THE FORMER ACTING head of cybersecurity for the US department of Health and Human Services was convicted yesterday on child pornography charges.
In a statement, the US Department of Justice outlined the crimes of Timothy DeFoggi, 56:
[He] was convicted by a federal jury…of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child pornography, and accessing a computer with intent to view child pornography.
The court in Nebraska heard that DeFoggi, who was head of OS IT Security Operations for the government department, had registered as a member of a child porn website in March 2012, until it was taken down by the FBI in December of that year.
Through the website, he accessed child pornography and solicited child pornography from others.
But, according to the Justice Department, DeFoggi went far beyond that:
[He] exchanged private messages with other members where he expressed an interest in the violent rape and murder of children.
DeFoggi even suggested meeting one member in person to fulfill their mutual fantasies to violently rape and murder children.
Remained employed by the government – eight months after his arrest
According to local newspaper the Omaha World-Herald, DeFoggi revealed to an undercover investigator posing as a website member that he accessed the site early in the morning, before others in his home woke up.
Indeed, federal prosecutor Keith Becker told the jury that DeFoggi was arrested at his home in Maryland at 5.30 am on a date in April 2013, while downloading images of child pornography.
It is not yet known if the former federal official used government computers or his office to access child porn, but according to the World-Herald, DeFoggi did have top security clearance.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services told Business Insider last night that DeFoggi had been employed there “from March 2012 until January 2014″ – some eight months after his arrest.
Timothy DeFoggi is the sixth person to be convicted as part of an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into three child pornography websites.
All three have been shut down, and all three were run by the same person, who has since been convicted of “engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.”
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