EASTFIELD MAN CAUGHT IN FBI CHILD PORN STING

Federal agents posted bogus Web link

by Joseph M. Giordano

A trail of online solicitations for child pornography led to the arrest of an Eastfield man on Feb. 27, according to the Maryland State Police.

A joint investigation conducted by the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the FBI Cyber Crime Task Force led to the arrest of Julius Ruley Jr., 59, of the 1600 block of Searles Road, according to Sgt. Arthur Betts, a state police spokesman.

Ruley was charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography, Betts said.

The investigation began in October 2006, when an undercover FBI agent in Los Angeles used a public computer message board to post a link offering pornographic images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to Betts.

Shortly after the link was posted, the agent’s computer access files revealed that several individuals connected to the Web site, Betts said.

The files contained in the fake link actually contained nonpornographic encrypted images.

In November 2006, the undercover FBI agent began to gather subpoenas on those who accessed the covert Web link, and investigators traced the origin of one of the users back to an Internet account registered to Ruley, according to Betts.

In March 2007, investigators searched Ruley’s home and interviewed him about the links and pictures, according to Betts.

During the interview, Ruley admitted to having child pornography on his computer, Betts said.

Investigators seized his computer, and a complete forensic examination turned up numerous images of graphic child pornography, according to Betts.

Ruley was arrested at his office, which police declined to identify, and taken to the Baltimore County Detention Center, where he remained on $50,000 bail earlier this week, Betts said.

If convicted on all counts, Ruley could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and/or $25,000 in fines, according to Betts.