Postal service clerk guilty in child porn case

Friday, Feb. 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

A retired Las Vegas Postal Service clerk has been convicted of child pornography offenses after a two-day jury trial.

Sentencing for John David Hotal, 52, is pending.

The charges against Hotal, which included receiving child pornography by mail and possession of pornographic material, arose out of a two-year investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that shut down Overseas Male, the largest known commercial distributor of child pornography in U.S. history.

The operation, known as "Special Delivery," targeted buyers of child pornography in an attempt to cut off the demand. In all, 130 search warrants in 36 states resulted from the undercover effort. At least 23 people involved in past or current child sexual abuse were identified in the project.

After shutting down Overseas Male, postal inspectors changed the name to Island Male and continued to run the company as a way to catch unsuspecting customers.

Postal inspectors sent Hotal and others a catalog offering videotapes of all-male entertainment. Hotal was accused of ordering two tapes -- "Young Men" and "Young Teen." Prosecutor Craig Wolf said some of the children were as young as 7 years old.

Federal agents delivered the tapes Jan. 24, 1996, and about 10 minutes later knocked on Hotal's door with a search warrant, seizing the tapes.