File-sharing used to swap hardcore images

PAEDOPHILES are swapping thousands of hardcore images of child sex abuse in a new form of computer child pornography.

The demand for child porn through the use of file-sharing technology normally associated with swapping music and movies has grown so rapidly that law enforcement agencies are now employed in a global race to track down the children who are being abused.

In the wake of Monday night's Prime Time on child porn, Irish child protection agencies yesterday demanded tougher sentences for offenders and better therapeutic support for those abused.

The Children At Risk In Ireland Foundation, which featured on the RTÉ programme, said it was particularly concerned at long delays in assessments for children suspected of having been sexually abused.

The ISPCC called for a nationwide child abuse investigation to be conducted around the material arising from the programme.

"The most disturbing aspect of the programme was the nature of the web activity exposed, which illustrates how those wishing to download child abuse images must provide images of their own first," said a spokesperson.

The scale of peer-to-peer traffic in illegal images of children now dwarfs almost any other paedophile network.

Some of the children are being abused on a daily basis to provide a constant supply of new computerised material.

The explosion in file sharing, driven by the demand for music files, has also made the technology readily accessible, quick and easy to use. Users do not leave any credit card details, making it more difficult to trace them.

It also has the attraction of not requiring the users to be part of a traditional organised paedophile ring using password-protected, covert means to distribute images.

Police in Britain stumbled across this phenomenon by accident during another inquiry and say they have been stunned by its exponential growth.

Detective Superintendent Peter Spindler, who heads Scotland Yard's paedophile unit, said: "We are finding real-time live abusers. These people are able to get brand new images straight up on the net."