SAN RAFAEL — Authorities with a warrant in hand, took a man into custody for child pornography last week. This suspect was located and arrested inside his residence, as part of a larger ongoing investigation.
His arrest resulted from an investigation launched last summer. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children initiated contact with the San Rafael Police Department in July with concerns about child pornography in Marin County.
The NCMEC works with law enforcement agencies nationwide, by forwarding information to local police. It discovered some disturbing information in the San Francisco Bay area, which prompted a multi-agency investigation.
Among other actions, SRPD was notified that a pornographic picture of a child was uploaded on the internet. The identity of the suspect, his whereabouts and extent of the pornography remained unknown for a while.
San Rafael detectives worked in coordination with the San Jose-based Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. After executing a series of search warrants, detectives were able to determine the precise location where the pornography was uploaded.
During one of those searches, detectives seized numerous electronics and data storage devices from a home located on C Street. A forensic analysis of seized equipment followed, conducted by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force.
The findings were shocking in scope. This forensic analysis uncovered hundreds of child pornography videos and thousands of other child pornography images.
In addition, a suspect was identified and a case against him was prepared for review by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.
On January 10, Paul Ebbert, a 50-year-old landscaper, was taken into custody at 1:40 p.m., without further incident.
Ebbert is being housed at the Marin County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. His charge is sending obscene matter to persons under 18 years of age.
Investigation of child pornography remains ongoing. Anyone with information, can contact SRPD at 415-485-3000. Tips can be submitted online at http://www.srpd.org/tips.
