Lt. James Flynn announced today that Charles Black, 37, of Magnolia, AR was arrested on October 22, 2009, in an undercover Internet sting conducted by the City of Greenwood Police Department.
Black was charged with one (1) count of Computer Child Pornography (§5-27-603).
Computer child pornography is a Class B felony.
Undercover Investigators allege that Black met the elements of the criminal statute (§5-27-603), specifically section (2); Utilizes a computer online service, internet service, or local bulletin board service to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice or attempt to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child or another individual believed by the person to be a child, to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
Black was arrested by members of the Greenwood Criminal Investigations and Patrol Divisions after he arrived in Greenwood; allegedly to meet a minor female for the purpose of sexually explicit conduct. In reality, he was communicating with an undercover Greenwood Police officer.
Lt. Flynn stated “Predators know that a lot of young people are online, especially during the summer and many will be home alone during those periods of time, so it is important for parents to take steps now to be certain their kids are prepared and protected.”
“Internet safety is something that should be regularly discussed by every family,” Greenwood Police Chief Keith Jackson said, “because predators are online every day looking for kids who are lonely or vulnerable.”
"Predators are aggressively using Internet websites, chat rooms, instant message programs and other technology to search for children they can sexually abuse," Jackson said. "It is essential for parents to discuss online safety with their children, including the importance of reporting any situation where strangers engage in sexually explicit chats, attempt to arrange meetings or send graphic photos or videos."
Flynn said reports may be made by contacting the Greenwood Police Department, or your local law enforcement agency.
"We have seen a substantial increase in activity by online predators so far in 2009,” Flynn said, stressing that predators will take advantage of whatever opportunities they have to reach out to children.
"Predators will always be drawn to the locations that give them the greatest access to the largest number of potential victims," Flynn said. "They stalk a variety of online sites, including chat rooms; social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook; Internet message boards; video game sites; and even online classified ads on Craigslist."
"It is essential for parents to understand how quickly online conversations can progress from initial contact to sexually explicit content," Jackson said. "Often, predators will begin a sexually graphic discussion within a few minutes of contacting a child, and many suspects transmit nude photos or explicit videos during their first online meeting."