Philippines child sex ring cracked with three Australians arrested
|
Version 0 of 1. Three Australians have been arrested after federal police helped crack an organised crime ring that streamed live footage of child sex abuse from the Philippines. A joint operation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has resulted in 29 arrests in 12 countries. A joint statement from the three agencies said the group arranged for children to be sexually abused live on webcam in exchange for payment. Authorities have safeguarded 15 children in the Philippines aged between six and 15 from the sexual abuse. Some of the children were related to the people who set up the videos. The AFP executed six search warrants, resulting in the arrest of three Australian offenders for child sexual exploitation offences. Two of the men were arrested in Western Australia and one man from Sydney was arrested by the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok. Hundreds of thousands of images and videos depicting online child sexual exploitation, including children as young as five, were found during the searches. It will be alleged in court that the Australian offenders were financing and ordering child exploitation shows from the organised crime group in the Philippines. The men were charged with offences including accessing, transmitting and making available child exploitation material. These offences carry sentences of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. An AFP assistant commissioner, Tim Morris, said the use of online media to drive this type of crime was a sinister development. The investigation began after police in Northamptonshire in the UK carried out a routine visit at the home of a registered sex offender and found indecent videos on computers in the property. Customers and associates were then identified, sparking the international operation. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |