Child predator cases being solved in SWFL computer forensic lab

Child exploitation and pornography happens right here in Southwest Florida, and law enforcement works to track those committing these horrible crimes.

We went behind the scenes of a computer forensic lab, where agents and analysts find the evidence to put the bad guys away and protect the children of our communities.

Families can’t always prevent child predators from pursuing the youngest, most innocent members of society.

“Child exploitation is one of the worst crimes that we have to investigate,” Special Agent John Yancey said. “Unfortunately, it is a huge problem here in Southwest Florida.”

Yancey is assigned to homeland security investigations (HSI) in Southwest Florida.

When it comes to child exploitation, there are three basic elements of the crime:

• Possession and viewing images
• Distribution
• Production of images and videos

“Each time someone uses child pornography, they download it, you view it, whatever the way the law sees that is they’re actually re-victimizing the child who was initially failed,” Yancey said.

One of those cases unfolded in Fort Myers.

“In 2007, our office investigated an offender called Jeffrey Dinkel,” Yancey said. “We received the lead actually from our headquarters units called C3.”

C3 is a cybercrime center targeting distributors of child pornography. It sends a lead to HSI in Fort Myers.

“We were able to develop enough pc to execute a search warrant at that residence, went and collected the computers, the devices, those type things.”

Those devices went to the HSI office in Fort Myers, where cyber forensic analysts examined the evidence.

“HSI found the evidence, but Dinkel took off before agents arrested him,” Yancey said.

That landed him on HSI’s top ten list, the first Fort Myers resident to do so.

“Then, in 2019, we were able to find him,” Yancey said. “He had been living, I believe, in New York or somewhere, and he traveled back to the area.”

Dinkel is serving time in federal prison.

Meanwhile, the investigations go on.

Tamara Glover is a forensic interview specialist for HSI. She has spoken to hundreds of victims.

“There are no boundaries as it pertains to potential victims of this type of crime,” Glover said. “It crosses various communities, socio-economic status, races and cultures.

That means any child can become a victim, and some of the people sitting in their homes viewing child pornography don’t see it as a crime.

These are serious cases investigators must work. The agents working them have many checks and balances to make sure they stay mentally healthy.

“It’s some of the toughest case work that we’ll ever have to do. Just for that, because the investigator who works those cases, we have to go through the evidence. And it’s a terrible thing, just to review the evidence and expose yourself to the horrific, horrible crimes that are being committed,” Yancey said. “At the end of the day, they’re also one of the most rewarding type cases that we get to work when you’re able to lock up some of these terrible offenders.”

MORE:

• ICE – Child Exploitation
• Homeland Security Investigations
• FBI – Crimes Against Children/Online Predators
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
• U.S. Department of Justice