Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Homeland Security Department helped bring down an international child exploitation ring involving as many as 27,000 people victimizing at least 251 children online, the New York Daily News reports.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson called the bust “one of the largest-known online child exploitation operations in history.”
Authorities alleges that a Louisiana man created a subscription-based website that disguises the identity and location of its users.
“So far, investigators have identified 251 minor victims in 37 states and five foreign countries: 228 in the United States and 23 in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Belgium. Eight of the victims were female and 243 were male. The majority of victims, 159, were 13 to 15 years old. Fifty nine victims were 16 and 17; 26 victims were 10 to 12; four victims were 7 to 9; one victim was 4 to 6; and two victims were 3 years old or younger,” the agency reported.
