As a result of testimony provided your committee by the Postal Inspection Service, you requested information on computer bulletin board usage by pedophiles and examples of child pornography investigations conducted by Postal Inspectors under the Child Protection Act of 1984.

The following information is being provided as per your request. Pedophiles and child pornographers have traditionally used the mails in the clandestine trafficking of child pornography. The anonymity afforded to both the sender and the addressee by the use of the mails has long been a main support to the psychological base of the pedophile. With the advent of personal computers, pedophiles and child pornographers have begun to explore this avenue of communications. A person may now subscribe to an

information service whereby he or she can contact other subscribers. These services offer everything from "private" communications to conference calls. The communications may also take the form of a "bulletin board" whereby "messages" can be posted to which any other subscriber may respond. Postal Inspectors and the law enforcement officers have discovered that pedophile offenders have used personal computer communications to establish contacts and sources for the exchange or sale of child pornography. The computer user, after establishing a secure relationship with another subscriber, will arrange for materials to be sent through the mail. Offenders may also use personal computer services to identify particular children who can be used in making child pornography.

The use of computer bulletin boards to correspond with pedophiles is a relatively new investigative technique being utilized by Postal Inspectors. However, use of this technique has already resulted in 23 investigations in which the alleged violator used a computer to correspond with other pedophiles or law enforcement officers. Postal Inspectors have accessed four different pedophile-oriented computer bulletin boards. From

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these bulletin boards, investigative leads have been obtained and pursued by Postal Inspectors. Also, as a result of search warrants executed by Postal Inspectors in child pornography investigations, 19 computers have been seized as evidence. These computers were being used by the alleged violators to correspond with other pedophiles, access bulletin boards and/or maintain their mailing and correspondence lists.

The following attachment includes case summaries of child pornography investigations conducted by the Postal Inspection Service. These cases represent violations of the Child Protection Act of 1984 which involve the use of the mails.

Also enclosed is a

copy of an article entitled "Child Pornography Investigative Update." The article appeared in the Spring 1986 issue of the Postal Inspection Service Law Enforcement Report.

Mellanar

C. R. Clauson

Enclosures

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY INVESTIGATIONS

TAMPA, FL Christian Edward Cooper was sentenced on June 20, 1985, in U. S. Federal Court to three years in prison to be followed by five years probation. Cooper had pleaded guilty to two counts of a four-count indictment charging him with distribution of child pornography. Cooper was a vice-president at Crossland Savings Bank in Bradenton, FL and was imprisoned since his arrest by Postal Inspectors on January 30, 1985. The arrest resulted after Cooper sent child pornography beginning in May of 1984 to a Los Angeles Police Officer and Postal Inspectors in Tampa. The Postal Inspection Service also requested the U. S. Attorney at Tampa to initiate civil forfeiture proceedings against Cooper's automobile and photography equipment under 18 USC 2254.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN On May 8, 1986, John Hilgenberg, MD, was found guilty pursuant to a guilty plea agreement on one count in violation of 18 USC 2252. Dr. Hilgenberg was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended, placed on two years probation and fined $10,000. On May 13, 1986, Hilgenberg was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended, and was placed on one year probation in Marion County Superior Court on related local felony charges involving child exploitation.

HOUSTON, TX Kenneth Lynn Pierce pleaded guilty on April 23, 1986, to a one-count Criminal Information charging the sending of child pornography through the mail. Based on Pierce's guilty plea, he was sentenced to serve a term of four years in a federal prison. Pierce also was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment while in prison.

OAKLAND, CA On June 21, 1986, Laverne Lloyd Martin of Pittsburgh, CA, was sentenced to three years in prison in U.S. District Court. Martin had previously pleaded guilty on May 10, 1986, to one count of Distribution of Child Pornography in violation of 18 USC, Section 2252(a)(1). Martin operated a mail order video club in Concord, CA, specializing in the reproduction, sale and distribution of video cassette tapes depicting child pornography, bestiality and sado-masochistic abuse. On two occasions Martin sold child porn video tapes through the mail to an undercover Postal Inspector.

PLATTSBURGH, NY On December 6, 1985, the Reverend John J. Fallon pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography through the mail. The plea was accepted in U.S. District Court, NDNY in Utica, NY. Fallon was arrested by Postal Inspectors on September 16, 1985, for receiving sexually explicit photos of a 13 year-old boy through the mail. He later confessed to taking the photos.

CLEVELAND, OH August 5, 1985, Percy Bluitt Davis was found guilty on two counts of trafficking in child pornographic materials through the U.S. mails in violation of 18, USC, Section 2252. In returning the verdict, the jury rejected Davis' claim of entrapment on two of the three counts. Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 27, 1985, and charged with three counts of trafficking in child pornographic materials through the U.S. mail, following an exchange of letters with Postal Inspectors in which Davis mailed photocopies of photographs depicting a minor female engaged in

sexually explicit conduct. The execution of a federal search warrant at the Davis residence on March 18, 1985, led to the recovery of original photographs showing a minor female engaged in sexually explicit conduct, copies of which Davis had mailed to Postal Inspectors. Subsequent investigation led to the identification of the child depicted in the photographs. Davis has 16 years tenure as a police officer with the Cleveland Police Department, and for the past eight years, he had been assigned criminal investigative responsibilities, including assignment to the juvenile unit.

CHARLESTON, WV Joel F. Beddell, III, was arrested in April 1985, by a joint agency task force as part of a controlled delivery of a foreign originated package that contained child pornography in violation of Title 18, Section 2252. On October 7, 1985, in a change of plea hearing in U.S. District Court at Charleston, WV, Beddell withdrew his not guilty plea and entered the plea of guilty to one count of 18 USC, Section 2252, use of the United States mails to transport child pornography. On November 6, 1985, Beddell was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison.

BUFFALO, NY John F. Hall of Locke, NY, who at the time of his arrest, was employed as the Principal of the Moravia School District Elementary School, was initially sentenced on January 8, 1985 to the maximum 10 year prison term. Hall had pleaded guilty on November 5, 1984, to a one count violation of 18 USC 2252(a)(1). At the initial sentencing, the court ordered the Bureau of Prisons to conduct a "study and evaluation" of Hall and report back to the court with the results of that study in three months, at which time the initial sentence could be modified. On May 2, 1985, the judge, after reviewing the study results and recommendations of the psychiatric evaluation conducted by the Bureau of Prisons at Danbury, CT, re-sentenced Hall to a five-year term of imprisonment and further ordered him to undergo an intensive, lengthy psychiatric program in attempt at rehabilitation. In passing sentence, the judge, while labeling Hall a pedophile, commented that he must be punished substantially for the crime he committed; that there was an obligation to protect the community; and that he wanted to send a message to the public that using the mails to transmit child pornography will not be tolerated.

CINCINNATI, OH Arthur W. Fluke was sentenced June 14, 1985, to serve concurrent ten year sentences on two counts of using the mails to transport sexually explicit material dealing with minors in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252. Fluke was found guilty on May 7, 1985, after a two day jury trial in U.S. District Court.

SANTA BARBARA, CA On May 5, 1986, Thomas Pearson, Jr., was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The sentence will be modified or formally imposed by the judge after a 60-day psychological evaluation is made of Pearson. Pearson has been held in custody in lieu of $25,000 bond since his arrest on March 5, 1986, at his home. The arrest was based on his indictment by a federal grand jury on 11 counts of violation of the Federal Child Protection Act for importation and distribution of child pornography magazines from European sources.

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WICHITA, KS An Information was filed in federal district court on June 23, 1986, against Nicholas W. Ramsey for violation of Title 18 USC Section 2252(a)(1). Ramsey pled guilty to the Information which included three incidents of mailing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. At the time Ramsey was under investigation by Postal Inspectors, he was employed by a Wichita, KS television station as a news reporter and editor.

BOSTON, MA

DETROIT, MI On May 15, 1985, Edward Ray Schreiber and his wife, Wanda Schreiber, were charged in a 19-count indictment with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of the exploitation and production of child pornography (18 USC 2251) and ten counts of distributing of child pornography (18 USC 2252). The grand jury charged that the couple conspired to manufacture and mail pictures of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and that one of the people involved was Wanda Schreiber's daughter and the stepdaughter of Ed Schreiber. The Schreibers were also charged with providing controlled substances and money to the children as inducements to participate in the sexually explicit conduct. Six men were arrested December 10, 1985, after having been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of sexual exploitation of children. The six men were charged with various violations of the Child Protection Act of 1984. The six individuals and their respective charges are as follows: Mitchell Diamond, who is employed in the recording industry, is charged with six counts of reproducing and two counts of mailing video cassettes depicting children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment of Diamond also contained a forfeiture count, which alleged that a television, three video cassette recorders and other equipment were used or intended to be used in the commission of the offenses with which Diamond is charged and seeks their forfeiture to the government. Steven Eagle aka "Stan Eagle," is a university lecturer at Harvard University and was charged with two counts of receiving magazines displaying children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. John W. Griffin, who is a corporate comptroller for an office supply company, was charged with five counts of mailing photographs of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. William J. Holmes aka "Bob Clay" and "C. J. Clay," is employed as a dispatcher and was charged with receiving magazines from the Netherlands containing photographs of children engaged in explicit conduct. Theodore S. Moran, who is an engineer with a defense contracting firm, was charged with mailing two magazines depicting children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Edward F. Nolan, Jr., is a part-time cleaner and was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children. The indictment alleged that he received ten magazines displaying children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sadistic and masochistic abuse. The cases were investigated by the Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Customs Service, with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police; the local police departments of Belmont, Quincy, Winthrop, Boston, Pembroke and Abington, MA; and the Harvard University Police.