I had no clue they had such things - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Kuan · #1 06-19-2007, 10:02 AM

Where the hell have I been living? Apparently people pay money to see kids raped in realtime.

Police bust pedophile ring: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19288057/

Quote:

Updated: 11:11 a.m. CT June 18, 2007

LONDON - British police, aided by U.S. authorities, have smashed a global Internet pedophile ring that broadcast live-streamed videos of children being abused, investigating more than 700 suspects worldwide and rescuing 31 children in a 10-month probe, officials said Monday.

Some 200 suspects are based in Britain, said the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center, a government agency. Of the 31 children, some only a few months old, more than 15 were in Britain, the center said. British authorities would not give a breakdown of where the other suspects or children came from, but said more than half the suspects in Britain were already being prosecuted.

The ring was traced to an Internet chat room called “Kids the Light of Our Lives” that featured images of children being subjected to horrific sexual abuse, including the streaming live videos.

Authorities said they used surveillance tactics normally used against terrorism suspects and drug traffickers to infiltrate the pedophile ring at its highest level.

Officials said the United States, Canada and Australia were Britain’s main partners in the investigation, which involved agencies from 35 countries. The international investigation dated back to August 2006 until the ringleader’s sentencing Monday.

A tip from Canada

The international probe began after Canadian officials — conducting their own long-running pedophile investigation — tipped off authorities in London about a possible British link.

A Canadian official said authorities there have arrested 24 Canadians and rescued seven Canadian children since late 2005.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement joined the British-led operation in December. U.S. officials declined to comment because their investigation is continuing in at least 12 states.

It was unclear whether any of the rescued children had been reported missing, but authorities said the investigation was not linked to the widely publicized disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl who vanished nearly two months ago in southern Portugal.

Toronto police conducted online surveillance along with British police, said Detective Sgt. Kim Scanlan of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, who confirmed the Canadian arrests and rescues of children that began before the British-led probe.