Online Child Porn Surfer Records Sent to State AGs
Attorney gens. (AG) in 44 states got material that could help identify as many as 500 individuals who may have bought online child porn, Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.) said Fri. The files, sent to AGs by the House Commerce Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, initially came to lawmakers from witnesses at a hearing earlier this year on online child sexual exploitation.
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Justin Berry, 19, and his lawyers gave the panel details on subscribers to a porn site the teen once ran. Berry, lured into online porn at 13, ran his own site until turning state’s witness in 2005. At the hearing, Stupak and other lawmakers railed at state and federal authorities’ unwillingness to pursue offenders, especially given the amount of personally identifiable data Berry had on men frequenting his site.
The subcommittee had sent similar data to Mich. Attorney Gen. Mike Cox (R). Cox opened an inquiry on Ken Gourlay, 29, who was charged with molesting Berry. Gourlay was arrested on 10 felony counts, including criminal sexual conduct, child sexually abusive activity, using a computer to commit a crime, distribution of child sexually abusive activity and accosting a child for immoral purposes (WID May 17 p3). Gourlay also appeared before the subcommittee under subpoena but declined to respond to questioning, taking the 5th Amendment.
Three other men are up on federal charges involving Berry’s former site, www.justinsfriends.com, and the credit card processing company he used, Stupak’s office said. Data sent to AGs last week include information on 11 individuals in Mich. AGs only received information on people in their state unless they requested otherwise, a Stupak spokesman told us. The records generally included names, e-mail address, credit card type, credit card number, street address and some IP addresses, he said. Berry’s site is no longer active, the subcommittee’s letter to the AGs said. The letter also said the subcommittee hasn’t made any effort to verify the customer names or other identifying data in files Berry submitted.
Since Cox created his Child & Public Protection Unit, his office has arrested 95 Internet sexual predators and expects to arrest the 96th today (Mon.), a spokesman said. Cox’s crackdown has yielded the “best [results] of any state attorney general in the country,” he said. Gourlay was in court last week for a preliminary examination but the hearing was delayed because Berry couldn’t attend. The process will resume in July, when Berry will provide testimony, he said. Meanwhile, Cox’s office will continue to “aggressively track down sexual predators, take them off the Internet and put them behind bars where they belong,” the spokesman said.
Fla. Attorney Gen. Charlie Crist (R) told us his office “stands ready to pursue the lowlifes who prey on our state’s vulnerable children.” He said his staff would immediately begin processing the data provided by the House subcommittee. “By working with law enforcement at all levels, we will bring these purveyors of child pornography to justice,” Crist said. Berry’s lawyer Stephen Ryan said the subcommittee’s actions “are very welcome and consistent with their thoughtful approach to this problem.”