Alleged pedophile put ‘copyright’ on homemade child porn video, police say

Court documents allege 22-year-old Dashawn Webster videotaped himself molesting a 2-year-old boy in 2016, and then posted photos from the scene online, The Virginian-Pilot reports.

In a perplexing twist, authorities say the alleged pedophile, who babysat children at his home, watermarked the video and images with a screen name he used online, and included the word “copyright.” Two investigations into multiple screen names involving the disturbing material revealed that the screen names traced back to Webster, according to authorities.

Homeland Security Investigation (HS) agents said, with assistance from Cox Communications, that investigators linked online postings from one of the screen names Webster used, to an old address he previously lived at in Portsmouth, Virginia. Authorities later determined the alleged child molester lived next door to that address.

Detectives recovered a thumb drive from one of the cases while searching another suspect’s home, reports WTKR, adding that 15 images bearing the watermark and copyright Webster allegedly used were found on the drive.

Upon further investigation, agents found five videos of a man engaging in sex acts with a young boy, documents state.

While searching the suspect’s home last Friday, investigators said Webster confessed to producing the content on the thumb drive, adding that the man confirmed the abused child was only two years old at the time the images were made. Authorities said when they found Webster, he was babysitting two boys at his home. He was subsequently arrested.

A neighbor of the suspect told CBS 3 that the alleged abuse made her “sick.” She described Webster as a recluse, saying; “He never goes out. He’s always there.”

Webster is currently being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail. Authorities said he waived both hearings that were scheduled for Wednesday.

[Feature photo: Western Tidewater Regional Jail]