US Arrests 14 in Global Child Porn Ring

U.S. authorities have arrested 14 people who ran a global child porn ring with more than 27,000 online members.

Federal investigators said the group exploited roughly 250 children across 39 states and five countries. Most of the victims were 13- to 15-year-old boys.

According to Homeland Security officials, 27-year-old Jonathan Johnson, from Louisiana, was the ringleader of the network.

He and other members of his porn websites pretended to be girls to entice teenage boys into sending graphic material.

"Johnson frequently utilized and encouraged other members and uploaders to access popular social networking sites to search for and then locate underaged boys for the purpose of having them create sexually explicit videos," Kenneth Polite, U.S. attorney for eastern Louisiana, said.

If convicted, Johnson would face a minimum of 20 years in prison or a maximum sentence of life in prison.