The last thing teen computer whiz Gregory Burridge needed was child pornographers using his service. Especially since it landed him in district court in Brisbane—not because the Queensland government thinks he's a child pornographer (they don't) or advertised actively for child porners or pedophiles to use his Web hosting service (he didn't), but because the government thinks he did nothing to stop them from using his service to sell or swap their wares.
The now-23 year old Burridge pleaded guilty to exhibiting child porn and possessing child computer games between November 2000 and February 2002, and his attorney told the court the case hinged entirely on Burridge being as naïve as he was facile with computer operations and hosting.
Police raided two homes in Brisbane and Logan and seized a computer containing child porn, according to prosecutor Phil Hardcastle, and that the government sought the computer and other equipment to be forfeited, apparatus apparently worth $15,000.
Brisbane District Court Judge Kerry O'Brien ordered Burridge to forfeit his computer and other items and fined him $3,000, while adding that the fact that legitimate Websites could be used to transfer child porn was even more alarming in the middle of an already current public concern about Internet child porn.
"I’m reading about cases like this on a more often basis," said Adult Sites Against Child Pornography executive director Joan Irvine to AVNOnline.com about the Burridge case. "People don’t protect their computer; thus, opening themselves up to such abuse. It’s sad to say, but many child pornographers have learned how to use technology to their advantage. This also demonstrates that people need to use professional hosting companies."
Austalian authorities recently mounted a massive Internet child porn crackdown that resulted in several hundred arrests in late summer and early fall, and a rewrite of New South Wales child porn laws after it was disclosed that thirty child porn suspects there might have been freed due to police error.
Burridge's attorney, Mark Green, described his client's business in court as a pair of Websites where computer users could store files for easy access and distribute material to others. "In other words," he was quoted as saying, "you could store files there which could be downloaded or uploaded." Green said Burridge's service was popular with people using digital cameras for legitimate business while only a small percentage used it to store and swap child porn.
Burridge didn't realize just how many items were stored with his service, Green told the court. "It is accepted he has no interest in child pornography," the attorney continued, "and the current situation is that it is impossible to have programs to stop such material being introduced to a hosting site."
In fact, Green added, Burridge ended up $25,000 in debt when "credit card fraudsters" used fake cards to pay for some of his services.
Irvine said the Burridge case is a glaring precautionary tale. "They talked about Burridge being naive, and yes, he was," she said. "But this fact did not prevent him from being convicted and fined. If child pornographers will abuse children, they have no scruples and will abuse anyone and everyone. Please protect yourself!"
