CPIU » pornography

Man gets nearly 20 years in sex tourism case

whoiscarol — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:38:21 +0000

N.J. actor, children’s entertainer, was known for playing Santa Claus

Wayne Nelson Corliss was arrested in May 2008, two days after Interpol took the rare step of asking for the public’s help in identifying a man shown in pornographic images. Hundreds of leads flooded in and eventually led to Corliss’ arrest at his home in Union City, N.J.

NEWARK, N.J. – A small-time actor and former children’s entertainer who was known for playing Santa Claus was sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years in prison for his role in an international sex tourism ring that preyed on young children.

Wayne Nelson Corliss, whose 2008 arrest was the culmination of an international manhunt, had admitted traveling to Thailand three times between 2000 and 2002 to have sex with at least two boys, ages 6 and 9. He pleaded guilty last October to five counts that included distribution and possession of child pornography and traveling to foreign countries to engage in illegal sexual activity.

“You have acted beyond the bounds of human decency,” U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway told Corliss on Monday.

The bearded, white-haired Corliss, who is 61 and acted under the name Casey Wayne, was described by people who knew him as witty and friendly and “the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen.” He worked as an entertainer at corporate parties, art fairs and bar mitzvahs, where his activities sometimes included painting children’s faces.

That image clashed with the one presented in court Monday, in which Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vartan called Corliss “an irredeemable sexual predator” who bragged on the Internet about fondling young boys while dressed as Santa.

Corliss, who had spoken sparingly in a handful of previous court hearings, pleaded with Greenaway for “a fair sentence, not a death sentence.”

While acknowledging his crimes, he claimed that Internet chat postings in which he bragged about abusing other boys as young as 4 were the equivalent of playing a role and did not reflect his true personality.

“I’m not that person,” he said. “I’m not that monster.”

Interpol asked for public’s help
Corliss’ trips allegedly were arranged by John Wrenshall, a Canada native who immigrated to Thailand and has been charged in an 18-count federal indictment. Two Alabama men who accompanied Corliss, Mitchell Jackson and Burgess Lee Burgess, have already pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.

Corliss could have received a maximum prison sentence of more than 27 years under federal sentencing guidelines, but the government requested about 19 1/2 years because Corliss’ cooperation aided in the cases against Wrenshall, Jackson and Burgess.

Without that constraint, Greenaway told Corliss Monday, he would “not have hesitated” to give him the full sentence. He characterized the case as the most disturbing he has come across in 25 years in the criminal justice system.

“I cannot think of something more heinous,” he said. “These children are going to have to live with this for eternity, when their memory should be of a joyful, carefree time.”

U.S. ‘asleep at the wheel’ on child porn

whoiscarol — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:24:13 +0000

Officials say images of younger children becoming more pervasive

BARTOW, Fla. – When a single Florida county arrested 45 men and boys from all walks of life last June on charges of downloading child pornography, some people worried the place had become a haven for deviants.

But top law enforcement officials and child welfare experts say the only thing unusual about Polk County is that its sheriff, Grady Judd, happens to pursue child-porn enthusiasts with more fervor and resources than most.

Child porn has grown so pervasive on the Internet, they say, that police agencies all over the country, using the latest file-tracking technology, could easily spend every day finding and arresting offenders

“Today, it’s truly like shooting fish in a barrel,” said Judd, who has directed four child pornography roundups since 2006, resulting in at least 176 arrests in Polk County, a patchwork of orange groves, phosphate mines, modest towns and a half-million people between Tampa and Orlando. The biggest city is Lakeland, population 90,000.

Mike Phillips, chief of the computer crimes section at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said Polk’s sheer number of child pornography arrests in recent years is almost unheard of nationally for a single agency.

Specialized training
Judd, whose sheriff’s office houses the Internet Crimes Against Children task force for central Florida, has made sure his detectives have gotten the specialized training needed to identify and catch people who download the illegal material from the Internet. He notes that much of the legwork in the latest sweep was done by just two or three detectives, though more were required when deputies raided suspects’ homes.

The popular and media-friendly Judd, who when he needs guidance is as likely to reach for the Bible on his desk as he is to go flipping through the Florida criminal code, said his crusade against child porn comes from his fervent commitment to protect children. An “old vice guy,” he was arresting child pornographers when they were still trading in magazines and paper photographs.

“We are absolutely committed and send a clear message that if you engage in child pornography, if you’re trying to lure children online, we are going to seek you out, chase you to the ends of the earth and put you in jail,” the 55-year-old sheriff said.

Child pornography has exploded as Internet use has become commonplace. Experts say the images increasingly seem to feature younger children — infants and toddlers — being molested for the cameras in more violent and egregious ways. Most are abused and photographed by a parent, relative or someone else in a position of trust.

In this era of lean budgets, many law enforcement agencies don’t have the time, resources or inclination to aggressively pursue such crimes, experts say.

‘Totally inconsistent’
“Once you get the training and the resources, it’s very easy to pick these guys off, but law enforcement already has such problematic crimes competing for police resources,” said Keith Durkin, an Ohio Northern University sociology professor and frequent witness for the federal Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Harold Copus, a former FBI agent who has extensively investigated child pornography cases, took a harder line on law enforcement efforts.

”It is spotty and totally inconsistent,” Copus said. “And it comes down to commitment and, quite frankly, laziness. There’s no pressure” from the public.

Phillips, the Florida computer crimes chief, said that because of limited resources, the June roundup was aimed at some of the worst offenders — those trading the most images or suspected of abusing children. The 45 people arrested had amassed up to 15,000 images.

Salesman, teacher, pilot
Those arrested included a 50-year-old car salesman, a 62-year-old retired teacher, a 34-year-old pilot, a 43-year-old truck driver and a 22-year-old Sea World employee. Some had long criminal records. Others had none. Three were high school students.

“We have looked at the enemy, and he is us,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Computer analysts at the center investigate about 2,000 reports a week of suspected child pornography that come in from the public and online service providers. Tips to the center rose from 3,160 in 1998 to 101,748 in 2008, mirroring the spread of everyday Internet use, and analysts there have documented millions of images online.

Child pornography arrests by the 59 federally funded Internet Crimes Against Children task forces topped 3,000 last year for the first time, nearly double the number reported just four years ago.

Authorities ultimately will have to do more than slap handcuffs on people who make and view child pornography, said Andrew Oosterbaan, chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Public health issue
“This is not just a law enforcement issue,” he said. “This is not just about people doing something illegal and therefore we have to stop it. It’s making people understand why this is more of a societal issue, why this is more of a public health issue.”

Judd, who has battled adult bookstores and prostitution with similar zeal, gets angry just talking about the people who trade in the horrific images of child abuse.

He tells the story of one man caught in bed with a teen daughter when deputies barged in with a search warrant. Then there is the graphic online slideshow offering fathers step-by-step instructions for molesting their children.

“It is something we must wake up to,” Judd said. “And we are asleep at the wheel as a nation.”

Child porn accused ‘a sick puppy’

whoiscarol — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:54:00 +0000

A West Australian man accused of possessing more than 700 child pornography images has been described as ‘a bit of a sick puppy’ during an appearance in Perth Magistrate’s Court.

Bradley Pen Dragon, 49, is alleged to have stored the images on computer thumb drives.

Today, Pen Dragon appeared in court on charges of possessing child pornography.

In applying for bail, his lawyer told the court her client was innocent until proven guilty, and if he was remanded in custody it would limit him moving forward in his life.

But the police prosecutor opposed his released, describing Pen Dragon as ‘a bit of a sick puppy’ who had two prior recent convictions for possessing child pornography.

Magistrate Steven Malley said the nature of the offences combined with Pen Dragon’s record indicated he posed a serious risk to the community.

He was remanded in custody and will appear in court again next month.