Dark Web Site Bust Brings 9 Arrests in U.S. and Other Countries - 50 Kids Rescued

International police group Interpol said Thursday that nine people had been arrested in Thailand, Australia and the U.S. and 50 children had been rescued after investigators took down an online pedophilia ring. More arrests were expected as police in nearly 60 countries pursue investigations stemming from an Interpol operation launched two years ago into a hidden "dark web" site with 63,000 users worldwide.

www.cbsnews.com...

A difficult topic to subject yourself to, but one that deserves recognition. Some semblance of relief should be had, especially after learning that authorities have removed people from positions that work directly with children on a daily basis. It reminds me of this story, which received little attention at the time. Make sure to fully grasp the situation contained in the link.

On topic…

The first arrests came in early 2018, when the site's main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand, and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was captured in Australia.

Salangam, whose victims included one of his nephews, was sentenced in June last year to 146 years in prison by Thai courts. Interpol said children were lured to Salangam's home with the promise of food, internet access and soccer games.

One of his associates, a pre-school teacher, got 36 years.

One of the site’s administrators [Tokputza] was handed a 40-year prison term at his trial, the longest ever in Australia for child sex offenses. A strong message sent to anyone currently doing the Devil's work.

The Australian Associated Press reported that Tokputza, 31, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of abuse of 11 babies and children -- one just 15 months old -- between 2011 and 2018.

Prison is going to be very uncomfortable for this degenerate.

The HSI's regional attache in Bangkok, Eric McLoughlin, said in the statement that "numerous arrests" had been made in the US. Some held "positions of public trust," he said, and one individual was abusing his two-year-old stepbrother.

For those who don’t know:

A Public Trust Security Clearance refers to a status granted to individuals which allows them to gain access to classified information such as state secrets and military classified data. They also may gain access to restricted areas after the completion of a thorough background check. The clearance is issued to federal employees of various agencies whose positions directly or indirectly affect the public at large.

thelawdictionary.org...

Abusing babies/children, or anyone for that matter, is NOT ALLOWED.

We have checks and balances in place to identify potential predators and/or people that should never have had weapons sold to them, only for their protocols to be ignored. All too often, those responsible for upholding the law and public trust are the ones who break it. It's difficult, and sometimes unfair to withhold trust, but even worse is to give it blindly.

To each their own.

I have a particular hate and disgust for pedophiles and molesters for these reasons; the effect they have on the victim.

Sexual abuse can make people become gay for the rest of their lives (yes, it's a thing) or even become transsexuals. It causes drug use that becomes severe addiction resulting in a wasted life or an overdose death. It should be comparable to maiming, attempted murder, kidnapping legally.

Rape for women, usually teens when it happens makes some of them become strippers, escorts, prostitutes (same thing), I'll bet a majority of porn "actresses" too. Might as well throw suicide and extreme depression in there for honorable mention. Life long crippling confidence and social issues.

The people who do it 9 times out of 10 were victims of it too, go figure.

a reply to: SpiritGarden

A drop in the bucket. Its not even a good start.

a reply to: SpiritGarden

There is a part of me that thinks this will never be fixed because too many people in power are probably the abusers.
sad & sick

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: SpiritGarden

A drop in the bucket. Its not even a good start.

Drops or good starts are irrelevant.

One less person terrorizing anyone, let alone minors, is a good thing. As anyone can see, a single person could be abusing multiple people or more, with a single act of abuse being more than enough for anyone to experience. In this case, 9 arrests led to 50 children saved. It is more than possible for a single arrest to lead to hundreds being saved.

Concerning oneself with the overall impact an arrest may have devalues the virtue of saving a single person's life. It's like saying certain safety measures should not be put into place because not enough people are dying from the same accident. You either act or you don't. You either save a life or you don't (because drops are not a good start).

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: SpiritGarden

There is a part of me that thinks this will never be fixed because too many people in power are probably the abusers.

Again, doing something is better than nothing. If the problem cannot be fixed, the cause of wanting to reduce the overall damage produces the effect of putting those in a position to change someones life for the better. Seems like a worthy existence! At the very least, punishment of such crimes should be extremely severe, including death. But that would lead us back to those in power (e.g. law makers), who gamble with the public's trust, wouldn't it?

I'm glad these people were caught and hope that many more will be in the future. My heart breaks for the kids and the horrors they have had to endure.

I really applaud the law men and women that endure unspeakable horrors to bring these scum to justice. Some of the things they confront in thier daily line of work would have to significantly impact thier emotional well being and along with what the poor kids go through is simply heartbreaking.
They deserve our thanks and respect for every one of the maggots that they catch and for every child they save.
What might be just "a drop in the bucket" to some is the difference between a hellish existence or a happy life for a child rescued from current or future evil.
These men and women are true heroes!