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23 Staffordshire children saved from online sex abuse

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More than 20 'at-risk' children across Staffordshire have been protected since a new police operation dealing with online child abuse came into force last month.

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Staffordshire Police's new Operation Safenet team has been launched to catch the people possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

So far a total of 23 children who were at risk of online abuse have been protected with 13 arrests made in connection with cases throughout the county. And from those arrests two charges were made.

Safenet Operation team entering address in Staffordshire.

One case saw a search warrant executed at a home in Stafford where a 66-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of indecent images of children.

In a separate investigation, the team charged a 35-year-old Stafford man with six offences of possession of indecent images of children and six charges of distributing indecent images of children. The man has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in court on August 26.

Each week the team, which includes police officers and digital forensic experts, use digital investigative technology which can identify where in the county illegal images are being viewed.

The data is then used by police to apply for search warrants and to raid homes to seize evidence and arrest those involved.

Police chiefs say they have launched the operation because of the current rise in conversations taking place between abusers and children online.

Officers hope the risk of being arrested will deter them from committing further offences.

Jon Drake, assistant chief constable from Staffordshire Police, said: "I cannot give away too much detail about how we identify the homes we need to target but I am both shocked and saddened by the number of people involved in this criminal behaviour.

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"We have done something innovative with Operation Safenet, using the latest mobile based technology we set up a digital forensics laboratory in the home of the suspect and examine the computers, mobiles, tablets and data storage devices within minutes of arresting the suspect.

"The forensics staff work with the police officers in the address to immediately secure evidence for a prosecution so a quick decision can be made regarding charging and putting the suspect before the courts.

"I want those accessing such images to really think about their actions. Often they think there isn't a victim because they might not have any direct contact with the children in the images, but those children are victims of abuse and were abused to make those images.

"We will continue to tackle this issue and take enforcement action to protect children until we know children are safe. Sadly I am concerned this will take a long time but Staffordshire Police will continue our efforts to do this."

Staffordshire's police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis welcomed the innovative operation and said will help many children live a better life.

He said: "The online sexual abuse of children is vile and repulsive. It crosses national and international borders which makes it complex and costly to deal with. The cowardly low-lifes involved need tracking down and dealing with.

"Sadly and alarmingly, online sexual abuse is fast becoming a volume crime meaning new thinking is required. My office has supported and encouraged the police to be innovative and to think differently. Innovative thinking is at the heart of this operation - it's Staffordshire Police taking the fight directly to those who are part of causing unthinkable harm to innocent children."

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