Man charged after federal probe
of website
Kaitlin Durbin
News Journal
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.