THE number of police working to catch online predators will be doubled with the announcement of a new taskforce to pursue Victoria’s most vile paedophiles and prolific child pornography distributors.
Acting Assistant Commissioner of Crime Doug Fryer said taskforce Astraea had been set up to tackle a growing problem.
It will perform undercover operations and work with federal police and interstate officers.
Mr Fryer said the taskforce was already making a difference. He said a girl who was being sexually abused in the US was saved less than 24 hours after police in Victoria discovered her online.
”The internet is not a safe place for these people to hide,” he said.
”These are not bland images, they are real kids that cry themselves to sleep.”
There were 511 rape offences and 2449 sex (non-rape) offences recorded last financial year – some involved online contact.
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