The operational structure of the sprawling international ‘enterprise’ known as The Annex was much akin to that one might find in any business.
There was a clearly defined ‘promotion’ scheme allowing, encouraging even, staff to climb the ranks. Targets and working were hours all set out, holidays had to be flagged to line managers.
And there were rules – lots of rules.
A quick glance at some of those rules, however, will tell you that The Annex was – for it is now, mercifully, defunct – no legitimate business.
‘Stay anonymous, never umask yourself!’ says one.
‘Never, ever share personal data,’ warns another.
‘Always download and watch videos offline,’ orders one more.
Nathan Bake arrives for sentencing at Chester Crown Court
The Annex was a vast website where 100,000 paedophiles worldwide would ‘meet’ to share millions of videos and pictures of child sex abuse, on the dark web – a shadowy place, where sickening criminality was free to burgeon under the cover of anonymity.
Unknown to users, however, its twisted operations had been under the scrutiny of international crime…
