Wage war on child porn

Sales of child pornography rake in $20 billion to $30 billion a year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Hundreds of thousands of Web sites sell these images, some of them transmitted live over the Internet.

On Wednesday, federal authorities announced that 27 people in nine states face state and federal charges including the manufacture, possession and distribution of child pornography in connection with an Internet pornography ring. Authorities say it is one of the worst they have discovered. One victim was less than 18 months old. Live video images of the sex abuse were transmitted over the Internet, authorities said.

Child pornography is such a gigantic business that it is unlikely that it can be halted altogether. But this case illustrates law enforcement's commitment to shutting down rings from manufacturer to consumers. Federal and state governments must provide sufficient funding to enable authorities to hunt down and prosecute all involved in these rings.

Federal and state authorities need the expertise to defeat sophisticated security measures that enable participates to share files with one another instead of downloading them off Web sites. Congress and state legislatures must make this a priority.

One ray of hope is a move by the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography to choke off the money supply to child pornographers. These financial institutions, which include American Express, Bank of America, Citigroup, PayPal and others are attempting to snuff out the commercial spread of child pornography by 2008. They aim to thwart the use of credit cards and other financial tools to buy child pornography. As coalition founder Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., explains in published reports, "It's all about money, money, money."

And it's all about damaging innocent children who may never be made whole after suffering such abuse and degradation. Their personal suffering is only compounded by the very nature of the Internet. Images of their abuse will float about the Internet indefinitely.

Credit is due to international, federal and state authorities dedicated to busting child pornography rings and bringing pedophiles and child pornography purveyors to justice. The Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is a key partner in its continued efforts to halt financial transactions to child pornographers and cooperate with law enforcement to hunt down despicable people who sexually abuse children and profit from it.