As the "Cops" theme song blared out of an astute neighbor's dormitory room, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation officers executed a search warrant April 8 for child pornography-related materials in the room of Trinity sophomore Tom Baxter.
Having procured a search warrant based on evidence that Baxter was operating a file server that included pornographic images of children, agents confiscated Baxter's personal computer, printer, scanner, digital camera and other equipment. No related charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation, said Curt Ellis, special agent in charge of the SBI's Financial Crimes Division, which also handles computer-related crime.
While executing the search warrant, however, officers found multiple bags of marijuana, two bongs and two smoking pipes. Baxter, who was not available for comment, was charged April 10 with possession with intent to sell or deliver a controlled substance and unlawfully, willfully and knowingly possessing with the intent to use drug paraphernalia, said Maj. Robert Dean of the Duke University Police Department. Baxter was placed under a $1,500 bond.
According to the search warrant, the SBI became involved when a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent telephoned Special Agent E.M. Smith on the morning of April 6. The Florida agent notified Smith that Baxter was using the online name "TommyBoy" to participate in a number of Internet Relay Chat channels with names such as #O!!!!!!!!!YngTeenSexPics.
Smith then used an IRC connection to connect to the file server maintained by the user TommyBoy. After downloading a set of six files in a directory named "YOUNG," Smith concluded that the file server contained graphic files depicting children engaged in sexual activity.
Smith then contacted the Duke University Police Department and the Office of Information Technology who determined that the file server-located on the campus ResNet network-was owned by Baxter, an independent living in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity section in Wannamaker Dormitory. He then obtained a search warrant based on the possibility that second degree sexual exploitation of a minor had taken place.
PiKA fraternity president and Trinity junior Jeff Osterwise said several members of his fraternity observed three SBI cars and an OIT van speed up Wannamaker Drive around noon on April 8. Officials then carted out several loads of materials from Baxter's room.
In addition to procuring a search warrant for Baxter's computer, the SBI also obtained a search warrant to procure computer data from Baxter's e-mail account and user home directory. The Office of Information Technology provides each student with 10MB of mass storage for their home directory located on one of the University's network file servers, and a separate space for an e-mail inbox.
Robert Carter, systems project manager at the Office of Information Technology, said his department does not actively police the websites created on its servers.
"If someone complains that something is in violation of one of our internal policies," Carter said, "We'll try to track that down, but it's not something we want to take on."
In this particular case, OIT became involved when it was contacted by the SBI. "It was brought to us as a legal issue, not a procedural issue," Robert said. "What he had up might or might not have been against the law, but it probably wasn't anything procedurally wrong."
Associate Dean of Student Development Paul Bumbalough, who handles student disciplinary issues, said he was not aware of the incident.
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