New Zealand detectives have helped US authorities arrest a Florida man over possession of child sex abuse material.
The man was caught, in part, by New Zealand detectives, who were running a covert online operation as part of an FBI taskforce. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Robert Sciolino was jailed for 10 years for receiving and possessing child pornography in Tampa, Florida, yesterday.
The 51-year-old was caught, in part, by New Zealand detectives, who were running a covert online operation as part of the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children International Taskforce.
In June 2014, Sciolino supplied the undercover police officers with child pornography and US authorities later executed a search warrant at his home.
They found two computers and two flash drives which held hundreds of images of photos and images depicting children as young as three-years-old being sexually abused.
Between December 2015 and January 2016, undercover FBI agents also downloaded child pornography from a user that was connected to the internet through unsecured wireless routers.
The user, Sciolino, was tracked and found to be downloading child pornography in his car at a grocery store parking lot in Bradenton, Tampa, Florida.
Detective Senior Sergeant John Michael of the Police Covert Online Team said New Zealand Police's involvement in the investigation showed the high level of cooperation between international law enforcement agencies in fighting online child exploitation.
As well as being jailed for ten years, Sciolino was also ordered to pay $57,000 to the victims and forfeit the electronic devices he used in the offending.