I’m amused sometimes when I read about crime in Bull Valley. Not because it’s funny. More so because everybody thinks of Bull Valley as a pristine, perfect place. Arrests in Bull Valley should serve as proof to the world of what those of us in Criminal Defense work already know: crime can pop up anywhere. Today the Northwest Herald is reporting of an arrest for child pornography in Bull Valley:
Bull Valley man charged with child porn
By CHELSEA McDOUGALL – cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
WOODSTOCK – A Bull Valley man facing child pornography charges in Topeka, Kan., was arrested Thursday in Woodstock on an additional seven felonies.
[Name redacted by myself] allegedly had more than 1,000 images on various electronic devices of children engaged in sex acts, Woodstock Police said.
Thursday’s arrest was the end of a 10-month investigation by the Woodstock Police Department, who were notified in January that there might be some illegal pornographic downloads in the area…
Here’s another thing that amuses me: when the police use the passive voice. They did that here. The Woodstock Police Department “were notified” about illegal downloads.
Wonder who did the notifying?
My first guess is the feds. As I’m sure you know by now, they have the ability to watch everything we’re doing on the internet. Even before it was that pervasive, though, the feds were all over this internet child porn thing. I’ve had cases in the past where they notice a download of material that shouldn’t be downloaded and either start their own investigation or assist the local police in getting the investigation going. Sometimes they’ll bust somebody on one end of an illegal transaction, get that person to cooperate in further investigation, and then extend the investigation out to other people and jurisdictions.
Is that what happened here? I don’t know. The police are clearly trying to protect the identity of whoever provided them the information, though.