Manhattan DA: 26 traded child sex videos
A substitute teacher, an architect and a worker at a children's shoe store were among the 26 Manhattan residents charged Tuesday with possessing pornography depicting child sexual assault.
"These defendants stockpiled images of the brutal rapes and sexual assaults of tens of thousands of real children," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement.
"The defendants in these cases traded images of child sexual assault the way that others trade baseball cards," Vance said.
He said the defendants used computer technology similar to that used for online sharing of music to download and share the images of both males and females, from infants to teenagers.
The arrests followed a five-month investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office and the Child Exploitation Group of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Vance said.
The substitute teacher, Joshua Ruiz, 32, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday on charges of promoting a sexual performance by a child, according to The Associated Press.
His attorney did not return a telephone call seeking comment, the AP said.
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Hundreds gather for fallen officer ... School staffer removed for ICE comment ... 9/11 memo revealed ... LI brothers with no criminal record deported
