Massive global child porn bust nets Canadians
Posted Aug 3, 2011 02:55:24 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON – More than 70 people, including Canadians, are charged in a global child pornography ring involving a members-only online bulletin board. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the bulletin board, called Dreamboard, encouraged the sexual abuse of very young children.
Dubbed Operation Delego, police began targeting more than 500 people around the world in 2009 who were allegedly participating in Dreamboard.
“Utilizing sophisticated techniques in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection, Dreamboards’ members allegedly traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting young children, often violently, and created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse,” Holder said at a Justice Department news conference.
“The rules of Dreamboard were clear: They encouraged and incentivized the creation of child pornography,” Holder said.
Utilizing sophisticated techniques in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection, Dreamboard’s members allegedly traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting young children – often violently; and created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse.
The rules of Dreamboard were clear – and they encouraged, and incentivized, the creation of child pornography. According to the indictments by the U.S. attorney general’s office – in order to become part of the Dreamboard community, prospective members were required to upload pornography portraying children 12 years old or younger; once given access, participants had to continually upload images of child sexual abuse in order to maintain membership; the more content they provided, the more content they could access; and members who created and shared images and videos of themselves molesting children received elevated status – and greater access.
19 Dreamboard members across five continents and 13 countries have been arrested to date outside the United States. Those countries include Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. Numerous foreign investigations related to Operation Delego remain ongoing.
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