Girl's laptop leads to 240 sex offenders

A SEARCH of a missing schoolgirl's laptop sparked a major child abuse operation that has netted 240 online predators to date.

Arrests have been made in 15 different countries after what began as a simple missing person's inquiry.

Police investigating the 13-year-old's disappearance found she received 76 e-mails with sexual content from men in the course of just one month.

She was traced within hours, but her laptop held the key to tracking down hundreds of offenders.

Central Scotland Police, who launched Operation Defender in May 2009, said yesterday arrests continue to be made every week.

Detective Inspector Charlie Mitchell said: "The sexual chat ran into the thousands. We then had to establish if the person knew the girl was under age and focus on those who met her or made attempts to meet her."

He added: "We are still getting offenders arrested by other forces on a weekly basis."

Graphic pictures and webcam footage were found on the laptop belonging to the girl, who was encouraged to pose naked by predators.

They used a combination of e-mail, instant messaging and chat applications to engage with her and other youngsters.

Those convicted as a result of Operation Defender include 21-year-old Andrew Byrne, a microbiology student jailed for six years. Byrne, from Glasgow, preyed on 19 girls and boys across the UK during a two-year campaign of abuse.