Paris, Dec 9 (EFE).- A major police operation against pedophile crimes, the largest in France to date, has led to 80 arrests across the country since Dec. 4, all males.

The accused are charged with sharing photos and videos online.

The crackdown focused on suspects whose occupations put them in regular contact with children, a police commissioner told the French news agency AFP.

Those arrested include an elected official, an ambulance driver, two school teachers, several sports coaches and a night watchman at a home for disabled children who had been convicted of rape many years earlier but was allowed to change his identity.

Some of the alleged offenders arrested had previously been identified for sexual assault, pedophilia, or use of pedophile content.

Of those arrested, about fifteen were held in pre-trial detention and the rest were placed under judicial supervision.

“Eighty is a significant number, a number that has never been seen before,” said Linda Kebbab, spokeswoman for the police union Unité SGP Police-Force Ouvrière, who pointed out that France carries out large-scale operations “three or four times a year” that result in several dozen arrests at a time. EFE

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