STATE

Michael York: Athens investigator on high alert for cyber crime

Joe Johnson
jjohnson@onlineathens.com
Athens-Clarke County police Sgt. Michael York

He once jumped out of planes to serve his country, and now Michael York hunts down cyber criminals to protect his community.

The former U.S. Army paratrooper is currently an Athens-Clarke County police sergeant and supervises the Financial and Cyber Crimes unit. Many of the cases he works involve the sexual exploitation of children through the production and distribution of pornography.

"I firmly believe that the desire to possess child pornography creates a demand for its production," York said. "My goal is to continue to reduce the demand for child pornography one person at a time."

York was born in Texas, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force. When his father retired from the service, his family moved to the Athens area. After graduating from Athens Christian School in 1995, York enlisted with the Army."I was an Air Force brat and was intrigued by the military lifestyle," York said.

He became a paratrooper in 1999.

"Like any 22-year-old, I thought that jumping out of airplanes might be a good idea," he said.

York was discharged in May 2001, and after the terrorist attacks that occurred four months later he considered returning to the military. He worked a federal contract security job while figuring out what to do, and also underwent a lot of training for a possible career in the computer industry to satisfy his needs as a "tech geek." But the dot-com bubble burst and there suddenly were a lot of unemployed computer technicians.

That's when a neighbor and family friend who was an Athens-Clarke County police lieutenant encouraged him to join the force. York was hired by ACCPD in 2003, but left after five years because his pitch for creating a computer forensics unit couldn't find traction. He made the same proposal when filling a slot in the University of Georgia Police Department's computer support group, and Chief Jimmy Williamson "picked it up and ran with it."

As a result, UGAPD became the first law enforcement agency in the region to have computer forensic capabilities.

In early 2011, York again broached the idea of ACCPD having a computer forensics program and this time it was well received by then-Chief Jack Lumpkin, who brought York back to the county department. York became a detective who spent half his time working domestic violence and sex crimes and the other half computer crimes, but he soon found himself working exclusively on cyber crime cases. So far this year, he said, Athens-Clarke County police have processed more digital evidence than in the previous two years combined.

York became a detective who spent half his time working domestic violence and sex crimes and the other half computer crimes, but he soon found himself working exclusively on cyber crime cases. So far this year, he said, Athens-Clarke County police have processed more digital evidence than in the previous two years combined.

York, 37, is married and had two children, ages 4 and 7. His wife is a teacher in the Clarke County School District.

The officer views his current assignment as an extremely important one, with criminals always finding new ways to use computers to steal from and otherwise victimize people. This is especially so when it comes to the distribution of child pornography.

"That is something I feel very strongly about, which is why I pushed so hard for computer forensic capabilities for so long," York said. "There was this big vacuum and we quickly filled it. Essentially, all I did was create more work for myself."

Some people still believe that the act of viewing pornography is a victimless crime, he said, not understanding that children are being assaulted in order to make photos and videos. The more people want to see such images, the more children are abused.

York always cites the case of James "Bart" Huskey to drive home the horrors of child pornography.

Huskey was addicted to images of children and belonged to an international ring that shared them via computer. Each member was expected to provide images if they wanted to remaining the group, so Huskey began making videos of him abusing his own daughter and continued to do so for several years. The so-called "Tara series" of videos became one of the most in-demand child pornography series in the world. Huskey grew more aggressive over time, and his last images were of him wearing a mask while holding a knife to the girl's body. A multi-agency investigation headed by the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force identified the maker of the Tara series as Huskey, who lived in Lafayette, Ga.

"This isn't just something that happens in another part of world or the country, it's in our own back yard," York said.

Even though Huskey in 2009 was sentenced to 70 years in federal prison, his daughter continues to be victimized.

"I come across images from the Tara series in almost every child pornography case I work, because once these images are made they are out there forever," York said. "We've made several ICAC (computer crimes against children) cases in this area. It's going on in our own community and we're here to do our best to stop it."

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