Officials announced Tuesday that nearly 100 people in the United States and Australia have been apprehended in connection with allegations of child sexual abuse. This crackdown followed the fatal shooting of two FBI agents, which subsequently led to the discovery of an alleged international pedophile ring.
According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), 19 men have been taken into custody for their involvement in sharing child abuse material online. Additionally, a collaborative effort between the FBI and the AFP, known as “Operation Bakis,” resulted in the rescue of at least 13 children from further harm.
This latest development has elevated the total count of those arrested through this joint investigation to 98. Out of these, the FBI has conducted approximately 79 arrests, as indicated by the Australian agency.
The joint inquiry was initiated after two FBI agents lost their lives while executing a search warrant in Sunrise, Florida, in 2021. Their mission was to apprehend an individual suspected of possessing child abuse material. Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger died, while three other agents sustained injuries. The perpetrator, David Lee Huber, 55, was also fatally shot.
Formally launched in 2022, the coordinated investigation was instigated after the FBI shared intelligence with the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. This intelligence implicated Australian individuals suspected of participating in a “peer-to-peer network that allegedly shared child abuse material on the dark web.”
The Australian suspects range in age from 32 to 81 years old, the agency said.
