High-ranking members of international, online child porn ring among 4 sentenced in Indiana

4 child porn ring members sentenced in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge sentenced two high-ranking members of a major international online child pornography ring to 15 years in prison Friday.

Michael Baratta, 49, of Sacramento, Calif., and William Watkins, 39, of Lake Worth, Fla., were among five people sentenced Friday on various child pornography charges related to the Cache, an online message board where members shared millions of pornographic images and videos.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven DeBrota said Baratta was one of five top-level administrators for the message board, while Watkins was a moderator.

The password-protected website had 1,000 members at its peak and numbered more than 500 when it was shut down in 2008. Members were granted access to the hierarchical group’s website by invitation only and had to be vetted by senior members. Only the most trusted members controlled the huge stash of child pornography, and members advised one another in forums on how best to cover their tracks.

Others sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy Friday were Marc Beren Reeder, 33, of Harrisburg, Pa., who received a 10-year sentence; and Scott Van Dorp, 51, of Nashville, who received a 15-year term.

Van Dorp also was charged for his role as an administrator of another child pornography website called the Country Lounge. His child pornography collection contained 1 million files, DeBrota said.

All four men had pleaded guilty to charges of advertising and distributing child pornography, the Justice Department said.

Judge William T. Lawrence placed each of the men on lifetime probation and ordered them to undergo counseling and register as sex offenders.

All four expressed regret at what they had done during separate hearings in Indianapolis.

“It is inexcusable what we have done,” said Reeder, blaming his actions in part on what he called an Internet addiction.

“I am very, very sorry and deeply ashamed,” Watkins said.

Lawrence told all four defendants that the children depicted in their pornographic collections would be victimized again and again, every time one of their images or movies was downloaded.

“There is no foreseeable end to that victimization,” he said.

A fifth man, Christopher Philpot, 32, of Rushville, was sentenced to five months in prison and lifetime probation for receiving child pornography through the Cache, but he was not charged as part of the conspiracy.

The convictions resulted from a two-year international investigation called Operation Nest Egg. The group’s alleged ringleader, Delwyn Savigar, is serving a 14-year prison term in England for sexually assaulting or trying to abuse three underage girls.

The Justice Department said 26 people have been charged in the conspiracy, and 20 have been convicted. Authorities are still trying to identify four suspects known only by their screen names.