The secret videotape

By Duncan Campbell

Posted on 10 May 2007 at 09:08

Three months after the PC Pro report was published, documents obtained from the US revealed the existence of a videotape showing what really happened on the website in question, Landslide.com. On 28 April 1999, a Texas detective, Steve Nelson, had decided to record what happened when visitors logged in to the Landslide website. With the help of Microsoft, he connected a video recorder to his PC. The resulting VHS tape of Landslide.com was allocated exhibit number SN-A-1.

A minority of sex sites accessed through Landslide offered horrific child pornography. Videotape SN-A-1 became the US government's first exhibit in the successful October 2000 trial of Thomas Reedy, Landslide's owner and manager. Court transcripts from the case described the videotape and confirmed what PC Pro reported there was no 'click here' button on the Landslide first page.

Two years later, in a statement taken by British police, Nelson's story had changed. It was claimed that the button was on the front page, and was an essential step to accessing any site.

The US court transcripts, exhibits list, and a copy of videotape SN-A-1 were brought to Britain in 2002. When PC Pro asked the Crown Prosecution Service(CPS) if the video tape had ever been officially produced as evidence, it issued a statement claiming: 'SN-A-1 is a video tape produced by US Postal Inspector Steve Nelson. In cases in which it is relevant it has been exhibited and made available to the defence.' Nelson is a detective, not a 'Postal Inspector', and he has never given evidence in a UK court.

Nor has the CPS been willing to disclose that, since the end of 2002, the police had evidence that many of those they called paedophiles were, in reality, simply victims of internet credit card fraud.

Click here to continue to part three

Part 1: Fatal flaws in Operation Ore - the full story
Part 2: The secret videotape
Part 3: Carding rackets
Part 4: The Soprano Connection
Part 5: The minister and the FBI
Part 6: Wide-scale fraud
Part 7: The rockstar fraudster