Andrew Russell

Andrew Russell, a retired sergeant with the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, will not allow instant-messaging capability on his home computer, much to the chagrin of his 14-year-old son.

But the decision, he believes, will help prevent the boy from becoming a victim of sexual exploitation that begins when predators infiltrate on-line teen chat rooms.

Most parents, he said at a CME session yesterday, are dangerously oblivious to their children's on-line activity and increased vigilance is in order, beginning with drastic but necessary steps: Do not allow children to establish their own passwords and monitor their usage.

Andrew Russell, the commanding officer of the Computer Crime and Electronic Evidence Unit at the state Department of Public Safety in Meriden.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a book on child pornography including pictures in a public library," he reasoned."Why should there be on the Internet?Unfettered access to the Internet can lead to some problems."

At the very least, libraries should have a way of determining the identity of a user if necessary, Russell said.

"What would be wrong with them logging on with an ID number?"he asked.

Otherwise, children whose parents install Internet filters at home could use library computers to see material forbidden by their parents, Russell said.

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Twelve percent of children are solicited sexually online, said Russell, citing a recent survey of children conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.He said he believes that number is a low estimate, because parents viewed their children's answers.

Without an ideal solution to the problem, libraries continue to try to protect patrons while still providing desired services.

Stamford libraries require children under 18 to present a permission slip signed by their parents before they can use the Internet.The signature is verified with a phone call.The library also provides filtered Internet access in its children's wing, allowing access to encyclopedia Web sites and educational materials, officials said.

Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the state police's computer crimes and electronic evidence unit, says parents should be present whenever children log onto the Internet.

"The 'Cyber Crime Fighting' video trilogy is an excellent training tool," said Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit for the Connecticut State Police.

Andrew Russell logs in evidence held at the forensics lab in Meriden.Cops and prosecutors who battle child porn are the hidden victims.Peter Hvizdak/Register

Editor's note: This is the last of a two-part series on child pornography.

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Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the unit."But it isn't just foreign children - many are here in the United States."

He called it a misconception that many of the children are runaways.

"Yes, runaways are in a position where they need money and are vulnerable," said Russell."But oftentimes a young girl meets an older man on the Internet, falls for him, has sex with him, and ends up in these photographs."

These images create a web of harm, ensnaring the children being assaulted, the family and friends of the accused, and the investigators themselves.

Innocence lost

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"A lot of times, they go into denial," said Russell."The people lie to their loved ones to protect themselves and their families, or they tell people they don't know what they were doing.Does this have a devastating impact on the family?Yes it does."

In some cases, spouses of the accused have expressed hostility toward police, while in cases where a couple is getting a divorce and in a custody battle, sometimes the wife turns her husband in, he said.

Andrew Russell, commander of the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit."We were not prepared for what came down the pike."

Tips from computer repairmen and other sources started trickling in to state police in 1998, Russell said.

In 1999, the newly formed computer crimes unit handled 103 cases that included fraud, gambling, threatening, Internet enticement (of minors for sex) and child pornography.Russell estimated that about 35 of those cases involved child pornography.

In 2001, the latest year statistics are available, the workload reached 534 cases, including 100 involving child pornography.

The unit now has a library of 250,000 pornographic images of children on seized computers and computer software.Police keep the material as evidence in the hope that advances in technology may one day allow them to use the images to track down some of the children or their abusers.

"The most troubling thing (is) that we can't figure out who these kids are," Russell said."Every time somebody looks at that boy or girl, the children are victimized."

High-tech crime

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In terms of revenue, Russell said the child pornography industry is on its way to rivaling the drug trade.

For instance, a child porn Web site shut down by authorities in August 2001 grossed as much as $1.4 million a month from monthly subscribers.A 2001 study by the international law enforcement agency Interpol estimated the American Internet child porn industry alone is worth $2 billion to $3 billion.

Avalanche of porn

A nationwide sweep shook 10 Connecticut towns in March when federal investigators unearthed a huge ring of child pornographers who used an Internet group called Candyman maintained on the Yahoo site.

Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the unit, told the Journal Inquirer of Manchester.

In 2000, 44 percent of investigations involved child pornography.Twenty-six percent involved larceny or fraud, and 15 percent were threats or harassment.Five percent concerned enticement of a minor.Four percent concerned hacking and sexual assault and miscellaneous crimes totaled 3 percent.

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"It's critical that parents are involved in this activity because the dangers are out there," Russell said.

Russell said "pulling the plug" isn't the answer, but careful monitoring of children's internet can be a solution.

The computer crimes unit suggests that children avoid creating provocative screen names and e-mail addresses.He said children should never create personal profiles online, or provide information such as their name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number or school.

Russell also stresses that children should not meet people they chat with on the Internet without parents' permission. ----

On the Net: http://www.getnetwise.org

Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

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Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the unit, says he has seen tough, burly troopers turn ashen and start to sweat when they see images of child pornography that must be recorded as evidence in a criminal investigation.

"I think it's more difficult than most people think," Russell said."These are not kids fooling around in the swimming pool and losing a bathing suit.These are adults having intercourse with infants."

He said with the today's technology, they're seeing a preponderance of home movies.

Most of the time, investigators have the sound turned down as they conduct their search of a suspect's computer hard drive, he said.
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"Everyone here has kids that age," Russell said.

While viewing murder scenes can be traumatic, such investigations are "contained and have a time limit," he said.With child porn, the vile task "is every day, all day long."

Russell said his investigators are guinea pigs in the field because the unit only opened 3 years ago and there's no data on how investigators are affected.

A psychologist was brought in the first week of work to talk about adverse reactions to the videos and various warning signs.The state Department of Public Safety pays the tab.

"We were the first in the country to do that," Russell said of the required counseling.Now, every Friday, "somebody is in the bucket," with each investigator meeting privately with a counselor every 45 days.

Russell recently started planning a work rotation that would give investigators more of a break from the nasty images.Each would spend only six months in forensics searching through suspects' computers and the rest of the year conducting field work, like crime-scene preservation.

Additionally, no one is allowed to work strictly on child-porn cases.Russell intermittently assigns larceny or fraud cases to break up the repetitiveness of the gruesome scenes.But, because a child's life is typically in danger, he said, child-pornography cases "tend to have a higher priority."

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"This is why I lie awake at night," Russell said staring at overflow.It's gotten so bad, "we don't even store the monitors anymore."

Currently there are six investigators in the unit, and everybody is a "closet geek," Russell said, using the term for computer whiz.

Of those, four are either state troopers or civilian criminalists, while two are on 18-month loan from other police agencies.The unit also has a lab assistant, and a lawyer who stays abreast of the ever-changing laws surrounding technology and Internet-safety training programs for parents and children.

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Andrew Russell, commanding officer of the unit, says he has seen tough, burly troopers turn ashen and start to sweat when they see images of child pornography that must be recorded as evidence in a criminal investigation.

"I think it's more difficult than most people think," Russell said."These are not kids fooling around in the swimming pool and losing a bathing suit.These are adults having intercourse with infants."

He said with the today's technology, they're seeing a preponderance of home movies.

Most of the time, investigators have the sound turned down as they conduct their search of a suspect's computer hard drive, he said.
...
"Everyone here has kids that age," Russell said.

While viewing murder scenes can be traumatic, such investigations are "contained and have a time limit," he said.With child porn, the vile task "is every day, all day long."

Russell said his investigators are guinea pigs in the field because the unit only opened 3 years ago and there's no data on how investigators are affected.

A psychologist was brought in the first week of work to talk about adverse reactions to the videos and various warning signs.The state Department of Public Safety pays the tab.

"We were the first in the country to do that," Russell said of the required counseling.Now, every Friday, "somebody is in the bucket," with each investigator meeting privately with a counselor every 45 days.

Russell recently started planning a work rotation that would give investigators more of a break from the nasty images.Each would spend only six months in forensics - searching through suspects' computers - and the rest of the year conducting field work, like crime-scene preservation.

Additionally, no one is allowed to work strictly on child-porn cases.Russell intermittently assigns larceny or fraud cases to break up the repetitiveness of the gruesome scenes.But, because a child's life is typically in danger, he said, child-pornography cases "tend to have a higher priority."

...
"This is why I lie awake at night," Russell said staring at overflow.It's gotten so bad, "we don't even store the monitors anymore."

Currently there are six investigators in the unit, and everybody is a "closet geek," Russell said, using the term for computer whiz.

Of those, four are either state troopers or civilian criminalists, while two are on 18-month loan from other police agencies.The unit also has a lab assistant, and a lawyer who stays abreast of the ever-changing laws surrounding technology and Internet-safety training programs for parents and children.