Initiative targets predators, child porn
By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Federal and local law enforcement authorities yesterday unveiled a new nationwide initiative to combat child pornography and sexual predators on the Internet.
U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said that under the U.S. Justice Department's new "Project Safe Childhood in Hawai'i" program, federal and local authorities will step up their investigations of pedophiles and sexual predators, vigorously pursue child pornography cases and will seek out known sex offenders who have failed to register with local authorities.
"Project Safe Childhood-Hawai'i will make our children safer because we intend to take a zero-tolerance stance against child sexual predators and pedophiles," Kubo said at a news conference.
"This initiative will be a full-court press. I want every sexual predator and pedophile to be thinking of us before they even think of having sexual contact with children."
The initiative includes the U.S. Justice Department, the state attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children unit, the city Prosecutor's Office, the Honolulu Police Department, the FBI and various other federal agencies.
As part of the initiative, Kubo disclosed that his office filed criminal charges against four people this month for allegedly receiving and possessing child pornography. They include:
Yoshida has pleaded not guilty, while Cornwell, Correa and Dinken have not yet entered their pleas, federal court records show.
Those charges are in addition to three other child pornography cases that his office was already pursuing when the indictments came down last month.
Kubo yesterday cited a study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that concluded that an average of 50 children each week fall prey to online predators nationally.
Internet sex crimes against children in the U.S. have tripled from 564 in 2003 to 1,600 in 2005, he said.
He noted that many of the victims of pedophiles in Hawai'i are contacted through popular Internet sites such as www.MySpace.com.
He noted that one of the goals of Project Safe Childhood is to educate children and parents about the potential dangers of giving out personal information on the Internet.
"Every parent should realize that criminals roam the Internet just as they roam the streets."
Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.
