Internet porn trial begins

A 54-year-old man allegedly known as the Lurker Down Under in an international child pornography ring calling itself Pedo University went on trial in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

Desmond John Millward, a sickness beneficiary of Kohimarama, has denied under the Films, Video and Publications Classification Act charges of supplying objectionable publications via the Internet. The prosecution alleges that Millward was an active member of the ring.

The court heard yesterday that the case involved thousands of pornographic images.

Millward was arrested in October 1998 as part of a swoop by police on allegedly paedophile members of Pedo University in the United States, Canada, Sweden and New Zealand.

Thirteen people were arrested in total.

Auckland detectives seized computer equipment at Millward's home following a tip-off by New York police, who had begun their inquiries eight months beforehand.

The international police investigation, named Operation Sabbatical, allegedly revealed that Pedo University was an online organisation of pornographers who traded in electronic images of young children engaged in graphic sex acts.

The trial before Judge Michael Hobbs continues today.