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'Cybersting' nets 1,500 child porn suspects
September 29, 1997
Web posted at: 11:27 p.m. EDT (0327 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- A "cybersting" operation has identified more than 1,500 child pornography suspects trading pictures of minors or soliciting sex over the Internet, state Attorney General Dennis Vacco said Monday.
The 18-month "Operation Rip Cord" already has led to more than 120 arrests in the United States, Germany and United Kingdom. Thirty-one people nationwide have been prosecuted, including an Albany, New York, college student who had planned to become a kindergarten teacher.
Vacco said one of the most disturbing things about the pornography is that many of the pictures appear to be recent, not old pictures just now surfacing on the new medium.
A demonstration at the news conference showed just how freely pornography flows over the Internet. Within 10 minutes, investigator Michael McCartney -- using an e-mail address which kept his identity secret -- was in contact with an individual who e-mailed him a picture of an adult male having sex with an adult male.
The sting teamed investigators from Vacco's office with federal customs agents, who used Internet chat rooms and other cyberspace mechanisms to crack down on the alleged pornographers.
Related stories:
- Seeing red -- and not the light -- on the Web - July 15, 1997
- Reaction mixed to court's Internet ruling - June 26, 1997
- FBI: Internet pedophiles a growing threat - April 8, 1997
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