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National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children®
Success Stories
Cybertip Leads to Arrest of Online Enticement Suspect and Identification
of One of His Victims
On November 20, 2008, the CyberTipline received
a report from a concerned mother who reported that a 20-year-old male
was engaging in sexually explicit conversations with her 12-year-old
son via Xbox Live chat. The suspect also told the child that he had molested
a number of boys, ages seven to fifteen. According to the suspect, he
would meet the boys online using Xbox Live chat and eventually meet them
in person. The only information that the reporting person was able to
provide regarding the suspect were his first name, several of his Internet
screen names, and a possible location of New Jersey.
An Exploited Children Division (ECD) analyst conducted Internet searches
using the suspect’s screen names and found a discussion board posting
regarding Xbox. She analyzed the posting and found a possible e-mail
address for the suspect, which she confirmed via various social networking
site searches. Additional e-mail searches provided further confirmation
of the suspect’s online identity, as well as clues as to his real-life
identity. Using a possible full name and date of birth she located in
an online profile, the analyst was able to make a positive hit in a public
records database. The analyst then made the CyberTipline report available
to the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force,
an OJJDP-funded program, for their review.
The New Jersey ICAC forwarded the CyberTipline report to the Monmouth
County Prosecutor’s Office, who, in turn, passed it to the Middletown
Township Police Department. It turned out that the Middletown Township
Police had previously received a complaint regarding the same suspect,
but did not have enough evidence to obtain a search warrant based upon
the original complaint. According to investigators, the CyberTipline
report tied many of the loose ends of the case together and was essential
for them to be able to obtain a search warrant.
The suspect, a 21-year-old unemployed, single male, was arrested on
October 21, 2009 on state charges of Possession of Child Pornography
and was incarcerated in lieu of paying $100,000 in bail. After the suspect’s
arrest, detectives continued their investigation and filed additional
charges against the suspect in January and February of 2010. The charges,
for multiple counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, stemmed from
the identification of a live victim. It is unclear whether the suspect
has sexually molested any children, but he was reportedly meeting children
online and producing child pornography videos using Xbox Live. The investigation
continues, but at this time there are believed to be at least ten child
victims. The suspect’s bail was raised to $200,000 after the additional
charges were filed, and the suspect is currently awaiting trial in Monmouth
County.
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