For Immediate Release
March 9, 2007

Contact
Catherine Higgins
Community Relations/PIO
(801)538-1753
Fax: 801 538-1121

CHILD PORN FOUND ON DESTROYED COMPUTER --
Law enforcement expertise, collaboration leads arrests

     The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task force arrested an admitted child porn user and a man who was seeking a date with a minor child last night. Henry Wayne Howk of Payson was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on 5 counts of sexual exploitation for possessing child pornography. John Joseph Keane of Taylorsville was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for enticement of a minor over the internet.

     “These arrests illustrate two ways suspects commonly victimize children - by consuming pornography and by using the internet to arrange to meet a minor for sex - and the professional coordinated response of the ICAC team partners who investigate and arrest alleged criminals,” said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “Investigation and arrest of suspects requires the expertise of many agencies. We are lucky in Utah - our ICAC team is deep in talent thanks to the contribution of investigators from many law enforce agencies.”

     Henry Wayne Howk, 38, applied for a job as a law enforcement officer and then admitted to viewing child porn while being questioned during a routine employee selection process. Realizing his admission would trigger an investigation, he destroyed his computer. ICAC investigators from the Attorney General’s office and Adult Probation and Parole located the computer hard drive with the cooperation of Howk's wife. Investigators sent the hard drive to the Regional Computer Forensics Lab where it was reconstructed and found to contain child pornography.

     “This was a joint investigation occurring over a period of 8 months. The ICAC team was assisted by the Utah Department of Corrections, Adult Probation and Parole and the Utah Joint Criminal Apprehension Team to investigate and arrest suspect Howk,” said Captain Chris Ahearn of the Attorney General’s office. “The Regional Computer Forensics Lab (RCFL) also did a superior job of resurrecting evidence on a hard drive that had been destroyed.” The RCFL is a joint project of the Attorney General, Department of Public Safety, FBI and Salt Lake Area Police departments.

     John Joseph Keane, 50, was arrested after a three month investigation conducted by a Department of Public Safety investigator who is assigned to the Attorney General ICAC task force. Keane was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for enticement of a minor over the internet.

     Criminal defendants are presumed innocent until they are found guilty at trial or plead to criminal charges. More information about the ICAC Task Force is available at http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/ICAC/icacmain.htm

     The Utah Attorney General's Office oversees the Utah ICAC Task Force which includes investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Utah Department of Public Safety, Utah Department of Corrections, Salt Lake City Police Department, Murray Police Department, West Jordan Police Department and the West Valley City Police Department. The task force is also affiliated with the Ada County Sheriff's Office, Idaho; Billings Police Department, Montana; Cache County Sheriff's Office, Duchesne County Sheriff's Office, Utah County Sheriff's Office and the Weber County Sheriff's Office.

John Joseph Keane

Henry Wayne Howk