Quincy District Court Probation Officer Uses Computer Expertise To Uncover
Child Pornography on Offender's Cell Phone

A sex offender thought he could get away with hiding child pornography and other illicit images he downloaded on his Smartphone. However, Stephen Haddad of Weymouth did not count on meeting with Quincy District Court Probation Officer Philip Landry, a Computer Field Search instructor, who also is part of the High-Technology Probation Enforcement Group.

Haddad, 25, was found in violation of probation, in Quincy District Court and sentenced to a 2 ½ year split sentence, nine months committed. Upon release, his special conditions of probation will include mental health evaluation and treatment, sex offender therapy, no internet access, no pornographic materials, no contact with children under 16, and the forfeiture of his cell phone.

Prior to his meeting with Landry, who was filling in for Haddad's regular Probation Officer, Haddad deleted the pornographic images. The Probation Officer used his expertise to locate a host of websites featuring child pornography as well as email messages containing pornographic material.The offender's conditions of probation include no contact with children, no use of computers for pornography, and sex offender counseling.

During the offender's visit to Quincy District Court, Landry asked the offender if he could search his computer. Haddad told Landry that he did not own a computer but had a cell phone in his possession. When Landry asked to search the man's cell phone, he told Landry that he left it in his car. Landry and the offender walked to Haddad's car. When they reached the car, the offender informed Landry that he thought he may have left his phone at home.

Landry, an 11-year Probation Officer, said he then followed him to his home. When they reached the address, the offender then informed Landry that the phone had been in his console the whole time. Landry then asked to view the cell phone.

“I checked the history of the cell phone and found a number of child pornography sites as well as email messages which confirmed that the offender was attempting to share this information with others,” he said.

Landry ordered the offender back to the court for a detention hearing. Haddad was jailed. Landry secured the cell phone and later turned it over to the Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The detention hearing resulted in him being found in violation of probation and sentenced to incarceration.

Landry's boss, Quincy District Court Probation Officer James Brennan, said, “This extra effort doesn't surprise me. Probation Officer Landry has always gone the extra mile when needed. He has a keen sense of these types of offenders and their activity. He is always a step ahead.”