13 men, including an American, arrested at Canada hotel
and charged with luring minors for sexual abuse
By Ahmad Mukhtar
February 15, 2024 / 1:17 PM EST / CBS News
Canadian police arrested 13 men, including a U.S. national over a four-day period this month in an operation at a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and all 13 have been charged with child sex trafficking offenses, the Niagara Regional Police Service said. The individuals were arrested as part of a project launched by the Niagara police targeting people using the internet to arrange meetings with minors they believed to be offering sexual services for money.
The suspects range in age from 20 to 60 years old, and they were all arrested at the same hotel between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3, the police said. The charges against them include encouraging or advising sexual exploitation of a minor, engaging in sexual activities with a young person and luring a child for the purpose of obtaining sexual services.
Among those being held is a 60-year-old U.S. citizen from Buffalo, New York. The police have not released the men's names.
"These arrests showcase the dedication of our members in ensuring some of the most vulnerable members of our community are protected, sending a strong message that the predatory behaviors associated with human trafficking will not be tolerated in Niagara," Niagara police chief Bill Fordy said in a statement.
"We are committed to fighting human trafficking through intelligence-gathering and working cooperatively with law enforcement and community partners to support victims and enforcement efforts. Integrated resources, the sharing of information, a victim-centered approach and community partnerships are crucial to law enforcement's effective response to this kind of crime." The project received assistance from multiple law enforcement and agencies, police said.
Canada's Ontario province, which sits on the Great Lakes and borders several U.S. states, has consistently reported the highest rates of human trafficking cases in the country. According to data compiled by the government agency Statistics Canada, between 2012 and 2022, Ontario has ranked second with 1.6 reported incidents per 100,000 people.
Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately affected by human trafficking in Canada, with immigrants, the LGBTQ community, children in the welfare system, people with disabilities and other at-risk youths also heavily impacted, according to the Niagara police.
Alaska woman sentenced to 99 years in
murder-for-hire killing of friend
By Kerry Breen
February 14, 2024 / 1:57 PM EST / CBS News
Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, one of two young people charged in the 2019 killing of Alaska teenager Cynthia Hoffman in a murder-for-hire scheme, was sentenced to 99 years in prison on Monday.
Court documents showed that Brehmer, then 18, struck up an online relationship with 21-year-old Darin Schilmiller, who was living in Indiana. Schilmiller claimed to be a millionaire and said he would send Brehmer $9 million in exchange for photos and videos of a killing. He did not name a target.
Brehmer allegedly offered four other friends a cut of the money if they helped her, CBS News previously reported, and Brehmer and then-16-year-old Kayden McIntosh allegedly lured Hoffman on a hike. During the hike, Hoffman was shot in the back of the head and put into a river. Police found Hoffman's body one day after she was reported missing. McIntosh's trial in the case is pending.
Brehmer, now 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023 after charges of conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation of murder, tampering with evidence, and murder in the second degree were dismissed. Nearly a year later, her sentencing occurred over three days in January and February 2024. The 99-year sentence was the maximum penalty the court was permitted to impose, according to a news release from Alaska's Department of Law.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson called Hoffman's murder "tragic and senseless" and noted that Brehmer showed no remorse after the murder and went on to engage in other criminal conduct at Schilmiller's request.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Schilmiller and Brehmer also conspired to coerce a minor to produce sexually explicit images. Last summer, the two pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to produce child pornography.
In January, Schilmiller was sentenced to 99 years in prison by Peterson for his role in the murder after being extradited to Alaska.
Caleb Leyland, another friend involved in the murder-for-hire scheme, pleaded guilty to one charge of second-degree murder in November, after charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder were dismissed. His sentencing is scheduled for June in front of the same judge who sentenced Brehmer.
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Nathan Bake: Mechanic from Cheshire jailed for
16 years for role in child sex abuse website
The 28-year-old from Runcorn, who was second in command of The Annex, was convicted under organised crime laws in the first case of its kind.
Wednesday 14 February 2024 16:09, UK
A mechanic who helped run one of the dark web's biggest child sex abuse websites has been jailed for 16 years after he was convicted under organised crime laws in the first case of its kind.
Nathan Bake, a 28-year-old tyre fitter from Runcorn, Cheshire, was the head moderator and second in command of The Annex - which had 90,000 users worldwide.
'Committed paedophile'
"You are a committed paedophile who represents a very significant risk of causing serious harm to children," he told him.
"In this day and age, given the wide public access to news material, there is very little that shocks the public, but this is such a case.
"People are revulsed by offending of this nature and those who take sexual gratification from the abuse of children in any form."
Home Office review
There is currently no legislation that specifically deals with the moderation or administration of child sex abuse websites and the agency is in talks with the Home Office to toughen up the laws.
There are about 1.4 million users of the Tor browser, which can be easily downloaded and used to access the dark web, with around 40% of searches relating to child sex abuse, according to investigators.
Anna Pope, prosecuting, told the court The Annex was identified by American law enforcement officers on a server in Romania in 2020 before being moved to a server in Moldova.
'Nothing was off limits'
The 30 people responsible for running the site put as much time into their work as any other job and would hold staff meetings and suggest people for promotions, said NCA branch commander Adam Priestley.
Users would have to prove themselves in "the gateway" by sharing child sex abuse material before being allowed into other areas.
"There was nothing on this site that was off limits - everything was encouraged, everything was allowed for," he said.
"The men were very much part of a team of staff - that you would expect to see within any other business - that provided a platform to facilitate a community of paedophiles to encourage the abuse of children all over the world."
Evasion advice
Bake answered queries from other site users and offered advice on not getting caught, saying in one post: "Come on people, show us what you've got for HAPPY HOUR. Show us the boys and girls that turn you on the most."
The court heard that children's tights, underwear and sandals were found in the bottom drawer of his computer desk, although investigators said he didn't have any access to children.
Keith Jones, defending, said Bake was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of 16, had converted to Islam, and was studying Arabic.
"He acknowledges that his behaviour is morally reprehensible," he said.
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