May 13, 8:40 PM EDT Girl in Disney abuse photos found safe By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A young girl who appeared in a series of sexually explicit pictures taken at a Walt Disney World hotel and other locations for the past three years has been found and is now safe, authorities said Friday. The girl has been adopted by a Pittsburgh-area woman, although federal authorities in that city wouldn't say where the girl lives now. The girl was located after officials found a match Thursday in one of several law enforcement databases of child pornography, state and federal officials said. The officials variously gave her age as 11 or 12. The girl had been placed in foster care in 2003 when a man who had previously adopted her, whom authorities believe took the Disney World pictures, was arrested on charges related to trading child Internet porn, said Matt Irwin, a detective for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The man began serving a 15-year-sentence in a federal prison last year. The girl, originally from Russia, was adopted by the suspect when she was 5, Irwin said. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of Pittsburgh confirmed Friday that the girl's former adoptive father is a 46-year-old former resident of Plum Borough, a suburb about 15 miles east of that city. Last year, he was sentenced to 15 years, 8 months in prison for coercing the girl to appear in pornographic photos found on a computer diskette in his house. Buchanan said the man was also sentenced to fund a $200,000 trust for the girl under the Protect Act, which was signed into law in 2003 by President Bush. The law strengthened sentencing guidelines in cases involving the exploitation of children, said Buchanan, who confirmed the girl has since been adopted again. Buchanan said federal authorities in Pittsburgh weren't aware of the Disney World pictures when they prosecuted the girl's father, but said authorities in Florida could prosecute the man for them - if they had evidence that he took them. Buchanan said Allegheny County (Pa.) District Attorney Stephen J. Zappala Jr. asked her for the evidence in the case because he was considering filing charges last year, and she said she forwarded the evidence to Zappala. A spokesman for Zappala's office, contacted after hours Friday, said he did not know the status of the case. But the man's attorney, Stanley Greenfield of Pittsburgh, said Friday that no state charges have been filed. Irwin said authorities were uncertain if they would file any molestation charges against the suspect in Orlando. "I don't want to ever see him out of prison again, but if Pennsylvania can satisfy that for us, there's no sense in dragging the victim through a third trial," Irwin said. "Time is on our side at this point. The bad guy is locked up. The victim is safe." Earlier this year, to show the background of what looked like a hotel room without showing the girl, police in Toronto digitally removed her and made some of the photos public. Tips came in suggesting that the room shown in the images was at the Port Orleans Resort at Disney World. Last month, authorities in Orlando released images of a second girl, who they didn't believe was being molested but who had appeared in photos that shared the same background as the sexually exploited girl. That girl was the victim's neighbor and friend, Irwin said. "She has been determined not to be the victim of any sexual abuse," Irwin said of the neighbor. ICE, the FBI, the Orange County sheriff's office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were all involved in the search. "All of the investigators are really happy she is safe," said Jamie Zuieback, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "This has been a continuing effort to look at all the available resources to try and identify her." The girl has appeared in about 200 explicit photos that have circulated on the Internet for at least three years. --- Associated Press Writer Joe Mandak contributed to this story from Pittsburgh. © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.