Massachusetts man gets 45 years for 'Dreamboard' child pornography role

SHREVEPORT, La. – A Massachusetts man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison Tuesday for his participation in an international criminal network, known as Dreamboard, which produced and disseminated depictions of graphic child sexual abuse via the internet. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with dozens of other law enforcement agencies, as part of Operation Delego, an ongoing investigation launched in December 2009 targeting Dreamboard members around the world.

David Ettlinger, 35, of Newton, Mass., was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison as well as a lifetime of supervised release following his guilty plea Aug. 15 to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. According to court documents Ettlinger, a former elementary school teacher in Newton, had been an active member of Dreamboard since 2009.

"The sexual abuse of an innocent child by a teacher is one of the most heartbreaking violations of trust imaginable," said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "Investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes is one of our highest priorities and today's sentencing ensures this predator will never again have the opportunity to harm another child." Parmer oversees a five-state region including Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Dreamboard was a members-only, online bulletin board created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of young children in an environment designed to avoid law enforcement detection.

According to court documents, Ettlinger and other Dreamboard members traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting children. Prospective members had to create and share child pornography to gain entry into the group and to maintain membership once accepted. Dreamboard members employed a variety of measures designed to conceal their criminal activity from detection by law enforcement. Members communicated using aliases rather than their actual names and content posted on Dreamboard was encrypted with a password shared only with other members. Members also employed proxy servers to route the group's internet traffic through other computers in an attempt prevent law enforcement from tracing internet activity.

A total of 72 individuals, including Ettlinger, face criminal charges as a result of Operation Delego, which is the largest prosecution in United States history of an online bulletin board network dedicated to child sexual abuse. Fifty-seven of these individuals have been taken in custody; 42 defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and received sentences ranging from ten years to life in prison. Fifteen of the 72 charged individuals remain at large and are known only by their online identities. HSI continues to investigate the case in an effort to identify and apprehend these remaining individuals.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.