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Operation Cathedral was a police operation that broke up a major international child pornography ring called The Wonderland Club operating over the Internet. It was led by the British National Crime Squad in cooperation with 1,500 officers from 13 other police forces around the world,<ref name=pedoring>Template:Cite news</ref> who simultaneously arrested 104 suspects in 13 countries (including Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK, and the US) on 2 September 1998.<ref name="the Guardian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The case received widespread international attention due to the highly organised nature of the ring, leading to public concerns of online child sexual abuse and legislative changes in the UK.
OverviewEdit
The Wonderland Club, (also officially known as w0nderland) named after Alice in Wonderland,<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was described as "an international network of paedophiles involving the rape of boys and girls live on camera and the traffic in images of the torture of children as young as two months".<ref name="the Guardian" /> It was created in 1995<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by two American paedophiles,<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including one named Peter Giordano<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and consisted in an Internet Relay Chat<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with an encryption system created initially by the former KGB.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The investigation had been sparked by a tip-off from US police investigating the 1996 rape of an 8-year-old girl broadcast live to paedophiles by webcam.<ref name="pedoring" /><ref name=":3" /> The accused, Ronald Riva of Greenfield, California, was in a paedophile gang called The Orchid Club<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was encouraged during the assault by six others, including Ian Baldock, a member of Wonderland.<ref name="the Guardian" />
One reason for the high profile of the operation was the unusually high number of images possessed, produced, and distributed by Wonderland members (more than 750,000 images and 1,800 videos). One requirement for entry to the club, apart from a recommendation from an existing member, was the expectation to supply 10,000 new or self-produced pornographic images of children.<ref name="the Guardian" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite substantial police work, only 17 of the 1,263 individuals appearing in the images have been identified:<ref name=":3" /> one from Argentina, one from Chile, one from Portugal, six from the United Kingdom, and seven from the United States. The Portuguese national was later identified as Rui Pedro Teixeira Mendonça, an 11-year-old boy kidnapped in Lousada on 4 March 1998 and whose whereabouts are currently unknown.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Six members of the club committed suicide after the raids.<ref name=":4" /> Other raids related to the Cathedral operation include 1999's Operation Queensland, involving 20 police forces, and 2001's Operation Janitress, which included police forces across 12 regions.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
British membersEdit
The following is a list of British citizens arrested as a result of Operation Cathedral, and their ages when convicted:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Ahmed Ali, 31, taxi driver, nicknamed "Caesar". Jailed for two years.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />
- Ian Baldock, 31, computer consultant. Jailed for two-and-a-half years.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Andrew Barlow, 25, computer consultant, nicknamed "Mix". Jailed for two years.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />
- Stephen Ellis, 40, computer salesman. Heavily encrypted his computer files. Committed suicide in January 1999 prior to the trial.<ref name=":0" />
- David Hines, 30, unemployed, nicknamed "Mutt's Nutts", who later discussed the club publicly on Panorama. Jailed for two-and-a-half years.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />
- Gary Salt, taxi driver, former engineer, nicknamed "Jazz" and "chairman" of the club. Assisted the Cathedral sting by providing his login details. In 1998, he was sentenced to 12 years for sex offences.<ref name=":4" /> Released from prison in 2010 (having changed his name to Anthony Andrews) he was re-arrested months later when caught viewing indecent images on a computer in Old Trafford Library.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Gavin Seagers, 29, computer consultant and Sea Cadets youth leader. Jailed for two years.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" /> Arrested and sentenced again in 2011 for a similar offence as Gavin Smith.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Antoni Skinner, 36, computer consultant, nicknamed "Uhura" and "Satan". Jailed for 18 months.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />
- Frederick Stephens, 46, taxi driver, nicknamed "Guess Who" and "Me Again". Jailed for a year.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />
Legal changesEdit
On 13 February 2001, seven British members of Wonderland were sentenced at the same court hearing at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court.<ref name="the Guardian" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> At this time, however, the maximum sentence for the particular crimes in the UK was three years,<ref name="bbc.co.uk" /> leading to the UK-based perpetrators only being sentenced between 12 and 30 months for their crimes.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Protests by child care campaigners led to proposed legal revisions of British laws<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and an increase in penalties to 10 years<ref name="the Guardian" /> as per the Sexual Offences Act 2003.