Authorities seek author of e-mail child-porn ad

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The e-mail, sent Monday, apparently originated in the New York City borough of Queens from an America Online subscriber.

Among the recipients were people who work for missing and abducted children's foundations and several newspaper offices. Some of the recipients were outraged.

"Am I liable for prosecution?" one worried Internet newsgroup user wrote after publicly posting the letter and asking for mail from others who received the ad.

San Francisco FBI spokesman Doug Perez said an arrest could be made as early as today, but he would not elaborate. FBI offices in New York, San Francisco and Baltimore were involved in the investigation.

"I'm hoping this is somebody's sick idea of a prank," said New York City Officer Kevin Hui, who added that police were inundated with calls from people who received the ad.

The e-mail letter asked recipients to send from $2.99 to $49.95 to "Child Fun" in exchange for child pornographic photos, videotapes and audio tapes. The letter also offered to trade or buy child pornography and emphasized "action shots" of adults having sex with young boys. Photos and tapes of girls as young as 4 and boys as young as 7 were listed.

The ad also said recipients could have their faces "morphed" onto pornographic photos with children.

"I am a fan of child pornography and for the past 4 years, I have been able to gather quite a collection of it. ... I send out these advertisements to this mailing list once a week," the e-mail letter said.