Police Seek Victims Of Online Child Abuser

Police in the UK are trying to identify hundreds of young victims of an internet child abuser.

Children as young as 12 are thought to have been targeted by man arrested in Kuwait.

Many were forced to perform sex acts via web-cams after the suspect hacked into and controlled their social network site pages.

They were then threatened with exposure to their parents and friends if they refused more demands.

The Middle Eastern-born suspect, in his mid-20s, is thought to have been active since 2008.

Two victims are said to have attempted suicide after being targeted.

A spokeswoman for the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) said: "The offender's method has been to use an instant messenger service and pretend to be a friend of the targeted a victim.

"During subsequent conversations, the offender directed victims to an internet link. When clicking on this link, victims were asked to provide their e-mail account(s) and password(s), allowing the offender to take control of their login information. The offender was then able to take control of and hack of the victims' accounts, changing their passwords and security information.

"The offender would then inform the victims that their account had been hacked and they no longer had control of it. The offender continued the threats, saying that personal information about them would be sent to friends and family on the internet, unless they continued to perform sexual acts via the webcam."

Victims are being urged to call an NSPCC helpline on 0800 614458.