FBI
Cyber Division Assistant Director Jana Monroe today
announced the arrest of one man and the location
of another man charged with the production of child
pornography, a violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 2251. The arrests were made as a direct
result of the FBI’s coordination with the
television program “America’s Most Wanted:
America Fights Back,” (AMW) hosted by John
Walsh.
At the time of the airing on AMW, both men’s
identities were unknown. Their images had been collected
during an investigation of alleged child pornography.
As a result of this FBI investigation, both men
were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Baltimore,
Maryland. The Grand Jury returned one-count indictments
against each man for the production of child pornography.
At the time of these indictments, the men were only
identified as “John Doe” and “John
Doe Jared”.
On February 21, 2004, “John Doe Jared”
aired on AMW and was identified as a man held in
state custody at the Indiana State Prison, Michigan
City, Indiana. The man is serving an unrelated thirty-year
state sentence for sexual molestation of children.
On February 28, 2004, “John Doe” aired
on AMW and was identified. The man was arrested
by Deputies of the Missoula County, Montana Sheriff’s
Department, in a grocery store parking lot. Based
upon subsequent investigation, it is alleged that
“John Doe Jared” is Scott Hayden and
“John Doe” is Thomas Richard Evered.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said, “Targeting
sexual predators is a priority for the Justice Department,
and these cases demonstrate that the government
can make a difference in combating child pornography
and exploitation in America, “ AG Ashcroft
continued, “The FBI, in collaboration with
other federal, state and local law enforcement and
the media, used an innovative and aggressive approach
that helped us identify and apprehend men charged
to be dangerous sexual predators.”
Assistant Director Monroe said, “This is a
shining example of how law enforcement investigations
should work -- a collaborative effort involving
multiple law enforcement agencies together with
a diligent and alert public.”
This investigation was supervised and coordinated
by the Innocent Images Task Force of the FBI Baltimore
Field Office. Since its inception in 1995, the Innocent
Images Task Force, which specializes in investigating
Child Pornography, has initiated 10,509 investigations.
As a result 3,015 persons have been arrested and
charged with offenses involving child pornography.
Many of these persons were charged with using the
internet to lure or entice a child for sexual purposes.
Of particular significance in these cases was that
for the first time, the Innocent Images Program
obtained “John Doe” arrest warrants
based solely on images acquired through undercover
investigations. Once the defendants were identified,
law enforcement response was effected in a timely
manner.
Recently, the Innocent Images Task Force began a
new, aggressive approach to identify unknown individuals
involved in the production of Child Pornography
and actual sexual abuse of children. The “Endangered
Child Alert Program” will provide national
and international exposure of unknown adult persons
captured on visual depictions involved in child
pornography. The unknown person’s face will
be displayed on the FBI’s Fugitive website
and eventually broadcast on AMW. It is believed
that national and international exposure will lead
to rapid identifications and arrests of persons
involved in child pornography and sexual abuse of
minors. This new program and method is intended
to aggressively pursue and thwart individuals who
would abuse or harm our nation’s children.