Originally published August 9, 2023 6:00 pm PDT
2 FBI agents were killed in relation to the case.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Australian officials arrested 98 individuals connected to a child sex abuse organization.
- FBI legal attaché Nitiana Mann stated at a news conference that U.S. officials arrested 79 people and Australia arrested 19 individuals in what was known as Operation Bakis.
- The operation was underway in 2021, when two FBI agents were killed in Florida while serving a search warrant for the child abuse investigation.
- “After their murder, the FBI commenced an international operation targeting offenders on the platform,” the Australian police said in a statement.
- The FBI informed Australian authorities that there was a “technologically sophisticated child abuse network” using the dark web, according to Commander Helen Schneider of the Australian Federal Police.
- The arrested offenders were between the ages of 32 and 81, many of which had a background in IT or programming.
- One public servant from Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has been sentenced to 14 years and six months in jail.
STATEMENTS FROM AUTHORITIES:
- Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett from the New South Wales Police Force said, “If you choose to offend against children, it is only a matter of time before police come knocking on your door.”
- She continued, “Together with our law enforcement counterparts, we will continue to use every power available to us to put those targeting children behind bars.”
- “These arrests are a testament to the commitment of QPS and law enforcement agencies globally, to work together to put alleged perpetrators before court and rescue any children in harm’s way,” Queensland Police Service Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group Acting Detective Superintendent Glen Donaldson said.
- “Everything you do online leaves a trace,” he explained. “To those predators who seek to exploit children online, remember the next person you engage with online could be a police officer.”
BACKGROUND:
- American Faith reported that in July, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) saved a record number of children in a single operation.
- The Philippine National Police (PNP) rescued 16 children after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers scrutinized a man’s baggage at Sydney Airport, where he was returning from the Philippines.
- Upon investigating the man’s belongings, ABF officers found child abuse material.
- “This is a record number of children rescued in a single operation and we are grateful to be able to support the efforts of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre to remove these children from harm,” AFP Senior Officer in Manila and Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins said in a statement.
