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Police search James City home for evidence of child pornography [The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg :: ](Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 19--JAMES CITY -- State and county police recently seized a computer, laptops and a cell phone from a home in Scott's Pond which they allege provided images of child pornography to an undercover officer. According to a search warrant filed April 4 in the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse, Special Agent Michael Jedrey of Virginia State Police was operating undercover online last December when he came across an Internet Protocol (IP) address that was sharing files, many containing names with known references to child sexual exploitation. Jedrey then asked for similar files from the suspect IP address. He was able to download several files, which he noted contained "visual depictions of child exploitation." Specifically, two pre-teen boys were engaged in a sexual act. Four days later Jedrey was online again and encountered the same IP address. This time he requested and was sent a video that depicted an adult male and a pre-teen boy in a sexual act. Contacted Friday, Jedrey deferred to the search warrant for details about the operation. He did confirm that the search involved child pornography. James City Police spokesman Maj. Steve Rubino referred questions to Jedrey, who was the lead investigator on the case. Jedrey was able to hone in on the sender, primarily because they maintained a constant IP address. State Police then queried the American Registry of Internet Numbers, which indicated Cox Communications was the provider associated with the IP address. Through an administrative subpoena, Cox provided the name of the subscriber and the address where it provided service. The Gazette is withholding the name of the occupants because no criminal charges have been filed. More than three months after the initial contacts, Jedrey went online March 30 and was able to find the same IP address, with file-sharing still active. He filed the search warrant request on April 3, and carried out the raid the following morning. Before dawn on April 4 officers executed the search warrant. A neighbor who asked not to be identified said the street was nearly impassable from the number of police cars around the home. The search lasted nearly five hours, according to the warrant. While the search warrant allowed a broad spectrum of items to be seized -- including letters, envelopes, books and ledgers along with electronic data -- only four items were listed on an inventory compiled by Jedrey: A Dell desktop computer, an HP laptop with an Air Force ID card, a Toshiba laptop, and a Motorola cell phone. ___ (c)2014 The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) Visit The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) at www.vagazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |