194 suspects detained for child porn

Murat Şahin ANKARA - Hürriyet

Police raided 300 homes and workplaces in 18 provinces on June 2, detaining 194 suspects accused of producing and distributing child porn.

The operation, which netted many CDs and hard drives worth of evidence, came as a result of two years of surveillance. 

The suspects reportedly created fake pages belonging to artists on Facebook to get in contact with children. In response, police officers created fake accounts to reach the alleged child molesters and learned that page administrators blackmailed the girls on the website with threats to distribute naked photos of them. The victims were forced to have sexual intercourse with members of the ring, video footage of which was then distributed to buyers, police determined. 

Ring members, as well as men who contacted the organization for sex with the under-age girls, were detained in the operation.

The 194 suspects reportedly include five state employees, as well as professors, teachers and lawyers.