46 Arrested in Raids Targeting Global Child-Porn Network

Police in 22 states and in 11 other countries raided the homes of more than 100 people and arrested at least 46 suspects Wednesday in what authorities around the world described as the most extensive child pornography sting in history.

Among the targets were two people in California: one in Canoga Park and one in National City.

The raids were conducted against suspected members of a group called the Wonderland Club. The British National Crime Squad began the investigation five months ago and uncovered a database of more than 100,000 pornographic photos, officials said.

Dick Weart, a special agent for the U.S. Customs Service, said police confiscated “boxes of pornography, various software materials and hardware” in 32 raids conducted in the 22 states with the help of state and local authorities.

American suspects included a scientist, a law student, a medical student and a schoolteacher.

Bill Anthony, Customs director of communication, said: “The ring was very difficult to get into. You had to prove that you had multiple images of child pornography. They would go to a sophisticated, secured cyber room . . . to make their transactions. They counted on U.S. Customs officials not being able to transmit porn and to pose as kiddie pornographers.”

Some members of the ring, which allegedly began in the United States, had as many as 10,000 pictures, a Customs statement said.

The agency predicted more arrests as evidence is studied.

In San Diego County, Customs agents raided the home of a 38-year-old National City man and seized two computers, videotapes, photographs, diskettes, a computer scanner, a printer and various files and documentation. The man was not arrested and the search warrant is sealed, spokesman Ed Logan said.

Agents also seized 8mm film, videotapes, floppy disks, a computer and photos from the residence of a Canoga Park man identified only as “in his 20s.” His search warrant was also sealed.

Besides the United States, the raids occurred in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

According to international and U.S. authorities, police arrested 11 people in Britain, 10 in Germany, eight in Norway, five in France, four each in the United States and Australia, three in Italy and one in Sweden.

“I am unaware of another police operation that has ever pulled together so many law enforcement agencies worldwide to effect simultaneous raids and arrests,” said Bob Packham, deputy director general of the British National Crime Squad.

“The content would turn the stomach of any right-minded person. It’s really disgusting,” said Britain’s Det. Supt. John Stewardson, who led the operation, code-named “Cathedral.”

Weart said the investigation’s next step is to try to identify and help the children. Some of them appear to be as young as 18 months.

American officials said the probe had its origins in a high-profile 1996 case involving a California-based child porn ring known as the Orchid Club. One of the defendants in that case implicated a British club member, and authorities in the United Kingdom soon linked him to the larger and more sophisticated Wonderland ring.