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Dublin: 5 °C Thursday 23 May, 2013

Suspects arrested in Ireland during child pornography crackdown

They are among 269 suspects identified in the Europe-wide operation targeting videos of child sexual abuse.

Europol director Rob Wainwright earlier this year
Europol director Rob Wainwright earlier this year
Image: Peter Dejong/AP/Press Association Images

AT LEAST ONE person has been arrested in Ireland as part of a Europe-wide crackdown on online networks sharing images of child sexual abuse.

Some 112 people in 22 European countries have been arrested during Operation Icarus, led by Europol. A further 157 people have been identified as suspects.

Europol said the investigation specifically targeted individuals sharing the most extreme recordings of child sexual abuse, including videos of babies and toddlers being sexually assaulted and raped.

Among those arrested was an individual who is suspected of grooming a young child, but had not yet been able to meet the child face to face, Europol said.

Houses were searched as part of the probe, with police forces seizing materials which will be examined for possible use in prosecutions.

Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, said: “These children are victims of multiple crimes. First, when the actual abuse takes place. Then, when it is filmed. And, thereafter, every time the images are posted, circulated or viewed.”

Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, welcomed the news of the arrests. He said: “This is the latest major success in over 10 years of Europol supporting law enforcement agencies in Europe in their fight against child sex abuse online.”

However, he also warned that the internet “is helping offenders to develop better techniques for sharing images on a global basis and for protecting their identity”.

More: Concerns raised over child safety and privacy online>

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Comments (55 Comments)

  • Babies and toddlers,it makes me physically ill. Animals! How can people be so depraved? :( poor children,poor babies

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    • Animals wouldn’t do to this to their own.scumbags. Anyone who would hurt a child this way should be put in a room with the child’s parents for an hour, we d see then if they were still as big and brave as they were when they were harming a defenceless child.

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    • Karen 18/12/11 #

      I cant believe 13 people thumbs down your comment,that scares me.:(

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    • Well I’m hoping that the thumbs down on my comment are because they dislike what I’m referring to as much as I do……rather than they disagree with me…if it’s the latter then yes,that is terrifying

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  • Really are some sick and twisted people in this world. I can never get my head around how these people’s minds operate? How anyone could do such vile, and inhumane acts to innocent children is beyond me.

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  • These people are almost certainly suffering from a serious mental illness. It’s so un-natural.

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    • I think illness suggests that there might be a cure. There is not. These people need to be removed from our society. I’m not suggesting killed-just kept away forever. There is No cure.

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    • well said billy.

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    • “illness suggests a cure” is not a logical statement.

      There’s no doubt whatsoever that they must be kept locked up and closely monitored but I would have a bet that in time a genetic or developmental defect will be recognised. Even from an evolutionary pov, child abuse makes no sense. The vast majority of adults have a built in prohibition against such acts. Paedophiles don’t seem to have. They are obviously defective in some way.

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  • I think the investigators around the world who work to stop these sickos deserve our thanks and admiration. I don’t know if I’d have the stomach to deal with that kind of horror.

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    • My thoughts exactly,stuff I’ve read about Albert fish has stuck with me and disturbed me deeply,actually dealing with some of THIS stuff would drive me insane I think. You have to be very strong

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    • Google have come up with a program called Bedspread Detector that scans photos to check for any similarities. this reduces the amount of images that an investigator has to look at but doesn’t cut it out all together. The problem is that some countries like Russia, Japan, Cambodia and China for instance have no laws http://tiny.cc/y90uq for possession and quite a lot of them have no legislation at all. Until all countries have a common policy I am afraid that we will be seeing this type of story for quite some time,

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    • Not just images brian,also having to deal with the victims and the people who commit these crimes,listening to the evidence and facts,the stuff which we don’t hear. The details are just too much to stomach :(

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    • One of the problems Emsy is that the victims might not be traceable as they can be from a country half way around the world. Unless the offender actually knows the child personally the chances of tracing them is very slim. Current TV show some very good documentary’s concerning the child sex trade which while informative are also deeply disturbing. When I see families allowing their children to spend the night with a total stranger for $100 because this is the only way that the family can survive it really fills me with despair. This was an undercover reporter in Kenya who obviously didn’t go through with it but it just showed how easy it is for these people to prey on the desperate. The offender might get caught with photos or videos of the attack but the child might never be able to get the support that they need because they are in another country to where the offender was caught. Hopefully with advances in technology we might in the future be able to trace these victims and provide them with the support that they need.

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  • These people should be exterminated. End of. Sick twisted f*cks.

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  • Seriously how anybody could look at a child and think about sex is beyond it and they should be locked up for life as I don’t think they will change their preference

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  • Chemical castration and pedophile tattooed across their foreheads that’s what should be done to those vermin

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    • Never mind the chemicals get out the axe and chop em off just below the chin.

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    • mart_n 17/12/11 #

      This has got to be one of the silliest arguments when stories like this come up. Lopping their balls off or chemically castrating them does not mean that they are no longer pedophiles, and it doesn’t mean that they no longer have the urge or ability to abuse children.

      It’s like saying that when you cut a thief’s hands off; that he is no longer a thief. Stupid reactionary crap..

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    • Mart you are dangerously clueless, do some research before you make a ridiculous comment like that

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    • mart_n 17/12/11 #

      Research into what exactly, Thomas?

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    • The effectiveness of chemical castration

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    • No offense, Thomas, but you are simply wrong here. You are talking about chemical castration like it is something of a cure, and calling Mart out for not having researched. Perhaps you need to go back and do some research. The recidivism of predatory sex offenders IS massively down compared to non-chemically castrated offenders–down to between 3-5%.. Think about that- 3-5% still offend after the chemical castration. That means between 3-5% of offenders go on to fuck more kids up the arse? To me-that is unacceptable. ANY recidivism means kids get raped-ANY. They need to take them out of society FOREVER. And when you think of it, I’m sure you will change you mind as well. You’ve simply not thought this through.

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  • I just finished a project on this and some of the things research I found is disturbing. Of the 197 countries in Interpol only half of them have any sort of proper child pornography legislation while some have none at all. The use of the Internet has made it easier for sex offenders to support their ideas and distribute material to like minded individuals. I would disagree with William that they suffer from a mental illness on the grounds that homosexuality was also considered a mental illness at one stage. This is not to say that child sex offenders should be excused and should be brought to justice if they break the law. A coordinated like the one that this report is about will go some way to tackling these people.

    A much more important way of combating this is by educating children and if necessary monitoring their online activity. Chat-rooms, sexting and social media are all used by predators to target young children. After researching this subject for the last 2 months I told my sister not to leave her kids on to the Internet until they are 18 without supervision. A bit harsh but when you read some guy saying that his ideal girlfriend would be Elle Fanning then you do tend to get a bit freaked out. It gets even worse when you encounter female peadophile/ephebophile’s as people never even think of a woman being a child sex offender but it does happen. Best thing people can so is make sure that their children are educated about the dangers and more importantly know that if they have a problem they know that you will listen to them.

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    • @Brian ward. Your argument is flawed. If you care to read the report- babies and toddlers were amongst those who were sexually assaulted. They hardly surf the net. Education is part of it for children who are old enough but is by no means sufficient to combat this heinous crime.

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    • That’s a good point Irene and something that I should have mentioned. What I meant really by education was that children are using the net at a younger age so parents should be talking to them from the word go. Obviously babies and toddlers don’t use the Internet and wouldn’t be at risk from online contact. Although on that point what is a worry is the amount of people who post pictures of their children on their Facebook page and leave it open to public view. Personally I would not do this myself and restrict it only to people that I know.

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  • Clair
    It is your response that angers me. As I have pointed out in my comments above there are senior members of the Roman Catholic Church who have been PROVEN to have covered up for and concealed paedophiles and are at large in the community at this very minute.
    We do not have to wait for an international agency to show how effective they are in tracking these scum we need to ensure that our police are doing their duty in protecting OUR children from the scum that are concealed and given sanctuary by the Roman Catholic Church.

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  • There are people responsible for the concealment of paedophiles and the coverup of their deeds, wearing clerical collars who preach from the pulpit and are at large in this country as we speak.
    What is happening about them? Nothing effectively.
    I thought the coverup of serious crime, the withholding of information and the concealment of perpetrators was in itself a crime.

    We do not have to wait for the Europol investigation to get all indignant about this issue. We have enough business of our own to be getting along with. But when?

    Why are the Gardai not arresting, questioning and charging these people?
    Can someone explain?

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    • The kid that you christen tomorrow might just have the water poured over his/her head by a person concealing information about a paedophile near you just because he was told about it in confession.
      Think about it…

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  • ARRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH F*CKING SCUMBAGS >:,( Raping babies?!?! They deserve to be decapitated, I’m looking at my babies here & I’m soooooooo F*CKING angry, I personally wish I could meet these so-called humans face to face but I couldn’t post on here wat I wud do to them >:(

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    • I think every human being with any kind of heart,goodness or decency in them feels the same as you! It terrifies me more than ANYTHING else in the world,someone touching or causing harm to my little boy! We would all die protecting our own young,I would even put myself on the line for a toddler or baby I didn’t know! Tears well up in my eyes at the thought of such cruelty!

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  • Who the he’ll is pressing the thumbs down buttons??? These people are sick! Don’t you care about inflicting such pain or even death on such pure innocence???? BABIES and Toddlers! Most can’t survive such horrific abuse.

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  • Absolutely vile individuals. The Americans have the right idea. They hide cameras in a house and engage pedophiles with adults posing as children on the net. The pedophile comes to the house and is ambushed by a news crew and when he leaves the house the police are waiting to arrest. It’s called “To catch a predator”.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMv4MJn_Z3w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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    • Isn’t that entrapment Keith. Couldn’t they claim that they were trying to catch a predator themselves when they arrive on the scene? I know the programme you are talking about but have never seen it myself and I always wondered how they got around the legal side of things.

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    • I know its bordering on entrapment Brian. Its just an example of how a different jurisdiction deals with the problem and quiet effectively. Personally speaking I believe a pedophile should be snared by any means possible and the rules of entrapment should not apply to them.

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  • These types of people cannot be cured of their urges, regardless of the amount of counselling or treatment they receive. The law really is an ass, if I’m right ( and I think I am ) a couple of years ago justice Brian Kearney was handing out long sentences to sex offenders and in almost all cases they were reduced by the court of criminal appeal. One paedophile actually stated if let out he would do it again, and they still reduce his sentence. A mandatory life sentence is, in my opinion, the only answer. I don’t agree with capital or corporal punishment.

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    • But maybe not separate them from other inmates……. No one tolerates pedophilia, not even the worst criminals. So although there shouldn’t be a death penalty, I’d like to think that their lives in prison wouldn’t be too easy…. I’m sure lots of people will disagree

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  • Tara 17/12/11 #

    Scary shocking stuff..there are some seriously depraved evil people on this planet…

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  • I supported your first comment Claire, but since then you have just been rude and obnoxious about your point. Who is snobby here? Because people don’t agree with your point of view it doesn’t make them wrong. You have a lot of feeling towards this but your expressing it aggressively and without thought

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  • Sympathy to families involved I pray they have the strenght to get through this, we need a real solution to this horrible act, I personally believe they should be put to death they really are nothing but preditures to society.

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  • I thumbed down a couple of ye not because I sympathise with paedophiles or lack empathy for their victims but because it’s a bit childish posting HOW MUCH you hate nonces and what sort of medieval torture you would visit on them. It’s a given that this crime is deplorable but this News-of-the-World type reaction is just so predictable and stupid.

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    • The whole point of these threads are to express your opinions. When it comes to pedophilia there is alot of anger and aggression. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect such responses

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    • As did I Paul. Just the ones where they were talking about murder. I dont agree with capital punishment but I would lock up pedophiles forever. They would never get out again.

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    • Well done Paul.
      Not many people come on and explain why they red thumb comments in relation to paedophilia, child clerical abuse etc. And your point is a fair one.

      Another other red thumbers..? Love to hear from you.

      Reply
  • You’re right Emsy, I wouldn’t leave them in Arbour Hill on their own, that’s special treatment straight away. Other lags hate them as much as law abiding people. But prison in this country is actually stated as not punishment but just the removal of liberty.

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  • Well for ye to have such a relaxed manner towards someone raping a baby………they would welcome death after I was finished with them

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  • Yes ‘well done’ to you coming on here giving people the thumbs down for their comments including mine :/ if you do not feel remotely as angry as I do then there is something wrong with you. I comment exactly how I feel about the subject, sorry if that’s too ANGRY for you.

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  • If this person in Ireland is not an Irish citizen they should be sent home IMMEDIATELY to face their sentence for these terrible crimes in their own country.

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  • these scum are not the same as normal people…they are predatures!!!!a child is never safe as long as an opportunity is there for these depraved scum to abuse them…regardless to what they wear(white collar or not)!!!!they do not deserve the right to live among honest decent people ….the death penalty is neccessary in these cases…they will always be predatures!!!

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  • @emsy wembsy

    I wasn’t referring to u as snobby. I don’t take kindly to ppl slagging me off. I’m the one being attacked here, wats his face pointing out some error I made trying to make himself look all ‘intelligent’ by belittling me; that’s who I’m referring to as snobby, who does he think he is?! if I offended you personally then I apologise.

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  • I know there was a raid in Wexford and I know the person…….. Just hope it’s not related to this……..

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  • @mart_n

    ‘YAWN’ ….

    Reply

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