Sky News Australia – Oct 26, 2020
Seeking to dismantle a nation-wide pedophile ring, Australian Federal Police CDR Christopher Woods says “there has been a spike” in reports regarding child exploitation during the coronavirus.
Last week the federal police charged 44 Australian men with more than 300 charges for possessing child exploitation material dismantling a nation-wide pedophile ring.
The charges follow in the wake of a year-long operation which saw 16 children removed from harm.
Mr Woods said “it’s a reminder to us, that we need to be vigilante and our work doesn’t stop”.
He said the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) has seen “criminal syndicates who do look to profit from this activity” connecting with people seeking the material online.
“It’s impossible to really quantify the number of people that we need to look for, the age ranges, the backgrounds,” he said.
“There isn’t a typical offender,” he added, pointing out people involved in these activities could come from “the full gambit of society”.
“Regardless of the motivation or the group that the people come from; the offending is serious. The charges are serious, and we won’t stop from our hunt for these people.”