The case first broke on Jan. 28 after two Wisconsin men were accused of making child pornography with children from the Beaver Dam area and then distributing images over the Internet.
Shortly after, a fourth person was charged in the same Internet porn ring, followed by a fifth suspect who along with the others was accused of sexual molestation of boys ranging from 7 to 15. The scales were then tipped with the arrest of a police officer from Riverside County, Calif. who prior to joining the force had been a substitute teacher.
The police officer, Adam Brown, allegedly made frequent trips from California to Wisconsin to engage in sex with boys between the ages of 8 and 11-years-old. The meetings were allegedly arranged by the leader of the porn ring, William Martin, who has been formally charged with supplying mothers in the Beaver Dam area with drugs and using their children in sex photo and video sessions.
On several occasions, both Brown and Martin allegedly took victims to hotel rooms where Brown engaged in sex with them, while Martin took photographs that would later be uploaded onto the Internet for distribution. The Daily Citizen reports that police were able to track $4,000 in electronic funds that were exchanged between Brown and Martin over a period of time.
Computers in the Beaver Dam house where the child porn ring operated have been seized, WISN 12 News reports.
Martin has been charged with sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 18.
On Friday, police arrests four more men involved in the ring, which now extends outside of the U.S. into other countries and involves the investigative forces of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The number of men involved in the ring as either participants or distributors has now reached 11, although several more suspects are expected to be brought to justice in the coming weeks.
According to WISN 12 News, law enforcement is estimating that around 30 children were victimized by members of the ring, 12 of which were local to the Beaver Dam area.
The FBI is reportedly in pursuit of a member of the child porn ring based in Flint, but charges are still pending.