© thetimes.co.ukEric Eoin Marques
Eric Eoin Marques is both the owner and Administrator of Freedom Hosting, according to the FBI, which is the world's largest anonymous internet hosting website.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is alleged to have taken down the multiple sites connected to Freedom Hosting in a series of hacking attacks which have never been officially confirmed, that targeted multiple pedophile networks across the globe in an effort to shut down the victimization of innocent children.
That website has become a bastion of hosting other websites which either produce, distribute, or share child pornography; with the potential of expanding across the globe reaching billions of people.
The FBI says that Eric Eoin Marques was first arrested in 2013 by the Irish Gardia, which is a police force in the Republic of Ireland; at the request of the US State Department, where he's since fought his extradition over a prolonged five years to avoid criminal prosecution in America.
Prosecutors say that Marques was born in the United States of America, but that he's an Irishman who fled the United States of America to set out upon a profitable venture on the internet with the intention of targeting child pornographic distribution networks in order to make his fortune, and that's what the FBI says he did.
Working out of his father's single floor, one-bedroom flat in Dublin, Ireland, Eric Eoin Marques would become the largest dealer of child pornographic videos and images on planet Earth.
Back in August of 2013,The Independent reported the Irish Gardia executed a search on Marques home where they smashed through his door with brute force and began seizing an endless treasure trove of computer and electronics equipment for evidence, where they would find evidence of Freedom Hosting being connected to a major ring of "Darknet" child porn distribution for profit.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation participated with coordination of the low-key raid on Marques, where for years he'd bragged to the pedophiles using his services that he was untouchable.
The arrogance which reeked from Marques was a stench that carried with it the victimization of hundreds of thousands of children who has been sexually assaulted, molested, raped, even killed on camera to appease the most disgusting men and women in the world who enjoyed finding pleasure from the disturbing torture of innocents.
Several internet service providers over the years would cut off hosting to Marques' company at the request of the United States of America, include the German service Hetzner; but Freedom Hosting would only continue to find a means of keeping his company on the internet, alive and well.
Many messages which have since been found were posted to chats and forums on Marques' Freedom Hosting services, of which he was warned by multiple Americans that what he was doing was indeed illegal.
"You do realize that in many countries, even imagery (real or not) depicting underage sex can be cause for legal recourse?" wrote one American contributor.
Your page has countless things written on it that could get you in trouble here in the USA," the contributor continued. "You need to talk to a lawyer, or something, to make sure what you're doing is legal".
Marques remained untroubled. "It's not actually my site. It's a free hosting customer," he replied.
"Before the complaint today, I did not even know this site existed," responded Marques. "There are 30k+ accounts on that one server alone. I do not live in the US and the server is in Germany."
Marques is essentially making the argument that he's the internet host and sells his services to others, which is in part true, but it's also now law that those who host can be responsible for what their users post online.
The argument from the FBI is that Marques was fully aware of what he was doing; knowing that child pornography was being hosted on his services and that he was profiting from this.
There's little doubt that Marques was aware of what was occurring, or else he'd not had avoided the United States of America.
He's also attempted to fight extradition for countless months, bringing several separate cases before the Court of Appeal made their final decision to hand Marques over to the United States of America, where he will face trial for conspiring to distribute and advertise child pornography and advertising and distributing child pornography.
Marques has attempted to seek prosecution in Ireland before the government decided that he would be sent into the US where he will be brought before a federal court Judge.
His attorneys have argued that the DPP decision in Ireland to avoid prosecution there didn't provide a solid reasoning for why he would be sent to the United States of America, and they've continued to plead with the Minister of Justice to halt all extradition proceedings without success.
On Monday, Court of Appeal comprised of Mr. Justice Michael Peart, Mr. Justice Alan Mahon, and Mr. Justice John Hedigan have all decided upon dismissing the appeal, which clears the way for US law enforcement to take custody of Marques at an immediate time after a scheduled hearing on Friday, where he has a final chance to plead for a Supreme Court overruling of the decision.
Justice Peart argued that the extradition is a "process of international cooperation in the criminal sphere between sovereign states," saying that "it was not a criminal proceeding" and involves "no finding of guilt or innocence."
The US State Department says that over 100 anonymous websites were under the control of Marques, which they described as being extremely violent, graphic and depicting the rape and torture of prepubescent children.
No doubt this case will a trial of the century, deciding the fate of other online enterprises which distribute the illicit images and videos of children being sexually assaulted, and determine what companies could face charges for knowingly hosting similar platforms on their servers, or providing internet service to the server companies which host them.
The implications of this judgment will bring down many other pedophile networks across the globe.
It's clear that under the Trump Administration that the war against child pornography is only increasing, as powerful ringleaders are being prevented from expanding their reign of terror to victimize children.
Justice is coming to Marques, and it should serve as a warning for all others involved in the similar abuse of children.
A huge thank you goes out to the law enforcement agencies involved in this global plight for justice.
> reaching billions of people
That is quite common exaggeration but it should not be used by law enforcement people. A person should be judged of what he did, not of what he might have done.