Australian Federal Police arrest 19 in online child abuse network

Authorities in Australia said on Tuesday that they had saved 13 children who were either exploited or at risk. Two of the suspects have already been tried and sentenced. The perpetrators allegedly used encryption and other technological measures to avoid authorities. The investigation, called Operation Bakis, began last year. The announcement comes a week after the FBI led a national operation against human traffickers and caught over 100 suspected perpetrators. They rescued more than 200 victims, over 50 of them children.

How did the Australians find out about the network? The Australian Federal Police (AFP) were notified by the FBI last year. The FBI started an international investigation when two agents were fatally shot two years ago in a related matter.

Dig deeper: Read Bethel McGrew’s column in WORLD Opinions about The Sound of Freedom, a movie about a federal agent rescuing a trafficked child.