Published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer
A large sex offender Internet ring was intercepted by the Italian police in September. The ring was being operated by Russian sex offenders who had been kidnapping children from orphanages, circuses and public parks. Once abducted, the children were forced to commit sexual acts, while being filmed. Some of the children were filmed being raped and tortured to death.
In October, an Italian prosecutor charged 1,491 Italians and foreign nationals with offering or downloading child pornography. Of this number, 831 were Italian and 660 foreign. The prosecutor has ordered the foreigners to be tracked down and sent to Italy to face charges.