Child pornography is a critical legal and ethical problem that has experienced a resurgence coincident with the growth of the Internet. After international efforts to amend child protection laws in the late 1970's and early 1980's, the prevalence of child pornography cases dropped precipitously and the distribution of child pornography was largely limited to the back rooms of adult bookstores, small cells of individual traders, and a limited, known list of overseas mail order providers. With the growth of the Internet, the ease, cost, and relative anonymity of transactions greatly increased the availability of child pornography and the number of child pornography offenders. Digital Child Pornography: A Practical Guide for Investigators seeks to address the problems faced in investigating child pornography offenses in the always-on, always-connected age. The contents of this book are organized into three sections as follows: -Foundations. The background and modern history of child pornography are covered. The prevalence and types of child pornography are addressed, and a typology of child pornographers is presented, including the psychological reasons for the individuals to be engaged in child pornography. An overview of the current federal laws addressing child pornography is presented, and key cases of recent interest are detailed. How to select investigators to investigate child pornography offenses and how to keep them safe are also reviewed. -Digital Forensics. Digital forensics, as applied to child pornography, is addressed. A methodology for planning for and conducting search warrants in child pornography offenses is provided, and key elements of proof needed that can be gathered digitally are presented. A framework for conducting dead-box analysis for evidence of child pornography offenses is provided. -Interviews and Interrogations. The subjects of child pornography cases take special care and feeding and they require special considerations when interviewing. The process of interviewing and interrogating child pornography subjects, from the planning stages through to obtaining a confession, is documented. Digital Child Pornography: A Practical Guide for Investigators is written by an investigator specifically for other child pornography investigators and provides the most comprehensive guide to these investigations currently available.
About the Author: Chad Steel has performed hundreds of digital forensics examinations. He has been involved with every aspect of child exploitation investigations from interviewing and interrogating subjects to performing digital forensics analyses of devices ranging from cell phones to servers. As an adjunct faculty member, he developed and taught the Computer Forensics graduate course in Penn State's engineering program and has instructed federal and local law enforcement, commercial clients, and graduate students in conducting child pornography investigations. His experience includes serving as head of IT investigations for a Global 100 corporation and as managing director of the Systems Integration and Security practice at Qwest Communications. He is currently an adjunct professor at George Mason University in Virginia.