Sex abuse ring horrifies Pakistan

HUSSAIN KHAN WALA, Pakistan — In this dusty town near Pakistan’s border with India, families kept quiet for years about the blackmail gang that locals believe filmed some 270 children being sexually abused, fearful the videos could appear online or sold in markets for as little as 50 cents.

Those living in Hussain Khan Wala say the gang forced children at gunpoint to be abused or drugged them into submission. It was only after one family spoke up that others rose against the gang, with police later arresting 11 suspects.

It raises questions about how such a gang could operate for years, with some questioning Pakistan’s police and political elite.

“They destroyed me,” a victim said. “They destroyed my family. They just killed me.”

The Associated Press does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

Kasur district police chief Rai Babar Saeed said police confiscated some 30 videos, nearly all of which included sexual abuse of children as young as 12. The gang then used the videos to extort money from families, threatening to release them publicly and shame their children and their relatives, Saeed said.

“It was a gang that has 15 to 21 members. These people have been ... raping boys and girls under the age of 15 and then filming them since 2009,” said Latif Sarra, a lawyer representing some victims.