The Orchid Ring of (Probable) Child Pornographers

[Timothy C. May]

At 11:29 AM 7/17/96, John Young wrote:

>   "16 Indicted On Charges Of Internet Pornography."
>
>      Exon-Reno-ing into one of the more distant frontiers of
>      sexual crime, a Federal grand jury charged 16 people in
>      the US and abroad with joining in a pornography ring.
>      Its members shared homemade pictures, recounted their
>      sexual experiences with children and even chatted
>      electronically as two of the men molested a 10-year-old
>      girl. The case appeared likely to heighten concerns
>      about the spread of child pornography over the Internet.

This incident happened very near me, in Greenfield, California, near Salinas.

(No, I was not involved!)

Apparently the "Orchid Ring" (or "Orchid Club") was using a
password-protected system of some sort, according to an article in today's
"Mercury News." The Internet was used, but I don't know the details (e.g.,
whether IRC was used, ordinary e-mail, or some soft of "intranet" linking
the participants).

ObList Relevance: Even if they were not using PGP or the like, it is not a
leap to imagine the usefullness of crypto for such intranets.

It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds.

BTW, from the reports it appears likely that these were indeed "child
pornographers," not simple violators of the CDA. That is, full-fledged
Horsemen of the Infocalypse. As such, potentially powerful ammunition for
those who would like restrictions placed on crypto. (Especially if it turns
out that law enforcement learned of the Orchid Ring through non-encrypted
communications.)

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay at got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."