Global Pedophile Ring Busted

British Authorities Say More Than 700 Suspects Targeted, 31 Children Rescued

(CBS/AP)  Police smashed a global Internet pedophile ring, rescuing 31 children and rounding up more than 700 suspects worldwide, British authorities said Monday.

Some 200 suspects are based in the United Kingdom, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection center (CEOP) said. The ring was traced to an Internet chat room called "Kids the Light of Our Lives" that featured images of children being subjected to horrific sexual abuse - including streaming live videos of the abuse.

The British officials who announced the bust said 31 children, some of them as young as a few months, had been rescued from sexual exploitation by the operation. More than 15 of the children were in Britain.

"Today's verdict serves as a powerful warning to those using the Internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation of children," Jim Gamble, the agency's chief executive told a news conference.

Authorities said they used surveillance tactics normally used against terrorism suspects and drug traffickers to infiltrate the pedophile ring at its highest level.

The investigation involves agencies from 35 countries and lasted 10 months. Officials did not immediately provide a full breakdown of which countries were involved, but identified Canada, Australia and the United States as British officers' main partners in the investigation.

The host of the Web site, Timothy David Martyn Cox, 27, of Buxhall, England, who used the online identity "Son of God," admitted to nine counts of possessing and distributing indecent images, authorities said. Cox was given an indeterminate jail sentence Monday at Ipswich Crown Court, in eastern England.

The trail leading to Cox started in Canada with the arrest of 24 pedophiles, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer. Police followed links from there to another ring in Tennessee and eventually to the apparent global ringmaster in Britain.

After his arrest in September, authorities were able to infiltrate the chat room and collect evidence on the other members.

The bust was announced by CEOP, but the crackdown was carried out under the auspices of an international law-enforcement cooperative known as the Virtual Global Taskforce, or VGT.

According to the VGT Web site, it is made up of Britain's CEOP (which also chairs the organization), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Interpol, the Australian High Tech Crime Center, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Other countries' law enforcement agencies frequently work with the core members listed above.

The group's mission, according to the Web site, is to deliver "low-cost, high-impact initiatives that prevent and deter pedophiles from exploiting children online."

Toronto police said they had arrested 10 people since March 2006.

Details of involvement in the crackdown by U.S. agencies were yet to be made public. CEOP told CBS News that any role played by U.S. authorities would have to be confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Officers posed as contributors and even pretended to be Cox during the investigation, running the chat room for 10 days. At no point did officers distribute illegal images.

Forensic teams examining Cox's computer found 75,960 indecent and explicit images in addition to evidence that he had supplied 11,491 images to other site users.

A man described as Cox's lieutenant, Gordon Mackintosh, tried to resurrect the chat room in January. Authorities in Britain, Canada, Australia and the U.S. again infiltrated the operation. Upon his arrest, they assumed Mackintosh's identify online and ran the chat room for three days while collecting information on offenders who traded images in the chat room.

Mackintosh, 33, pleaded guilty to 27 charges of making, possessing and distributing indecent images and videos. He is awaiting sentencing.

In February, authorities in Austria announced an even larger child pornography bust; claiming 2,360 suspects from 77 countries who paid to view videos depicting young children being sexually abused.

The FBI was investigating about 600 suspects in the United States as part of its joint role in the Austria bust.

[ug_boy]

These are the people who most deserve the death penalty. Period.

[crystalblue3]

SICK! I am SICKENED and the rest of the world should be too!

Each one of these m*ther f*ck*rs should be hung by their testicles over an alligator pit.

[blackbug99]

The only reformed pedophile, is a dead pedophile!!!

[johnpega]

Rehab for these people is not an option. Life imprisonment or death should be the only option for these sick people. We have to do more to protect our children and to stop these horrible people. My heart goes out to these innocents.

[wiccantexan]

These are the people who most deserve the death penalty. Period.
Posted by ug_boy at 09:21 AM : Jun 18, 2007

In Texas, repeat offenders can face the death penalty.

[reel-crazy]

This type of crime goes beyond the extreme and is deserving of not only execution, but a public one at that. Send these pathetic wastes of human flesh to the Middle East. I know Al Jazeera will jump all over televising that...

[cathaleen]

Every pervert convicted of this heinous crime should automatically get a life sentence.

[nolalou]

These guys are so evil, even the normal prison population can't stand them. Let them rot in jail, and this time they can be the ones at the mercy of the other prisoners.

[rharrin1]

Wonder how many right wingers are involved in this?

[mdc76082]

Every pervert convicted in this crime should be used as chum bait. What purpose do loser SOBs like these serve? Absolutely nothing.

Just Super glue an unloaded weapon in their hands and release them in Iraq without body armor

[barbaraf4]

The single most frightening thing about these situations is the realization of how ordinary these people look. Maybe offenders who don't get the death penalty should get the word "evil" branded on their foreheads. At least we could recognize them for what they are.

[wfbdem]

Any republican congressmen found in this raid?
Foley?

Hello?

[radiob-2009]

The single most frightening thing about these situations is the realization of how ordinary these people look.
Posted by barbaraf4


RE: No, it is allowing these individuals to be free in society again and how many more millions are roaming free in society now.

[mdc76082]

I think instead of using our valuable military reservist resources, we should focus on rounding-up these worthless p_ricks and induct them into the Iraq War. Call it the "New" UN Security Forces. Stick'em in the hot zones. They're worthless. They serve absolutely no valuable beneficial contribution to any society. They are a waste of the air others breath, not to mention tax dollars to keep them alive. They are worse than the worst cold-blooded killer. No tears of sorrow shed here.

[prinzowhales]

Let's see some more names. Usually these things lead up the socio-economic feeding chain to prominent people connected to Luciferianism and then disappear from pubic view--like the Boy's Town scandal involving Bush41 and prominent Nebraska Republicans. If memory serves, the only person who did any serious time for this was one of the victims and the crooked Republican head of a Credit Union.

[lard008]

Hey, I can't find anything pointless and disassociated to cut & paste about this, blaming it in some way on Muslims.

Now I have to accept that white people can be evil too. I guess I'll have to shoot myself.

Big loss.

[last121868]

In Texas, repeat offenders can face the death penalty.
Posted by WiccanTexan at 09:33 AM : Jun 18, 2007

That is good, but why should it include "repeat"?
A person who is a repeat offender has been given the chance to ruin the life of another child.
People that sick and demented don't change. Why give them another chance?

[infidel_us]

Hey, did anyone find any democrat congressmen in the raid? Barney Frank, perhaps?

Hello?????

[bigteks]

Jesus, speaking on child abuse, from Luke 17:2:

"It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck than to face the punishment in store for harming one of these little ones." (NLT)

[toolmangler-2009]

Wonder how many right wingers are involved in this?
Posted by rharrin1 at 09:49 AM : Jun 18, 2007


With all due respect this is a crime that has no boundries. I will not try to catagorize any one organization as being the sole source of this crime against nature.

You can be a 'repeat' offender simply because your girl friend accused you of rape. That is enough to get you listed on the Se x offenders site.

[wiccantexan]

That is good, but why should it include "repeat"?
A person who is a repeat offender has been given the chance to ruin the life of another child.
People that sick and demented don't change. Why give them another chance?
Posted by last121868 at 10:24 AM : Jun 18, 2007

It was likely the only way it would pass. With the death penalty already highly criticized, having that as an option for someone who might technically fit the definition, but the crime doesn't warrant it - such as two teens or perhaps an older teen (16 and above) and a legal adult - would be a loose cannon in the system.

I don't know what defines "repeat offender" in the law.

[soldat44]

Wonder how many right wingers are involved in this?
Posted by rharrin1 at 09:49 AM : Jun 18, 2007

Give it a rest and show some compassion for the children, that's where your attention needs to be focused.

[seaslew]

THANK GOD THEY WERE CAUGHT,,, this is just the lowest of the low,,,,

[wiccantexan]

"The British officials who announced the bust said 31 children, some of them as young as a few months, had been rescued from sexual exploitation"
_______________

Abuse of children boggles my mind enough; that there are infants involved just goes beyond my scope of comprehension.

[rushlimpdrug]

I will contribute a rope to help "snap" this scum into a condition they deserve.
Enough of them.
If needed I will also contribute some high grade gasoline to remove as much of their infested remains as possible.

[l8c6]

It's just plain nauseating that this degree of depravity is possible for any of us two legged critters. There is no explanation or amount of understanding for this sort of behavior in my estimation though the experts would say a great deal of child abuse most likely is in the history of the perpetrators. Of course, should this be true of some it is absolutely no excuse for this sickening volitional behavior. A choice to go to the dark side was made.

[navyretired2]

Anybody trying to induce partisan BS to this issue should be ashamed of themselves.

This is truly a major tragedy, but it is one that is not only common, but supported by some countries.

If you've ever been to Istanbul, Turkey, you may have heard of the facility known as "The Compound" where men, women, and children serve out their criminal sentences (or sentences of their fathers and husbands) by being *** slaves that the government makes money off of. Nobody is immune, from adult females to single digit aged kids of both sexes. Sickening...

[thomderr]

THANK GOD THEY WERE CAUGHT,,, this is just the lowest of the low,,,,
Posted by seaslew at 10:56 AM : Jun 18, 2007

Yes, thank gos, and pray for the victims!

[hawksprings]

There's a part of me that says we should put the perverts each in their own electric chair set to "Low."

I hope these kids can get excellent counseling.

[wiccantexan]

This is TAME considering what most children do in this world, namely starve to death and manufacture cheap *** in factories for markets in the G8.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 11:38 AM : Jun 18, 2007

TAME?! I beg to differ on your query of what world do WE come from. We're not talking simple "bad touching" here. We're talking the ripping apart of a child's body, pain in manners that we cannot comprehend.

Starving to death is horrific and likely comparable. But manufacturing cheap stuff in factories, while also very bad, is hardly in the same category IMHO.

[mick7744]

First...the good news;
'Massive Global Pedophile Ring Busted'

and now the bad news;
They don't hang monsters like this in the UK anymore.

Next best option...Sentence this Cox to six months in general population in a prison filled with hard working criminals. That should be plenty of time for them to forcefully demonstrate their displesure at being caged up with a sexual predetor

[gunnerv1]

I have an even cheaper solution, just like in China. A bullet in the back of the head and then charge his parents the cost of the bullet.

[lmooney4]

I am glad they have caught these people. And they should just be taken out and shot. Do not waste any more time, money, or energy on them.

[wiccantexan]

31? That's 5-minute deathtoll in Darfur.This is wonderful news, but just a drop in a bucket of sorrows.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 12:21 PM : Jun 18, 2007

I see. It's the total that's important. Of course, the fact that they found 31 doesn't mean that's the sum total. I'm sure many, many more are still hidden around the world.

Both situations are horrific. Nobody's disputing that. But thinking that we're in another world because people are upset about this and not mentioning other child abuse that is not a part of this article really IS naive.

"Wiccan, my dear girl"

Wow, haven't heard that in about 30 years. ;)

[grazinggoat]

If you've ever been to Istanbul, Turkey, you may have heard of the facility known as "The Compound" where men, women, and children serve out their criminal sentences (or sentences of their fathers and husbands) by being *** slaves that the government makes money off of. Nobody is immune, from adult females to single digit aged kids of both sexes. Sickening...
Posted by NavyRetired2

-Could you elaborate on this retired2?

[mercyme884]

but whoso shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were tied around his neck and that he were drowned in the deepest part of the sea. Matthew 18:6 Do not sin against the child. Genesis 42:22 Suffer the little childrenn to come unto me and forbid them not for such is the Kingdom of Heaven Matthew 19:4 If ye have done it to the least of these ye have done it unto me. These were rules set down 2000 years ago. What you just read is the result of a world filled with evil selfish people who have absolutely NO knowledge of human decency.That they would torture and maim little children this way is abhorrent to me. And they will suffer and pay for it, if not on earth then after they die.

[hmmagain]

' ... though parents take more kids apart, authorities take more kids apart per capita ... armies are not required by law to pay kids to teach soldiers how to put kids back together after taking them apart; but, the handful of armies that choose not to look pretty silly ... '

[phydeux1]

Wow! This is amazing. Yes, the crimes are heinous. Yes, its a shame these children were hurt. But this is more prevalent than you might imagine, and has been for millenia. Though such abuses are at record LOWS now thanks to kids speaking up instead of just suffering in silence or blanking it out as they might have done just a couple generations ago.

And I had to laugh when Barbaraf4 said the "single most frightening thing about these situations is the realization of how ordinary these people look." WELL DUH!! What do you think they're going to look like? A mental or emotional abnormality doesn't mean its going to be a visible trait.

But what appalls me is the mob mentality on display here. Lets just tear down the cornerstone of our "enlightened" western democracy and throw the legal process out the window. Just listen to some of what you all have suggested for how to handle these people.

Beating to death
Dragged out and shot
Shot in the back of the head
Hanging
Slow-roasting electrocution
Chopped into chum bait
Allowed to be beaten by other inmates

So why don't we add in these time-worn favorites, hmm?

Boiling in oil - that always worked well.

Displayed in public stocks - entertain the kids by letting them take a whack at the sicko!

Iron maiden - retribution by perforation

Drawing and quartering - means new attractions at monster truck pulls.

Those who would take this out of the hands of the courts sicken me nearly as much as those arrested.

[dukeudevil]

Interesting law enforcement agency. Interesting group of members. (Dept. of Homeland Defense instead of the FBI?)

http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/

Although battling and defeating abject evil in this case, I cannot help but wonder if the VGT isn't a gentle-looking front for other international operations involving other types of global conspiracies.

In fact, who knows just where the money trail stops from what was likely a very lucrative operation? It seems the sort of "business" that would attract not only sick individuals, but also organized crime these days, especially with the wide-ranging international flavor.

Then again, as Freud noted: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[hedonist3]

Drawing and quartering - ohhhhh, yes! I vote for drawing and quartering!!

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by phydeux1 at 01:25 PM : Jun 18, 2007


The Mongols had a cute way of putting the culprit on a frame of wood after which they would ride by on their horses and cut a slice off some part of the body. If you had been a worthy fighter they would eat the slice, otherwise they gave it to the dogs where you could see it. As this tended to shorten the lifespan of the subject, they developed a method by which a guard would apply a blood clotting antiseptic coating to the wound (some type of marinade I presume) until the next rider came by. (works for me)

[toolmangler-2009]

Drawing and quartering - ohhhhh, yes! I vote for drawing and quartering!!
Posted by Hedonist3 at 01:48 PM : Jun 18, 2007

William wallace was not to keen about it when it happened to him (check out braveheart).

[toolmangler-2009]

Wiccan, my dear girl"

Wow, haven't heard that in about 30 years. ;)
Posted by WiccanTexan at 12:32 PM : Jun 18, 2007

When I was doing ISP tech support a woman customer loved to hear me say, 'ell I swannee' (Virginia mountain refrain)

[hedonist3]

William wallace was not to keen about it when it happened to him (check out braveheart). -- Posted by ToolMangler

I knew the story of William Wallace even before I saw Braveheart. That's the reason I went to see it. Drawing and quartering is exactly what these monsters need.

[susanhelit]

People who create this, who enjoy looking at it - they're damaged beyond repair. If they were creating the videos, molesting the children - like a rabid dog, they're too dangerous to let live, put them down. I'm OK with LWOP, if conditions are strict, and communication with the outside world is severely limited (I don't want to see movies based on their lives, news articles about them, nor ebay auctions of their poetry, etc.)

Those who enjoy viewing the videos - lock them up, check on all the children exposed to them.

We can never cure this (just as we can't cure any crime in the world), but more penalties, more police looking for them, more busts mean that some of the borderline types will get help or just not do it for fear of punishment. That'll do for me.

These sickos have existed since the dawn of time - we're finally doing something about them - but have no illusions that this is new, the modern world, the internet - this has always happened. Used to be it was just private business, a father the king of his castle, or the child's fault. That's all that has changed, that now we consider it a crime and prosecute it.

[shanev137]

It's good these psychos were stupid enough to get caught. I'm surprised they busted people who were making it, usually they just bust the people who look at it.

[duffyn]

I agree with SusanHeit and would add my thanks to all the people who worked to catch the sickos and put them in jail where they belong.

[lastdance2]

RE:
phydeux1

Even : "J. Edgar Hoover" (FBI Director)
Often enjoyed : A romp in bed with : "Young Boys"

Video tapped - Statements : From former FBI agents :
Describing how - They delivered young boys - For S*e*x*
Is evidence to that ! ! ! !

"Solicitation - Prostitution - Pimps"
The FBI - (Uncovered) - In one of it's more finest moments.

Congressman Foley and the Page.
(18yrs old - 3years) = 15 years old
This is "Not" - An isolated incident ! ! !

But ! - There was a time - When - They were a lot younger.
There were girls also - Most-Often, younger than the boys.

They "Did" come from - Selective - Juvenile detention centers.
They "Did" come from - Selective - Foster homes.
The - FBI - Played a prominent role, in all of this activity ! ! !
There is too much physcial evidence - to say otherwise.

Federal - State and other investigators -
Who have investigated this activity.
Have all stated - the same conclusion :

The "FBI" - Is a criminal organization.

The law enforcement echelon of the FBI , is simply a :
"Snow Job"

If you understand :
"Intimidation - Blackmail and Treason"
Illeagal (criminal) wiretaps and surveillance
If you understand, these real issues.

You will begin to understand - The reasons, how these -
Very young people, were used ! ! !

Little wonder why : The Bush Administration is :
Immune from :
"Criminal Complaints" or "Criminal Prosecution"

Lastdance

[jydavis1]

they could all get jobs in thee catholick church when they get out - ?