Operation Innocent Images

In September 1995, the FBI made several arrests and searched 120 homes nation-wide, concluding a two-year investigation into the use of America On-Line to distribute child pornography and arrange sex with children. FBI agents in Baltimore first became involved in the investigation in 1993 while attempting to find 10-year-old George Stanley Burdynski, who was abducted from his Brentwood, Maryland, neighborhood. Burdynski was never found, but the investigation led to the discovery that both adults and juveniles were routinely using computers to transmit images of children aged two to 13 showing frontal nudity or sexually explicit conduct.

Following the FBI's operation, in February 1996, John Delmarle, 49, has been sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment in Rochester, New York. Delmarle agreed to a maximum sentence of 33 months for sending sexually explicit pictures of children through America Online under a plea agreement in December. However, U.S. District Judge Telesca opted to impose a longer sentence, citing the nature of Delmarle's crime and previous paedophile convictions. Prosecutors stated that the pictures Delmarle transmitted in July and August 1994 portrayed "sadistic conduct" involving children under the age of 12. He also was sentenced to three years' probation and six months of home confinement after his release, and was barred from associating with minors or using a computer for anything other than employment purposes.

According to a CNN Report on April 7, 1997 (FBI cracks down on child pornography on the Internet April 7, 1997) Operation Innocent Images so far has netted 91 arrests and 83 felony convictions. The figures were provided to CNN as FBI Director Louis Freeh prepared to brief a Senate panel on April 9, 1997 on the operation "Innocent Images". The FBI's Baltimore office is leading the nationwide effort to track down pedophiles using online services to transmit child porn or to recruit children into sexual relationships.

Louis Freeh, director of FBI describes the Operation Innocent Images as follows:

In 1994, the FBI initiated an innovative and proactive investigation, designated as "Innocent Images," to focus on the sexual exploitation of children through the Internet and on-line services. This investigation grew out of our experience in the May 1993 disappearance of George Stanley Burdynski, Jr., a 13-year old, in Prince George's County, Maryland.

In the course of the Burdynski investigation, FBI agents and Prince George's County Police detectives identified two suspects who had sexually exploited numerous juvenile males over a 25-year period. Investigation of these two suspects determined that both adults and juveniles were routinely using computers to transmit images of minors showing frontal nudity or sexually explicit conduct, as well as to lure other minors into engaging in illicit sexual activity with the suspects.

Consultations with experts, both within the FBI and in the private sector, revealed that the use of computer telecommunications was rapidly becoming one of the most prevalent techniques by which pedophiles would share photographic images of minors, as well as identify and recruit children for sexually illicit relationships.

To combat the use of computer telecommunications by pedophiles and sexual predators, the FBI and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice jointly developed an investigative and prosecutive strategy to identify subjects who originate, upload, or forward child pornography to other subscribers through the use of on-line service providers. Our highest priority is on those individuals who indicate a willingness to travel for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a juvenile and those who are distributors of child pornography.

As of March 5, 1997, the "Innocent Images" investigation has generated 200 search warrants, 40 consent searches, 81 indictments, 33 informations, 91 arrests, and 83 felony convictions.

The "Innocent Images" Task Force is staffed by agents of the FBI's Baltimore, Maryland, field office, other federal agencies, and investigators from surrounding state and local jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. However, it is estimated that 95 percent of the subjects identified by the "Innocent Images" investigation reside in other states.

The "Innocent Images" investigation has allowed the FBI and the Department of Justice to develop the investigative techniques needed to address child pornography and other crimes in cyberspace. These techniques fully take into account the Attorney General's guidelines for criminal investigations, including federal statutes that apply to electronic communications and the public's first amendment rights.

The search warrants, seizures of computer equipment, and convictions resulting from the "Innocent Images" are putting pedophiles and criminals on notice that these crimes are being investigated and prosecuted. They also serve to deter others who may consider engaging in such illicit acts.

This ongoing investigation also provides us with extensive background and intelligence on how pedophiles and sexual predators use and manipulate the Internet and on-line services; how they search for, target, and recruit victims; and how they try to evade notice by law enforcement. For example, some pedophiles now post their solicitations in legitimate news groups and bulletin boards knowing that law enforcement is aware of the more obvious sites frequented by pedophiles.


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