Operation Candyman Targets Web Porn

In the old world, that is before the letter “e” became a prefix for everything, it was pretty easy. There were child pornographers –the bad guys – and law enforcement – the good guys. While bad and good are still the same, going electronic has brought major changes in how such porn is produced and tracked as well as the very definition of who may be responsible for the crime. Consider that not long ago, the only computers in the home went by names such as “Commodore 64.” More likely, any computer power at all was tied up with the playing of video games on a television set. There was no Internet, no e-mail and no newsgroups.

In that environment, authorities had to rely on a report, perhaps from a witness who had discovered some pictures, as a means to start an investigation. At this point, the work of the investigators of old actually became easier than that of their contemporaries. Agents might set up a sting operation in which they offered to sell photographs to the suspect and then arrest him when money was exchanged and the pictures were actually in the offender’s hands.