Two Swedes and at least one Dane have been arrested for being part of a huge global paedophile ring spanning 14 countries.
The men have been identified as being part of an online community that gives its members access to a certain amount of home-made child porn, depending on how many pictures and videos they upload themselves.
US authorities have arrested 52 people already from the user base of 500, with a further 72 remaining under investigation. Thirteen of those arrested have admitted guilt, whereas four have already been sentenced to between 20 and 30 years in jail.
All of the children who were victims of abuse on the site were under 12 years-old, while some were only babies. There were also parts of the network that could only be accessed if the member uploaded material in which the child was visibly suffering.
Police are holding a man in his forties from the Sodertorn district of Stockholm on suspicion of pornography offences and raping children overseas. Another 32 year-old man from Blekinge, who is accused of raping a six year-old girl at least 70 times, has been committed to a psychiatric institution.
Liz Berglund, from the National Police Agency’s IT crimes section, said, “We received information from the US that there was a Swedish suspect involved. We have so far been able to identify three Swedish girls featured in the material.”