IV.

Late in the summer of 2016, Faulkner made an out-of-the-blue suggestion to his roommate Gordon: They should take a road trip to Washington, D.C.

Gordon agreed, and as they were nearing the nation's capital, Faulkner told Gordon that they would also be meeting up with his friend Patrick.

Gordon had arranged for accommodations at a relative’s home in the nearby woods of Virginia. Despite Faulkner’s sudden announcement of a third guest, there was room enough for all at the house.

What they didn't realize is that when Faulkner and Gordon crossed into the U.S. on Sept. 30, 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted Homeland Security, which relayed the information to Canadian and Australian officials.

When Faulkner crossed the U.S.-Canadian border, it got the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

When Faulkner crossed the U.S.-Canadian border, it got the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

Faulkner’s entry into the U.S. also prompted Homeland Security officers to check in on Falte. Weeks before, they had attached a tracking device to his car in Tennessee. They found that he, too, was on his way to Washington in early October, and realized that Faulkner and Falte were going to meet up.

Homeland Security agents tracked Falte’s car to the Virginia home of Gordon's relatives, and when they saw that Faulkner’s car was also there, they put in a request for a search warrant of the house. The agents then spent the next days watching them.

On Oct. 1, Faulkner told Gordon that he and Falte had to go off and do something and wouldn’t be available again until the following afternoon. Oct. 1 happened to be Gordon’s 22nd birthday, and Faulkner gave him a wad of cash — around $300 — and told him to enjoy himself.

Faulkner and Falte left together in Falte's car. Homeland Security tracked the vehicle to a hotel in Manassas, Va. In the evening, the car was tracked to a private residence in Manassas, and then back to the hotel.

The next morning, Oct. 2, Faulkner and Falte left the hotel and met up with Gordon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. They later walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.

The three of them eventually drove back to Gordon's relatives' place in Virginia to sleep. The plan the next day was for Gordon and Faulkner to head back to Canada, while Falte returned to Tennessee.



***

The following morning, just before 7 a.m., Gordon was awoken by the sound of the front door crashing down, dogs barking and people screaming.

"It was just pure shock. I had no idea what was going on,” Gordon said.

He peered out of the windows of the bedroom and saw the narrow driveway clogged with big black vehicles — police cars and FBI vans.

He opened the bedroom door and saw a man standing at the top of the stairs, holding a big gun. He told Gordon to put his hands in the air, and directed him to the wall beside him.

Looking into Faulkner’s room, Gordon said, "All I can see is Ben's face down on the floor. He looked like he was getting crunched by this big police officer who was on top of him restraining him."

"That was the last time I ever saw Ben."

Gordon himself was taken downstairs and handcuffed to a chair, as 15 to 20 police officers scoured the house.

The officers asked Gordon why he came to Washington and if he knew what Faulkner was doing online. They also stressed that there would be ramifications if he was withholding information or lying.

They asked Gordon if he had a computer (yes), if he had ever watched pornography (yes) and if he had ever watched child pornography.

“And I said, 'No, absolutely not.'”

The agent then asked if Gordon knew what Faulkner was doing the night he had gone out on his own.

"I said I honestly don't know what Ben was doing. And she said, 'Gordon, on Saturday night, Ben raped a four-year-old girl.'"

It was like the floor crumbled beneath him. Every conversation Gordon had ever had with his roommate had a new context to it.

And this is why Faulkner had wanted to go to Washington.

"It was a punch to the stomach, really," Gordon said.

Faulkner and Falte were sentenced to 35 years for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. (VG)

Faulkner and Falte were sentenced to 35 years for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. (VG)

During their search of the Virginia house, Homeland Security agents found a video camera Faulkner had brought with him from Canada, and they found a series of pictures and videos of a four-year-old girl being sexually abused.

Faulkner admitted to the abuse and identified himself in at least one of those images. The father of the girl, who was eventually arrested, too, had been operating the camera.

Online as Warhead, Faulkner had often boasted that if he was ever arrested, he would take every possible measure to keep police from accessing information about Childs Play and its members.

But upon being arrested, Faulkner gave it all up. Within minutes, he gave Homeland Security his usernames, passwords and encryption keys.

* * *

Shortly after Faulkner was apprehended, his relative Jen received a call from Homeland Security, who informed her that someone with whom she had a close relationship had recently been arrested.

She and her husband met with an agent outside a local diner near their home. Jen expected them to say that Faulkner’s hacking had landed him in some kind of trouble. Instead, one of the agents opened up a big manila folder, pulled out an image and said, "Is this one of your children?"

"And I was like, holy shit. What has he done?"

Jen was shown a series of photos including ones of their playroom floor, her baby's clothes, their toys, the house, the bathroom, bath mat and bath toys.

"Whoa, OK. Well, Ben's a pedophile."

The agents told Jen that they needed her to get her kids because they had set up an appointment with Child Protective Services for a forensic interview of her oldest child.

"How do you describe the moment your core is blown apart by another person?"

When asked about this revelation, Jen said, “How do you describe the moment your core is blown apart by another person?”

But it wasn't over. Child Protective Services later asked Jen to book another appointment for her kids, this time for a physical examination.

They had received some new information: Faulkner had admitted to attempting oral sex with one of the children, and they needed to do blood and urine samples to check them for STDs.

Listen to Episode 4 of Hunting Warhead when 'Jen' finds out disturbing news about her relative, Ben Faulkner: