Two Colorado men suspected of participating in a global child-pornography ring in which members traded images and videotaped and photographed the sexual abuse of children were in federal custody Wednesday.
Jeffrey Rodriguez of Aurora and Scott Lewandowski of Pueblo were arrested by federal agents in Colorado and face charges in the Western District of Louisiana, where indictments were handed up by a grand jury.
Rodriguez used the online name howardhughes, and Lewandowski went by jmagic/zapper on the Internet, court records say. Their ages were not released Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the indictment against Rodriguez and Lewandow ski was unsealed as authorities in Washington, D.C., announced they had dismantled “Dreamboard,” an online community of people dedicated to sexually abusing children and sharing child pornography in the U.S. and abroad.
The indictment of 72 people across the nation does not say whether Rodriguez and Lewandowski are accused of manufacturing their own child pornography for the group or whether they are suspected of solely trading existing images.
The investigation, called “Operation Delego,” began in December 2009 and was led by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
The takedown is the largest of its kind in U.S. history. Agents have arrested 52 out of the 72 defendants charged.
The Dreamboard consisted of members who traded sometimes violent images and videos of adults molesting children younger than 12. Access to the Dreamboard was only granted if a prospective member uploaded a child-pornography image portraying a child younger than 12.
The highest level of membership was called “Super VIP,” and to attain that status, members had to create new images of child pornography by molesting children. Another section of the board was called “Super Hardcore,” where images of very young children who were crying and in distress while being sexually abused were shown.
“The members of this criminal network shared a demented dream to create the pre-eminent online community for the promotion of child sexual exploitation, but for the children they victimized, this was nothing short of a nightmare,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “This operation marks another important step forward in our work to protect children across — and beyond — this country. Our nation’s fight to protect the rights, interests and safety of children goes on, and it will continue to be a top priority of this Justice Department.”
Information on the custody status of Rodriguez and Lewandowski was not available Wednesday.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
