AG Announces Arrest of Child Predator

• Beau announces arrest of child predator

Yesterday the Attorney General’s office announced the arrest of a Smyrna man on 56 counts of child pornography. Cases like this one are why Beau worked with every law enforcement agency in the state to create the Child Predator Task Force four years ago — the kind of efficient, side-by-side cooperation that made yesterday’s arrest possible.

To read more about the case and yesterday’s press conference, see the article from The News Journal below, as well as the Dover Post.

Smyrna man hit with child porn charges

More than 3,200 images found, Attorney General’s Office says

By ESTEBAN PARRA, The News Journal, August 3, 2010

DOVER — A 54-year-old Smyrna man has been charged with dealing in child pornography after members of the state’s Child Predator Task Force searched his apartment last week and found more then 3,200 images, some with children being sexually assaulted, the state Attorney General’s Office said Monday.

The amount of child pornography found at Stephen W. Carman’s home in the 400 block of Smyrna Clayton Blvd. was called “significant” and “severe” by members of the task force during a news conference.

“The graphic images are the most severe that we’ve seen in a long time compared to other cases in recent years,” said Robert C. Moses, a state police lieutenant and task force member. According to court documents, some of the images included bound pre-teen girls who were being sexually assaulted, as well as a girl about 5 years old.

Carman is listed on the state’s sex-offender registry as a moderate risk. The registry said he was convicted of second-degree unlawful sexual contact with a child under 12 in the early 1990s.

Task force members said Carman had stayed out of trouble since then, but that they received a tip that led them to get a warrant to search his home. State Attorney General Beau Biden and task force members would not elaborate.

Task force members searched Carman’s apartment July 27 and seized two computers, four external hard drives and other items, according to court records. Officers also found marijuana and firecrackers during the search and arrested him.

After being released on the marijuana and fireworks charges, Carman again was arrested — this time on 29 counts of child porn. Officers found more than 50 child-porn images on the hard drive seized earlier, court documents said.

Carman was taken to the Smyrna police station, where he allegedly placed a call that was recorded by officers. Carman was recorded telling the person to go to his apartment, find a flash drive taped under the kitchen sink and then “smash it, then get
rid of it,” according to court records.

Task force members returned to Carman’s apartment Wednesday and found a 16 GB flash drive underneath the kitchen sink that was inside a plastic sandwich bag, duct-taped to the cabinet, court records said. The flash drive held more than 3,200 images, including video, officials said.

Carman was charged Thursday with an additional 27 charges, leaving him to face a total of 56 counts of dealing in child pornography.

“Wow,” said 21-year-old Jose Luis Becerra, Carman’s next-door neighbor. Though he did not speak to Carman, Becerra said, his neighbor would always greet him and his family. “He looked like a good person. He didn’t seem like he was that type of person.”

Task force members did not know if Carman was responsible for manufacturing any of the images but said some of the photos and videos have been seen in other investigations.

“The unfortunate reality is that many of these images come up in many of our investigations both here in this state and across the country,” Biden said.