The case — breakdown
In 2017 , Deakin ’ s criminal activities were uncovered in the city of Pampanga , Philippines . Deakin was arrested after a livestream of him engaging in explicit acts involving minors was discovered . The scope of the content exposed the depth of his depravity and served as a stark example of the ongoing problem of livestream child abuse .
Upon Deakin ’ s arrest , FIs were credited with the tip that led to his arrest and the recovery of victims .
“ The tip that led authorities to Deakin came , as they often do , when an online international money transfer service notified an American internet provider about a suspicious account . Western Union , PayPal , and others have reported concerns in the past — business names in this case are being withheld because of the ongoing investigation . Records in Deakin ’ s town house included debit cards for money transfer services , including Smart Money and Payoneer .” 13
Deakin was ultimately sentenced to life in prison by a Philippine court . 14
Legal consequences and justice
Deakin ’ s arrest and subsequent legal proceedings demonstrate the importance of robust cooperation between multiple sectors , including FIs and LE . While the arrest was a significant victory , it also underscores the importance of collaboration between multiple sectors and jurisdictions . These offenders are notoriously difficult to identify and prosecute ; as such , the sophistication on behalf of the offenders requires a similarly sophisticated and collaborative approach for those tasked to detect and apprehend them . Failure to do so can and has led to significant fines and penalties for FIs . 15
Conclusion
This global issue cannot be solved in silos . Traffickers and CSAM / CSE offenders have no borders , no budgets to consider and no data protection concerns . Participating in public-private and other partnerships 16 and exchanging intelligence and the latest trends is vital to help everyone be better equipped .
FIs can lead by example and disrupt CSAM / CSE / CST . To do this , FIs must act , cooperate and move away from outdated and rigid responses , clearly understand their threats and vulnerabilities , and leverage technology that utilizes OSINT , entity resolution and contextual persona-based models to support the detection and investigation of CSAM / CSE / CST .
Chris Bagnall , CAMS-FCI , CFE , solutions director , Quantexa , IL , USA , chrisbagnall @ quantexa . com ,
Silvija Krupena , CFCS , CAMS , head of financial crime , RedCompass Labs , United Kingdom , silvija . krupena @ redcompass . com
Matt Richardson , CTCE , director of intelligence and child safety , Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative , Ontario , Canada , matt @ followmoneyfightslavery . com ,
Larry Cameron , BCEC , CCI , CTCE , DEI , MDI , TINV , TG2 , chief information security officer , Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative , Nova Scotia , Canada , Larry @ FollowMoneyFightSlavery . org
1
Chris Bagnall and Matt Richardson , “ Beyond the Headlines — A Real Look at Trends in CSAM and CST ,” ACAMS Today , January 10 , 2023 , https :// www . acamstoday . org / beyond-the-headlines-a-real-look-at-trends-incsam-and-cst /
2
Hristina Nikolovska , “ Online Predator Statistics [ 2023 Update ],” Screen and Reveal , https :// screenandreveal . com / online-predators-statistics /
3
Shepard Price , “ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports most suspected child sexual abuse incidents ever ,” The Intelligencer , March 17 , 2022 , https :// www . theintelligencer . com / news / article / National-Center-for-Missing- Exploited-Children-17008687 . php
4
Chris Bagnall , “ Best Practices for Evolving Your Risk Assessment Process ,” ACAMS Today September-November ’ 22 , https :// www . acamstoday . org / best-practices-for-evolving-your-risk-assessment-process /
5
“ FinCEN Calls Attention to Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes ,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , September 16 , 2021 , https :// www . fincen . gov / sites / default / files / shared / FinCEN % 20OCSE % 20Notice % 20508C . pdf ; “ Operational alert : Laundering of proceeds from online child sexual exploitation ,” FINTRAC , December 2020 , https :// fintrac-canafe . canada . ca / intel / operation / exploitation-eng ; “ Combating the sexual exploitation of children for financial gain ,” Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre , https :// www . austrac . gov . au / business / how-comply-guidance-and-resources / guidance-resources / combating-sexual-exploitation-children-financial-gain ; “ Sextorsion ,” U . S . Immigration and Customs Enforcement , https :// www . ice . gov / features / sextortion ; “ Sextorsion ,” National Center for Missing and Exploited Children , https :// www . missingkids . org / theissues / sextortion ; Red Flag Accelerator homepage , https :// redflagaccelerator . com /
6
“ Combating the Sexual Exploitation of Children for Financial Gain : Financial Crime Guide ,” Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre , December 2022 , https :// www . austrac . gov . au / sites / default / files / 2022-12 / 2022 % 20 AUSTRAC % 20Child % 20Sexual % 20Exploitation % 20Financial % 20Crime % 20 Guide . pdf
7
“ 29 arrested in international case involving live online webcam child abuse ,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement , January 15 , 2014 , https :// www . ice . gov / news / releases / 29-arrested-international-caseinvolving-live-online-webcam-child-abuse
8
Entity resolution is the process of working out whether multiple data records are referencing the same real-world thing , such as a person , organization , address , phone number , bank account or device . Entity resolution can connect multiple , disparate data points — from external or internal sources — and resolve them into a single , unique entity .
9
“ FinCEN Calls Attention to Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes ,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , September 16 , 2021 , https :// www . fincen . gov / sites / default / files / shared / FinCEN % 20OCSE % 20Notice % 20508C . pdf
10
“ Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs ) regarding the Reporting of Cyber-Events , Cyber-Enabled Crime , and Cyber-Related Information through Suspicious Activity Reports ( SARs ),” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , October 25 , 2016 , https :// www . fincen . gov / frequently-asked-questions-faqs-regardingreporting-cyber-events-cyber-enabled-crime-and-cyber
11
“ Find Your Hotline ,” INHOPE , https :// www . inhope . org / EN # hotlineReferral
12
“ Cybertip form ,” Canadian Centre for Child Protection , https :// www . cybertip . ca / en / report / report-form /
13
Martha Mendoza and Jim Gomez , “ Webcam sex tourism : Raid of suspected pedophile › s home in the Philippines reveals rising abuse ,” Toronto Sun , May 9 , 2017 , https :// torontosun . com / 2017 / 05 / 09 / webcam-sex-tourism-raid-ofsuspected-pedophiles-home-in-the-philippines-reveals-rising-abuse 14
“ Webcam child sex abuse : Philippine court sentences US man David Timothy Deakin to life in prison ,” South China Morning Post , May 27 , 2020 , https :// www . scmp . com / news / asia / southeast-asia / article / 3086393 / philippine-court-sentences-us-man-david-timothy-deakin
15
Chloe Atkins , “ JPMorgan Chase reaches $ 290 million settlement with Jeffrey Epstein victims ,” NBC News , June 12 , 2023 , https :// www . nbcnews . com / news / us-news / jpmorgan-chase-reaches-settlement-jeffrey-epstein- victim-rcna88807
16
“ Compendium of Promising Practices on Public-Private Partnerships to Prevent and Counter Trafficking in Persons ,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , 2021 , https :// www . unodc . org / documents / NGO / PPP / UNODC- PPP-Interactive . pdf
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