WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom will launch a global alliance targeting online child sexual abuse, building on the success of cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks.
Officials from 27 EU member nations will participate in a ministerial conference Wednesday in Brussels, along with officials from 22 countries outside the EU, including the United States.
The participating nations are making a commitment to caring for victims, enhancing efforts to prosecute offenders, increasing children's awareness of online risks and reducing the availability of child abuse material online.
Last year, a U.S.-led operation charged 72 U.S. defendants and targeted more than 500 people for investigation overseas in the largest U.S. prosecution of an international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children.
