Eight UK children identified in images seized from international paedophile ring

[Troy Dooly]

Wednesday 5 March 2008
Eight UK children identified in images seized from international paedophile ring

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has identified and safeguarded eight British children from sexual abuse as a result of thousands of indecent images seized in an international police operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.

This two-year joint investigation between the FBI and the Queensland Police in Australia focused in on a highly-sophisticated newsgroup hosted on the internet where individuals from around the world traded child sexual abuse images.

As a result of this operation, 400,000 images were seized and where possible identified to a particular country. They were then passed to the appropriate police agencies around the world to investigate further.

In the UK, this work is undertaken by the CEOP Centre and specifically by a specialist team of investigators who use facial recognition software and thorough detective work, examining the images and painstakingly looking for clues to locate the victim or the offender.

The Victim Identification Team at CEOP is headed up by Paul Griffiths:

"Whilst it can be difficult at times, this work is vital to identifying and locating children who are being subjected to horrendous abuse. In this case, eight children aged between six and 14 have since been protected from further abusive situations and six men are currently serving jail terms for their role in sexually abusing these children”.

“In every image there is a child. These images are crime scene photos where children are being subjected to sexual abuse. This is not ‘child pornography’.

“It’s important to remember too, though that these children were not missing. They were located in the place where they were supposed to be safe – their own home – where their abuse was recorded and made available over the internet to satisfy sickening sexual desires of a deviant group of individuals.”

So far, two British men and 20 other individuals from the USA, Canada, Australia and Germany have been arrested in connection to their role in this newsgroup paedophile network.
Notes to editors

No further information in relation to the location of the children safeguarded as a result of this operation can be provided. This includes the location or whereabouts of those arrested in connection with these offences.

CHILD ABUSE IMAGES, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’
Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ actually benefits child sex abusers:

* It indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser
* It conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse

Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not pornography.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre works in both the online and offline environments to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.gov.uk.

The organisation is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and powers are derived from the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. It is based in Pimlico, London with developing outreach channels to all areas of both domestic and international policing as well as industry and specialist support and educational faculties.

For further information please contact the Press Office at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre on 0870 000 3434.