Trial date is set for child porn suspect

GLENDALE — The trial for a 21-year-old Glendale man arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography last month was set for Dec. 19, officials from the United States Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

Robert Valantine, 21, and 18 other Southern California men were arrested in the past several weeks and are among 125 defendants arrested nationwide as part of Operation Emissary, which investigated individuals who subscribed to a website that offered images and movies of hard-core child pornography, said Thom Mrozek, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

Valantine was arrested Oct. 13.

"There have been a number of child-porn initiatives, operations and arrests over the years," Mrozeksaid. "Emissary is unique because law enforcement uncovered a specific website that, for a fee, made child pornography available to people."

Fourteen of the local defendants — including the Glendale man — are facing felony charges in United States District Court that could result in up to 10 years in prison.

Beyond finding who is suspected of possession of child pornography, authorities also must be able to prove that the images were on a suspect's computer and that the individual in the photos or movies was a child, Mrozek said.

Viewing of child pornography is a big problem, and authorities have taken a large step in fighting it with these arrests, he said.

"When you arrest 125 people, that's obviously a big step," he said. Unfortunately we are filing these cases every week, it's happening all over the country — it's one of the horrible by products of the Internet."