A Hampshire police investigation into fake intimate images of local women helped trigger an international investigation that uncovered a website used to advertise child sexual abuse material, leading to arrests in the United States and the seizure of more than one million illegal images.

The investigation began in January 2024 after a Hampshire woman reported that photographs from her wedding day had been doctored to make her appear either nude or wearing lingerie before being uploaded to the website.

More than 100 manipulated images of the woman were shared alongside written fantasies describing the sexual abuse of the victim.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary identified the person responsible as 30-year-old Ethan Orchard, of Highland Road, Southsea, who was known to the woman. Orchard even told the victim the images had been uploaded but failed to reveal he was the person responsible.

Police found Orchard had also shared doctored intimate images of two other women he knew and posted violent sexual fantasies about them on the website.

He also encouraged other users to harass one of the victims, although she was not contacted.

Orchard was arrested and charged with three counts of sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state for the purpose of sexual gratification, and one count of encouraging the commission of an either-way offence while believing it would be committed.

He admitted the offences on May 11 this year and was jailed for three years and four months on Friday, July 10. He was also made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite restraining order.

During the investigation, PC Steve Cann contacted the FBI in February 2024 to alert US authorities to the existence of the website.

Later that year, Hampshire police were informed that the website's domain had been seized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), whose investigation found it was being used to advertise child sexual abuse material and connect buyers with sellers.

The FDLE's cyber team seized the website and recovered 1.1 million images of child sexual abuse. Investigators also identified more than 50 victims across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Working alongside Homeland Security Investigations, the FDLE identified 10 suspects, including two alleged money mules in the United States, seven Florida-based customers of child sexual abuse material, and Turkish national Mehmet Bozuyuk, who is alleged to have led the conspiracy by using stolen identities to facilitate the global sale and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Judicial proceedings remain ongoing in the United States and a warrant remains in force for Bozuyuk's arrest.

PC Steve Cann said: "What happened to the women in Hampshire is truly shocking, and highlights the very frightening realities of how people like Orchard can exploit online spaces to cause serious harm.

"They were targeted, objectified and left in constant fear for their safety because of what Orchard did.

"The most insidious part of this was the sheer scale of harm police were able to identify from this one website alone. Our counterparts in the US have conducted some incredible work to remove this website, along with more than a million images of child sexual abuse, and have identified a global network involved in the sale of child sexual abuse material.

"It is truly horrifying to think that this kind of offending is carried out on such an enormous scale right under all of our noses on the internet.

"I want to commend the bravery of the three women in this case in coming forward, and their relentless commitment to supporting a very long and protracted investigation. They have played a crucial part in ensuring authorities could target offenders exploiting innocent people.

"The impact the offending has had on them is profound. One of the victims and her husband have had the memories of their wedding day completely tarnished and can no longer bear to look at the photographs from their special day. All of those affected have been betrayed in the most horrendous way, and I hope the action taken by police both locally and overseas goes some way in helping them recover from this ordeal."