Child Pornography Investigation Prompts Raid at Gonzaga

By Tim Drake
The Cardinal Newman Society
May 28, 2013

http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2274/Child-Pornography-Investigation-Prompts-Raid-at-Gonzaga.aspx


Newly unsealed documents reveal that federal agents seized dozens of DVDs and videos last month from a Gonzaga University faculty office and apartment as part of an ongoing child pornography investigation, reported The Spokesman-Review.

The investigation is looking into online purchases and movie downloads allegedly made by a professor who was placed on administrative leave by the University following the raid, which took place last month.

"The university is deeply saddened to read the contents of the search warrant," Earl "Marty" Martin, Executive Vice President at Gonzaga, told the newspaper. "The safety and security of our campus is our utmost concern."

According to court records, someone using a faculty member's credit card spent more $1,654 on 29 purchases between Dec. 26, 2008, and Jan. 15, 2011, from a Toronto film company that was raided in 2010 under a joint investigation by U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies.

“The Toronto Company, as well as its two operating principals, were subsequently charged and are being prosecuted in Canada for child exploitation offenses, including the production and distribution of child pornography,” wrote U.S. postal inspector W.E.S Beaty.

When that company was raided, investigators discovered films depicting child pornography were being shipped to customers around the world, including several hundred customers in the United States.

Among those records, investigators found that purchases were either mailed to the general Gonzaga University mailing address, or a link for digital download of the product was sent to a university-issued email address.

On April 15, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno gave agents permission to search a campus apartment and the faculty member's university office. Agents conducted the searches on April 16, and records indicate that they seized 47 CDs/DVDs from the office, and a computer hard drive and other electronic devices from the apartment.

The Cardinal Newman Society contacted the University for additional information, but telephone calls were not returned.