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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingOnce a predator commits sex crimes over the Internet, how easy is it to find and arrest the suspect? Last week, investigators used a witness' help and a private business to catch a suspected child molester.
They did it in just hours. It's pretty amazing if you think about it. Sometimes all investigators have to go on in is a computer screen name that's being used in a chat. Officers in this case weren't about to let that stop them.
The FBI says Jonathon Cordier was chatting online last week when he exposed himself on a webcam. Soon after, the man brought in a young child, about three-years old, and coerced the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
Tim Fuhrman, FBI Special Agent: "It's one of those things you just shake your head and cannot believe an individual would engage in this type of conduct."
The woman who had been chatting with Cordier reported the incident to Clearfield police. They immediately called the FBI.
Tim Fuhrman: "At the time, we just had information that this woman had engaged in a web chat with the individual and we just had the web name."
The woman also got a cell phone number and gave that to police. From there, an FBI task force called the cell phone provider and internet service providers to track down the man's name and address.
Tim Fuhrman: "The statutes allow us to get emergency access to particular records in order to potentially save the life of a child in danger."
Just eight hours after the woman called police, the FBI showed up at Cordier's house, served him a search warrant and arrested him.
Brett Tolman, U.S. Attorney: "When you're dealing with child predators, gruesome crimes can occur in minutes."
U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman says ever since 9/11, private business are more apt to lend a hand to criminal investigations. Now there is greater cooperation between local, state and federal agencies. In this case, several departments helped track down Cordier.
Brett Tolman: "Sometimes it just takes good people, dedicated and willing to put in a little bit of extra effort."
Investigators also sped up the search warrant process. Instead of filing written court papers for a judge to look over, they actually called the judge at home and recorded the conversation as he gave his approval.
