Four men have been arrested in Australia for their alleged involvement in an “international satanic child sexual abuse material ring,” according to New South Wales Police, who said they were still working to identify the victims.
Det. The Sup. Jayne Doherty, the commander of the sex crimes squad, said the four men allegedly shared “disturbing” content with an international network showing children from babies to 12 years old – as well as animals.
“The police will allege in court that this international group was engaging in conversations and the sharing of material showing child abuse and child torture involving symbols and rituals linked to Satanism and the occult,” Doherty said Monday.
“Thousands of videos” were found on electronic devices seized during several simultaneous raids on properties in Sydney last week, Doherty said.
“Among these deplorable images there were also a number of videos showing the sexual abuse of animals,” she added.
A video released by NSW Police showed the arrest of a 26-year-old man in the inner-city suburb of Waterloo, who police alleged played a “leading role” in the group.
The officers can be seen using a battering ram to enter the apartment and are heard shouting “police” before arresting a man wearing zebra print shorts and t-shirts.
The investigation was carried out by the NSW sex crimes squad as part of Strike Force Constantine, an operation established in April to investigate the online distribution of child sexual abuse involving ritualistic or satanic themes.
In November, police became aware of a group of men in Sydney, who were allegedly part of a larger international syndicate of pedophiles.
They were “communicating with each other and … also sharing explicit child abuse material around that international group,” Doherty alleged.
Police could not confirm the identities of the children involved or in which country the material was created.
“We haven’t identified a real child, but the images are of real children,” she said.
‘Thousands of files’ found
Police executed six search warrants across Sydney last week and arrested four men, according to a police statement.
The 26-year-old was accused of several crimes, including making available child abuse material and having child abuse material in his possession. He was also accused of spreading and possessing bestiality material, the police said.
Three men, aged 46, 42 and 39, were arrested in the coastal suburb of Malabar in connection with the same child abuse network. They face several charges related to the possession or distribution of child abuse material.
All four men, who have not been named by police, have been refused bail and will appear in court in January next year.
Police are going through “thousands of files” to investigate other alleged members of the group suspected of sharing images on encrypted international platforms.
The abuse was “particularly devastating as they used symbols and rituals around it in the discussions they were having about child abuse,” she said.
“It had a very ritualistic overview.”
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