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| Timothy DeFoggi (Omaha Police Dept) |
The former acting director of cyber security at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Timothy
DeFoggi, will spend up to 25 years in federal prison after being caught using
his computer skills to distribute child pornography.
DeFoggi, 56, was sentenced today in
federal district court in Omaha. According to the news release from the
Department of Justice he was convicted last August following a four-day
jury trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp. DeFoggi had served as the director of cyber security of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Charges included engaging in a child
exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child
pornography and accessing a computer with intent to view child pornography. He previously lived in Germantown, Maryland.
The arrest was made as part of an on going investigation by
a federal anti-child pornography task force, based out of the FBI field office
in Omaha, which in 2012 took down a file sharing service using software
designed to protect the anonymity of its users.
Here’s how the Justice Department summarized the case:
“According to evidence presented at trial, DeFoggi registered as a member of the Tor-network-based child pornography website on March 2, 2012, and maintained his membership and activity until Dec. 8, 2012, when the website was taken down by the FBI. The website’s users utilized advanced technological means in order to undermine law enforcement’s attempts to identify them. The website was accessible only through Tor, an Internet application specifically designed to facilitate anonymous communication. Acting under the cloak of anonymity, users advised others on best practices to prevent detection by law enforcement, including advice about the proper use of encryption software, techniques to hide or password-protect child pornography collections, and programs to remove data from a user’s computer.”
Court records identified the site as “PedoBook” a secret
pornography website where members swapped sexual fantasies as well as explicit photos
and videos of children.
DeFoggi was the sixth individual to be convicted as part of
an ongoing investigation. Four other “PedoBook” members were previously
convicted and sentenced in connection with their illegal activity on the site.
