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Software helps capture online paedophiles

Posted on 13th February 2012 13:16

Three sex offenders have been convicted, and another cautioned, since a police unit began using new software to catch internet paedophiles. 

Detectives in the force’s Sexual Exploitation Investigation Unit (SEIU) began using the Triage Examiner system in May last year.

The system, which was developed in America, is stored on a memory stick and quickly scans computers for indecent images of children.

It also searches for chat logs, email addresses and messages, web browser searches and desktop files.

It allows officers to examine suspects’ computers considerably faster than traditional methods, which would see investigators spending up to 18 months examining a single computer hard drive. 

It now takes between a few minutes and a few hours to examine a computer, resulting in sex offenders and victims being identified quicker than ever before.

DC Andrew Taylor, from SEIU, said: “The system is faster than anything we’ve ever used and it means sex offenders are being arrested swiftly and cases are going through court more quickly too.

“But it also allows us to identify victims, which enables us to protect anyone who has been abused.”

A 52-year-old Meadows man was arrested in July after the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) informed Nottinghamshire Police he had been accessing indecent images of children online.

A search warrant was carried out at his home and his computer was seized for further examination.

DC Taylor used the Triage Examiner system to scrutinize the man’s PC and, in just six hours, the software had identified over 100,000 indecent images and video clips of children on his computer.

He pleaded guilty to possessing the indecent images and received a three year community order and was added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.

A 45-year-old Nottingham man was also arrested by police in June following another tip off from CEOP. The high-tech system found nearly 800 indecent images of children on his computer, some of which were of level 4 in seriousness - level five being the most serious. 

He pleaded guilty and was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also told he would be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years.

The man was also given a two year supervision order with the Probation Service, which will include completing an internet offender’s therapy programme.

Another Nottingham man, aged 46, was arrested by SEIU officers after the Triage system found over 20,000 indecent images of children on his computer.

He pleaded guilty to 16 counts of making and possessing indecent images of children in December and received a three year community order and was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years. He was also given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years and was told he will have to participate in a sex offender internet treatment programme

A fourth man, aged 37 from Nottingham, was also arrested following a tip off to police. The forensic system found a number of indecent images of children on his computer.

He was cautioned and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for two years.

DC Taylor said: “These men are now on our radar and will not be able to continue with their previous behaviour without us knowing about it.

“In years gone by, we would still be waiting for their computers to be forensically examined, which meant it took a significant period of time to bring offenders to justice.

“Now, we are able to present suspects with evidence found on their own computers very quickly, which means they usually admit their crimes very early on.

“This forensic tool has significantly speeded up the process of investigating sex offenders and allows us to quickly move on to the next suspect.

“We are committed to finding and arresting those who facilitate the abuse of children by downloading indecent images and videos online.  

“We will continue to use new and advanced tools like the Triage Examiner software to root them out of our communities and hold them to account for what they have done.”

A former Nottinghamshire Police detective is credited with bringing the system to the UK.

Harry Parsonage retired from the force last year after 31 year’s service. He was heading the High Tech Crime Unit (now the E Crime Unit) when he discovered the high-tech system.

Mr Parsonage contacted the American company in 2007 to find out more about the system. As a result of his research, Nottinghamshire became the first force in the country to trial it.

Four years on, about half of all police forces in the UK now use the system.

He said: “When I worked in the High Tech Crime Unit, there was a significant backlog of computers which needed examining that we believed could have indecent images stored on them.

“By the time I left the backlog had more than halved. It took a considerable amount of burden off the computer experts and empowered the detectives actually investigating child abuse cases to carry out the searches themselves.

“The process is quicker and more efficient and helps identify sex offenders more quickly, which is a massive step forward for policing in the UK.”

Mr Parsonage, who lives in Nottingham, now works for the company which invented the system as a Forensic Triage Specialist, and advises police forces on how to use the system.

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