Authorities brainstorm over online child porn

By Michael Ko
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The Seattle Police Department is hosting a two-day conference for police and prosecutors from across the country to talk about pedophiles and computer-related crimes against children.

The meeting comes several weeks after Ronald Young was charged in Pierce County with raping his six foster children, taking digital pictures of the alleged acts and then posting them online.

Capt. Greg Ayco of SPD's vice section, also commander of the Northwest Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, said investigating cases like Young's is complex.

First, it involves a difficult subject matter. Recently, two ICAC detectives in Seattle sat in a small, cramped room and sifted through tens of thousands of images of child pornography, categorizing seized evidence.

Next door, another ICAC detective explained how she surfs children's chat rooms, pretending to be a 13-year-old boy to find predators.

There are also issues of increasingly advanced technology. For example, one of the activities at this weekend's conference is brainstorming ideas about how to stop pedophiles from using other people's wireless networks to swap pictures.

Finally, many cases cross jurisdictions. In 2000, a Fort Worth, Texas, couple were charged with making millions of dollars selling child pornography on the Internet. Ayco said there were hundreds of subscribers living in Washington.

In Young's case, his pictures were allegedly found in Europe.

It goes against the traditional geographic notions of police work, Ayco said.

Nationwide, there are 41 ICAC task forces that coordinate information and use standardized investigation techniques. The network is an efficient way to share tips and help with casework, Ayco said. The conference provides one opportunity.
 
The Northwest task force, with 42 detectives and computer analysts, works on all cases in Washington and Alaska.

"We're trying to get people away from the idea that, 'Oh, it's just a picture,' " Ayco said. "Each of those pictures is an actual record of child abuse."

Today is the second day of the conference, which is being held at the Edgewater Hotel at Pier 67. The conference is not open to the public.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com

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