French police arrest 310 suspected pedophiles*

Reuters
Friday, October 12, 2007; 2:46 AM

PARIS (Reuters) - French police have arrested 310 people suspected of
having downloaded images of child pornography on the Internet, police
said on Friday.

Police said 132 people of those detained across France since Monday had
admitted they had downloaded pornographic videos of young girls. Some
also recognized they had raped or sexually assaulted children. Around 20
people had been cleared.

"There's no specific profile," a police spokesman said, adding the
arrests had been conducted upon a tip-off from an Italian association
for the protection of victims.

"It's men from all social backgrounds -- educators, as well as teachers,
IT workers, company heads, soldiers or workers. You find them everywhere
and in all backgrounds," he said.