BOSTON, June 13, 2013—A Roslindale man was charged with possessing and distributing child pornography after Boston Police executed a search warrant based on a tip from an online file storage service, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOEL VAN IDERSTINE (D.O.B. 9/20/75) was arraigned today in West Roxbury District Court, where Assistant District Attorney Courtney Doherty recommended $50,000 cash bail and a variety of orders that he stay away from children under 16. Judge Ernest Sarason imposed $5,000 cash bail.

Conley said the investigation began when an image hosting web site notified the New England Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a client had uploaded several files depicting child pornography. Through its CyberTip program, NCMEC relayed that information to the Massachusetts Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, of which the Boston Police Department is a partner agency.

Boston Police detectives viewed still and video images associated with the tape and immediately recognized them to depict child pornography.

“These files were very graphic and very disturbing,” Conley said. “They were unquestionably sexual and unquestionably victimized children.”

Based on the detectives’ observations, Suffolk prosecutors used an administrative subpoena to obtain the subscriber information linked to the internet protocol address from which the files were uploaded. An IP address is a code assigned by an internet access provider identifying a computer on a network; the subscriber information links that code to a specific customer at a specific street address. In this case, the subscriber information led directly to Van Iderstine at his Sheffield Road residence.

Detectives recovered multiple child pornography files during the search warrant execution and placed Van Iderstine under arrest last night. He was represented at today’s proceedings by attorney Sarah McClean and will return to court on July 11.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.