World's largest paedophile ring smashed

[Osem]

Police from around the world say they have broken up the largest internet paedophile ring yet discovered.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12762333

Rob Wainwright, head of Europol, the European Police Agency, said the abuse network had 70,000 members and links to 30 countries.

The operation has identified 670 suspects and 230 abused children.

Detectives say 170 people have so far been arrested - and 121 of them were in the UK. Some 60 children have been protected in the UK.

Excellent news!

Apparently the UK suspects include police officers, youth leaders and teachers with an age range of 17-82. I know I shouldn't be surprised to learn that but somehow I always am. It's doubly tragic when professional people who enjoy the trust of children are involved.

[Dai]

Originally Posted by Osem

I know I shouldn't be surprised to learn that but somehow I always am. It's doubly tragic when professional people who enjoy the trust of children are involved.

OK, it's only a tiny fraction amongst the good people in these professions but surely it's inevitable.

If you've a sweet tooth then you can't beat working in a chocolate factory..

And yes, I'm still a fan of public hanging and flogging.

My son's and daughter's head of year at their secondary school is currently in prison for offences against students in his care.

I was stunned as were they..They both thought he was a stand up teacher especially my son who was bullied constantly and was protected by this man.

It just goes to show that all the CRBs and layers of protection that are set up are no protection in the end and it's only luck and the bravery of the individuals affected who come forward to expose what has happened to them that seem to work.

[joglynne]

Excellent news indeed. As so much of their sick actions are carried out through their Internet connections I hope that each of those arrested will provide the links to even more of their degenerate fellow paedophiles.

[Gary L]

CRBs are only of any use in protecting kids, if the abuser has already been caught.

Not true. An enhanced CRB check (Enhanced Disclosure in Scotland) can draw on police intelligence, not just actual convictions.

[Taf]

Police intelligence?

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Chris

Not true. An enhanced CRB check (Enhanced Disclosure in Scotland) can draw on police intelligence, not just actual convictions.

Police intelligence being we suspect he fiddles with kids but we haven't got around to investigating him yet?

No ... suspicions that don't amount to evidence that would stand up in court. There was plenty of it in the Ian Huntly case, for example. The problem there was that none of it was kept and put together so that anybody might say "I don't care if he's never committed a paedophile offence, there is cause for concern here so I'm not going to employ him as a school caretaker".

Originally Posted by Chris

No ... suspicions that don't amount to evidence that would stand up in court. There was plenty of it in the Ian Huntly case, for example. The problem there was that none of it was kept and put together so that anybody might say "I don't care if he's never committed a paedophile offence, there is cause for concern here so I'm not going to employ him as a school caretaker".

Where there? I always presumed there was no suspicions around him, otherwise wouldn't he have been investigated earlier on?

He was investigated on more than one occasion by more than one police force. But none of the concerns, individually, ever amounted to grounds for a prosecution. Unfortunately the intelligence not only went un-shared, it was IIRC erased in a number of cases.

There was a major lost opportunity to spot and take account of a long-term pattern of concerning behaviour. This was addressed by the Bichard inquiry, post-Soham, which in turn gave rise to the new SVG (PVG in Scotland) legislation. Sadly, in drafting the SVG Act, the Labour government used a sledgehammer to crack the nut and devised a scheme under which just about everyone who ever sneezed in the general direction of a child would have to become registered and subject to permanent monitoring. The Coalition has wisely reined things back but this has caused an inevitable delay.

Meanwhile in Scotland the equivalen PVG Act is going live this year and is a far less intrusive implementation of the same Bichard recommendations.

[Mr_love_monkey]

lets hope they all get their 'rings' smashed open whilst in prison.....

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Chris

He was investigated on more than one occasion by more than one police force. But none of the concerns, individually, ever amounted to grounds for a prosecution. Unfortunately the intelligence not only went un-shared, it was IIRC erased in a number of cases.

IIRC, the problem was the Data Protection Act. The Police did not share the info because they thought that as he was only suspected, his personal information was protected by the DPA.

There was a major lost opportunity to spot and take account of a long-term pattern of concerning behaviour. This was addressed by the Bichard inquiry, post-Soham, which in turn gave rise to the new SVG (PVG in Scotland) legislation. Sadly, in drafting the SVG Act, the Labour government used a sledgehammer to crack the nut and devised a scheme under which just about everyone who ever sneezed in the general direction of a child would have to become registered and subject to permanent monitoring. The Coalition has wisely reined things back but this has caused an inevitable delay.

Meanwhile in Scotland the equivalen PVG Act is going live this year and is a far less intrusive implementation of the same Bichard recommendations.

The problem was that previous governments (not just Labour) have wanted to appear to be solving a percieved problem, and thanks mainly to cases like Huntley's (and the hype generated), paedophilia was percieved by the public to be a massive problem. While the problem is bad, I don't think it's nearly as bad as the public believed.

Fantastic they have been caught shame we don't have a death penalty for each and everyone one of them i cannot think of a sicker crime then adults abusing children and the world would be a far better place if we got shot of them as we found them.

[Hom3r]

I feel as this is smashed the pieces will be rebuilt into yet another awefull site.