Child Porn Ring Bust, 72 Charged, 50 Arrested

[The Straight Story]

Twenty Members to be Found in Child Porn Ring Bust, 72 Charged, 50 Arrested

In the major bust of an online child pornography ring that originated in Louisiana, the Department of Justice and Homeland Security have charged 72 people for their involvement in the an online bulletin where images and videos of child sexual abuse were traded.

The bust, nicknamed Operation Delego, has been tracking the activities of a member-only online forum called Dreamboard since 2009. Dreamboard is dedicated to the distribution of child pornography and the promotion and pedophilia and sexual abuse toward very young children.

According to officials, Dreamboard hosted over 500 members, living in five continents and 14 countries.

“The members of this criminal network shared a demented dream to create the preeminent online community for the promotion of child sexual exploitation," said Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday. "But for the children they victimized, this was nothing short of a nightmare."

...

“In many cases, the children being victimized were in obvious and intentional pain, even in distress and crying, just as the rules for one area of the bulletin board mandated,” Holder said.

http://newyork.christianpost.com/news/twenty-members-to-be-found-in-child-porn-ring-bust-72-charged-50-arrested-53303/

[Brickbat]

1. While I deplore vigilante justice, especially "prison justice," I have a hard time feeling bad about

what might face these perps in prison. If they can feel even a fraction of what they forced onto those children, there is a part of me that does not have a problem with that at all.

[alp227]

17. I've heard that most general population prisoners don't like child abusers nt

[Frank Cannon]

21. Probably because many of them were abused themselves.

As they say, paybacks are hell.

[callous taoboy]

2. Some humans ain't human...

[lonestarnot]

18. Ain't that the truth!

[xfundy]

3. Originated in a red state.

I'm Shocked. 

These bastards need to be caught. What sort of sick individual would get off on someone else's pain? (Other than Republicans, I mean.)

The children will possibly grow up to be offenders themselves, without help. No, can't afford that.

[lonestarnot]

19. So figures!

[wilt the stilt]

4. Republican convention

I bat 90% of these people are republicans.

[proverbialwisdom]

5. 'Our nation’s fight to protect the rights, interests, and safety of children goes on...'

...'said Attorney General Holder. “This operation marks another important step forward in our work to protect children across - and beyond - this country. Our nation’s fight to protect the rights, interests, and safety of children goes on, and it will continue to be a top priority of this Justice Department.”

“This operation is an example of the good work that DHS, through its principal investigative arm, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), does every year in cooperation with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to protect children,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We take our responsibility to protect our children seriously, and this case is a prime example of how cooperation can bring real results.”

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/August/11-ag-1001.html

Attorney General and DHS Secretary Announce Largest U.S. Prosecution of International Criminal Network Organized to Sexually Exploit Children

Members of Online Child Pornography Community Arrested on Five Continents

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today the unsealing of three indictments and one complaint charging a total of 72 individuals for their participation in an international criminal network dedicated to the sexual abuse of children and the creation and dissemination of graphic images and videos of child sexual abuse throughout the world. Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano announced the charges with Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Director of U.S. Immigration of Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton and U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley of the Western District of Louisiana.

Operation Delego, an ongoing investigation that was launched in December 2009, targeted the 72 charged defendants and more than 500 additional individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard – a private, members-only, online bulletin board that was created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of very young children, in an environment designed to avoid law enforcement detection. To date, 52 of the 72 charged defendants have been arrested in the United States and abroad. Members traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting children 12 years-old and under, often violently, and collectively created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse. The international group prized and encouraged the creation of new images and videos of child sexual abuse – numerous Dreamboard members sexually abused children, produced images and videos of the abuse, and shared the images and videos with other members of Dreamboard. Operation Delego represents the largest prosecution to date in the United States of individuals who participated in an online bulletin board conceived and operated for the sole purpose of promoting child sexual abuse, disseminating child pornography and evading law enforcement...

MORE AT LINK.

Related:
http://promisetoprotect.org/
http://protect.org/

Related:
The film ran for 3 weeks and grossed only $0.1M but is ESSENTIAL VIEWING.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4483

NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN

“Trust” is Described as a Frightening Call to Action that Every Parent and Teenager Need to See

ALEXANDRIA, VA—April 12, 2011. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) today praised director David Schwimmer for his new film, “Trust.” The movie tells the story of a typical child predator who uses the Internet to gain access to a young victim, preys upon her vulnerability, wins her confidence and ultimately victimizes her.

“It is a riveting drama. It is also an important film because, even though it is fiction, it shows how offenders seduce their victims by being patient, methodical and building confidence and trust over a long period of time,” said Ernie Allen, President & CEO of NCMEC. “Most of these offenders do not match society’s stereotype. Many of them are charming and attractive. All of them are manipulative. Law enforcement uses a chilling term to describe the slow, methodical process by which they gain a victim’s confidence. They call it ‘grooming’.”

The film is also a powerful depiction of the human dynamics associated with these terrible crimes. These crimes are the ultimate violation of a child’s trust. They shatter a child’s sense of being and shake a family foundation to the core.

Yet, despite this stark, disturbing portrayal, there is hope. The film also demonstrates that more is being done today by the FBI and others than ever before to address these crimes, track these offenders and protect America’s children.

David Schwimmer’s “Trust” is a film that every parent and every teenager needs to see. The film is frightening and disturbing but it is also a call to action. We hope the film will awaken the nation and motivate America’s parents to learn more and do more to keep their children safe....

MORE AT LINK.

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/locally-filmed-movie-trust-released-on-dvd-blu-ray-today/

Locally filmed movie 'Trust' released on DVD, Blu-ray
Posted: Thu, Jul 28, 2011 : 9:37 a.m

David Schwimmer’s 2010 movie “Trust” was shot in Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Plymouth at the end of 2009. If you missed its local premier at the Michigan Theater on July 10 or its limited run in selected cities, then you can now get your hands on a copy of the film on DVD or Blu-ray.

“Trust” is a drama starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener as the parents of a 14-year-old girl (Liana Liberato) who is sexually assaulted after meeting an online friend who she believes is 16 years old but is really a 30-something child predator (Chris Henry Coffey)...

MORE AT LINK.

[JanMichael]

6. What about individual (I can do whatever I want) & property (animals and people) RIGHTS!!??

Just kidding. These people are fucking scum and should be locked up forever.

[Danger Mouse]

7. The lowest form of scum.

[Whisp]

12. I could kill one of these animals.

without regret.

[Danger Mouse]

14. Can't say the same....don't know I could ever take another human being's life...

...but if one of these shits hurt somebody I cared about, it'd be awful tempting.

[Pisces]

8. Sick, Sick, sick. Articles like this inspire people to vigilante justice. 20 yrs is not enough for a

child rapist.

[MinneapolisMatt]

9. I want NAMES.

This is not something you just "stumble into". Everyone busted knew EXACTLY what they were doing. I WANT NAMES.

[Dreamer Tatum]

13. Why?

What do you plan to do?

[proverbialwisdom]

10. Huge applause for everyone working on this lengthy investigation.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/child-porn-ring-put-kids-obvious-intentional-pain/story?id=14222833

...Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the child porn network was extensive.

"The board may have been the vehicle for the distribution of up to 123 terabytes of child pornography, which is roughly equivalent to nearly 16,000 DVD's," she said.

Of the 72 people charged, 52 have been arrested -- 43 of them in the United States and nine abroad. Thirteen have already pleaded guilty...

With the investigation continuing, Holder had a warning for those still engaged in child pornography.

"We will find you, we will stop you, and we will bring you to justice," he said.

[FLAprogressive]

11. I don't know how they can do it, because don't they actually have to look at the stuff?

I couldn't do it. :scared:

[proverbialwisdom]

15. Progress in computer forensics described here.

http://www.wate.com/story/14293394/mini-super-computer-helping-knoxville-officers-catch-more-child-sex-predators?redirected=true

Posted: Mar 21, 2011 6:02 PM EDT

National Organization to Protect Children
ORNL news release: Oak Ridge computer helps Knoxville officers catch child sex predators

By ERICA ESTEP
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Knoxville police are teaming up with Oak Ridge National Lab researchers to put more computer power into the fight against child sexual predators. A new mini-super computer will decrease an investigators work load, helping find those who prey on children faster than ever. Nicknamed Zeus, the loud and powerful computer at the Knoxville headquarters of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has a big job. The National Association to Protect Children donated the computer.

"This computer is a forensics monster that's going to change the game for law enforcement everywhere," said actor David Keith. The computer is being used to enhance a computer program named Artemis, which was developed by ORNL scientists. "Oak Ridge developed a thumb drive that you can stick in a bad guy's computer that downloads the child pornography in 15 minutes," explained Keith. "That used to take weeks."

With the software, the computer can quickly scan and search out computer addresses of people trafficking child porn. "Prior to our involvement officers had to manually look at every image on the computer," said Chris Boehnen, an ORNL scientist who helped develop the program. "When you could be talking about 100,000 images, half a million, a million images, it's a lot of time to scroll through those images and find the ones that you're interested in." Boehnen demonstrated how the software works using non-pornographic photos of women in bathing suits. He explained how the computer scans the images, then ranks them in the order of likelihood of child pornography by using key indicators like faces and the amount of skin shown. "That computer could handle three cases where we'd have to sit on one case at a time," said Mel Pierce, a Knoxville Police investigator and member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, "and it'd take three to four hours to process it, 40 hours to go through every file."

Officer Pierce showed the monumental task he and other members of the task force are up against every day with a map of Tennessee covered in red dots. Each dot represented a computer that has accessed what appears to be child pornography images in just the last 30-days. The entire state of TN was covered in red. When Officer Pierce highlighted Knoxville, it looked like a fireworks display lit up with dozens of computer IP addresses. "I think that one says it all. That's just in 30 days in and around Knoxville," said Pierce. "I think that should alarm every one."

<...>

[FLAprogressive]

16. wow that's a great advancement.

[BR_Parkway]

20. While the computer program advance sounds incredible - the whole state in red dots

comment makes me question the programs accuracy.

Are there really that many people into child porn? Or is the computer being a little overzealous here - which could cost folks their whole lives if falsely accused.

And if it's accurate, geeze what a sick society we've become

[SwampG8r]

22. it isnt looking for porn per se

its looking for images that MAY be porn
as much as i applaud their efforts and hope they catch every one of them i wonder how long before they use the info to obtain search warrants for those possible uses
i would hazard a guess that if you looked at childrens bathing suits online you would be one of those dots

[Shandris]

23. Remember that it also takes into account those who didn't solicit it but...

...accessed it on accident. Example, porn upload sites. Someone could click on an adult link and find that it leads to a non-adult link (not commonly, but I'd suspect there's more than a little of that, especially in places like Rapidshare or Demonoid). Also there's the consideration that some actual adult actors don't LOOK like adult actors, and they use an 'appearance' test in convicting people.

I'm sure there are other examples, but these two obvious ones come to mind. And in the case of people who've gotten a bad DL on say, Rapidshare...it makes no difference that they turned on the DL and let it play for all of 1.5 seconds before realizing what they have and instantly turning it off and deleting it...it still registers. The play length, on the other hand, doesn't.

People are so afraid to turn in child porn because of the witch-hunt type hysteria around it that it actually DE-legitimizes what might well be otherwise effective self-policing by the internet crowd who hates that kind of thing unless they're of Anonymous-level skills.