Janesville man charged with downloading child porn
Photo 
Joseph B. Frank Jr.
JANESVILLE — A Rock County Sheriff’s Office investigator used information from a public file-sharing system to find a Janesville man charged with downloading child pornography, according to court documents.
Joseph B. Frank Jr., 19, of 411 S. Harmony Drive, Janesville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with five counts of felony possession of child pornography, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
According to court documents, police seized three laptops, two cell phones, 13 hard drives, other computer equipment, marijuana and drug paraphernalia from Frank’s home.
During the investigation, police downloaded 13 files from Frank’s computer, according to the documents. All contained images of children, and at least six were images of pre-pubescent girls in sexual positions or engaged in sexual intercourse.
Frank is free on a $25,000 bond and scheduled to appear in court Sept. 28.
People who collect child pornography frequently exchange material using free, public file sharing networks, according to court documents.
Investigators search such sites using software developed for the prevention of Internet crimes against children, according to the affidavit. Investigators can identify Internet Protocol addresses of computers that are suspected of being used to download child pornography from such networks.
Investigators also can use software to identify the geographic region of IP addresses.
On July 23, Frank’s IP address was identified as a candidate for downloading suspected child pornography, according to court documents. A Rock County investigator connected to Frank’s computer through a public file-sharing network and downloaded 13 files identified as child pornography or erotica. The investigator obtained a subpoena to Charter Communications to get Frank’s name and address.
Sep 9, 2010 at 5:59 p.m.
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i know joe and what he did was just trying to download porn and not child porn. he just highlited the whole page (limewire) and clicked download and he may look weird but he isnt a pervert. before you start calling him a monster consider that he may spend the rest of his life in prison. people are so quick to judge but this isnt the whole story!
Sep 9, 2010 at 12:33 p.m.
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Whatever, it's incredibly creepy. And you're a man as soon as you turn 18, smart guy.
Sep 9, 2010 at 12:20 p.m.
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So what? He made a mistake, obviously none of you people have ever made a mistake in your life. I'm envious, I truely am. I wish I was so perfect that all I had to do with my free time was sit around on my computer and judge others. You call him a Sick-O, I call you pathetic. First of all the paper says "JANESVILLE MAN" when he's only 19. It should say JANESVILLE TEENAGER. If any one of you has ever met Joe, you'd know he would NEVER hurt any one. He's just a kid who downloaded the wrong thing off Limewire, and had his house raided and his family disrepected. I personally wish him all the best.
Sep 7, 2010 at 9:17 p.m.
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Slight clarification, not anyone can connect to your hard drive just because you are a user of a file sharing program. I'm most familiar with Limewire and you can choose not to share any folder on your PC therefore others are unable to see what you have downloaded. I'm sure though that investigators are watching what you are downloading by monitoring key words and phrases. File sharing programs are really just a user interface to torrent sites that the traffic can easily be monitored. I'm sure thats how the pervs get caught.
Sep 7, 2010 at 8:51 p.m.
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Janesvillean/ Let's hope these guys stay unsmart so they keep getting caught!
Sep 7, 2010 at 4:15 p.m.
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spscdpo, this is file-sharing, not websites. Anyone can download a file-sharing program and share files on their computer -- music, movies, or porn. Of the computers sharing illegal material, not all of them are within the reach of US law enforcement.
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Considering that sharing these files on a system where anyone can connect to your computer and detect that you have them provides the cops with proof of possession and probable cause for search and arrest, it's not the smartest thing to do.
Sep 7, 2010 at 3:47 p.m.
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Does not make sense. They shut down Craigslist adult services but they let these sites that have child porn stay up. HELLO people what is wrong with this picture?
Sep 7, 2010 at 10:17 a.m.
Sep 7, 2010 at 9:13 a.m.
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EEEWWWW dude looks MESSED UP. Hope he doesn;t have any little brothers or sisters living with him....
Sep 7, 2010 at 8:46 a.m.
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I believe all that crap is out there due to the vastness of the internet network. Before, these monsters mailed each other sick pornography, now the internet has provided them with an easier way to send and receive and connect with other pedophiles. I would think the advantage to internet use is the ability to trace and arrest these monsters faster. They are everywhere.
Sep 7, 2010 at 8:39 a.m.
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SuperDave - I think with the "filesahring" sites, it might be difficult to find the root person that originally uploaded the video... I believe it could be shared a million times and the root user would be the very last name they checked... I don't think this was like a google search for child porn.. I would hope that nothing like that exists out there.. ew
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:34 a.m.
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Im with you SuperDave... Stop where it all starts!
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:33 a.m.
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steve - I almost want to say "who cares"? to your question....lock him up and throw away the key. I believe in rehabilitation for most criminal behavior, EXCEPT pedophilia. If watching (or touching) children is what gets you off, then that's not something therapy or a pill can change. That's your sexual trigger...you can't change that. So lock him up!
Sep 7, 2010 at 5:49 a.m.
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I guess I am ignorant on this subject. I don't understand where people can go on the internet to download this junk (and no, I do not want suggestions!). If this is out there for downloading, does law enforcement go after the owners of those sites?
Sep 7, 2010 at 2:21 a.m.
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This guy is nasty I sure hope they prosecute him to the full law on child porn. I have no respect for people like this what so ever there absolutely sick in the head desperate too.
Sep 6, 2010 at 8:32 a.m.
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I will never understand the mind of a pedophile. I wish I could make some sort of sense of it and say 'this is why...' I fear for all children. Please parents and guardians, be extra cautious.
Sep 6, 2010 at 7:37 a.m.
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Is this an illness or a choice? Either way, it's horrible exploitation of children!
Sep 5, 2010 at 11:22 a.m.
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At least he was caught early in life. Most pedophiles go through life without accountability. If he is convicted he will have the stamp of sex offender wherever he goes.
Sep 4, 2010 at 5:45 p.m.
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A sick-o at the age of 19.
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