22 men charged over international child porn-sharing network

AUSTRALIAN detectives have charged 22 men including a policeman, a senior lawyer and a childcare worker in connection with a child pornography-sharing network spanning 70 countries, police said yesterday.

The investigation into men sharing images over the internet — rather than downloading from an illicit website, a crime that is easier to detect — was prompted by information from a covert Brazilian police investigation a year ago, said Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Andrew Colvin.

The Brazilian information, which was shared via the international policing network Interpol, identified more than 200 suspects in 70 countries, he said.