Child prostitution ring busted

Milan, January 25 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested nine people after busting an alleged child prostitution ring operating via Internet contact sites, judicial sources said. The nine - seven of them held in jail and two placed under house arrest - were aged between 30 and 60 and resident in the provinces of Milan and Pavia. Among them, and four other people placed under investigation, were "persons apparently above suspicion, without criminal records, as well as repeat offenders", police said. The alleged ring included fathers, businessmen, factory workers, professionals and shopkeepers. The accused allegedly paid for sex with 50 euros per session as well as smartphones and clothes, police said.