Locals arrested in child pornography sting

A Lisle man and a Naperville juvenile were among four people arrested Tuesday in a multi-county child pornography bust.

The arrests mark the culmination of a two-month investigation by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's High Tech Crimes Bureau.

The Naperville juvenile, whose identity is being withheld, has been charged with possession and dissemination of child pornography.

Charged with the same crimes are Jarrod Harrison, 21, of 313 Wauponsee St., Apt. 2, in Morris and Dennis Milby, 61, of 307 9th Ave. in Sterling.

Possession of child pornography is a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Dissemination of child pornography is a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The Lisle man, Gregory Anderson, 46, of 5275 Westview Lane, is charged with possession of child pornography.

Madigan said in a phone interview that all the charges stem from the exchange of child pornography videos on peer-to-peer file sharing Web sites. The videos depict sex acts with children ranging in age from babies to early teens.

The investigation is ongoing, but Madigan said it doesn't appear so far that any of the suspects made a profit from the videos they shared. It's unclear where all the videos originated.

The bust is the first of its kind from Madigan's agency. The collaborative task force used a new technique to identify the suspects.

Investigators tracked the unique Internet protocol addresses every computer is tagged with while connected to the Web. Madigan referred to the addresses as the "digital DNA" that will now allow her office to identify perhaps hundreds or thousands of child pornographers who have remained anonymous until now.

"I want child pornographers to know that we see them, and they can no longer hide anonymously behind their computer monitors," Madigan said.

Up to now, most child pornography stings have been the result of officers posing as would-be victims on various Web sites.