A 19-year-old man has been arrested after police cracked down on people sharing indecent images of children online.
Last week, after receiving intelligence from agencies, police forces and the public, officers executed warrants in Maryport, Brigham, Penrith and Windermere.
A spokesman said: “A number of digital devices were recovered at the addresses and several individuals are assisting detectives with their enquiries.”
A 19-year-old man from Maryport was arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children. He has been released under investigation.
This Cyber and Digital Crime Unit has executed 26 warrants so far in 2022 with enquires ongoing to conduct more.
In the last 12 months, the online abuse investigation team have charged 28 suspects with 117 child sexual abuse/exploitation offences.
Detective Inspector Andy Myers, of Cumbria Constabulary’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit, said “Our main focus is to protect vulnerable people from harm.
“These warrants are part of the continuing proactive work by the unit, who are a dedicated unit staffed with officers trained specifically to deal with online offending and safeguard those who have been exploited.
“The way criminals who look to exploit children and vulnerable people operate, has developed with the continuous advancement in technology, with offenders using online technology to contact and groom their victims into sexual or criminal activity.
“We use specialist equipment to detect digital devices capable of connecting to the internet, within properties, to make it virtually impossible for suspected child sex offenders or convicted sex offenders to hide evidence from the police.
“I would urge people to familiarise themselves with and to monitor what their children and vulnerable adults are doing online – ask them questions and support them in using the internet positively.”
Officers were working as part of the Stop It Now campaign and marking Child Exploitation Day on March 18.
The Stop It Now social media campaign aims to raise public awareness of the growing problem of people viewing and sharing sexually explicit images of under 18s online.
The campaign also educates those offending about the harm caused to children in the images who are revictimised each time their image is viewed online.
Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner Peter McCall said: “I hope it sends a strong message to anyone who may be tempted to break the law online including viewing illegal images, that they will be pursued by the police who work collaboratively at both a regional and national level.
“Technology is advancing, and criminals are using it to target the most vulnerable people in our society which is why I funded the Cyber and Digital Crime Unit.”
