A SATANIC paedophile ring, allegedly operated by a group of Sydney men including the self-described “Editor-in-Chief at Underground Media Network”, an LGBTQ swimming coach and an ex-cop, has operated across the world, with almost 150 suspects being hunted by global law enforcement, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Police have testified in court that the allegations are “the most extreme we’ve seen”, and the content so “depraved” and “horrific” that magistrates and prosecutors are in shock, the newspaper reported.
The story was accompanied with footage of a dramatic NSW Special Operations Group raid on a unit in high-rise flats in the inner-Sydney suburb of Waterloo last November.
The man arrested in the raid, which was recorded on video and made public by NSW Police, appeared in bizarre black and white striped clothing – the type of black and white stripes that would typically appear in some sort of hypnosis act.
Landon Ashton Versace Germanotta-Mills, who describes himself online as an “investigative and forensic journalist” railed against child abusers via his Underground News Network site, which purports to be some sort of alternative news site. He is also described as a “homosexual far left journalist”.
Germanotta-Mills had been remanded in custody since his arrest in November with police alleging members of the ring shared thousands of “abhorrent images and videos” depicting babies and children aged up to 12.
He was charged with child abuse offences including seven counts of using a carriage service to make child abuse, using a carriage service to access child abuse material, and three counts of possessing child abuse material using a carriage service.
Further charges include two counts of disseminating bestiality material and possessing bestiality material. Three other men arrested and charged in connection with the investigations were Benjamin Drysdale (46), Mark Sendecky (42, former swim coach), and Stuart Riches (39).
In January this year, former NSW Police sergeant Mark Turner following a search warrant at an address in Sydney Olympic Park. Electronic devices and a small amount of methamphetamine and ketamine were allegedly seized.
He is facing charges of use carriage etc to access child abuse material, use carriage service make available child abuse, person possesses bestiality material and two counts of possess prohibited drug.
Germanotta-Mills was granted Supreme Court bail on Tuesday last week despite prosecutors expressing concerns about his release. He appeared via videolink where his lawyer asked Justice Belinda Rigg to grant him bail to live with his mother in the town of Wellington, near Dubbo, in Central West NSW.
The conditions for his home detention include no child visitors, daily police reporting, drug and alcohol abstention, not contacting witnesses, a phone and internet ban, surrendering his passport and staying away from international departure points. He must also continue receiving mental health support.
Germanotta-Mills’ Underground News Network page on Facebook has removed posts going back to March 2023. Germanotta-Mills’ personal Facebook page has not been removed and includes posted stories describing his arrest and charges.
Late last year detectives from the NSW Police’s child exploitation internet unit alleged they had uncovered a pedophile network involved in the “online distribution of child sexual abuse material involving ritualistic or satanic themes”.
Strike Force Constantine, named after the first Christian emperor of Rome, rounded up six men across Sydney who allegedly made the horrific child abuse content that has shocked seasoned investigators and judicial officers.
“This operation exposed a network fixated on material that combined extreme child abuse with ritualistic or satanic themes,” Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty told the Herald.
“The material is among the most extreme we have seen, and the group’s use of satanic iconography demonstrates the level of depravity driving their offending.”
Doherty said the alleged paedophiles were actually sharing satanic imagery, symbols and language alongside the images and videos. NSW Police mapped the network’s international footprint and it was “leading directly” to further arrests overseas.
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