Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2001
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
AG
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT APPOINTS ANDREW G. OOSTERBAAN AS
CHIEF OF THE CHILD EXPLOITATION AND OBSCENITY SECTION


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney General John Ashcroft today appointed Andrew Oosterbaan to serve as Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) within the Department's Criminal Division.

"Andrew Oosterbaan is a strong leader and aggressive career prosecutor who will diligently investigate and prosecute child exploitation and obscenity crimes," Ashcroft said. "Andrew's many years of experience in complex criminal matters should put on notice those who seek to exploit children or violate our nation's obscenity laws will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

Oosterbaan has served as the Deputy Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Criminal Division since January 2000. In this position, he managed nationwide criminal investigations and prosecutions involving online child exploitation, obscenity, and trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes. He helped devise, implement, and manage Operation Avalanche, a first-of-its-kind undercover initiative involving unprecedented cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement to protect children in cyberspace by targeting thousands of subscribers to online child pornography web sites. Furthermore, he developed greater and more effective coordination between CEOS and the federal law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating child exploitation and obscenity offenses.

Prior to serving as Deputy Chief of CEOS, Oosterbaan was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida for nearly ten years. He managed a trial-intensive section and individually handled complex grand jury investigations and prosecutions involving public corruption, violent crime, computerized child pornography/exploitation, and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592. He designed and implemented several successful violent crime initiatives in coordination with federal and state law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations. For his work on the investigation of Flight 592, he received the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service.

Oosterbaan received his undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University in 1981 and his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1985. He served four years in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corp. He is married and has one son.

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