School Bus Driver Arrested by FBI on Child Pornography Charges

NEWARK, NJ—Today, Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced the arrest of William C. Murphy, age 58, on charges of possession of child pornography. Murphy is employed as a school bus driver.

On March 25, 2009, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Murphy’s residence at 21 Butler Place, Haskell, New Jersey. Law enforcement returned the following day to arrest Murphy.

Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun remarked: “This is especially disturbing considering Mr. Murphy’s occupation. However, it’s not uncommon to find people allegedly involved in child pornography also engaged in activities that place them in close proximity to children. The public should know that we have been in contact with the bus company and they are cooperating with law enforcement.”

The public should be aware of the risks and dangers associated with the use of peer-to-peer networks. Peer-to-peer networks allow users connected to the Internet to link their computers with other computers around the world. These networks are established for the purpose of sharing files and are often free. Users of these networks typically need to install software on their computers which allows them (1) to find and download files located on another Peer-to-Peer user’s hard drive, and (2) to share with those other users files located on their own computer–including computer viruses and worms. These information sharing networks also tend to be breeding grounds for criminal activity including copyright infringement (i.e., illegal music and movie downloads), computer hacking, and child exploitation and obscenity. Pedophiles tend to prefer these networks because of the anonymity the networks offer. 

Murphy is scheduled for an initial appearance today before the Honorable Esther Salas, United States Magistrate Judge. A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This investigation is ongoing.

Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun commends the Newark FBI agents of the Innocent Images group for their rapid response and successful apprehension of William Murphy. The public is encouraged to research cyber crime and peer-to-peer networks on FBI.gov. As always, anyone with information about a possible federal crime is encouraged to call the FBI at (973) 792-3020. Anyone with information about crimes occurring online should visit www.ic3.gov to report them.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman, District of New Jersey.