Global child porn ring smashed
April 17, 2009 - 8:48AM

German police say they have smashed a global child porn ring of some 9000 suspected pedophiles in 92 countries.
Pornographic images of children were transmitted from more than 1000 connections in Germany to 8000 IP addresses in countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Austria and Switzerland.
The footage included "images of the most serious sexual abuse, even of toddlers", police in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said in a statement on Thursday.
Police seized more than 500 computers throughout Germany, as well as more than 43,000 data storage devices and nearly 800 hard drives.
Most suspects have been released while the evidence is examined.
However, one man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two children in his family aged seven and 11, police in the northern German state of Lower Saxony said.
"According to information from abroad, the investigation ... has already led to further suspects being located and arrested," the police statement said.
On Friday, German police are set to sign agreements with internet service providers to make it harder to access websites posting child pornography.