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Police raid suspected internet paedophiles | Police raid suspected internet paedophiles |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Almost every UK police force has staged raids this week on suspected internet paedophiles, leading to 100 arrests and the discovery of 24 children at risk of abuse. | |
The raids took place on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a high-profile operation led by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. | |
The raids involved 45 police forces with more than 600 officers and agents from CEOP and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. | The raids involved 45 police forces with more than 600 officers and agents from CEOP and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. |
Andy Baker, deputy chief executive of CEOP, told the Guardian there were an estimated 50,000 people in the UK viewing and sharing images of child sexual abuse. | |
Baker said he was satisfied that forensic examination of laptops, CDs, DVDs and videos seized in the raids would show their owners had been viewing such images. | |
Among those arrested were several computer experts, a retired police officer, a soldier, a scout leader, civil servants, a fireman, a retired teacher and a pathologist. | |
The raids were planned for five months and one man was viewing indecent imagery online as officers came through his door. All those arrested were men, said CEOP. | |
Baker said 155 homes had been raided, with 92 children found. He said 24 were feared to be at risk: "They were at risk, and found in the presence of [suspected] paedophiles, online abusers, or subjects of the sex offender register." | Baker said 155 homes had been raided, with 92 children found. He said 24 were feared to be at risk: "They were at risk, and found in the presence of [suspected] paedophiles, online abusers, or subjects of the sex offender register." |
The arrests took place in Scotland, Northern Ireland and across England. Some of those arrested were found to be in breach of restrictions after they had been placed on the sex offenders register. A number of those arrested have been bailed pending further inquiries. | |
Baker said the raids were timed to coincide with the publication of CEOP's annual report, which calls for tougher action against those who view child sex abuse images. CEOP cites research showing that up to 87% of those who physically attack children have previously viewed images of child sexual abuse, known by the term indecent images of children (IIOC). | |
CEOP's report said: "One study found that between 77% and 87% of convicted child sexual offenders used IIOC to stimulate themselves sexually, to lower the inhibitions of their child victim or to teach the child to replicate the activity in real-life sexual situations. | |
"It can be inferred from this that the offender's exposure to [IIOC] can act as an instigator for future sexual abuse; suggesting that the viewing of [the images] has the potential to increase the risk of offenders committing contact abuse against a child." | |
Baker said that those viewing moving or still images of child sex abuse should be treated as paedophiles by the criminal justice system. | Baker said that those viewing moving or still images of child sex abuse should be treated as paedophiles by the criminal justice system. |
CEOP's report notes the growing number of cautions issued to such offenders: "The number of simple cautions used is increasing, likely due to the low number of custodial sentences resulting from prosecutions for IIOC possession. | |
"Over a three-year period, one police force found that only 18% of those convicted of possession of indecent images of children received a custodial sentence." | |
Kate Fisher, an analyst at CEOP, said: "The images being downloaded are increasingly becoming more extreme, sadistic and violent, and feature increasingly younger children." | |
Almost 100 case studies from 34 forces found that offenders who both possessed child abuse images and attacked children were "almost exclusively white males", most aged between 19 and 45, with half living with children. One offender was found with 2.5 million still and moving images. | |
Most of the arrests related to image offences, including the possession and distribution of indecent pictures of children. | Most of the arrests related to image offences, including the possession and distribution of indecent pictures of children. |
Baker added: "Every image is a crime scene; we need to identify that crime scene. I'm satisfied that forensic examination will show a footprint of child imagery." |
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