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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Department of Homeland Security Official Arrested on Child Porn Charges; The Rise and Fall of Tom DeLay

Aired April 04, 2006 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And as we were putting together the story about Justin Berry, watching your program with him tonight, I got to tell you that we were shocked by another story that was breaking tonight, this one involving a 14-year-old girl -- with girl in quotations. In fact, she was a police decoy.
And the man who authorities say tried to seduce her and sent her obscene movies and encouraged her to get a webcam, well, he is a top official at the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation involves federal and local authorities, including the sheriff's office in Polk County, Florida.

Just a few minutes ago, the Polk County sheriff talked with reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: He sent her 16 movie clips of pornography. During those 16 movie clips, as he would download them for her, then he would describe to her or ask her if she would engage in that kind of sexual conduct with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: We will talk with Sheriff Grady Judd in just a couple of moments.

But, first, we turn to CNN homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve who's got the latest on this for us.

Jeanne, what do you got?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John, the Department of Homeland Security itself investigates child pornography, but, as you say tonight, one of its own officials arrested on child porn charges.

Brian Doyle, deputy press secretary for the department, was arrested at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, this evening and charged with seven counts of use of a computer to seduce a child and 16 counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor. The Polk County sheriff spoke about his arrest a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDD: While our undercover detectives were online talking to Mr. Doyle, other deputies, members of the Secret Service, a member of the Montgomery Police Department in Maryland, knocked on Mr. Doyle's door, served the arrest warrant, and immediately began serving a search warrant for his residence.

Upon our entry into his residence, we found his communication still on his computer with our undercover detective, who he believed to be 14 years of age.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: According to the Polk County sheriff, Doyle contacted an undercover -- undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl in an Internet posting. He allegedly initiated a sexually explicit conversation with her, telling her he worked for the Department of Homeland Security, and giving her his office and government-issued cell phone numbers.

According to the Polk County sheriff, he asked the detective, who he thought was a 14-year-old girl, to perform sexual acts while thinking of him, and described to her -- quote -- "explicit and perverse sexual acts" -- unquote -- he wished to have with her. He also allegedly sent her numerous obscene MPG files and encouraged for her to purchase a webcam, so she could send him graphic images of herself.

A press release from the sheriff's office says -- quote -- "Many of the conversations he initiated with the victim are too extraordinary and graphic for public release."

Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, says tonight, "We take these allegations very seriously, and we will cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation."

Doyle has been with the Department of Homeland Security since it was formed, working first with the Transportation Security Administration, before joining the main press office. People in the press who have dealt with Brian Doyle and people in the department with whom I have spoken tonight are expressing deep shock at these allegations -- John, back to you.

ROBERTS: Jeanne, taking a look at this press release, it also suggests -- or alleges -- that some of these conversations occurred on his office phone at the Department of Homeland Security.

And my understanding of it is that Doyle would have gone through the extensive government background check, which would have included quite an elaborate FBI investigation of -- of his life, would have talked to neighbors. I mean, it -- it -- it sounds kind of extraordinary that something like this, if what the police are saying is true, could have gotten through that security check.

MESERVE: John, the Department of Homeland Security tonight is saying no more than that one-sentence statement that I passed on to -- to you and the audience. They're not commenting any further. It would be my understanding that he would have undergone some kind of background check. But, remember, he came onto the department when it was formed. I don't know exactly what the procedures were at that point in time. But, clearly, he would have had some kind of check.

I can tell you, I have talked to a number of people tonight who have dealt with Brian professionally, and everyone is shocked by these allegations. I know I have been interrogated before by the Secret Service and others to -- when they have been seeking clearances on neighbors of mine who work for the government.

And, you know, I know the kind of questions they ask, and I suspect that many people who knew him would have had no inkling that anything like this might have been going on, if, again, it was going on -- innocent, until proven guilty.

ROBERTS: Well, shocking, to say the least, these allegations.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve in Washington -- Jeanne, thanks.

Sheriff Grady Judd is still in front of the cameras down there in Polk County, Florida. We are going to try to catch up with him when he's done and bring him to you live here on ANDERSON COOPER 360 -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And, John, now, with that story as a backdrop, on to the story that began when Justin Berry got a webcam. He was 13 years old. He's 19 now, and he has been through a lot, including, he says, being exploited by his own father.

Justin told his story today to a congressional committee investigating Internet porn. In a moment, the reporter he credits with saving his life -- but, first, the life he fell into in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BERRY, SEXUAL PREDATOR VICTIM: I was an honor student, and I was class president. My mom had used all the latest child protective software. She checked what was happening in my room.

She occasionally took away my computer keyboard, but she was no match for the child predators.

For five years, beginning when I was 13 years old, I operated a pornographic Web site, featuring images of myself loaded on to the Internet by webcams.

I was paid by more than 1,000 men to strip naked, masturbate, and even have sex with female prostitutes while on camera. My business was assisted by adult criminals, including companies that process credit card payments.

I'm not proud of the things I have done, nor will I personally attempt to avoid responsibility for those decisions. While I did not comprehend the magnitude of what was happening when I was 13, as I grew older, I progressively became corrupted and acted in shameful ways.

Still, I repeatedly attempted to pull away from this sick business. But, each time, I fell back into this criminal world that had first seduced me, and eventually controlled me.

My experience is not as isolated as you may hope. This is not the story of a few bad kids whose parents paid no attention. There are hundreds of kids in the United States alone who are, right now, wrapped up in this horror. Within each of your congressional districts, I guarantee you, there are children who have used their webcams to appear naked online, and I guarantee you, there are also children in your district, on the Internet right now, being contacted and seduced by online sexual predators.

In my personal opinion, the law enforcement effort is no match for them either. Until recently, I never understood why these child predators always laughed about the government.

Now I know the child predators are at least partially right. They have little to fear from law enforcement. Based on my case, efforts to prosecutor these people are riddled with mistakes and bureaucracy. Unless something changes, hundreds, or even thousands, of children will be lost forever.

I obtained a webcam at 13, after signing up for an account with EarthLink.net. The company, as a promotion, sent me a free Logitech webcam. As a child drawn to computers, I was enthralled. I hoped my webcam would improve my social life. I didn't have a lot of friends, and I was very lonely.

I hoped the webcam would help me meet other teenagers online and hopefully a few girls my age. That never happened. No teenager outside of the webcam pornography business ever contacted me.

But I did hear from many child predators. Within minutes of appearing on SpotLife, I received an instant message from an adult male. This man, I now know, was a child predator. I did not understand at that time.

More child predators followed. Looking back today, my thoughts seemed -- my thoughts seemed foolish, but, at 13, I believed these people were my friends. They were kind. They complimented me. They wanted to know about my day. And they were endlessly patient and listening to me. And they were generous.

In no time, one of these men told me he wanted to send me a gift. He showed me how to set up a wish list on Amazon.com, which allowed anyone who knew my code name to send me a present, without requiring me to disclose my address.

Soon, I was swamped with videos, C.D.s and computer equipment, including better webcams, all free from my new friends. I always rushed back from school to scoop up the packages that were on my doorstep before my mother got home from work. My new friends were kinder and more generous to me than anyone I had ever known. I trusted them. And that's when everything had changed. One afternoon, a few weeks after setting up my webcam, one of these men approached me online with a proposal. He would pay me $50 if I took off my shirts for a few minutes while sitting in front of my webcam.

Taking off my shirt seemed harmless. I did it at the pool. The money arrived, and I took off my shirt. My viewers complimented me, and it felt good.

The weeks that followed are a blur, but I now understand that, by removing my shirt, I signaled that I could be manipulated. More gifts and money arrived, along with increasingly explicit requests. They wanted me to take off my pants, remove my underwear, and eventually masturbate on camera.

The seduction was slow. Each request only went a bit further than the last, and the horror of what was happening didn't strike me at that time.

I wish I could say I hated what was happening. Perhaps, that would absolve some of my sense of guilt, but the truth is, I did not. As more clothes came off, more people contacted me. The compliments were endless, the gifts and payments terrific.

I thought I had achieved online what eluded me in real life: I was popular. Everyone wanted to know my thoughts. Everyone wanted to give me things. I was the king of my own universe. All I had to do in exchange was strip and masturbate while alone -- while alone in my room.

Men began to reach out to me. One man, Ken Gourlay, approached me online to discuss my interest in computers. He operated his own Web-hosting company called Chain Communications. I was awed.

Here was someone running a real Internet business, talking to me, a 13-year-old kid, and treating me as an equal.

Ken recommended that I attend an elite computer camp at the University of Michigan, where I could obtain advanced certifications. My mother agreed to send me there that summer while I was still 13. At that time, I thought it was just luck that Ken and Chain were both based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I now know that I had been set up.

Ken picked me up at camp one day to show me Chain. He took me to his home. There, I was sexually molested by Ken for what -- what proved to be first of many times by him and other adult men.

With the help of my family and my psychologist, I now understand that my molestation by Ken was a turning point that set me on a path to self-destruction. Afterwards, Ken apologized, promising me it would never happen again. But it did.

How could I get myself into that situation? How could I not see it? But this is one of the issues I wish to stress. Webcams and instant-messaging give predators power over children. The predators become part of that child's life. Whatever warnings the child may have heard about meeting strangers, these people are no longer strangers. They have every advantage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Sadly -- and the word sadly comes up here a lot -- that's only the beginning of the story.

Kurt Eichenwald is a reporter from "The New York Times." He persuaded Justin to get out of the life he was leading, come forward, and name names. We spoke with him earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: So, Kurt Eichenwald, we -- we have heard a lot of the story now. And we sort of leave with this young man going to computer camp. And, shortly after that, the molestations begin. There's so much more to the story of where he is today.

Can you fill us in on what happened next?

KURT EICHENWALD, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, it just becomes this -- this constant downward spiral.

The original molestation really just cracked Justin, made him, basically, start acting out sexually. He begins pursuing nothing but money. He begins to do anything online that anybody's asking for him to do, so long as he gets paid enough. Some people from his hometown find some of his videos online, pass them around.

He decides he needs to leave town. His father lives in Mexico, and he goes down to Mexico to visit his father. He tells his father -- when his father sees all the money that his son has, he tells his father the truth. He tells his father that he's in this webcam business. Justin has told the FBI, and he testified today, that his father responded; Well, let's see how we can maximize the earnings potential.

And his father then helped Justin build the next site, called MexicoFriends. He began securing prostitutes, female prostitutes, for Justin.

COLLINS: Yes.

I mean, he was really making a lot of money. I mean, he -- he started out at 13 years old, lonely, abused, just searching for friends. By the time he was 16, though, he had this -- own flourishing business. He told Congress today, a little piece of him, though, died with everything that he did.

When you found him, did he seem like a vulnerable boy, or was he already a hardened businessman?

EICHENWALD: When I found him, he was an absolute mess.

I have never seen anyone in real life who was in such bad shape. He was 6'1'' and weighed 109 pounds. He was massively addicted to drugs. Within my first few minutes of talking to him, he began sobbing. This was a kid who, if -- if you met him, if you spoke to him, and you walked away from that experience, there would be no doubt in your mind that he would be dead in a very short period of time.

COLLINS: And this was a very, very hard type of life for Justin to leave. He credits you with helping him out.

How did you convince him to leave that lifestyle?

EICHENWALD: He needed somebody in his life, who knew the truth, who wasn't trying to take advantage of him, who wasn't trying to hurt him. And there was a day when we were in California, and he had eaten virtually nothing the entire time we were together.

He ate a very small bit of food and vomited. And I told him, "You have got to stop using drugs."

And he replied, "OK."

I told him, "Promise me."

And he did. And we have sort of this strange thing. Every time he promises me something, he keeps the promise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: "New York Times" reporter Kurt Eichenwald, telling Justin's story.

And I will tell you, he -- he told me also, John, that he was with him for six months and covered this story, but the remarkable change from when he met that young boy, who he described as 6'1'', 109 pounds, to where he was six months after, was just incredible.

ROBERTS: Yes, where we...

COLLINS: He really has...

ROBERTS: ... saw him before Congress today.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROBERTS: Yes.

COLLINS: He really has high hopes for him. He was incredibly articulate today.

ROBERTS: A little while ago, I talked with a psychologist, who said, even though he looks pretty good, even though he looks very balanced, he has probably got some emotional scars that...

COLLINS: No doubt about it.

ROBERTS: ... are going to last a long time. We will be talking with her in the next hour.

Meanwhile, coming up on 360, a relentless conservative calls it quits from Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: .. of personal, prayerful thinking and analysis, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to close this public -- public service chapter of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The rise and fall of Tom DeLay -- did he leave on his own will, or was he pushed out? We're covering all the angles tonight.

COLLINS: Also tonight, the emotional reunion between the freed American hostage and the wife of her interpreter, who was shot dead in the kidnapping.

ROBERTS: And the aftermath of a killer tornado -- a look from above at path of destruction left from the deadly storms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The man who rose in the Republican ranks to become one of the most powerful and polarizing members of Congress is calling it quits, Tom DeLay. After serving in the House for 21 years, the former majority leader announced today he is retiring from public office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELAY: Because I care so deeply about this district and the people in it, I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative, personal campaign.

The voters of the 22nd District of Texas deserve a campaign about the vital national issues that they care most about and that affect their lives every day, and not a campaign focused solely as a referendum on me. So, today, I am announcing my intention to resign my seat in the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: DeLay's resignation comes on the heels of his indictment on a money-laundering charge. And, just last week, a former aide pled guilty in connection to a growing corruption scandal. DeLay, though, insists, both had nothing to do with his decision.

ROBERTS: At the height of his power, Tom DeLay was known as the enforcer, "The Hammer," a man the president and his party could count on. But that seems like ages ago now.

CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has a look at his steady rise and his sharp fall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tom DeLay says he's leaving for the most basic reason, giving up politics before it spit him out.

DELAY: The primary was a good vote. I appreciate everybody that voted for me. I got 62 percent of the vote. But, for a 21-year incumbent, 62 percent isn't very good. I started looking at it. We ran a poll. It showed that I had a 50/50 chance of winning.

CROWLEY: To lose now, literally in the seat of his power, would be stunning, in an election year which threatens to bring down the House Tom helped build.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority leader of the House of Representatives, Tom DeLay of Texas.

(MUSIC)

CROWLEY: Twenty-one years -- what a long, strange trip it has been.

DeLay was a bug exterminator who got into politics because he was furious with environmental laws. He came to the national scene as a Republican backbencher in a Congress run by Democrats. He leaves with Republicans in control of Congress and in jeopardy of losing it. He has had a hand in both.

STUART ROY, FORMER AIDE TO CONGRESSMAN TOM DELAY: Every morning, when he wakes up, he's trying to figure out a way that the conservatives can win, and that the Democrats lose.

CROWLEY: In 11 years in the party leadership, DeLay helped elect Republicans, who gave him their loyalty and their votes, as Democrats watched victory after victory go down the tubes.

ERIK SMITH, FORMER AIDE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN RICHARD GEPHARDT: And the clock of the vote would stop, and Tom DeLay would appear on the floor, and Republican members would start walking to the well of the House to change their votes.

CROWLEY: Power begat power. Donors wanted to give him money. In 2004, DeLay gave more to congressional campaigns than any other lawmaker. Lobbyists wanted his ear and his company.

Washington's corridor of lobbyists, known as K Street, is populated by former DeLay friends, former aides and allies. He was arguably the second most powerful man in Washington, with the perks and the press that go along with that.

He was feared and loved. He made friends and enemies, and broke some eggs. Though never charged, DeLay was warned by the House Ethics Committee four different times for separate incidents, including an attempt to use a federal agency for political purposes.

And, in a Justice Department lobbying investigation revolving around DeLay's old friend, confessed felon Jack Abramoff, two former DeLay aides have pled guilty to corruption. DeLay says the probe will not lead to him.

DELAY: I'm not worried at all. I know I haven't done anything wrong.

CROWLEY: DeLay also faces trial in Texas in a campaign money- laundering case he says is politically motivated. He also says he will be exonerated. It may happen just like that, but not soon enough to save DeLay's political career.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Mr. DeLay's departure from Congress is just one piece of the change that is necessary to end the culture of corruption in -- of this Republican Congress.

CROWLEY: Live by the headlines, die by the headlines.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: So, who in Washington benefits most from DeLay's departure? Will it work to the advantage of Democrats, or can the Bush administration use it to seize momentum and help Republicans? Candy Crowley sticks around for us. And she will be joined by "TIME" magazine's Joe Klein. We will talk about all the angles tonight.

COLLINS: Also ahead:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could hear the -- mostly the glass. I don't know that I really felt the house move, but we just heard lots of glass. And all the windows were breaking. We could hear the wind, you know, coming through the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And, just like that, her house was destroyed. Tornado survivors relive the most terrifying moments of their lives. We will tell you how they made it out when 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Loyal supporters to the very end rallying Congressman Tom DeLay, as he announced that he is calling it quits.

Joining me now to discuss the news that has rattled Washington, here in New York, "TIME" magazine columnist Joe Klein, and, in Washington, CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.

Joe, let me start with you.

Here's what Tom DeLay said about the Democrats taking out ads to question him on ethics last March. He seemed to be in a real fighting mood. He said: "Bring it on. My constituents know what's going on. And if they're going to do this, I think that it shows who they are and what they are."

Today, in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Tom DeLay said that the Democrats were playing the politics of personal destruction, and he was throwing in the towel.

That surprise you, Joe?

JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, "TIME": Well, his throwing in the towel surprises me, bit maybe not under these circumstances.

Given the kind of electoral atmosphere we have this year, I think he realized that it was really important for him to get out of the way now and -- and stop being the Democrats' corruption poster boy.

ROBERTS: Candy, do you think that this was all about protecting the seat in the 22nd Congressional District of Texas, as DeLay claimed it was, or -- or could there be more to this? You know, he -- he is under indictment in Texas. And that Jack Abramoff scandal every day seems to reach further and further, its tentacles, into the halls of power on Capitol Hill.

CROWLEY: Look, all of those things are true, John. It is true he's got the money-laundering trial in Texas, and the Jack Abramoff, who was a close friend of DeLay's, is talking to federal prosecutors.

But it is also true what Joe just alluded to, and what DeLay said, which is look, this is going to be a tough election. We might lose this seat, and probably any other Republican would win it easily. Republicans are not at a place at this point in the election year when they can afford to lose any seat. And this really is, in large part, the House that Tom DeLay helped build. And I can see why he would, at this point, say I don't want to watch it fall and me be the leading hand that comes off.

ROBERTS: You know, Republicans I talked to today insist it was Tom DeLay's idea that he wasn't pushed, but Joe Klein, I notice that there wasn't one Republican who stood up publicly today and said, fight this, don't leave.

KLEIN: Yeah. I think probably when Tom DeLay discussed this with his colleagues and maybe the folks at the White House, he said, I should really fight this, shouldn't I? And there was a very pregnant silence on the other end of the phone. I think that people really thought it was time for him to leave.

And let me point out, he used the phrase "Bring it on." That phrase really has a pretty tawdry history in recent American politics. I mean, George W. Bush used it foolishly. John Kerry build a disastrous campaign around it, and Tom DeLay used it a year ago. Well, they brought it on, and he's gone.

ROBERTS: Yes, it's really kind of right up with there "you're doing a great job, Brownie. Appreciate it." Republicans, Candy Crowley, say this is a win for them, that this moves them past all of this cloud of suspicion regarding the investigation. Do you think it really does?

CROWLEY: No. What it does is takes DeLay off center stage. If we were to believe what we heard today from Democrats, they're talking about the legacy of Tom DeLay. So they're not going to let go of this main player easily. But I've always been one of those that has thought -- and from everyone I've talked to, and that includes voters and politicians, pundits, all of those people, this is not an election that necessarily will ride on corruption because it tends to split both ways. People tend to think Republicans and Democrats are both pretty awful in their conduct.

This is going to be an election that is going to pivot on the war. So tangentially, maybe the Republicans have taken a maybe target off the stage. I can't see that in the end it's going to have a big effect beyond the Sugar Land district.

Joe Klein, real quick, can Republicans take advantage of this, do you think, and have Democrats lost this high-profile whipping boy?

KLEIN: No, I think there's going to be a steady dribble of other indictments of Republicans in the Abramoff case and also in the defense contracting case that brought Duke Cunningham down. But what Candy said is absolutely right. I've been out covering some of these congressional campaigns.

And when Democrats talk about a culture of corruption in Congress, the folks, the people, agree, yeah, there is a culture of corruption, it includes Democrats and Republicans.

ROBERTS: Yeah. And can either one of them win an election on it? Joe Klein from "Time" ...

KLEIN: No they can't.

ROBERTS: ... magazine, Candy Crowley from CNN down there in Washington, thanks very much for being with us. Appreciate it. We'll be talking a lot more about this. Heidi?

COLLINS: We want to quickly get back to the news we began with at the top of the hour, the arrest of a top homeland security official, new pictures you're looking at now of what we call the perp walk. That is Brian Doyle, the deputy press secretary at DHS, the man with the blue hat there, he is charged with trying to seduce what authorities say he believed to be a 14-year-old girl online.

Seven counts of using a computer to do it, 16 counts of sending harmful material to a minor. In other words, sending her smut.

The girl in question, in fact, was a decoy, though, working with the sheriff's office in Polk County, Florida. And we are now joined by Sheriff Grady Judd.

Sheriff, thanks for being with us tonight. As we look at that video and we watched you a little earlier today, sort of break this case down so far. What stands out to you the most? Is it the brazen nature of the way that these things often happened? JUDD: Heidi, what stands out to me the most in this particular case was the fact that Brian, on his first conversation with our undercover detective, who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, clearly identified himself as the deputy press secretary for homeland security.

And if he would provide that kind of information, to include a photograph of himself with his identification tags, who else may he be talking to around the world who he thinks to be a 14-year-old girl? The reality of it is, he was very, very, very negative, very nasty, very profane. He told the undercover detective what he wanted to do with a 14-year-old girl and what he wanted the 14-year-old girl to do to him.

And as a result of our investigation, he's facing 23 felony counts in the State of Florida. Assistant state attorney Brad Coughly (ph) will be the prosecutor. He's also possibly facing federal charges. That investigation's under way. What's interesting, Heidi, he was on his computer communicating with the undercover detective who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl at the time we knocked on his door in Maryland, took him into custody, and served a search warrant.

COLLINS: Well, it's just amazing. Of course, also amazing that it comes out today on a day where we've been dealing with this older now but 13-year-old boy when it first began, Justin Barry, who was also going through this type of activity through the use of computers. In Polk County, it's incredible that this was already sort of a sting investigation, if you will, set up. Quite a coincidence he was contacting an undercover sheriff's computer crimes detective.

JUDD: That's correct. In fact, we have profiles online because we're searching for these predators not only across the county and across the state, but across the world. And as you can see, the long arm of the law from Polk County, Florida, stretched all the way to Maryland in this particular case. These folks are dangerous. He was grooming this 14-year-old girl for sexual activity. And we stopped him. We stopped him with the assistance of the state attorney's office and certainly our colleagues from the federal government.

It is a team effort. And we intend to keep our children not only in Polk County and in Florida but across the United States safe.

COLLINS: Well, we certainly appreciate your time here tonight. Sheriff Grady Judd, thank you.

ROBERTS: Well, if these allegations are true, it's just such an abrogation of trust because here is a person who was charged, part of the department ...

COLLINS: Right.

ROBERTS: ... to provide for the security and safety of America.

COLLINS: Yeah. And it seems like he sort of used that -- if, in fact, this does turn out to be true -- to impress her or intimidate her or something with those credentials. ROBERTS: Quite a bizarre case.

Time goes on, but memories don't fade. Just ask Jill Carroll who is back in the United States after being released by her Iraqi captors. Tonight, an exclusive, Carroll's emotional phone call to the family of her Iraqi translator who was killed on that awful day she was kidnapped. You'll see this story only on CNN.

COLLINS: You're watching 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Just ahead, an emotional phone call for Jill Carroll and the family of her translator who died trying to protect her. But first, we want to get to Erica Hill from Headline News. She is joining us with some of the other stories we're following tonight. Hi, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi. We begin in the heart of California's agricultural region where two levees broke today, flooding a trailer park and farmland in the area. One of those breaches was 30 feet wide. Rain has saturated Northern California for the past month, and more is expected over the next few days.

In France, protests over new labor laws turning violent today. Thousands of demonstrators in downtown Paris threw bottles and rocks at riot police who fired back with paint balls. Police say at least at least a million people swarmed the streets around the country. Organizers put the number at 3 million. Three-hundred eighty-three people were arrested in Paris alone.

In Iraq, authorities today filed genocide charges against Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi leader is accused of trying to exterminate Kurds in a 1980s campaign that killed an estimated 100,000 people. It is the first move to prosecute Hussein for the major human rights violations that the Bush administration has used to justify the war.

And finally, a reason to stay up late and stare at your clock, at exactly 1:02 a.m. and three seconds tomorrow, which will be in just a couple hours, the readout on certain digital clocks will look like this, 01/02/03, 04/05/06. One expert calls it a chronological oddity. Of course maybe it's just a sign of the digital times. Heidi?

COLLINS: Yeah, it's an oddity, but i don't want to be a naysayer or anything. It's 2006. If you put the 2006 in there ...

HILL: You have to ruin the party, don't you, Collins? Come on.

ROBERTS: She always does that.

HILL: Keep her in line, would you?

ROBERTS: I'll try.

COLLINS: I am close enough to smack you.

ROBERTS: Thanks very much.

An emotional reunion for former Iraq hostage Jill Carroll. Next, an exclusive. Carroll's emotional phone call to the family of her Iraqi translator who was killed trying to protect her.

COLLINS: And in Tennessee, miles of wreckage and two dozen deaths. The devastation tornadoes left behind. As bad as it is, it could have even been worse. We'll share some amazing survival stories coming up next on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: After nearly three months as a hostage in Iraq, Jill Carroll is back in the U.S., reunited with her family. As we showed you yesterday, she made a visit to the newsroom of "The Christian Science Monitor" in Boston to thank her coworkers for supporting her during the ordeal. It was an emotional one for her, too.

Also on Carroll's mind, her Iraqi interpreter who was shot in cold blood on the fateful day she was captured. She's reached out to his family in a tearful exchange. With the exclusive now, here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAYROUZ ENWIYA, TRANSLATOR'S WIFE: Hello. Hi, Jill. How are you? Yeah.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Amman, Jordan, an emotional reunion by phone.

F. ENWIYA: I did. I did.

ROBERTSON: For the first time since her release, Jill Carroll calls the wife of her translator. He was shot dead when Carroll was kidnapped.

F. ENWIYA: What did you say? What did he say?

ROBERTSON: Desperate for any detail of how her husband, Allan Enwiya, died, she asked in Arabic, what did he say? What were his last words? And through the tears, the words Jill Carroll must have been dying to hear.

F. ENWIYA: I'm so happy for you. Jill.

ROBERTSON: From Allan Enwiya father, too, forgiveness.

RAYMOND ENWIYA, TRANSLATOR'S FATHER: She said that I'm sorry, I was the cause of it. I said no, it's not your fault.

ROBERTSON: The pair were out on assignment when the kidnappers snatched Jill. Allan's body was found, left in the road. Brutally murdered in cold blood. Shot twice in the head at close range. Until now, they've had no idea about Allan's last moments alive. Jill Carroll and Allan Enwiya, had become an inseparable double act, teaming up as translator and reporter almost three years ago. When thugs forced Enwiya to close his music stores. Together, ducking the dangers of Baghdad, doing journalism under the radar with no real security. Relying on their wits. Carroll had become a regular visitor at the home. She was the reporter with whom he chose to work.

R. ENWIYA: She didn't go with anybody but Allan.

ROBERTSON: She liked him a lot?

R. ENWIYA: She loved him. Not liked him.

ROBERTSON: Why was that?

R. ENWIYA: They were just like brother and sister.

ROBERTSON: His wife, too, knew Jill Carroll was important to her husband.

F. ENWIYA (through translator): He used to tell his friends, the day that anything happened to Jill, like what happened to her, naturally he would never allow himself to leave her.

ROBERTSON: On the morning he was murdered, Enwiya helped get his five-year-old daughter, Maryann (ph) ready for school, said good-bye to his wife and one-year-old son, Martin, before meeting Jill. Two hours later, his wife learned of his death on al Jazeera.

F. ENWIYA: So I went to the neighbors, and they took me to the al Horiya (ph) police station. And from afar, I found a pickup with Allan sprawled in the pickup. So I ran to it. I realized that he was -- I need to see him off. I kissed him around the eye, and I told him, "bye-bye, Allan."

ROBERTSON: She learned nothing more until Jill Carroll filled in the gaps.

R. ENWIYA: When they stopped the car, Allan and her opened the door. She heard two shots behind her. And she knew after that that Allan was shot.

ROBERTSON: And Allan could have run away, but he didn't?

R. ENWIYA: He didn't. Of course. He didn't. He stayed with her. That's what caused his death.

ROBERTSON: For Allan Enwiya's family, the details from Jill Carroll confirm what in her hearts they already knew. The son, husband and father died a hero.

R. ENWIYA: I told her that you are, instead of Allan, you are my daughter now. She said, I am your daughter.

ROBERTSON: "You are my daughter." No greater forgiveness can be given. No higher price paid. Nic Robertson, CNN, Amman, Jordan. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Stories of survival from the people who nearly died in a tornado outbreak. We'll hear how close they came to being swept away by the killer twisters. That's coming up.

ROBERTS: Plus, who really did kill eight-year-old Amy Yates (ph), the adolescent who has been serving time for her murder or a teenager who recently confessed? We'll have the latest twist ahead on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTSON: The death toll from the tornadoes that tore through the Midwest on Sunday rose to 28 today. Most of the deaths were in northwestern Tennessee where at least 1800 homes and businesses were destroyed.

What's truly amazing is that more people didn't die in the tornadoes. CNN's Rob Marciano has the story of one family alive tonight not because they listened to officials, but because they listened to their gut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): The storms in northwest Tennessee were violent and loud. And dumped hail the size of golf balls. About 8:45, the radio reported the danger had passed.

GARRETT SWEENEY, PASTOR, RUTHERFORD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: The sirens went off. We thought everything was done. The electricity went off. We lit candles in the house, took a flashlight, went out and checked the cars to see if there was any hail damage because one wasn't under the carport.

MARCIANO: But people on Heritage Drive in Rutherford felt all was not right. Call it divine intervention.

SWEENEY: My wife looked out the back there and saw something. He said, that doesn't look right.

MARCIANO: Garrett Sweeney, his wife and son said despite the calm, they could sense danger. They can't say why, but they took shelter in the bathroom.

SWEENEY: My wife and there with Aaron (ph) there and I was holding down with the door open, and he's trying to push me out, screaming, and Lavon (ph) was praying.

MARCIANO: While they huddled in the bathroom closet, the deadliest tornado in the county's history ripped through the foundation, all except the bathroom the Sweeneys were in. This is all that is left of their home. Sweeney, who is the local Methodist minister says it was more than just good luck.

SWEENEY: Yeah. It was a miracle. MICHELLE GOAD, HOME DAMAGED: There was a building there ...

MARCIANO: Almost the same thing happened to Michelle Goad next door. Michelle, her husband and their two young children took shelter in their bathroom while the storm ripped the roof off their house. They, too, survived unscratched. She told her husband something protected them.

GOAD: We're blessed. God was with us. I told him, God was in the bathroom with us, you know?

MARCIANO: Jim Cowan just up the street was inside this house when the tornado hit.

JIM COWAN, HOME DAMAGED: I'm not hurt. Besides a broken rib that'll heal. My spirit's not hurt at all.

MARCIANO: A brick wall pinned Cowan to the sofa, but a chair had cushioned its force. He says even the local stray cat had a survival story.

COWAN: A couple hours later, he came back. He ran in front and I see him around there and began to tell me all about his experience.

MARCIANO: Did he? What did he look like when he was talking to you?

COWAN: He was wet, muddy. No two hairs pointed in the same direction.

MARCIANO: In fact, this state, where 24 died, no one on this street was even seriously hurt. And with all 15 homes damaged, some completely destroyed, people here believe they know why no one here lost their life.

WILLIAM BEARD, HOME DAMAGED: I believe God had something to do with this. We had a reason for this. There's always a reason for everything, I think.

MARCIANO: Surveying the damage from a helicopter, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen called the devastation the wrath of God. But as neighbors on Heritage Drive rescue what remains of their memories, they believe their unwavering faith is what saved them from the storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Faith or luck, Rob, the question has got to be there tonight in northwestern Tennessee, when's the next tornado coming down the pike?

MARCIANO: Well, you know, there's a storm now in California coming out of the mountains and into the plains on Thursday. We'll have to see if all the atmospheric ingredients line up to make for another severe weather outbreak. It looks like we're going to have rough weather. Just how bad, we'll have to see. Certainly those who don't subscribe to a higher power will be hoping for the best on that account. Those who do deep the faith like the parishioners here in Dyer County that belong to this Methodist church that is one of the many that have crumbled, they'll be praying, you bet, another tornado like this one doesn't come back here again.

ROBERTS: That's just an amazing story of recovery, Rob, in an area where there was so much devastation. Thanks very much.

Much more ahead tonight including this man, Tom DeLay. Today he announced his resignation and took some parting shots at the Democrats.

COLLINS: Also tonight, the murder of an eight-year-old girl and why the conviction of a boy who pled guilty to the crime was thrown out today.

ROBERTS: And the ugly world of cybersex told by a teen who was drawn into porn by Internet predators.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good evening again, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts. Anderson is off tonight. Breaking news tonight about a top homeland security official caught in a child pornography sting.

COLLINS: We'll have the latest on the arrest and these stories.

ANNOUNCER: Victim of child porn lured into cyberspace at just 13 to perform sex acts. He says he's not alone.

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