Local Computer Shop Helps Bust Child Porn Suspect

A man in the East accused of having child porn on his computer will soon learn his fate.

By: Parul Joshi | WNCT
Published: November 20, 2009

United States Officials say 74-year-old George Moore of Newport pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. They say a computer repair store found images of children performing sexual acts on Moore's computer when he took it there to have it worked on two years ago. Police searched his home and found several more devices holding more than 10,000 sexually explicit images of kids.

This incident has certainly shined the light on the issue of computer crimes in the East and the role businesses play in helping keep our community safe.

Dawn Spain says, "I was angry after I got over the initial shock. I was disgusted and angry at him." Two years may have passed but Dawn Spain will never forget what she says she saw on George William Moore's computer. She says it all started when Moore came to her store asking her to back up his secondary hard drive.

She says, "He was insistent that the files be moved before the reload and that I verify that." Spain says Moore had all of his files set to thumbnail views: "The preview was of a man and a child obviously - inappropriate display."

After Spain got over the shock, she called Havelock Police, knowing she may lose future customers or even worse, put herself or her family at risk for retaliation.

Spain says, "You have to do it, you have to do it, you have to think about the little girl in the pictures or the little boys and girls everywhere. You have to do it for the victim, for the person who would be a victim had the man not been caught, the people you save because he goes to jail, you have to do it."

It's Spain's attitude that many in law enforcement across the East hope people will follow. In a statement to Nine On Your Side, United States Attorney George Holding says: "Offenders who collect a large volume of child pornography not only create a market for images of abuse, they re-injure the victims in those images, and they pose a danger to our community. We must remain vigilant of the dangers to our children, reporting unusual or suspicious behavior to authorities".

Spain has no regrets of reporting what she saw to the police and hopes anyone else would do the same. She says, "Do it so someone doesn't have to go through a lifetime of misery."

Moore faces up to 10 years in jail. Sentencing is set for late February.