AP: Dozens charged in child porn case in NYC area

May 22, 2014

Seemingly respectable members of the mainstream - a police officer, a paramedic, a rabbi, an airline pilot, an architect, a Boy Scout leader - were caught using the Internet to collect and trade child pornography, federal officials said Wednesday.

The six were among 70 New York City-area men and one woman charged as the result of a five-week investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some of the defendants, using search terms like "real child rape" and "family sex," had downloaded thousands of disturbing images on their computers inside suburban homes they shared with their families. The lone woman was accused of allowing another suspect to videotape her son.

The next step as was to subpoena Internet service providers to obtain names associated with the IP addresses. The investigators narrowed the list down to 100 people who were the most active and recent traders, and obtained search and arrest warrants.