Back in January 2016, an infiltration took in place in Norway that involved the research and exposure of a large group of pedophiles. Over 300 children were saved (and continue to be saved).
What started out as an Aaelsund man getting caught with thousands of assault images/videos turned into a full blown investigation dubbed “Operation Dark Room”.
Digging deeper into the darkness, authorities found evidence of the disturbing assaults in the form of videos, pictures, and even the physical and mental state of the rescued victims. Even more disturbing, it was also confirmed that a large percentage of the victims were babies.
The Norwegian police’s head of investigation, Hilde Reikrås, explained,
“Several of the children are babies, and many have been seriously abused. It seems like the use of webcams creates some distance that makes the attackers even more brutal.”
Suspects directly involved in the sick scheme also made profit off the assaults by live streaming the abuse for a small price.
Sputnik News elaborated on the live streamed abuse,
“In several cases the police have been investigating, small children in the Philippines were sexually abused in front of camera on order from Norway. The assaults were streamed online, and Norwegians paid to watch the abuse. The price for such a grim spectacle varied between $20 and $50, the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet revealed.”
The process is simple after one hook: trace other criminals via the digital trail left behind by the first. The outcome of Operation Dark Room is enough proof alone that this technique is effective.
Unfortunately, the downside to a hook is the tragedy that follows. Since the initial bust in January 2016, 84 cases have been brought on thanks to Operation Dark Room. In fact, in the last six months 33 new cases have been reported.
In the last several years, a large amount of CP or sex trafficking rings have been brought down. The revolting schemes are being discovered at an alarming rate. We can only hope that our investigation methods continue to succeed and advance in the upcoming years.
