2 more sexual predators sentenced in massive child pornography investigation
SHREVEPORT, La. – Two men were sentenced on felony charges in federal court Tuesday after pleading guilty for their participation in an international criminal network known as Dreamboard, which produced and disseminated depictions of graphic child sexual abuse via the Internet.
Nearly 50 individuals have now pleaded guilty for their roles in Dreamboard, which is the largest child pornography bulletin board prosecution in U.S. history.
The sentences follow an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with dozens of other law enforcement agencies, as part of Operation Delego, an ongoing investigation launched in December 2009 targeting Dreamboard members around the world.
Todd Stumpf, 61, of Buffalo, N.Y., was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and 5 years supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. Stumpf admitted in his guilty plea that he joined Dreamboard in January 2008, and he posted 1,042 times, including multiple posts containing child pornography.
William Jewell, 44, of Burbank, Ill., was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Jewell admitted in his guilty plea that he joined Dreamboard in May 2010, and he posted 13 ads offering to distribute child pornography to other members of the board.
Stumpf and Jewell were both charged in an indictment unsealed in August 2011.
"Dreamboard members traded incredibly graphic images of child molestation and violent child sexual abuse," said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "These violent predators pose a significant threat to the safety of children everywhere and HSI will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to bring these criminals to justice."
Parmer oversees a five-state region including Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Dreamboard was a members-only online bulletin board created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of young children in an environment designed to avoid law enforcement detection.
According to court documents, Dreamboard members traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting children. Prospective members had to create and share child pornography to gain entry into the group and to maintain membership once accepted. Dreamboard members employed a variety of measures designed to conceal their criminal activity from detection by law enforcement. Members communicated using aliases rather than their actual names and content posted on Dreamboard was encrypted with a password shared only with other members. Members also employed proxy servers to route the group’s Internet traffic through other computers in an attempt prevent law enforcement from tracing Internet activity.
More than 70 individuals, including Stumpf and Jewell, have been charged as a result of Operation Delego. Fifty-seven of these individuals have been arrested; 47 defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy, and an additional defendant was convicted after a trial. Fifteen of the 72 charged individuals remain at large and are known only by their online identities. HSI continues to investigate the case in an effort to identify and apprehend these remaining individuals.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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