Nicaragua arrests FBI #1 Kiddie Porn suspect

[waltky]

Got him!...

Nicaragua Nabs US Most-Wanted Child Porn Suspect
April 22, 2013 - Police in Nicaragua have detained a former U.S. school teacher who was on the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives as a suspect in a child pornography investigation, authorities confirmed Monday.

Eric Justin Toth was detained Saturday in Esteli, a city near Nicaragua's border with Honduras, and will be immediately deported to the United States, said National Police chief Aminta Granera. "Toth will be deported immediately because he was in our country illegally," Granera said at a news conference in Managua, the capital. She said Toth entered Nicaragua with a false passport and also had a fake driver's license and credit cards. Toth was being handed over to FBI agents present at the news conference and they planned to take him to the U.S. in a special plane, Granera said.

A thin and nervous-looking Toth dressed in cream-colored shirt and pants was briefly presented to journalists and photographers who took his picture, but he wasn't allowed to talk and was quickly taken away. Granera said Toth first entered Nicaragua on Oct. 24, 2012, and left on Jan. 27. He returned on Feb. 12 and that's when Nicaraguan police began keeping a close watch, she said. "He was captured in a house in the Panama Soberana neighborhood in Esteli, even though he resisted," Granera said. Toth taught third grade at Beauvoir, a private elementary school on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral. He was escorted off campus in June 2008 after another teacher reported finding sexually explicit photographs on a school camera in Toth's possession. He had not been seen since he lost his job.

In a statement, the school commended the work of U.S. authorities. "We commend the work of the Office of the U.S. Attorney and the FBI for their ongoing efforts to apprehend Mr. Toth. They have been tenacious and resolute in their quest to bring this case to justice," it said. Toth was added to the FBI's most-wanted list in April 2012 for allegedly possessing and producing child pornography, giving him notoriety normally reserved for people sought in connection with violent crimes or terrorism. Osama bin Laden and purported Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger have both been featured on that list, but the FBI said it put Toth on because there were no reliable clues as to his whereabouts and because his Internet skills and alleged penchant for grooming children made him especially dangerous.

Authorities found Toth's car at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in August 2008 with a note suggesting he'd committed suicide in a nearby lake. But no body was found. The FBI, which had been offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Toth's arrest, said he was believed to have traveled to Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It said Toth is originally from Hammond, Indiana, and is a graduate of Purdue University. Toth is thought to have lived in Arizona in 2009. The bureau had said that Toth might have been advertising as a tutor or a male nanny and using the alias of David Bussone.

Nicaragua Nabs US Most-Wanted Child Porn Suspect - ABC News

See also:

Leave justice to us, police warn vigilante paedophile hunters using
22 April 2013 | Facebook to lure suspects before confronting them; 'Letzgo Hunting' members pose as underage girls for chats with predators; They set up meetings, film suspects and hand evidence to police; Group releases dramatic footage of members confronting 'suspect'; Police have warned them to leave justice to them

A band of parents have formed a vigilante group to snare suspected paedophiles. Their tactics have led to six arrests – but police forces have reacted with anger, warning that they could be compromising existing investigations. The parents have set up dozens of profiles on dating and social networking websites, pretending to be girls aged 12 to 15. Using these, the group, who call themselves Letzgo Hunting, exchange messages with suspected paedophiles, sometimes for weeks, before luring them into meetings in parks or other public areas.

The parents, some of whom are trained in the martial arts of jujitsu and karate, film the resulting confrontations, in which they demand an explanation from the men and warn them to expect to be arrested. They then upload the footage on to their website and Facebook page. Their most recent video, created on Sunday, shows a suspect flee as a vigilante gives chase in a park on the outskirts of Leicester. The clip was viewed 4,000 times within two hours yesterday. The group’s Twitter account was also inundated with messages of support from members of the public as word of their activities spread.

The group – three men and a woman assisted by 13 ‘helpers’ – admit to being vigilantes but say they are not a lynch mob and never threaten violence. But Leicestershire Police warned that such ‘naming and shaming’ tactics threatened ‘chances of success in court’, potentially blocking justice. Child welfare charity the NSPCC also urged the group to step back and said tracking down paedophiles must be done ‘by proper authorities’. And Warwickshire Police and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre added to warnings that vigilantes could harm investigations.

Letzgo Hunting’s leader, who calls himself Scumm Buster, told the Daily Mail he works in the security industry, but declined to reveal the backgrounds of the others. He said the group had 84 online profiles, using images of young-looking adult female friends with their consent. Sometimes these were airbrushed to remove signs of ageing such as wrinkles and ‘make the girls look obviously young’.

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[whitehall]

Just in time huh? Just when the FBI is taking all kinds of flack for incompetence regarding the Boston bombers they get a break and a publicity spike. Amazing how they can call in favors when they need them.