From December 2015 through 2020, the FBI investigated and took down the website Chateen. The presenters will discuss the details of the unique three-week undercover operation at the inception of the case, which enabled agents to locate and infiltrate groups of adult men pretending to be teenagers and producing child pornography of hundreds of 7 to 17-year-old girls. The men worked together, with each assigned a different role, all with the same goal of getting a “win” i.e. successfully convincing a minor to produce child pornography on camera. There were "talkers," "loopers," "hunters," and "watchers." Through working with international partners, the law enforcement and prosecution team were eventually able to locate four international groups of individuals. The presenters will detail how simultaneous search warrants were executed for each group, the challenges, and successes in working with international partners to apprehend defendants and obtain information relevant to the investigation, and the coordination for each sentencing hearing to best support the more than 150 identified victims in the case.
Learning Objectives:
Develop techniques for undercover investigations of illicit websites
Successfully investigate and prosecute groups of offenders working together to exploit children
Successfully advocate at sentencing and include victims in the process in coconspirator cases
