Global Pedophile Network Broken Up By Italian Police

ROME (Reuters) - Italian police have broken up a pedophile network spanning at least 28 countries that used social media websites to swap pornographic images and videos of child abuse.

Ten people have been arrested in Italy, the United States, France and Portugal, and another 112 are being investigated on suspicion of child pornography, Italy's computer crime police bureau NIT said in a statement.

Police carried out raids in several countries on Thursday morning in "Operation Nanny" to dismantle what NIT called "an extensive international community of pedophiles".

Investigators froze computer data in U.S. social network servers and took down several online communities that served to recruit new members and pool illegal material.

The data revealed an Italian-founded criminal group with more than 700 followers around the world, exchanging thousands of images and videos, NIT said.

(Reporting by Catherine Hornby; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Talossa]

09:39 AM on 03/10/2012

So where are all the conservatives to decry this big government interference in the free market?

[americonst4]

01:00 PM on 03/09/2012

look at what their buddies in Greece are up to.

Furor in Greece over pedophilia as a disability
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek disability groups expressed anger Monday at a government decision to expand a list of state-recognized disability categories to include pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs.

[rolse]

12:34 PM on 03/09/2012

Must be the payola wasn't high enough in Italy. We can now rest assured that there will be higher profits, possibly even high enough to motivate violence, among the purveyors of this crap that they haven't caught. Just like with the phony drug war, they get the messengers and the purchasers, but the big money people aren't touched. The publicity creates the impression of risk, which is real for the street level purchasers, so the price goes up along with the profits. The market is not going away, and until they go after, and get the people that are handling and abusing, and photographing, the abuse of children, all we are reading about is nonsense, and perhaps a deliberate scheme to increase profit.

[aphunkyphish]

10:35 AM on 03/09/2012

Wow, excellent Italian Police work for thise involved in kinky sex issues. Isn't the Italian Police people said weren't good at it for Amanda Knox?

[patti4262]

10:29 AM on 03/09/2012

Shock treatment, castration and a lobotomy for all child abusers, murders, torturers, molesters and so on. I am sooo sick and tired of these monters who prey on the innocent and vulnerable.

[clarissa49]

09:58 AM on 03/09/2012

HP, do you have technical problems? I no longer receive notices of replies to my comments even though I am aware they are on here.

[wgbobo]

09:40 AM on 03/09/2012

Was it the Priest? Catholic's Priest pretty good about this. By their high numbers of complaints about
them and how the Church tried to hide them. When we served papers on the Priest the Catholic
Church had hiding area's for them to go to,but we would still get'em. You can run and hide,but not
in forever land. I would always prevail in serving them and not a one got away...

[db025]

10:38 AM on 03/09/2012

You seem to be totally ignorant of the coaches, cops, scout leaders, non-Catholic, politicians, and all the others who have much dirtier hands than the Catholic Church.

Just because the media targeted them all the time doesn't mean they were the only guilty ones!

[wgbobo]

11:45 AM on 03/09/2012

Really???

[wgbobo]

02:52 PM on 03/09/2012

Not from my experience w/this Church.

[gmartin997]

09:36 AM on 03/09/2012

And so the fight goes on. As long as there's a demand, and there's a profit to be made; somebody will supply the product.

[Mamby Pamby]

09:32 AM on 03/09/2012

That sucks, who's going to conduct mass this weekend if they all get bailed out. Wierd it was founded in Rome.

[Rexter]

09:30 AM on 03/09/2012

Imprison them in a U.S. maximum security prison and put them in with the general population. It would be a fitting end for them.

[AYellaRose Texas]

09:26 AM on 03/09/2012

Go Italy!!! I wish there were more we could do to rid the world of these degenerates.

[lowrodiay65]

08:41 AM on 03/09/2012

The world is a lousy place.

[freddkruger]

08:32 AM on 03/09/2012

Expose these DOGS Here in the United States and Kill Them.

[Gilbert Albright]

08:23 AM on 03/09/2012

Funny how the Italian Police always fail to check the Vatican for Pedophiles!

[lechampion]

09:11 AM on 03/19/2012

Too old, too rich...unfortunately.

[baydolphins]

08:12 AM on 03/09/2012

I think the whole world needs to adopt Moldova's concept and chemically castrate these people...of course, I think chemical castration is probably expensive so a rusty knife would work just as well.