Final Defendant in International Child Porn Case Pleads Guilty

The final defendant out of 16 pleaded guilty for his participation in an international child pornography website Tuesday, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California and Assistant Director in Charge Steve Martinez of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

Billy Wade Carroll, 51, of Dayton, Ohio, was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Riverside, CA, for his role in the "Lost Boys" online bulletin board that was started by a North Hollywood man, Harout Hagop Sarafian.

The court case was the last of 16 men in the United States who were charged and who now have all been found guilty of child porn allegations connected to the "Lost Boys" case, according to the L.A. Times. Also found guilty in the case was Woodrow Tracy, 65, of Sun Valley, and two other men from Southern California.

The "Lost Boys" group members were required to post sexually explicit photos of young boys on a regular basis to remain in "good standing," according to the FBI. The website was active from 2007 to 2009.

According to the FBI's website: law enforcement authorities discovered the Lost Boy bulletin board after receiving information from Eurojust, a judicial agency of the European Union (EU) facilitating the coordination of investigations and prosecutions among EU member states. Eurojust provided U.S. law enforcement with leads obtained from Norwegian and Italian authorities indicating that a North Hollywood, Calif., man was communicating with an Italian national about child pornography and how to engage in child sex tourism in Romania. Acting on the information from Europe, the FBI executed search warrants that led to the discovery of the Lost Boy network. Further investigation revealed that Lost Boy had 35 members, 16 of whom were U.S. nationals. Other members of the network were located in countries around the world, including Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.