The Darkest Web: 1. Meeting a monster

About this episode

US Special Agents investigate the dark web's role in child sexual abuse.

US Special Agents Greg Squire and Pete Manning work together to track down people who sexually abuse children and share images of their abuse online. They thought they knew what they were dealing with but they’ve just discovered they have no idea. In a prison in Amsterdam they meet a prolific paedophile, Robert Micklesons, who reveals to them the vast online world created by paedophiles to share images and video of child sexual abuse. When they get back to the US they get an urgent call. A police officer in Denmark has found images of a girl in America who appears to have been sexually abused for six years. But no one has any idea where she is. Their job is to find her. But how will they do it? Season 11 of World of Secrets, The Darkest Web, is a BBC Eye investigation for the BBC World Service. This podcast includes some upsetting scenes, discussions of child sexual abuse, and there’s some strong language. For further information on the issues raised in the programme, contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. Reporter and Presenter: Sam Piranty Writer and Producer: Annabel Deas…

People in this episode

Hosts: Sam Piranty, Matt Willis, Jon Manel

Guests: Greg Squire, Pete Manning

Topics covered

• child sexual abuse
• online exploitation
• investigation
• law enforcement
• internet safety
• paedophilia

Keywords

• dark web
• child abuse
• investigation
• paedophile
• online safety
• law enforcement
• BBC

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, BBC World Service, BBC Eye

Places: Denmark, America, Amsterdam, UK

More episodes of World of Secrets

• Searching for Soldier Dad: 5. Answers · May 18, 2026 · 42 min
• Searching for Soldier Dad: 4. The dads · May 11, 2026 · 30 min
• Searching for Soldier Dad: 3. Ghosts · May 4, 2026 · 37 min
• Searching for Soldier Dad: 2. Eureka · April 27, 2026 · 34 min
• Searching for Soldier Dad: 1. Love story · April 20, 2026 · 34 min
• Searching for Soldier Dad: Trailer · April 13, 2026 · 3 min