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| Pentagon declined to investigate hundreds of purchases of child pornography |
| 2010-09-07 |
| A 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation into the purchase of child pornography online turned up more than 250 civilian and military employees of the Defense Department -- including some with the highest available security clearance -- who used credit cards or PayPal to purchase images of children in sexual situations. But the Pentagon investigated only a handful of the cases, Defense Department records show. The cases turned up during a 2006 ICE inquiry, called Project Flicker, which targeted overseas processing of child-porn payments. As part of the probe, ICE investigators gained access to the names and credit card information of more than 5,000 Americans who had subscribed to websites offering images of child pornography. Many of those individuals provided military email addresses or physical addresses with Army or fleet ZIP codes when they purchased the subscriptions. In a related inquiry, the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) cross-checked the ICE list against military databases to come up with a list of Defense employees and contractors who appeared to be guilty of purchasing child pornography. The names included staffers for the secretary of defense, contractors for the ultra-secretive National Security Agency, and a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. But the DCIS opened investigations into only 20 percent of the individuals identified, and succeeded in prosecuting just a handful. The Boston Globe first reported the Pentagon's role in Project Flicker in July, citing DCIS investigative reports (PDF) showing that at least 30 Defense Department employees were investigated. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 First time offense....verbal warning from the supervisor (per the union agreement). BEGIN the process! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-09-07 15:01 |
| #3 The problem is jurisdiction for the crime. DoD civilians are not subject to military justice under the Uniform Code. Those who are military are subject to the UCMJ, but only those punitive articles as provided by law. While it would be tempting to invoke Article 134—General article, it too has limitations. This is a case where the civilian side needs to charge an individual and prosecute. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-09-07 14:58 |
| #2 If they used a credit card it should be easy to track. Even easier for the ones that use a .mil address to register. Seize their computer, verify the illegal images, take the offender out front, put them on their knees, shoot them in the back of the head. Clean, simple and justice is done. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-09-07 13:38 |
| #1 Your tax dollars at work. You think maybe WikiLeaks might be interested in publishing THIS kind of information? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-09-07 13:10 |