Italian Police Crack Down on Child Porn Ring That Allegedly Included Three Priests

AP.TBO.COM ^ | MAY 24, 2005 | Aidan Lewis, Associated Press Writer

[CHARLITE]

ROME (AP) - Italian police raided the homes and offices of 186 suspected members of a child pornography ring - including three Roman Catholic priests and a local mayor - that downloaded pictures from an exclusive Web site, officials said Tuesday. The group downloaded photos and video of sex abuse against children, whose ages ranged from 4 to 8, from a Web site that could only be entered with a password, according to a police officer in the Sicilian town of Syracuse, where the investigation was based.

The officer, who cited office policy that he could not be identified, said the site had operated for just nine days before authorities closed it down in July after receiving a tip from Telefono Arcobaleno, a local association that scans the Internet to combat child abuse.

Police searched the homes and offices of 159 suspects in 16 of Italy's 20 regions Tuesday, the official said. The remaining 27 suspects had their homes and offices searched in recent months.

During the searches, police seized child pornography videos from computers owned by the three priests and were studying some homemade videos confiscated during the raids in an attempt to identify where the children were filmed and who filmed them, authorities said.

The suspects also included a mayor, a police officer and a social worker. The investigation is continuing and none of the suspects has been arrested.

In an effort to maintain secrecy, the site had not been given an index page and, therefore, could not be picked up on Internet search engines. It was run on an Italian server but advertised on Web sites in several other countries.

Predominantly Catholic Italy has been largely unscathed by the child abuse and child pornography scandals involving priests in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

AP-ES-05-24-05 1106EDT

[zarf]

That Allegedly Included Three Priests

Shocking news I tell ya!

The porno Priests are so common, the revelations have become mundane.

[Frank_2001]

Not this sh!t again!!!:(

[zarf]

The Pope ought to buy these clowns inflatable hookers to relieve their pent up religious frustration. Otherwise the entire clergy may end up on Rikers Island.