A northern Sydney man has become the 17th person arrested in Australia in relation to a global pedophile ring alleged to have filmed and shared in the sexual abuse of almost 50 children.
As seen in the video above, the 26-year-old, from Lane Cove, was arrested on Thursday and charged with multiple child abuse offences, as well as bestiality and indecent exposure.
He was refused bail and will face Hornsby Local Court on Friday.
The man is the 11th person charged in NSW and 17th across Australia in relation to the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Arkstone, which began in February 2020.
Men from NSW, Queensland and Western Australia are accused of preying on 46 children between the ages of 16 months and 15 years to produce and upload abusive material online.
A NSW childcare worker, a volunteer soccer coach and a disability support worker are among others arrested since February and accused of participating in the ring.
Australian police made their first arrest after tip-offs from social media companies were passed on by US authorities.
More than 140 criminal matters have also been referred to police in Europe, Asia, Canada and New Zealand during the investigation, as well as 18 to the US.
Australian investigators have now laid more than 800 charges and have not ruled out further arrests.
AFP Detective Superintendent Ben McQuillan said no child should be subjected to such trauma and didn’t rule out further arrests.
“Our investigators have been combing through every image, video and communication since Operation Arkstone began to find and bring to justice those who carelessly abuse and forever traumatise our children,” Det Supt McQuillan said in a statement on Friday.
https://7news.com.au/news/crime/austral ... -c-1960773
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