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Kelli Arena: Be aware of what's out there

CNN Justice Department Correspondent Kelli Arena covered the announcement Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department and Postal Service are cracking down on users of child pornography Web sites. She offers perspectives on the investigation.

Q. Attorney General John Ashcroft indicated the "back alleys and dark corners of the Internet" are dangerous places for children, but he stopped short of telling parents not to let their children use the Internet.

A. That's right. He said, "Don't jerk the cord out of the wall." The attorney general was very careful to alert parents to the dangers but to also suggest a solution. He said the answer is to remain thoroughly engaged about their child's Internet activity. He urged parents to monitor their child's use of the Internet. He also said parents should make sure they know about the dangers, know not to respond to messages from people unknown to them.

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Q. Does this announcement indicate a new emphasis by law enforcement on finding and arresting consumers of child pornography?

A. Yes. That has been the goal all along, but this case represented a major breakthrough because subscribers used credit cards to get to these Web sites. The use of credit cards made the job a bit easier to find these people. There was a money trail.

In many cases there is no transaction. It's a pedophile-to-pedophile sharing of pictures. Those consumers of child pornography are much more difficult to identify.

Q. Did breaking the Landslide case help investigators determine where the pictures come from?

A. They can usually detect who is operating the sites. It is very difficult to determine where those pictures come from. That's why they are trying to get those people who have been arrested to cooperate.

Many of these photos are old. The children in them are now adults. But I'm told there is an increasing demand for newer videos and more graphic videos.

Q. The Web masters were in other countries. Do investigators get much help in apprehending them?

A. They do get some cooperation. But laws governing child pornography vary from country to country. Who is minor varies from country to country.

We have gotten some successful cooperation from Russia, not only Web masters but also people who molested children and made videos have been identified and arrested.

Q. Were most of 250,000 users of this site Americans?

A. The investigators wouldn't say because the investigation is continuing, but based on past cases, while many do reside in the United States, there were apparently others in Europe and other countries.

Q. Do investigators believe that most Americans know what kind of photos are out there?

A. No. The investigators say most Americans believe these are just naked pictures of children. It is actually much worse than that. The reality is that these are pictures of 250-pound men raping 3-year-old girls. These photos show bestiality, true abuse and molestation -- often violent abuse and molestation.

Q. And this operation was very lucrative?

A. Yes, it was. The site took in $1.4 million in one month. Investigators say the money was split, with 60 percent of the profits going to the Web site operators in other countries and 40 percent being kept by the couple in Texas who handled the credit card operation. Over a two-year period, that couple, investigators said, made more than $1 million, and that was only 40 percent of the profit.

Q. More than 100 people whose names were learned through the Landslide investigation have been arrested. How did that work?

A. The investigators were reluctant to give details but I understand that undercover agents contacted these people, determined they were interested in child pornography, even discussed what age children they were interested in. When the targets ordered child pornography, that pornography was delivered to them and agents moved in.

The investigators said they were targeting people who indicated they were interested in child pornography, not other porn.