BY ISABEL EVERETT
A Rutherford man has been arrested as part of a Federal Police operation to dismantle an international paedophile ring.
Forty-four Australian men are facing 350 charges of possessing child exploitation material following a nationwide criminal investigation.
Operation Molto has removed 16 children from harm after identifying alleged offenders in every Australian state, plus the ACT.
The year-long operation started when authorities were notified about thousands of offenders using a cloud storage platform to share abhorrent child material abuse online.
Some of the alleged offenders, who are also accused of producing their own child abuse material online, were allegedly in possession of material that was produced by a man arrested by the AFP in 2015.
The material was classified as the most abhorrent produced.
The alleged offenders are aged between 19 and 57 years old.
In NSW, one child has been removed from harm, and eight alleged offenders have been arrested facing 49 charges. Arrests were made at homes in Rutherford, Blacktown, Eagle Vale, and Fairfield Heights.
Federal Police Arrest man at a Rutherford Home
The alleged offenders were also employed in range of occupations, including construction, transport, law enforcement and hospitality.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said while the hard-work, diligence and co-operation of police should be recognised, victims remained front of mind for law enforcement agencies.
“Arresting offenders and putting them before the court is only half the battle,’’ Commissioner Kershaw said.
“Identifying victims is a race against time and the ACCCE’s victim identification team is relentless in rescuing children from sexual abuse.
“Pixel by pixel, our investigators painstakingly look for clues and never give up and the tools they use give Australian police access to world leading expertise.
“Viewing, distributing or producing child exploitation material is a crime. Children are not commodities and the AFP and its partner agencies work around-the-clock to identify and prosecute offenders.”
