Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Feds Search Valley For Child Pornography Producers From 11 Years Ago

child_molesters.jpg
Image courtesy of the Department of Justice

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Federal authorities are asking for the public's help finding a man and woman who helped produce widely-circulated images of child pornography about 11 years ago.

The files showing a young girl being molested were discovered in Chicago in 2007, but authorities believe that they were taken in Encino about 11 years ago. Neither the victim, who would be an adult now, nor the middle-aged man and women she is pictured with have been identified. But those images have shown up in more than 275 investigations of child pornography.


Courtesy of the Department of Justice
Even though the case has grown cold, federal authorities said in a release that they want to find the defendants to bring them to justice and prevent the abuse of additional victims. U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said, "We have come to the point where we have exhausted all our investigative techniques and now we are coming to the public."

The female victim appears to be about 13. The male perpetrator's face is obscured, but the female's face can be seen in some of the images. The male appears to be in his 40s, while the woman appears to be in her late 30's or early 40's. Both are white. The woman has several tattoos, including a back tattoo on her right hip of a butterfly, a tattoo on her right shoulder of a cat and a tattoo with words across her left wrist and upper portion of her left breast.

The child pornography was first discovered in a Homeland Security Investigation in Chicago around 2007, but the victim had not been identified and she was not linked with any other known series of child pornography images.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today