A priest was one of four people
arrested Tuesday in a major child porn bust that allegedly
involves as many as 30 suspects and victimized at least three
minors.
The suspects are charged with acquiring and trafficking
thousands of photos and videos, most of which investigators said
involved preadolescent Asian children.
The priest, 49, was arrested in Alassio near the Liguria
city of Imperia, where he was posted after spending a few years
in the village of Oulx in the Val di Susa valley in the northern
Piedmont region.
Investigators said the priest, who belongs to the Salesian
order, posed as an American executive during Internet chats with
the suspects, and favored photos and videos of preadolescent
children.
The other three suspects are two unemployed individuals
aged 58 and 51, and an employed person aged 51.
They were arrested in the Tuscan port city of Livorno, in
Rome, and in Torrecuso near the Campania city of Benevento.
All four are behind bars because a judge deemed them at
risk of offending again.
The suspects allegedly "met" on Russian social network
Imgsrc.ru, using code to move the conversation from apparently
harmless chat to the outright barter of child pornography.
Communications took place mainly in English and no money
was involved, police said.
Police busted the kiddy porn ring after infiltrating it by
posing as fellow predators.
Investigators are now probing whether the suspects not only
bartered but also produced child pornography.
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