Springfield–(ENEWSPF)–January 31, 2013. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced the 37th arrest in “Operation Glass House,” her statewide crackdown on the most active traffickers who download and trade child pornography online.
David Wayne McMurray was arrested yesterday after the execution of a search warrant at his Third Street residence in Winthrop Harbor, Ill., revealed computer files containing images and movies depicting alleged child pornography.
“By downloading and trading child pornography, these offenders perpetuate a heinous crime against children, including infants and toddlers,” Madigan said. “Each time one of these violent videos is viewed online, it only adds to the trauma these young victims have experienced. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners throughout the state to track down these offenders and ensure they are brought to justice.”
McMurray, 52, was charged with three counts of Possession of Child Pornography, a Class 2 felony punishable by three to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Investigators with Madigan’s office made the arrest working with the Winthrop Harbor Police Department and with the assistance of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, which will prosecute the case.
“We are proud to be part of Attorney General Madigan’s ICAC Task Force and to work alongside her to prosecute suspected child pornographers,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim.
“I am most pleased with the professionalism and cooperation of the Attorney General’s office in assisting us with this case,” said Winthrop Harbor Police Chief Joel Brumlik. “This operation receives high marks from me for being carried out without incident or danger to others in the area.”
The public is reminded the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Today’s arrest is the latest in Operation Glass House, an initiative Madigan launched in August 2010 to investigate the most active and prolific child pornographers in Illinois. In the first year of Operation Glass House, Madigan’s investigations revealed a disturbing trend of offenders trading extremely violent videos of children being raped. As a result, Operation Glass House has focused on apprehending offenders seen trading and watching these extremely violent videos involving children, including infants and toddlers.
To track child pornographers online, investigators use the unique identifier that each computer is assigned when it accesses the Internet, known as an Internet protocol (IP) address. The ongoing initiative has benefited from a new law that Madigan helped write and pass in the General Assembly last year, which helps investigators track offenders and requires longer sentences when they are convicted. The law authorizes prosecutors to issue administrative subpoenas for Internet-related child exploitation investigations. By using administrative subpoenas, investigators can more quickly obtain the name and address behind an IP address and move the investigation forward, whereas before it could have taken investigators up to 60 days to obtain this critical information due to infrequent grand jury meeting schedules.
Madigan’s office, with a grant from the Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, which investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. Since 2006, Madigan’s ICAC task force has been involved in 535 arrests of sexual predators. The task force has also provided Internet safety training and education to more than 277,000 parents, teachers and students and 16,156 law enforcement professionals. Currently, 171 agencies are affiliated with the Illinois ICAC.
Source: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
