ICE seeks public's help to identify 'John Doe' conspirator in one of the largest-ever child pornography investigations

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seeks the public's help to identify a suspected child pornography distributer who helped facilitate one of the largest underground networks ever encountered by law enforcement.

The individual is the only remaining suspected administrator of the website investigated as part of Operation Round Table, one of the largest online child exploitation investigations in history, involving victims in 39 states, including Connecticut, and five additional countries.

HSI special agents investigating this case believe "John Doe," whose real first name may be Shaun, is an adult male between 40 and 50 years old. They do not have a photo of the suspect.

Based on investigative clues, HSI special agents believe this person may be living within a 100-mile radius of the New Haven, Connecticut, area. They believe he works in construction management and travels out of town regularly. They also believe he has degrees in electrical engineering and construction management and is proficient with computer programming. He may have previously worked as a director of IT or information security. He may also have a family member living in Hamburg, Germany, who he intended to visit in late spring of this year.

HSI Boston investigators have been unable to identify "John Doe" using traditional investigative means and now request the public's assistance. The public can report information through the toll-free HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing HSI's online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Tips can also be submitted through ICE's Operation Predator smartphone app (via hyperlink). All tips will remain confidential. Members of the public should not attempt to apprehend the suspect personally.

As a result of Operation Round Table, investigators have thus far identified 251 minor victims in 39 states and five foreign countries – 228 in the United States and 23 in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Belgium. Eight of the victims were female and 243 were male. The majority of victims, 159, were 13 to 15 years old. Fifty-nine victims were between 16 and 17 years old; 26 victims were 10 to 12 years old; four victims were 7 to 9 years old; one victim was between 4 and 6 years old; and two victims were 3 years old or younger. All victims have been contacted by law enforcement. U.S. victims have been offered support services from HSI victim assistance specialists.

In addition to public appeals, HSI Boston has distributed the "John Doe" information and photos to fellow law enforcement agencies and to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in a unified effort to find this predator and rescue the child.

This investigation was originally conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

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.