Operation Hamlet

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Operation Hamlet was a global police effort to shut down a network of people who shared and produced child pornography on the Internet and abused children. The U.S. Customs Service led the operation with help from Denmark’s National Police and other agencies. It began in November 2001 after Danish police were tipped off by Save the Children about online pictures showing a young girl being sexually abused. They found a man and his wife who posted the images and shared them with people in other countries.

The U.S. CyberSmuggling Center coordinated the work with the Danish police, INTERPOL, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and many other agencies. The investigation uncovered a wide network of people exchanging child pornography and, in many cases, abusing children themselves.

Key results:
- 45 children rescued worldwide, including 37 in the United States
- 10 suspects arrested in the United States
- 10 suspects arrested in Europe (Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands)
- 15 people indicted in California on federal conspiracy charges (August 8, 2002), including 5 foreign nationals
- 15 search warrants executed in the United States
- Arrests across several states: California, Idaho, Nevada, Florida, New York, Washington, New Jersey, Michigan, South Carolina, Illinois, Texas
- About 80% of cases involved parents abusing their own children

Commissioner Robert C. Bonner praised the investigators for their hard work and success in bringing these criminals to justice.