SYDNEY, Dec 1 — Australian police said Monday they had charged four men in Sydney accused of being part of a network sharing “satanic” child sex abuse material.

Detectives swooped after probing an “international satanic child abuse material ring”, New South Wales state police said in a statement.

“During the investigation, detectives uncovered a Sydney-based paedophile network actively involved in possessing, distributing, and facilitating this material through a website administered internationally,” they said.

Police arrested four men in Sydney on Thursday, including a 26-year-old man accused of playing a leading role in the group.

The man was charged with 14 offences including using a carriage service to make available and access child abuse material.

The other three men, aged 39, 42, and 46, were arrested in a block of flats and charged with a string of offences related to child abuse material.

All four men were refused bail while awaiting their next court appearance. — AFP