US FA charged in child porn ring

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Man is charged in child porn case
Charlottean said to be in international ring

KYTJA WEIR AND MELISSA MANWARE
[email protected]@charlotteobserver.com

A Charlotte-based flight attendant is among 27 people charged in connection with a multinational Internet porn ring that authorities say transmitted live videos of children being molested.

Kenneth Mark Fisher, 45, of south Charlotte faces a state charge of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The US Airways flight attendant was arrested last week, Mecklenburg County jail records show, and later released on $10,000 bond.

A federal indictment unsealed this week says Fisher, who used the screen name "Lord_Newbie," participated in the private chat room called "Kiddypics & Kiddyvids" where users swapped thousands of images of child porn the way others trade music files.

Investigators identified seven children who were molested. One was less than 18 months old.

The case represents part of a growing trend, as investigators find child pornography victimizing younger and younger children, said Jeff Jordan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant special agent for North Carolina.

The most disturbing part of the porn ring, Jordan said, was that some of the material involved "on-demand child molestation" in live, streaming videos.

"The behavior in the chat room and the images sent around the world are the worst imaginable form of child pornography," U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday in a Chicago news conference.

One Illinois man is accused of performing a sex act on an infant in a video streamed to another chat room member. A Canadian man is accused in an indictment of molesting four children under age 12 for live videos.

It does not appear that any of the children identified so far lived in the Charlotte area.

But a search warrant application to enter Fisher's home, obtained by the Observer's news partner WCNC-TV, said a "LordNewbie" bragged to an undercover agent online that he had sexually abused a male toddler "too young to talk."

The man also told an online investigator that he had access to a 7-year-old girl, the search warrant affidavit said. He told the agent he hadn't had sexual contact with the girl yet, the affidavit said, but he added that he hoped to do so over the summer when he babysat for her.

Fisher, who lives near Rea Road close to the Union County line, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He has been suspended from his job as a flight attendant, US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said Wednesday, while the airline conducts an investigation.

He is currently facing a state -- not federal -- charge, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jordan said authorities are still processing evidence from Fisher's and others' computers as the investigation continues.

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago, told the Observer that Fisher was an administrator of the chat room site. Administrators were chosen by the host, authorities said, and given special privileges to establish rules for other participants.

The investigation began last May with an arrest in Edmonton, Alberta, authorities said. The 26 charged since then are from the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain.

Thirteen of them were charged in the United States, with Fisher the only one living in the Carolinas. -- Wcnc, The Associated press and Staff researcher Sara Klemmer contributed.
 
I find the article VERY disturbing to say the least.
But other than the fact that the person was a f/a for USAirways I don't think it,s really Aviation News.

I,m certainly not defending anyone, but article said such person was charged, not guilty.

Not really something to post unless it,s directly affects the airline and safety of passengers.

Again I,am NOT DEFENDING ANYONE , I just don,t believe posting the article does any good.
 
I agree, I saw that pathetic article and felt the same thing. Its not airline news. Its just wrong and sad.
 
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