Investigation into global pedophile network results in 184 arrests, 230 children rescued

[News_Editor]

Investigation into global pedophile network results in 184 arrests, 230 children rescued

2011-03-16 21:39:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

THE HAGUE (BNO NEWS) -- Nearly 200 people around the world have been arrested in connection with what is believed to have been the world's largest online pedophile network, authorities said on Wednesday. The investigation spanned more than three years and involved scores of countries.

Europol said during a joint news conference on Wednesday that the investigation centered on the Netherlands-based website boylover.net, which attracted more than 70,000 members at its height. It operated as a discussion-only forum where people could share their desire about sexual contact with young boys, without committing any specific offence.

However, some members of the website would eventually move to private channels such as e-mail to exchange illegal images and videos of children being abused. That is where their activities became illegal.

While the investigation is continuing into its final phase, 670 suspects have so far been identified and 184 of them have been arrested, including some who have already been convicted. In addition, 230 children have been rescued from abuse, which is the highest number ever achieved during this type of investigation.

"I am proud of the exceptional work of our experts in helping police authorities around the world to record these groundbreaking results. The safeguarding of so many vulnerable children is particularly rewarding and demonstrates the commitment of our agency to make Europe a safer place for its citizens," said Rob Wainwright, Europol Director. "I also pay tribute to the relevant authorities in Europe and elsewhere for their operational work in tracking down the suspected criminals and their victims."

Among the countries involved are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other countries are also involved and have investigations ongoing into identified suspects.

The operation, dubbed as 'Operation Rescue', spanned more than three years during which investigators from the United Kingdom and Australia infiltrated the website to identify members who were assessed as posing the highest risk to children. They also tracked the migration of offenders to other sites where the investigation continued.

In 2009, the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre located the owner of the website and traced the server to the Netherlands. The owner of the site has since been identified as 37-year-old Amir I., who is suspected of abusing an underage boy in Brazil.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, Canadian, Italian, New Zealand and U.S. law enforcement authorities all joined the investigation, as the scale of the international network became clear and suspects were identified in their jurisdictions.

In January 2010, a copy of the seized site's server was received by Europol, and the Australian and UK police. Working with Zaanstreek-Waterland Police in the Netherlands, Europol rebuilt the forum offline and forensically 'interrogated' the server to produce intelligence analysis which was disseminated globally to law enforcement authorities. So far, Europol has distributed 4202 operational intelligence reports to 25 EU Member States and 8 other countries.

Europol said it expects more suspects and victims to be identified during the next few weeks.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-16