The British National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday that police had arrested 660 suspected pedophiles including doctors, teachers, care workers, scout leaders and former police officers.
A pedophile is a 16 years age person or older, who is primarily or exclusively sexually attracted to children who have not begun puberty, that is girls, 10 years old or less, and boys, 11 year old or less, on the average.
Medically, this condition is classified by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder.
Phil Gormley
Phil Gormley, NCA Deputy Director General said the arrests were the result of an “unprecedented” six-month operation, which involved the police forces across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
He said that more than 400 children had been protected as a result of the operation.
Gormley said that charges had not yet been finalised in most cases, but some had already been charged with offences ranging from the possession of indecent images of children to serious sexual assault.
“Some of the people who start by accessing indecent images online go on to abuse children directly,” he said.
“So the operation is not only about catching people who have already offended – it is about influencing potential offenders before they cross that line,” he added.
Gormley said that government wanted the offenders to know that the internet was no longer a safe, anonymous, space for accessing indecent images. (dpa)
