Spokane Part Of Child Porn Sting Postal Inspectors Use Pornography Producer’s Mail List To Trap Buyers

Spokane homes or businesses were searched as part of the largest child pornography bust in United States history, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said Thursday.

That may mean Inland Northwest residents will face charges as a result of the two-year investigation that targeted buyers of lurid video tapes in 36 states and several cities, including Seattle, Pocatello, Idaho, and Billings, Mont.

Forty-five arrests have been made and another 70 are anticipated under “Project Special Delivery,” postal inspectors said. But officials indicated more searches are planned for area homes.

“I’m not going to speculate,” said James D. Bordenet, a postal inspector. But he acknowledged the investigation is far from over.

“This is just a snap-shot in time,” Bordenet said.

The U.S. Postal Service used a mailing list from a company making and marketing pornographic videos to snare buyers of movies that feature children between the ages of 7 and 11. If an order was placed, a U.S. Postal inspector attempted to deliver the tape.

In cases where people accepted delivery, a search warrant was obtained and the home or business searched in order to recover the tape and any other evidence. The confirmation of searches in Spokane indicates people in this region accepted delivery of the tapes.

In Billings, Jerold W. Hammerbeck, 41, was arrested on charges of receiving and possession of child pornography. A search of the self-employed printer’s home yielded 47 videos and a laptop computer with 900 files dealing with child pornography.

Receiving child pornography through the mail is a federal felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Possession of child pornography carries a maximum five-year prison term.

The investigation began after postal inspectors began receiving complaints about a San Diego porno distributor called Overseas Male in 1993, Chief Postal Inspector Kenneth J. Junter said.

The videos, mostly made in Mexico, showed children having sex with children, with adults or being abused. “We are not talking about adult videos someone can rent at some corner video store,” Hunter said.

Nearly two dozen of the people arrested were involved in sexually abusing children.

“We hope it makes a difference,” Hunter said. “But we’re not naive enough to think it will cause making child pornography or trafficking in it to end.” He said his office makes as many as 200 arrests a year “in this vile trade.”

In one case, Ray Leslie Opfer of Reno, Nev., has been sentenced to life in prison for the molestation of two boys - brothers aged 9 and 12 - after inspectors discovered a collection of sexually explicit videos of neighborhood children in his home, Postal Inspector Ray Smith reported.

In another case, authorities said Robert H. Ellison, 65, of Chicago, pleaded for the prompt return of his videos because he feared that he would molest children if he could not relieve his urges through pornography. He was ordered held without bond as a threat to the community.

“Pedophiles aren’t always strangers in your community,” Hunter said. “They are men of every social stratum and occupation: teachers, professors, computer programmers, even sometimes members of the clergy.”

One of the key operators of Overseas Male, James Leroy Kemmish, was arrested in 1994 by customs agents as he returned from Mexico. Agents found $16,000 in cash and child pornography when they searched his baggage. He has been convicted of distributing child pornography and sentenced to five years in prison.

He said the videos sold for $50 to $290, depending on the age of the children involved. A review of the company’s financial records showed it grossed $10,000 a week during one six-month period.

Hunter said another man believed to have been involved with the company, Troy A. Frank, was found dead in Mexico last year. Hunter said Frank was believed to have committed suicide after postal inspectors contacted him and asked him to surrender.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Ken Olsen Staff writer The Associated Press contributed to this report