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A sweep of suspected child pornography users and distributors in San Mateo County landed 10 men in jail yesterday, according to police.
Nine of the men are currently facing felony charges after officers searched their homes Thursday and found computers with evidence linking them to the distribution and possession of child pornography, according to police. Four suspects were arrested in San Mateo, two on the 600 block of First Avenue.
The sweep was the result of a Silicon Valley ICAC Task Force investigation. The task force targets peer-to-peer file sharing online, evolving from previous investigations when suspects often were identified through chat room decoy operations, according to police.
Investigators search for hardcore images involving pre-pubescent children then connect with suspects who are sharing the images and track their individual Internet protocol addresses, according to police. Investigators then use search warrants to figure out who owns the individual IP address and carry out search warrants for those homes. The San Jose Police Department is the lead agency for the SVICAC Task Force.
Police arrested four men in San Mateo including Paul Ambler, 58; Paul Tazbaz, 36; Samnang Chun, 23; and Ritha Chun, 29. Ambler was arrested at his home on 40th Avenue and Tazbaz was arrested at his home on Seville Avenue. They were both arrested for possessing child pornography and Ambler for distribution. Samnang Chun was arrested for possession and distribution of child pornography. Ritha Chun was arrested for an unrelated charge, according to police.
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Two men in South San Francisco were arrested including Steve Wilson, 52; and Cruz-Martin Caseiro-Rosas, 32. Both face charges of possessing child pornography.
Also arrested were Daly City resident Gordon Lee, 44; East Palo Alto resident Christopher Winans, 24; San Jose resident Charles Reyes, 46, who was arrested in Menlo Park; and Portola Valley resident Stephen Wolf, 64.
More than 100 investigators from more than 20 different law enforcement agencies collaborated with the SVICAC Task Force to launch the operation.
The task force uses a mobile forensics lab that allows investigators to drive up to a suspect’s home, seize hard drives and immediately begin searching for evidence that would normally take months to obtain from a state Department of Justice lab, according to police.
The task force has arrested more than 40 men for possession of child pornography since November.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.