French police have carried out a series of major raids across France this week, leading to the arrest of 48 men suspected of having downloaded or viewed large quantities of pornographic photos and videos featuring children, Le Soir reports. Notably, several local elected officials are implicated.
The operation, coordinated by the Central Office for the Suppression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP), mobilised police units from several judicial police services in mainland France from Monday, a source told Le Soir.
Among those in police custody, the youngest is 26 years old, the oldest 79. “It's Mr Everyman, there’s no typical profile: unemployed, retired, working people,” the source said. Local elected officials are also said to be among those who were arrested.
According to information from French TV station BFMTV, some officials belonged to the French Ministry of National Education.
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Many suspects were reported to be in possession of “particularly violent” content. Some are suspected of being “collectors” of illegal content, hoarding thousands of files of child pornography content on their computers.
Radio station France Bleu reports that a 52-year-old man was arrested in Finistère, Brittany with a large amount of child porn, some featuring children under the age of 15. Some suspects have already been released on bail while others are being processed.
