15/06/2009

Pair Arrested In Internet Child Abuse Investigation

A man and woman have been arrested after British detectives uncovered a live online broadcast of a child being sexually abused.

West Midlands Police found that a 30-year-old woman in Maine, USA was using her webcam to broadcast the assault, after the arrest of a man in the UK.

An 18-year-old man was detained in Walsall, and since charged with the possession and distribution of abusive images of children.

On Friday afternoon, the team contacted US forces who then arrested the woman.

She has been charged with gross sexual assault, and her four children in the US have been taken into protective custody.

The 30-year-old is currently being held on a $20,000 bail after the charges were made.

West Midlands Police’s child exploitation investigation team were alerted on Thursday evening by Humberside Police to a man allegedly using the internet to show inappropriate material of children.

Det Ch Insp Dave McCrone, of West Midlands Police, said: "Our officers worked through the night on Thursday and Friday to ensure the identification and safety of these children across the other side of the world.

"We work to make people safer, sooner. The very same technology used to commit the crime enables us to work quickly to protect those who may be vulnerable."

(JM/BMcc)

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