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'Falsely accused paedophiles were actually victims of credit card fraud'
Last updated at 20:52pm on 10.05.07
Hundreds of people accused of being paedophiles were actually victims of credit card fraud claims BBC Radio 4 programme The Investigation
Hundreds of Britons accused of being paedophiles in the country's biggest Internet child pornography investigation were actually victims of credit card fraud, it was claimed last night.
More than 7,000 - including rock star Pete Townshend - were said to have downloaded child-porn images from a U.S. website.
But an investigation has found that many of those charged as part of the police inquiry codenamed Operation Ore were innocent and their card details had been used illegally.
Simon Bunce, who was accused of using the Texas-based Landslide website, said he was certain his personal information had been used fraudulently. Police found no evidence on his computer but his credit card details were found on the site.
"Thirty-nine people committed suicide after being accused of what I was accused of," he said. "I reacted in a different way. I investigated it diligently and I established I was the victim of credit card fraud."
The case against Mr Bunce was dropped after six months.
In another case, a father and son were investigated for a year. Nothing was found on their computer but their card details had been used. They recently found out they would not be prosecuted.
Makers of the BBC Radio 4 programme The Investigation, which was broadcast last night, interviewed Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at Cambridge University, who was a defence expert witness in several Operation Ore trials.
"Police just didn't look far and didn't understand the evidence of wholesale card fraud," he said.
"As a result hundreds, possibly even thousands, of people have been put through a terrible mill with threats of prosecution for child pornography and all the rest of it when in fact they had nothing to do with child pornography."
Police admit some of the 7,200 on a list supplied to them by U.S. officials were victims of card fraud but say they were not prosecuted and that they do not believe fraud was rife on the website. So far, 2,300 people have been found guilty of offences.
Jim Gamble, former head of the National Crime Squad who is now head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said: "Over 90 per cent of those involved pleaded guilty. That's not about credit card fraud.
"That's people who have had the allegation levelled against them. The evidence has been collected. And they at court have said, 'I'm guilty of this offence'."
Those held in Operation Ore, which was launched in 2002 and cost £10 million, included Pete Townshend of The Who, Ronnie Barker's son Adam and numerous police officers.
Townshend denied that he was a paedophile, claiming he only accessed a site as research for an anti-child pornography campaign and for his autobiography.
He was not charged, but accepted a police caution and was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.
Adam Barker went on the run and has never been traced. At least 38 suspects are known to have committed suicide. Of these, 34 had illegal images on their computers.
Reader views (8)
Britain is becoming, no, it is a mildly fascist state. It is a country in which it seems innocent people can be prosecuted for sex crimes. It is a country in which you cannot buy a pocket knife that locks open, the safest design to prevent injury to the user. You can stab someone with a knife that doesn't lock open. There are video cameras almost every place where people dwell. There are probably none in the countryside, but it would not surprise me to find one disguise as a plant. What has happened to the British.
I t appears beginning in the USA that we are playing catchup. The Anglo American societies are dying and unfortunately I will still be alive to live through it.
- Thomas Elias Weatherly, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
What are we collectively going to do about this? Collectively we have a voice of opinion, independently we are nothing, please remember that.
Jim Gamble, former head of the National Crime Squad who is now head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said: "Over 90 per cent of those involved pleaded guilty. That's not about credit card fraud.
"That's people who have had the allegation levelled against them. The evidence has been collected. And they at court have said, 'I'm guilty of this offence'."
That means that 10% are totally innocent, what does Mr Gamble have to say about those people? Not a lot from my point of view. BTW my name is Edward Judge from Liverpool. oh and there is more......
At least 38 suspects are known to have committed suicide. Of these, 34 had illegal images on their computers. What about the other 4?
If your cleared you should be publicly cleared, or as public that the victim in this, the accused, wishes it to be. But are we really cleared?
No, the mere mention of child abuse investigation forces the world to say no to you, without a court of law telling them thats what they should do.
And that is wrong. what do you think?
- Edward Judge, Liverpool
The problem with even being accused of something like this, is, that the arrest and reasons for it go on your enhanced CRB check. My life, my career and my health have suffered because of this, having been sacked from a job purely because the police noted that I was arrested under suspicion, the charges were dropped due to "insufficient evidence." In this country, you're guilty just by being accused of something - only a short step away from thought crime. Sadly this broke my marriage up, due to the stress and depression I am suffering with. I live on medication all my life just so I can face going out the door. This is justice?
- Richard,, Wakefield
Child pornography is a fraud device, particularly on the AVS circuit. As a consequence of what has been done, the value of such material in such circumstances has increased, and there has already been a high value extortion attempt in London.
Credit card records were obtained in advance, such information going into the intelligence packs that were distributed to local forces. Further, terrorist legislation was invoked to obtain tax records.
Peter Sommer worked with the police and was exposed to the levels of reported fraud that were known from the outset. He released the headline figure at a conference.
In relation to the statements made by Jim Gamble, the IPCC upheld complaints for a criminal investigation back in 2005 and such matters have yet to conclude.
- Dave, France
Re: Nigel's comment
Even if you reported the transactions the police still stomped on you. Clearly you were trying to confuse any subsequent investigation! It also doesn't help that the Police don't check your credit card statements until after they arrest you - and then only if you complain! By that time the damage is done.
- Pete, London, England
The moral is surely to carefully check your credit-card statements and immediately challenge anything that you don't recognise. It's mildly embarassing if it turns out to have been something you did buy and then forgot, but the alternative, of being branded a criminal and pervert at a later date, is far worse.
- Nigel, London
When faced with publically going to court where even your lawyer says you're doomed vs accepting a caution in private and being placed on the sex offender registry for a few years, it's not surprising that people took the caution.
- Pete, London, England
Small errors? Peter Sommer clearly has no clue as to how incredibly damaging the allegations of child pornography are in the UK these days. I would suggest that perhaps he needs to take his job and its consequences more seriously.
- Mike, London, England
