Police bust international group preying on children

London: A paedophile who acted as a "librarian" for a global internet child abuse ring was jailed on Monday after one of the biggest undercover police investigations into online abuse.

Philip Thompson, 27, amassed nearly a quarter of a million indecent pictures of children, including thousands in the two most serious categories.

He was jailed for a minimum of 45 months after pleading guilty to 27 child abuse charges at Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough.

"He was a senior administrator for a paedophile website and was effectively a librarian for the storing and distribution of indecent images of children," Detective Sergeant Rebecca Driscoll said about Thompson, who is unemployed otherwise.

British officers worked with colleagues around the world, including the United States, Canada and Australia.