Law enforcement has the technology to track child porn on the internet

Below is an excerpt from article posted today on the technology of tracking child porn on the net:

Authorities have the technology - and the drive - to find out who is looking for and sharing child porn

Sun, 04/01/2012 - 10:00am | Mary Schenk, staff writer,

Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette

Urbana police Detective Tim McNaught, seated, and Sgt. Dan Morgan in the closet/office where McNaught does forensic computer work to catch child pornographers.

Unlikely as it sounds, Urbana police Detective Tim McNaught said he sometimes has a hard time shutting down the computer when he’s investigating a person viewing child pornography.
That's because he's afraid the person looking at it might also be actively engaging in the same sick behavior he's watching.

"I feel like I have a vested interest. Obviously, I want to protect the community, but I have three young daughters," said the 13-year member of the Urbana Police Department.

McNaught is one of a handful of area police officers who have received advanced computer training to find who's downloading and sharing child pornography. The officers say there are so many people doing it that they could investigate child porn full time if they didn't have other crimes to work on.
"Magazines and bookstores are quickly going out of vogue. A lot of it being online these days has gotten more people involved, makes it simpler to find, and easier to conceal," said sex offender therapist Mike Kleppin, who has offices in Champaign, Urbana and Danville and counsels men convicted of sex-related crimes.

"I carry it around on a flash drive if I'm saving, and I usually am. I can hide a flash drive and it's inconspicuous as opposed to my wife coming across a magazine with kiddies in provocative poses," Kleppin said.

Finding who's downloading child porn is relatively easy. Deciding whom to prosecute and where is more problematic.