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2004 Ukrainian child pornography raids

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The 2004 Ukrainian child pornography raids occurred in July 2004, when police in Ukraine raided a child pornography ring operating in the cities of Kiev, Kharkiv and Simferopol.[1] The ring had operated since 2001, and used a modeling agency as a front.[1] Approximately 1,500 girls aged from eight to sixteen were said to have been to the agency. Pornographic and erotic materials produced by the agency were distributed over the internet to the United States and Canada.

The agency, known as Ukrainian Angels Studio, streamed on the web was called LS Models and had a number of different domains such as LS Island, LS Magazine and LS Dreams. The sites managed to stay away from controversy with its viewers claiming each site was completely legal under the US constitution.[citation needed]

The Crime Investigation Department of the Ministry for the Interior conducted the raids. The deputy head of the department, Vitaly Yarema, said that the bank accounts of the agency, containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, had been frozen.[1]

The raids were conducted after a joint investigation between Ukrainian police and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2005, the United States Department of State announced that there was further cooperation between Ukrainian police and other law enforcement agencies internationally.[2]


The investigation following the raids was completed by 6 April 2005.[3]

Two leaders of the agency were taken into custody but have since been released.[citation needed] A few older issues reportedly can still be found on the internet along with a few different shut down agencies, similar to that of LS.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Police Shut Ukraine Model Agency in Porn Crackdown". Reuters. July 28 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Ukraine". United States Department of State. 2005. Retrieved 2006-04-07.
  3. ^ "Criminal group involves 1,500 under-age Ukrainian girls in porn business with parents' knowledge". Pravda Online. 6 April 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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