Priests probed in child sex case
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Authorities in Italy say three Roman Catholic priests are among the 186 people under investigation in connection with an Internet pedophilia ring.
The ring was allegedly involved in downloading illegal videos of child sex abuse from a Web site.
The children in the videos were aged 4 to 8 years old, police said.
The investigation began several months ago when a Sicilian agency working with abused children alerted police. After its start in Siracusa, the investigation spread across the country, with people in 16 of Italy's 21 regions involved.
As well as the three priests, those under investigation include a mayor, a social worker and a police officer, police said. There have been no arrests yet.
A Vatican spokesman contacted by CNN declined to comment.
