The US has charged 72 suspected members of a sophisticated online child pornography ring that "incentivised" its members to engage in sexual acts with children and submit gruesome, violent material to build a massive private database that catered to pedophiles.
The US has charged 72 suspected members of a sophisticated online child pornography ring that "incentivised" its members to engage in sexual acts with children and submit gruesome, violent material to build a massive private database that catered to pedophiles.
ADVERTISEMENT
The crackdown is the result of a joint effort by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security launched in December 2009 to target about 500 people in 13 countries on five continents for their suspected participation in "Dreamboard," a members-only online bulletin board that was created to encourage the sharing of graphic images and videos.
According to court documents filed in Louisiana, where the ring originated, administrators for Dreamboard set up strict barriers to entry and created a sophisticated membership system that offered incentives for further contributions to the website.
Individuals had to post child pornography in order to join the site.
To maintain membership, individuals were required to continue to upload images of sexual abuse.
"The rules of Dreamboard were clear and they encouraged, and incentivised, the creation of child pornography," US Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday.
Of the 72 charged, 43 have been arrested in the US and nine abroad.
Another 20 are known to authorities only by their Internet names and remain at large.
Authorities have arrested people in 13 countries: Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland.
"Operation Delego represents the largest prosecution in history of individuals who participated in an online child exploitation enterprise conceived and operated for the sole purpose of promoting child sexual abuse, disseminating child pornography, and evading law enforcement," Holder said at a press conference.
Already, 13 of those charged have pleaded guilty and four individuals have received sentences of 20-30 years in prison, he said.
"Dreamboard was, according to court documents, a self- described global "community" of pedophiles, dedicated to the relentless victimisation and exploitation of children 12 and younger. Words cannot describe how horrific the enterprise's alleged crimes were," Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer said.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
