Forty raids and 28 suspects arrested in huge child abuse crackdown

Twenty eight suspects have been arrested in a major operation into online grooming of children. Cheshire Police took action after a 400 per cent increase in the last four years in online viewing of indecent images of children.

Forty addresses were raided across the county last month and a special police team has been quadrupled in size to deal with the huge spike in crimes. Boredom during the COVID pandemic has been identified as a reason for the increase in offences.

Cheshire Constabulary's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) supported by officers from other areas of the Constabulary, executed multiple warrants every day in April to arrest suspected prolific offenders across the county.

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In a statement, the Constabulary said: "Over the past four years, it’s estimated that viewing indecent images of children online has risen by around 400% - growth which accelerated during the first Covid lockdown in March 2020 as people had more time on their hands, increased their use of the internet to relieve boredom, and had greater access to various platforms via mobile phones or computers."

In response, the Constabulary has expanded the OCAIT from a team of 10 detectives and staff, up to a unit of 46. Most of the 28 people arrested have either been bailed or released under investigation while seized devices are examined and the investigations continue.

The Constabulary said: "A total of 24 children who are in some way connected or related to the suspects have been safeguarded as part of the operation – meaning that other agencies have been informed of the action taken and appropriate risk assessments have been undertaken."

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