Court documents identified a Triangle boy as a suspect in an Internet child pornography investigation.
On April 6, authorities searched a single-family home at 15808 Old Triangle Road and took a computer, data storage and data transfer devices after police received a tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children on Feb. 17 that someone in the area had sent pornographic images of children by e-mail.
Police say the e-mail originated from a Triangle home, court documents state.
Police said the 16-year-old suspect used the e-mail address "boyspantshalfoff@yahoo.com" to send the images, according to court documents. A juvenile named in court documents, who is said to live in the home, is suspected of possessing the images, reproducing them and distributing them, said Manassas police spokesman Sgt. Tim Neumann.
Police are waiting for forensic investigators to complete their review of the seized items before any formal charges are filed, he added.
The lead investigator in the case is a Manassas police detective and a member of the Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children taskforce.
The man that Prince William County land records list as the owner of the home, and who shares the last name of the suspect named in court documents, did not return a phone call Thursday.
Police say the pornographic images at the center of the investigation focus on the sexual images of preteen girls and an infant being sexually abused, court documents state.
Investigators said the images were reviewed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, which determined that children depicted in the photos are real, and are "clearly and obviously under the age of 18," according to court documents.
"The computer user is collecting child pornography and is saving the collection like a 'child pornography collector,'" court documents allege.
The data devices seized from the home are now being reviewed in a forensics lab, said Neumann. Court documents state the review of the computer equipment could take weeks.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-530-3905.
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