The U.S. Customs Service has partnered with 10 other countries in an effort to stop a global child pornography ring operating over the Internet. The investigation involved the execution of search warrants in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Nevada, Oregon and Alaska. Customs agents seized computers and hundreds of CDs, floppy disks and videos, as well as a manual on how to seduce children. Other nations involved in the investigation and searches included the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Japan, Finland, Austria and Sweden.
The FBI reported March 18 that it had shut down a nationwide Internet child pornography ring, charging at least 89 people in 29 states. The case targeted three Internet discussion groups administrated by Yahoo, one of the largest Internet portals. Investigators said that many of those charged held jobs that brought them into close contact with children. Suspects include Little League coaches, Catholic priests and other clergy, a school bus driver and law enforcement personnel.
Admissions of guilt
The FBI said that more than half of those arrested had admitted to molesting children. The others were charged with possessing pornographic images.
The FBI said it expected to arrest at least 50 more in Operation Candyman, named after one of the Yahoo-based e-groups it had targeted. The group had an estimated 7,000 members, including at least 2,400 residing outside of the United States, who used the site to collect and distribute child pornography.
“A new marketplace for child pornography has opened in the dark corners of cyberspace,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “There will be no free rides on the Internet for those who traffic in child pornography.”
The Candyman site was promoted on the Internet as a site “for people who love kids.” Those who controlled the site advertised it as a place where “you can post any type of message you like… or any type of pics and vids you like, too.”
FBI Director Robert Mueller said of the crackdown, “Operation Candyman should serve as an example that the FBI will not tolerate the collectors and distributors of child pornography who continue to exploit our children.”
(EP)
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