49 held in Spain on child porn charges

Madrid, Jan 17 (IANS/EFE) The Spanish National Police, in cooperation with the US, Britain and Belarus, has arrested 49 people of a gang that had created an international network of over 200 websites that offered child pornography photographs and videos.

Another 15 people were held after they subscribed to the websites to receive the pornographic “unpublished” and “high quality” material.

The material was sold for about 75 euros ($97) per month, the National Police said.

“Since they paid a monthly amount, they didn’t want photos or videos that had been seen very much or with children that were already circulating on the web. They demanded new material, with recently abused children. For that reason, we think that the material was made to order,” chief inspector Enrique Rodriguez said.

In the customer section of the websites, to which people could only get access by using a special password, the network offered images of boys and girls, most of them younger than 13 years of age, showing them being raped, suffering abuse or posing naked with other children.

Authorities said the criminal organisation, based in Belarus but which had branches in other European countries and the US, was able to bring in some $2 million in subscription fees.

–IANS/EFE