Police said they have seized thousands of videos of abuse involving symbols and rituals associated with Satanism and the occult.
Published on 1 December 2025
Police in Australia have charged four men following an investigation into what they call an “international satanic child sex abuse ring” in the city of Sydney.
New South Wales (NSW) police said on Monday they had charged four people with dozens of criminal offenses after executing six search warrants at several addresses in Sydney last week.
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The men, aged 26, 39, 42 and 46, were arrested on Thursday.
The operation came after an investigative team, codenamed Strike Force Constantine, uncovered a pedophile network in Sydney that distributed abuse material with “ritualistic or satanic themes”, NSW Police said.
The network aired content through an internationally administered website, he said.
Footage released by police showed officers strategically breaking down the door of an apartment unit and handcuffing one of the suspects.
Police said the 26-year-old played a leading role in the group.
According to police, the men face more than 20 charges of possession and distribution of child abuse material as well as cruelty, including drug possession, failure to comply with reporting obligations and breach of a restraining order.
All four were denied bail.
Police said they have not yet verified where the abuse material was created, nor have they identified any of the abused children.
“Due to the nature of the material they were sharing and the conversations we were aware of, we were concerned about children that these people might be exposed to,” Superintendent Jane Doherty, commander of the sex crime squad, told a news conference.
Doherty said authorities have seized thousands of videos depicting abuse of children, including children 12 and younger.
“Police will allege in court that this international group was involved in communicating and sharing content that depicted child abuse and child molestation involving symbols and rituals associated with Satanism and the occult,” Doherty said.
Doherty said authorities do not believe the arrested men recorded any material themselves, and authorities are working with international partners to identify the victims.
All four will appear in court at the end of January.