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CNN Live Saturday

FBI Tracks Pedophiles on Internet

Aired August 10, 2002 - 12:11   ET

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

KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI has also been on the track of pedophiles on the Web in its recent Candyman sting. Investigators say they need to become more aggressive and innovative to stop them. Listen to this: CNN's Jonathan Aiken goes behind the scenes with members of one anti-pedophile task force to see the cyber-sleuthing techniques at work. Just to note, though, some of these images may be disturbing to viewers. Parents are urged to use discretion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sites like Candyman, which has drawn the attention of the FBI, are nothing new to Dennis Guzzy. A former Philadelphia sex crime cop, he now trolls the Web for an anti-pedophile task force ran by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. His focus: Child molesters who collect child porn and look for children in order to have sex.

Guzzy begins his cyber-sleuthing by posting messages where he seeks like-minded people who want to enjoy "family fun," a euphemism for incest. He usually doesn't have to wait long for a reply.

DENNIS GUZZY, PENN. CYBERCRIME INVESTIGATOR: They kind of are very quick to say what they want to do with these children. And some investigations may take as long as several weeks; some we have done in two days.

AIKEN: This man said he couldn't wait to see Guzzy's imaginary daughters in their cheerleading uniforms. Another said he understood the need to be gentle with the girls.

Child porn, which was exclusively a back door trade in magazines and pulp fiction, has exploded in cyberspace. One chat room alone had over 11,000 messages offering pictures and videos.

GUIDO RUDOLPHI, INTERNET INVESTIGATOR: Two years ago, for example, it was pretty hard to find children pornography site on the Internet. Right now, you open -- you put in some search terms in a search machine and you find thousands of pages.

AIKEN: In fact, international cyber sleuths will tell you some of the most popular Web sites are based in Russia, Eastern Europe, and even one doing business in Afghanistan.

Technology has changed the market for kiddy porn. This CD rom, seized as evidence, contains over 20,000 images and sells for about $25,000. What hasn't changed, authorities say, is the corollary that those who collect pornography involving children are also more likely to be those who molest them.

RAYMOND SMITH, U.S. POSTAL INSPECTOR: Since 1997, we have been trying to show the direct correlation between those who traffic in child pornography and those who actually molest kids. Thirty-five percent of the individuals that we arrest for trafficking in child pornography are, in fact, child molesters.

AIKEN: Police have new tools to help find stashes of kiddy porn no matter where they are. This software tracks the location of Web sites, or the area where an Internet server is housed. It even matches the general location with libraries of preexisting satellite imagery of the neighborhood.

(on camera): Changes in technology breed changes in the law. In April, Pennsylvania became the first state in the country to require Internet service providers to shut down Web sites that carry pornographic material. Since then, more than 400 complaints have been filed with the state Attorney General's Office.

Jonathan Aiken, CNN, Washington.

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