Mobile Lab Can Investigate Child Pornography On-Site

Local law enforcement has a new tool in investigating online sexual predators -- the Mobile Forensic Lab.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, who chairs the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, unveiled the new lab.

The first of its kind in the state, the lab will eliminate the need to take computers and hard drives to an off-site lab to be analyzed.

Now, investigators will be able to determine within minutes of executing a search warrant whether a suspect has downloaded or traded child pornography on a computer or other device.

“The mobile forensic lab will bring state of the art technology to the doorsteps of the sexual predators," Mason said in a news release.

The lab vehicle has interior and exterior forensic work stations and an interview room.

It is being made available to all Ohio ICAC-affiliated agencies – including Strongsville – to support investigations, forensic analysis, operations/surveillance, and investigations involving Internet child pornography.

Mason created the Northeast Ohio ICAC Task Force in 2000 to combat the rise of Internet crime against children. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Mason to expand the Task Force across Ohio, and to serve as the Task Force statewide chairman.

The task force now has 318 law enforcement partner agencies across Ohio.

Since its inception, it boasts a 100 percent conviction rate.