Over 200 Arrested in UK Online Predator Sting
A fantastic ending to this UK-Cyber Safety themed week! The Central Scotland Police announced the alarming results of Operation Defender: 215 pedophiles on the Internet who were grooming kids for sex have been arrested!
Just an FYI for Friday, PC Pandora works on both sides of the Atlantic and can be used by ANY parent to keep kids safe online…
November 19, 2009
Scots cops track more than 200 online sex beasts in crackdown
Paul O’Hare, Daily RecordMORE than 200 paedophiles who were grooming children for sex on the internet have been netted by cops after the biggest investigation of its kind in Scotland.
The beasts used sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MSN to snare 150 kids, some as young as eight.
And Central Scotland Police last night said the alarming results of Operation Defender should act as a wake-up call to parents across the country.
Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Dawson warned: “The ultimate aim of these people is to meet kids and rape them.”
The operation identified 1700 men who engaged in online sex chat with children.
And 215 of them swapped sexual material with their victims – including webcam footage. Up to 40 live in Scotland.
Ten top level offenders from Scotland and five from the rest of the UK have been charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and grooming. The others are expected to be tracked down in the coming weeks.
Detectives also identified 150 victims, mainly girls, aged eight to 15.
More than 4000 sexually explicit chat logs and 2000 email addresses used by predators were uncovered.
The probe involved Interpol, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the National Sex Crimes Unit.
Chief Superintendent Gordon Mackenzie said parents need to be aware kids can go online using games consoles and 3G phones.
MrMackenzie said: “This is a wakeup call for parents and they need to think about the multimedia that their kids are using.
“What we have found when we have spoken to victims is that the kids are curious and fearless and the adults are pretty clueless.”
He said predators target chat groups, such as MSN, and social networking sites such as Bebo. One Scottish predator had more than 1000 instant messenger contacts.
Mr Mackenzie said: “They use a scattergun approach and try to talk to as many kids as possible.
“If one vulnerable child responds, the chat starts off pretty normal but within minutes it turns to lurid sexual chat.”
Police said webcams are the main means of engagement between the beasts and their victims. The material exchanged ranges from naked pictures to footage of sex acts.
The groomers also ask children to do sexual things on webcam – then record the footage and pass it on.
The perverts move on to contact their victims by text or email – and will even put the child in touch with a beast who lives nearby.
The force started analysing social networking sites last year with a view to combating gang violence. But the probe soon led to internet grooming.
Mr Dawson said the operation has changed the force’s view of the threat. He said: “What this has shown us is that the paedophile is in your living room.
“Your kids could be sitting in the living room with the laptop while you are watching Coronation Street.”
In September, the Record revealed five child abuse victims were snatched from paedophiles in a series of raids linked to Operation Defender.
