see also: in February 2003:   Investigators from U.S. Customs and District Attorney's Office Arrest Impersonator of Federal Agent   U.S. Ambassador Presents $843,388 Forfeiture Check to Mexico as a Result of Joint Probe Into Former Mexican Deputy Attorney General   Customs Recruitment Strategy Perpetuates Excellence   Customs Has New Number for 24-Hour Rule Conference Call   Expired Permit Leads to Drug Smuggling Charges (pdf - 24 KB.)   At the Otay Mesa Border Station Customs Seizes 10 Tons of Marijuana   Container Security Initiative Expands Beyond the Megaports, Strengthening Anti-Terror Coalition ...more on cbp.gov:   Press Officers

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CHICAGO, IL--A federal district court judge in the Northern District of Illinois today sentenced former priest, Vincent McCaffrey of Chicago, IL to 20 years in prison for his conviction on child pornography charges.

McCaffrey, age 50, pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography on September 12, 2002. U.S. Customs special agents began their investigation of McCaffrey last year after receiving information from law enforcement authorities in Auckland, New Zealand that the former priest was suspected of receiving child pornography.

On June 11, 2002, U.S. Customs special agents conducted a consent search of McCaffrey's residence at 6747 North Artesian in Chicago resulting in the seizure of numerous images of child pornography, computer software, Internet printouts and videotapes. McCaffrey was arrested by U.S. Customs special agents on June 17, 2002 on child pornography charges.

"This sentence sends a tough message to those who would harm innocent children through trafficking in child pornography," said Chicago U.S. Customs Special Agent in Charge Elissa Brown, "Stopping child pornography has always been one of our top priorities. This case is but one example of the more than 400 child porn investigations conducted by the Chicago U.S. Customs Special Agent in Charge Office in recent years."

Over the past two fiscal years, the Chicago U.S. Customs Special Agent in Charge office, which encompasses the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin, has led the U.S. Customs Service with a total of 437 child pornography investigations and also has remained the top office in the number of child pornography arrests, indictments and convictions for the past three fiscal years.

The subjects of these child pornography investigations have included a cross-section of individuals such as a Catholic priest in Toledo; a school teacher, a pediatrician, and city counsel president in Cleveland; maintenance worker for little league and modeling agency manager in Indianapolis and a former Catholic priest, a bed and breakfast operator and local minister in the Chicago/Northern Indiana area.

U.S. Customs special agents receive leads on child pornography subjects from the U.S. Customs Cybersmuggling Center in Fairfax, Virginia and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. Customs special agents also work with law enforcement agencies around the world. Recent Midwest cases have originated with law enforcement authorities in Russia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Tokyo, Interpol and the United Kingdom.

Chicago Customs special agents working child pornography cases have investigated scores of subjects ranging from those found producing and distributing child pornography via the Internet to those who were actively molesting children as young as six-years-old.

Chicago is also home to the only U.S. Customs forensics van in the country, which can assist in imaging a suspect computer hard drive on-site at a residence or business location. U.S. Customs special agents have found as many as 220,000 child pornography images on one computer hard drive during search warrant execution.

Seizures have included numerous computers, tapes, hard drives, floppy disks, child porn images, and computer software-type items. When special agents execute a child pornography search warrant, they also look for any signs of child molestation. In most molestation cases, U.S. Customs will defer prosecution to the state authorities because the subject potentially faces a much longer prison sentence at the state local level.

Actively viewing, possessing or trafficking in child pornography, via the Internet, or any other medium, is a federal crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. If you suspect a child pornography violation, contact U.S. Customs at 1-800-BE-ALERT or your local authorities.