Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
An Ellesmere Port man is among 337 suspects arrested worldwide in the busting of a dark web child abuse website.
One of the biggest investigations ever seen, the raids were made in 38 countries including the UK, Ireland, America, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic and Canada.
Led by Britain’s National Crime Agency investigation, and linked to a probe of the UK’s worst ever child sex offenders, the Welcome To Video website was brought to its knees.
That involved American law enforcement, and South Korean and German police.
The site, run from South Korea, contained more than 250,000 horrific videos.
Users had made more than one million downloads.
The website monetised the sexual abuse of children and was one of the first to offer sickening videos for sale using the cryptocurreny bitcoin.
In the UK, 18 investigations were developed from the intelligence and seven men have already been convicted – including one jailed for 22 years for raping a five-year-old boy and appearing on Welcome To Video sexually abusing a three-year-old girl.
One of the suspects revealed today is Leon Scott, 41, of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.
(Image: NCA)
He admitted indecent images of children offences.
Scott was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The NCA uncovered the Welcome To Video website during its investigation into the geophysicist Dr Matthew Falder.
In 2017, Falder admitted 137 offences including encouraging child rape and sharing images of a newborn baby being abused.
He’s serving a 25-year jail sentence.
Specialist officers used their expertise to snare the website’s organiser, Jong Woo Son, aged 23.
In March 2018, NCA officers travelled to South Korea and helped with Son’s arrest.
The server was then taken down.
Intelligence was then developed on all UK suspects, preparing profiles and briefings for NCA operational teams and UK police forces.
Today, Son was charged with nine counts in the United States relating to him running the website.
The South Korean national has already been convicted and jailed in his home country.
Former Merseyside Police officer, Nikki Holland, NCA director of investigations, said: “Dark web child sex offenders – some of whom are the very worst offenders – cannot hide from law enforcement.
“They’re not as cloaked as they think they are, they’re not as safe as they think they are.
“The NCA is relentless in pursuing them and we have specialist capabilities, which we use for all UK law enforcement, to unmask them and help take down sites like Welcome To Video.
“I’m immensely proud of the role we played in catching some very depraved and dangerous global offenders and for beginning the work that eventually caught Jong Woo Son.”
The most heinous UK case to come from Welcome To Video resulted in Kyle Fox, aged 26, being jailed for 22 years in March this year.
Fox, from Surrey, admitted 14 charges against a five-year-old boy including seven rapes; and five charges of sexual assault against a three-year-old girl.
Footage of him abusing the girl was uploaded to Welcome To Video but Fox denied posting it.
Fox’s face was not visible in the footage but the NCA’s victim identification helped catch him.
Ms Holland added: “The case illustrates what the NCA is seeing in child sexual abuse offending: increases in severity, scale and complexity.
“We are seeing a direct link between viewing abuse images and contact abuse, as well as offenders using the dark web and encryption to hide their activity and identifies.
“The Lucy Faithfull Foundation runs the Stop It Now!
“Helpline which offers confidential advice to anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s behaviour towards children.”
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