To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.

–Confucius

On August 8, 2001, US Attorney General John Ashcroft and Chief Postal Inspector Kenneth Weaver announced Operation Avalanche. By this time, the two-year undercover operation had already made more than 100 arrests on charges related to child pornography, including the arrests of the two main criminals, Thomas and Janice Reedy.

The investigation centered on Landslide Productions, an Internet business engaged in advertising and conspiring to distribute child pornography. Landslide offered subscriptions to more than 250 websites, many of them devoted to child pornography. Landslide had 300,000 subscribers and earned as much as $1.4 million a month. Between 1996 and 1999, Landslide took in nearly $10 million, 85 percent of which came from child porn. It was the largest commercial child pornography enterprise ever encountered up to that point. Thomas Reedy was sentenced to 1,335 years – 15 years for each of 89 charges – to run consecutively. His wife, Janice, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. More than 250 Americans were arrested, but the subscriber list contained names of many thousands of people from 60 countries, including 35,000 Americans.

The investigation required international cooperation to crack other rings. Police in Switzerland launched an investigation of 1,300 people in Operation Genesis. The German police launched Operation Pecunia to investigate more than 1,400 suspects. British authorities launched Operation Ore to investigate more than 7,200 names, Ireland conducted more than 100 raids as part of Operation Amethyst, and Canada launched investigation in Operation Snowball. This case is an example of how one child pornography investigation into the activities of individuals involved in a commercial website operation can lead to the apprehension of hundreds of offenders.

Illegal activity on the Internet is sophisticated. Criminals and terrorists strive to keep their identity, their modes of operation, and their vile plans secret.