Federal investigators have identified dozens of Pentagon officials and contractors with high level security clearances who have allegedly used government computers to purchase and download child pornography. Some of the Pentagon workers have been charged, some have been sentenced and others have had charges dropped against them.
Pentagon Child Pornography Investigations
Child porn offenders are individuals who were working for sensitive Pentagon-related agencies. The Boston Globe states that employees of the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and other organizations with the Defense Department are involved. These agencies deal with some of the most sensitive work in defense and intelligence.
The Boston Globe writes that these individuals who have access to government secrets have put national security agencies at high risk of bribery, threats, and possible blackmail. One report by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service from late 2009 says that these individuals had access to military installations.
A government official provided the Boston Globe with a copy of the child porn investigative documents after they were approved for public release.
Project Flicker
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation called Project Flicker triggered the Defense Department investigation that dates back to 2002. Among the 5,000 people who had ordered and paid for child porn from websites located overseas were some Department of Defense employees. They included military personnel, intelligence officials and defense contractors. These cases were referred to the Department of Defense for additional investigation.
This news has only surfaced now because the investigation has been kept secret. Some of the workers were prosecuted and some have been fired. Out of thirty known cases of child porn use, only one individual has been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison plus life on probation. A contractor with access to sensitive information is believed to be hiding in Libya. Many cases were dropped because evidence was not conclusive enough to convict the perpetrators.
According to the investigative service, some cases still remain open.
CBS News Reports of Child Porn
On The Early Show on Saturday Morning, longtime online child crimes prosecutor and security expert Hemanshu Nigam said, "What's amazing about this is that there were 5,000 individuals being investigated,” he continues, “It puts our country's security at risk and at risk for the people watching at home. I say that because now you're (the government employee or contractor) vulnerable to bribery. You may have downloaded a virus that puts a back door into a government system that can be used in a cyber-terrorist attack or by an enemy foreign state."
Nigam called these individuals idiots for doing this on government time. He said on CBS News that the government needs to be looking at proper monitoring, filtering and blocking systems on government computers. Nigam also stated that this is one of the worst cases egregious abuses of office equipment he has ever known.
Karen Stephenson - Karen has written for several newspapers and print media in addition to many online publications. She holds a B.A. in English and an ...
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