A New Zealand man dubbed "Kiwipedo" on the dark web who tried to buy a child to sexually abuse for $15,000 has lost name suppression and can now be identified as Aaron Hutton. This week, Crown witnesses had told the court the dark web is an encrypted area of the internet only reachable with special software and inside knowledge of where to go. Unlike the "Clearnet" that people use every day, the dark web conceals the identity of its users with additional measures. Within the dark web people can buy drugs, guns and explosives, but it was also popular with individuals wanting to trade in child exploitation material, one New Zealand police officer said. That officer, while working covertly in Australia, had messaged a username "Kiwipedo" who he said had later suggested they should "kidnap one and use a basement like Fritz".

Source: Otago Daily Times July 31, 2020 18:22 UTC