Letter to Hawaii legislators - Supporting data preservation of IP addresses and subscriber data

January 29, 2012

Representative Angus L.K. McKelvey, Chair
Representative Isaac W. Choy, Vice Chair
Committee on Economic Revitalization & Business
House of Representatives
The Twenty-Sixth Legislature
Regular Session 2012 Honolulu, Hawaii 96917
RE: HB 2288 Relating to Recordkeeping - supporting the proposed legislation

Dear Chair McKelvey,

I am writing in support of Hawaii House Bill 2288 that would require Internet service providers to retain Internet protocol addresses and subscriber information. I agree with the testimony of Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher T. Van Marter of the Honolulu Prosecutors (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2012/Testimony/HB2288_TESTIMONY_ERB_01-26-12_POST_.PDF)

The proposed legislation is of interest to me because I spent ten years supervising the investigations of Internet crimes against children.

In 2006, I testified before a Congressional Subcommittee on the subject of data preservation (http://kardasz.org/blog/2007/11/kardasz_testimony_april_6_2006.html)

I also conducted two studies of law enforcement investigators on this subject. (http://kardasz.org/ICAC_survey_2009.html)

During my research I surveyed investigators of Internet crimes against children and learned that preserved IP addresses and subscriber information are sometimes the only clues towards the identification of dangerous offenders. I know from my work in the field that many investigations are lost, and offenders are never identified, because Internet service providers do not satisfactorily retain subscriber information.

Critics and alarmists will exaggerate the intent and effect of the proposed legislation. They will say that it is government "snooping" - it is not. Simple data preservation of Internet protocol (IP) addresses and subscriber information is now being performed by many Internet Service Providers (ISP's) for billing purposes. It appears that the law would simply standardized the practice and permit investigators to later seek subpoenas or search warrants to retrieve the information.

Also, my understanding is that the information being preserved as the result of this legislation does not include "content" information such as the text within emails nor the images or videos within a subscribers computer. The information being preserved is analogous with the street address of a persons home and the name of the person living there.

I hope that this information will assist in supporting the proposed legislation.

Dr. Frank Kardasz (Ed.D.)
Director - Cyberspace Child Protection Campaign
Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Commander (ret.)
Phoenix Police Department (Sgt. ret.)
PO Box 45048
Phoenix AZ 85064

email: kardasz@kardasz.org
web site: http://kardasz.org/ICAC.html

Readers:  If you agree - please copy/paste this letter into an email and send it to the Hawaii House at  their email address:   reps@Capitol.hawaii.gov

Cracking the Offenders’ Online Code

Dr. Frank Kardasz, January 22, 2012

I am troubled by comments in a New York Times article about Internet safety attributed to an alleged expert on the subject (1).  The expert is quoted as saying, "The model we have of the online sexual predator is this lurking man who reaches out on the Internet and grabs a kid. And there is no data that support that."  I disagree with the expert - there is data. Please count the thousands of arrests and convictions of Internet predators as disturbing data.  Please also count the lifeless bodies of some who have been killed by Internet sexual predators as tragic and chilling data.

Comprehensive empirical "data" is challenging to produce in the field of Internet sex crimes.  We know that some teens are victimized but never report due to their shame and the knowledge that their parents will pull their Internet privileges if they confess.

Here is some other data, from my memory:

Two Lives Altered

I recall one sad Arizona case where an undercover officer caught an online predator and later through research found that the suspect victimized two girls previously but neither girl had reported to law enforcement.  The offender had also passed STD's to both of them.  Not much "data" there except two lives irrevocably altered.

Two Lives Lost

And here are two more tragic items of "supporting data" forever etched in our memories: Christina Long (2) and Kacie Woody (3) - Rest in Peace.

For the statisticians who bean-count datum, please register the number "four".

The Times’ expert is further quoted as saying, "The most deadly misconception about American youth has been the sexual predator panic.”  What "most deadly misconception and panic" is she referring to?  There is no panic.  There is only better reporting and awareness of sexual misconduct than in past decades.  There is also a trend towards carefully measured responses to the offenses: at the legislative, enforcement and judicial levels.

Report to Congress

Here is more data – from a 2010 comprehensive threat assessment report to Congress (4). Researchers reported the following:

The Threat Assessment research indicates that the threat to our nation’s children of becoming a victim of child exploitation is a very serious one.  For example, investigators and prosecutors report dramatic increases in the number, and violent character, of the sexually abusive images of children being trafficked through the Internet.  They also report the disturbing trend of younger children depicted in these images, even including toddlers and infants.  Further, offenders have become proficient at enticing children to engage in risky behavior, like agreeing to meet for sexual activity, or even to display themselves engaging in sexual activity through images or webcams.  In addition, the offenders have been able to master Internet technologies to better mask their identities.  

Cracking the Offenders’ Code

According to the Times article, the quoted expert safely navigated her teenage Cyberspace experiences unmolested.  I would like to think that her safety was due in part to the hard working men and women who toiled to keep her safe on the Internet - but I know that enforcers are far outnumbered by predators - so - by the grace of God she went.

From where the Times’ expert sits perhaps she cannot understand what the investigators in the "field" of Cyberspace witness every day.  We all wish that the Internet was a big happy play-land where kids could wander about unsupervised - but it is NOT.  Parental vigilance and supervision are required.

Notes:

(1) Paul, P. (January 20, 2012). Cracking teenagers’ online codes. New York Times (on-line). Retrieved January 22, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/fashion/danah-boyd-cracking-teenagers-online-codes.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

(2) Christina Long. http://christina-long.memory-of.com/About.aspx

(3) Kacie Woody. http://kaciewoody.homestead.com/Story.html

(4) U.S. Department of Justice. (August 2010). The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction: A report to Congress. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf

.

Grooming Tactics of a Convicted Molester

Information in this article was obtained from inmate Donald Short of the Utah State Prison system in August 1998.  Short, not his real name, has admitted to sexual assaults of more than 500 different children during a 35-year period.  Female children, ages 6-13, were his primary target.

WARNING from offender Donald Short: This article contains descriptions of various types of grooming tactics once used by a convicted child molester for the purpose of making his intended victims vulnerable for his sexual desires.  Samples of his tactics are detailed and it is hoped that this will assist law enforcement to detect and halt the future molestation of other children.

 TACTIC: THREATS

I began my career as a child molester, when I was age 8.  My older cousin and I forced his 6-year-old sister into the hayloft and our tactic consisted mainly of cutting off her escape route.  Once we had her in the hayloft, I pulled up the ladder so she couldn’t get away from us.

TACTIC: GUILT TRIPS

One day after the elementary school let out, I saw a little girl playing by herself on the swings.  She had a little dog with her.  I asked her if she’d like for me to push her in the swing.  After doing this awhile, I sat in a swing beside her and began talking with her.  I told her how pretty she was.  I deliberately guessed her age as older than she obviously was and acted surprised when she said: “Silly.  I’m only five.”  I told her she looked older.  We talked about pets.  When I asked about siblings, she said she had none.  At this time I suggested I hold her and we could sing together.  As we did, I allowed myself to become excited.  After having my way with her, I told her that if she told anyone, I would find her and hurt her doggie.

TACTIC: BEFRIEND WITH KITTENS

Our house bordered an alley that a lot of kids used as a shortcut to the school playground.  One day, from my basement, I saw a little girl on her way to the playground.  I lured her over by asking is she wanted to see some little kittens.  I knew her natural curiosity would prevail and when she came over, I took her into the basement with me.  I fondled her and two weeks later I gave her the kitten.  This placed the child in a position of feeling indebted to me and also ensured future molestation.

TACTIC: TICKLE GAMES

Seeing several young girls playing in a park, I began talking with them about themselves; how they liked school; their ages and other general topics.  I soon had their trust.  Then I said to one: “I bet you are ticklish.”  When I tickled her, it evolved quickly into a general tickle session.  During this activity, I was able to fondle each child both under and above their clothing, without it being noticed.  I used this tactic countless times while I was actively molesting children.

TACTIC: PLAYING DUMB

Many times when alone with a selected little girl that I wanted to molest, the following conversation would occur:

            Me: “You’re a cute little boy.”

            She: “Silly. I’m a little girl.”

            Me: “Nah.  You’re a boy.”

            She: “I’m a little girl.”

Me: “Prove it to me.  Let’s see if you look like a boy here.”  (I’d point to the genital area of the child’s clothing.)

At this point, invariably the child would innocently expose herself.  I would then feign disbelief and ask if I could touch her down there to see for myself.  In all the times I used this technique, only one child ever refused to go along.  Children want to please adults and the opportunity to show they are smarter, is hard to ignore.  I knew this and preyed on it.

TACTIC: I NEED HELP

I parked in a secluded area that I knew little girls walked along on their way to the swimming pool.  Getting out of my car, I put up the hood and as the child I had selected approached, I began tinkering around the engine.  When the child came alongside the car, I dropped a screwdriver.  I asked her if she’d please hand it to me.  When she did, I told her I couldn’t reach the item I needed to work on because it was out of my reach.  I asked her if she’d help me by holding the tool for me.  Of course, she was too small to reach over the fender.  I was able to fondle her and when finished, I gave her a ride to the swimming pool and told her what a “good girl” she was, to help a stranger.  In events using this approach, I never had t use direct threats against my victim.

TACTIC: LET ME HELP

In this tactic, I choose victims who are by themselves and appear to be in distress and needing help.  For example: One summer afternoon while resting in a local park, I heard a child crying.  A 3-year-old girl was limping on one foot and crying as she made her way across the park towards a path that went through the trees to a housing development.  As she passed me I observed a cockle burr in her heel.  I called to her to come over to me and I would help her.  I removed the burr from her foot and then had her sit by me.  I asked if she was happy now.  When she nodded “yes, “ I asked if she would do something to make me happy.  After several minutes, I told her how nice she was and quite molesting her.

TACTIC: FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

During this time period, I was employed as a traveling family photographer.  My company would arrange advance “shoots” for me in various towns and cities.  When I arrived, I’d set up my studio in available space; complete with a table where the customers could sit and fill out the necessary forms.  When I set up in small towns, I always had that table arranged so that the customers had their backs to me and couldn’t see what I was doing.  As they worked on the paperwork, I “got acquainted” with the children.  If the child were between ages three through six, I’d ask if she’d like to help me test the camera equipment.  I’d lift them up so they could press the test-fire button on my camera.  They liked it when the flash would go off.  Keeping an eye on the parent, I was able to fondle my victims without anyone being the wiser.  I used this tactic countless times.  The table setup was a grooming tactic aimed at the parents, whereas the camera test was used on the children.

TACTIC: SWIMMING POOL

I used several grooming tactics whenever I went swimming.  One was to situate myself along the edge of the pool in water that was up to my shoulders.  In most pools, small children will cling to the edges as they move up and down the sides of the pool.  By being where I was, the water was too deep for them to get around without having to let go of the edge.  I would “help” them by fondling them as I moved them from one side of me to the other side of the pool edge.  By tickling and laughing with the victims, the entire event appeared perfectly normal.

As a child molester, I depended upon absolute secrecy.  I never molested a child who called attention to what was going on because I was afraid of getting caugt.

               ----Donald Short, convicted sex offender

TACTIC: CRUISING

In this tactic, I always looked for children by themselves as they walked to school.  I’d drive around and look for a child who was late for school or situations such as being in the rain or on cold, wintry days, etc.  Once I found a victim, I’d offer to give them a lift to school, so they wouldn’t be “late”, “get wet” or “catch a cold”.  The reasons given were endless and depended on the type of situation.  This eventually would lead to my exposing myself and making the child touch me as I touched them.

TACTIC: WOULD YOU LIKE TO…?

Use of this grooming tactic involved my asking my selected victim if they’d like to do any number of various activities – each geared to the specific situation and victim.  Those activities were something like “Would you like to see the Chipmunks; go for a ride; learn to skate; have your picture drawn; be pushed in the swing; go to the park; learn to ride a bike; have some fun learning about yourself?” and so on.  The list is virtually endless.  In most of these situations, I’d take my victim to a secluded area and assault them sexually.

Five Who Escaped

1.      I was driving and noticed a little girl en route to school.  It was cold weather and when I stopped, I offered her a ride in a warm car.  After she got in, I began to put my hand up under her dress.  She instantly began to scream loudly: “Help!  He’s going to hurt me!  He’s not my daddy!”  Because other cars were on the same street, I quickly put her out of the car and drove away.

2.      I was parked along a route that was frequented by 9-year-old girls on their way to a school for girls.  As two girls approached, I called them over to my car and offered them a ride.  As one girl began to enter the car, her friend said she’d rather walk.  I saw her begin to write down my license plate number.  I told the first girl that I was sorry, but I had to leave.

3.      At a swimming pool, I was actively fondling the little girls as I “helped” them get around me along the pool edge.  One little 5-year-old girl went to the lifeguard and told them what I was doing.  Even though I was able to explain my actions to the lifeguard’s satisfaction, I left the pool.

4.      In a small park, I lured a young girl into a bushy area next to the children’s play area.  As I began to fondle her, she began to scream and yell for help.  An adult female came to her rescue and I barely escaped.

5.      I was planning to expose myself near a playground to several of the smaller girls and to lure them close enough for fondling.  One young girl in the selected group, noticed my always being there only at lunch hour.  Unknown to me she told a teacher about that “stranger in a car who is always by the playground.”  The next day when I arrived, the police questioned me.  The fact that they now knew about me prevented my ever doing anything again in that entire area of town.

  

Prevention Tactics for Both Children and Adults

·        Have the local police conduct a background check on a new person in your area

·        Continually warn the children about the dangers of strangers

·        Notify police of any inappropriate behavior

·        Telling the parents immediately when a stranger tells them: “I have a gift for you”

·        Be highly cautious of any male adult who appears to be overly friendly around and with children of any age

·        Never accept any gifts from anyone who is not a member of the immediate family

·        Play only in areas where a parent or playground supervisor is present

·        If a child is hurt, seek help only from a person the child knows

·        Scream “fire!” or “stranger!” to draw attention to them

·        If they see a stranger who is paying too much attention to them, the child should tell a parent, policeman, teacher or other responsible adult

·        Calling out to any nearby adults: “This man is trying to hurt me” or “I’m going to tell the police”

·        Never walk down lonely streets, especially if they see someone parked in the loneliest part of the street

·        Never stop to listen to a stranger who talks to them from his car

·        Never walk alone to school or elsewhere

"Knock and Talk" for contraband images - Suspect created exigent circumstances - Utah

From the Utah Supreme Court - a ruling favorable to law enforcement regarding "knock and talks" and a seizure related to exigent circumstances created when suspect said he was thinking of destroying his computer. - State v. Maxwell 2011 UT 81

...an exigent circumstance arose out of Maxwell's open acknowledgement that he was thinking of destroying his computer. Second, the exigency was not improperly created by the police, as there was no threat to engage in conduct violating the Fourth Amendment. Finally, the decision to seize Maxwell's computer was a reasonable method of preventing the destruction of evidence.

JUSTICE LEE, opinion of the Court.

¶1 This case arises from an investigation by the Utah Attorney General's Task Force on Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC). When ICAC agents discovered that child pornography had been downloaded through an IP address belonging to David Maxwell, they went to his home to talk to him about the evidence they had uncovered and about his use of a computer for viewing pornography. The agents eventually asked Maxwell if he would consent to a seizure and search of his computer. Maxwell refused. He also openly adverted to the possibility of destroying his computer. ICAC agents then seized the computer and later secured a warrant to search it. The ensuing search uncovered numerous video and still images of child pornography, and Maxwell was charged with ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

¶2 The district court granted Maxwell's motion to suppress the files found on his computer, concluding that there was no exigent circumstance sustaining a warrantless seizure of Maxwell's computer, that any such exigency was improperly created by ICAC agents, and that seizure of the computer was unreasonable in any event because the agents could have ensured the integrity of the computer by less intrusive means. The State appealed. We accepted certification of the case from the court of appeals in light of the important questions it presents regarding the exigent circumstances standard for warrantless seizures.

¶3 We reverse. First, an exigent circumstance arose out of Maxwell's open acknowledgement that he was thinking of destroying his computer. Second, the exigency was not improperly created by the police, as there was no threat to engage in conduct violating the Fourth Amendment. Finally, the decision to seize Maxwell's computer was a reasonable method of preventing the destruction of evidence.

Link to the Court's decision:   http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=In%20UTCO%2020111220D21.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR

The Cyberspace Child Protection Campaign's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164010175632/doc/10150438111790633/

Cyberspace Child Protection Campaign on Facebook

Facebook users, please visit and join us at the Cyberspace Child Protection Campaign on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/164010175632/

 

Tips and Recommendations for New Law Enforcement Officers

Three decades in law enforcement taught me several lessons. For my young friends who are about to embark upon a law enforcement career, here are some tips and recommendations.

Higher Standard of Conduct

Welcome to law enforcement. Your oath of office, your legislated power to use force and your power to revoke freedom means that you are now held to a higher standard of conduct than the average citizen. The public has high expectations of you. Do not abuse your privileges. 

Someday, if you become a supervisor, the expectations grow higher. Every supervisor is an example who other officers may emulate and look to for guidance. Consequently, when group misconduct occurs, supervisors involved sometimes (not always) take a harder disciplinary whack than subordinates.

Fiduciary Responsibility to the Taxpayers

The world does not owe you a living. Do not take unfair advantage of taxpayer money. Do the work. Answer the calls for service. Follow-up to completion. Although I was never perfect, the best compliment I ever received from a fellow officer occurred when I overheard him describing me to someone saying, "He is a worker!"

Consider the "Headline Test"

Every cop I know who ever lost his job via misconduct immediately wanted the job back and cried a flood of crocodile tears for whatever stupidity caused the career demise. Follow the laws, policies and regulations. There is a sad story of career heartbreak behind many of those maddening policies that you may think are optional. Pretend everything you do is being filmed for the evening news; imagine that your entire family is watching - then act with integrity.

Whistleblowing

Crooked cops are NOT to be protected - they must be reported and exposed. As soon as you keep a dark secret for a fellow officer, you become a lifelong accomplice to the bad act. Tell the whole truth, report what you saw, accept the consequences, “man-up" and make others do likewise.

Internal Affairs, Now Known as Professional Standards

Internal affairs investigators are sometimes unfairly labeled, "buddy f---ers" and called other derogatory names. Sadly, while IA is one of the most important jobs in law enforcement, it is also one of the most disrespected from within. Although some recalcitrant officers accept responsibility for their actions, others do not. Unethical officers will sometimes unfairly criticize the IA investigators while attacking the investigation and blaming their idiocy on everyone except themselves.

The Job is Not Number One

Two or three ex-spouses later you may learn that your thrilling career in law enforcement perhaps was not as important as dedication to your family should have been. Get to know your kids by taking time off to attend their school events, practices and games. Get a sitter and take your spouse out on a date. If you over-invest in your job you will under-invest in those who are most important and you may regret it later.

Protect Your Health

Staying fit and healthy will not only help you later in life, it could also save your life. After winning a life-and-death wrestling choke-out fight with a drugged-up suspect who grabbed my gun I asked him why he did it. He said, "I thought I could get your gun and shoot you, but you are STRONG dude!" I still think about that incident every day in the gym. Learn and practice self defense tactics and get to the gym early and often.

Not an Avenue to Riches

The day you got the job you did NOT become Donald Trump. Do not immediately buy a new house, car, fishing boat, motorcycle, and Rolex. Try saving money and paying for some items with cash instead of credit.

Overtime

Do not abuse the overtime system. Do not work too much overtime or you will find that the discretionary money you once earned to buy cool toys is now mandatory to keep up with your alimony and child support payments.

Keep Educating Yourself

It is fun and cool to learn firearms, pursuit driving, SWAT tactics, and other police-specific tasks but those will not help you to switch careers after you leave the job. Take college classes. Improve your writing and public speaking skills. Take a math class. Learn another language. Get a degree. Then get another degree. A wise old cop once told me, "Get as much paper on yourself as you can." You owe it to yourself to keep learning, particularly in departments where continuing education is employer-subsidized.

The Department is Sometimes Daft

The promotional system may surprise you. Sometimes the best candidates rise to the top thorough a fair promotional system - sometimes NOT. Promotions happen for many reasons - not all of them righteous. Those promoted often believe that they possess ethics and character that is above reproach. They sometimes believe they got the job because they’re great men, and as great men, how can they ever be wrong? The truth is that supervisors are subject to the same human failings as everyone else and promotions may happen for reasons other than merit.

Your Legacy

Your entire career will likely be judged by your single worst act. Few will remember the hundreds of good deeds you did but many will snicker repeatedly about your human weaknesses, quirks, and mistakes. Do the right thing and somebody might remember you in a good way. As Mark Twain said, "Always do right; this will satisfy some and astonish the rest."

Find Other Friends Too

Develop friends who are not in law enforcement. Hanging out with cops 24/7 while talking shop limits your perspective on the rest of the world and can twist you into a cynical old coot.

Someday You Might Make it to Retirement!

Invest early in optional retirement savings plan. You may actually live to retirement and you will need all that money then. It is unlikely that anyone will build a statue in your honor commemorating your fine career. Your reward will be a civil servants retirement.

Kardasz presentation to Iowa Protect our Children Conference - Plenary session - Sept. 2010

The link below leads to my September 2010 presentation at the plenary session of the Iowa Crimes Against Children Conference.

Many thanks to the host agencies for inviting me to speak.

Internet Crimes Against Children: Systemic Hurdles and Organizational Challenges

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B3XfthhGWg7RYjllYmJlNWQtNDhhOC00NzhkLTkxMjMtZTg1YjRmOGNiMGYz&hl=en&authkey=CK6-v_oD

Notes of interest from the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention & Interdiction report to Congress

I reviewed the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and found the following notes of interest:

Introduction:

* Nelson Mandela said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Ohio Congressman John Adams commented, “Given the current statistics surrounding child pornography, we are living in a country that is losing its soul" (p.1).
* Ensuring that all children come of age without being disturbed by sexual trauma or exploitation is more than a criminal justice issue, it is a societal issue (p.1).
* ...the threat to our nation’s children of becoming a victim of child exploitation is a very serious one (p.2).

Child pornography offenses present a real threat to children:

* ...knowing that all copies of child pornography images can never be retrieved compounds the victimization. The shame suffered by the children is intensified by the fact that the sexual abuse was captured in images easily available for others to see and revictimizes the children by using those images for sexual gratification. Unlike children who suffer from abuse without the production of images of that abuse, these children struggle to find closure and may be more prone to feelings of helplessness and lack of control, given that the images cannot be retrieved and are available for others to see in perpetuity (p.9),

Child pornographers are increasing their efforts to avoid being identified:

* In the United States, there is no federal statute or regulation requiring providers to keep user IP information for any length of time, or at all. Some U.S. providers only keep the information for a few days. In a 2009 survey of 100 U.S. Internet crimes investigators, 61 percent of the investigators reported that they had had investigations detrimentally affected because data was not retained; and 47 percent reported that they had had to end an investigation because data was not retained (p.23).

Psychological Impact to a Child Pornography Victim:

* ...a child suffers lifelong psychological damage and may never overcome his or her trauma from being a child pornography victim (p.D-12).
* ...children suffer from knowing that their images exist in perpetuity and that even if their abuser is convicted, there are still other child pornography offenders out there viewing their images, offenders that the victims may run into in social settings (p.D-12).

The Effect of the Lack of Internet Regulation on Law Enforcement Investigations:

* ... the lack of Internet regulation has restricted law enforcement investigations and assisted offenders in committing child pornography offenses (p.D-12).

The Link between Child Pornography and Contact Offenses Among NDIC interviewees:

* ...child pornography creates a market for new images of an increasingly graphic and violent nature.
* ...stimulation from child pornography images drive some child pornography offenders to engage in contact offenses with children (p.D-13).

Recommendations:

* Enact longer mandatory minimum sentences for child pornography offenders.
* Require a federal law that mandates all ISPs to establish child pornography filters, regulates their recordkeeping, and obligates them to report child pornography to law enforcement.
* Increase law enforcement capability by allocating more funding, training, and personnel dedicated specifically to child pornography investigations (p.D-14).
* Educate children, parents, schools, and communities on the subject and steps to prevent their children from becoming victims. Initiate a nationwide school-based program on online enticement starting in third grade and continuing throughout high school for all children and finding a way to incorporate parents’ participation in such a program.
* Have parents place home computers in a common space in the house and not to allow Internet access when they are not available to monitor their children’s activity.
* Install tracking software to monitor children’s activity.
* Develop better online enticement reporting and regulation practices for ISPs. (p.D-19).

Source: U.S. Department of Justice. (August 2010). The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction: A Report to Congress. Retrieved August 9, 2010 from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Notes from the UNICEF report to the United Nations:

* UNICEF estimates that there are more than four million websites featuring sexually exploited minors. Further, the number of child pornography websites is growing: 480,000 sites were identified in 2004 compared to 261,653 in 2001. More than 200 new images are circulated daily, and UNICEF estimates that the production and distribution of child pornographic images generates in between 3 and 20 billion dollars a year (p.9).
* In July 2009 the United Nations reported that there are approximately 750,000 sexual predators using the Internet to try to make contact with children for the purpose of sexually exploiting them (p.9).

Source: United Nations. (2009). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat M’jid Maalla. A/HRC/12/23. 13 July 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2010 from http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4ab0d35a2

One Arizona Cops' Perspective on Illegal Immigration

Dr. Frank Kardasz, April 27, 2010. Revised May 12, 2010

As a career law enforcement officer, first in Michigan and for the past 25 years in Arizona, I have admired many immigrants who came here legally and worked hard to succeed while following the laws of the land. I have also seen some people quietly slink into the US, not because they had criminal motives, but because they wanted to find productive work and send money back to their families in other countries.

I have empathy and respect for legal, first-generation immigrants who do the jobs that spoiled and "entitled" Americans refuse to do. They often toil in necessary but low-paying jobs including day-laborers, farm workers, cab drivers, housekeepers, caregivers, restaurant kitchens and hundreds of other places where they just want to do honest work and survive.

I am grateful for my born-into US citizenship and I have been employed in law enforcement for the past 30 years. I also have friends and family who properly emigrated and dutifully followed the lawful and cumbersome naturalization processes for obtaining US citizenship.

As a young law enforcement officer in Michigan in the late 1970's I was only vaguely aware of the illegal immigration issues facing the southern border states. I assumed that a strong law enforcement contingent protected the Country: I was wrong.

When I moved to Arizona in the 1980s I was surprised to learn that police policies restricted an officers' ability to assist in thwarting criminal illegal aliens. Officers could notify Federal enforcement officers only when an arrest was for a serious felony, but in most other cases there was no immigration enforcement whatsoever. Police could assist the Feds fighting illegal drugs, illegal alcohol, illegal weapons and counterfeit currency - but not illegal immigration.

During my Arizona law enforcement work I have watched the revolving-door border non-protection mechanism of the Federal government sometimes result in aliens deported to Mexico one-day and returning across the barely-regulated border a few days later.

In the 90's I supervised a police undercover unit specializing in recovering stolen property. During that time there were many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens trafficking property and narcotics.

More recently, I supervised investigations of Internet predators and I am aware of many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens committing sex crimes against minors. Several years ago 13-year-old Christina Long of Danbury, Connecticut was murdered by an illegal from Brazil whom she met on the Internet (Ohio Jobs, no date). Dozens of other troubling examples exist involving illegals committing various sex crimes against US citizens (Shilling, January 09, 2007).

As a supervisor in a Police Vice Unit I learned of many incidents involving prostitutes here illegally from other countries. One recent newsworthy case involved a prostitution business and money laundering operation in Washington and California involving illegals (Auburn Reporter April 26, 2010).

The underground but highly organized process of illegal entry to the U.S. sometimes involves “coyotes,” criminals who facilitate the illegal transportation of foreigners. Coyotes accept payments from aspiring immigrants trying to cross the border and transport them across. Upon arrival the coyotes sometimes hold their illegal human cargo hostage and then demand more money from relatives. The unlawful transportation process is highly evolved. A recent Arizona raid dismantled an organized shuttle service that was bringing illegals from Mexico to Arizona (McCombs, April 15, 2010). In another recent incident three children who were being smuggled from El Salvador and destined for Washington DC were rescued in Arizona after the parents reported that the smugglers were demanding additional ransom (Barron, May 11, 2010).

Illegals are often secreted at "drop-houses.” Drop-houses are usually rental homes in suburban neighborhoods where people are off-loaded from unmarked passenger vans under cover of darkness and quietly secreted in the quiet dwelling. In recent months police in Arizona have responded to dozens of calls about drop-houses. Police sometimes arrive at these locations only to witness a dozen or more people fleeing on foot in different directions. Sometimes those who remain are frightened men, women and children who may have been deprived of food and water by their captors (Gibson, April 13, 2010).

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 reawakened many Americans' consciousness regarding lackluster border enforcement. Since then, efforts to strengthen border defenses have improved but are still imperfect (AP April 27, 2010).

A recent political flash-point killing involved Arizona rancher Robert Krentz who was shot on his own property near the southern border town of Douglas, Arizona (Robbins, April 12, 2010). The murder is unsolved but unidentified illegals are suspected. Besides the long list of good American citizens who have tragically lost their lives to criminal acts committed by illegal aliens (Ohio Jobs, no date), the following is a sad list of some of my law enforcement colleagues who have died as the result of criminal acts committed by illegals (Crime Victims, no date):

Officer Nick Erfle, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Shane Figueroa, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Marc Atkinson, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Kenneth Collins, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Jeffery Stone, Lebanon, TN
Officer Henry Canales, Houston, TX
Officer Gary Gryder, Houston, TX
Officer Rodney Johnson, Houston, TX
Office Brian Jackson, Dallas, TX
Officer Vincent Owen D'Anna , Flint, MI
Officer Andrew Widman, Fort Myers, FL
Officer Daniel Golden, Huntsville, AL
Officer Hugo Arango,Doraville, GA
Officer Tony Zappetalla, Oceanside, CA
Officer Gregory Bailey, CA
Officer Roy Wade Jr. Long Beach, CA
Officer Abe Yap, Long Beach, CA
Border Patrol Agent James Paul Epling, CA
Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar, Yuma, AZ
Border Patrol Agent Robert Wimer Rosas Jr., Campo, CA
Border Patrol Inspector Theodore L. Newton Jr. Oak Grove, CA
Border Patrol Inspector George F. Azrak, Oak Grove, CA
Officer Robert Bryant, Denver, CO
Officer Will Seuis, Oakland , CA
Officer Michael Gordon, Chicago, IL
Deputy David March, Los Angeles County, CA
Trooper Bret Clodfelter, OR
Officer Sheila Herring, Detroit, MI

In 2003, Phoenix Police Officer Robert Sitek was shot and wounded by an illegal who had previously been deported but had returned the US to continue a criminal career (ImmigrationsHumanCost.org, no date). Officer Sitek survived the shooting. In April, 2010 Deputy Louie Puroll of the Pinal County Arizona Sheriffs Department was shot by illegals who were trafficking drugs across the border (Christie, May 1, 2010). Deputy Puroll survived. Many other law enforcement officers have been assaulted and injured by criminal illegal aliens.

The illegal immigration issue must be addressed and border security must be tightened. The new Arizona law, SB1070, attempts to loosen the restraints on a police officers' ability to assist in fighting illegal immigration. It does not authorize racial profiling. It does not authorize Constitution-trampling and it does not appear to be an apocalyptic reawakening of the Hitler regime. Naysayers should read the legislation closely before believing the misinformed hype (Arizona State Legislature, 2010).

Officers who enforce the laws must meet standards of reasonableness towards developing probable cause for arrest when enforcing the new laws. These are the same standards used in every other kind of investigation done by law enforcement. Enforcement will be scrutinized by supervisors, prosecutors judges and juries before anyone is ever adjudicated for a crime under the new laws. I recommend that the justice system be allowed to proceed before the new laws are preemptively abolished by misinformed critics.

References
Arizona State Legislature. (2010). SB1070 Immigration; law enforcement; safe neighborhoods. (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=1070&image.x=6&image.y=7

Associated Press. (April 27, 2010). Senators call for scraping 'virtual fence". Las Vegas Sun (web page) .Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/27/senators-call-for-scraping-virtual-fence/

Auburn Reporter. (April 26, 2010). Two arrested in multi-state prostitution, money laundering scheme. Auburn Reporter (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/92108544.html

Barron, A.E. (May 11, 2010). ICE agents rescue 3 kids held hostage by smugglers in Phoenix. AZ Family.com (web page). Retrieved May 12, 2010 from http://www.azfamily.com/news/ICE-agents-rescue-3-kids-held-hostage-by-smugglers-in-Phoenix-93477129.html

Christie, B. (May 1, 2010). 17 caught in search for Arizona deputy's attackers. Associated Press. (web page). Retrieved May 1, 2010 from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGgzImP2k9_40Sl_i3l7IX2Cn7bgD9FE7BUG0

Crime Victims of Illegal Aliens. (no date). Immigrations Human Cost. Web page. Retrieved April 27, 2009 from http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
Gibson, D. (April 13, 2010). Another drop house found in Phoenix. Exa
miner.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.examiner.com/x-35821-Immigration-Reform-Examiner~y2010m4d13-Another-drop-house-found-in-Phoenix

ImmigrationsHumanCost.org. (no date). (web page). http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html

McCombs, B. (April 15, 2010). Border shuttles in Tucson raided in AZ immigration sweep. Arizona Daily Star (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_6d121a36-48b1-11df-ac5b-001cc4c002e0.html

Ohio Jobs and Justice PAC. (no date). web page.Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp

Robbins T. (April 12, 2010). Arizona ranchers caught up in Mexican drug violence. National Public Radio (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125844450&ps=cprs

Shilling, C. (January 09, 2007). Sex-offender stings get thousands of illegals: Experts stil concerned U.S. children. WorldNetDailey.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=39607

Wooldridge, F. (April 22, 2010). States rights: Arizona deals with illegal alien immigration. NewsWithViews.com Web site. Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty563.htm

Dr. Kardasz presentation to Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG)

On February 4, 2010, I provided a presentation to an Online Safety and Technology Working Group panel at the Commerce Department in Washington DC. The subject was the contentious topic of data retention. I included thoughts and opinions from law enforcement investigators who work Internet crimes against children, some good - some bad.

Parts of my presentation to the panel were not well-received by some of the Internet Service Providers in the room. At one point I praised their good work, but when I criticized some of their failings one lawyer (from AOL) shouted, "Objection!" as if we were in court, and the committee chair-lawyer (from News Corporation/MySpace) - the apparent judge - sustained the objection and asked me to delete the offending PowerPoint slides. The kangaroo OSTWG court was not pleased with some of my work.

In a preemptive attempt to discredit the work, one media-member of the group was already misquoting the information and taking it out of context in an article the day before I gave the lecture.

I guess they do not want Congress to hear all sides of the arguments.

Below is a link to my un-redacted presentation, including the offending slides.

Here are the slides:
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B3XfthhGWg7RYmY3YWQ2NTItYWIzZi00NGI1LWJhNjktOWQ3ZjFkNWEwMGI1&hl=en

Here is the text:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B3XfthhGWg7RYWY5MzRjZTktYTMzYS00Y2ViLWFhYTItMjMzZjkyMzg3N2Rl&hl=en

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Here is another analogy describing the reporting system whereby Internet service providers respond - or sometimes do not respond - with customer subscriber information to investigators hunting Internet predators:

"When the ISP-law enforcement information response system works efficiently and we arrest an offender it feels like Snoopy and the good-guys beating the evil Red Baron. On bad days, when nothing comes through from the ISP, it is as if our own allies accidentally knocked out the radar station with friendly-fire and we cannot locate the enemy."

- Dr. Frank Kardasz

Unlawful Images and "Sexting"

Remarks of Dr. Frank Kardasz
November 12, 2009
To the Arizona Family Council meeting - Phoenix

Thanks for inviting me to speak today about the threat of pornography to our children. I would like to first talk about a prominent Arizona case involving child pornography, then briefly about the sad phenomena of “sexting” and end with a couple safety tips and educational references.

CASE STUDY

In 2003, an Arizona man was convicted on 20 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 200 years prison. He appealed the sentence and lost. In affirming the conviction the Arizona Court of Appeals said several important things about unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors:

• 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 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 victimization 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.
• ...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 one of its most important interests.
• Defendant 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. His demand served to drive the industry.
• Defendant 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. The court said that this logic is abstruse.
  

As a law enforcement officer I share the courts opinion about unlawful images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors and I am guided by the courts judgements. The aforementioned case occurred several years ago but everything the court said still applies to the adult offenders we see today.

SEXTING

Now – today - in 2009, we have a new unlawful images threat. That threat comes from something that has come to be known as sexting.

As you know, modern cell phones often come equipped with cameras that can be legitimately used to capture images. Young people use their cell phone cameras to snap pictures of friends, families and special occasions. Images taken with cell phone cameras can be shared between users who can quickly send images to wider groups of friends. There have even been cases of crimes being solved by images retrieved from cell phones.

Unfortunately, cameras are also sometimes used to capture images of nudism or sexual exploitation. Often the images are part of the "sexting" process. Sexting is the act of sending sexual text or sexual images from one electronic device to another, often for the purpose of grooming another person towards a sex act. Adult sexual predators often groom intended victims by sexting. Immature grade schoolers also trade images and those images are quickly traded to others in the child’s school causing humiliation and grief for all involved. Sometimes the images are felony pictures of child pornography.

An increasing number of complaints are being received by law enforcement involving illegal images trafficked via cell phone. It is unlikely that we will be locking up grade school kids for child pornography, however we are investigating many of the cases and submitting them to the county attorneys for their analysis towards prosecution.

In the one case of sexting where we have received a response from the county attorneys office, the matter was deemed “de minimus” which means trivial and not worthy of judicial scrutiny. The case was seen to have no reasonable likelihood of conviction and the predicted cost of prosecution outweighed the benefit of prosecution to the victim and/or society. That response does not solve the problem for the sexting victim or family. The response tells you that the criminal justice system cannot solve the sexting problem either. I am hoping that someone can develop some kind of diversion program for young people who involve themselves with unlawful images while sexting.

With the justice system waffling on sexting, it becomes incumbent upon parents to police the activities of their children.

ADVICE ABOUT “SEXTING” PREVENTION

Here is my advice to parents:

• Parents, please monitor your child's use of a cell phone camera.
• Talk to your children about the problem and the long-term implications.
• 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 images might not ever be erased.
• Consider purchasing cheaper “pay as you go” phones that are manufactured without cameras.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Here are four helpful organizations for more educational information.

• Netsmartz - http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx
• ISafe - http://www.isafe.org/
• GetNetWise - http://www.getnetwise.org/
• Enough is Enough - http://www.enough.org/

TO REPORT INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

• Report Internet crimes against children to your local police or to the
• NCMEC Cybertipline at: https://secure.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/CybertipServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US

89% of Investigators Support Data Exchange Link with ISP's: Lack of Data Hurting Investigations

The link below leads to the survey results from information recently provided by investigators of Internet crimes. The survey explored data-retention times, investigations damaged by the failure to retain data and suggestions for improving the system and relationships with ISP’s.

Copy and paste the hyperlink below into your browser and give it a minute to load. There are 46 slides. Slides 4-9 are the executive summary that is also reproduced below.

Link to the survey results:
http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AY35igHT2KB9ZGdyNHhmeDdfMjQwam5qM21rZjI&hl=en

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Some interesting results from the survey include the following:

- 100 investigators surveyed estimated that they submit between 239 – 1900 items of legal process per month to various ISP’s.

Impact of failure to retain data on investigations
- 61% had investigations detrimentally effected because data was not retained.
- 47% had to end an investigation because data was not retained.

How long should subscriber data be retained?
- 31% believed subscriber information should be retained for 3 years.
- 28% believed subscriber information should be retained for 5 years.

How long should content data be retained?
- 44% believed content information should be retained for 1 year.
- 19% believed content information should be retained for 3 years.

Possible Solution
89% of investigators agreed that a nationwide computer network should be established for the purpose of linking ISP’s with law enforcement agencies so that they may exchange legal process requests and responses to legal process. Authorized users would communicate through encrypted virtual private networks in order to maintain the security of the data.

Investigators suggested the following improvements by ISP’s
- Longer retention times
- Provide information more quickly
- Provide user guides
- Have a site that permits electronic submission of process
- Have a law enforcement direct line



.

AZ ICAC - Unlawful Image Investigation Reveals Molester

In January 2005, Yahoo discovered unlawful images on their computer servers and reported the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The information was directed to the Arizona ICAC Task Force leading to a search warrant and the arrest of 44 year old Donald Lee Cook, an unmarried security guard. Cook, who used the screen name Ilove_littlekittys, made admissions to the images and also named a child seen in the images as a family friend. Further investigation revealed that Cook had repeatedly molested the child and that he had recorded the unlawful acts.

After four years of legal maneuvering, in October 2009 Cook was found guilty in Maricopa County Superior Court and sentenced to 136 years in prison.

The principals in the successful investigation and prosecution included Yahoo, NCMEC, AZ ICAC Task Force, Phoenix PD, Mesa PD, and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

See also: http://www.azicac.org/content.php?info_id=28&PHPSESSID=8dff902026d53ba267897089f1ffab79

How long should ISP’s preserve data and how quickly should they respond to legal process? Civil liability concerns may influence the debate

Dr. Frank Kardasz, October 17, 2009

Detectives who investigate Internet crimes against children often rely upon information preserved by Internet service providers (ISP's) to solve crimes. ISP's provide customer subscriber information that permits investigators to trace the source of unlawful activity. Without information from the ISP's, an investigative trail can quickly grow cold, leaving the offender to prowl freely in cyberspace. Sometimes the information from the ISP is the only link to the offender. Investigators need accurate and timely historic information from ISP's so that they can help child victims.

Questions surrounding the struggle for information preservation and reporting include: How long should an ISP retain data and how quickly should they respond to law enforcement? Typically, ISP's retain data not to appease law enforcement, but for the logical purpose of billing subscribers and servicing customer Internet accounts.
Customer information is tightly held and private; law enforcement may only obtain the information through subpoena, search warrant, or court order.

Data preservation and reporting to law enforcement is bothersome and costly for ISP's for several reasons. Many terabytes of computer storage space may be required to warehouse the data. The data must be secured so that it is not subject to theft. Dedicated personnel are required to respond to law enforcement subpoenas and search warrants. Legal questions about information release sometimes arise that may require the opinions of corporate lawyers.

ISP’s are not legally mandated to preserve data. Thirty days is the arbitrary voluntary preservation standard set by many ISP's. For many law enforcement investigations the 30 day standard is unsatisfactory because it does not permit investigators to identify the offenders who can slip away quickly in cyberspace.

Often a Time-Consuming Two-Subpoena Imperfect Process

In many cases the initial investigative process requires two subpoenas, thus delaying identification to weeks or months before a suspect location can be determined. For example, in luring/enticement cases, often the only information reported to law enforcement is the offenders screen name. With only a screen name, the investigation proceeds as follows in non-emergency cases:

1. The investigator determines the provider associated with the screen name. Yahoo, MySpace, and Facebook are typical examples of providers in such cases but there are hundreds providing the services. The investigator subpoenas the provider and then, days or weeks later, receives a response. The first subpoena response provides one important clue; the Internet protocol (IP) address from which the offending screen name communicated.

2. Next, the investigator conducts research on the Internet protocol address to determine which company is responsible for providing the previously identified IP address to the offender. Verizon, Cox and Comcast are typical examples of ISP's but there are hundreds providing such services.

3. The second subpoena is submitted, this time to the ISP associated with the Internet protocol address identified in number two above. The subpoena requests subscriber information associated with the IP address that came from the results of the first subpoena.

4. After a few days or weeks the ISP responds to the second subpoena with the name and address of the subscriber who was assigned to the IP address where the suspect screen name originated. Finally, 14-60 or more days after the original report, Cyber-detectives can begin to focus on a location and name to further the investigation.

Further problems sometimes result when typographical errors occur at any stage, prosecutors delay subpoena authorization, and/or workloads backup because of insufficient staffing. The slow turn-around time for information and the short 30-day retention periods are problematic for law enforcement. Investigations are sometimes slaves to the long wait for information from ISP's. Detectives worry that while they wait, the offender may be busy actively molesting children.

Civil Liability Concerns

ISP's are the unwitting facilitators of Internet crimes against children. Civil liability is now a growing concern for law enforcement in delayed Internet crimes against children investigations (see: http://kardasz.org/blog/2008/09/liability_for_deliberate_indif.html). In time, civil attorneys defending abused children will recognize the complicity of ISP's in the lethargic investigative process and begin to add ISP's as co-defendants in civil lawsuits.

Conclusion

For the sake of children, ISP's should consider long data retention periods and rapid response to legal process. Federal legislation to mandate data preservation and reporting would assist investigators in protecting children in cyberspace.

Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission: Do not reduce penalties for unlawful images

September 30, 2009

United States Sentencing Commission
Office of Public Affairs
One Columbus Circle NE
Washington, DC. 20002-8002

RE: PLEASE DO NOT SOFTEN PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL IMAGES: JUDGES UNRAVELING THE LEGISLATIVE WILL AGAINST CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Dear Sentencing Commission,

I solemnly read a news report that began with the following troubling headline: Sentences for Possession of Child Porn May Be Too High, Judges Say (1). The story described a recent meeting of the U.S. Sentencing Commission where judges advocated softening sentences for possessors of child pornography.

Not in attendance and sadly unrepresented at the commission meeting were thousands of anonymous victims of child sexual abuse whose tortured images and videos are being traded as you read this, by pedophiles, sex offenders, and the criminally sexually curious.

As a law enforcement officer, having supervised thousands of investigations into unlawful images over the past ten years, it is disheartening to see some in the judiciary attempting to unravel years of progressive legislation against this disturbing form of child abuse.

Normally I am reticent to contradict judges because I am only a humble policeman, dutifully aware that judge-liness is next to godliness in the justice system but I must herein rebut some of the misinformation from the report for the purpose of informing those in the judiciary who do not deal with this subject on a regular basis. Opinions expressed herein are personal and do not represent the thoughts of any government agency.

According to the report, one judge said that he;

"...doesn't condone possession of child pornography or understand it, but focused on the unfairness of treating one person sitting in his basement receiving videos over the Internet the same as a commercial purveyor of child pornography."

ESCALATING OFFENSES - FROM BASEMENT TO ABOMINATION

Former criminal profiler John Douglas 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 (2)." Here in Arizona, my colleagues and I saw the beginning of this progression in a recent investigation where an offender admitted that he no longer enjoys lawful adult pornography and that he now must use child pornography to gratify himself.

Sometimes, experts say, the offender emerges from the proverbial basement described by the judge, emboldened by what he has seen and then, like an enthusiastic but twisted movie-goer emulating an on-screen hero, endeavors to re-enact the horrible video somewhere in real life. Dr. Chris Hatcher, Professor of Psychology at the University of California said, "It begins with fantasy, moves to gratification through pornography, then voyeurism, and finally, to contact (3)."

IMAGE-FUELED OFFENDERS' CASE STUDIES

After one child pornography-fueled murder, software developer Michael Brier admitted that viewing child pornography made him long for the sex acts that led to him kidnapping, murdering and dismembering ten year old Holly Jones in Toronto in 2003. Brier is now in prison and little Holly is gone forever (4). Serial killer Arthur Gary Bishop was similarly fueled by child pornography. The child pornography addict killed five boys in Utah before being caught and executed in 1988 (5).

OFFENDERS RISK ASSESSMENT

Pursuant to my work with the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force I am beginning to understand the crimes and the offenders. My training and experience suggests that a significant number of possessors of unlawful images are also undiscovered "hands-on" contact offenders. Formal academic research indicates that there may be a correlation between those who possess child pornography and those who are also “hands-on” contact offenders. A surprising study 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 (6).

In landmark research (7), psychiatrists Bourke and Hernandez compared two groups of child pornography offenders participating in a voluntary prison treatment program. The goal was to determine whether the possessors were collectors of child pornography at little risk of engaging in hands-on sexual offenses, or if they were contact sex offenders whose criminal sexual behavior involving children went undetected. The research found that Internet offenders were significantly more likely than not to have sexually abused a child via a hands-on act. The findings were apparently so shocking to the prison rehabilitation project that the Federal Bureau of Prisons tried to prevent the release of the surprising study.

Doctors Bourke and Hernandez concluded their report by saying:

• In fact, if it had not been for their online criminality, these offenders may not otherwise have come to the attention of law enforcement.

• Upon being discovered, these offenders tend to minimize their behavior. They may attribute their search for child pornography to "curiosity" or similar benign motivation. They may "accept responsibility" only for those behaviors that are already known to law enforcement, but hide any contact sexual crimes to avoid prosecution for these offenses, or to avoid the shame and humiliation that would result from revealing their deviance to family, friends, and community.

• Only later do the majority of sex offenders who enter treatment acknowledge that they were not, as they initially claimed, merely interested in sexual images involving children; they were (and are) sexually aroused by children.

• Further...it appears that the manifestations of their deviant sexual arousal was not limited to fantasy. Rather, when an opportunity arose (either incidentally or as a result of planned, predatory efforts), many offenders molested or raped children, and engaged in a variety of other sexually deviant behaviors.

• Results of the study suggest...that many Internet child pornography offenders may be undetected child molesters, and that their use of child pornography is indicative of their paraphilic orientation.

IMAGES - VIDEO WITH SOUND

Unlawful images are an unusual type of evidence because the images themselves are contraband and cannot be released for public viewing. Images are the only form of contraband introduced to the human brain through the sense of sight. When described in text the dispassionate details of unlawful images use sanitized statutory legalese to explain the sex acts. The pedantic written accounts of the images and videos can never fully explain the abominations suffered by the victims nor can a written description reproduce the shocking sounds of sexual violence.

EMPATHY, SYMPATHY AND VICTIM REALITY - CHILDREN ARE CITIZENS AND HUMANS

Existing tough penalties against unlawful images were earned at the expense of tiny human victims whose voices are heard on secretive videos trafficked and traded by criminal pedophiles and other sexual deviants. Some of us in law enforcement have seen the violations and heard the victims' cries. They plead, "No! No!" while being penetrated by men and sometimes animals. Some of the infant victims are so young that they cannot yet formulate words, only scream in pain. I could further describe the exact details of the abuses but I know that I would lose this reading audience. These are not "baby-in-the-bathtub" images.

If, as you read this, you find descriptions of sexual abuse emotionally troubling it means that you are probably normal. Now consider those who view images of child abuse and find them sexually gratifying. Those who possess or purvey child pornography are criminally abnormal.

Those who would soften the penalties against unlawful images dishonor the young victims of horrific sex crimes. Victims who cannot appear at sentencing commission hearings. Children who become political afterthoughts because they do not make financial contributions to political campaigns and who do not vote. Babies who cannot organize and hire influential lobbyists to represent them before legislators. Minors who are the mute and powerless constituents of well-intentioned elected officials who are often unwittingly blind to their victimization.

MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC PSYCHE

Sex crimes against children are sometimes so horrible that the news media is unable to fully describe the incidents. The public psyche abhors reporting of sex crimes against children. Television and print reporters only discuss the sanitized version of events. News producers cannot permit too much time spent describing the crimes because audiences will switch channels in disgust. Hollywood does not focus on the subject because no audience can stomach it.

OFFENDERS, THE PUBLIC AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

In the book Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis (8) former investigator Ken Lanning discussed crimes against children. He said that most people wish to disassociate themselves mentally from thoughts of abuse involving children. Law-enforcement investigators must deal with the fact that the identification, investigation, and prosecution of child molesters may not be welcomed by their communities—especially if the molester is a prominent person. Individuals may protest, and community organizations may rally to the support of the offender and even attack the victims. City officials may apply pressure to halt or cover up the investigation. Many law-enforcement supervisors, prosecutors, judges, and juries cannot or do not want to deal with the details of deviant sexual behavior. They will do almost anything to avoid these cases.

OFFENDERS: PUBLIC DR. JEKYLL AND PRIVATE MR. HYDE

Pre-sentence reports to the court about the offenders in these cases are sometimes a joke. I know from training and experience that some offenders are adept at creating public personas’ as trustworthy and demure individuals while privately they are sexually deviant predators, waiting for an opportunity to strike. They may present to the court as socially awkward simpletons. Once caught they often feign religious transformations and plead for mercy from the court while privately mocking the justice system as the re-offend.

Offenders sometimes practice techniques enabling them to thwart polygraph and penile plesthysmograph tests. Dubious "12-step" pornography addiction treatment programs have sprung up because the psychological community has no proven method of rehabilitating some sex offenders. As the Latin proverb states: Pardus maculas non deponit - a leopard does not change his spots.

In court, offenders are seldom charged with each and every terrible image or video in their voluminous illegal collections and most plead to reduced charges based on just a few images. Consequently judges never fully review all of the evidence.

POLICING THE IMAGES

Crimes against children are the most reviled types of investigations for most law enforcement officers. While respectful of the need to bring offenders to justice many officers say, “I could never work those kinds of crimes.” Although it is highly rewarding to capture the offenders, the true details about the sexual victimization of minors is so psychologically distressing that few cops can emotionally tolerate being deeply involved in the investigations. Viewing the images and videos is troubling. The victims of unlawful images include those who must view the images in the course of their law enforcement duties (9).

PROSECUTION

Pressured by defense arguments that defendants are really good and solid citizens prosecutors can be worn down by the psychologically brutal nature of the crimes and the tiring nature of the system and may offer progressively weaker pleas to offenders. One concern is that over time, those diluted pleas will become the standardized norm, and the legislative imperative of mandatory sentencing will eventually be abandoned.

In Arizona, the penalties on the books are some of the toughest in the country. Despite the history of these strict penalties being upheld at the appellate level, some prosecutors are offering lighter pleas to "attempt" possession of unlawful images thus negating the mandatory sentencing provisions intended by legislators. The "attempt" charge avoids the mandatory sentencing provisions of Arizona law and gives the court wide discretion to drastically lessen the period of incarceration.

JUDICIARY

It must be difficult for judges to fully apprehend the gravity of these crimes. In plea-bargained cases, judges seldom review the troubling images or videos so they never have a full appreciation of the entirety of the case. Having supervised hundreds of arrests and subsequent pleas involving unlawful images, my investigators and I know of only a handful of sentences involving a judge who took the time or had the fortitude to view the disturbing images or videos.

The commission report mentioned one judge who lumped child pornography sentences in with gun and drug crimes and characterized the sentences for each of those crimes as being too harsh. Such "apples vs. oranges" comparisons of crimes are predictable from the overworked ringmasters of an assembly-line process that has become America's criminal justice system. Uninitiated courtroom observers might compare sentencing day in some courtrooms with a fast-food restaurant order process. I sometimes imagine the defense attorney shouting, "Hold the prison, extra probation and can you super-size that release please, your honor!"

Judges are often offended when laws come to them with mandatory penalties. Apparently voters and legislators are tired of the legal loopholes and sentencing reductions that keep letting criminals out of jail to re-offend. This naturally offends those judges whose egos convince them to believe that only they know, better than anyone else, how criminals should be penalized.

Despite progressively tougher legislative actions to properly criminalize and punish possessors of unlawful images, some judges wish to improperly create sentencing law from the bench while attempting to undo the enacted will of legislation.

Perhaps some overworked judges must suffer from compassion fatigue, a gradual lessening of empathy and sympathy over time, the result of the taxing nature of showing compassion for someone who is suffering in a situation that is continuous and irresolvable. If that is the case, I hope that judges remember that the unlawful images situation is resolvable. The resolution is incarceration of offenders.

NOT DISPARATE SENTENCING

The report of the commission meeting also described the following tired and misleading statement that I have grown to abhor:

"In some cases, a person who has watched one video gets a maximum sentence that may be higher than someone sentenced for raping a child repeatedly over many years."

The statement is misleading hogwash for two reasons. First, no offender who is charged with unlawful images has ever watched only one video. The offender may be charged with only one count of the many crimes he committed, but offenders typically watch dozens, often hundreds of different videos, hundreds of times, over weeks, months or years while simultaneously sexually gratifying themselves. Secondly, when a person who rapes a child receives a short period of incarceration it is often because contact offenses are much tougher to prove due to the uncommunicative nature of the young victim. Sometimes the light sentence is offered by the prosecution as a plea bargain so that the child does not have re-live the horror by testifying in open court. It is misleading to try to compare child pornography offenders to rapists.

BERGER 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. Berger chose not to accept a plea to lesser charges. He went to trial and lost. 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 (10).

Mirroring language found in previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Arizona Judges Susan Ehrlich and Philip Hall dismissed Berger's appeal with arguments including:

• 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.

CONCLUSION

The justice system could do more at every level to address the growing problem of unlawful images. Law enforcement agencies devote minimal personnel to investigate the crimes. Overworked investigators have thousands of cases and only a handful of staff. Harried prosecutors with overwhelming caseloads must arrange plea deals to avoid time-consuming trials while allowing offenders to plead to fewer charges or lesser offenses. Strained judges misunderstand the crimes and mischaracterize the offenders. Knowing that prisons are overcrowded, it becomes easy for judges to convince themselves that someone who possessed pictures cannot possibly be as bad as someone who committed robbery or rape. Such comparisons are unfair and disregard the serious nature of unlawful images.

MESSAGE TO JUDGES

Please do not marginalize the young victims of unlawful images and do not minimize the offenses. Let minimum sentences remain in the purview of the legislature.

Finally, Judges, when you look out over the bench and into the court gallery at sentencing time, please imagine the seats filled with child victims quietly requesting justice; then act in accordance with the law.

Thank you for considering this letter.

Dr. Frank Kardasz
PO Box 45048
Phoenix, AZ 85064

http://www.kardasz.org/ICAC.html


cc: L. Marek – The National Law Journal



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NOTES

(1) Marek, L. (September 10, 2009). Sentences for Possession of Child Porn May Be Too High, Judges Say. The National Law Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2009 from http://www.law.com/newswire/cache/1202433693658.html

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

(3) 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

(4) CBS News online. (June 17, 2004). In Depth: Holly Jones Timeline. Retrieved September 23, 2009 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/jones_holly/

(5) Montaldo, Charles. (2009). Arthur Gary Bishop. About.com: Crime/Punishment. Retrieved September 26, 2009 from http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/db_bishop.htm

(6) Hernandez, A. E. (September 26, 2006). 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

(7) Bourke, M.L. and Hernandez, A.E. (2009). The 'Butner Study' Redux: A Report of the Incidence of Hands-on Child Victimization by Child Pornography Offenders. Journal of Family Violence, 24:183-191. Published online: December 10, 2008.

(8) Lanning, K.V. (September, 2001). Child molesters: A behavioral analysis. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 4th Ed. p. 86. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC70.pdf

(9) Kardasz, F. (June 8, 2008). The law enforcement victims of unlawful images: Victim impact statement. Retrieved September 26, 2009 from http://www.kardasz.org/victimimpact.html

(10) 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



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