Over 100 Australian charged with child abuse-related offenses: Police

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) - More than 100 Australian nationals have been charged with child abuse-related offenses as part of a global operation that has come to an end, Australian police said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said: "Operation Molto, coordinated by the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), working together with police from every state and territory in Australia, removed 51 children from harm after identifying alleged offenders across the country."

The operation was launched in 2019 after New Zealand authorities revealed that “thousands of offenders were using a cloud storage platform to share abhorrent child material abuse online,” the statement said.

"Known globally as Operation H, the multinational law enforcement effort has resulted in 153 children being removed from harm, including; 79 in the United Kingdom, 51 children in Australia, 12 in Canada, six in New Zealand, four in the United States and one child in Europe. Operation H has now been finalized," it added.

Over the last three years, the Australian police conducted 158 search operations, charging 121 men with 1,248 offenses.

"The work of police across Australia in rescuing these children shows that victims remain front of mind for law enforcement,'' AFP Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale said.

"Viewing, distributing or producing child abuse material is a horrific crime. Children are not commodities and the AFP and its partner agencies work around-the-clock to identify and prosecute offenders.

"The success of Operation Molto demonstrates the importance of partnerships for law enforcement, at a national level here in Australia, but also at an international level, with our colleagues in New Zealand and around the world," Gale added.