Massive’s 3D Cleared on Porn
After a four-week investigation, police in Bristol, England, have
cleared Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, who performs as 3D, of
all charges related to Internet porn offenses. A charge for
possessing Class A drugs, levied against Del Naja simultaneously
last month, stands pending further inquiries.
“We’ve been supplied with a list of people in our force area who
may or may not be involved [in child pornography], and we’re duty
bound to follow those up,” a spokesman for the Avon and Somerset
Constabulary told Rolling Stone. “A lot of the time it’s
credit card information, from people buying things on the Internet
. . . We look at computer equipment that people might possess, and
if we seize a computer and find there’s inappropriate material,
that may constitute sufficient evidence.”
Del Naja was initially implicated as a part of Operation Ore,
the same international Internet child pornography sting that
snagged who guitarist Pete Townshend in January. Unlike Townshend,
who claims to have looked at child pornography online for research
purposes, Del Naja categorically denied having looked at child
porn. “I have total faith in the justice system,” he said in a
statement after his February 26th arrest. “I am fully cooperating
with police and I would ask everyone not to judge me
prematurely.”
The spokesman handling Del Naja’s case could not comment on the
case against Townshend, which has been pending since his January
13th arrest. “It’s difficult to say what a normal timeline is,” he
said. “Every single warrant executed and every arrest made has to
be conducted on its own merits. The timeline depends on what we
find and what the person tells us in the initial interview.”