Three men have been arrested on child porn trafficking charges in what federal prosecutors believe to be an investigation that could bring hundreds more charges against hundreds more people.
The Associated Press reported the three busts involved new techniques and technology tracking suspected child pornographers in cyberspace, with agents using the expanded powers of the federal Protect Act as a major part of the probe that brought these three arrests.
The probe has gone eight months so far and landed over three hundred video files showing children from infancy to teen years, confiscated by state and federal law enforcement, the AP said.
The three suspects are charged with receiving and distributing child porn online, facing possible 5-20 years in prison on each charge, the AP said, adding that two were being held in Sacramento County Jail while one was released on his own recognizance.
One of the three, prosecutors told the AP, is also charged with soliciting child porn online, accused further of contacting minors in Internet chat rooms and talking about sexual matters, the news wire said.
