Authorities have searched homes
in 22 cities and arrested two people in a joint German and
Italian police operation to bust an international child
pornography ring, sources said Friday.
A total of 34 Italians have been placed under investigation
for allegedly downloading and posting hardcore child porn videos
showing very young children being raped and tortured, police
said.
The operation code-named 'eDonkey2000' has so far led to
the arrest of a 63-year-old in Milan and a 43-year-old in
Bologna. Both were caught red-handed in possession of child
pornography, investigators said.
Homes were searched in the cities of Bologna, Brescia,
Cagliari, Catania, Como, Cuneo, Ferrara, Florence, Livorno,
Milan, Messina, Naples, Novara, Pesaro, Pisa, Ragusa, Rome,
Savona, Siena, Siracusa, Turin, and Verona.
The alleged sex offenders used a peer-to-peer program
called eDonkey2000 to upload and share the hardcore child
pornography, according to investigators.
German police shared data that helped investigators
identify the alleged culprits. The operation was coordinated by
the Rome-based National Center Against Online Child Pornography
(CNCPO).
"We congratulate the forces of law and order for busting
this online pedophile ring," said Democratic Party MP Edoardo
Patriarca, who sits on the Lower House social affairs committee.
"I am convinced the government will increase funding to
combat this plague".
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