89 are indicted in online porn case
Posted on 03/19/2002 12:13:48 PM PST by MeekOneGOP
89 are indicted in online porn case
East Texas man accused of setting up Web site; 7 other Texans indicted
03/19/2002
WASHINGTON - Clergy members, Little League coaches and a teacher's aide are among the 89 people charged with participating in an Internet site where hard-core child pornography was traded, federal authorities said Monday.
Forty arrests in 20 states had been made as of Monday, among them that of an East Texas man alleged to have set up the "Candyman" site visited by more than 7,000 people until its shutdown last year during an investigation initiated by the Houston FBI office. Fifty more arrests will occur this week, said Bruce Gebhardt, an FBI executive assistant director.
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"It is clear that a new marketplace for child pornography has emerged in the dark corners of cyberspace," Attorney General John Ashcroft told a news conference at FBI headquarters. However, he said, the arrests prove "there will be no free rides on the Internet for traffickers of child pornography."
The man alleged to have set up the "Candyman" e-group in December 2000 Mark Bates, a 32-year-old from Palestine made an initial appearance Monday in federal court in Tyler, federal authorities said. He is among eight people charged in a 10-count federal indictment unsealed Monday in Houston.
Also indicted were seven Texans alleged to have subscribed to the site: Walter Eugene Fitzpatrick, 61, of Liverpool; Robert Froman, 49, of Pasadena; Stephen Michael Johnston, 21, of College Station; Hector Ezeta, 38, of Houston; Jayson Anderson, 28, of Baytown; Billy Loyd White, 45, of Channelview; and Christopher James Tinney, 20, of Katy.
All eight in the Houston indictment were charged with a single count of conspiracy to knowingly transport, receive and distribute child porn by computer, which carries a maximum 15 years' imprisonment and $250,000 fine. Mr. Bates alone was charged with a single count of knowingly transporting child porn by computer, while the seven others were each charged with one count of receiving child porn by computer all of which carry a maximum 15-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine. And the seven were also each charged with a single count of possession of materials containing images of child pornography, which carries a maximum five-year sentence and $250,000 fine.
The Houston indictment alleges that Candyman subscribers were polled on questions such as whether they wanted to see more pornographic images of boys or girls; the age at which they first began abusing children; and the number of children they had molested.
Twenty-seven of those arrested to date have admitted molesting more than 36 children, the FBI said.
Operation Candyman was initiated 14 months ago, after an FBI agent in Houston identified three e-groups involved in posting and exchanging child pornography, the FBI said. FBI officials in Washington declined to provide particulars of the arrests, though they said two Catholic priests as well as several law-enforcement personnel were among those charged.
Investigators examined the 7,000 Candyman subscribers, which included 2,400 people living outside the United States, and prioritized which ones to investigate further, Mr. Gebhardt said.
E-mail: mmittelstadt@dallasnews.com
As it should be.
WarHawk42
BTW, 'entrapment' is a legal term that has been abused as much as 'terrorist' is going to be abused. An example of entrapment would be if an undercover agent got to know you and say, sold you a used PC. That night, agents break down your door and find thousands of kiddie-porn pix on that same PC. If people are voluntarily going to this site to download and exchange files, its not entrapment.
Freedom without responsibility is anarchy.
Most people today think we live in a democracy. ITS A REPUBLIC!
They have no idea what being a citizen is really about.
Just because we are at war, doesn't mean people who break the law, shouldn't be arrested and punished. We are talking about children here. These are people’s babies. Have you any idea of what goes on behind closed doors, in order for these pictures to be taken? Do you know what these monsters do to children’s lives?
Do you know what sex addicts do with these pictures? Do you have any idea how long it takes for them to find porn boring after awhile, growing hungry to try the real thing? Frankly, I would be THRILLED if my neighbor was busted for looking at naked children. I have two children to raise, love and protect. I don't want to live next to a pervert; someone who gets off on looking at naked children. And I'm certain no one else does either.
I for one thank God we have someone leading our country right now, who is willing to go after perverts in order to protect our children.
You are minimizing the situation, thinking...it's not so bad. They aren't as evil as the terrorists, right??? WRONG! Evil is evil and every bit of it must be stopped, if we are able. Child pornography is EVIL and it’s against the LAW!! Period! End of discussion!
We know how they have been lowered over the years with the "If it feels good do it" crowd. Along with the lack of responsibility.
Freedom without responsibility is anarchy.
Or stone age survival. I thought we had advanced beyond that.
Most people today think we live in a democracy. ITS A REPUBLIC!
They have no idea what being a citizen is really about.
They won't get any idea what being a citizen is from our schools now days either. Our federal controlled schools just don't seem to be interested in that part of education anymore.
WarHawk42
One big difference. I don't see anywhere where bush was involved. Most of the horror stories coming out of Arkansas involved clinton.
WarHawk42
.....the DOJ had more important things to do under a certain Ms. Reno....Like protecting that Pervert-in-Chief..............
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