Welcome | Sign In
ECommerceTimes.com
News

Russian Web Site Selling Child Porn Shut Down

Print Version
E-Mail Article
Reprints
Russian Web Site Selling Child Porn Shut Down

Most of the child pornography tapes made in Russia were ultimately sold over the Internet to Americans for $200 to $300 per tape.


Think you have to compromise on security to save on costs? Think Again. Trend Micro™ Enterprise Security, powered by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network™, can lower your content security management costs by up to 40%. Find out just how much you’ll save with our TCO Impact Calculator.

The U.S. Customs Service and the Moscow City Police cooperated to shut down a Moscow-based Web site called Blue Orchid that was selling child pornography, the agency said Monday.

As a result of the investigation, 15 arrest warrants were executed in the U.S., and four Americans and five Russians were arrested, Customs said. The agency also said that the Blue Orchid Web site was actually shut down in December and arrests have been made over the past several months.

"The United States Customs Service is working aggressively with law enforcement officials both here and abroad in making a worldwide assault on the producers, distributors and purchasers of child pornography sold over the Internet," acting U.S. Customs Commissioner Charles Winwood said.

"The global nature of the Internet demands a global response by law enforcement to protect innocent children, regardless of their nationalities," Winwood said.

International Effort

The joint investigation began in May, when Moscow City Police requested assistance from the U.S. Customs Attache in Moscow to identify and investigate the individuals responsible for the Blue Orchid Web site, which allegedly sold videos depicting the sexual and physical abuse of children.

As a result of the Moscow City Police's request, the Customs CyberSmuggling Center in Fairfax, Virginia arranged for an undercover purchase from the site.

After the purchase, Customs provided information to the Moscow police that led detention of one of the alleged operators, Vsevolod Solntsev-Elbe, and a 13-year-old boy, who had been transported by Elbe from Novokuybishevsk to Moscow for the purpose of sexual exploitation, Customs said.

After Elbe's December 10th arrest, more than 400 videotapes, video duplication equipment, and sales and shipping records were seized from his apartment. Sergey Garbko, the other alleged Web site operator, was arrested on December 18th.

Black Market

Customs said that the Russian portion of the investigation ended on March 2nd with the arrest of Victor Razumov, known as the "Punisher," on charges that he molested and sexually abused a 15-year-old boy during the making of two videos. Customs said that the movies depicted forcible sex and painful sadomasochistic activity.

Most of the tapes made in Russia were ultimately sold over the Internet to Americans for US$200 to $300 per tape. After reviewing records found in Elbe's apartment, U.S. Customs identified a number of U.S. suspects who had purchased child pornography from Blue Orchid.

Blue Orchid customers apparently chose their videos online, wired cash to the site proprietors, and then e-mailed instructions for delivery of the tapes. The tapes were sent via private courier or the postal service.

U.S. Arrests

When U.S. Customs agents in Chicago, Illinois searched the home of alleged customer Increase Customer Sales with Email Marketing -- Free Trial from VerticalResponse Blue Orchid customer Glenn Martikean on January 26th, Customs agents learned that Martikean was in Russia. Martikean was arrested by U.S. Customs agents upon his return to the U.S. on January 31st for child pornography violations, including child sex tourism.

A grand jury indicted Martikean last Friday for illegally importing child pornography and for undertaking foreign travel with the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

Another alleged customer, Derek Lochiatto of Malden, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged Monday with possession of child pornography. The names of the other two individuals arrested in the U.S. have not been made public.

In addition to the arrests in the U.S. and Canada, Customs said that enforcement actions have been completed in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands and that investigations are currently underway in a number of other European countries.


Print Version E-Mail Article Reprints More by Lori Enos


Talkback: Join the Discussion.
Re: Russian Web Site Selling Child Porn Shut Down
SuperTrouper
Posted 2002-11-06
There is war, poverty, starvation, death, floods and many more saddening events going on around ...
Re: Russian Web Site Selling Child Porn Shut Down
Vasek
Posted 2001-10-19
If US and Russia oppose child pornography and are putting "real" efforts into fighting it, why ...

More by Lori Enos

One Year Ago: Amazon Loses Round in 1-Click Patent Case
February 15, 2002
The setback in the patent case may slow the revenue stream Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was expecting from the company's patented 1-Click technology.
One Year Ago: E-tail Invades the Real World
February 12, 2002
The latest step of the dot-com move toward brick-and-clicks is the Internet kiosk placed in a real-world store. Surprisingly, in-store Web kiosks have some advantages over at-home online shopping.
One Year Ago: NBCi Cuts 150 Jobs Amid Net Ad Downturn
January 18, 2002
The layoffs at NBCi are the second round of staff cuts announced by the company.
Don't miss a story -- sign up for our FREE e-mail newsletters and view the latest headlines at a glance.
Tech News Flash [ View Sample ]
E-Commerce Minute [ View Sample ]
ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter [ View Sample ]
Shortcuts
ECT News Network Information
Reader Services
Corporate
ECT News Network