Operation Candyman

Tuesday, March 19th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The FBI has been conducting a nationwide crackdown on child pornography. It's called Operation Candyman - and so far the FBI has charged more than 89 people in 26 states. 27 of those arrested are said to have confessed to molesting children.

Oklahoma is included in the sting - the FBI has indicted an Owasso man named Billy Wayne Hutto. Gary Johnson, FBI: "He was investigated for several months, again he was charged Mar 5th, the FBI and the innocent images task force has conducted some search warrants across the state as well and more charges are expected.

An indictment of Hutto was filed in Federal Court. The grand jury summons claims Hutto - between January of 1999 and September of 2000, received computer images and movies containing child pornography. The charges call for a maximum 15 year prison term. Click here to view a copy of the indictment. This local indictment came out of a year long FBI investigation of child pornography nationwide. Agents posed both as children with pictures - and as adults interested in trading pictures of children.

An alarming list of people involved in that child porn ring nationally includes people who children might trust the most. Among them, two Catholic priests, six members of the clergy, a bus driver, and a pre-school teacher's aide.

The FBI says it expects to arrest at least 50 more people by week's end as it breaks up an Internet child-pornography ring. Gary Johnson, FBI: "Despite the fact that FBI has publicly described this operation, it still continues to be a problem, but the FBI will continue to pursue these individuals that are producing and transmitting child pornograpy, they will be arrested and they will go to prison."

Billy Wayne Hutto works repairing computer mainframes. He has not been arrested but will have to answer the charges in court March 26th.