Net-porn ring traded stories at 'pedo party' Suspects recruited family members, papers indicate By Brandon Bailey Mercury News Staff Writer It was a horrifying "summit," authorities said: Three out-of-state men accused of belonging to an Internet child-pronography ring got together last April at the home of a fourth in Santa Rosa. At the meeting the members of the so-called Orchid Club allegedly traded stories about pre-teen girls they had molested and photographed in sexually explicit poses, authorities say. They even showed off a large poster mounted with photos of eight girls who appeared to be no older than 10. Investigators called it a "victim board." The summit, which the host reportedly labeled a "pedo party," is described in court documents that shed further light on a federal indictmend issued this week in San Jose. All told, the indictment charges 16 men with an international conspiracy to produce and exchange homemade child pornography over the Internet. The documents suggest a parent's nightmare [skipping a bunch] But officials also said much of their case is built on old-fashioned detective work. They interviewed victims and suspects who led them to more suspects. How case unfolded It began with what Monterey County sheriff's Lt. Dave Allard called child molestation "in the more traditional sense." A mother in the Monterey County town of Greenfied reported on April 5 that her 6-year-old daughter had beeen touched inappropriately during a slumber party at the nearby home of Ronald Riva, a well-known father of four who inadvertently became the linchpin of the federal investigation. Sheriff's investigators interviewed Riva, 38, who once worked as a state prison guard but more recently earned a living driving farm trucks in the Salinas Valley. They also talked with other girls who attended the party, which was hosted by Riva's 8-year-old daughter. Monterey County prosecutor Edward Hazel said some of those girls led detectives to more victims. Local authorities arreste Rival on April 7 and eventually charged him with molesting five girls, ages 4 to 10, some of them repeatedly over the last five years. None of those children was his own. Officials say the molestations occurred under circumstances they characterize as psychological manipulation, rather than physical coercion. [some skipped] But the case didn't end there. According to an investigator's affidavit, one of the girls told of a second man who helped fondle and photograph her at Riva's house. With the consent of Riva'wife, deputies say they searched Riva's computer files and found some of those photos. After talking with Riva and his wife, investigators identified the second man as Melton Lee Myers of Santa Rosa, who was convicted on two counts of child molestation in the '70s. April 22 arrest Monterey County deputies arrested Myers on April 22. Just two days before, according to the federal affidavits, Myers had hosted the videotaped "pedo party" for three other alleged Orchid Club members at his home. Federal investigators say they later learned from computer files that Riva had chatted on the Internet about planning to attend that meeting and about the possibility ... [some skipped] In Riva's computer, for example, investigators found records of Internet chat sessions in which Riva and someone named Billyj described ... With a subpoena to the commericial Intrnet service that Billyj used for e-mail, agents identified him as Paul Laney, 34. After agents found him at home in Yuba City, ... led them to other Internet contacts. Authorities say they moved quickly to locate other members of the group -- in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Washington. Officials said two suspects cooperated ... Three other suspects haven't been identified but are believed to live in Finland, Australia and Canada. [rest skipped]