UNITED KINGDOM
Yahoo! News
Sky News
British police forces are still investigating hundreds of cases involving suspected paedophiles more than two years after evidence was first passed to UK authorities.
Figures show that more than 200 suspects are still being investigated after details were first passed to the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) by Canadian police in July 2012.
Among the 21 UK forces that were able to provide a detailed breakdown of the Canadian cases – which came out of an international sting operation dubbed Operation Spade – 271 are still ongoing.
The data, obtained by the Press Association, also showed that from 724 referrals, 34 people had been charged and five had accepted cautions. …
Pete Saunders, from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, criticised the authorities for failing to act quickly enough on the information.
He told Sky News: “People who access these kinds of images are a danger to children – the fact we’re doing nothing about it is the main concern.
“The other concern is it demonstrates once again that there are large parts of society, or authorities or institutions who simply refuse to believe or to accept the seriousness of the crimes that are in front of their eyes.”
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