700 Arrests in Global Pedophile Ring
Police have arrested more than 700 suspects in a global pedophile ring and rescued 31 children thought to be victims.
About 200 of the suspects are from Britain, the government’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center told Associated Press.
The British investigation involved law enforcement agencies from 35 countries. Primary participants were the United States, Australia and Canada, officials said.
Authorities said they borrowed surveillance tactics used against terrorists to infiltrate the ring, traced to an Internet chat room called Kids the Light of Our Lives.
Authorities identified the host of the chat room as Timothy David Martyn Cox. After his arrest, officers posed as Cox and as contributors to collect information on offenders.
Cox admitted to possessing and distributing indecent images and was given an indeterminate prison sentence, which means he will stay in prison until he is no longer a threat to children.
