The Child Protection eNewsletter

Google fights subpoena on porn search records, Yahoo! complies…
Google, the leading internet search engine, has refused to comply with a White House subpoena first issued last summer, prompting U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to hand over the requested records. http://www.newsday.com The government wants a list of all requests entered into Google's search engine during an unspecified single week — a breakdown that could conceivably span tens of millions of queries. In addition, it seeks one million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.

In court papers that the San Jose Mercury News reported on after seeing them Wednesday, the Bush administration depicts the information as vital in its effort to restore online child protection laws that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yahoo Inc., which runs the Internet's second-most used search engine behind Google, confirmed that it had complied with a similar subpoena.

Microsoft Corp. MSN, the No. 3 search engine, declined to say whether it even received a similar subpoena. "MSN works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to assist them when requested," the company said in a statement.

News reports about the subpoenas have given some internet searchers pause. http://www.nytimes.com On balance, we think this may be a good thing, although investigators would probably have a field day with some of what turns up in our searches when digging for more information on stories covered in this newsletter.

NYC agency review …
Officials in New York City are investigating the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) after an increase in the deaths of children at the hands of abusive parents and stepparents. vol4_iss3 Some teachers, neighbors and foster parents say the deaths could have been prevented. Listen to the story at http://www.npr.org

Meanwhile, the stepfather accused of murder and torture in the death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, whose death started the agency review, is blaming the victim for her fatal beating. http://abcnews.go.com In an interview given to reporters from three New York newspapers the day after Nixzmary's funeral, Cesar Rodriguez — charged with second-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault — said that his stepdaughter's behavior forced him to give her beatings. "I ask her why she had to put me through so much trouble," Santiago said.

Revelations about the girl’s last few days have shocked even the most hardened New Yorkers, http://hosted.ap.org as hordes of complete strangers packed the little girl’ funeral. http://abcnews.go.com

At least 6 ACS employees were suspended or disciplined for inadequate responses to reports of problems with Nixzmary Brown, said agency chief John Mattingly. http://www.cbsnews.com

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday announced that retired law enforcement workers would be dispatched to work in child welfare offices and that he would create a new mayoral office to ensure that city agencies work together to prevent abuse. http://www.nytimes.com The changes, which include a greatly reinforced monitoring system for children in troubled homes, were some of the most extensive to the system that handles child abuse cases since it was restructured some 10 years ago after the death of 6-year-old Elisa Izquierdo at the hands of her mother.

In other news…
Another Vermont sex offender was given a 60 day sentence for molesting a child in a plea agreement. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com A county prosecutor said Friday that a 60-day prison term for a man who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a juvenile was the best the state could impose under the circumstances. Meanwhile, the lawyer for the first man who was ordered to spend at least 60 days in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl says the sentence cannot legally be changed despite the outrage it spawned. http://hosted.ap.org

Jurors began deliberations Tuesday in the murder trial of a prison inmate accused of killing pedophile priest John Geoghan in his cell. http://www.cbsnews.com Geoghan was the central figure in the Boston pedophile priest scandal, having been accused of molesting 150 boys. http://www.thebostonchannel.com

Spanish authorities said Wednesday they have arrested 33 people, including teachers, business executives a doctor and a priest, for allegedly acquiring and distributing child pornography on the Internet. http://www.cnn.com The suspects allegedly used credit cards to acquire and view "horrifying" child pornography, including "real life scenes of minors being raped," from Web pages controlled by companies in Belarus and the U.S. state of Florida, a national police statement said.



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