Current:Home > MyNearly 100 arrested in global child sex abuse operation launched after murder of FBI agents-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Nearly 100 arrested in global child sex abuse operation launched after murder of FBI agents
lotradecoin social trading platform View Date:2024-12-26 05:33:42
Close to 100 people have been arrested in Australia and the United States in connection with a global online child abuse network uncovered in the aftermath of a high-profile murder of two FBI agents, authorities announced this week.
The myriad charges for alleged child abuse stem from the killings of two FBI special agents, Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, who were fatally shot in 2021 while serving a warrant in Sunrise, Florida, to search the apartment of a suspect allegedly tied to a case involving violent crimes against children.
The deaths of Alfin and Schwartzenberger, who both specialized in investigating crimes against children, spurred a wider international probe into an illicit online platform whose members are accused of sharing child abuse material on the dark web, according to the Australian Federal Police.
Nineteen Australians, whose ages range from 32 to 81 years old, were recently charged for their alleged involvement in what the agency described in a news release as a "sophisticated" digital network. Members are believed to have produced, searched for and distributed images and videos of child abuse material on the dark web, officials said.
Two people have been sentenced in Australia for their ties to the massive investigation, while the others have active cases in court, according to the federal police. In addition to the 19 arrests, authorities also removed 13 Australian children from harm over the course of the probe. Federal police allege some of those children were "directly abused" and others were removed as a precaution.
Called "Operation Bakis," the joint investigation involving state and local authorities in various parts of Australia ran alongside a U.S. investigation led by the FBI. The FBI investigation has so far led to the arrests of 79 people allegedly connected to the online network, the Australian Federal Police said. That probe has led to the convictions of 43 people for child abuse offenses, the Associated Press reported.
The suspects — who were arrested across Australia, including in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia — collectively face 138 charges related to the investigation. One suspect described as a "public servant" by federal police was already sentenced to 14 1/2 years in prison in June after pleading guilty to 24 charges. The same month, a call center operator on the NSW Central Coast was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to possession of an estimated five terabytes of child abuse material.
"The success of Operation Bakis was only possible because of the close working relationship between the AFP-led ACCCE [Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation] and the FBI, and our dedicated personnel who never give up working to identify children who are being sexually assaulted or living with someone who is sharing child abuse material," said Australian Federal Police Commander Helen Schneider in a statement.
Schneider added that "the lengths that these alleged offenders went to in order to avoid detection makes them especially dangerous - the longer they avoid detection the longer they can perpetuate the cycle of abuse."
Most of the suspects in Australia worked in jobs that required a high degree of knowledge in the field of information communications technology, the federal police said, noting that alleged members of the online platform "used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network." The suspects are accused of using methods like encryption to remain anonymous online and avoid being identified by law enforcement.
Both Australian and U.S. authorities noted that the success of Operation Bakis hinged on cooperation between agencies in both countries.
"The complexity and anonymity of these platforms means that no agency or country can fight these threats alone," FBI legal attaché Nitiana Mann said in a separate statement. "As we continue to build bridges through collaboration and teamwork, we can ensure the good guys win and the bad guys lose."
Mann said the FBI alerted authorities in other countries to additional suspects in their jurisdictions who are allegedly connected to the online child abuse ring, but did not did say which countries, according to the Associated Press.
- In:
- Australia
- FBI
- Child Abuse
veryGood! (737)
Related
- Beyoncé leads nominations for 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards
- Pilot killed when small plane crashes near central Indiana airport
- Maui residents wonder if their burned town can be made safe. The answer? No one knows
- Make noise! A murder and a movie stir Italians to loudly demand an end to violence against women
- Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists
- AP Week in Pictures: Asia
- Hawaii’s governor wants to make it easier for travelers from Japan to visit the islands
- Train derails, spills chemicals in remote part of eastern Kentucky
- Bristol Palin Shares 15-Year-Old Son Tripp Has Moved Back to Alaska
- Could IonQ become the next Nvidia?
Ranking
- These six House races are ones to watch in this year’s election
- Georgia Supreme Court ruling prevents GOP-backed commission from beginning to discipline prosecutors
- Myanmar military says drone attack by ethnic armed groups in northeast destroyed about 120 trucks
- Republic of Congo marks a day of mourning for 31 dead in a stadium stampede
- Jim Harbaugh wants to hire Colin Kaepernick to Chargers' coaching staff. Will the QB bite?
- Apple announces iPhones will support RCS, easing messaging with Android
- A former Canadian RCMP intelligence official is found guilty of breaching secrets law
- Search continues for the missing after landslide leaves 3 dead in Alaska fishing community
Recommendation
-
Wally Amos, 88, of cookie fame, died at home in Hawaii. He lost Famous Amos but found other success
-
A Thanksgiving guest's guide to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
-
Hungary set to receive millions in EU money despite Orban’s threats to veto Ukraine aid
-
Former Broncos Super Bowl champion Harald Hasselbach dies at 56
-
Millions of kids are still skipping school. Could the answer be recess — and a little cash?
-
Rising 401(k) limits in 2024 spells good news for retirement savers
-
Israel unveils what it claims is a major Hamas militant hideout beneath Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital
-
4-day truce begins in Israel-Hamas war, sets stage for release of dozens of Gaza-held hostages