US Department of Justice Shuts Down Pornography Site That Sells Child Pornography For Bitcoin
A charge was brought upon a South Korean citizen named Jong Woo Son and other hundreds of individuals in different countries to have been operating the world's largest child sexual exploitation website by volume of content using bitcoin as a means of exchange.
A charge was brought upon a South Korean citizen named Jong Woo Son and other hundreds of individuals in different countries to have been operating the world's largest child sexual exploitation website by volume of content using Bitcoin as a means of exchange.
According to the report, the Darknet website, otherwise called Welcome to Video, monetized child sexual videos using the Bitcoin. In achieving this, each user was given a specific Bitcoin address during their creation of accounts on the website. As of date, the site bragged of more than a million video downloads, which were confirmed by the analysis of the site's servers.
In reaction to this, Alysa Erichs, HSI Acting Executive Associate Director, was reported to say that it was sad that the improvements in technology have enabled child predators to perpetuate their criminal deeds while hiding behind the dark web and cryptocurrency. However, he noted that:
"Today’s indictment sends a strong message to criminals that no matter how sophisticated the technology or how widespread the network, child exploitation will not be tolerated in the United States.”
Since the enterprise that endangers children's safety have reduced drastically, IRS-CI Chief Don Fort commented that the jury will continue to work with their federal and international partners to track down the disgusting organizations and bring them to justice regardless of the illicit scheme they might employ and whether the proceeds are virtual or tangible.
These perpetrators were caught through the analysis of Bitcoin transactions that have been going on the site.
IRS-CI Chief Don Fort said:
“Through the sophisticated tracing of Bitcoin transactions, IRS-CI special agents were able to determine the location of the Darknet server, identify the administrator of the website and ultimately track down the website server’s physical location in South Korea."
Image via Shutterstock
Image source: Shutterstock
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