Forums · 20 Arrested in Child Porn Over Net
Now, this is sick!........
By CONNIE CASS
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Aug. 9) - A group of parents sexually molested their own children and sent pornographic pictures of them worldwide over the Internet, U.S. Customs officials said Friday, announcing 20 arrests in the United States and abroad.
Forty-five children, including 37 in the United States who ranged from age 2 to about 14, were victims and have been removed from the care of those indicted, Customs officials said. Eighty percent of them were molested by one of their own parents, they said. Most of them are in the custody of another parent or relative, or foster care.
''I've rarely seen crimes as despicable and repugnant,'' said Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner.
Bonner said he had never seen a broad conspiracy among parents before. ''If this isn't unusual, God help us,'' he said.
Ten U.S. citizens have been charged, including nine named in an indictment unsealed Friday in Fresno, Calif. One has already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Bonner said. The 10th American committed suicide after his arrest.
Six residents of Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands were also indicted in Fresno and the Justice Department is seeking their extradition to the United States to face charges.
Four other foreigners were charged abroad as part of the joint investigation with the Danish National Police.
Bonner said the wide availability of child pornography on the Internet encouraged pedophiles.
''Together we must find ways to protect our children ... and to starve the pedophiles of the sordid images that induce them to act,'' he said.
Bonner said the investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected. Authorities are still trying to identify other children in some of the explicit pictures, he said.
The indictment alleges that members of the ring, referring to themselves as ''the club,'' traded messages across the Internet requesting photographs of specific sexual poses. One man asked for an audiotape so he could hear a child crying while being spanked, the indictment said, and another posed naked with an underage girl. In one instance, a man swapped his own children with another pedophile to be abused, Bonner alleged.
The Customs Service coordinated the U.S. investigation that began last November with a request for help from the Danish National Police, who were acting on a tip about an international child pornography ring.
Information from the Danish police led investigators to two men in Fresno County, Calif. and San Diego, and searches of their computers led to the arrests of the other eight Americans.
The Americans charged include: Lloyd Alan Emmerson of Fresno County, Calif.; Paul Whitmore and Brooke Rowland, San Diego County, Calif.; Tracy Reynolds, Texas; Leslie Peter Bowcut, Idaho; Michael David Harland, Florida; Harry Eldon Tschernetzki, Washington state; John Zill, South Carolina; Craig Davidson, Kansas.
The foreigners indicted in Fresno were identified as Eggert Jensen and Bente Jensen of Denmark; Jean-Michael Frances Cattin, Marcel Egli and Peter Althaus of Switzerland; and Dirk-Jan Prins of the Netherlands. The others were indicted abroad.
By CONNIE CASS
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Aug. 9) - A group of parents sexually molested their own children and sent pornographic pictures of them worldwide over the Internet, U.S. Customs officials said Friday, announcing 20 arrests in the United States and abroad.
Forty-five children, including 37 in the United States who ranged from age 2 to about 14, were victims and have been removed from the care of those indicted, Customs officials said. Eighty percent of them were molested by one of their own parents, they said. Most of them are in the custody of another parent or relative, or foster care.
''I've rarely seen crimes as despicable and repugnant,'' said Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner.
Bonner said he had never seen a broad conspiracy among parents before. ''If this isn't unusual, God help us,'' he said.
Ten U.S. citizens have been charged, including nine named in an indictment unsealed Friday in Fresno, Calif. One has already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Bonner said. The 10th American committed suicide after his arrest.
Six residents of Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands were also indicted in Fresno and the Justice Department is seeking their extradition to the United States to face charges.
Four other foreigners were charged abroad as part of the joint investigation with the Danish National Police.
Bonner said the wide availability of child pornography on the Internet encouraged pedophiles.
''Together we must find ways to protect our children ... and to starve the pedophiles of the sordid images that induce them to act,'' he said.
Bonner said the investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected. Authorities are still trying to identify other children in some of the explicit pictures, he said.
The indictment alleges that members of the ring, referring to themselves as ''the club,'' traded messages across the Internet requesting photographs of specific sexual poses. One man asked for an audiotape so he could hear a child crying while being spanked, the indictment said, and another posed naked with an underage girl. In one instance, a man swapped his own children with another pedophile to be abused, Bonner alleged.
The Customs Service coordinated the U.S. investigation that began last November with a request for help from the Danish National Police, who were acting on a tip about an international child pornography ring.
Information from the Danish police led investigators to two men in Fresno County, Calif. and San Diego, and searches of their computers led to the arrests of the other eight Americans.
The Americans charged include: Lloyd Alan Emmerson of Fresno County, Calif.; Paul Whitmore and Brooke Rowland, San Diego County, Calif.; Tracy Reynolds, Texas; Leslie Peter Bowcut, Idaho; Michael David Harland, Florida; Harry Eldon Tschernetzki, Washington state; John Zill, South Carolina; Craig Davidson, Kansas.
The foreigners indicted in Fresno were identified as Eggert Jensen and Bente Jensen of Denmark; Jean-Michael Frances Cattin, Marcel Egli and Peter Althaus of Switzerland; and Dirk-Jan Prins of the Netherlands. The others were indicted abroad.
I don't know of a punishment severe enough for pond scum like this! However, I have a few creative ideas. You have to wonder what is wrong with people in the world today! I thankfully led a pretty sheltered life as a child, one in which I wish all children had the opportunity at. When did all this moral decay come into being? At what point in time did such a large percentage of society go to hell in a hand basket?! I can't for the life of me figure it out.
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This one really makes me so angry, and I feel like you do, Carrie; I cannot figure out when all of this began either.
But, I think some of it was going on under the surface, even 50 years ago, sadly enough. With the new craze over the availability of home movie cameras, etc. back then, who knows what might have been going on?
I guess now that it is relatively cheap and easy to share such evil pictures with anyone in the world in the blink of an eye, maybe this has grown larger as our technology improved?? Also, even for the exposure that we are subjected to on the internet, the opportunity for anonymity is also pretty easily taken advantage of by the sick ones in our society.
I am glad that they are publicizing the names of these people. Maybe it will make a few of them think twice, but I don't know that the effects will necessarily be noticable, overall.
There is no punishment tough enough for these people, and I cannot imagine how parents could do this to their children like this!!
I am just stunned by how many they got in just this one instance. They ought to set up a better system of finding these things out from the kids, without making it something that the kids would see as leverage to use as a revenge tactic on their parents for unrelated problems. The world is just getting so sick, I can barely think about it at all sometimes.
At least they rescued alot of kids in this 'bust', and I hope they keep looking for more of this garbage!!
Mare
But, I think some of it was going on under the surface, even 50 years ago, sadly enough. With the new craze over the availability of home movie cameras, etc. back then, who knows what might have been going on?
I guess now that it is relatively cheap and easy to share such evil pictures with anyone in the world in the blink of an eye, maybe this has grown larger as our technology improved?? Also, even for the exposure that we are subjected to on the internet, the opportunity for anonymity is also pretty easily taken advantage of by the sick ones in our society.
I am glad that they are publicizing the names of these people. Maybe it will make a few of them think twice, but I don't know that the effects will necessarily be noticable, overall.
There is no punishment tough enough for these people, and I cannot imagine how parents could do this to their children like this!!
I am just stunned by how many they got in just this one instance. They ought to set up a better system of finding these things out from the kids, without making it something that the kids would see as leverage to use as a revenge tactic on their parents for unrelated problems. The world is just getting so sick, I can barely think about it at all sometimes.
At least they rescued alot of kids in this 'bust', and I hope they keep looking for more of this garbage!!
Mare
While teaching in a rural school district, we had an unbelievable amount of child abuse and neglect. This district was near the state prison, and a large percentage of inmate's families lived there. I, and many other teachers were on first name basis with social workers in the area. ( I could start my ranting and raving about CPS, but I'll save it.) I hate to say it, but often times when one parent was in prison, the one that was out taking care of the kids was even worse! I had a four year old one year who could tell you every detail of her father's drug adventures into Mexico, all the paraphenallia that was used, and all about hiding in the woods to escape from law enforcement. :crazy:
Anyway, one family really stood out in that little town. I had a friend on the local police department who would tell me about these people. They lived in a compound, all relatives, and were led by a man they called "the governor." These were not peace loving hippies or hillbillies. These folks were criminals. Imagine the Clampetts with really bad dispositions! =O
Anyway, I really thought the jokes and inuendos about "inbreeding" in East Texas were just that: jokes. Not so, these folks honestly believed that by the time these little girls in the family were about 12, they were "ready." Sadly, being raised in the environment, these children saw nothing wrong with the situation. For extra money aside from their pulp wood cutting, several of the men in this family started a kiddie porn ring featuring their young, female relatives. One girl, a sixth grader, had moved in with a 37 year old man, and her family saw nothing repulsive about this. >:-(
The police would try any and all methods of getting information out of these children -- even absolute bribery, but they would not turn against these freaks that abused them. Every time a few were hauled in, there were more taking their place.
It was a pitiful situation, and one that left law enforcement and school officials very frustrated. Several of the little girls were just beautiful, and a few were even pretty good students, many would have had a great deal of potential. However, almost without exception, all suffered from horrifically low self-esteem at having been branded with their last name and the stigma it carried with them. ='(
Anyway, one family really stood out in that little town. I had a friend on the local police department who would tell me about these people. They lived in a compound, all relatives, and were led by a man they called "the governor." These were not peace loving hippies or hillbillies. These folks were criminals. Imagine the Clampetts with really bad dispositions! =O
Anyway, I really thought the jokes and inuendos about "inbreeding" in East Texas were just that: jokes. Not so, these folks honestly believed that by the time these little girls in the family were about 12, they were "ready." Sadly, being raised in the environment, these children saw nothing wrong with the situation. For extra money aside from their pulp wood cutting, several of the men in this family started a kiddie porn ring featuring their young, female relatives. One girl, a sixth grader, had moved in with a 37 year old man, and her family saw nothing repulsive about this. >:-(
The police would try any and all methods of getting information out of these children -- even absolute bribery, but they would not turn against these freaks that abused them. Every time a few were hauled in, there were more taking their place.
It was a pitiful situation, and one that left law enforcement and school officials very frustrated. Several of the little girls were just beautiful, and a few were even pretty good students, many would have had a great deal of potential. However, almost without exception, all suffered from horrifically low self-esteem at having been branded with their last name and the stigma it carried with them. ='(
As far as I know Kell, it is still going strong. I would estimate there were about 60 or more people living there. Occasionally, some of the younger ones, decide to branch out on the family tree and go looking for mates in the community. The social standing in the little town is based on whether or not anyone has relatives who have married into this particular family. They are a pretty bizarre bunch.
Before I quit, my policeman friend was telling me that about once a week they go in to arrest one of them, but they always bring about 3 cars for back up. He said that a few of the men were known to hide in trees waiting to ambush the police. They would arrest these guys, send them packing for a few months, but they would be back. Plus, a new crop of relatives would take their place. I never saw the "compound", but people said it looked like something out of deep Appalachia, few homes with running water, electricity, etc... Those poor kids didn't have a chance.
Before I quit, my policeman friend was telling me that about once a week they go in to arrest one of them, but they always bring about 3 cars for back up. He said that a few of the men were known to hide in trees waiting to ambush the police. They would arrest these guys, send them packing for a few months, but they would be back. Plus, a new crop of relatives would take their place. I never saw the "compound", but people said it looked like something out of deep Appalachia, few homes with running water, electricity, etc... Those poor kids didn't have a chance.