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Child Porn Busts; State Says Child Porn Distribution In North Escambia
June 10, 2009
Child pornography is a widespread problem in Florida, with state officials saying child porn is being distributed here in North Escambia.
Tuesday, Governor Charlie Crist was joined by Attorney General Bill McCollum, America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey to announce the results of a statewide “Operation Orange Tree” to crack down on some of the state’s most egregious worst pornographers.
Authorities also released a map (pictured above) depicting the “locations from which child pornography is being distributed”, with orange squares depicting the locations of those that state officials say are trading child porn. There are at least six locations pinpointed on the map from Cantonment north to the Alabama state line, and there are many more in the southern half of Escambia county and in Santa Rosa County.
“Nothing is more important than keeping Florida’s children safe from cybercrime predators, and I applaud all of the law enforcement officers involved in Operation Orange Tree,” Governor Crist said. “As a state, we must remain diligent in continuing the battle to stop sex offenders before they can prey on our children.”
During the investigation, law enforcement executed 90 search warrants and seized thousands of child pornography photos and videos. Five children who were subjects of child pornography or otherwise sexually victimized were rescued.
In many cases, investigators targeted individuals possessing large quantities of child pornography on their computer. Seventeen of the individuals arrested possessed a highly explicit video tutorial that law enforcement recently discovered circulating online. The video instructs users on methods to molest children ranging in age from infant to adolescent, and tips for avoiding detection.
“Operation Orange Tree is a national model that I plan to take around the country to share with other states and other Governors,” said John Walsh. “Today I am proud to be a Floridian. The cooperation that led to the arrest of these predators and Florida’s use of state-of-the art technology has pushed our state ahead in the battle to capture these individuals.”
“Cooperation is the best way for law enforcement to fight child pornography,” said Attorney General McCollum. “I would love to see more state partnerships develop to maximize our resources.”
Individuals arrested ranged from ages 17 to 83 and included two registered sex offenders. The operation ran primarily from mid-March through May, with arrests occurring as recently as yesterday morning. A total of 23 agencies participated in the joint effort, with Polk County Sheriff’s Office making 45 of the arrests. In addition to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Office of the Attorney General, many local law enforcement agencies participated in the arrests.
There were no arrests made in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in connection with Operation Orange Tree. The closest arrest to North Escambia was near Panama City.
“Florida is enhancing and fine-tuning the way we go about investigating these cyber predators,” Commissioner Bailey said. “This should send a loud and clear message that our tactics and technologies will be aggressive and will always catch up with those who trade images of children being sexually violated.”
According to the Federal Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Florida ranks fourth in the nation in volume of child pornography. On October 1, 2007, Governor Crist signed the CyberCrimes Against Children Act making Florida one of the leading states in the nation with laws against cybercrimes that target children. The new law increased penalties for cybercrimes, including the possession or distribution of child pornography online.
As Attorney General, Charlie Crist established the Child Predator/CyberCrime Unit in August 2005 in response to several tragic murders of children in Florida. The unit investigates and prosecutes computer-assisted crimes against children. The CyberCrime Unit now has 30 members and five offices statewide.
Pictured above: The orange squares represent the locations where state officials said child pornography was being distributed. Pictured below is the entire state. Submitted graphics for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “Child Porn Busts; State Says Child Porn Distribution In North Escambia”
Wonder what the other states look like?
Oh and a message for Willard Purdue,
Yes there is a listing off all the offenders with their names and addresses, It’s called the white pages. You can also find that online.
Happy Hunting
Your trying to stop a flood with a Paper Cup. You all speak of this problem like it has a recent onset. This kind of behavior has been going on since there have been humans. Do I find it repulsive, yes. The same way I do when I go to the zoo and see the monkeys inbreeding and flinging their poo. I say to myself, How can they be like us? Wake Up and Look Around! Why do you think Chris Hanson has no problem finding pedophiles whenever he has a sting operation.
I realize I’m saying something noone wants to consider nor believe. Just as woman are attracted to wealth and power, men are attracted to youth and beauty. Survival traits we’ve inherited from our ancestors. Humans tend to go to extremes. It seems that anything in our society that is taboo, becomes that which is most sought after. Just look at all the perversion and kinks people become obsessed with. Most of the people who commit these acts were the children being victimized themselves as children. That’s right, Early sexualization as children predisposes the victims to one day become the offenders. Maybe next time when your checking out your local sex offender registry, try to imagine those individuals might have been the last generations children we didn’t protect. Then pass your judgement.
You can just accept that this kind of behavior exists, be more vigilant as parents, teach your children, and stop relying on big brother to take care of everything
Or if you really want to end this problem once and for all, get rid of all the offenders? Write your congressmen and demand an all out nuclear assault on the human species. Get rid of all the vermin, and let’s give another species a shot.
Nuff Said
Sounds like it is time to bring out the “Scarlett Letter”, Let’s physically mark these people.
You can track registered sex offenders / predators thru the FDLE website (nothing really to do with this particular story). It is frightening. I did a search for registered offenders within a 5mile radius of my home and there were over 100. I understand a 19 yr old having consensual sex with his 16 year old girlfriend can be forced to register….. but in a lot of the instances this was not the case.
You can also sign up to have an email alert sent if a registered predator / offender moves within a certain distance of your home.
willard — these are not people that have been arrested or named. These are the locations of computers were the state says child porn is being distributed. Perhaps they are part of an ongoing investigation. The state has not said.
Is there a way we could know who these people are? Their names and addresses? Being from the very north part of the county, this really scares me. We do not know our neighbors now days. We could at the least be warned and watch.
Is there a web site to get these names?
Notice that most of these squares are located on the coast. It kinda makes you think about who’s out there watching your children when they are playing on the beach. SCARY!!!!
curious — multiple locations in one square, I think.
What do the brown squares symbolize?
the map is covered, get them all off the street’s!!
This is so scary. Parents, you can NEVER be too careful with your kids.
Good job getting these sick people off the streets. Hopefully they all will be doing some good prison time.
looking at the state map makes my heart hurt… tears come to my eyes imaging all of the innocent children these scumbags are ruining for life. Selfish twisted sick &^#$@