Horrific: Former Acting HHS Cybersecurity Director Convicted on Multiple Child Pornography Charges

The former acting director of cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was convicted on multiple child pornography charges, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Timothy DeFoggi, 56, was found guilty of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child pornography, and accessing a computer with intent to view child pornography in connection with his membership in a child pornography website, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The former acting director of cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was convicted on multiple child pornography charges, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

From the Justice Department:

According to evidence presented at trial, DeFoggi registered as a website member on March 2, 2012, and maintained his membership and activity until Dec. 8, 2012, when the website was taken down by the FBI. Through the website, DeFoggi accessed child pornography, solicited child pornography from other members, and exchanged private messages with other members where he expressed an interest in the violent rape and murder of children. DeFoggi even suggested meeting one member in person to fulfill their mutual fantasies to violently rape and murder children.

The jury reached its verdict following a four-day trial before U.S. Chief District Judge Laurie Smith Camp. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 7, 2014.

According to Time, it's not known whether DeFoggi's actions took place during his time working for HHS; a department budget report listed a Tim DeFoggi as the head of OS IT Security Operations.

KETV-TV, citing court documents, reported that DeFoggi was arrested in his home in Maryland and immediately ran for his laptop when officers arrived, requiring he be "physically separated" from the device.

Via KETV:

The agents found the laptop to be actively downloading a video of child pornography. One of the other items found in his home was an order of protection issued in the state of New Mexico in October 2010. The order required the defendant to stay away from an 11-year-old boy, because the guardian had perceived actions believed to be grooming for sexual purposes.

DeFoggi is the sixth individual to be convicted as part of an ongoing investigation targeting three child pornography websites. All three Tor-network websites were run by a single administrator, Aaron McGrath, who has also been convicted in the District of Nebraska, and were hosted in Omaha. Authorities allowed the websites to continue operation for a period of weeks at an FBI facility in Omaha. These investigative techniques successfully revealed the true internet protocol addresses of approximately 25 domestic users who accessed the sites.

Click here for more on the story, via KETV-TV.