PAPHOS District Court yesterday ordered the eight-day remand of a 50-year old man thought to be involved in the dissemination of child pornography.

The man, father of three underage children, was arrested after a tip-off to police from Interpol.

The arrest of an individual in the United Kingdom led police to the Cypriot man since the latter’s e-mail address was found on the former’s computer.

Police date shows that both men had met in online child porn forums.

In a written statement, the suspect admitted he had visited various web pages from which he had downloaded child pornography.

Investigators will look into whether the pornographic material points to other individuals or children who may reside in Cyprus.

In mid-February, a 33-year-old Nicosia man was jailed for two months after he was found guilty of possession of child pornography.

The man was charged after being found with 38 pictures of child porn on his laptop.

It was the first time a suspect had been convicted for such an offense, reports said.

Jusitce Minister Kyupros Chyrsostomides and Deputy Chief of Police Michalakis Papageorgiou yesterday both commented on the crime of child pornography.

“Child pornography is a disgusting crime which needs to be wiped out,” said Chrysostomides.

“The police are doing their utmost to combat this kind of crime and they have our full backing.”

Chrysostomides assured reporters that his Ministry took heed of the fourfold growth in child pornography cases since 2004 in police records.

“I am certain that this type of crime will soon be brought under control,” he said.

As to whether the children of those arrested would be examined by child psychologists, the Minister said that, “police and the state cannot work based on conjectures, but based on facts.”

Remarking on this, Papageorgiou said that police “are in co-operation with all state services concerned in an effort to prevent any consequences on the health, education and upbringing of the children of those involved in child pornography.”

He did not doubt but neither provided any comment on a reporter’s claim that international data shows that one in two children of child pornographers have been the victims of abuse as well.

Papagerogiou added that child pornography was “a worrying phenomenon” and that although it was prevalent in the past too, “police did not have the capability and the means to discover child pornography cases.”