Dutch cameraman turns out to be key in pedophile network, made shocking videos all over the world | Abroad

Two elderly men from England – already in custody for other serious offenses – were this week jailed for their involvement in the traveling network. These are Christopher Behn and John Thorogood from London. They traveled for years to various countries in Asia and Africa to gain the trust of vulnerable young boys with the ultimate goal of sexually abusing those children.

The British intelligence services, partly thanks to the Dutch police, spotted the network and started investigating. They found out that Behn committed abuse at least 23 times between 2008 and 2018. His travel details made it clear that the man has visited Vietnam about eighteen times since 2006. He also went with the Dutchman to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, India and Myanmar, among others. There the pedophiles presented themselves as a kind of father to the children, who often lived in poverty.

The company managed to gain the children’s trust and then abused it. During the investigation, the police obtained a diary in which Behn and the Dutch cameraman described very graphic and shocking details of the abuse. The details matched what was shown in the images. The NCA later also intercepted secret conversations that the Briton had with other perpetrators via encrypted emails. In it, the pedophiles discussed the children they had met and abused, the payments made to the victims and their families and possible scenarios that could see them exposed by the police.

The NCA has not disclosed anything about the identity of the Dutch man. It is clear that he has already been convicted and is under lock and key. It is not clear whether he is in custody in the Netherlands or England. The 68-year-old Behn was sentenced to eleven years in prison by a British judge on Friday for sexually abusing young boys in Vietnam over a period of ten years. He was arrested by the NCA earlier in 2020 and was already serving a nine-year prison sentence after being found guilty of abusing 11 children during a trip to Myanmar in 2016.

In addition to Behn, another Briton is also jailed for years: John Thorogood, a sex offender who has previously been convicted of possessing child pornography. Detectives identified him based on footage from the Dutch cameraman. It shows that the now 75-year-old Thorodood sexually abused young boys in Morocco. That would have happened in 2012. Forensic investigators searched his phone and computer and found more than 200,000 photos and videos showing young children. Some of the photos were taken by Thorogood and showed babies about a year old.

This summer, Thorogood pleaded guilty to seven charges of child molestation. His case will be heard next Tuesday. He will probably end up in prison for years, just like his British accomplice. The NCA has also identified a further four alleged pedophiles based in Britain and believed to have links to the network. It is not clear whether they have been arrested.

Investigations are still ongoing in other countries in Europe. “The size, cooperation and commitment of this international child sexual abuse network is unprecedented,” said Phil Eccles of the NCA. “It is clear that a lot of planning has gone into every trip the group has taken for over a decade, all of which revolved around the abuse of vulnerable children.”

The NCA praised the efforts of the Dutch police in a statement. “Protecting children is a priority for the NCA and international borders are not a barrier for us.”