Homeland Security agents netted a suspected child pornographer this week after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made a plea asking the public for tips in locating a man captured on video abusing an 8-year-old girl.
Agents arrested William Akers, 46, after distributing photos of him to the media and online through ICE’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, which produced 80 leads on the Homeland Security Investigations tip line.
ICE said they came across video of a man abusing the girl after they seized videos from Bailey Mills, a Sanford, North Carolina, man who was arrested last year and charged with child rape, among other offenses, stemming from a child pornography ring police say he ran out of his supposed day care.
ICE used its Operation Predator, which harnesses press and social media to enlist the public, to try to track down the man in one of the videos, alerting the public on Wednesday morning.
One tipster told ICE that the man worked at an information technology department of a Raleigh, N.C., company, and within hours agents confirmed Akers was the man they were seeking. ICE said he was arrested at 1 a.m. Thursday while working the night shift at his company.
“I am grateful for the American public’s quick action in response to our appeal for help,” ICE Director Sarah R. Saldana said in a statement announcing the arrest. “Within hours of our request for assistance, more than a million people took notice and started spreading the word on social media and in the press. Because of this incredible support, we were able to identify and arrest a man accused of grossly violating an innocent child.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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