Do You Know This 'man'? Interpol Needs You

By Ros Prynn

Interpol needs your help. They have been searching for this man for two years.

This may be the chance for online social networks to provide a break in the case that Interpol's wide net couldn't crack. Within 24 hours of launching the operation, over 200 leads have been received.

Norwegian police found hundreds of images of the unknown man on the computer of a convicted pedophile. Over the last two years, they have tried to identify him without success. Now, for only the second time in their history, Interpol is hoping worldwide distribution will help them bring this 'man' to justice.

"Interpol is requesting the public's assistance to identify this man, pictured in a series of child sexual abuse images posted on the Internet.

The photos shown here were retrieved from the computer of a convicted paedophile, and are from a series involving at least three boys aged approximately six to 10 years old. They are believed to have been taken in Southeast Asia in 2000 and 2001."[ Interpol ]

Interpol spokesman Michael Moran, a criminal intelligence officer, said the appeal was issued after a two-year investigation failed to bring the agency no closer to identifying or locating a man who allegedly appears in about 100 photographs to be sexually abusing boys five to 10 years of age.

Interpol collected around 800 photos, that it believes to be connected to the man because they include similar locations and child victims, according an interpol media release.

Canwest News Service reports they had a telephone interview with Moran, who was in Lyon, France, in which he said "These are not harmless images. These are images of the sexual abuse of children."

Interpol apparently received tips from around the world, including some from Canada. [ www.canada.com ]

It was in Canada that Interpol found a suspected pedophile, following the first ever release of similar pictures by the agency. A Canadian from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, was identified as the man pictured allegedly abusing young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. Christopher Neil, 32 was arrested. He has pleaded not guilty, with his next court appearance set for June 2.

This current effort, to identify the man shown above, has been called "Operation Ident", and Interpol asks that anyone with ANY information that can help identify this 'man', contact Interpol or their local police immediately. [ Interpol Report Form ]

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other South East Asian countries are well known destination spots for perverts who prey on young children. For a very few dollars, the poor kids of these countries become the sex toys of men who would, and should be shunned, in their own countries. Every day, western men victimise unknown hundreds of kids worldwide.

While Interpol thinks these pictures above may date back as far as 2001, it should be possible for someone to identify him from these images.

Can you help? Do you know who this is? Please do the right thing. Contact Interpol or your local police. Time to send a clear message to this 'man': you may run, but you cannot hide. Oh, the internet can be a wonderful thing!