WIREDGOV

Two brothers, who worked together to use the internet to sexually abuse 110 children around the world, including 78 in the UK, have been jailed in Kuwait yesterday for five years each after an operation led by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

The men, 35 year old Mohammed Khalaf Al Ali Alhamadi and his 27 year old brother Yousef Al Ali Alhamadi were arrested in December 2011 and appeared in a Kuwaiti court yesterday. They were found guilty of blackmail relating to child sexual abuse offences.

From Kuwait, the offenders targeted young victims aged between 12 and 16 on social networking and instant messaging applications, often pretending to be someone the children already knew. They would then trick victims into giving them their online passwords using a link, before threatening them into engaging in inappropriate sexual activities via webcam.

Once the suspects were identified and arrested, CEOP worked with Kuwaiti authorities and international law enforcement partners and child protection agencies in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden and the USA. In total 32 other child victims were identified throughout these countries.

In order to identify further victims of this investigation, CEOP launched a media appeal in December 2011, encouraging other victims in the UK to come forward. A dedicated NSPCC helpline number was set up within the UK in connection to this investigation, for young people to speak to specialist staff if they thought they had been a victim of these men.

All 78 child victims in the UK have been contacted by officers at the CEOP Centre or local child protection professionals and offered help and support. The additional 32 victims are being supported by CEOP’s international law enforcement partners.

Deputy Chief Executive of the CEOP Centre Andy Baker said:

“These two individuals mistakenly thought that they could abuse children in the UK and elsewhere and not be caught for their crimes. Today has seen justice for their victims after a challenging investigation. This illustrates once again how officers from CEOP and other law enforcement agencies will go the extra mile to protect children from abuse, wherever they are in the world.

“This is also another example highlighting how law enforcement and child protection agencies around the world will work together to ensure that offenders are identified, no matter where their victims are located.

“Offenders who think they can contact, coerce and cause harm to young people via the internet without facing the consequences need to take note of this conviction. Everything you do online leaves a digital footprint and we will use this information to locate you and ensure you face justice for your crimes”.

CEOP are now urging parents who are looking to buy devices that connect to the internet for their children this Christmas to consider online safety measures.

Top tips for staying safe online: -

• Ensure any social networking profiles are set to private, so anyone who is not a friend cannot get in contact

• Never share personal information such as an email address, mobile number, school name, sports club, arrangements for meeting up with friends or pictures or videos of yourself, family or your friends

• As a parent, keep up to date with the sites your child is using and be inquisitive in relation to their online activities

Children or members of the public can report any concerns about someone’s behaviour towards a child online directly to the CEOP Centre at www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre or to their local police. If a child is in immediate danger call 999.

The CEOP education programme Thinkuknow also contains sources of support and advice on a range of online issues affecting young people, visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk

If any children think they may have been a victim of the above crime, or wish to discuss any related concerns in greater detail, they can contact Childline in confidence on 0800 1111, where specialist child protection staff will be able to offer appropriate advice and support. Information shared will be treated confidentially, unless there is anything to suggest a child is at risk of harm.