More about the child porn ring smashed recently

Source:
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id–3472007

Half of Scots suspects in child porn case unlikely to face court


AT LEAST half the people in Scotland suspected of having been part of a
massive international paedophile ring that traded child-abuse images on
the internet will not be prosecuted, The Scotsman understands.

About 200 people in Britain, and 700 worldwide, were suspected of
viewing and exchanging shocking images of children on a website known as
"Kids the Light of Our Lives". Some of the images involved rape and
sadistic acts.


The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) co-ordinated
a massive undercover police operation involving 35 countries, lasting
ten months and resulting in 31 children being rescued from abuse.

On Monday, the ringleader, Timothy Cox, 27, was given an indeterminate
jail sentence at Ipswich Crown Court, meaning he will stay in prison
until the authorities decide he is no longer a threat to children.

CEOP refused to divulge how many people based in Scotland were caught in
the "sting", insisting such information could put ongoing investigations
at risk.

However, it was reported yesterday that 24 suspects are based in
Scotland, including 15 in Strathclyde.

Strathclyde Police confirmed only three cases had been reported to the
procurator fiscal, while refusing to deny that 15 suspects had been
identified in the area.

The apparently high number of original suspects who will not be brought
to court - at least 12 out of 24 - triggered concern from politicians
last night.

Bill Aitken, the Scottish Tories' justice spokesman, said: "Clearly,
there must be a lot of satisfaction that many of those involved in this
vile trade are likely to be prosecuted.

"This, however, will be tinged with disappointment that many may escape
prosecution through evidential difficulties, which are, I suppose,
inevitable.

"How does one prove that the individual - and not someone else in his
house or who has access to his terminal - went on to the site, for example?

"Of course, this [operation] is a success but let us be realistic that
there are probably a lot of people out there deserving of prosecution
who will escape the net."

Margaret Curran, Labour's shadow justice secretary, said: "It would be
worrying if police had strong suspicions about people but the evidence
was not forthcoming for a conviction."

The high number of people unlikely to face prosecution has echoes of
Britain's biggest online child-abuse inquiry, Operation Ore, which saw
US detectives supply British police with details of 7,200 people thought
to have paid for child porn on the internet.

It later emerged some had not sought access to child images, while
others had been the victims of credit-card fraud.

However, a CEOP spokeswoman insisted last night that those caught on the
latest site, whose details were passed to police forces across the
country to investigate, had been intent on viewing child-abuse images
and could not have stumbled across them innocently.
AUSTRALIAN ARRESTS

FOUR people have been arrested in Australia in connection with the
global paedophile ring that uploaded live videos of children being raped.

The Australians were among 700 worldwide suspects identified by
undercover officers in Britain, the US, Canada and Australia who
infiltrated the internet chatroom used by paedophiles.

Local media reports said one Australian child was among 31 rescued
worldwide, but Australian Federal Police could not confirm this.

However, they said that one of the four has already been convicted of
child pornography charges and sentenced to seven months in prison.
Another suspect's case was being heard by a local court, while two
others are awaiting trial, the Federal Police said.

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bobandcarole (24.06.2007 22:35)