U.S. Shuts Down Website Advertising Child Pornography

A website known as www.namgla.net was closed for business Tuesday, July 25 by the FBI as part of its Innocent Images National Initiative targeting child pornography networks operating globally using the Internet. The announcement was made by J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director In Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, in conjunction with FBI field offices around the country and foreign law enforcement agencies overseas. This website serviced an international community of online predators where thousands of graphic images of sexually abused children could be shared. The www.namgla.net website functioned as a message board where users could view and post messages to what is essentially a computerized bulletin board. Through the namgla site, users could view the posted messages of other users and type replies to messages already posted. Further investigation determined that the site served as a mechanism to advertise and directly link users to websites containing child pornography. The search warrants in this matter were obtained under Title 18, Section 2251(d)(1)(A), which makes the advertisement of child pornography illegal. In the United States, searches were conducted at 35 locations, including at the homes and workplaces of investigative targets. Investigation was conducted by agents and task force officers in 24 FBI field offices in the following 20 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. The results of Tuesday's searches in the United States are the subject of an ongoing investigation. As of the morning of July 25, however, dozens of computers and related items have been seized and 22 individuals identified in connection with the distribution and/or possession of child pornography, including three subjects with prior criminal histories involving child pornography or child sex offenses. In addition, two subjects were arrested in connection with child pornography charges Russell Christie III, age 48, a school bus driver residing in New Jersey; and Thomas Herman, age 65, a convicted sex offender in Washington State. This operation has also resulted in several investigations at the state level regarding alleged child sex abuse. Since Tuesday, eleven searches have been conducted overseas as part of this operation in Ecuador, Chile, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Sweden. Additionally, arrests were made in Bulgaria, Poland and Spain, and additional subjects are currently being pursued by law enforcement agencies in those countries. In all, 49 namgla.net subjects have been identified in 27 foreign countries, and multiple coordinated international investigations continue. This operation was investigated in accordance with "Project Safe Childhood," an initiative recently announced by the Department of Justice. The initiative aims to increase enforcement and prosecution in matters involving the online sexual exploitation of children. This case was investigated by the FBI's S.A.F.E. Team in Los Angeles (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team) in conjunction with FBI Agents and task force officers around the country, as well as the FBI's Legal Attaches and foreign law enforcement agencies in multiple countries.