Northern Ireland police seize 100 computers in child porn crackdown

POLICE in Northern Ireland have seized more than 100 computers in a child porn crackdown following a tip-off from the FBI similar to that which enabled gardaí raid a large number of homes and business premises here last May.

PSNI detectives who searched more than 40 premises during the last two weeks also uncovered 7,000 items of software for further examination.

The carefully co-ordinated swoops are believed to have resulted from intelligence passed to the PSNI by the FBI after it broke up Landslide Productions, a Texas-based internet firm that provided links to 300 pay-per-view child porn sites.

Landslide Productions owner, Thomas Reedy, who was taking in more than 1m a month, was jailed last year for 1,335 years.

The swoops, led by the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Care Unit, are believed to be concentrated on people whose work brings them into contact with youngsters.

The PSNI have refused to disclose how many people are under scrutiny or their exact location in case it jeopardises prosecution hopes.

‘‘We view the use of child pornography as serious criminal behaviour and the PSNI Care Unit are proactively pursuing this kind of crime. Our recent searches have thrown up a very large amount of evidence to be thoroughly and methodically analysed and we have now entered that phase of the investigation,” Insp David McConville said.

Detectives have now begun linking names to the equipment seized. ‘‘We have then sought to prioritise those individuals identified, looking first at those who are in a position of trust or whose work brings them into contact with children, no matter who their employer,’’ Insp McConville said.

He said the equipment seized was owned by people from all walks of life.

On Monday May 27 last, under the codename Operation Amethyst, more than 500 detectives and uniformed gardaí carried out dawn raids throughout the country seizing computer equipment. The equipment was seized from a number of professional people a leading legal figure, a company chief executive, teachers and a health board worker.

Files have been sent to the DPP and it is expected he will direct gardaí to arrest and charge a number of people in the coming months.

Gardaí are also continuing to carry out background checks on the people to see if they may have been involved in sexually assaulting children in the past.

Anybody found guilty of copying and distributing child pornography could face up to 14 years in jail under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act of 1998.