4chan Linked To Federal Kiddie Porn Probe

NOVEMBER 3--After borrowing a fellow Navy man’s iPhone last month in order to play video games while aboard the USS Boxer, a sailor browsed through a folder titled “porn” and discovered his friend was in possession of illicit images of children, a discovery that has triggered a federal child porn investigation, records show.

When questioned by a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent, Collin Campbell admitted to “downloading between 10-20 images of child pornography” that he claimed to have found on 4chan.org, the notorious image and message board. Campbell, pictured at right, is a Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class aboard the Boxer, a Navy warship currently docked in San Diego, but due for deployment in early-2011.

According to a U.S. District Court filing excerpted here, Campbell and fellow sailor William Vest were “in the Machinery Room, Cargo Weapons Elevator” on the Boxer on October 6 when Campbell “allowed Vest to use his personal cellular telephone, an iPhone 3G, in order to play video games while Campbell was also present playing video games on his iPod Touch.”

Vest, a Machinist’s Mate Fireman, told NCIS investigators that, after about 20-30 minutes playing video games, he “began opening pictures contained within the cellular telephone.” While browsing through the “porn” folder, Vest opened 5-6 images showing “what he believes to be child pornography.” Vest provided a detailed description of the images to Gerald Martin, who is identified in court records as the NCIS “Special Agent Afloat aboard the USS Boxer.”

Vest said that he initially considered speaking with Campbell about the photos, but “he thought that if he did, Campbell may dispose of the evidence or would get Vest in trouble since Campbell is of higher rank than him,” according to the court filing.

On October 15, NCIS agents seized “several items of electronic media…from Campbell’s person and berthing area” on the USS Boxer. During an interview with investigators, Campbell reportedly copped to possessing child porn and “alleged he obtained all those images from the website www.4chan.org.” He added that the images were on his iPhone and a personal computer in his home in National City, a San Diego suburb.

Campbell, who was previously stationed on the carrier USS Kitty Hawk, did not respond to a Facebook message seeking comment about the ongoing NCIS probe. It is unclear whether Campbell is aware of Vest’s cooperation with investigators, since Vest’s name is still included among the 58 friends listed on Campbell’s Facebook page. (4 pages)

[11/5 UPDATE: In an e-mail today, Ed Buice, an NCIS public affairs officer, confirmed the agency’s probe of Campbell, but said that no charges have been filed against the sailor, who is not in custody.]