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Sunday, November 11, 2001



Child porn arrests up
with aid of task force

The force includes officials from
federal and local agencies


By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com

Internet child pornography arrests are on the rise this year, mostly due to a new task force that actively goes after those receiving, distributing and producing adolescent and sometimes pubescent pornography, investigators said.

The Internet Crimes Against Children task force started in January and includes investigators from the FBI, county police, U.S. Customs, U.S. postal inspectors and the state Attorney General's Office.

"It's like every other month we're taking somebody down," said Donald Wong, chief investigator for the state Attorney General's Office. "It's like a fad all of a sudden."

The most recent case involved a former Hawaii County worker and his twin brother, who were both indicted in federal court for sexual exploitation of minors. According to federal documents, U.S. postal inspectors in Northern California set up a sting operation in which one of the brothers sent 16 diskettes containing 200 images of boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 15.

The images contained explicit sexual conduct including intercourse, masturbation and bestiality.

One brother has already pleaded guilty while the other's case is pending.

"I would say the volume of investigations has been increasing in the last couple of years," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong. "It's not the easiest crime to detect, either."

Wong said Hawaii and other states received federal money to put together a child Internet porn task force after Dallas police busted an Internet porn distribution center several years ago. From that case, Wong said, law enforcement agencies were able to get a list of hundreds of customers in dozens of states, including Hawaii.

"The feds realized they had a real problem, and that's where we come in," Wong said. "Now 30 states are involved in the same kind of task force.

"Basically all we want to do is protect the kids."

Some of this year's cases directly involved the Internet Crimes Against Children task force or were investigated by one of the cooperating agencies.

They include former intermediate school teacher Gilbert Martines, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and pornography charges involving a 12-year-old boy, and Dane Rassmussen, a Schofield Barracks staff sergeant who was sentenced to six years in prison for producing child pornography on base.

Other indictments involving the transmission and possession of child pornography include Dennis Menoni, a former Honolulu resident, and Brian K. Cremen, an Oahu-based Navy man.

In an earlier case involving a man named Patrick Soong, Tong said there were "dramatic" amounts of child pornography recovered from Soong's home.

"He had more than 10,000 images, including images of children under 12 years old," Tong said.

"That's why we must vigorously prosecute these collectors because they fuel the demand. ... This law was enacted to protect those who cannot protect themselves," he said.

Postal Inspector Byron Dare, who is not part of the task force but has worked on child pornography investigations since 1989, said minors involved in the production of child pornography all pay a dear price.

"The children end up screwed up, social problems, drug problems, criminal problems, learning problems. Some of them are suicidal," Dare said. "The victims range from very young -- the youngest I've seen is 2 years old -- but typically we'll find victims around age 13, 14, a developmental age. Their bodies are developing and they're more vulnerable at that time."

According to federal law, penalties for distributing or receiving child pornography by way of the mail or the Internet include up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A person with a prior conviction involving sex with a minor and caught possessing or distributing pornographic materials could face five to 30 years in prison.

Wong said while the task force is proactively seeking out child pornography collectors and distributors, federal and state agents need the public's help in reporting other related crimes, such as when an adult pretending to be a child contacts another child over the Internet.

"Talk to your kids," Wong said. "Make sure they're not giving out personal information. If at any time you suspect that the 'child' your son or daughter is chatting with on the Internet is not a child at all, please give us a call.

"I myself have a daughter that's 14 years old and I know she goes on the Internet," he said. "And you never know who's out there."

The call to be more aware also comes while many law enforcement agencies have strained manpower and resources to increase homeland security.

"All our resources are being devoted to terrorist investigations because of Sept. 11," Dare said. "But people can still easily report child pornography and other crimes over the Internet at www.cybersnitch.net. They can also they can send an e-mail address to cybersnitch_alert@cyberenforcement.com."

Wong said that anyone with information regarding suspected child pornography distribution, possession or production can call his office at 586-1240.



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