The
2004 Ukrainian child pornography raids occurred in July 2004, when police in
Ukraine raided a softcore
child pornography ring operating in the cities of
Kiev,
Kharkiv and
Simferopol.
[1] The ring had operated since 2001, and used a modeling agency as a
front.
[1]
Although some models were of legal age 18+, approximately 1,500 girls
aged from eight to sixteen were said to have been to the agency. Erotic
materials produced by the agency were distributed over the Internet to
various countries.
The agency, known as
Ukrainian Angels Studio,
streamed on the web was called LS Models and had a number of different
domains such as LS Island, LS Magazine, Lolitas on Holiday, LS Dreams
and a series of sites under the LS Land moniker.
The Crime Investigation Department of the Ministry for the Interior
conducted the raids. The deputy head of the department, Vitaly Yarema,
said that the bank accounts of the agency, containing hundreds of
thousands of dollars, had been frozen.
[1]
Ukrainian Angels Studios actually began work much earlier, around 1999
or 2000. They split in 2001 into two separate outlets, LS and BD. BD had
its own series of photos and videos which lasted until 2004. Many of
the models went to other studios, none lasting more than a year. The
last known groups were Karina World and Pink-Teens. Both closed in 2007.
They featured former LS Models, now of legal age (over 18).
The raids were conducted after a joint investigation between Ukrainian police and Interpol. In 2005, the
United States Department of State announced that there was further cooperation between Ukrainian police and other law enforcement agencies internationally.
[2]
The investigation following the raids was completed by 6 April 2005.
[3]
Two leaders of the agency were taken into custody but have since been released.
[citation needed] Most of the parents of the girls refused to press charges.
[citation needed]
