Four men were arrested in San Jose for allegedly possessing child pornography, authorities said Wednesday.
The Silicon Valley division of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested two San Jose men as part of an ongoing investigation. The men were not a part of a child porn ring, according to police - which means they committed their alleged crimes independent of each other.
Mark Kreifels, 48, and Joseph Pizzalla, 29, were both arrested Wednesday and charged with felony possession of child porn. Two other, Mark Ford, 50, and Keith Keuscher, 25, were also arrested.
The four men are seen below, from left to right, are: Joseph Pizzella, Mark Kreifels, Mark Ford and Keith Keuscher.
NBC Bay Area reporter Damian Trujillo was with the task force when the warrants were issued.
The task force, which is run by the Department of Justice and is made up of both federal and local law enforcement officers, served four warrants in total as part of today's sting.
Local
Officers said they had been watching Kreifels and Pizzalla for weeks. The task force had also tracked other similar cases locally in recent months.
The task force used a mobile forensics van to analyze the men's computers and find on-site evidence, authorities said.
The use of the van allows investigators to collect data instantly instead of having to wait months for labs to analyze hard drives, according to field agents.
Officers said the men were in possession of Internet porn "involving prepubescent children."
Wednesday's arrests were connected with an investigation that led the task force to charge five men in Monterey County with possession of child pornography in November.
Officers said those men did not create the pornography or physically harm any children but they were in possession of disturbing imagery.
