Registered sex offender used computers at Colorado library to commit new crimes

    Registered sex offender used computers at Colorado library to commit new crimes

    From Fox 21 News (on-line), Colorado Springs-Pueblo, June 27, 2008

    Sex offender arrested in 12-month investigation

    The Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force concluded a 12-month
    investigation into the online victimization of a child with the arrest of registered sex offender Gerald
    Michael King for Sexual Exploitation of Children, a class-3 felony. The involved agencies were the
    Colorado Springs Police Department ICAC Unit, Pueblo County Sheriffs Office ICAC Unit and
    Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.

    The Colorado Springs Police Department ICAC Unit received a report of the sexual exploitation of a
    child involving sexually explicit images memorializing the abuse of a juvenile being created and
    distributed on the Internet. The explicit images were recovered from a home computer after a forensic
    examination.

    E-mails distributing the explicit images were discovered and identified as King’s. It was discovered
    that in an attempt to conceal the identity of the person accessing the email account, the explicit
    images were accessed from computers at public libraries. King was arrested and booked into the El
    Paso County Criminal Justice Center.

    Retrieved June 28, 2008 from http://www.kxrm.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=152456

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    Colorado -  Child porn suspect had been banned from library

    Man accused of using district computer

    By Anthony Lane. From The (Colorado Springs) Gazette (online). 06/22/07

    A man accused of sending child pornography from a Penrose Library computer had been banned
    months earlier from the library district for using a Web site that links to child pornography, police said.
    William James Huffstutter, a registered sex offender, was jailed earlier this month on suspicion of
    uploading child pornography in December to a Yahoo account.

    Although he was banned from the library last summer, Huffstutter is thought to have used a computer
    in December that does not require a library card for access, said Colorado Springs police detective
    Clay Blackwell.

    Investigators searched 27 Internet computers at the library Wednesday morning, looking for evidence
    that Huffstutter or others used them to view or send child pornography, but did not find anything new,
    Blackwell said.

    He said library software, including a program that screens out sexual images, is apparently effective
    at scouring Web browsing history and keeping the computers free of unwanted images.

    Huffstutter, 34, was arrested after police got a tip through the National Center for Missing and
    Exploited Children that Yahoo found child pornography on one of its servers posted from a library
    computer, Blackwell said.

    The e-mail account used to upload the images was linked to Huffstutter using a cell phone number
    listed with the account, he said. It was the second tip police have received this year about child
    pornography uploaded with a library computer, Blackwell said.

    The other involved someone uploading sexual images of children and also logos for credit cards,
    suggesting possible material for a Web site, he said.

    That case went nowhere because the library does not keep track of who has used each
    computer, and its network is set up so investigators cannot tell which computer within the
    system was used to send the illegal images, Blackwell said.

    In Huffstutter’s case, information from Yahoo helped investigators connect him with the illegal images
    without tying him to a particular computer, Blackwell said.

    Investigators also obtained a report Wednesday detailing the library’s suspicion that Huffstutter was
    using a special search engine July 27, 2006, that provides links to child pornography, Blackwell said.

    Huffstutter was suspended in August from using any library facilities for a year, library officials said.

    Dee Vazquez, a Pikes Peak Library District spokeswoman, said it is the library’s policy to report
    suspected crimes. She said the library has suspended a handful of others from the library or from
    using its computers for looking at sexual images, but Huffstutter’s case is the only one she knows
    about involving possibly illegal images.

    She said she did not know why last year’s case would not have been reported, though she noted
    documents in that instance make no mention of him viewing child pornography, only of a Web site he
    is suspected of visiting.

    Huffstutter’s past includes a 1991 conviction for sexually assaulting a child, according to Pueblo court
    records. He remains in jail on $10,000 bond.

    Retrieved June 23, 2007 from http://www.gazette.com/articles/library_23944___article.
    html/huffstutter_child.html

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    Colorado - Sex offender who used library computer arrested for alleged child porn

    Colorado Springs - From Fox21.com (online). 06/08/07. By Christina Salvo, csalvo@fox21news.com

    A registered sex offender living in Colorado Springs is in custody on charges of sexual exploitation of
    a child. Detectives said 34-year-old William Huffstutter was distributing images of child pornography
    on the internet using computers at a Pikes Peak Library.

    Internet use at the library may be free, but that does not mean people are free to surf the web for
    anything. Sydene Dean works at the Pikes Peak Library. She said, "We do have a filter called
    Websense." This prevents users from viewing sexually explicit images over the internet or at least in
    some areas. Dean said, "E-mail isn't filtered it must be something the internet provider, like Yahoo!
    monitoring what's going over their site." That is how detectives were tipped off to Huffstutter.

    Detective Adam Romine said, "We had information that Mr. Huffstutter had been sending images from
    the library downtown."

    In February detectives received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
    who was alerted by Yahoo! that an e-mail account of theirs was being used to distribute images of
    child pornography. It was the tip that launched the four month investigation into Huffstutter, but one
    that detectives said should have come much sooner and from the library itself. Romine said, "He at
    one point was ban from the library for using their computers for viewing child pornography on one of
    their computers." Detectives said that was in June of last year and he was not reported to them by the
    library.

    The library did not want to get into specifics but said it was only a temporary suspension that as
    issued because Huffstutter accessed a site that the they say only potentially contained child
    pornography.

    Though Wednesday's arrest would suggest child pornography was what Huffstutter was searching
    for, detectives said they will never know since the library does not monitor or retain who is looking at
    what when on their computers. Dean said, "You sign up on a computer so for that day with info. After
    that day, I'm not a tech person, but that info is lost on a daily basis."

    The library defends its actions saying while it is not logistically realistic to keep such information for
    longer than a day, they said more importantly, sharing such information is an infringement of privacy
    rights protecting their users' freedom of speech.

    Posted by Kelly Brown. kbrown@fox21news.com
    Retrieved June 16, 2007 from http://fox21news.com/Global/story.asp?S=6626198

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    Arizona - Ten year sentence for Phoenix Public Library child pornography trafficker

    Phoenix, Arizona - March 12, 2007

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

    An unknown offender had posted unlawful images to five different groups within Google. The groups had the following titles:

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

    Researchers at NCMEC conducted a preliminary investigation and learned that the computers facilitating the trafficking belonged to the
    City of Phoenix and that the offender used the email address,”ugofif@yahoo.com” and the screen name, “Billy Corgan”.

    Investigators quickly suspected that the screen name Billy Corgan was an alias after learning that the real Billy Corgan is a prominent
    musician.

    An Intenet Yahoo profile posted on-line for “ugofif” indicated that his listed interests included:

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

    AZ ICAC investigators learned that the computers used by “ugofif” were part of the vast Phoenix library system including 13 branch libraries
    located throughout the 516 square-mile city.

    Computer experts know that computers connected to the Internet can be identified by an Internet protocol (IP) number, also known as an IP
    address. An IP address is similar to a telephone number in that the number can be traced through subpoena to a particular location or
    vicinity.

    Investigators learned that the IP numbers associated with “ugofif” were shared between every public-access computer throughout the
    entire citywide library network and investigators initially could not identify which single library computer was the one used by “ugofif”.

    Working in an undercover capacity on the Internet, an investigator contacted “ugofif” and developed information that he was trafficking child
    pornography for sale. He used a monetary brokerage service that is designed to protect the anonymity of buyers and sellers.

    Investigators leaned that "ugofif" had used Phoenix public library computers on hundreds of occasions. Because the library does not log
    nor retain basic user information, the investigation would have stalled except for one unusual IP address that appeared in the long listings
    of hundreds of identical library addresses. The unusual IP address did not match the IP addresses associated with the library.

    Investigators researched the unusual IP address. They found that it was associated with a computer e-mail kiosk at a convenience store in
    Phoenix. The store was not far from the main downtown public library. The convenience store has a small podium-like stand with a
    computer attached that permits users to insert money and then log-in and check email. Fortunately for investigators, the store also
    maintains a video tape recording system that preserves images of customers. Investigators retrieved video tapes from the store that
    depicted a person using the computer at the same date and time that the IP records had indicated “ugofif” had been there.

    The convenience store video showed images of an unidentified person – probably “ugofif”, but investigators still did not know his true
    identity. Using the images, investigators then began covert surveillance at the downtown branch of the library, looking for the person in the
    picture. The library has dozens of computers located on three different floors of the building.

    On December 30, 2005, a person resembling the man depicted on the store video was observed using a library computer at the downtown
    library. Covert surveillance was conducted for two hours as the man moved about and used seven different library computers. Initial
    surveillance could not confirm that the person was in fact "ugofif". The library did not require users to provide any proof of identity in
    order to use the computers and investigators later learned that the computers have software set to eliminate evidence shortly after
    a patron departs.

    When the man left the library, investigators followed afoot. A few blocks from the library he was detained temporarily under a pretext and he
    presented identification with the name Taurean Allmon. Allmon said that he was transient and living at the nearby homeless shelter.

    A search warrant was prepared for the purpose of seizing the seven library computers that had been used by Allmon. The purpose of the
    seizure was to attempt to determine with certainty whether or not Allmon was “ugofif” – also know as “Billy Corgan”. On January 5, 2006,
    the search warrant was ready. Detectives planned to wait for Allmon to use a computer at the library, detain him, and then seize the
    computers listed in the warrant. Detectives watched for two days but Allmon did not return to the library. Finally, on January 6, the warrant
    was served and ten computers were seized. Allmon’s whereabouts were unknown.

    Undercover on-line investigators continued working the case and learned that Allmon had traveled to California for a temporary laborer job.
    While in California, Allmon had used various library and motel computers while continuing to traffic child pornography. Investigators
    learned that Allmon said that he would return to Phoenix sometime in February.

    On February 9, 2006 Allmon was spotted in Phoenix by an alert AZ ICAC investigator who saw him walking on the street near the library. AZ
    ICAC investigators converged, and Allmon was taken into custody without incident as he sat at a library computer. The computer he was
    using still displayed the Yahoo screen name “ugofif” when he was arrested. Allmon had removable media storage devices in his
    possession that were seized by detectives. He made admissions to crimes amounting to the possession of child pornography, and
    possession with intent to sell child pornography.

    Computer forensic analysis of the computer storage media seized from Allmon revealed numerous disturbing images of child
    pornography involving children as young as five years old.

    The computer forensic analysis of 17 computers seized from the library proved unproductive because the computers contain special
    software that quickly eliminates or over-writes evidence that might have helped investigators.

    After his February 9, 2006 arrest, the 21 year old Allmon remained in custody with a $198,000 bond. Criminal charges were filed through
    the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.  

    On March 9, 2007 Allmon pled guilty to one felony count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one felony count of attempted sexual
    exploitation of a minor. Allmon will serve ten years in prison followed by lifetime probation and registration as a sex offender.
              
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    Wisconsin - Library pornography

    By Jody Ambroz, TJM News Channel 4, September 20, 2005

    Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Another big investigation to tell you about: people surfing for porn in public libraries. The porn is showing up more
    often than you may think. Our Jody Ambroz (TJM News Channel 4, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has the hidden camera investigation.

    A shot of a naked woman is just the start of what Today’s TMJ4 found. Our hidden camera catches a man checking out porn at the Racine
    Public Library. We find another man clicking on more dirty pictures without a care until we confront him. The man told us, “I wasn’t trying to
    do this at the library. I was checking my e-mail and it was all spam.”

    Spam or not, many people think the disturbing photos we discovered have no place at the library. Racine parent Theresa Delarosa said, “It’
    s wrong. It’s wrong and it should stop.” Parents bring their kids to the library to check out books, not porn. Another Racine parent Jay Orr
    told us, “I saw my 6 year-old daughter. She actually saw another child looking at porn when she was here last month.” Parents are
    appalled.

    One Racine Library security guard we spoke with told us she sees porn popping up on the computers at least twice a week. She even
    reported one guy to police after finding him looking at child porn. Security Guard Danielle Williams said, “It’s caused a lot of problems with
    kids, and grown-ups, and parents coming up, sitting with their kids, having questions about it, saying it’s wrong.”

    Adult pornography popping up on public computers may be offensive, but it’s not illegal. It’s up to individual libraries to decide what to do
    about all this trash. Racine Library Board President Cheri Esch said, “We’re going to get as much information as much data, and study the
    policy.” The current policy at the Racine Library says it’s unacceptable to use computers to display obscene material. But only the courts
    can determine what’s actually “obscene”. One solution is installing filters to block the porn, but not everyone supports this. Esch said,
    “There are some (legitimate) things that you could not find if it was a specific kind of filter.”

    Racine does filter its’ children’s computers. The Wauwatosa Library has a similar set-up. But when we took our hidden camera inside
    there, we didn’t find anyone looking at dirty pictures. We also checked into policies in Waukesha and in Milwaukee. Both of those libraries
    use filters on all of their computers. Milwaukee Public Library Manager Bruce Gay said, “Overall, I’d say our filter is above average. Not that
    there are no problems, but we do okay with it.” Gay has only taken a handful of porn complaints. His staff doesn’t want to find what our
    hidden camera did in Racine—people looking at porn in public.

    If you find someone looking at porn at any library in our area, tell the staff. If they see it, they usually ask the person to leave. The Racine
    Library Board is asking for public input on its’ computer policy and whether they should install filters on all computers.

    Retrieved February 19, 2006 from http://www.touchtmj4.com/_content/News/coverstory/stories/20050920.asp

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    Florida - Librarian suspended after patrons visit porno sites

    Associated Press, Aug 13, 2005

    Valparaiso, Florida - A Florida Panhandle librarian has been suspended and may be fired by officials upset that a registered sex offender
    and three boys allegedly used the city library's computers to access pornographic Internet sites."

    "City Commissioner Robert Billingsley said he will ask the commission to dismiss Martin but declined to elaborate on why he thinks she
    failed to do enough to keep patrons from using the computers to find pornography. Hard drives have been removed from the computers
    and the public has been prohibited from using them until further notice."

    "'We continually enforce our policy by monitoring all computers," she (Martin) wrote. "Any suspicious use is immediately checked by
    accessing the history of the patrons' Web use. In addition, the staff monitors the patrons' use by 'walkthroughs' of the computer areas.'

    The library's Internet policy forbids using computers for 'illegal or fraudulent activity' or displaying 'images which other library users may find
    offensive to view.'"

    Retrieved February 19, 2006 from http://www.tampabaylive.com/stories/2005/08/050812pornosites.shtml

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    New York - Sexual predator ordered back to prison; Had photos, written fantasies

    by Torsten Ove, The Post-Standard, October 23, 2004

    Syracuse, New York - A Syracuse man charged with using a public library to download child pornography last year avoided a trial by
    pleading guilty Friday.

    Wayne E. Harding, 50, of 469 James St., pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi to a single felony count of possessing
    a sexual performance by a child in the discovery of child pornography on a computer at Upstate Medical University's Health Sciences
    Library at Weiskotten Hall.

    Assistant District Attorney Gary Dawson said it was the first local prosecution of a defendant on criminal charges relating to pornography
    on a public computer.

    The trial was expected to begin Monday. Harding was facing 12 counts of possessing the sexual performance of a child as a result of the
    dozen images he accessed on the library's computer Feb.27, 2003, prosecutors said. The images depicted someone younger than 16
    engaged in sexually explicit activity.

    The case was expected to come down to a battle of computer experts in court next week as the sides wrangled over whether the evidence
    was sufficient to link Harding to the computer containing the pornographic images.

    "I thought I could win," defense lawyer Eric Jeschke said Friday as he left court following Harding's guilty plea. That plea, Jeschke said, had
    come "as a complete surprise to me."

    Jeschke said he and Harding were in court Friday morning only to have the defendant waive his right to a jury trial so Aloi alone would
    preside over the trial set to begin Monday. Harding opted to plead guilty in a deal that calls for him to be sentenced to 1 1/2 to three years in
    prison, Jeschke said.

    According to Dawson, a number of students had complained to the librarian about "a dirty old man" viewing pictures of nude and partially
    clothed children on the library's computer. Campus security was notified after the librarian watched for about 10 minutes as the man
    viewed similar types of images, Dawson said.

    A security officer also watched as the suspect continued to view pornographic images on the computer before confronting him, Dawson
    said. Harding claimed the images had accidentally come on as "pop ups" and that he was equally offended by them, the prosecutor said.
    Authorities issued Harding a trespass notice barring him from returning to the library and escorted him from the building, Dawson said.

    In writing up a report of the incident, security officials discovered that Harding was registered as a Level 3 sex offender on the sex offender
    registry, the prosecutor said. Upon further investigation, officials discovered Harding also was on federal supervised release for a child
    pornography conviction. Federal officials were notified and the library computer was seized and sent out for examination, Dawson said.

    According to the prosecutor, authorities discovered a great deal of "child erotica" images on the computer in addition to a number of
    images that would be considered pornographic. Twelve of those pornographic images were accessed on the computer the day Harding
    was escorted from the library, Dawson said.

    Those pornographic images had been accessed about five hours before Harding was escorted from the premises, but witnesses placed
    Harding in the library at that computer for that entire period, Dawson said. But Jeschke said the evidence showed those 12 images had
    last been accessed in only about a 40-second time period and he said he was prepared to have a computer expert testify there was no
    way to show that the images had actually been called up on the computer screen and viewed by anyone in particular.

    The defense also was challenging whether Harding had any control over the computer images. But Dawson was prepared to show that he
    did, based on evidence that during the time Harding was on the computer, some of the erotic images had been uploaded to another
    computer by the user.

    The two sides had been preparing to battle in court even though Harding had admitted possessing child pornography when he pleaded
    guilty in federal court to violating his release on supervised probation and was sentenced to eight months in prison, according to Assistant
    U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher.

    Fletcher said Harding was supposed to have no contact with a computer at all as a condition of his release on the prior child pornography
    conviction.

    Aloi had ruled, however, that the admission to the probation violation could not be used as evidence against Harding in the County Court
    pornography-possession case, Dawson said.

    http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-18/109852194193270.xml?syrneocit

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    Nevada -Child porn case spotlights libraries’ Internet policies

    By, Martha Bellisle, Reno Gazette Journal, April 13, 2005

    Reno, Nevada - Whenever staff at the county library passed near Jeffrey Olson as he scrolled through Internet sites, he would quickly
    change his screen, but when a nearby computer user saw pictures of naked children, he called the sheriff’s office.

    Olson, 30, who was using one of the Washoe County Library’s adult, nonfiltered computers in northwest Reno to download child
    pornography, was arrested and charged with 13 counts of possession.

    He pleaded guilty to two counts, and on Tuesday was sentenced to five years of probation, a punishment both the prosecution and
    defense agreed was appropriate for someone who had no criminal record and wasn’t likely to hurt anyone.

    While his case drew little media attention, it sparked intense discussions among library officials about how to handle suspected illegal
    behavior by computer users.

    The issue, the first of its kind in Washoe County, ultimately provoked the county library’s Board of Trustees this year to change procedures
    for handling suspicious activity on the Internet so that library visitors can continue to enjoy their intellectual freedom while illegal conduct is
    halted, said Dianne Varnon, manager of the northwest Reno library.

    Before Olson’s arrest, library staff members were uncertain about whether they needed solid proof of illegal behavior before calling in law
    enforcement. Now, the staff has a list of guidelines to follow when suspicions are sparked, Varnon said.

    The staff members are now encouraged to call 911, notify managers, preserve evidence, turn off the computer’s monitor and even remove
    the computer’s mouse and keyboard or disconnect the Ethernet cable if appropriate, according to the official procedures.

    “We take Internet use very seriously, particularly how children might interact with the Internet,” Varnon said. The board sought to ensure
    safe use of their computers, while “balancing that against a person’s right to reach sites that they need to reach.”

    Olson had been viewing questionable sites at the library’s northwest branch on several occasions, said Chief Deputy District Attorney
    Dave Clifton, but was not caught until the man using the computer near him called in the sheriff Sept. 29. “We didn’t get him the first time,”
    Clifton said.

    Once the sheriff’s office became involved, deputies searched Olson’s personal computer and found pictures that he had brought home to
    view, Clifton said. Olson’s lawyer, Shelly O’Neill, said he is “young and very naïve for his age” and didn’t realize the serious nature of his
    actions. She also said the worst offenders are getting away with the worst crime.

    “I adamantly believe that people like my client are the least culpable in these cases,” she said. “The most culpable are the people who
    create the pornography in the first place. “It seems like the very bad actors are escaping prosecution.”

    “That’s one thing we’re working on,” said Jeff Clark, a detective with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office who handles Internet crimes. “But
    the Internet thing is so much bigger than anyone can imagine.”

    While the FBI investigates the sources of the sites, his agency focuses on the users, he said. And it does not take much to commit a crime,
    he said. “As soon as you bring child pornography on to your computer, that’s when it becomes illegal,” he said, adding it does not have to
    be downloaded to be against the law.

    But O’Neill said the question of whether viewing actually qualifies as possession under the law has not been tested. Like many of the legal