Scale of internet child porn exposed

Feb 9 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

A PIONEERING American policeman has developed a computer program which has revealed thousands of images and films of child abuse were downloaded and swapped in the North East last year.

Special Agent Flint Waters, of the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, used state-of-the-art technology to produce a map which shows the rough locations of every computer IP address – the computer’s identity number – which has accessed the images.

This week, he has been in talks with the American Senate about the huge scale of the child pornography problem in the USA.

And last night, Northumbria Police said they were interested in talking to Mr Waters about his system.

The Special Agent’s program has already been used to bring paedophiles to justice and he says Northumbria Police are welcome to share his information.

In 2006, as he was awarded a commendation from the US Attorney General, the citation read that “because of his work, countless children have been rescued from abusive situations and their abusers have been brought to justice”.

Last night, he told The Journal how, during 2007, more than 3,000 computers in the region were logged as having exchanged or accessed child abuse images.

Mr Waters said: “This problem is far bigger than I ever imagined, thousands of movies and images are being traded and some of the pictures are harrowing beyond belief.

“These images show the worst kinds of abuse and are being distributed in huge amounts over the internet. I was shocked and horrified when I first realised the scale of the problem.

“Many of the films are produced here in the United States and this week I have been speaking to the Senate about what measures we can take to stop this terrible crime. My map can show the regions where these images and films are being swapped but it can’t give precise locations.

“And there is no way to tell if one person is using multiple addresses. But by working with other agencies they can be used to track these people and bring them to justice.

“I make no money from the use of this program and I have already shared information with other agencies around the world. If Northumbria Police contacted me about this I would share the information.”

According to research, 30% of people who view images of child abuse have also been involved in molesting children said Mr Waters.

“We need to understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg and much more needs to be done by all agencies to deal with this problem,” he said.

A North East spokesman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre said: “This kind of study and evidence is part of a larger jigsaw needed to secure a conviction. It is not enough on its own. This is a good example of where technology which is used by criminals can also be used to track them down.”

An NSPCC spokesman said the demand for images of children on the internet was disturbing. He added: “We believe that when an individual accesses the internet to view or download abusive images they are reinforcing the demand for children to be abused.”