Bradley Willman
Encyclopedia
Bradley Willman is an anti-pedophile activist
from Canada
who engages in private investigations
using the Internet
to expose pedophiles. At one time, he had unfettered access to between 2,000 and 3,000 computers that had been used to visit websites of interest to pedophiles as the result of his use of a Trojan horse
. Willman's actions helped put California Superior Court judge Ronald Kline in prison for more than two years in 2007 for possession of child pornography
. However, the legality of Willman's use of the Trojan horse was a basis for appeal
by the judge.
, Canada.
, a type of computer program, that he used to conduct his investigations.
The Trojan horse was posted to websites of interest to pedophiles in a way that it appeared to be a picture-file attached to a message, but was actually a program file. When a visitor to the pedophile website downloaded the file, the visitor unwittingly downloaded the Trojan horse, and would typically be unaware that it was running on his or her computer. Willman had no control over who chose to download the Trojan horse. Once it had been downloaded, Willman could access, search, and retrieve files from the infected computer. Willman stated "My whole intent, after the program started working as I expected it to, was to help kids." Willman estimated that his Trojan Horse gave him access to between 2,000 and 3,000 computers that had been used to visit websites of interest to pedophiles, including those of police officers, military personnel, social workers, priests, and judges.
with a child molestation case. Some time after August 2000, Willman anonymously provided to a private watchdog group documents related to a Kentucky
state investigation of child molestation and production of child pornography. Prior to January 2001, the United States Customs Service
contacted Willman to see whether he had discovered any useful information related to a suspected Russia
n child pornography ring.
Ronald C. Kline (1941–) downloaded the Trojan horse to his computer. The Trojan Horse allowed Willman, who was in B.C., to monitor the contents of Kline's computer in California. Between May 2000 and mid-April 2001, Willman copied from Kline's computer portions of Kline's diary.
In April 2001, Willman anonymously forwarded excerpts of a diary on Kline's hard drives with a final entry dated March 18, 2001 to the website of pedophile-watchdog PedoWatch. PedoWatch passed the diary on to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, which forwarded it to the California Attorney General's office
, which in turn sent it on to the City of Irvine Police Department
.
of KFI-AM (640)
.
After Kline was charged in November 2001 by the United States Federal Government with possession of child pornography, a man who said the judge had molested him when he was a 14 years old a quarter-century earlier came forward and California state child molestation charges were filed against Kline as well. The state child molestation charges were dismissed in July 2003 after the legal case Stogner v. California, held that a California extension of the statute of limitations for sex-related child abuse could not be applied to previously time-barred prosecutions.
On March 17, 2003, a federal judge ruled that Willman was working as a government informant when he invaded Judge Kline's computers because (i) Willman thought of himself as an agent for law enforcement and (ii) Willman's motivation for the invasion was to act for law enforcement purposes. Since the judge ruled that this violated Kline's United States 4th Amendment right to privacy against illegal searches by the government
, the judge suppressed some of the prosecution's strongest evidence against Kline. Specifically, the judge suppressed all evidence seized from Kline's home and his home computer, including excerpts from a computer diary about his sexual desires and more than 1,500 pornographic photos of young boys.
On appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
, the appeals court disagreed with the federal judge and found that it was not enough for Willman to act with the intent to assist the government. There needed to have been some degree of governmental knowledge and acquiescence in Willman's actions to find that Willman was acting as a government agent. Thus, the appeals court reversed the district court's order suppressing the evidence that was found as the fruit of Willman's illegal, but private, search. In March 2005, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, which ended Kline's appeals.
. A trial conviction could have brought Kline a 30-year prison term, but a plea agreement limited prison time to a possible 27 to 33 months.
In June 2006, the state Commission on Judicial Performance gave Kline the most serious punishment it could give a former judge by barring him from receiving work from state courts.
In February 2007, Kline was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possessing child pornography.
Anti-pedophile activism
Anti-pedophile activism encompasses opposition against pedophiles, against pedophile advocacy groups, and against other phenomena that are seen as related to pedophilia, such as child pornography and child sexual abuse...
from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
who engages in private investigations
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
using the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to expose pedophiles. At one time, he had unfettered access to between 2,000 and 3,000 computers that had been used to visit websites of interest to pedophiles as the result of his use of a Trojan horse
Trojan horse (computing)
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
. Willman's actions helped put California Superior Court judge Ronald Kline in prison for more than two years in 2007 for possession of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. However, the legality of Willman's use of the Trojan horse was a basis for appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
by the judge.
Early life
Willman was born in 1980 in Langley, British ColumbiaLangley, British Columbia (city)
The City of Langley is a municipality in Metro Vancouver. It lies directly east of the City of Surrey, adjacent to Cloverdale, and surrounded on the north, east and south by Township of Langley.-History:...
, Canada.
Private eye
Willman identifies himself as a "private computer cop" and previously used the aliases "Garbie" and "Omnipotent." In the late 1990s, Willman began tracking and investigating people who downloaded child porn from the Internet. At some time before 2000, Willman devised a Trojan horseTrojan horse (computing)
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
, a type of computer program, that he used to conduct his investigations.
The Trojan horse was posted to websites of interest to pedophiles in a way that it appeared to be a picture-file attached to a message, but was actually a program file. When a visitor to the pedophile website downloaded the file, the visitor unwittingly downloaded the Trojan horse, and would typically be unaware that it was running on his or her computer. Willman had no control over who chose to download the Trojan horse. Once it had been downloaded, Willman could access, search, and retrieve files from the infected computer. Willman stated "My whole intent, after the program started working as I expected it to, was to help kids." Willman estimated that his Trojan Horse gave him access to between 2,000 and 3,000 computers that had been used to visit websites of interest to pedophiles, including those of police officers, military personnel, social workers, priests, and judges.
Pre-Kline investigations
In March 2000, Willman helped the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
with a child molestation case. Some time after August 2000, Willman anonymously provided to a private watchdog group documents related to a Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
state investigation of child molestation and production of child pornography. Prior to January 2001, the United States Customs Service
United States Customs Service
Until March 2003, the United States Customs Service was an agency of the U.S. federal government that collected import tariffs and performed other selected border security duties.Before it was rolled into form part of the U.S...
contacted Willman to see whether he had discovered any useful information related to a suspected Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n child pornography ring.
United States v. Kline
In early May 2000, California Superior Court JudgeSuperior Courts of California
The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...
Ronald C. Kline (1941–) downloaded the Trojan horse to his computer. The Trojan Horse allowed Willman, who was in B.C., to monitor the contents of Kline's computer in California. Between May 2000 and mid-April 2001, Willman copied from Kline's computer portions of Kline's diary.
In April 2001, Willman anonymously forwarded excerpts of a diary on Kline's hard drives with a final entry dated March 18, 2001 to the website of pedophile-watchdog PedoWatch. PedoWatch passed the diary on to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, which forwarded it to the California Attorney General's office
California Attorney General
The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.The...
, which in turn sent it on to the City of Irvine Police Department
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
.
The search
In November 2001, Irvine police searched Kline's Irvine home and found more than 1,500 pornographic computer images of young children on the judge's home computer. Child porn also was found on Kline's courthouse computer. This event drew national attention and ultimately led Kline to drop his bid for reelection as judge, largely as a result of efforts by talk radio hosts John and KenJohn and Ken
John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou, known professionally as John and Ken are American talk radio hosts of a four-hour weekday radio show, The John and Ken Show, on KFI AM 640 in Southern California. The John and Ken Show airs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m....
of KFI-AM (640)
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
.
After Kline was charged in November 2001 by the United States Federal Government with possession of child pornography, a man who said the judge had molested him when he was a 14 years old a quarter-century earlier came forward and California state child molestation charges were filed against Kline as well. The state child molestation charges were dismissed in July 2003 after the legal case Stogner v. California, held that a California extension of the statute of limitations for sex-related child abuse could not be applied to previously time-barred prosecutions.
Legal proceedings
In the United States, evidence that derives from an illegal government search generally cannot be used in court against a defendant by the government. However, evidence that derives from an illegal private search such as from a citizen tipster may be used in court by the government, even though the search was illegal. When an individual does the illegal search, a court answers the private/government search question by determining whether the individual was an "instrument or agent" of the government. If "the government knew of and acquiesced in the intrusive conduct, and ... the party performing the search intended to assist law enforcement efforts," then the party performing the illegal search is considered an agent of the government.On March 17, 2003, a federal judge ruled that Willman was working as a government informant when he invaded Judge Kline's computers because (i) Willman thought of himself as an agent for law enforcement and (ii) Willman's motivation for the invasion was to act for law enforcement purposes. Since the judge ruled that this violated Kline's United States 4th Amendment right to privacy against illegal searches by the government
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
, the judge suppressed some of the prosecution's strongest evidence against Kline. Specifically, the judge suppressed all evidence seized from Kline's home and his home computer, including excerpts from a computer diary about his sexual desires and more than 1,500 pornographic photos of young boys.
On appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, the appeals court disagreed with the federal judge and found that it was not enough for Willman to act with the intent to assist the government. There needed to have been some degree of governmental knowledge and acquiescence in Willman's actions to find that Willman was acting as a government agent. Thus, the appeals court reversed the district court's order suppressing the evidence that was found as the fruit of Willman's illegal, but private, search. In March 2005, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, which ended Kline's appeals.
The admission
With the 9th Circuit and United States Supreme Court actions, Willman's evidence was now back in play. In December 2005, former Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Kline pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his home computer, ending a four-year legal battle during which Kline was under house arrestHouse arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. A trial conviction could have brought Kline a 30-year prison term, but a plea agreement limited prison time to a possible 27 to 33 months.
In June 2006, the state Commission on Judicial Performance gave Kline the most serious punishment it could give a former judge by barring him from receiving work from state courts.
In February 2007, Kline was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possessing child pornography.