German police break up Internet child porn ring

BERLIN – German police said yesterday they had broken up an international child pornography ring that trafficked paedophile images on the Internet and sexually abused children.

Police raided the homes and workplaces of 121 suspected members of the German language porn network across Germany on Tuesday evening, arresting nine of its suspected leaders.Authorities in Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Bulgaria, Canada and the United States simultaneously carried out raids on 15 further suspected members.’The arrests were a great success in the battle against child pornography,’ said Joerg Ziercke, head of the BKA Federal Crime Office.Police said members of the porn network exchanged pornography online and discussed their own experiences of abusing children. Several members made films and photos of their sexual abuse of children and shared them on the Internet.Around 800 policemen were involved in the raids, confiscating 220 computers.Germany this year passed a law making it harder to access child pornography online and easier to prosecute those who use it. – Nampa-Reuters