For two weeks in the spring of 2015, the FBI was one of the largest purveyors of child pornography on the internet. After arresting the North Carolina administrator of The Playpen, a “dark web” child-pornography internet bulletin board, agents seized the site’s server and moved it to an FBI warehouse in Virginia. They then initiated “Operation Pacifier,” a sting and computer-hacking operation of unparalleled scope that has thus far led to criminal charges against 186 people, including at least five in Washington state. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Child Pornography
NJ: 40 people arrested in massive child porn crackdown
Forty men hailing from every corner of New Jersey have been charged in a statewide crackdown on the distribution of child pornography, authorities announced today. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Sexting charges dismissed for Fayetteville teenager
Charges were dismissed Thursday against a Fayetteville teenager who made international headlines last year after he was accused of making child porn for taking nude photos of himself when he was 16. Full Article
Read MoreFederal appeals court upholds judge’s lowest possible sentence in child-porn case
CINCINNATI, Ohio — An appeals court on Monday rebuffed the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s attempt to overturn a Cleveland federal judge’s decision to give the lowest possible sentence to a man who downloaded and shared child pornography. Full Article
Read MoreFBI didn’t need a search warrant before hacking child porn suspect, judge rules
The FBI didn’t need to obtain a warrant before investigators hacked the computer of a man suspected of viewing child pornography, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Full Article Related Federal Court: The Fourth Amendment Does Not Protect Your Home Computer Decision
Read MoreWA: 17-year-old harasser is convicted of distributing child porn of himself
… E.G. was therefore charged for making the harassing calls and for “dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit activity” — essentially for distributing child porn of himself. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreTX: Sex with 17-year-old girl is legal in Texas—sexted pics of her are kid porn
Try to follow along. In Texas, it’s legal to have sex with somebody as young as 17 years old. But it’s considered child pornography to have nude pictures of somebody under 18, even if he or she is 17. Full Article
Read MoreHow a federal spy case turned into a child pornography prosecution
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — FBI agents entered ____ ____’s home in Southern California while he and his wife were visiting her relatives in Shanghai. Agents wearing gloves went through boxes, snapped pictures of documents and made copies of three computer hard drives before leaving as quietly as they had entered. Full Article
Read MoreSentences for some sex offenders defy reason (Op Ed)
It’s important to be tough on crime. We must protect society, especially our children, from criminals whose past behaviors have clearly proven them to be dangerous predators. But sometimes we go overboard when the law creates more unnecessary suffering than it prevents. Full Op-Ed
Read MoreNM: Court ruling shows child porn laws’ ambiguity
In a decision likely to fuel ongoing debate over the state’s child pornography laws, the New Mexico Court of Appeals this week reversed nine of a Los Lunas man’s 10 convictions for distributing sexual images of minors over an online file-sharing network, ruling that he should not have been charged with a separate offense for each image. Full Article
Read MoreSCOTUS: Justices on both sides invoke Scalia in sentencing case
WASHINGTON — The late Justice Antonin Scalia’s writing turned up in dueling Supreme Court opinions Tuesday, a fitting tribute to the justice who co-authored an entire book on interpreting the law. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan both invoked the book Scalia wrote with Bryan Garner in 2012 in a case over a lengthy prison term for a man convicted of possessing child pornography. Full Article
Read MoreInjured U.S. vets now hunting child predators
Largo, Florida (CNN)Ret. Sgt. Tom Block is sitting in the classroom, looking restless. He and 23 other highly specialized, highly coveted candidates are all vying for a job where they will be exposed to horrifying images of child sex abuse and the worst humanity has to offer. Full Article
Read MoreJudge Gives Man 5 Days for Child Porn, Rails Against Harsh Sentences
A Brooklyn man who faced 10 years for downloading child pornography was sentenced to five days by a federal judge who sharply criticized punishment guidelines for failing to distinguish between dangerous offenders and those who pose little threat. Full Article
Read MoreFBI ran website sharing thousands of child porn images
WASHINGTON — For nearly two weeks last year, the FBI operated what it described as one of the Internet’s largest child pornography websites, allowing users to download thousands of illicit images and videos from a government site in the Washington suburbs. The operation — whose details remain largely secret — was at least the third time in recent years that FBI agents took control of a child pornography site but left it online in an attempt to catch users who officials said would otherwise remain hidden behind an encrypted and…
Read MoreWI: Lawmaker seeks to close loophole for naked baby pictures
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Lots of families keep naked photos of their babies as keepsakes, but a Wisconsin lawmaker says some of those pictures are made for the wrong reasons. Assembly Republican John Jagler of Watertown is proposing a bill to ban nude baby photos for those intending to use them for sexual gratification. Full Article
Read MoreCO: DA – No charges in school sexting scandal
CANON CITY — The district attorney will not file charges against 106 students identified as participating in swapping 351 nude or questionable photos of their classmates following a month-long investigation into a sexting case. Full Article
Read MoreTeen sexting is definitely a problem, but a felony?
True or false: Your teen could be convicted of a felony and be labeled as a sex offender — for life — if he or she has sexted photos of classmates? The answer is “True” if your kid lives in one of the many states, like Colorado, that doesn’t have laws specifically addressing teens who sext. Why bring up the Rocky Mountain state? Earlier this week, it was revealed that an unspecified number of Cañon City High School students had been suspended for using their smartphones to share explicit photos of…
Read MoreThe Fate Of This Sex Offender May Lie In The Hands Of Justice Scalia [updated]
***Supreme Court Justice Scalia dies at 79; fiery conservative fought liberalism’s tide*** WASHINGTON — A man convicted of possessing child pornography wants the Supreme Court to read his offense under federal law narrowly — and in the process, to give him a break from a very long prison sentence. Whether he’s successful may depend on the voice and vote of Justice Antonin Scalia. Full Article
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