Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal on August 30, 2006. It is intended to highlight the problem with child pornography in the Truckee Meadows.
Ten years in federal prison was imposed on a Reno man who was part of an international Internet child pornography ring that shared and promoted images and live-streamed videos of infant and child molestation.
Michael T. Burns, 45, was given the maximum sentence Monday by U.S. District Judge Edward C. Reed. Burns had pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography.
In March, Burns was indicted as part of an international investigation sparked in January after an Illinois man was arrested for receiving child porn images and sharing a live-streamed video of himself molesting his own 18-month-old daughter.
The man later confessed he used the chat rooms “Kiddypics” and “Kiddyvids” that authorities say Burns and five other people who lived in Florida, Quebec, Australia and North Carolina were administrators.
Authorities called the chat rooms “molestation on demand.”
The administrators used sophisticated computer software, including encryption, to reduce their risk of being caught. They screened people and removed them if they believed they were law enforcement.
The 13 nationwide suspects and 14 suspects around the world indicted in the ring also used Instant Messaging programs and peer-to-peer file sharing, typically used for exchanging music and movies to disseminate the child pornography.
The Illinois man allowed investigators to use his online identity to access the chat room where they learned of the sexual child atrocities.
Burns used the online name “Wharfrat” and “God” and kept his child pornography in a file called “Taxinfo03,” records show.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had searched his home and seized his computer, where computer forensic technicians found more than 700 videos and 30,000 images of pornography featuring children, including infants.
Some of the videos with vulgar titles were an hour long. Many images were sadistic or masochistic in nature.
Court records show that Burns told investigators he knew looking at the images was wrong and that he was mentally ill and needed help.
Article source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20060830/NEWS01/106180001/Reno-man-gets-10-years-prison-participation-child-porn-ring?odyssey=nav%7Chead
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