Child porn evidence ignored in Maine due to lack of resources
(NECN: Marnie Maclean, Vassalboro, Maine) – There are more than 500 pieces of evidence related to child pornography investigations in Maine that are being ignored. It’s not a question of interest but lack of resources.
Most of us see a room filled with computers, but, to the team at the Maine Computer Crimes Unit, they are evidence. They are hard drives that may contain disturbing images of child pornography, kids who need to be rescued and they can’t reach.
“We have evidence that will take sexual predators off the street sitting right there in the closet and we can’t get to it,” said Sen. William Diamond. “Just unconscionable we allow that to happen.”
Maine state Senator Bill Diamond is sponsoring a bill to increase funding to the computer crimes unit by $300,000. It’s enough, he said, to hire three more computer forensic analysts.
He told the judiciary committee the unit has a record of success, including a case several years ago when a Maine investigator used the bed linens in a hotel room to track down a suspect in Georgia and save a girl who was being sexually abused.
“There are no boundaries to it. You could be in a foreign country and watching porn of a child in Maine or in Maine producing child porn and sharing,” said Col. Robert Williams with the Maine State Police.
Any crime involving an electronic device in Maine comes to this unit, but, with just two investigators and five computer experts, they just can’t get to it all.
One computer analyst said it’s like emptying the ocean with an eye dropper, which is one reason why they surround themselves with photos of the predators that have been caught and convicted: a reminder that their work does make a difference.
No one spoke against the bill at the hearing, but it’s a question of money. The bill’s sponsor believes if all lawmakers saw the photos the crime unit team sees every day, finding that money would become a priority.