An NYPD Detective has come out of retirement to get his man, an accused child porn collector featured as WMW’s top fugitive of 2011.
Det. Yanti “Mike” Greene says Fred Hardy told him he was "tired of running and the pressure was just too much” and Washington’s Most Wanted played a major part in his decision to surrender Friday in Pittspurgh, Pennsylvania.
Hardy had been in hiding since 2008 when cops in New York found thousands of images of extremely disturbing child porn on his computer, some showing babies as young as six months old engaged in explicit sex acts with men and women. Detective Greene says the images of child porn were so disgusting, a forensic examiner quit because he couldn't deal with what he was seeing. Hardy worked as a babysitter and child day care worker for infants and children up to 5 years old.
He was first featured on Washington’s Most Wanted in 2010 when Det. Greene developed information that Hardy could be in the Seattle area where he has family and again in late 2011 as #1 on WMW’s “Top Ten” list.
Det. Greene had just retired a week ago to run for Sheriff in Orange County, Florida when he got the call that Hardy had turned himself in. He came out of his short-lived retirement to drive to Pittsburgh, and personally bring Hardy back to New York. He says Hardy changed his appearance and now has, “shaggy brown hair that hands down on his face. He also took out his piercings. You wouldn’t have known it was him if you’d walked by him on the street.” Det. Greene will return to active duty for all of Hardy’s court appearances.
Investigators believed Hardy to be a known drifter, but had personal ties in the states of New York, New Mexico, Washington State, Louisiana, Connecticut and Virginia.
Hardy appeared before a judge Sunday night in Manhattan, and is being held without bail at Riker’s Island.
A Grand Jury will hear the case later this week.
Original Story:
He's good at running under the radar, after cops in New York found thousands of images of extremely disturbing child porn on his computer.
He's wanted in the 'Big Apple', but could be hiding out right here in Washington, where he's originally from.
You've seen his many faces before since we first started featuring him earlier this year, including a sketch by a Seattle cop. But now, a new photo of him has been given to us by the New York detective working the case, and it's the most recent one we've seen yet!
Take a look at it:
It's from a MySpace page, likely taken about two years ago, and showing just how diverse he can look compared to those other photos and that sketch!
The hunt for Hardy is really striking a cord with cops everywhere. Detectives say the images of child porn were so disgusting, a forensic examiner quit because he couldn't deal with what what he was seeing.
Hardy took off two years ago when he found out cops had checked out his computer, and hasn't been seen since.
Here's the details on FRED HARDY:
- Age: 31
- Eyes: Blue
- Hair: Blonde, but could be any color now
If you have any information about Hardy call: Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS
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UPDATE (9/2/10): Sister speaks to WMW about her fugitive brother!
An accused child porn perp from Big Apple may be hiding in Seattle area.
New York Police detectives contacted Washington's Most Wanted to ask the public to be aware of Fred Hardy.
The police department provided us with these black and white photos but say they may be about 10 years old. Since then, Seattle police Ofc. Sylvia Parker, a trained forensic artist, has joined in the search by drawing a sketch of what Hardy might look like now.
Detectives say in 2008, Hardy left New York City immediately after a search warrant was done on his personal computer. They say tens of thousands of video and still images of children (boys as young as 6 months old) engaged in explicit sex acts with men and women were found on his computer.
He is believed to be a known drifter, but has personal ties in the states of New York, New Mexico, Washington State, Louisiana, Connecticut and Virginia.
The detective in charge of the case says Hardy's mother and adult brothers and sisters live in the Seattle area. He says Hardy has no problem living in the woods or taking on 'off the books' employment. He has probably changed his appearance ( hair color, etc.) .
SPD Ofc. Parker says since he may be living life on the run and on the streets, he's probably lost some weight and there would be other slight changes in how he appears. "Giving him a little bit of age. I work those in. The eyelids in 10 years would have begun to sag a little, not a whole lot, but he has a pretty prounounced fold there. Every person has a certain look that they keep throughout their lives, so it's essential to kind of capture that. I tried doing that with his eyes and with his jaw structure because that's pretty distinctive if you look at it. He has a fairly pronounced jaw."
Investigators are particularily worried about Hardy because of the fear surrounding the progression of these types of crimes. Viewing child porn often develops into the viewer wanting to actually participate. Hardy was a babysitter and child day care worker for babies and children up to 5 yrs old.
The detective working Hardy's case says out of the hundreds of fugitives he's hunting - Hardy is his number one priority!
