Internet Crimes with Larry Boggess of OSBI

These are my notes from a presentation at the Oklahoma Library Association’s workshop on 12 May 2008 in Midwest City on “Safety on the Internet Highway.” This presentation was shared by Larry Boggess of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and was titled “Internet Crimes.” Thanks to Larry for giving permission to share an audio recording of this session later as a noncommercial podcast. MY THOUGHTS AND RESPONSES ARE IN ALL CAPS.

Unless it deals with children being exploited via the use of technology, our unit does not handle it
– grant money funds us along with other sources
– Oklahoma in the last year and a half have gotten more into investigation, not just forensics (pulling info off computers)

My first assignment for OSBI was in Bartlesville
– culture shock for 6 months
– opening in Internet Crimes unit came, was in OKC

When from 2 cases in six months to 100 cases in two months
– case load is huge relative to the number of agents now
– this is an up and coming

war on drugs? this is the new war
– we have so many undercover profiles out there online
– we use undercover profiles all the time
– you never know what you are going to get when you get online
– that is our advantage, when these predators get online and they think they are dealing with a 12 year old and they are dealing with us

saying “Keep the light in their eyes”
– we have 33 agencies throughout the state who are affiliates of ours

I am able to file charges in both state and federal courts
– simple possession for 1 image, I can get a person federal prison time for 10 years, 18.5 years in state prison
– we can put these guys in prison for a long time
– 90 days processing in federal prison for case, state charges may take 2 years to process
– this really helps to get these guys in prison
– many guys who have not been charged in the federal system get out on the street and continue to threaten children
– these guys are not going to change their behavior

Map showing locations of Oklahoma Statewide ICAC Task Force Affiliate Locations

I average about 3000 miles per month driving on my car
We are adding to our affiliates constantly

Internet crimes unit is a national program, Oklahoma program, and all about internet safety
– this presentation today is a small part of what I do
– I have been to the McAlister library, the turnout wasn’t too great though

We are promoting Intenret safety for children
– we are all susceptible to Internet crimes

We use MySpace a lot, social networking
– came across a young lady from Mustang, Oklahoma
– from her photographs found her vehicle with her tag number, her place of employment, her house number, her company name from a nametag she was wearing and posted on her party pics

THIS MAKES ME REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE AN UNLISTED ADDRESS

It is not hard to go find a child who has put personal information on a MySpace account

Talking to kids and telling them: If I know your first name, where you are from, and what you look like: I could have you kidnapped this afternoon

If you have those accounts, there is just 1 reason to be on there: to social networking with your friends
– MySpace is not a dating website like eHarmony

XBox: how many people know you can chat online with an Xbox
– your child can chat with anyone
– he may think he is chatting with a 12 year old but really he is chatting with a nasty 44 year old

As parents we have to step in and cut off a lot of things you have to do
– I am going to buy the program to monitor every keystroke our kids are going to make
– monitor everything our kids do
– society’s attitude now is to give kids a little more freedom
– what does that lead to? kids getting kidnapped

story of girl who had chatted online and kidnapped her
– took a girl and put her in a dungeon with a dog collar

our agency has original jurisdiction with certain crimes, including crimes against children
– you think your children are being exploited or threatened online, you contact me and I or my partner will

more than 30 million children in the US use the Internet
– how many of you know what these kids are doing online?

stats from ICAC standards 2007
– 1 in 4 had an unwanted exposure to sexually explicitly pictures
– approx 1 in 5 received a sexual solicitation or approach
– 1 in 13 was threatened or harassed
– 1 in 24 received an aggressive sexual solicitation (from someone who asked to meet them somewhere, called them on the telephone, sent them regular mail, money, or gifts)

MySpace is one of my biggest headaches now

we gear up for takedowns on these guys just like drug raids
– these guys are bad news and dangerous

I say to young kids, “You shouldn’t have friends throughout the country, you can’t even drive”

young adolescent girls are socializing right here, on the computer

it starts small, and then a strange car is rolling down the street

you can’t blame the child
as adults, we have to monitor it

cell phones for kids
my deal is: if kids can’t drive, they shouldn’t have a cell phone
text messaging cases are tough
– cell phone companies are not that way with keeping text message chats
– Google keeps things forever
– some phone companies purge their records every 24 hours
– many parents get really mad because of this

For me to just do 1 supeneea , is a 2.5 hour process

Many wireless networks at libraries are unsecured
– I figured this out from my 18 year old son outside the library online
– I am not telling your job and how to do your job, but if I get a case and it comes back to a public library, I close the case
– I had one case of 704 images of child porn being downloaded, it came back to an unsecured library location

I have to know a little bit about the bad guy, get his mac address, etc to go farther

question from a library participant: what about community wifi proposals?

citywide wifi is a nightmare for us
– in Library they have a state-run library system
– to get online in their library, you have to use your library card and to get that you use your driver’s license
– they don’t have unsecured wireless
– that makes for easy cases to prosecute

Most predators and perverts know if your library has unsecured wireless

Filters are great if they are set right

Story of Sarah, an outsider who turned to drugs (Primetime TV Special, “The Secret Life of Teens”)
– lots of kids on MySpace talking about alchohol abuse, drugs
– teen culture looks for models 4 years older

guys, that is pretty self explanatory
– that can happen to any of you
– I am not saying MySpace is a bad thing, as long as you are monitoring what kids are doing

I know some libraries have shut down MySpace altogether, and that is great

Key points of this video
– MySpace is just 1 Internet site
– Amy thoughtshe had no one to talk with about her life: teenage feelings
– met someone online
she can tell strangers things
– he/she will take care of her
– ran away, no regretful

question from librarian about responsibility of libraries who setup MySpace accounts
– response: I go undercover all the time to send out friend requests to look for predators
– hire security for your parking lot when you have kids showing up at your library
– predators surf the library all the time, they are in and out

registered sex offenders in the state of oklahoma can’t be around schools, parks or libraries where children are around at all
– to know if a person is a registered sex offender, you have to do some research

librarian told story of changing the rules about the “adult” computers in the library

People need to quit putting up with this
– if you see it, report it
– there is nothing wrong with calling 911 to report a problem

every police officer is a public servant for each and every one of you
– if you have a problem, you call the police chief or the OSBI

Question about “how do you catch an Internet predator”
– couldn’t tell their methods
– search warrants and interviews lead to a lot of evidence

99% of sex offenders in Oklahoma are not allowed to be on a computer
– if the police department in your town is not dealing with that, then I have a problem with that police department

question: should a library with a myspace account hide their friend list:
– yes
– and the library should have a private myspace account

recommendation is to have adults and kids on different sides of the library on the computer

What can you do?
– www.netsmartz.org free program and website

Problems or concerns with Internet crimes and children in Oklahoma, need a talk about Internet safety at your library or school? Call Larry Boggess, Special Agent
Oklahoma ICAC Task Force
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
6600 North Harvey
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Office: 405-848-6724
Cell: 918-619-7866
email: larryb [at] osbi [dot] state [dot] ok [dot] us

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