A new documentary by BBC Eye for Storyville and a new season of World of Secrets follow U.S. agent Greg Squire and a dedicated network of specialist undercover investigators from around the world as they track down perpetrators of child sexual abuse on the dark web.
The investigation will air on BBC Four and iPlayer and can be heard on the BBC World of Secrets podcast which returns with a six-part series on The Darkest Web.
Working across different time zones, these officers uncover encrypted forums where prolific abusers trade tactics, erase their digital footprints and produce and distribute millions of images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Behind every username lies a potential victim in immediate danger, forcing investigators into a race against the clock.
BBC Eye, the investigative team within the BBC World Service, reports for Storyville.
Operating across borders, cultures and political divides, BBC Eye gains unprecedented access to investigative teams in the United States, Portugal, Brazil and Russia, as they work side by side to track down some of the world’s most dangerous child predators and rescue children who might otherwise never be found.
These agents spend months, sometimes years, infiltrating hidden networks designed to be untraceable, piecing together clues across multiple jurisdictions, and using advanced digital forensics to unmask offenders. Each breakthrough demands both exceptional technical skill and incredible psychological resilience.
In these collaborations, we witness not only the depths of the crimes being fought, but also the extraordinary courage, ingenuity, and resolve of the people who fight every day, to bring light to the darkest places on the internet.
One of the cases BBC Eye explores involves a girl named ‘Lucy’.
In January 2014, Greg and his team begin investigating after pictures of Lucy’s abuse are found online. The sexual abuse appears to have taken place over the course of six years. The team are under considerable time pressure to find and rescue Lucy.
The first lead in the investigation comes when a piece of furniture in one of Lucy’s photos is identified as having had limited sales, with only 40,000 units sold in the U.S. This focuses the investigation to 29 states.
Nine months later there is a break in the case. John Harp, a brick expert, is able to help Greg identify the bricks in Lucy’s room. He sources which plant the brick was manufactured in, crucially narrowing down the radius of the search.
By taking the list from the furniture manufacturer and drawing a radius around this brick factory, the team identify those within this radius, whittling down 10,000 people to 40-50.
“So, we thought we had a fairly good shot if we looked through social media that somebody on that list might have a picture of Lucy on their page. And probably by 9am we were flipping through social media pages. And there was Lucy right in front of us. Couldn’t believe it. Nine months of looking and we’re sitting there staring at her, and we all looked and said, a hundred percent this is her. A hundred percent”, says Greg.
Over a decade after her rescue, Greg is reunited with Lucy.
“I am incredibly lucky to have a good support system right now while I’m dealing with this. I have more stability. I’m able to have the energy to talk to people, which I could not have done even a couple years ago” Lucy says to Greg.
“I was praying, praying actively for it to end. I had been at that point for years. Not to sound cliché, but it was a prayer answered.”
The offender in the ‘Lucy’ case was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
It is currently estimated that there are over one million active users on child sexual abuse forums on the dark web. Within the global working group, there are less than fifty undercover agents working together to infiltrate their networks.
Sam Piranty, The Darkest Web, Director and World of Secrets podcast host, says:
“Over the seven years it took to make this film we were constantly grappling with how to confront such an unimaginably dark subject There were long stretches where I questioned whether we could make something that conveyed the scale of the harm without making viewers turn away.
“Yet in the darkness we found the soul of the film – the hope, the chinks of light. The endless courage of both the survivors and the officers we met. Witnessing their quiet sacrifices, their stubbornness in the face of something so terrifying, and their refusal to back down, gave us the resolve to keep making this film.”
Greg Squire, Special Agent, says:
“Every day, my work takes me into some of the darkest corners of the internet, but I do it because every child deserves to be safe, to be a child. Infiltrating and exposing these networks isn’t just about stopping the abusers; it’s about giving survivors a chance to reclaim their futures.
“I’ve been so honoured to serve and feel so lucky to work among the amazing agents and officers that dedicate their lives to this work. If this film shows anything, I hope it’s that none of us can look away. The children deserve the very best we have.”
Storyville: The Darkest Web is a BBC Eye documentary for Storyville, BBC Four and iPlayer.
The six-part World Service podcast World of Secrets: The Darkest Web will be available on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Where to listen and watch?
Documentary:
- In the UK, Storyville: The Darkest Web will air on BBC Four on Tuesday 17 February at 22.00 GMT and will be available on BBC iPlayer.
- In the US, the documentary will be available on the BBC World Service YouTube channel, BBC Select and BBC.com.
- Translated versions of the documentary, including Russian, Arabic, Persian, Ukrainian and Portuguese editions, will be available.
Podcast:
World of Secrets, Season 11: The Darkest Web, is available from Monday 16 February. There are six episodes.
- The first episode will be available by 1400 GMT on Monday 16 February wherever you get your BBC podcasts, with new episodes released weekly.
- If you’re in the UK, you can listen to episodes a week early on BBC Sounds, with episodes 1 and 2 published at 1300 GMT on Monday 16 February.
- Listeners outside the UK can also listen to episodes on BBC.com. The first two episodes will be available on Monday 16 February to subscribers to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts.
- World of Secrets: The Darkest Web will air weekly on BBC World Service radio, from Wednesday 18 February, 0430 GMT.
