NEW YORK
The New York Times
By JOSEPH BERGER
MAY 21, 2014
It began in Westchester County with the arrest of a police chief who was teaching classes about sexual abuse at a Roman Catholic church. The investigation soon swept up many others who were swapping files of children forced into explicit sexual acts: two registered nurses, a Brooklyn rabbi, a New York City police officer, a paramedic and a Boy Scout leader.
All told, 71 people — 70 men and one woman — were taken into custody in the New York City area in recent months on charges of possessing, producing or distributing child pornography, the federal Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday at a news conference in Manhattan attended by four New York district attorneys.
“The professional backgrounds of many of the defendants is troubling,” said James T. Hayes Jr., a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations. “We can no longer assume that the only people who would stoop to prey on children are unemployed drifters.” Other suspects include an airline pilot and an architect. …
The investigation began after agents, using software available to law enforcement, were able to trace files of child pornography to an I.P. address on a computer used by Brian Fanelli, 54, who until January was the police chief of Mount Pleasant, N.Y. He was charged in federal court in White Plains with possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
Until October, Mr. Fanelli had been teaching children in religious classes at a Catholic church in Shrub Oak, N.Y., how to be alert to sexual abuse, covering topics like improper touching and the pitfalls of social media devices. His lawyer, Susanne Brody, has declined to comment on his case.
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