[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E20]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING INVESTIGATOR MAGGI HOLBROOK WITH THE VANCOUVER POLICE 
                               DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 2017

  Ms. BEUTLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of 
Investigator Maggi Holbrook with the Vancouver Police Department, and 
recognize her contributions to Southwest Washington during 16 years of 
public service.
  Investigator Holbrook's dedication to the community can be seen 
through her long service to the Vancouver, Washington, Seattle, 
Washington, and Portland, Oregon areas. In the Vancouver Police 
Department, she established a Digital Evidence Cybercrimes Unit that 
has worked on or assisted all levels of crimes. In addition, 
Investigator Holbrook was an invaluable resource for the Washington 
State Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the 
Seattle Police Department. Her efforts of the task force to 
investigate, prosecute and convict those individuals who would harm 
vulnerable children are admirable.
  As one of the first investigators in Washington certified in Peer to 
Peer child pornography investigations, Investigator Holbrook brought 
her proactive approach to child sexual exploitation investigations. She 
quickly became proficient in the very technical and labor intensive 
methods for identifying Internet Protocol addresses of offenders 
offering to share child pornography files across the Internet. Through 
these cases, she identified one child sexual-abuser after another and 
used the expertise and credibility she'd developed to convict them in 
court. Investigator Holbrook is considered a leading expert in these 
types of investigations, has certified hundreds of other investigators 
in the use of Peer to Peer investigative technology and assisted many 
more with investigations.
  Due to Investigator Holbrook's hard work and collaborative nature, 
she paved the way for the Vancouver Police Department to become an 
Affiliate Agency for the Department of Justice's Internet Crimes 
Against Children Task Force in Washington State. Through this task 
force, Investigator Holbrook has made hundreds of referrals to agencies 
statewide and internationally that have resulted in the arrest and 
conviction of numerous Child Sexual Exploitation offenders.
  For example, Investigator Holbrook was called to conduct the 
forensics on a particularly difficult child pornography case where 
proving possession was critical to obtain a successful prosecution. 
Investigator Holbrook initially identified a Peer to Peer user sharing 
child pornography and forwarded this information to Cowlitz County 
authorities for investigation. The resulting search warrant led to the 
identification and seizure of 13 child pornography files on the 
defendant's computer. Further investigation, however, revealed the 
defendant had successfully deleted hundreds of files that he had been 
sharing over the course of eighteen months. Holbrook assisted the 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Grady Leupold and the team who successfully 
litigated the perpetrator. Investigator Holbrook's selfless dedication 
to an investigation far beyond her case responsibility played a pivotal 
role in bringing this person to justice.
  Over the years, Investigator Holbrook has been a tremendous and 
valuable partner to law enforcement agencies across the state as well 
as many federal partners: Department of Homeland Security Child 
Exploitation Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. 
Marshals Service, the United States Postal Service and the U.S. Secret 
Service.
  Holbrook has had an outstanding career that has been dedicated in not 
only the successful criminal investigations and rescues of children, 
but in building resources to assist others in their efforts. Her work 
have contributed to training the next generation of investigators, 
forensic examiners and even prosecutors to carry on this extremely 
necessary and valuable work.
  Southwest Washington is proud to have had such an extremely talented 
and dedicated individual as Investigator Holbrook. Her contributions 
and accomplishments in support of the Washington State ICAC Task Force 
mission will positively impact Southwest Washington for generations to 
come. I want to thank Investigator Holbrook for her tireless work and 
congratulate her on her retirement.

                          ____________________