Three Irish people arrested in international paedophile sting

The Gardaí and the PSNI have confirmed that three Irish people were arrested in connection with the internet paedophile network broken up by the British police.

The police announced yesterday that they had smashed a child abuse ring involving 700 suspects in countries across the world.

The network operated via a website run by British man Timothy Cox, who was arrested in September 2006 and convicted yesterday after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

The police assumed the 28-year-old's identity and infiltrated the website to collect evidence about around 700 other users.

The Gardaí have confirmed that one arrest was made in Ireland in connection with the case and the investigation is still ongoing.

Two people were also arrested in the North, one of whom is still in custody.

Meanwhile, four people have been arrested in Australia in connection with the global paedophile ring, which uploaded live videos of children being raped to the internet, federal police said today.

The chat room, which was called “Kids the Light of Our Lives”, featured images, including live videos, of children – some only months old – being subjected to horrific sexual abuse, said Jim Gamble, chief executive of Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Local media reports said one Australian child was among the 31 rescued worldwide, but Australian Federal Police said they could not confirm this.

One of the four has already been convicted of child pornography charges and sentenced to seven months in prison, Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

Details of the conviction and the man’s identity were not immediately released.

Another suspect’s case was being heard by a local court, while two others were awaiting trial, police said.