Detecting Child Pornography

By Patrick Noaker

A recent case in Kansas City, Missouri exhibits just how important constant vigilance by everyone of the signs of child pornography is in combating this tragic problem. In the Kansas City case, two workers went to the house of Richard Volberding to fix his water heater. While in Volberding’s house, the workers noticed images of what appeared to be naked children on Volberding’s computer. The workers called the police who got a search warrant and seized multiple computers containing thousands of images of child pornography. Recently, Volberding pled guilty to multiple counts of possession of child pornography.

Child pornography is a major problem in the United States. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline has received over 800,000 reports of child pornography since its inception in 1998. This problem is huge. That is why we all must participate in detecting and reporting possible incidents of child exploitation and pornography. If you are in the home repair or remodeling business, do what the workers did in the Volberding case and report anything suspicious that you observe. If you are in the electronics repair business, report any suspicious files that you observe on a computer or a camera. If we all pitch in, we can make great progress in detecting and ultimately preventing child pornography.

About the author: Patrick Noaker is an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates who represents victims of child sexual abuse, exploitation and pornography.