Azov Films Prosecutions - United Kingdom
Background
Azov Films was based in Toronto, Canada, and specialized in selling naturist visual material mostly featuring boys participating in nudist gym and camp sports. The films were apparently produced in Eastern Europe. The legality of the material differed from country to country, but was widely believed to be well established in the USA, Canada, and the UK.
However, the company's website (www.azovfilms.com) closed on or about May 1, 2011, as a result of an international police operation dubbed Project Spade or Operation Spade according to US and Canadian authorities. These authorities have obtained business records from Azov Films including customer e-mail and postal mail addresses and transaction receipts with customer credit card information.
Starting in 2012, some customers of Azov Films have been arrested and charged with receipt and possession of child pornography: some of the nude visual material has been construed as illegal by Law Enforcement Officers ("LEO's"), including agents of the United States Postal Inspection Service. US Postal Inspector Jeff Adkins, in an Affidavit dated 10/25/2012, states that 160 movies out of the approximately 600 available on the Company website have been "categorized as containing child pornography." [1] However, no list of those 160 titles has been made available to the public.
In May 2015, after a thorough review of the AZOV catalog, a Canadian court decided that 63 AZOV videos contain "child pornography" under Canadian law. [2] [3]
The UK had been criticized in the press for declining to investigate 2,345 UK customers of Azov Films, and police are now, as of 28 November 2013, apparently initiating investigations of a "small number of high-risk individuals." [4]
A list of all the English titles of the Azov Films known to date appears on the French Boywiki. [5]
For further information visit the USA page, Azov Films Prosecutions.
U.K. Defendants
- Gareth Williams, 47, teacher, of Cardiff, Wales - PLEADS GUILTY to tangential non-AZOV charges [6] - Sentenced to 5 years [7]
- Christopher Smith, 57, child care worker, of Gloucester, England - Sentenced to 18 months [8]
- Myles Bradbury, 41, physician, of Herringswell, Suffolk [9]
- Sentenced to 22 Years on non-AZOV offenses [10]
- Daniel Dawson, 36, junior football coach, of Manchester - Sentenced to 12 months [11]
- Michael Williams, 74, of South Tyneside - PLEADS GUILTY to tangential non-AZOV charges [12]
- Martin Goldberg, 46, teacher, of Shoeburyness, Essex - Commits SUICIDE [13]
- Keith Rogers, 77, of Worcester, England - Sentenced to 12 months [14]
- Timothy Arthur, 58, school employee, of South Gloucestershire [15]
- Sentenced to Community Supervision [16]
- John Cowell, 60, school employee, of Essex - Sentenced to Community Supervision [17]
- Bartle Frere, 50, airline pilot, of Shipton Gorge, Dorset - ALSO FOUND GUILTY of tangential non-AZOV charges [18] - Sentenced to 12.5 Years, which includes 3 months for the AZOV charges [19][20]
- Brian Ferris, 80, pensioner, of Worcester - [21]
- Robert Harper, 60, of Bristol - Sentenced to 19 months on partly non-AZOV charges [22]
- John Fleck, 53, teacher, of Gloucester - Sentenced to 10 months [23]
- Roger Moult, 64, ex-teacher, of Dundee, SCOTLAND - Sentenced to 3 Years of Community Payback [24]
- Kevin Politt, 38, of Warrington, Cheshire - Sentenced to 200 hours Community Service [25]
- Andrew Leslie Waude, 40, vicar, and Paul Tuffin, 27, both of Nottingham, England [28]
- Waude sentenced to Community Supervision [29]
- Andrew Moffatt, 36, of Nottingham, England - sentenced to 3 Years - AZOV + additional charges [30]
- Gavin Owen, 38, electrician and Scout Master, of Liverpool - sentenced to 4.5 years on tangential non-Azov charges [31]
- Elliot Easterby, 44, teacher and Sea Scout Leader, of Hamble, Hampshire - [32] - Sentenced to Community Supervision - [33]
- Ross Hamblin, 35, of Bristol - Sentenced to Community Supervision [34]
- Gareth McAuley, 45, of Derry, Northern Ireland - Sentenced to 18 months - partly non-AZOV [35]
- Paul Holt, 43, of Bolton, Lancashire - Sentenced to 3 Years Community Supervision [36]
- Anthony O'Donoghue, 62, social worker, of Renfrew, Scotland - Sentenced to Community Supervision [37]
- John Prescott, 58, taxi driver, of Liverpool - Sentenced to Community Supervision [38]
- Edmund Lynch, 53, of London - PLEADS GUILTY - Sentence pending [39]
- Peter Barker, 67, of Alderbury - FOUND GUILTY of tangential non-AZOV charges - Sentence pending [40]
Updates
- State-rape - mortification of non-harming deviants - Kristofor argues Azov defendants have been "state-raped" - 27 Sept 2012 [41]
- Azov Films Legal Advice --- BoyChat posts [42] [43] [44] --- An anonymous BoyChat poster discusses the advice he received from three attorneys. This is for informational purposes only and should NOT replace a personal consultation with your own attorney!
- Exploring Truths Behind Recent Azov Films Arrests --- BoyChat post dated December 7, 2012 [45]
- Spading Up Hate: Joanna Beaven-Desjardins’ Big Lie --- by Bernie Najarian 13 Dec 2013 - A look at Operation Spade [46]
- Pedophobe of the Year: Paul Krawczyk, Toronto Police --- by Bernie Najarian 1 Jan 2014 [47]
- Press Hostility to Azov Accuracy --- Another winning article by Bernie Najarian dated 14 Feb 2014 [48]
- Mick Moran of Interpol and Pro-active Pedo Policing --- by Bernie Najarian dated 24 Feb 2014 [49]
