Here is an update. Apparently one of the MONSTER's wives posted his bond Not me, he would sit there and rot!
Federal authorities have shut down an exclusive Internet chat room that traded in graphic child pornography, including "on demand" videos of children as young as infants being molested, U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales announced Wednesday.
An international investigation into the chat room "Kiddy pics & Kiddyvids" led to charges against 27 people in the U.S., Australia, Britain and Canada.
Thirteen U.S. residents, including three men from the Chicago suburbs, are charged as members of the chat room, Gonzales said at a news conference in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
The investigation also uncovered seven sexually abused children and four molesters, authorities said.
Gonzales said chat room members could access "thousands and thousands" of pictures and videos that he described as "the worst imaginable forms of child pornography."
The three suspects from the Chicago area are Brian A. Annoreno, 29, of Bartlett; Gregory J. Sweezer, 48, of Aurora; and David B. Holst, 27, of North Aurora.
All three have admitted to federal agents that they possessed child pornography, according to court documents.
Annoreno is charged with molesting an infant girl for a live video "streamed" over the Internet to another chat room member, known as "Big(underscore)Daddy619."
That individual, a resident of Alberta, Canada, is accused of molesting four children for streaming videos but was not identified by name in court documents.
A computer seized at Holst's home contained images of an exposed 18-month-old girl and a video of a girl between the ages of 9 and 12 engaged in sex acts with a man, a complaint states.
Holst told investigators he was "burned out" with adult pornography, the complaint states.
Julie Myers, the Homeland Security Department's assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the chat room represents a disturbing evolution in online child pornography.
Where commercial Web sites frequently reproduce the same images over and over, "peer-to-peer" chat rooms are manufacturing new, "homegrown" child pornography, Myers said.
"Tragically and frighteningly, the kids in these images are getting younger, and the images are getting more and more violent and graphic," she said.
A criminal complaint charges that on Jan. 1, Annoreno e-mailed a photograph of a baby girl with her genitals exposed. The following day, he received an e-mail of a girl removing her underwear and exposing herself, the complaint states.
Sweezer admitted to possessing thousands of images, according to a complaint.
Annoreno's attorney, Michael Falconer, said Wednesday that he does not believe investigators have a video showing his client molesting a child.
Falconer described Annoreno as a "computer wizard" but said he otherwise has a very low IQ.
"He might admit to anything," Falconer said, adding he believes Annoreno lives with his parents.
Calls to attorneys for Holst and Sweezer were not returned Wednesday. Attempts to reach all three men at their homes were unsuccessful.
Annoreno, who authorities said used the screen-name "Acidburn," was arrested Jan. 8 and is in custody in Kankakee.
Holst was arrested Jan. 11 and is free on $25,000 bond.
Sweezer, arrested March 9, is also free after his wife posted their home for bond.
Prosecutors charge that Royal Raymond Weller of Clarksville, Tenn., ran the chat room under the screen-name "G.O.D."
When Weller was arrested March 6, Lisa A. Winebrenner of Osceola, Iowa, took over as the chat room's host, authorities allege.
Winebrenner, who was arrested Tuesday, is accused of trying to destroy evidence of child pornography and advising other members on March 10 to do the same.
Known by the screen-name "HumbleDuchess," Winebrenner even discussed a contingency plan to keep the chat room running in the event of her arrest, authorities charge.
Winebrenner's sister, Hope, said the family is numb after her arrest and doesn't know what to make of the charges.
"As far as the downloading ... they're saying she did it, so we're guessing she did it," Hope Winebrenner said.
She said she does not know if Winebrenner has an attorney.
Assistant Secretary Myers said that, increasingly, similar chat rooms are using sophisticated methods to hide their activity from law enforcement and to destroy evidence when they are detected.
And unlike commercial Web sites that charge fees law enforcement can track, "Kiddy pics & Kiddyvids" was free and exclusive to its members, Myers said.
Members tipped each other off to suspected law enforcement attempts to access the site, and hosts kicked off anyone they thought compromised security, authorities charged.
The chat room was discovered after police in Edmonton, Canada, arrested a member, said Tony Warr, deputy police chief in Toronto.
The investigation was ongoing and police in Canada used tracking software to locate other members of the chat room and alerted authorities in the U.S., Australia and Britain, Warr said.
Gonzales did not detail how long the chat room was in operation before it was shut down.
He declined to say whether the sexually abused children identified in the investigation have been placed in protective custody but offered assurances they are safe.
Federal authorities have shut down an exclusive Internet chat room that traded in graphic child pornography, including "on demand" videos of children as young as infants being molested, U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales announced Wednesday.
An international investigation into the chat room "Kiddy pics & Kiddyvids" led to charges against 27 people in the U.S., Australia, Britain and Canada.
Thirteen U.S. residents, including three men from the Chicago suburbs, are charged as members of the chat room, Gonzales said at a news conference in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
The investigation also uncovered seven sexually abused children and four molesters, authorities said.
Gonzales said chat room members could access "thousands and thousands" of pictures and videos that he described as "the worst imaginable forms of child pornography."
The three suspects from the Chicago area are Brian A. Annoreno, 29, of Bartlett; Gregory J. Sweezer, 48, of Aurora; and David B. Holst, 27, of North Aurora.
All three have admitted to federal agents that they possessed child pornography, according to court documents.
Annoreno is charged with molesting an infant girl for a live video "streamed" over the Internet to another chat room member, known as "Big(underscore)Daddy619."
That individual, a resident of Alberta, Canada, is accused of molesting four children for streaming videos but was not identified by name in court documents.
A computer seized at Holst's home contained images of an exposed 18-month-old girl and a video of a girl between the ages of 9 and 12 engaged in sex acts with a man, a complaint states.
Holst told investigators he was "burned out" with adult pornography, the complaint states.
Julie Myers, the Homeland Security Department's assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the chat room represents a disturbing evolution in online child pornography.
Where commercial Web sites frequently reproduce the same images over and over, "peer-to-peer" chat rooms are manufacturing new, "homegrown" child pornography, Myers said.
"Tragically and frighteningly, the kids in these images are getting younger, and the images are getting more and more violent and graphic," she said.
A criminal complaint charges that on Jan. 1, Annoreno e-mailed a photograph of a baby girl with her genitals exposed. The following day, he received an e-mail of a girl removing her underwear and exposing herself, the complaint states.
Sweezer admitted to possessing thousands of images, according to a complaint.
Annoreno's attorney, Michael Falconer, said Wednesday that he does not believe investigators have a video showing his client molesting a child.
Falconer described Annoreno as a "computer wizard" but said he otherwise has a very low IQ.
"He might admit to anything," Falconer said, adding he believes Annoreno lives with his parents.
Calls to attorneys for Holst and Sweezer were not returned Wednesday. Attempts to reach all three men at their homes were unsuccessful.
Annoreno, who authorities said used the screen-name "Acidburn," was arrested Jan. 8 and is in custody in Kankakee.
Holst was arrested Jan. 11 and is free on $25,000 bond.
Sweezer, arrested March 9, is also free after his wife posted their home for bond.
Prosecutors charge that Royal Raymond Weller of Clarksville, Tenn., ran the chat room under the screen-name "G.O.D."
When Weller was arrested March 6, Lisa A. Winebrenner of Osceola, Iowa, took over as the chat room's host, authorities allege.
Winebrenner, who was arrested Tuesday, is accused of trying to destroy evidence of child pornography and advising other members on March 10 to do the same.
Known by the screen-name "HumbleDuchess," Winebrenner even discussed a contingency plan to keep the chat room running in the event of her arrest, authorities charge.
Winebrenner's sister, Hope, said the family is numb after her arrest and doesn't know what to make of the charges.
"As far as the downloading ... they're saying she did it, so we're guessing she did it," Hope Winebrenner said.
She said she does not know if Winebrenner has an attorney.
Assistant Secretary Myers said that, increasingly, similar chat rooms are using sophisticated methods to hide their activity from law enforcement and to destroy evidence when they are detected.
And unlike commercial Web sites that charge fees law enforcement can track, "Kiddy pics & Kiddyvids" was free and exclusive to its members, Myers said.
Members tipped each other off to suspected law enforcement attempts to access the site, and hosts kicked off anyone they thought compromised security, authorities charged.
The chat room was discovered after police in Edmonton, Canada, arrested a member, said Tony Warr, deputy police chief in Toronto.
The investigation was ongoing and police in Canada used tracking software to locate other members of the chat room and alerted authorities in the U.S., Australia and Britain, Warr said.
Gonzales did not detail how long the chat room was in operation before it was shut down.
He declined to say whether the sexually abused children identified in the investigation have been placed in protective custody but offered assurances they are safe.
I'm at a loss of words....
