Kaitlin Durbin
MANSFIELD — A former
Mansfield police officer is among more than two dozen people arrested by
federal agencies in a national child pornography case.
Robert Anderson of Lucas
was arrested Feb. 7 on allegations he knowingly received and distributed child
pornography, according to a complaint filed in the Northern District United
States District Court.
Anderson, 69, was a patrol
officer for the department for 25 years, retiring in September of 2000,
according to city finance records.
“What he did in his
retirement years is not a reflection of the men and women that work at the
Mansfield Police Department,” Police Chief Ken Coontz commented. “It’s a
disgraceful act no matter who gets charged with it.”
A hearing has not yet been
scheduled, but if Anderson is convicted of the charge, he could get 10 years or
more in prison. His court-appointed attorneys, Charles Fleming and Edward
Bryan, could not be reached for comment.
“The weight of the evidence
against the defendant is substantial, including images seized under a search
warrant and a confession,” Anderson’s detention order said. “There is evidence
that the defendant unsuccessfully attempted to hide additional storage devices
containing illicit images of minors after his arrest.
“Although the defendant has
no prior criminal history and long-established ties to the community, these are
insufficient to overcome the statutory presumption in the light of the
foregoing.”
The arrest was the result
of an investigation that spanned three years and involved the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Cyber Crimes Center,
Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, Victim Identification Program, as well
as various international law enforcement agencies, the complaint said.
Through the investigation,
at least 24 people were identified as possible users of a website, identified
only as “Website A.” Authorities said the site allows people to post,
distribute and trade sexually explicit images of children. In many cases,
according to the report, users also exchanged emails for the purpose of
distributing more images.
The website is hosted
outside of the United States.
“Often evidence from the
images, and comments posted about the album (either by other individuals or the
member who created the album), indicates that the particular poster or person
who created the album has a sexual interest in children,” the complaint said,
“and that these individuals’ interest in Website A lies in the ability to meet
other individuals for the private trading of child pornography.”
In June 2012, Homeland
Security Investigations obtained data from the website — including usernames,
album names, passwords, comments and associated email addresses and IP logs —
that helped lead to Anderson’s arrest.
A “Website A” member
account authorities believe to be run by Anderson, titled “bob1431b,”
reportedly contained six albums with at least 44 photos of young girls’
underwear and prepubescent teens in the nude, the complaint stated.
One of the albums, entitled
“preview,” was found to contain 38 images, most or all including a pubescent
teenager suspected to be from north central Ohio, the complaint said.
Attached to one of the
photos was a comment from “bob1431b” saying, “email me for trades, I have many
hot vids and pics, some homemade and hidden cam,” according to the complaint.
The investigation notes
that user “bob1431b” last modified his albums in October 2012, but when
authorities accessed “Website A” on Jan. 15, 2014, it was determined that the
user “continued to remain active and to maintain a profile and the same or
similar albums on the website,” the complaint said.
A gmail account also linked
to the website’s username and traced back to Anderson revealed another 25
images and four videos containing child pornography, the complaint said.
The evidence indicated
Anderson had traded child pornography with at least two other Internet users
between Sept. 18 and Nov. 18, 2013. In one of the exchanges, Anderson sent nine
image attachments, three of which constituted child pornography, the report
said.
When Homeland Security
Investigations agents raided Anderson’s home Feb. 6 and conducted an on-site
preview of a thumb drive computer media device, they reported finding several
other images of suspected child pornography.
Anderson admitted,
according to the complaint, that he registered the email address and was the
sole user of the computers in the home.
He also agreed to an
interview with FBI Agent Lance Fragomeli, in which he “admitted to receiving
and sending files containing child pornography. Anderson also admitted that he
had saved some of these images and had created a collection which he had hidden
away,” the complaint said.