Tuesday, May 25, 1999
Citizens collar criminals on Net
It's pedophile haven, law enforcers warn
The Associated Press
MUNCIE, Ind. — A woman on a crusade to trap alleged child pornographers posed as a
14-year-old girl on the Internet and built a criminal case against one Muncie man.
While federal agents were happy to end the illegal activities of Charles L. White last year, they said they're uncomfortable with the idea of private citizens posing as juveniles on the Internet to trap pedophiles.
“We don't encourage it,” said Ruben Rodriquez, director of the exploited child unit of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). “There are zealots in this issue, and sometimes they lose focus.”
Mr. White, now 50, awaits a June 30 sentencing in federal court on charges including possession of child pornography and traveling with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He pleaded guilty to those charges in January.
The adult woman, who is not being identified at the request of authorities, posed as a 14-year-old girl and then made contact with Mr. White, said Steven DeBrota, the deputy U.S. attorney who is handling the case.
The two exchanged a series of explicit messages over the Internet, authorities said.
While Mr. White, then 49, unknowingly sent the seductive messages to an adult, the woman built a criminal case against him before federal authorities were contacted.
FBI agents continued the woman's masquerade and completed the case against Mr. White, Mr. DeBrota said. Authorities set up a sting operation and arrested Mr. White last year when he arranged to meet the minor in Ohio for a sexual encounter.
NCMEC, a public-private agency that refers child pornography and exploitation cases to law enforcement, has had an explosion of Internet-related cases, Mr. Rodriquez said.
“Within the last year, we've gotten 6,500 reports of incidents,” he said. “Adults preying on children, illegal content, unsolicited e-mail, child pornography.
“There has been a marked increase,” Mr. Rodriquez said. “The Internet is world-wide, and it is a haven for pedophiles.”
The NCMEC reported early this year that nearly 700 adults had been convicted in federal courts in Internet-related child sexual exploitation cases.
Mr. Rodriquez said the NCMEC and other agencies use the center's Internet “cybertip” files as resources and often go online looking for adults who seek sexual contact with juveniles.
But the NCMEC does not bait pedophiles, he said.
“The bad guys are out there,” Mr. Rodriquez said.
He said some private citizens may break the law when trying to trap a child pornographer. Law enforcement officials would never post a nude photo on the Internet in response to a suspected pedophile's request, Mr. Rodriquez said.
“Some of these zealots do that,” he said. “People sometimes bend the law or manipulate the law to get the guy on the hook.”
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