Sixty-five Australians were among more than 300 people arrested worldwide after Toronto police smashed a Canadian-based child sex abuse ring, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said Friday.
As part of a global investigation targeting the users of a Canadian-based child exploitation website, the Australian federal police and state and territory police arrested 65 people, including two teachers, a priest and a former priest under Operation Thunderer, Xinhua reported.
The four men have all been charged with possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service to access child pornography.
Meanwhile, 386 children around the world have been removed from harm, including six in Australia, the NSW Police said.
The three-year investigation was announced by Canadian authorities Thursday night referring the details of numerous Australian-based users of the child exploitation website to policing jurisdictions in Australia.
Commander of the NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad, Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec, said the Sex Crimes Squad would continue to work closely with its counterparts both in Australia and overseas to target those people involved in the sexual exploitation of children.
"The internet has created new opportunities for sex offenders to target and sexually exploit children and we will continue to prioritise the identification of these people so they can be put before the courts," he said in a statement.
"Behind every child abuse image there is a real victim who has been sexually exploited and abused, and we need to do everything we can to remove these children from harm and arrest those involved in that exploitation."