GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Two Georgia Residents Charged in Sex Trafficking Ring That Used Internet to Recruit Women

 

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: FBI

19May2011 6:28pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:   ATLANTA—SOLOMAN MANASSEH MUSTAFA, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, and KALANDRA ANNETTE WALLACE, 24, of Jonesboro, Georgia have been indicted on federal charges relating to a sex trafficking ring operating in the Atlanta area. MUSTAFA was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Christopher Hagy. An arraignment for WALLACE has not yet been scheduled. MUSTAFA and WALLACE face federal charges of sex trafficking, kidnapping, transporting women across state lines for prostitution, and document servitude. MUSTAFA also faces charges of receiving material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, and of coercion and enticement of a minor for sexual activity. MUSTAFA and WALLACE were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 10, 2011.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “Sex trafficking is unfortunately one of Atlanta’s most significant criminal problems. This case, like many, contains allegations of the defendants brutally assaulting women to force them into acts of prostitution in three states. While all of the victims managed to escape from the defendants, many were allegedly beaten, raped, handcuffed, and forced to snort cocaine by the defendant and his co-conspirator before they got away.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “The FBI remains committed to working with our various law enforcement partners in combating human trafficking and bringing forward for prosecution those individuals that would exploit others for personal gain. Public awareness of these types of crimes are not enough. Public involvement in reporting these matters to the FBI or other law enforcement is needed in turning the tide in the eradicating the scourge that is human trafficking.”

According to the indictment and other information presented in court: MUSTAFA and co-defendant WALLACE allegedly recruited and enticed young women via advertisements on Internet sites such as Craigslist and Backpage with the goal of forcing them into prostitution in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Alabama, and North Carolina. MUSTAFA and WALLACE are charged with conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking for physically assaulting many of the women, preventing them from leaving hotels or apartments, and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that two victims were bound with duct tape and placed in a closet. These victims, still bound with duct tape, were ultimately taken against their will to Homewood, Alabama for the purpose of having sex with men. Two other victims were allegedly forced to have sex with men and turn all of the money earned over to MUSTAFA and WALLACE. MUSTAFA’s alleged violent behavior was the same with many of the victims: he or WALLACE would pretend to want to date the women, but, instead, MUSTAFA allegedly would rape them. According to the indictment, one victim had a gun pointed at her head and was ordered to remove her clothes and stand naked in a corner of the room. Other women were forced to inhale a white powdery substance that appeared to be cocaine. Two victims were allegedly handcuffed to the bed to keep them from leaving.

MUSTAFA is also charged with receiving child pornography and attempting to persuade a juvenile to have sex with him. MUSTAFA allegedly communicated via text messaging with a young girl whom he believed to be 14 years old. In those text messages, he instructed the juvenile to send him photos of herself. Once MUSTAFA saw the photos, he told the juvenile that she could be his sex slave and he went to the juvenile’s home to pick her up. The juvenile left her home by tying bed sheets together and climbing out the window. Fortunately, MUSTAFA let the young girl go in a subdivision close to her home.

The indictment alleges that MUSTAFA and WALLACE also took the identification of some of the victims. After one victim escaped, MUSTAFA and WALLACE kept her identification and used it to rent hotel rooms and a house.

The sex trafficking, kidnapping, and coercion of a minor charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

If anyone has any information about this or any human trafficking case, they are encouraged to report that information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 404-679-9000.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force which includes the Atlanta Police Department, the Gwinnett County Police Department, the City of Marietta Police Department, and the Sandy Springs Police Department. Other departments that have assisted in the investigation are the Holly Springs Police Department, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Clayton County Police Department, and the Homewood, Alabama Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Susan Coppedge and Nekia S. Hackworth are prosecuting the case.

(read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Obama to veto House efforts to scuttle Internet fairness rules

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: NextGov

05April2011 12:45pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The White House threatened on Monday to veto any bill from Congress that would scuttle new rules aimed at keeping Internet access free and open.

"If the president is presented with a resolution of disapproval that would not safeguard the free and open Internet, his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the resolution," the Office of Management and Budget said in a Statement of Administration Policy.

The House Rules Committee voted on Monday evening to send the resolution to the House floor. The resolution would repeal the Federal Communications Commission's so-called "network-neutrality" regulations, designed to prevent Internet carriers from blocking websites that use too much bandwidth. The committee voted to allow one hour of debate on the issue. House aides say a vote is expected on Tuesday but the resolution is not expected to make it past the Senate. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Cyber attackers have the edge, experts admit

 

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: NextGov

02April2011 1:24pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Top American cybersecurity officials said on Thursday they need to work closer with private industry and other governments to fight the changing threat from ever-craftier cyber attackers, who have a new array of targets from power grids to bank accounts made vulnerable by the Internet.

Such cyber attackers have an edge right now, experts told the Air Force Association's Cyberfutures Conference.

Gone are the days of high-profile viruses with catchy names. Now cybercriminals use less destructive, but more targeted attacks to steal money, information, or intellectual property, said Greg Schaffer, who leads cybersecurity and communications efforts for the Department of Homeland Security. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: China clamps down further on Internet to prevent unrest

 

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Homeland Security NewsWire

31March2011 10:02pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The Chinese government has eyed the protests sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa with growing unease; to quash the prospect of wide spread protests at home, the government has increasingly clamped down on the Internet and other forms of communication; access to Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have been blocked while government agents are more carefully monitoring cellphone calls, electronic messages, and emails; residents say they have never seen such high levels of censorship before. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: 'The Dead Don't Protest'

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Strategy Page

29March2011 3:30amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: In the last few months, the government has quietly attacked the security of electronic communications in and out of the country. The government has organized a team of hackers (Iranians and foreign mercenaries) to use various method (deep packet inspection, forged SSL certificates) to read email that users thought was encrypt or anonymous. That may explain an increase in the number of pro-reform people arrested lately. But the main goal appears to be scaring the opposition away from using the Internet. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY BRIEFING: Faceless Enemies Claim Sovereignty on Internet’s Borderless Battlefield

 

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: AFCEA

07March2011 9:00amEST

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: Computer networks are essential to global productivity and collaboration. They also are weapons: More harm is possible from a network attack than from a machine gun, according to experts gathered in London to discuss cyberwar.

Cyberspace is the global nervous system, explained Raul Rikk, who heads the cybersecurity department for Trustcorp Limited, but cyberspace also is a new dimension of warfare. “You have to have a license to own a gun, but not so for computers,” he emphasized. The Internet is an incubator for criminal and terrorist activity, agreed Vice Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., USN, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet; commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO; Joint Force Maritime component commander, Europe; deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; and deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa, speaking just before the start of the two-day Technet International conference, held October 28-29.

The pace of cyberattacks is increasing, and those with harmful intentions are finding unique ways to infiltrate not only computers connected to the Internet but also computers that never were connected to the online world. Stuxnet, a computer worm that targets critical industrial infrastructure, was an entirely new type of attack. Tony Roadknight, technical architect, Nexor, called the worm a cyber missile, not just cyber mayhem. Part of the attack had to include individuals with infected media who accessed the closed system. The ability of the worm to target only certain systems and then hide the changes has made tracking its source, or even its purpose, difficult. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS TECHNOLOGY BRIEFING: Tumblr’s David Karp: My Heroes Are Steve Jobs And Willy Wonka

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: TechCrunch

24February2011 3:00pmEST

GCIS TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Some Internet wunderkinds don’t bother to finish college. Tumblr founder David Karp dropped out of high school, and now runs one of the fastest growing publishing platforms on the Web. In our final segment from this week’s Founder Stories (also watch parts I, II, and III), Karp answers some of Chris Dixon’s rapid-fire questions in the video above. He talks about his best business decision ever (shutting down Tumblr’s profitable, niche, Web development business), why he has trouble sleeping, and how hiring the youngest, most brilliant engineers will become Tumblr’s “biggest recruiting advantage.”

On this last point, Karp says when Tumblr gets to “Google-scale” and Google is still only hiring Ph.Ds, “I want to grab 16-year-olds that are going to be brilliant and help them get there.” What about engineers with at least a college degree? Karp isn’t anti-education so much as he isn’t seeing colleges churn out the talent he needs. “The bigger problem is college isn’t making very good engineers and that is what this industry needs,” he says. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY BRIEFING: Internet "Kill Switch": Mapping Out Government’s Proper Role in Cybersecurity

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: The Heritage Foundation

22February2011 2:03pmEST

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: The problem is indeed a challenging one. Clearly, the federal government needs the ability to protect its own interests, some of which require use of the private-sector portions of the Internet. Likewise, the government is charged with providing “for the common defense,” and all Americans would expect it to play a role in defending, say, the West Coast electrical grid against a Chinese assault.

The recent report of Chinese infiltration of Canadian government computers is a salient demonstration of the need for some defensive measures. And the reality is that if pre-enforcement judicial review of any governmental order is required, it is possible that the governmental response will be delayed so long that it proves ineffective.

But equally clearly, giving the government power over the private sector and the Internet is fraught with peril to civil liberties. Even though the legislation has explicit language denying presidential power to cut Americans off from the Internet generally (and even though any President of either party should not be presumed to exercise powers granted in a dictatorial way), the recent experiences in Egypt make it clear how relatively easy it is for an autocratically minded leader to take control of private conduct.

And even when government acts with good intent, mistakes happen—for example, the recent error in which DHS mistakenly seized a number of innocent domain names that it thought were tied to child pornography but were not. Post-enforcement judicial review is of less value after the order has already been given and implemented. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY BRIEFING: Latest Attacks, Hacks, and Tracks

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

18February2011 12:23pmEST

 

Senate Bill Would Make Leaks a Felony

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: Legislation introduced in the Senate this week would broadly criminalize leaks of classified information.  The bill (S. 355) sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) would make it a felony for a government employee or contractor who has authorized access to classified information to disclose such information to an unauthorized person in violation of his or her nondisclosure agreement.

Under existing law, criminal penalties apply only to the unauthorized disclosure of a handful of specified categories of classified information (in non-espionage cases).  These categories include codes, cryptography, communications intelligence, identities of covert agents, and nuclear weapons design information.  The new bill would amend the espionage statutes to extend such penalties to the unauthorized disclosure of any classified information. (Source: Secrecy News/read full report)

 

U.S. Preparing Cyberwar Strategy Before Threat Grows

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said Tuesday that the U.S. government is "moving aggressively" to counter evolving cyberthreats and is currently in the final stages of a comprehensive cyberstrategy review. The time to act is now while cyberattacks are still "relatively unsophisticated in nature, short in duration, and narrow in scope," he said.
The danger is that powerful cybertools already exist that one day could be deployed by the nation's adversaries to potentially cause severe economic damage, physical destruction, and even loss of life, Lynn said in a keynote address at the RSA security  conference in San Francisco.

"We must have the capability to defend against the full range of cyberthreats," Lynn said. "This is indeed the goal of the Defense Department's new cyberstrategy, and it is why we are pursuing that strategy with such urgency." (Source: CIO Today/read full report)

Antony Asks Forces to Gear Up to Fight Cyber War

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has called upon the Armed Forces to be vigilant against emerging cyber threats. Addressing the centenary celebrations of the Corps of Signals here today, he called upon the forces to keep abreast of latest technologies. Terming the Corps of Signals as the “21st century arm of our forces”, Shri Antony said it has a major role in promoting inter-Service synergy and joint operations.

“The Corps is at the forefront of transforming the Indian Army to a network-centric force. It must continuously enhance its ability to absorb latest technologies in collaboration with the Industry and R&D establishment. The Corps has done commendable work, be it in fielding futuristic strategic defence communication networks, or development of state-of-the-art tactical communication systems. The contribution of the Corps in enhancing cyber security is worth a mention. However, the Corps needs to be ever vigilant, as cyber threats continue to multiply and intensify by the day,” Shri Antony said. (Source: Defense Aerospace/read full report)

Trent Franks Launches Caucus to Address EMP Threat – Introduces SHIELD Act

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today released the following statement, following the official launch of the Congressional EMP Caucus and the introduction of H.R. 668, the Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage (or SHIELD) Act.

“The threat of an electromagnetic pulse weapon represents the single greatest asymmetric capability that could fall into the hands of America’s enemies. Should a nuclear weapon from a rogue state such as Iran be detonated in Earth’s atmosphere at a sufficient height above the continental United States, the blast of electromagnetic energy could immediately cripple America’s electric power grid. Currently, the vast majority of the United States’ infrastructure is unsecured and exposed.

“According to some experts, just one properly placed EMP blast could disable so large a swath of American technology that between 70-90% of the United States’ population could become unsustainable. (Source: National Terror Alert/read full report)

Cyber Crime Costs UK £27 Billion Study Finds

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: According to a joint government and industry report, the annual loses to cyber crime in the United Kingdom are of £27 billion, of which £21 billion comes from the business sector.

The report was drafted by the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance in collaboration with Detica, a company specializing in information intelligence.

 The study shows that the main victim of cyber crime is the business sector, which accounts for over ¾ of the loses.

Intellectual property theft is the most costly form of cyber crime to businesses and results in £9.2 billion annual losses.

In this case, IP theft does not refer to illegal file sharing, but to the theft of trade secrets, ideas, designs, methodologies and so on.

The industry sectors most affected by this type of crimes are pharmaceutical/biotech, with over £1.8bn loses, electronic and electrical equipment, with over £1.7bn, and software and computer services, with £1.6bn. (Source: Softpedia/read full report)

Cloud is security battleground for organizations

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: Organizations want to use cloud services to benefit from costs savings and increased efficiency, but security staff are concerned about the risks associated with the cloud, noted Dan Schoenbaum, vice president for business development at Tripwire.

“The business folks want to go there for the obvious benefits, but the security team still views the cloud as new. They don’t quite understand how they can get visibility into the cloud”, Schoenbaum told Infosecurity.

Security teams want to take a more measured approach to the cloud than the business people. They want to start with less critical applications. “The tension between the two sides is on the timing and the criticality of the applications that go there”, he noted.

Organizations “trust themselves for security but they might not necessarily have an established relationship with a cloud provider. It’s hard to build trust with someone you only started working with recently. So these things have been inhibitors for going to the cloud”, he said. (Source: Info Security/read full report)

CBC Reports Canadian Government Hacked By Chinese

GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE: The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is reporting that key government agencies in Canada were the targets of a sophisticated cyber attack aimed at stealing sensitive government information.

The attack was first detected in January, 2011, and prompted Canada's Finance Department and Treasury Board off the Internet temporarily in order to clean up after the attack. Among the targets of the attacks were Defence Research and Development Canada, a civilian agency that is part of the Canadian Department of National Defence.

According to the BBC report, issued Thursday, the attacks on the Finance Department started with spear phishing attacks aimed at senior Finance Department personnel, but spread to other targets.

Canadian officials are still trying to assess the damage caused by the attacks, including the quantity and type of data that is believed to have been siphoned from Canadian government networks. (Source: ThreatPost/read full report)

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Joint DHS-DOJ "Operation Protect Our Children" Seizes Website Domains Involved in Advertising and Distributing Child Pornography

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DHS

16February2011 8:18amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Washington, D.C.—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced the execution of seizure warrants against 10 domain names of websites engaged in the advertisement and distribution of child pornography as part of "Operation Protect Our Children"—a new joint operation between DOJ and DHS’ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target sites that provide child pornography.

"Each year, far too many children fall prey to sexual predators and all too often, these heinous acts are recorded in photos and on video and released on the Internet," said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. "DHS is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to shut down websites that promote child pornography to protect these children from further victimization."

"For all its positive impact, the Internet has also unfortunately created a new way for child predators to commit their inexcusable crimes," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division. "The production and distribution of child pornography wreak havoc on innocent lives. With these domain seizures, we are taking our fight against child pornography to websites that facilitate the exchange of these abusive images." (read full report)

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Google Teams Up With Twitter And SayNow To Bring Tweeting-By-Phone To Egypt

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: TechCrunch

31January2011 6:43pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: It was only last week that Google acquired SayNow, a voice messaging startup, They’re already putting them to good use. I mean really good use.

As they’ve just announced on the Google Blog, the search giant has teamed up with the incoming SayNow team and Twitter to create a simple speak-to-tweet service for people currently engulfed in the turmoil in Egypt.

Says Google:

It’s already live and anyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.http://twitter.com/speak2tweet

We hope that this will go some way to helping people in Egypt stay connected at this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone there.

Very, very cool. And important. Especially since reports have the last operating ISP in the country, Noor, being shut down as well.  (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: WikiLeaks rival launches new secret-spilling site

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: PhysOrg.com

28January2011 3:06pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The new platform, called OpenLeaks, will allow sources to choose specifically who they want to submit documents to anonymously, such as to a particular news outlet, said Daniel Domscheit-Berg.

"We'd like to work with media outlets that have an interest in informing the public," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting of top business and political leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos.

The difference between his group and WikiLeaks, he said, would be that his group leaves reviewing the material up to the publication or advocacy group chosen by the source to receive the information.

WikiLeaks has struggled to wade through the vast amounts of material it received – particularly the hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables – and been criticized for sharing the data with only a handful of media outlets around the world. (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Philadelphia Man Admits Using Internet to Entice Minors

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: FBI

27January2011 12:27pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:

Jason Betensky, 27, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in Hartford, Connecticut to one count of using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

According to court records, from approximately 2003 to 2007, Betensky was a counselor at a summer camp in North Carolina, where he learned information about the campers. When contacting the campers online, Betensky posed as a young female, sometimes pretending to have met them at camp. He later persuaded some of the campers to engage in sexually explicit conversations and to send him sexually explicit images and videos. (read full report)