LONDON – A team of international investigators infiltrated an Internet chat room used by pedophiles who streamed live videos of children being raped, rescuing 31 children and identifying more than 700 suspects worldwide.

Undercover officers in Britain, the U.S., Canada and Australia busted up the pedophile ring using surveillance techniques more commonly associated with fighting terrorism and organized crime.

The chat room, which was called “Kids the Light of Our Lives,” featured images, including live videos, of children – some only months old – being subjected to horrific sexual abuse, said Jim Gamble, chief executive of Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center.

“You could go and if you were in the club, arrange a time and a place when online you could view a child being raped and brutalized in real time,” he said.

Police analyzed images and videos traded by the chat room’s members for the smallest clues that could help them identify, locate and rescue the victims.

More than 15 children were found in Britain, Gamble said, declining to give further details. A Canadian official said authorities there arrested 24 Canadians and rescued seven Canadian children as part of the probe since late 2005.

Describing it as “a massive leap forward,” Gamble said the investigation involved agencies from 35 countries. Investigators made the case public after the sentencing of ringleader Timothy David Martyn Cox on Monday.

Cox, 27, was given an indeterminate jail sentence, meaning he will remain in prison until authorities decide he is no longer a threat to children. One of his accomplices, Gordon Mackintosh, has pleaded guilty to 27 charges of making, possessing and distributing indecent images and videos. He is awaiting sentencing.

Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report