Robert Carey worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for more than 30 years. Agents say that for the last 10 years, Carey had been downloading millions of pornographic images of children onto his work computer. When agents found out, Carey went on the run... but he couldn't handle the pressure of being a wanted man. »The Full Story
Most people describe Robert Martin Carey as a loner. He has worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for more than 30 years. Because he was working with satellite images, it wasn't uncommon for him to download a lot of large images onto his work computer on a daily basis. What no one knew was that a majority of the images being downloaded were child pornography, according to police. Cops say more than a million images had been downloaded over a ten-year span.
Some heightened security measures led the government to take a look at what Carey was really downloading. For the past several months, agents from the Office of Inspector General have been investigating the case. While searching Carey's office and apartment, agents say they collected a cache of filth -- millions of images on 3 computers, more than 3,000 CDs, 35 mm slides, VHS tapes and mountains of books and magazines. Police say almost all were child pornography.
Most disturbing to agents was the discovery of a full pictorial history of Carey allegedly sexually abusing and exploiting young girls. The pictures appear to have been taken over a period of several years. Agents are hoping to identify the young girls, and trying to find out if there may be any more victims.
With the help of the
Agents say that they tracked Carey to a home in
Agents received information that Carey caught a flight to
Just two days after being on America's Most Wanted, Robert Carey turned himself in to authorities in Rome. Agents say that Carey called the U.S. Embassy on Janurary 23, 2005 and told them he was a wanted fugitive. He explained to the Embassy that he wanted to turn himself in. Agents believe that Carey heard he was featured on America's Most Wanted and decided that it would be too hard to remain anonymous. Carey is now waiting for extradition back to the U.S.