Child porn case nets local man

[The Straight Story]

Child porn case nets local man
(NY)

A Cohoes man is among six dozen people on five continents indicted on criminal charges in what federal authorities have described as the largest investigation in U.S. history into a global child exploitation ring dubbed Operation Delego.

Search and arrest warrants were carried out against Benet Schmidt and two other Upstate men, Chris Luke of Kenmore in Erie County and Todd Stumpf of Buffalo, all of whom belong to a group called Dreamboard, according to special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations in Buffalo. Authorities say Dreamboard is a private, members-only, online bulletin board created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of young children.

So far, 52 of the 72 charged defendants have been arrested in the U.S. and abroad as part of the international probe launched in December 2009.

The defendants are accused of trading graphic images and videos of adults violently molesting children 12-years-old and younger. Dreamboard members created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse and encouraged its members to create new images and videos, said authorities.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Cohoes-man-among-dozens-indicted-on-international-1717026.php