In what has been defined as an unprecedented operation and the largest of its kind carried out in the United Kingdom. English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish police have participated in it and among the detainees are doctors, teachers, social workers, scout monitors and former police officers, as well as people who had minors in foster care.
Total over 660 suspected pedophiles arrested in England in an operation that has lasted six months
More than 400 children have been put under protection because of the operation. The operation was kept secret until last Wednesday and arrives in the midst of the uproar after knowing and opening an investigation into the existence of a possible network of pedophilia in the 70's and 80's in which high personalities, politicians and celebrities would be involved . Because of this, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been forced to make it clear that none of the detainees belong to parliament.
"Some of the people who start watching obscene images online go directly to abuse children," said NCA deputy director Phil Gormley. "So the operation is not just about catching people who have already committed abuses, but about deterring potential aggressors before they cross that line," he added.
The operation has been a huge coordination effort, thousands of computers and phones were analyzed and more than 800 homes were registered. The detainees used the "hidden network" that is a part of the computer network that remains hidden and alien to most of us, taking advantage of the anonymity provided by this type of network.
Among those arrested are some repeat offenders for possession of images of child abuse and one convicted of raping a child under 13. One of the detainees has confessed that he has been watching images of child abuse for more than 30 years and that he began to see them when he was a minor. Another of the detained doctors has found a collection of more than one million images of abuse.
Most of the detainees will be charged with possession of images of child abuse, but some of them will be accused of serious sexual abuse.
For my part I just want to convey my most sincere congratulations to the participating agents and I hope they continue working to protect children from these and any other abuse.
