Four men have been arrested in Australia over their alleged involvement in an \u201cinternational satanic child sex abuse material ring,\u201d according to New South Wales Police, who say they\u2019re still working to identify the victims.<\/p>\n
Det. Supt. Jayne Doherty, commander of the sex crimes squad, said the four men allegedly shared \u201cabhorrent\u201d content with an international network depicting children from infants to 12 years old \u2013 as well as animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice will allege in court that this international group were engaging in conversations and the sharing of material which depicted child abuse and the torture of children involving symbols and rituals linked to Satanism and the occult,\u201d Doherty said Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThousands of videos\u201d were found on electronic devices seized during several simultaneous raids on properties in Sydney last week, Doherty said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmongst these deplorable images were also a number of videos depicting the sexual abuse of animals,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Video released by NSW Police showed the arrest of a 26-year-old man in the inner-city suburb of Waterloo, whom police alleged to have played a \u201cleading role\u201d in the group.<\/p>\n
Officers can be seen using a battering ram to enter the apartment and are heard shouting \u201cpolice\u201d before taking a man dressed in zebra-print shorts and T-shirt into custody.<\/p>\n
The investigation was carried out by the NSW sex crimes squad as part of Strike Force Constantine, an operation established in April that investigates the online distribution of child sexual abuse involving ritualistic or satanic themes.<\/p>\n
In November, police were made aware a group of men in Sydney, who were allegedly part of a larger international pedophile syndicate.<\/p>\n
They were \u201ccommunicating with each other and\u2026 also sharing explicit child abuse material across that international group,\u201d Doherty alleged.<\/p>\n
Police could not confirm the identities of the children involved or which country the material was created in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve not identified an actual child, but the images are of real children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Thousands of files\u2019 found<\/p>\n
Police executed six search warrants across Sydney last week and arrested four men, according to a police statement.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old was charged with several offenses, including making available child abuse material and possession of child abuse material. He was also charged with disseminating and possessing bestiality material, police said.<\/p>\n
Three men, aged 46, 42 and 39, were arrested in the coastal suburb of Malabar in connection with the same child abuse network. They face several charges relating to the possession or distribution of child abuse material.<\/p>\n
All four men, who have not been named by police, were refused bail and will appear in court in January next year.<\/p>\n
Police are combing through \u201cthousands of files\u201d to investigate other alleged members of the group suspected of sharing images on encrypted international platforms.<\/p>\n
The abuse was \u201cparticularly devastating in that they used symbols and rituals around it in the discussions that they were having about abusing children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had a very ritualistic overview.\u201d<\/p>\n