While barely lawful, some would consider the nude pictures of children to be erotica.  Erotica includes lawful and non-pornographic items that may stimulate a sexual reaction from the viewer.

Those who would consider nude images of children to be sexually stimulating might include the ranks of pedophiles and others who are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent minors.  Anyone who considers sharing nude images of a child should consider that others may find their benign images sexually stimulating.

Those who consider photographing children nude and sharing the images should also know that doing so may make the children the targets of those who will enjoy the images for sexual masturbatory purposes.

The same persons who sexually enjoy the images may also try to befriend the children depicted and ingratiate themselves with the family for the predatory purpose of grooming the targeted children towards actual molestation.

Predators may pose as admiring "fans" of the young model. They may pose as professional photographers interested in advancing the modeling career of a young person: A young person who’s only protection from harm are the same star-hungry parents who send them to the photographer-predator.  This does not mean that all photographers are bad, only that parents must be vigilant.

Distributing and publishing erotic images of children also means that the pictures will likely be duplicated and distributed throughout cyberspace.  That means that once the children depicted are old enough to knowingly object to the pictures the images will already be irretrievable.  Once the child reaches middle school and is confronted with the pictures by crass adolescent peers who found the pictures on the Internet, the subsequent embarrassment will be irreversible.

Benign and innocent images may also be used for alteration or blending with other images for the purpose of creating pornography.  For example, innocent images of the famous child twin actresses Kate and Ashley Olsen have been duplicated, cropped, pasted and altered into sexual images for many years by deviants who enjoy the altered pictures for sexual self-gratification and who then trade them via the Internet.  Deviants often use software programs to cut the young faces from the Olsen twins and superimpose the images onto the nude or sexually active bodies of others so that the deviants can imagine having sex with the young girls.

It is also likely that the images will become part of someone’s larger collection that includes unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.  For example, those who collect and enjoy unlawful images also sometimes collect lawful images of erotica and nudism.  Some go so far as to collect newspaper advertisements from retailers who sell children’s underwear or pajamas.  While there is nothing unlawful about images of children in pajamas, those who derive sexual gratification from such images might be considered by the psychology community as having pedophilic tendencies.

Unlawful images that depict the sexual exploitation of minors are often called child pornography.   Unlawful images of child pornography are different from lawful adult pornography.  Unlawful images should not be confused with lawful art, nudism, medical images or erotica.  The exact legal lines and definitions are often blurry and confusing to the average person.

The photographer who took nude pictures of her children under the legal umbrella protections of “art” should consider the wider ramifications of sharing the images.   Ramifications include the way in which others will perceive the images and the future possible uses of the images by persons with sexually deviant motives.  The barely-legal exploitation of children displayed in the newspaper article is disturbing.

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 More information about unlawful images

Unlawful images and videos that depict the sexual exploitation of minors are commonly called child pornography.  In most jurisdictions child pornography is a serious crime.  Why is child pornography a serious crime? Beyond sexual self-gratification, possessors and traffickers of unlawful images use the images for one or more reasons including (Child pornography, 1996):

• To blackmail children into keeping silent about the abuse.
• To preserve a child's youthful image at the age preferred by the pedophile.
• To establish trust and camaraderie with other pedophiles.
• To gain access to other markets and children by exchanging material with other pedophiles.
• To duplicate, produce and sell for profit.
• To reassure themselves that their deviant behavior is shared by others and therefore not abnormal.
• To seduce children and lower the child's inhibitions as part of the grooming process intended to model deviant sexual behavior.

Danger

Are the possessors of unlawful images dangerous? Is someone who looks at pictures a threat to offend against a child? Recent research (Hernandez, 2006) suggests that there may be a correlation between those who possess child pornography and those who are also "hands-on" contact offenders.  One surprising study of federal prisoners indicated that 85% of those in custody for possession of child pornography were also"hands-on" molesters whose contact offenses had never been discovered.

Other professionals agree that there is a danger that possessors of unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors could escalate and eventually offend against real children.  Dr.  Chris Hatcher, (1997) Professor of Psychology at the University of California said, "It begins with fantasy, moves to gratification through pornography, then voyeurism, and finally, to contact."

Former FBI profiler John Douglas (Mindhunter, 1995, p.  108) described the relationship between pornographic images and sex offenders.  He said, "With most sexually based killers, it is a several-step escalation from the fantasy to the reality, often fueled by pornography, morbid experimentation on animals, and cruelty to peers."

Some possessors of unlawful images use the contraband as a "unique solution" to their pedophilic preferences.  They rationalize that sexually gratifying themselves after viewing images is a justifiable alternative to committing "hands on" contact offenses against actual children.

Victims

What about the effect of child pornography on the victims? Are there any lingering problems for children who are the subject of abuse? Researchers found that the effects of unlawful images on child victims are often devastating.  According to Klain, Davies and Hicks (Child pornography, March 2001, p.10) child sex abuse victims suffer a multitude of physical and psychological problems.

The innocent victims of child pornography sometimes suffer a lifetime of psychological anguish and torment wondering when where and how their tortured images will re-surface.  Those who traffic in, possess and derive gratification from child pornography perpetuate the anguish.  Some argue that each image tacitly re-victimizes the child whenever the image is viewed.  Many victims of child pornography will never disclose their victimization to anyone.  They suffer in silent, haunted purgatory.  As adults, many do not wish to relive past abuse.

What is child pornography?

Child pornography depicts the sexual exploitation of minors.  It does not include child erotica. 

It does not include nudism and it does not include "baby in the bathtub" images.  Unlawful images are contraband.  They are the only form of contraband that is introduced into the human psyche through  the sense of sight.  Because unlawful images are now often produced in video form, the images are often accompanied by the sounds of children suffering.

What are some of the differences between lawful and unlawful images?

A California court offered some insight into the differences between lawful nudism and unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.   An instructive set of guidelines for determining the differences was provided in the case of United States v.  Dost, 636 F.  Supp.  828, 830-32 (S.D. Cal. 1986).

The Dost factors give a more defined test for determining whether a visual depiction of a minor is a "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area".

The Dost factors include the following guidelines:

1. whether the focal point of the visual depiction is on the child's genitalia or pubic area;
2. whether the setting of the visual depiction is sexually suggestive, i.e., in a place or pose generally associated with sexual activity;
3. whether the child is depicted in an unnatural pose, or in inappropriate attire, considering the age of the child;
4. whether the child is fully or partially clothed, or nude;
5. whether the visual depiction suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity;
6. whether the visual depiction is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer.

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A case study

In 2003, former Arizona high school teacher Morton Berger was convicted on 20 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 200 years prison.  He appealed the sentence based on arguments of equal protection under the law and cruel and unusual punishment.  In December 2004, the conviction was affirmed by two of the three judges of the Arizona Court of Appeals (State of Arizona, 2004, December 14).

Judges Susan Ehrlich and Philip Hall dismissed Berger's appeal with arguments including (citations omitted):

* It is evident beyond the need for elaboration that a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling.

*...the victimization of a child continues when that act is memorialized in an image.  The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation.  Unfortunately, the victimization of the children involved does not end when the pornographer's camera is put away.

* The legislative judgment…is that the use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the child.

* …the possession of child pornography drives that industry and…the production of child pornography will decrease if those who possess the product are punished equally with those who produce it.

* …it (the law) will decrease the production of child pornography if it penalizes those who possess and view the product, thereby decreasing demand.

* …the possession of child pornography inflames the desires of child molesters, pedophiles and child pornographers.  The State has more than a passing interest in forestalling the damage caused by child pornography: preventing harm to children is, without cavil, one of its most important interests.

* …we cannot fault the State for attempting to stamp out this vice at all levels in the distribution chain.

* Berger downloaded images from the Internet, and every time he visited a website, he demonstrated to the producers and sellers of child pornography that there was a demand for their product.  Berger's demand served to drive the industry; there need not have been a direct monetary exchange.  Berger maintains also that, because his possession of the pornographic images was passive and because he did not use threats or violence in the commission of his crimes, his sentence is grossly disproportionate.  This logic is abstruse.  As was described by this court in Hazlett, 205 Ariz.  at 527 p.  11, 73 P.  3d at 1262, and as is evident from the violent pornographic images in this case, child pornography is a form of child abuse.  The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Bergers next request for an appeal.  His 200 year prison sentence was upheld.  Berger is scheduled for release from the Arizona Department of Corrections in 2157.

Law enforcement

Disturbing unlawful videos of the sexual abuse of minors are often accompanied by the horrible audio sounds of suffering young victims.  The typical offender arrested by the Arizona ICAC Task Force possesses dozens and often hundreds of unlawful images and videos.  As law enforcement officers, once we overcome the sickening shock of witnessing the brutal recorded acts of terrible sexual violence we are left with a tenacious resolve to bring offenders to justice.

Conclusion

Contraband images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors are serious crimes.  Offenders use the images for many disturbing reasons.  The victims of child pornography deserve to be protected from their torturers and from those who enjoy witnessing the torture.  Law enforcement efforts to stop unlawful images must continue.

References

Child pornography and pedophilia: Report made by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate. (1986). 99th Congress, Second session. Washington : U.S. G.P.O.1986. iii. 54: 24 cm.

Douglas , J. and Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's elite serial crime unit, New York : Pocket Books.

Hatcher, C. (1997, October). Cited in: Armagh , D. A. Safety net for the Internet: Protecting our children. Juvenile Justice Journal (on-line) Volume V, Number 1, May 1998. Retrieved March 15, 2003. From http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jjjournal/jjjournal598/net.html

Hernandez, A. E. (2006, September 26). Statement of Andres E.  Hernandez before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce.  U.S.  House of Representatives.

Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/HernandezTestimonyCongress.pdf

Klain, E.J., Davies, H.J., & Hicks, M.A., (2001, March). Child Pornography: The criminal justice system response, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.missingkids. com/en_US/publications/NC81.pdf

State of Arizona Division One Court of Appeals.  (2004, December 14). Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County.  1 CA-CR 03-0243. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.cofad1.state.az.us/opinionfiles/CR/CR030243.pdf/CR/CR030243.pdf

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 01:59 AM | Permalink

Dr. Frank Kardasz, August 14, 2008

Law enforcement personnel whose duties obligate them to view unlawful images have a sad duty. Seeing images and videos that depict the exploitation of minors is a disturbing task. Observing minors being brutally assaulted and hearing their cries creates psychological victimization for those who must review the images and gather or present evidence towards the arrest and prosecution of offenders.

As caring humans, investigators and prosecutors have a natural affinity and empathy for young victims. The empathy and affinity for minors is so profound that many in law enforcement are psychologically unable to accept assignments that routinely deal with the victimization of children.

Unlike other forms of contraband, unlawful images are the only type of banned substance introduced to the human psyche through the perceptions of sight and sound. Although the victims who suffer most are the children who endure the "hands-on" contact offenses, proximate victims of unlawful images also include those who view the images and hear the sounds of suffering. Investigators and prosecutors become psychological victims. Particularly disturbing are the video images that are accompanied by the audio pleas of child victims.

Federal law and many state laws now have victims’ rights provisions. The laws permit victims to describe the effect of crime to the court using a victim impact statement. Depending upon the rules in the jurisdiction, the statement may be provided during pre-sentence oral testimony or in written text.

Below is a draft victim impact statement that I wrote in my capacity as a law enforcement supervisor assigned to review unlawful images during the course of ICAC investigations. My situation is not unique. My investigative experiences are shared by many others in the law enforcement community. The following information may be useful to others who can employ the information as a basis for similar victim impact statements. The information may also be useful in educating the judiciary about the impact of unlawful images.
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Victim impact statement of Frank Kardasz

Your Honor,

Pursuant to the Federal Law (18 U.S.C. § 3771), a victim is described as any person directly or proximately harmed as a result of the commission of a federal offense. Arizona law (A.R.S. 13-4401.19) describes a victim as a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed. I am writing this statement to you for the purpose of sharing my story of proximate victimization. I do not wish to invoke any other legal rights enumerated in the victims rights act. I only wish to submit this statement to the court for consideration.

My name is Frank Kardasz. In the course of my employment as a law enforcement officer and during this investigation it was my sad duty to view the images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors that are the subjects of the present case. Seeing the disturbing images of children being sexually abused caused me despair. Knowing that the defendant received sexual gratification from viewing the images is
particularly abhorrent to me.

Thinking about the images is emotionally troubling. When I consider the abuse that the victims in the images suffered I am deeply affected. I am simultaneously aware that my level of victimization is minimal compared to that of the child who was depicted in the images. Although I am troubled, my worst day in law enforcement is still exponentially better than the day that the child victims in this case were abused, photographed and recorded for the deviant sexual enjoyment of the defendant.

Because I am a law enforcement officer, most people would not consider me a victim in the classic sense. I am a dutiful and humble member of the State in the case of the State versus the defendant. I hope that you will not consider me less of a victim because of my job. I was not physically assaulted and I did not suffer property loss. I was not personally sexually abused. But as you are aware, you Honor, exposure to unlawful images is different. Images are the only kind of contraband that enter the human body through the sense of sight. Unlike other kinds of crimes, psychological victimization from viewing images happens to anyone who sees the images. My victimization was emotional. My memory now retains recollections of horrors that no ones mind should possess.

I am disturbed too because I am aware of troubling research about possessors of unlawful images. According to a Congressional report (Child pornography, 1986) possessors and traffickers of unlawful images use them for one or more reasons including:

• To blackmail children into keeping silent about the abuse.
• To preserve a child's youthful image at the age preferred by the pedophile.
• To establish trust and camaraderie with other pedophiles.
• To gain access to other markets and children by exchanging material with other pedophiles.
• To duplicate, produce and sell for profit.
• To reassure themselves that their deviant behavior is shared by others and therefore, not abnormal.
• To seduce children and lower the child's inhibitions as part of the grooming process intended
• tomodel deviant sexual behavior.

I am also troubled because my training and experience suggests that possessors of unlawful images are sometimes also dangerous on a physical level. Recent research (Hernandez, 2006) suggests that there may be a correlation between those who possess child pornography and those who are also “hands-on” contact offenders. Surprising studies of federal prisoners indicated that 85% of those in custody for possession of unlawful images were also “hands-on” molesters whose contact offenses had never been discovered.

It disturbs me to know that other professionals agree that there exists a danger that possessors of unlawful images could escalate and that possessors could eventually offend against real children. Dr. Chris Hatcher, (1997) Professor of Psychology at the University of California said, "It begins with fantasy, moves to gratification through pornography, then voyeurism, and finally, to contact." Former FBI profiler John Douglas (Mindhunter, 1995, p. 108) described a relationship between pornographic images and sex offenders. He said, "With most sexually based killers, it is a several-step escalation from the fantasy to the reality, often fueled by pornography, morbid experimentation on animals, and cruelty to peers."

The ramifications of unlawful images was succinctly described in the case of Arizona v. Berger. In 2003, former Arizona high school teacher Morton Berger was convicted on 20 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 200 years prison. He appealed the sentence based on arguments of equal protection under the law and cruel and unusual punishment. In December 2004, the conviction
was affirmed by the Arizona Court of Appeals (State of Arizona, 2004, December 14).

Arizona Judges Susan Ehrlich and Philip Hall dismissed Berger's appeal with opinions that have also been similarly reflected in previous US Supreme Court rulings. The AZ Appellate Court opinions included the following excerpts (citations omitted):

• It is evident beyond the need for elaboration that a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling.
• …the victimization of a child continues when that act is memorialized in an image. The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation. Unfortunately, the victimization of the children involved does not end when the pornographer's camera is put away.
• The legislative judgment…is that the use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the child.
• …the possession of child pornography drives that industry and…the production of child pornography will decrease if those who possess the product are punished equally with those who produce it.
• ...it (the law) will decrease the production of child pornography if it penalizes those who possess and view the product, thereby decreasing demand.
• …the possession of child pornography inflames the desires of child molesters, pedophiles and child pornographers. The State has more than a passing interest in forestalling the damage caused by child pornography: preventing harm to children is, without cavil, one of its most important interests.
• …we cannot fault the State for attempting to stamp out this vice at all levels in the distribution chain.
• Berger downloaded images from the Internet, and every time he visited a website, he demonstrated to the producers and sellers of child pornography that there was a demand for their product. Berger's demand served to drive the industry; there need not have been a direct monetary exchange. Berger maintains also that because his possession of the pornographic images was passive and because he did not use threats or violence in the commission of his crimes, his sentence is grossly disproportionate. This logic is abstruse. As was described by this court in Hazlett, 205 Ariz. at 527 p. 11, 73 P. 3d at 1262, and as is evident from the violent pornographic images in this case, child pornography is a form of child abuse. The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation.

Please consider that the imaged victims who were the subject of the defendants’ sexual fantasies are unable to provide you with a victim impact statement. Try to imagine what they would say if they could appear before you in court. I know from my training and experience that some victims of child pornography suffer a lifetime of misery wondering when and where their images will reappear on the Internet. Researchers found that the effects of unlawful images on child victims are often devastating. According to Klain, Davies and Hicks (Child pornography, March 2001, p. 10) child sex abuse victims suffer a multitude of physical and psychological problems.

I am disquieted to know from my training and experience that some offenders are adept at creating public personas’ as trustworthy and demure persons while they are privately sexually deviant predators. Offenders sometimes practice techniques enabling them to thwart polygraph and penile plesmograph tests. They often feign religious transformations and plead for mercy from the court while privately
mocking the justice system and re-offending.

Your Honor, if you viewed the images in this case you may share my feelings and you may also have empathy for the victims. While I am anguished, I am also fortunate because unlike the victims depicted in the images, I am able to obtain counseling for my woes and I can use stress management techniques for my problems. I can turn my sadness into a strengthened resolve to continue to bring offenders to you for justice.

In the interest of protecting the public, I request that you impose the longest possible period of incarceration in this case along with lifetime probation and lifetime sex offender registration status for the defendant. In my humble opinion, a long period of incarceration is the best way to prevent the offender from victimizing others.

Thank you for considering my statement.

Kindest regards,

Frank Kardasz

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References

Child pornography and pedophilia: Report made by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate. (1986). 99th Congress, Second session. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.1986. iii. 54: 24 cm.

Douglas, J. and Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's elite serial crime unit, New York: Pocket Books.

Hatcher, C. (1997, October). Cited in: Armagh, D. A. Safety net for the Internet: Protecting our children. Juvenile Justice Journal (on-line) Volume V, Number 1, May 1998. Retrieved March 15, 2003. From http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jjjournal/jjjournal598/net.html

Hernandez, A. E. (2006, September 26). Statement of Andres E. Hernandez before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/HernandezTestimonyCongress.pdf

Klain, E.J., Davies, H.J., & Hicks, M.A., (2001, March). Child Pornography: The criminal justice system response, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC81.pdf

State of Arizona Division One Court of Appeals. (2004, December 14). Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County. 1 CA-CR 03-0243. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.cofad1.state.az. us/opinionfiles/CR/CR030243.pdf

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 08:32 PM | Permalink

Supporting the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007

Dr. Frank Kardasz, May 17, 2008

The Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 will provide funding to fight Internet sex offenders in areas where support is desperately needed.  Historically, the success of the DOJ, OJP, ICAC Task Force program was due in part to the abilities of personnel at the local, state and federal levels to overcome egoism, empire-building, and jealousy in order to organize and cooperate towards the common goal of apprehending deviant offenders.  Since the programs' inception, some quietly dedicated and talented people who possess steadfast resolve to protect children have done some amazing work, mostly in the shadows of cyberspace and largely unnoticed by the community. Administrators at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention played an important role in these efforts.

My thoughts about the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 are mixed.  It represents bright hope towards progress in our difficult endeavors against clandestine cyber-sex enemies, foreign and domestic.  If implemented, the Act will seek justice for those invisible child and teen victims who are marginalized; who have no political voice and who are unrecognized by traditional community based policing efforts.  The addition of more federal agents dedicated specifically to this battle is sorely needed.  Increased funding to the local ICAC Task Forces nationwide promises to permit more personnel, training and equipment to our understaffed, under trained and under equipped colleagues.

When the US Attorneys Office created Project Safe Childhood  a couple years ago, I was pleased to see that added attention was being given to the problem of Internet crimes against children. The predictable result of the increased attention included some inter agency jockeying, bruised feelings, and political maneuvering - that happens at every level of government. After the fallout, the law enforcement soldiers in this battle will regroup and press forward.

The fine work of local, state and federal law enforcement over the past ten years has resulted in enough attention being drawn to the subject that serious consideration is finally being given to horrible cybercrimes involving children. Although our numbers and resources are still far fewer that those of the criminals, the present initiative, the Combating Child Exploitation Act (S.1738), offers our best hope to date of progressing from the stone-age to the horse-drawn-carriage age of cybercrime enforcement.

Assuming that the bill passes the house and is approved, I hope that whoever is chosen as special counsel will be a non-partisan supporter of local, state and federal efforts. The position requires a person of high character and determined resolve.  The appointee should transcend political ladder-climbing ambitions and be someone deeply rooted in law enforcement.  The appointee should remember that although the power-base will be Washington DC, some of the most effective law enforcement efforts are still being made at the state and local levels nationwide.

It is important to remember that federal law does not grant enforcement responsibility for "hands-on" contact sex offenses to federal agents unless there is some interstate nexus.  Because many cyber criminals are also contact offenders the investigations must often be worked cooperatively between federal agents and local law enforcement.  The important local, state and federal partnerships established through the DOJ OJJDP ICAC Task Force Program must continue.

I support the initiative and hope that it passes.

see also : http://kardasz.org/blog/2008/04/investigating_internet_crimes_2.html

Information about the Child Exploitation Act of 2007: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=main&bill=s110-1738

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:47 PM | Permalink

Dr. Frank Kardasz - revised April 26, 2008

Unlawful images and videos that depict the sexual exploitation of minors are commonly called child pornography. In most jurisdictions child pornography is considered to be a serious crime. Why is child pornography a serious crime? Beyond sexual self-gratification, possessors and traffickers of unlawful images use the images for one or more reasons including (Child pornography, 1986):

• To blackmail children into keeping silent about the abuse.
• To preserve a child's youthful image at the age preferred by the pedophile.
• To establish trust and camaraderie with other pedophiles.
• To gain access to other markets and children by exchanging material with other pedophiles.
• To duplicate, produce and sell for profit.
• To reassure themselves that their deviant behavior is shared by others and therefore not abnormal.
• To seduce children and lower the child's inhibitions as part of the grooming process intended to model deviant sexual behavior.

Danger

Are the possessors of unlawful images dangerous? Is someone who looks at pictures a threat to offend against a child? Recent research (Hernandez, 2006) suggests that there may be a correlation between those who possess child pornography and those who are also “hands-on” contact offenders. One surprising study of federal prisoners indicated that 85% of those in custody for possession of child pornography were also“hands-on” molesters whose contact offenses had never been discovered.

Other professionals agree that there is a danger that possessors of unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors could escalate and eventually offend against real children. Dr. Chris Hatcher, (1997) Professor of Psychology at the University of California said, "It begins with fantasy, moves to gratification through pornography, then voyeurism, and finally, to contact." Former FBI profiler John Douglas (Mindhunter, 1995, p. 108) described the relationship between pornographic images and sex offenders. He said, "With most sexually based killers, it is a several-step escalation from the fantasy to the reality, often fueled by pornography, morbid experimentation on animals, and cruelty to peers."

Some possessors of unlawful images use the contraband as a "unique solution" to their pedophilic preferences. They rationalize that sexually gratifying themselves after viewing images is a justifiable alternative to committing "hands on" contact offenses against actual children.

Victims

What about the effect of child pornography on the victims? Are there any lingering problems for children who are the subject of abuse? Researchers found that the effects of unlawful images on child victims are often devastating. According to Klain, Davies and Hicks (Child pornography, March 2001, p.10) child sex abuse victims suffer a multitude of physical and psychological problems.

The innocent victims of child pornography sometimes suffer a lifetime of psychological anguish and torment wondering when where and how their tortured images will re-surface. Those who traffic in, possess and derive gratification from child pornography perpetuate the anguish. Some argue that each image tacitly re-victimizes the child whenever the image is viewed. Many victims of child pornography will never disclose their victimization to anyone. They suffer in silent, haunted purgatory. As adults, many do not wish to relive past abuse.

What is child pornography?

Child pornography depicts the graphic sexual exploitation of minors. It does not include child erotica. It does not include nudism and it does not include “baby in the bathtub” images. Unlawful images are contraband. They are the only form of contraband that is introduced into the human psyche through the sense of sight.

A case study

In 2003, former Arizona high school teacher Morton Berger was convicted on 20 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 200 years prison. He appealed the sentence based on arguments of equal protection under the law and cruel and unusual punishment. In December 2004, the conviction was affirmed by two of the three judges of the Arizona Court of Appeals (State of Arizona, 2004, December 14).

Judges Susan Ehrlich and Philip Hall dismissed Berger's appeal with arguments including (citations omitted):

• It is evident beyond the need for elaboration that a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling.
• ...the victimization of a child continues when that act is memorialized in an image. The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation. Unfortunately, the victimization of the children involved does not end when the pornographer's camera is put away.
• The legislative judgment…is that the use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the child.
• …the possession of child pornography drives that industry and…the production of child pornography will decrease if those who possess the product are punished equally with those who produce it.
• …it (the law) will decrease the production of child pornography if it penalizes those who possess and view the product, thereby decreasing demand.
• …the possession of child pornography inflames the desires of child molesters, pedophiles and child pornographers. The State has more than a passing interest in forestalling the damage caused by child pornography: preventing harm to children is, without cavil, one of its most important interests.
• …we cannot fault the State for attempting to stamp out this vice at all levels in the distribution chain.
• Berger downloaded images from the Internet, and every time he visited a website, he demonstrated to the producers and sellers of child pornography that there was a demand for their product. Berger's demand served to drive the industry; there need not have been a direct monetary exchange. Berger maintains also that, because his possession of the pornographic images was passive and because he did not use threats or violence in the commission of his crimes, his sentence is grossly disproportionate. This logic is abstruse. As was described by this court in Hazlett, 205 Ariz. at 527 p. 11, 73 P. 3d at 1262, and as is evident from the violent pornographic images in this case, child pornography is a form of child abuse. The materials produced are a permanent record of the children's participation and the harm to the child is exacerbated by their circulation.

The U.S. Supreme court denied Morton Bergers next request for an appeal. His 200 year prison sentence was upheld. Berger is scheduled for release from the Arizona Department of Corrections in 2157.

Law enforcement

Disturbing unlawful videos of the sexual abuse of minors are often accompanied by the horrible audio sounds of suffering young victims. The typical offender arrested by the Arizona ICAC Task Force possesses dozens and often hundreds of unlawful images and videos. As law enforcement officers, once we overcome the sickening shock of witnessing the brutal recorded acts of terrible sexual violence we are left with a tenacious resolve to bring offenders to justice. Efforts to eradicate the contraband images and videos depicting the sexual suffering of minors must continue and offenders must be brought to justice.

Conclusion

Contraband images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors are serious crimes. Offenders use the images for many disturbing reasons. The victims of child pornography deserve to be protected from their torturers and from those who enjoy witnessing the torture. Law enforcement efforts to stop unlawful images must continue.

References

Child pornography and pedophilia: Report made by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate. (1986). 99th Congress, Second session. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.1986. iii. 54: 24 cm.

Douglas, J. and Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's elite serial crime unit, New York: Pocket Books.

Hatcher, C. (1997, October). Cited in: Armagh, D. A. Safety net for the Internet: Protecting our children. Juvenile Justice Journal (on-line) Volume V, Number 1, May 1998. Retrieved March 15, 2003. From http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jjjournal/jjjournal598/net.html

Hernandez, A. E. (2006, September 26). Statement of Andres E. Hernandez before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/HernandezTestimonyCongress.pdf

Klain, E.J., Davies, H.J., & Hicks, M.A., (2001, March). Child Pornography: The criminal justice system response, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law for the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.missingkids. com/en_US/publications/NC81.pdf

State of Arizona Division One Court of Appeals. (2004, December 14). Appeal from the Superior Court inMaricopa County. 1 CA-CR 03-0243. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.cofad1.state.az.us/opinionfiles/CR/CR030243.pdf/CR/CR030243.pdf

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 04:59 PM | Permalink

Dr. Frank Kardasz

Originally written: April 14, 2008, Revised: August 22, 2008

Abstract

For the first time in history, law enforcement officers in the 21st century possess proactive methods to identify and bring to justice those who sexually abuse minors. In years past, law enforcement had to wait for reports of child abuse before investigations could begin. But today, using innovative undercover techniques and the Internet, investigators can proactively seek out and apprehend offenders.  Although this is one of the greatest advancements in the history of the enforcement of crimes against children, investigators still cannot take full advantage of the innovations. This work explores some of the stakeholders in the cyber-struggle and the troubling reasons that more resources are not devoted to the growing problem. The paper explores legal, systemic, societal and psychological hurdles related to Internet crimes against children and suggests a new law enforcement paradigm that better recognizes such crimes.

Introduction

The Internet opened an uninhibited world of wild digital wonder to our generation. Cyberspace offers terrific opportunities for education, commerce, entertainment and information exchange. Sadly, a troubling dark side to the World Wide Web exists where improved law enforcement efforts are needed. The quiet collision of young people and sex offenders on the Internet has resulted in a desperate but sometimes purposefully ignored cyber-struggle for the protection of children. Those who abuse minors make extensive use of computers and the Internet. Better law enforcement is urgently needed. Law enforcement officers in the 21st century possess proactive undercover methods to identify and bring to justice those who sexually abuse minors. In the past, police had wait for reports of child abuse before investigations could begin. But today, using undercover techniques and the Internet, investigators can seek out and identify abusers. Although these are the greatest advancements in the history of crimes against children, law enforcement still cannot take full advantage of the innovations.

Proactive undercover methods can identify those who lure and entice minors towards sexual abuse. Undercover officers posing as minors have been very successful in identifying hundreds of offenders who have also committed contact “hands-on” offenses against real victims (Kardasz, April 25, 2008). Investigative operations can also identify those who traffic images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. Possessors of unlawful images are also often found to also be “hands-on” contact abusers. Surprising studies of incarcerated federal prisoners by Hernandez and Bourke (November 2000) indicated that a significant number of possessors of unlawful images were also contact offenders. Sophisticated investigative methods exist that can identify possessors of unlawful images (Koch, April 15, 2008, Software tracks child porn traffickers online). Increased investigative efforts into unlawful images will also result in an increase in the identification of molesters.

This work explores some of the stakeholders in the cyber-struggle and the troubling reasons that more resources are not devoted to the problem. The paper explores legal, systemic, societal and psychological hurdles related to Internet crimes against children and suggests a new law enforcement paradigm that better recognizes such crimes.

Constitutional Conflicts

The Commerce Clause of the US Constitution (Article I, Section 8, and Clause 3) has been interpreted as giving some authority over the Internet to Congress. Legislators are understandably reticent to tread on the First Amendment freedoms provided by the Internet. Efforts to safeguard cyberspace are sometimes perceived as costly by the business community and draconian “snooping” by free-speech advocates (McCullagh, April 14, 2006). At risk are the under-represented Fourteenth Amendment due process rights of children who have no socioeconomic power.

Those who assert Constitutional protections should review the words of Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps in anticipation of the Internet, he wrote (July 10, 1810),

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.

Jefferson refers to the discovery of “new truths.” One of the new truths discovered in the exploration of cyberspace is that the Internet is a conduit of both good and evil. Jefferson may have opined that constitutionally protected rights to free expression are in question when they permit the rights of children to be horribly violated. Perhaps the free expression rights that protect offenders require review and controls. Progressive human minds invented computers and the Internet. Deviant human minds invented ways to misuse cyberspace. A middle ground favoring public safety must be found.

It is unlikely that the legal quagmire of conflicting rights will be resolved anytime soon. Until effective safeguards are in place, minors who become victims of Internet sex offenders are not receiving the equal protection and due processes guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. More work is needed to resolve these constitutional conflicts.

Unlawful Images

Internet crimes involving unlawful images of the sexual abuse of children are now widespread and the number of images and videos available via cyberspace is probably incalculable. A Congressional study in 2006 identified several key factors that contributed to the proliferation of child pornography on the Internet.  First, and perhaps most problematic according to the study, is the sheer number of child abuse images on the Internet. United States law enforcement sources estimated approximately 3.5 million known child pornography images online (U.S. House of Representatives, January 2007).

The exact number of child pornography web sites is also difficult to determine. In the year 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline received more than 24,400 reports of child pornography. Five years later, at the beginning of 2006, that number had climbed to more than 340,000. (National Center, March 15, 2006).

In 2008, during a 30 day period in February and March, offenders in Arizona were observed using one small avenue of the Internet to traffic 15,220 unlawful images (Kardasz, March 25, 2008).  The Internet has fueled a tremendous and immeasurable increase in the amount of child pornography being produced, trafficked and possessed worldwide.

Luring and Enticement

Curious and unsuspecting adolescents visit the Internet each day seeking friendship and information but sometimes instead encounter sexual deviance and menacing predators.  One study showed that one in seven youngsters received unwanted sexual solicitations and that 4% received aggressive solicitations involving a stranger who wanted to meet in person (Wolak, Mitchell & Finkelhor, 2006. p. 1).

In luring/enticement cases involving actual teens, few of the minors who are victimized ever report the crimes. Victimized teens are often too embarrassed to notify law enforcement and fearful of their parents’ wrath for disobeying rules against communicating with strangers online. Sometimes a teen returns home after secretly meeting an Internet stranger without his or her parents ever discovering the illicit tryst.

In 2002, an Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force undercover officer posing online as a young girl was contacted by a man who requested a meeting for sex. When the man went to the location where he believed that he would meet the minor he was arrested. Investigators learned that the offender had previously met two girls whom he had victimized and to whom he had given sexually transmitted diseases. In their shame, the girls had never notified their parents of the crimes. The girls' distraught parents only learned of the offenses when detectives informed them of the suspects’ confessions (Phoenix Police Department, Report No. 2002-2233604).

In some cases, a child's natural curiosity leads them to Internet places where they do not belong, and with sad results.Beginning at the age of 13, a California boy was repeatedly victimized by offenders who met him via the Internet after first seeing his image on a web cam. The boy suffered sexual abuses at the hands of the men who had first contacted him online. Some of the boys Internet acquaintances had assisted him in operating commercial pornography websites featuring sexual images and videos of himself (Eichenwald, December 19, 2005).

In many cases, the teens who are lured by sexual predators will never come forward due to fear or a misplaced sense of guilt. A few of them, like 13 year old Kasie Woody of Arkansas (Family Life, October 12, 2004), and 13 year old Christina Long  of Connecticut (CBS News, May 21, 2002), were forever silenced by Internet sexual predators who lured them via the Internet, sexually victimized them and killed them.

Child prostitution is also being facilitated via the Internet. Pimps use message boards and social networking sites to find customers seeking to engage in paid sex acts with minors. In January 2007, Cook County Illinois police arrested three adults who used Craigslist, a free Internet advertising site, to offer the sexual services of girls as young as 14 years old. The illegal prostitution business resulted in profits of tens of thousands of dollars for the pimps. Undercover officers investigated and solved the case by responding to postings on Craigslist (Gutierrez, January 11, 2007).

In the past, child molesters were characterized as often lurking near school yards. Folklore held that child molesters frequented school yards because that is where the children were. The Internet is the new proverbial schoolyard. Cyberspace provides a ready hunting-ground for those who seek children.

The Internet is an extraordinarily important part of the daily lives of millions of young people.  For some youngsters cyberspace is more influential than school, family or religion.  In March 2008, an Internet-obsessed Arizona teenager became so attached to a popular social networking site that when his father revoked his computer privileges he shot and killed him (Walsh, March 05, 2008).

Internet social networking sites are places in cyberspace where subscribers may post personal information about themselves and share the information with others. Children and adults use social networking sites to communicate and to make friends. A study in 2006 estimated that 55% of young people have established online profiles in one or more of the dozens of social networking sites (PEW, January 1, 2007).

Most social networking sites are free and permit users to register without providing information about the users’ true identities or whereabouts. The sites are well suited for molesters who can pose as harmless mentors while disguising their true intent. There have been many incidents of registered sex offenders who have created online profiles portraying themselves as inoffensive individuals seeking romance without reference to their malevolent pasts (Kardasz, Internet social networking sites. 2007).

Proactive undercover “sting” investigations often lead to the apprehension of Internet sexual predators. Undercover officers posing as teens are often solicited by cyberspace acquaintances who offer to participate in sex acts. Unfortunately, a very few law enforcement agencies have personnel devoted to proactive investigations of offenders who lure and entice minors.

Disenfranchised Youth are Perfect Victims

Children and teens are disenfranchised from social and political power.  They are unable or unwilling to express their needs for Internet safety. Some children who become the victims of child pornography offenses are too young to phone 911 for police assistance.  They cannot call their elected official and they are often too intimidated by the offender to ever tell anyone.

Helpless child victims of some sex offenders cannot summon the assistance of law enforcement. Some victims of child pornographers are too young to formulate words or use a telephone. The evidence of a child's victimization is invisible to the general public and the crimes are often unreported. Because crimes against children are not publicly apparent, law enforcement agencies may marginalize the problems and give the crimes lower priority than other offenses. Consequently, relatively few law enforcement resources are devoted to the problems of children.

Funding for Internet crime investigations is relatively small. Most police departments have many more traffic cops than crimes against children investigators. Abominations against children are mostly committed in private locations. The offenses do not create the conspicuous noise of gunfire or a car crash. The crimes do not have the noticeable smell of smoke from a fire and cannot be seen from the street like graffiti or broken windows so there is little public attention drawn to the crimes. Offend