Marine recruiter accused of using Facebook to get nude photos

A Wisconsin Marine recruiter who worked at an office in Ashwaubenon has been jailed after police say an investigation revealed he used a recruit’s Facebook account to obtain and distribute photos of young girls.

According to authorities, Sgt. Andrew Curran, 27, of Green Bay, told a male recruit that he needed his email and Facebook information to conduct background checks. Then, say police, Curran logged in to the account and began contacting the young man’s female friends and asking them for nude photos. Posing as the recruit, Curran allegedly asked the young women for their email addresses and passwords, telling them he was at boot camp and couldn’t access his own account. Normally at basic training, recruits are prohibited access to the internet at all.

The gig was up when the recruit’s mother saw suspicious activity on her son’s Facebook page while he was away at boot camp. The Appleton Post Crescent reports that police in Elmhurst, Ill., were already investigating several emails that had been illegally accessed, and photos of girls that had been posted to a porn site. When investigators traced the activity, they saw that it led back to a U.S. Government server and got the Navy involved.

Curran was arrested and charged Tuesday with five felony counts of child pornography and two felony counts of misusing personal information. If convicted, he faces up to 137 years in prison. A search of his computer allegedly turned up several child porn images.

Photo of Sgt. Andrew Curran via CrimeLibrary