EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? OJJDP
UNTIL WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2001 AT 2:00 P.M.
EDT????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
ATTORNEY GENERAL HONORS LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS
FOR EFFORTS TO HELP MISSING AND EXPLOITED
CHILDREN
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Three law enforcement officers were honored today by Attorney General John
Ashcroft for investigating a child pornography ring based in Tulsa,
Oklahoma.? U.S. Postal Inspectors David
Dirmeyer and Rey J. Santiago and Detective Liz Eagan of the Tulsa Police Department
received the Officer of the Year Award for Missing and Exploited Children
Investigations.? Their efforts led to
the rescue of two children who had been repeatedly sexually abused by their
parents and to the arrest and conviction of seven molesters who participated in
the child pornography ring.
?We first turn to
law enforcement when a child is at risk or is missing,? said Attorney General
Ashcroft. ?And although law enforcement is the first line of defense, we also
know that protecting children from harm requires a partnership that transcends
occupation and jurisdiction.?
The Officer of the
Year award presentation was a part of the 18th annual National
Missing Children?s Day ceremony, which also honored 6 other law enforcement
officers for their outstanding efforts in recovering and assisting abducted and
abused children.? OJJDP and the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) selected the nine 2001
honorees from over 40? nominations
received.? A list of the honorees and
information about their cases is attached.
The Attorney General
also presented Kaiya Anderson, a middle school student from Sartell, Minnesota,
the First Place Award in the 2nd Annual Missing Children?s Day Art
Contest.? Her work, which was selected
from nearly 500 submissions nationwide, was displayed at the ceremony and will
be featured in missing children-related publications and conferences.
Performing at the
ceremony for the 7th year was the Bells of Love, a children?s
musical group from Syracuse, New York.
The group was originally formed in response to the 1993 abduction and
murder of Sara Wood, a 12-year-old girl from upstate New York.
?Kaiya Anderson and
the Bells of Love show how necessary personal involvement and commitment are in
keeping children safe,? said John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator of the
Justice Department?s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP).? ?This involvement can be in the
form of the outstanding law enforcement work we recognize today, or it can be
through raising public awareness about missing and exploited children.?
Today?s ceremony
also marked the three-year anniversary of the publication, When Your Child
Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide, written by parents who have
experienced the trauma of a missing child.
The guide provides critical information for families to use in working
with law enforcement to find a missing child.
To date, OJJDP has distributed over 65,000 copies of the guide,
including one to each law enforcement agency and public library in the
nation.? Last year OJJDP released the
Spanish translation of the guide (Cuando su Ni?o Desaparece: Una Gu?a Para
la Supervivencia de la Familia).?
OJJDP has a number
of publications concerning missing and exploited children available through the
OJJDP Web site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org and
from OJJDP?s Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, Box 6000, Rockville, Maryland
20857.? The toll-free number is
1-800/638-8736.
Information about
other Office of Justice Programs (OJP) bureaus and program offices is available
at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
Media should contact OJP?s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at
202/307-0703.
Additional
information about NCMEC is available through its toll-free number, 1-800/843-5678
and its Website at www.missingkids.com.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? #
# #?
OJJDP 01110?????????????
After hours, contact: Mary
Louise Embrey, 202/353-5229 (cell)
Postal
Inspector David Dirmeyer
U.S.
Postal Inspection Service
Memphis,
Tennessee
Postal
Inspector Rey J. Santiago
U.S.
Postal Inspection Service
Tulsa,
Oklahoma
Detective
Liz Eagan
Tulsa
Police Department
Tulsa,
Oklahoma
Through an undercover
operation in 1999, U.S. Postal Inspector David Dirmeyer came into contact with
an Oklahoma man, who sent him a videotape depicting the sexual abuse of a
child.?? In return, the suspect asked
for a videotape to be sent to him at a post office box.? Following a successful delivery to the post
office box and moving surveillance to the suspect?s residence, a Federal search
warrant was executed.? After
investigators seized a large collection of child pornography, the suspect
confessed.? The investigators were then
directed to the home where the suspect claimed much of the child pornography
was produced.? Inspector Rey Santiago
and Detective Liz Eagan obtained a search warrant for the residence where they
identified the child depicted in the original videotape and her 9-year-old
brother.? From the search, Inspector
Santiago and Detective Eagan seized videotapes depicting the parents and other
unidentified men sexual abusing the two children, and other sexually explicit
material involving children.? The
parents were arrested and the children were taken into protective custody.? After viewing the confiscated material,
Inspector Santiago and Detective Eagan were able to identify the other
molesters.? Search warrants were
executed and four more child molesters and pornographers were taken into custody.? The investigation of Detective Eagan and
Postal Inspectors Dirmeyer and Santiago led to the end of abuse for the two
children and to the conviction of the seven offenders.
Detective
Edward J. Kopacki, Jr.
Henrico
County Division of Police????????
Richmond,
Virginia
Special
Agent Zachary T. Lowe, Jr.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation
Richmond,
Virginia
Postal
Inspector Stephan P. Lear
U.S.
Postal Inspection Service
Richmond,
Virginia
On October 13, 2000, the FBI received a tip from an
informant that someone had
sent an America Online Instant Message soliciting sex with a twelve-year-old
boy in exchange for money.? Through an
administrative subpoena, Special Agent
Lowe, who led the investigation, had America Online provide subscriber
information relating to the screen name in question.?? Inspector Stephan Lear then assumed the informant?s online
identity and continued to communicate via email with the two suspects.? During the course of the e-mail exchanges,
one suspect sent Inspector Lear an image of the boy who was to be delivered at
the rendezvous discussed in the e-mails.
Detective Edward Kopacki, after receiving the image and conducting an
investigation, was able to identify the victim as a twelve-year-old boy who lived
next door to the first suspect.? Five
days after the FBI was contacted by the informant, the suspect was
arrested as he walked the boy to his car to deliver him to
another man.? One of the suspects had
planned to take photographs of the boy having sex with the man.? The other suspect was also arrested after he
admitted his involvement in the sexual abuse and exploitation of the
child.? The investigation of Special
Agent Lowe, Detective Kopacki, and Inspector Lear successfully ended the
repeated sexual abuse of the twelve-year-old boy and brought two child sex
offenders to justice.? As a result of
this investigation, there is a possibility of six more arrests of child sex
offenders.? ?
Special
Agent Jeffrey C. Fortier
Florida
Department of Law Enforcement
Gainesville,
Florida
On March 6, 2000, a
ten-year old female was reported kidnaped from her family?s driveway.?? Special Agent Jeff Fortier led an
investigation by coordinating over 100 law enforcement agents and support
staff.? First, a composite drawing of
the suspect and his vehicle was released to local, state, and national
media.? Special Agent Fortier then
oversaw the establishment of additional phone links to receive the hundreds of
leads that poured into the small community where the girl resided.? He also requested information management
members to configure a program for recording and tracking each lead and its
result.? Three days after her abduction
and after being sexually assaulted, the victim was released.? Agents were then assigned to search specific
neighborhoods to discover where the victim had been held hostage.? Eventually, pressure from media attention,
law enforcement, and the public resulted in the abductor admitting himself to a
mental health facility where he was arrested.
Special Agent Fortier?s dedication and effective coordination led to the
offender?s sentence of life in prison without parole.
Detective Sergeant
Stanley Molnar
New Jersey State
Police
West Trenton, New
Jersey
On May 29, 2000, a
mother went to pick up her nine-month old baby from her babysitter?s home.? Upon her arrival, the mother found the baby
and all of the babysitter?s belongings gone. The mother reported her missing
child to the Talbot County Sheriff?s Office, which launched an investigation
with help from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.? Detective Sergeant Molnar was advised that
an unexplained New Jersey telephone number had been found in the babysitter?s
home.? After running a check on the
telephone number, Detective Sergeant Molnar proceeded to a truck stop in New
Jersey to which the number was listed.
Although he did not find the abductor of the child there, he later
received additional information as to the possible location of the abductor in
another New Jersey location.? Detective
Sergeant Molnar then proceeded to the location, but the abductor had left with
the child shortly before his arrival.
Realizing a connection, Detective Sergeant Molnar proceeded back to the
truck stop in an effort to locate the abductor.? While driving, Detective Sergeant Molnar came across a disabled
vehicle and immediately pulled over.? He
positively identified the driver as the abductor and placed her under
arrest.? Detective Sergeant Molnar?s
astuteness and swift action led to the reunion of the unharmed baby with her mother.
Special Agent Peter
Orchard
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
Buffalo, New York
On September 3,
1999, the New York State Family Court awarded temporary custody of eleven
year-old Tina, six year-old Lisa, and four year-old Mickey to the children?s
grandmother due to charges of the biological mother?s neglect and general
unsuitability.? In August 1999, the
mother and her boyfriend picked up the three children for a scheduled
visitation.? The children were never
returned.? The Buffalo City Court then
issued an arrest warrant for the mother and her boyfriend.? While coordinating an investigation, Special
Agent Peter Orchard discovered the children had been removed from the New York
area and taken to New Jersey.? A Federal
warrant was then issued for both the mother and her boyfriend.? In November, Special Agent Orchard received
information that the boyfriend had been arrested in Georgia for traffic
violations.? From an interview with the
boyfriend, Special Agent Orchard discovered that the children, their mother,
and their uncle were residing in Georgia.
The boyfriend also indicated that the uncle was physically and sexually
abusive to the children.? After the
boyfriend gave a clue as to the abductors? possible residence and a description
of their vehicle, FBI agents were able to locate and arrest the mother and
uncle.? Special Agent Orchard?s thorough
interstate investigation led to the successful return of the children to their
grandmother.