Brothers jailed for abuse of 110 children worldwide including one from Shropshire
Two brothers, who worked together to use the internet to sexually abuse 110 children around the world, including one from Shropshire and 77 from elsewhere in the UK, have been jailed in Kuwait 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 on December 12. 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".
Detective Inspector Helen Kinrade, head of West Mercia Police's Protecting Vulnerable People unit in Shrewsbury said:
"Child exploitation is a multi-agency priority and the police work very closely with other partner agencies, including CEOP, to identify and bring offenders to justice. This case highlights the need for children and young people to be 100 per cent sure who they are speaking to. Don't engage in online conversation with anyone you don't know. Sexual predators hide behind the anonymity of the internet to establish contact and then groom unsuspecting young people. It is also vitally important that parents know exactly who their children are communicating with."
