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07-31-2010, 09:26 PM
Pentagon workers tied to child porn
Security agencies were left at risk, investigators say
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By Bryan Bender (https://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=Bryan+Bender&camp=localsearch:on:byline:art) Globe Staff / July 23, 2010 <!-- Email to a Friend , this is a hidden form revealed via click listener --> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="https://cache.boston.com/universal/js/bcom_etaf_scripts.js"></script> <!-- e-mail widget --> <!-- titleBar --> <form action="" method="post" id="theEMTOFForm" autocomplete="off"> <input name="sender_name" id="sender_name" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="story_url" id="story_url" value="https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/23/pentagon_workers_tied_to_child_porn/" type="hidden">
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<!-- End utility --> <!-- End headTools --> <!-- End articleHeader --> WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material, according to investigative reports.
The investigations have included employees of the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense — among other organizations within the Defense Department.
The number of offenders is a small percentage of the thousands of people working for sensitive Pentagon-related agencies. But the fact that offenders include people with access to government secrets puts national security agencies “at risk of blackmail, bribery, and threats, especially since these individuals typically have access to military installations,’’ according to one report by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service from late 2009.
Some of the individuals have been prosecuted and other cases have been dropped, while more have languished several years without resolution, according to the previously undisclosed documents about the investigations.
The more than 50 pages, compiled by the investigative service, part of the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s Office, contain summaries of investigations initiated since 2002, including some cases that remain open.
The uneven discipline reflects difficulties in bringing prosecutions, according to specialists. The evidentiary standards are high for prosecution in child pornography cases, according to child welfare specialists, including positively identifying victims as underage or known victims of abuse. In others, evidence was lost or misplaced and investigators said they lacked sufficient resources to complete all of them.
Gary Comerford, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Inspector General, said the agency takes such cases very seriously but said he could not comment on individual investigations.
Many of those apprehended were swept up in a much broader probe initiated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2006. Operation Flicker identified an estimated 5,000 people who had paid money over the Internet to access websites operated overseas. But until now, it has not been disclosed that a sizable number of cases were referred to the Defense Department for investigation because they involved military personnel, intelligence officials, or defense contractors.
please read rest of article here:
Pentagon workers tied to child porn - The Boston Globe (https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/23/pentagon_workers_tied_to_child_porn/)
Security agencies were left at risk, investigators say
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By Bryan Bender (https://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=Bryan+Bender&camp=localsearch:on:byline:art) Globe Staff / July 23, 2010 <!-- Email to a Friend , this is a hidden form revealed via click listener --> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="https://cache.boston.com/universal/js/bcom_etaf_scripts.js"></script> <!-- e-mail widget --> <!-- titleBar --> <form action="" method="post" id="theEMTOFForm" autocomplete="off"> <input name="sender_name" id="sender_name" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="story_url" id="story_url" value="https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/23/pentagon_workers_tied_to_child_porn/" type="hidden">
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<!-- End utility --> <!-- End headTools --> <!-- End articleHeader --> WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material, according to investigative reports.
The investigations have included employees of the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense — among other organizations within the Defense Department.
The number of offenders is a small percentage of the thousands of people working for sensitive Pentagon-related agencies. But the fact that offenders include people with access to government secrets puts national security agencies “at risk of blackmail, bribery, and threats, especially since these individuals typically have access to military installations,’’ according to one report by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service from late 2009.
Some of the individuals have been prosecuted and other cases have been dropped, while more have languished several years without resolution, according to the previously undisclosed documents about the investigations.
The more than 50 pages, compiled by the investigative service, part of the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s Office, contain summaries of investigations initiated since 2002, including some cases that remain open.
The uneven discipline reflects difficulties in bringing prosecutions, according to specialists. The evidentiary standards are high for prosecution in child pornography cases, according to child welfare specialists, including positively identifying victims as underage or known victims of abuse. In others, evidence was lost or misplaced and investigators said they lacked sufficient resources to complete all of them.
Gary Comerford, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Inspector General, said the agency takes such cases very seriously but said he could not comment on individual investigations.
Many of those apprehended were swept up in a much broader probe initiated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2006. Operation Flicker identified an estimated 5,000 people who had paid money over the Internet to access websites operated overseas. But until now, it has not been disclosed that a sizable number of cases were referred to the Defense Department for investigation because they involved military personnel, intelligence officials, or defense contractors.
please read rest of article here:
Pentagon workers tied to child porn - The Boston Globe (https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/23/pentagon_workers_tied_to_child_porn/)