By The Associated Press
PARIS — Nearly half the 310 people detained recently in France on suspicion of spreading child pornography over the Internet have admitted to downloading images of naked children, police said Friday.
The arrests were part of a crackdown on pedophilia in France that began Monday. More than 2 million photos and 28,000 videos were discovered on computers seized in the sweep, officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
Those detained were all men between age 19 and 70 and included executives, teachers and military men. Officials said 163 of those picked up acknowledged having downloaded photos and videos of child porn.
Two men face preliminary charges of ''sexually abusing children,’' and a third -- a repeat offender -- was sentenced Wednesday to 12 months in prison. Fifteen formal investigations have been opened, officials said.
Officers from several French police units have been preparing for the sweep since January, following a tip from an Italian child protection organization.
More arrests could follow as police in other countries crack down on others who downloaded the images, the officials said.
A Polish police spokesman said Friday that 55 Polish nationals were arrested on suspicion of spreading child pornography over the Internet. However, it was not immediately clear if the Polish crackdown was directly related to the French sweep.